comtessedebussy:

Okay so I am going to avoid my tendency to hijack othe rpeople’s posts and make my own post for that James/Thomas Beauty and the Beast AU @flintsredhair and I were discussing

Wherein Thomas doesn’t even recognize James in monster form but James recognizes Thomas – and doesn’t want him to know it’s him. And James’ curse isn’t that he needs to find someone who will love him as a monster (because, well, Thomas loves James’, so he’s not going to fall in love with someone he thinks isn’t James) but that he has to find someone who isn’t afraid of him. Which is a pretty tall order given that he’s, well, Flint and the whole point of becoming Flint was to be feared, because that’s how he gets shit done. Of course, that means that once he’s become Flint, it’s a lot harder to return him to the sea when James is through with him, because it’s night impossible to find someone who doesn’t fear Flint.

So of course Thomas is rather terrified because, well, giant literal monster, and he doesn’t know that it’s his truest love.  And for some contrived plot reason Thomas needs to spend some amount of time with James, and James doesn’t want Thomas to know what he’s become, but he also doesn’t want to frighten him. So when Thomas is returned to him, James treats him well, treats him gently, and would never, ever hurt him, no matter what – without telling him who he is. 

So although Thomas starts out fearing the monster, because who wouldn’t? – he comes not to fear him, and even to trust him. And that’s what transforms the monster back into James: having someone see him as James, not as a monster. 

And then of course there’s the ensuing angst of “why didn’t you tell me?”  

also consider – James is still James and he still does and says things sometimes that are just so very him that Thomas is reminded so very much of him that he almost suspects by the time the retransformation occurs. Only James turns a phrase that way, only James would see the strategic value in doing something the way Thomas has suggested, only James takes his tea the way he’s seen Flint take it when he thinks Thomas isn’t looking.