Do your own characters count? Id love to hear about Jim attempting to tame Beth's wild hair for 94, perhaps with an Almost kiss thrown in? (Also why do i feel like JimBeth and Flirting under fire were made for each other?)
94 (Hair Brushing/Braiding) + 40 (Almost Kiss)
Um, you can absolutely use my own characters for this. I actually am blushing because I love JimBeth a lot and I’m so glad people love them too. Jim absolutely attempts to tame Beth’s hair and loves playing with it and fiddling with it and there is legit almost always sexual tension with them. Flirting Under Fire is absolutely made for them because I cannot think of Beth getting in a fight without being flirty because that’s just her automatic mode. She’s her father’s daughter, my dudes.
I’m actually gonna fucking write this. Thanks @optomisticgirl for letting me spam you about this. Happy Birthday, my love.
Jim Hawkins had an ambivalent relationship with Beth Jones’s hair.
One of the few things about her that caught his eye originally. The first had been her eyes and their fierce shade of green that reminded him of a sea about to storm, more expressive than any other pair that he had ever encountered. The second had been her hair – a rich dark brown that reminded him of the cocoa powder they occasionally stole from merchant ships. On sunny days, he could see the reddish tints it held as it danced in the wind and streaked across the sky like a ragged but proud banner.
Beth’s hair was gorgeous. That could not be denied.
However, it was also long and wild as the sea itself. She never seemed to be able to tame it into a decent fashion and that meant more often than not, it had a way of ending up in Jim’s face. And no matter how rich the color or how silky the texture, it didn’t change the fact that it always somehow ended up in his mouth.
To say he was tired of it was an understatement and now he was going to do something about it.
“Elizabeth, here!”
“Don’t bark commands at me,” she replied, eyes flashing dangerously. “I’m not a dog.”
Of that, he was very much aware. Dogs actually obeyed commands without lip. Beth, on the other hand, was more likely to do the opposite just out of spite. Captain Hook’s daughter didn’t take kindly to commands that weren’t her own.
“Elizabeth, would you mind joining me…please?”
She placed a finger on her chin and peered up at the sky as if she were weighting the decision in her mind. He had half the mind to throw her over his shoulder like a barbarian of legend and drag her down to his quarters. Jim had no doubt in his mind she would respond by clawing at him like the hellcat she was, but at least the crew would be entertained.
She sauntered over to him with a swagger that was more suited for a man and a smirk that sent a shiver down his spine. It was in moments like this that he was certain that she was going to eat him alive if he wasn’t careful.
“You want something, Captain?” she drawled, her tone almost mocking as she spoke his title.
“Would you mind joining me for a moment in the captain’s quarters?”
“What for?”
“I need to show you something.”
“Wow, that was illuminating,” she responded sarcastically. “Pray tell, what are you going to show me?”
“I think it’s just best if you trust me, love.”
She opened her mouth to what Jim was sure to be a smartass comment, but she seemed to think the better of it. She rolled her eyes and tilted her head towards the stairs that led to his quarters.
“Well, lead the way.”
He guided her down the stairs leading to the small spartan room he used as his own. Jim wasn’t one for trinkets and baubles unlike his companion who had squirreled away more than a few things in her own room. He gestured for to take a seat at his desk, which she complied without much hassle. The corners of his lips twitched as she made herself at home, sprawling across it like a queen on her throne.
Once she was seated, he opened one of the chests that held the last of his mother’s possessions and pulled out his weapon of choice.
“This is a brush.”
“I know what it is, dumbass,” she replied, narrowing her eyes.
“And yet, you never use it.”
“I do use a brush, asshole. My hair has a mind of its own. It doesn’t like to be fucked with.”
“So you say,” he replied, letting his doubt creep into his voice.
She made a noise of frustration. “If you think you can tame it, by all means, go ahead. My mom has been trying for nineteen years without much success and she has dealt with long hair her entire life.”
She raised her eyebrows at him in challenge, as if daring him to actually try to brush her wild mane. Jim, never one to back down, straightened his shoulders and approached his task with determination and laser focus.
Up close her hair reminded him less of chocolate and more of mahogany wood and tiger’s eye stones with its occasional caramel-like streaks. It felt heavy in his grasp as he tried to section it off, the perfumed scents of rosemary and lavender wafting up to his nose as he tempted to straighten it out.
However, the more he tempted to manage it, the harder it got. Her hair refused to cooperate with the brush, and he could feel his patience running thin. It was almost impossible to work with it and out of the corner of his eye, he could see her wincing slightly at his rough treatment.
Letting out a sigh of frustration, he placed the brush down on his desk. Despite the fact it was snarled in some places, it was rather silky to the touch and reminded him of his mother’s old ribbons. He brushed a few tendrils away from her face, studying the mess he had to manage and absently playing with them.
“Given up?” she asked teasingly, her breath caressing his face.
It was then that Jim realized just how close he had gotten to her. There were barely inches between her face and his face. He could see the assortment of freckles that dotted her face and the long length of her eyelashes as they fluttered. Her green eyes, the most striking feature she had aside from her hair, were intense with an emotion that he dared not name but felt curling in his stomach.
The thought made his eyes flicker to her lips. Beth was not a delicate person in the slightest, but her lips had a daintiness about them that didn’t necessarily match the fierceness of her personality. They were a lovely shape of pink and wonderfully plump. He wondered if they were as soft as they looked.
With horror, he became aware he was leaning forward. A spike of adrenaline went through his body, giving him a jolt. He jerked backwards, remembering his place. He had no business making eyes with a nineteen-year old girl. As he put distance between them, he did his best to ignore the disappointment in her eyes.
He stepped behind her where it was safer, studying her hair once more. He gathered it in his hands, remembering how he used to plait coarse rope as a child. It was an entirely different material, but just as tough.
“Would you mind if I attempted to braid it?”
“Do what you must,” she answered hollowly.
He ignored her tone as he went to work. They needed to keep to the boundaries of mentor and mentee. It was for the best. While he couldn’t deny he was attracted to her, they were in different places in their lives and she deserved someone more age appropriate.
It was the right thing to do; good form as his foster father would say. However, no matter of moral correctness to stop the bitterness he felt at the predicament.
Send me two (2) tropes from this list + a ship and I’ll describe how I’d combine them in the same story
Hi. You've mentioned Beth's son a few time around and I was just wondering if you had his character planned out. I know that's it pretty far into the future, but I think it's a really interesting topic. What's his personality like? What's his relationship with Beth? Stuff like that. If you don't have an answer, I totally understand. It's pretty far forward. I would just really like to know.
Hi there! You’re right that it is pretty far in the future, but I do have the wee bab planned somewhat. I mean, he’s not nearly as developed as his mother, father and uncles but it’s not like he’s a shell of a character either.
What I have for the wee bab is under the cut:
Killian “Kay” Hawkins
Full name is Killian John Hawkins - named for his two pirate grandfathers Long John Silver and Killian “Hook” Jones
No one calls him Killian except for his grandparents. To most, he’s either Kay or KJ
Kay is tanned/olive skinned with curly/wavy honey brown hair. He’s tall like his father and Uncle Har but thinner than both of them. He’s lithe in build like his mother. He has the signature Jones pointed ears and tons of freckles on his cheeks, nose, shoulders and back.
He’s the only grandchild to inherit Emma’s green eyes
He’s not as rambunctious as Beth was as a child, but he’s just as fearless - his mother made sure that he wasn’t afraid of anything
His personality is the closest to Neddy’s - reserved but very perceptive and has a penchant for small time mischief.
While Kay is very good with people and likes to be social, he isn’t necessarily comfortable interacting with people he doesn’t know well and will avoid strangers as much as possible
Like his mother, Kay has a tendency to act first and think later - very impulsive and it gets him into a lot of trouble. His father kinda just sighs and is like “Oh kid, you got your mother’s head rather than mine and I’m sorry for that.”
Kay loves coin tricks and has a lot of dexterity in his fingers. He can normally be found playing with quarters and occasionally making them disappear with magic to drive people insane
Jim and Beth really fought a lot on how to raise him. Jim wanted him to grow up in a stable environment and just be a kid while Beth immediately wanted to go back to sailing as soon as he could walk. They agreed to spend most of the year in Storybrooke where Beth becomes a PI and Jim works as the Harbormaster. They go on trips during the summer to different realms, making Kay the envy of his cousins.
Kay’s favorite smell is the smell of the ocean. He loves sailing just as much as his parents do.
Kay is Beth’s only living child so she mama bears the shit out of him. She’s so a tiger mom and really pushes him to have good grades, do well in sports and be as good as a swordfighter as she is
Poor Kay has been learning to fight with swords since he could walk. Like she legit was like “you’re done with this crawling nonsense? good, here’s a wooden practice sword, lessons start now.”
Kay is terrified of upsetting his mother. Like he’s legit afraid of her wrath and considers his father to be the most sensible out of his parents. He’s more likely to tell him than her when he’s fucked up
Grandpa Killian is his favorite person because he spoils the shit out of him. Like whenever Kay needed to hide from his mother, Grandpa Killian always took care of him and gave him ice cream. Beth does not appreciate this.
Is it possible to submit JimBeth into the future child post?
Beth and Jim already have children in the Little Pirates canon. It’s 4am so I’m not going to looking for those posts, but they have two children that are roughly ten years apart in age - Killian John Hawkins and Sarah Cassiopeia Hawkins. KJ is the oldest. Both of them were surprise kids because it’s literally canon in this series that they’re all terrible at birth control. Someone needs to give this family an intervention.
I’m lazy so I’m only doing KJ.
Name: Killian “KJ” John HawkinsGender: MaleGeneral Appearance: curly honey brown/dirty blond hair ( we’re talking like Chris Krieder level curls y’all), green eyes, tall, athletic frame, freckles on his cheeks and noise, birthmark on the back of his hand.Personality: perceptive, sly, impulsive, compassionate, mischievous, manipulative, short-tempered, generous, protective, quick-witted, adventurous, easily jealousSpecial Talents: Getting somehow into more trouble than Beth and Wes did combined, which is admittedly a serious talent. Emma absolutely laughs because “Beth got a kid that was just like her”Who they like better: NedWho they take after more: BethPersonal Head canon: KJ has his grandfather wrapped around his finger and it drives Beth insane how much her father spoils her son. Face Claim: Alex Pettyfer
Send me a ship and I will describe their offspring if they had a kid meme
NOTE: There is so much JimBeth in my documents, but somehow I never wrote their first kiss ever, but today, my beautiful and wonderful @optomisticgirl was like “Ro, I need these two idiots to kiss” and I was like “you know what? I will give you what you want but also not what you want because these two are morons and were unable to confront their true feelings for five years and therefore, they were not a couple and didn’t become a couple when said first kiss happened.” This is middle of Beth’s first Enchanted Forest journey when she’s trying to back home so Beth is 19 and Jim is 27, so we’re near the beginning of their story. So, this is for you, B, and you’re probably gonna scream.
Jim was stressed.
It wasn’t exactly a new thing for him. Stress had rested on his shoulders like a heavy, unwanted coat for as long as he could remember, but it had never felt as oppressive as it did now. This was the riskiest scheme they had ever come with up and he was certain that the Sultan of Zerzura was going to have his head in a pike and his balls in a vice by the end of the day.
And that wasn’t even the worst-case scenario.
The worst-case scenario was…
“How do I look?”
“Like the good ole sultan is going to pick you up, carry you off to his harem and I’m never going to see again,” he responded, flicking the ash away from his cigarette.
“That good, huh?” Beth laughed.
She did a twirl, the bells lining her pants chiming merrily as she did so. She was dressed in emerald green silks that showed off the flatness of her belly and the tops of her breasts. Gold and jade jewelry dripped over her form ostentatiously. She had always been attractive in his eyes, but this outfit was doing absurd things to his blood pressure.
“You need to be careful,” he said, eyes darting down the streets. “You know how they take to women in these parts.”
“I know, I know,” she replied, rolling her eyes. She had always been heavy with her makeup, but her khol had been applied even heavier than usual. It made her eyes more striking. She took his cigarette from his hand and brought it to her own lips, taking a drag. “You wouldn’t believe the number of knives I have hidden on me.”
“Oh, I don’t question that. You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t have a dagger or two in few surprise places.”
“I would feel pretty naked if I didn’t.”
“That’s surprising, considering you’re pretty naked right now.”
She gave him a small smirk in response, toss her hair over her shoulder and revealing the creamy length of her neck. Immediately his eyes went the faint scar on her collarbone, a souvenir leftover from their first adventure together when Israel Hands had held a knife to her throat. Without thinking, he reached out and ran his fingers along the silver of imperfect skin.
“I worried for you that day,” he said softly, his grey eyes flickering to meet hers. “And I worry for you now.”
“Don’t,” she replied, matching his tone. Her hand reached up, the tips of her fingers grazing along his knuckles. “I’m a survivor.”
“But for how long?”
“Hey! You there!” A voice thundered from up the street. A heavily armored city guard was shouting at them. “What are you doing?”
“Kiss me,” she whispered.
“What?”
“I’m talking to you!” The man shouted angrily.
“Kiss me!” Beth commanded again. “Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable.”
“Wha-”
She didn’t allow him to finish, grasping at his labels and pulling him downwards into a startling kiss. Their lips met in messy fashion, mouth connecting too roughly and teeth clanking together. Despite the awkwardness, a zip of sensation ran down his spine.
They shouldn’t have been doing this. He knew that this kiss was capable of leading him down a dangerous path, one that he had long since decided to stay away from, but he couldn’t help but pull her closer. He carded his fingers through her dark hair and changed the angle, his nose brushing against hers. Another shiver went through him as a soft moan escaped from her. It was the most delicious thing he had ever heard. He knew then and there that he would never forget that sound for as long as he would live.
With reluctance, he separated from her to breathe but Beth didn’t allow him to take more than one single shaky breath before recapturing his lips. This time he responded immediately, kissing her back harder and pushing her backward into the wall. He didn’t want to let her go, to let this end and he tried to communicate that as best as he could; all passion and very little technique went into this fierce embrace. It probably wasn’t the best kiss in the world, but it certainly would be one of his favorites.
It was then, as Jim was deciding to that perhaps he should tell his probity to go fuck itself, there was a harsh shove against his shoulder. It was the guard. He was quite red in the face and it was clear that he was very uncomfortable with the situation he had found himself in.
“I don’t know who you are, but we do not allow this sort of behavior on our streets,” he said gruffly.
“Sorry, mate,” Jim replied in what he hoped was an awkward but earnest sounding laugh, reluctantly tearing his eyes away from Beth to give the guard apologetic smile.
“Just take your woman inside,” he responded, turning and walking away.
Jim turned back to Beth who was staring at him with wide eyes as if she had never seen him before, chest still heaving. Her lipstick was still smudged and he had the strongest urge to reach out and wipe it away.
“That was…” She couldn’t seem to find the words to describe what had just happened, but Jim’s conscience did in a heartbeat.
It had been shameful and wrong.
The height of dishonorable.
“A one-time thing,” he responded, turning his back to her and clenching his hands into tight fists. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her again and he was disgusted by his own lack of will power. She was a nineteen-year old girl and he had no business thinking about kissing her or otherwise.
“We have jobs to do, Elizabeth. You have a sultan to seduce and I have tunnels to navigate if we’re ever going to get the gold we came for. I suggest we get a move on.”
His heart felt heavy as he walked away from her, the taste of her still lingering on his tongue and the soft noises she made ringing in his ears. He wanted nothing more than to run back to her, but if he did that, there was no going back.
Jim Hawkins wasn’t a good man, but he was an honorable one.
@endlessmoonrise: Sorry to hear you’re having a bad day, I don’t particularly excel at making people feel better when they’re down, I’m too socially inept for that. So instead I’m gonna let you know that when I’m having a shitty day, the first thing I turn to are your stories. Your LP universe never fails to make me smile and the way you write and build stories and characters (all while studying and living life) is truly inspiring.Thanks to the recent wave of JimBeth content you’ve blessed us with, the other day I was thinking about a situation (possibly instigated by Wes) in which Jim gets his hands on some childhood pictures of Beth. I’m talking baby pics, pictures of her in frilly dresses she was forced into by Snow, a home video of her playing pirates with the furniture (this is in no way a prompt btw, I just found it funny to think about and hopefully you will too) I hope your day gets better, I just thought that perhaps knowing you’ve made someone smile will make you smile too (also I have no idea if I’ve sent this to the right thing, still a tumblr rookie here)
Thank you so much for this message. I’m always stunned when people say they enjoy the Little Pirates universe. The series is very personal to me so I’m so very grateful to have such amazing readers.
That’s such a funny headcanon and honestly, a little vulnerable and emotional. Jim doesn’t really see the softer side of Beth of a lot. His first interaction with her is seeing her perform her first kill and getting into trouble. And it’s kinda been par the course. He knows the woman she’s become, but not a lot about the girl she was. He doesn’t really see the pesky sassy sister and the absolutely devoted daddy’s girl. I think he would be a little stunned and a little entertained by her childhood antics.
One of my headcanons is that one of the photos on the mantle is of Killian conked out in the bathtub with infant Beth sleeping on his chest. Beth was a colicky baby who hated to sleep. Most of the time, the only way she would sleep is with a heartbeat in her ear hence and around water. Emma just catches them both sleeping and it’s just this soft and very fundamental moment that she feels the need to capture before waking Killian and being like “I know you’re tired but never do that again because you both could have drowned.”
I can Jim seeing that photo and just having a lot of feelings about it. He would probably request a copy of it for himself because that’s his girl at her softest and it kinda makes him understand their relationship a little better - and also want something like that for himself. I can just see him seeing that photo and other stuff from her childhood and being like “holy shit, I might actually want kids.”
Anyway, thank you for this message. It got some of my creative juices going.
Leave a “Tell Me” in my ask, and I’ll write a drabble about one character confessing something to another [be it a love confession, a secret, feel free to specify.]
I’m honestly cackling a little bit because I have written a few JimBeth drabbles lately, like we’re talking five drabbles at least and NONE of them involve confessions but there’s a fresh 700 words of Jim and Beth being awkward assholes who are incapable of expressing their emotions because they’re both idiots.
She’s entirely different person when it’s just the two of them alone. It’s as if the mantle of the pirate captain comes off with that obnoxiously flashy red coat of hers and what’s left is softer and more relaxed. Captain Black Beth Jones takes her leave and what’s left is Elizabeth - his Elizabeth who tugs on her hair when she’s embarrassed and goes on tangents when she’s excited. Moreover, she has this small smile that she gives him when she’s completely at peace that he’s never seen her give anyone else and a part of him, the selfish part that he tries so hard to keep under wraps, likes to believe that smile is his and no one else’s.
He’ll never say it but he loves her the more for it.
Though she has no sense of personal space and has the annoying of habit of thinking that everything he owns is actually hers, a part of him relishes in the fact that she is comfortable enough with him that she pulls off her knives and the pistol she keeps strapped to her thigh alongside her boots. However, he doesn’t allow her to take over his space without comment.
“Planning on staying awhile, are you?” he asks her drily as she takes off her socks as well and wiggles her toes at him. She has small dainty feet, though her toes are noticeably bent from ill-healed injuries and the nails, curiously enough, painted a shiny black.
“What can I say, this ship is dire need of new management,” she teases, easing onto his bunk.
She burrows her head under his arm until her head rested comfortably on his chest, her ear placed directly over his heart. His fingers absently tangle themselves in her wild hair, encountering a series of knots that he feels almost compelled to fix.
“You’re not new management, love. You’re in the goddamn ship articles.”
Upon hearing his words, she immediately sits up. Beth turns and looks at him with impossibly large eyes, apparently shocked.
“What the fuck?”
“Something wrong?” he asks gently. He knows better that to underestimate the mercurial nature of Beth’s moods. Sometimes the most smallest of things had a way of setting her off, whether it to be touching her precious hook necklace or tossing away a seashell.
“I’m in the ship articles?! Are you kidding me!?”
The high pitch in her voice makes him wince. “I’m afraid not.”
“On what grounds? What the hell does it say?! James Leland Hawkins, if its some “protect at all costs” or “do not fraternize” rule, so help me, I will kill you! I don’t ned your protection!” she spits angrily at him.
“Oh my stars, if I knew you were going to get this worked up about this, I wouldn’t have mentioned it. It says nothing of the sort. It just names you my partner.”
“Your partner?” she repeats dubiously.
“Aye.”
“In what?”
“Well, in business, in my personal affairs, in….well….” he trails off, trying to find the words that convey he’s trying to say without really saying it. He isn’t ready for this. And more importantly, she isn’t ready.
“In what, Jim? Use your words,” she replies impatiently with a roll of her eyes, making an impatient continue sign with her hand.
“In, oh bloody hell, in everything. You’re my partner in everything.”
He watches her lips formed a large ‘o’ in surprise for a moment before opening and closing wordlessly. For the first time in his recollection, Beth Jones looks stunned.
“Oh.” It’s apparently only thing she is capable of saying after what seemed like minutes of struggling. It doesn’t bode well for him but he recovers quickly.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, well, it’s just good to know these things…”
“I suppose it is. I thought you already knew.”
“I didn’t really think about it,” she replies quietly, tugging on a rogue section of hair and focusing all of her attention on it.
An uncomfortable silence falls between them as she tries to plait the small strands into a haphazard braid. For someone with such nimble fingers, she’s quite dreadful at it and Jim wonders briefly if anyone had taken the time to actually teach her how to do it proper.
“Well, just for the record,” she mumbles under her breath. “You’re mine too.”
“What was that?”
She finally looks up from her failed braid with a fierce blush and more emotions in her eyes than Jim’s prepared to deal with at the moment. Though as uncomfortable as the moment is, a large sense of relief washes over him.
“You’re my partner in, well, everything.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” she affirmed, nodding her head before looking away again; as if confessing such a thing and making eye contact at the same time was too much for her.
So I’m completely sucked into the little pirates, I am currently reading “a once and future thing” where beth goes back in time and what have you. My question is, what happens next? Does Beth ever eventually realize Jim is in love with her or not? And oh so many questions I don’t know where to start so I’ll start with those. Adore your little pirates can’t wait for more (if there is more)
Hi darling, thank you for the wonderful message!
What happens next? It’s in the next chapter. I am 4K into Chapter 6 and I’m going to try and finish this weekend so I can officially focus on my studies without feeling like a bastard for leaving that fic unfinished. The epilogue is already half written. I need to get my ass in gear on many a level.
Does Beth ever eventually realize Jim is in love with her or not? I think on a subconscious level that she’s always known that he is. Denial is a powerful thing and especially because he’s hurt her in the past in that regard with his “little sister” comment. It takes them AWHILE to work through their issues. And they have A LOT of issues. They are without a doubt one of my favorite ships but that doesn’t mean they’re without their problems and those problems are a mile long. However, if you are a JimBeth fan, rest assured they are endgame but to be incredibly honest, you’re going HATE me next chapter. Next chapter is just pain. All around pain. Like I’m almost kinda proud of the amount of angst I have coming.
I’m so glad that you enjoy the series and I do plan to continue it into the summer post-law school exams, canon be damned. You really think a silly thing like canon is gonna keep me from characters I’ve written 35+ fic for and have over a hundred documents dedicated to? No ma’am Pam.
But for now, consider me and LP on a mini hiatus until mid-June. I have to try and pass law school before I can do anything else. The law is a jealous mistress and it’s not going let me go until June 8th.
I just wanted to let you know that I am really enjoying A Once and Future Thing and that while I love the Little Pirates, your version of Jim Hawkins is without my favorite character and I ship him with Beth so hard despite the fact I'm still sad about Will. I feel like Jim and Beth (they need a name like Hawkjones or Treasure Ship) are like a reverse CS because Jim totally reminds me of how unimpressed Emma was with Killian at first and you've established how similar Beth and Killian are.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying A Once and Future Thing, I’m honestly enjoying writing it, mainly because the amount of banter in it is my personal cup of tea. Anytime I have the older Joneses, there is automatically sass and banter, which I really enjoy scripting out.
I’m really glad you’re enjoying my version of Jim Hawkins. He’s my favorite and I will admit that he’s like a mash up of Billy Bones and John Silver from Black Sails, Aragorn from LOTR with the Jim Hawkins from Treasure Planet. He’s sly and sassy but he’s got a good heart and his own code, which he refuses to bend. Obviously, most versions of Jim are teenagers, but Jim in the series is 30-32ish and a former navy man. He’s just constantly exasperated with the ongoings that happen around him and his unofficial catchphrase is “Goddamn it Elizabeth.” She really pushes his buttons and he doesn’t let her get away with anything.
As for Jimbeth and Willbeth ongoings, I wouldn’t consider one versus the other. There isn’t any real competition between Jim and Will, and deliberately so because Jim refuses to compete. Jim constantly thinks of Beth as a kid instead of an adult because of the age gap between, there’s roughly 8-9 years difference, which is significant when you think about it. She’s just leaving her teenaged years behind while he’s approaching his thirties. So, he doesn’t think he’s a proper match for her, and won’t for a few more years. Does he have romantic feelings towards Beth in A Future and Once Thing? I think it’s quite obvious that he does, but he thinks it’s wrong and won’t act on it for a good while. So, he’s not really competition for Will when he’s alive. So, it’s prefectly okay I guess to be a Jimbeth and a Willbeth fan is what I’m saying.
I kinda laughing because I see your point on them being a bit of a reverse Captain Swan, but that wasn’t intentional. I was wanted a ridiculous slow burn ship that would drive people crazy. Though, I would say that Jim is more open than Emma is. His issues in regards to Beth aren’t because he’s been emotionally hurt and doesn’t let anyone in (like Emma), his issues with her is that he refuses for the longest time to see her as an adult. Beth….yeah, she’s very much her father’s daughter - flirty, hot tempered and overly confident at times. She’s got some Emma in her too though - she’s got a bit of her bite and tendency to reference popular culture and drive Jim insane.
However, there are fundamental differences between the two ships, mainly with Captain Swan has a policy of being very forgiving of each other, while Jim and Beth tend to hold each other accountable for things and not forget things so easily. This hasn’t happened yet, but Jim and Beth have big fall out. I mean, there’s a period which happens after this story where they don’t talk for almost a year because Beth is obsessed with killing Circe and is making very questionable decisions and Jim is kinda like “I’m out, I know I can’t stop you from making this mistake but that doesn’t mean I’m going to sit here and watch you destroy yourself.” I mean they eventually reconcile, but still Jim did leave Beth for awhile. He walked away because it was too painful for him to be around her, which is something that doesn’t happen with CS.
