open } burn the land and boil the sea

[unhand]

♬ I'm On a Boat - The Lonely Island

WHO || Hook and anyone who wants to visit him
WHAT || Catch-all post for Jolly Roger interactions.
WHERE || The Jolly Roger, docked in the Thames
WHEN || ~whenever works~
HOW || idk go with your heart

[Hook's pretty much abandoned his room at the castle now that his home is put back together. He's at the Jolly Roger nearly every day, cleaning, doing minor repairs, or sailing her around just for fun.

If asked nicely, he might give a tour.]

Comments

[bittersweeter]

Because you're smarter than you look?

[unhand]

[He gives her a quiet smile in response to that. Yes, that he is.]

What is it?

[bittersweeter]

[ at first she shakes her head because why would she tell him? but then the words come out anyway. ] It's called blowback. Every time I work someone I wind up with nightmares.

[unhand]

[It's more obvious a price than the metaphorical type that tends to follow the magic of his world around. He nods gravely.]

Makes sense, I suppose. It's all about balance. But they must be harrowing to experience.

[He's had bad dreams. About some of his more terrible actions. Ones that don't even make sense anymore, though he supposes the missing piece of Mr. Gold and Hook's murdered lover help. But even those dreams probably pale in comparison to karmic blowback dreams.]

[bittersweeter]

Well, they're not exactly fun. [ she is genuinely surprised that he didn't scoff or roll his eyes. nightmares don't sound all the terror evoking. maybe mildly distressing, panic causing. but most people when they hear about dream work the first time think about good dreams, a sweet curse for a sweet girl. usually lila has to explain how a dream can utterly debilitate someone before it sinks in. she appreciates hook taking it at face value.

she studies the pirate for a moment longer before glancing out at the water. ] Don't tell Emma.

[unhand]

[Hook isn't under any delusions that Lila is sweet. That probably helps. Still, he looks surprised at her request.]

She doesn't know?

[They seem so close that he assumed Emma would know everything there was to know about Lila. Especially something like this.]

[bittersweeter]

[ shrug. as far as lila can remember it hasn't come up and she and faye were extra special careful to not let the older women on the team hear lila screaming during her blowback in paris. she doesn't advertise it and very few people have seen it. ] She already worries about me. If she knew how bad it was she'd never let me work anyone. And then I would really never sleep.

[unhand]

[He's clearly missing a lot of the background here, but he knows that she's already divulged a lot. More than he might have expected her too, given how poorly they've gotten on in the past. Her price sounds like it's a lot worse than the price of the magics they use in the Enchanted Forest.]

It's not my secret to tell. But you should. Before she finds out some other way.

[bittersweeter]

She hasn't met my boyfriend and its been six months, I think I'll be fine.

[unhand]

Is your boyfriend endangering your health?

[Considering he's a serial killer THE ARGUMENT COULD BE MADE. Not that Hook can throw stones. Or knows any of that.]

[bittersweeter]

[ ...well. she snorts. ] Yeah, no. But Emma's sort of anti-guy.

[unhand]

She's been burned. [Not just by Hook, though that's the most recent he knows about.] Doesn't mean she won't accept your lad if he's one of the good ones. [A beat.] Eventually.

[bittersweeter]

[ she sort of spaces out like wow i got that memo and flicks more ash into the water before stubbing her cigarette out between the fingers of her gloves. which means she's nice enough to not use his ship as an ash tray. ]

There's not an if, he is. [ it's kind of an impulse to defend him, however vaguely, even when she knows it doesn't really matter. ] I'm just impatient.

[unhand]

[His expression softens a bit.] Not gonna happen any faster if you keep putting it off.

[bittersweeter]

Yeah, okay dad. [ she rolls her eyes slightly, but she doesn't seem exceptionally bothered. the whole situation with amara has made her softer if only because the memory of her own curse is hard to ignore when she's constantly thinking about amara's and that just turns her walls to dust. she might be using hook as a distraction so her lack of coping mechanisms don't become abundantly clear. ]

[unhand]

[He gives a flash of a smirk at her sarcasm. DISMISS HIS GOOD ADVICE IF YOU WANT. IT'S STILL GOOD.]

You're only putting off the inevitable as it is.

[bittersweeter]

Yeah, and by the time Emma meets him, her aggressive man hate won't be able to scare him away because he loves me. It's not like I didn't plan her emotions into deciding when to introduce them.

[unhand]

It's not aggressive man hate. [He hopes.]

[bittersweeter]

Dislike, then. Either way, I planned for it.

[unhand]

And if putting it off simply makes her more suspicious and inclined to dislike him?

[bittersweeter]

I already made him love me, she's just in-laws he has to deal with.

[unhand]

I do hope you intend for them to meet before the wedding.

[bittersweeter]

[ she rolls her eyes so hard that she might be breaking some serious laws of physics at the moment. ] So before never, then. Gives me plenty of time.

[unhand]

You know what I mean.

[bittersweeter]

She'll meet him, geez. Probably when I get knighted. Happy now?