#Secrets Lies and Blessings A SwanFire Fanfic

[sassyandclassy94]

“Secrets, Lies, and Blessings - A SwanFire Fanfic”

Chapter 15 - The Wedding

Here we have it. The long-awaited conclusion to my very first ever fanfic.

I’ve been working on this baby for SIX AND A HALF years. It kinda feels like my first born child in a way and it… really weird to finally be done with it🥹

Little shoutouts to @phoenixwrites and @redbone135 - if it weren’t for the Phoenix and her awesome SwanFire works of art, I don’t think I ever would’ve opened up a Google doc in my life. Thank you for writing Spinner’s Son and To Catch a Swan and for inspiring me to write my own SwanFire fics.

Red? You taught me so much as a writer over the course of the 2020 chaos. Thank you for sharing your own SwanFire works (ESPECIALLY Into the Woods - GO READ IT, PEOPLE!!!) with the SwanFire community and for responding to my comment on AO3 that one late night and I can’t thank you enough for the chapters you so willingly beta’ed for me all those years ago. I don’t know if you still follow this story or not, but if you do by any chance, I hope the conclusion meets your expectations :)

And shoutout to my sister @superseal76 for putting up with my SwanFire dialogue texts (some of them were really long) over the last 6 years. Actually, she added some good plots and ideas to them too so really, she played a big part in this story too.

To my readers: thank you so much for taking the time to read this fic and I greatest appreciate your patience! Especially over this year when I started writing for other fandoms.

Thank you everyone!!

[sassyandclassy94]

10 Questions for 10 Writers

Thank you SO much for the tag, @coneygoil !! You have no idea how much I love being included in these things🫶🏻

1. Is writing a hobby or a way of life?

Sadly, it’s just a hobby. My life’s kinda too busy to make it a lifestyle

2. A journal full of notes, or a clean completed manuscript?

A clean completed manuscript, thank you very much. Which is pretty ironic, given I’m a pretty chaotic woman.

3. Who (or what) is your writing inspiration?

SwanFire and ThePhoenixFeatherQuill. I went through a Once Upon a Time phase became a huge SwanFire shipper after my first rewatch and one night while I was lying in bed, I looked up SwanFire fanfics. The Phoenix’s masterlist was like, the first or second search result? So I clicked on it when lo and behold! The Spinner’s Son captured my interest. I clicked on it and fell in love. I looked for other medieval AUs but couldn’t find any so naturally, after seeing posts about writing what you went to read, I decided to try my own hand at writing one.

4. Which is worse: Someone you ‘idolize’ reading your first draft or listening to you sing?

Well… I’m not a singer (I sing WITH people sometimes) so, definitely having someone I look up to read my first draft. I remember when Red (an awesome writer who I also look up to and tumblr friend - check out his Into the Woods, it’s amazing!!) told me he checked out Secrets, Lies and Blessings after we met and started interacting during covid. I was mortified and wanted to crawl into a hole.

5. Has writing from someone else’s POV changed your perspective?

Um, maybe….? I delved into OC stuff this year and wrote a fic about Gale Cleven. Two people with totally different personalities and characterization than Baelfire and Emma so, I guess yes? Maybe it didn’t change my perspective but it’s helped me grow as a writer maybe? I don’t know, maybe I don’t understand this question…?

6. Tumblr, AO3, LiveJournal, or FFN?

AO3 and FFN by far!! They’re my favorites and go-tos. I started out on those babies! I think FFN is slowly dying though😔

7. AO3 word count? And are you satisfied with it?

105,744 - No, I wish it was higher. If it was it’d mean I’m more prolific.

8. What movie/book gripped you irrevocably?

Once Upon a Time started my writing hobby. I needed Neal to be happy and I was gonna write that, darn it! But with running out of ideas, writing SwanFire for 6 years straight, and going through a kind of heartbreak, I got really burnt out and kinda stopped for a while. It was The Boys in the Boat and Masters of the Air that inspired me to start writing again❤️ Don and Gale, man! They have a hold on me!!

9. What’s the highest compliment you could ever be given, and have you been given it?

That my writing is better than I give it credit for. And yes, Red told me that four years ago. He said it more articulate than that though (former English teacher and all, lol!) and him saying that made me feel a little more confident in my writing. I’ve gotten some pretty nice compliments about keeping my characters’ personalities true to canon and that’s pretty high praise too because I go real out of my way to do that.

10. What defines your writing style?

I… don’t even know? Even though most of my stories are romance, there’s also a heavy emphasis on friendship because a good old fashioned friendship is important to me (e.g. Emma and Eleanor). Theyre also very emotional. Whether it’s someone falling in love, preparing for parenthood, or suffering from PTSD, I want my readers to feel what he/she is going through and to be able to relate to them on a personal and intimate level.

Tags: Not me racking my brain to think of all the writers who follow and/or engage with me, and/or are in my notes🤕 @phoenixwrites @ljf613 @solo-pitstop-vibes @okieedokes @swanfireprincessmydear @fictional-at-heart @redbone135 @heatherfield @strangethings-everywhere @plasmabluefire @themeepyfreak And whatever other writer sees this and wants to participate, please consider yourself tagged! You can even say I tagged you. I want you all, especially new writers, to be included🫶🏻 No cliques in SassyAndClassy’s house!!! Oh my gosh is that ten??? DID I DO IT???? We won’t talk about how long that took me to come up with all of you🥴 I hope none of you will be annoyed that I tagged you🫣

[sassyandclassy94]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @fictional-at-heart (can always count on sisters to tag you in fun things!)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Sixteen

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

109,759

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Once Upon a Time (SwanFire specifically), Masters of the Air, and The Boys in the Boat (I’d love to write for How to Train Your Dragon and Little House on the Prairie but alas! The Plot Idea Farm has been dry for years)

4. Top five fics by kudos?

Secrets, Lies, and Blessings - 42

Tell Me You Didn’t… - 28

What’s In a Name? - 25

Words of Comfort - 25 (Oo, we’ve got a dead heat!)

I’m Not Much of a Talker - 23

Princess Kidnapped! - 20 (this one I still plan to finish but it’s DARK.)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! It takes me a long while sometimes but I do! I want my readers to feel comfortable giving feedback

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angriest ending?

Oh, “A Hero’s Sacrifice�� for sure!!! I wrote Graham’s death to fit my medieval AU and… it’s one I’m really proud of and really politely urge you to read👉🏻👈🏻🥹 I cried writing it (I also researched a lot for it… like what happens when you bleed out from the stomach👀 Someone said writing a battle scene is like writing a sex scene and… she was right. Or he, whatever.)

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably “Secrets, Lies, and Blessings”. I mean, Bae and Emma get married at the end and what gets happier than that?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yes. I wrote (am writing) a Don x OFC fic and someone invaded my ask box a couple months ago calling it a ‘boring het fic’ with a ‘dime a dozen OFC’. Behind the gray face too of course. Screw you, Nonny. I’m still writing it, and my all time favorite Don x OFC author commented lovely words on it too so😁

I feel like I also had someone come after me once for Princess Kidnapped because it’s anti Hook. Yeah well I gave you plenty of warning in the tags; it’s your own darn fault you didn’t read them, chickie.

9. Do you write smut?

Some. But as a rule of thumb I try to keep it extremely tasteful with zero uses of gross/rude words. I posted two SwanFire ones (one’s restricted) and I’m working on one about Don and Kate (my OFC)

10. Craziest crossover?

I haven’t written a crossover. But if I did? Hmmm… maybe SwanFire and hiccup/astrid?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope! Thank goodness.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Actually, yes; there was a German girl who liked my fic so much she asked to translate it on Wattpad. Don’t know if it’s still there though.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. I almost did, but we lost touch and I didn’t agree with writing fanfics about ice dancers…🥴

14. All time favorite ship

I think you all know that👀 Emma Swan and Neal ‘Baelfire’ Cassidy from Once Upon a Time

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Well I thought that was going to be Secrets Lies and Blessings but last week I had a crazy random spurt of inspiration… lately I feel like it’s gonna be Princess Kidnapped… it just has to get so… dark before it gets better and I don’t don’t know if I want to put my mind in a place like that (I mean, Hook is told he can do whatever he wants to Emma as long as he keeps her alive🥺 and then the eventual execution I have planned for the end is gonna be… graphic. So yeah. We’ll see if I ever finish that one.)

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and emotional angst. I really enjoy writing heated arguments. CC Emma and Charming

17. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

No. Just, no.

18. First fandom you wrote in?

Once Upon a Time. I read an awesome SwanFire fic after a rewatch in 2018 and she inspired me to give it a try and I never stopped.

19. Favorite fic you’ve written?

A Hero’s Sacrifice

About to Throw Hands - This one was my first ever request and only fic written with a deadline in mind. My friend Rachael mentioned she was craving a reader fic where Bobby defends the female reader. Lo and behold I have it a try and voila! It turned out better than I expected and she loved it!! A double win!!

There is no 20 - it should be called 19 questions😆

Tags: (let’s see if I can think of all the writers in my notes…) @eviebelieve-y @selkiesstories @strangethings-everywhere @swanfireprincessmydear @okieedokes DARN YOU, MICHAIAH!!!! I CANT TAG YOU AND I CANT THINK OF ANYONE ELSE😡 there are two SwanFire writers who I remember buy can’t remember the correct usernames😕 HELP. Any other writer who sees this (especially my SwanFire writers, please consider yourself tagged by me if you want to do it! You can even say I tagged you!!)

[sassyandclassy94]

When writing "Secrets" I always have to remind myself that I can't let the characters say the word 'pregnant' because that word did not exist before 1950.

I have to use the term 'With child'. I believe that's what they said in the Tudor era.

[sassyandclassy94]

Mist Haven Drabble

One of my Mist Haven headcanons is that Baelfire would be a soldier and of course, being one he would have to do whatever mission/quest/thing (sorry… I’m not good at knowing what these sorts of things are called) Charming sends him on. Well, when Emma sees him off she’ll tell him:

“Use your head; stay safe and don’t go contracting any deadly diseases…”

“You mean something like syphilis?” He asks with a mischievous grin.”

Emma furrows her brows, unimpressed. “No!” She exclaims as she shoves his chest. “That’s not funny even as a joke.” She rolls her eyes. “I was talking about diseases like the Sweat, measles, influenza, the ‘darn’ Plague! Those kinda of things.”

“I was only joking.” He says as he wraps his arm around her neck, pulling her close to kiss her head.

She stays there for a moment, taking in his scent before pulling back. “You may be joking but I was serious, Bae…” She looks up at him, her eyes wide with concern.

He notices the worry on her face and immediately feels bad. “I’m sorry,” he moves a strand of hair from her face before cupping her cheek with his palm. “I’ll tell you what; I promise I won’t catch anything like syphilis,” he paused and grins again, thinking he’s funny but instead earns a well-deserved eye roll from Emma. “and though I can’t promise I won’t catch the Plague or the Sweat, I promise that I’ll do all I can not to catch those. How’s that?”

Emma raises her hand to his still on her cheek; her eyes still displaying worry. She sighs. “I guess that’s the best you can do.” She squeezes his wrist. “Can you also promise me you’ll take a bath as often as possible?”

Baelfire wrinkles his nose. “You’ll never know if I do or not, will you?”

Emma rolls her eyes again. Once a peasant boy, always a peasant boy. “Scoff at the notion all you want, but my family has always believed that bathing keeps diseases at bay. Look at me,” she takes a step back and gestures to herself. “I’ve taken baths my whole life and I’ve only been sick a few times in my life.”

He steps forward and as he’s about to lean in to kiss her, he feels her palm pushing against his chest. He looks at her quizzically.

“At least try to fit in a couple of them a week? When possible? For me? Please?”

It’s pointless arguing with Emma; always a losing battle. It’s best to just give her what wants. “As you wish,” he conceded. “I’ll take one when I have the time.” He leans in to kiss her.

She returns his kiss before throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. She buries her face in his neck, once again breathing in his scent. “Come back to me…” she mouths, almost inaudibly.

[sassyandclassy94]

Happy 4th birthday to "Secrets, Lies, and Blessings"!

Four years ago today, after a Once re-watch and reading "Spinner's Son" by The PhoenixFeatherQuill and "A Broken Future" by BlackSwan86 (GO READ THEM!! THEY ARE AMAZING AND YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!), I was inspired by their writing and, after much contemplation, decided to brave it out and write my own. (I would tag the Phoenix but... I'm a lowly peasant and she might as well be a writing goddess so...)

I was hoping to finish it by today but alas! I'm a deathly slow writer struggling with writer's block these days. But regardless, to celebrate, here's the link for anyone who wants to read it who hasn't read it yet. I hope to have the conclusion up by May :) (Look! I'm giving myself a deadline!!)

And of course, a big huge shoutout and thank you to @redbone135 for helping me with the... was it last two chapters? Well anyway he's helped me immensely and because of his help, I don't cringe when I read it anymore. Thanks, Dude! You're honestly the best and I really appreciate you and your help! :)

Thank you to everyone who has read/is reading it and for continuing to read it even though I'm extremely slow at updating it. Thank you!!

Thank you to all the commentors and Kudos-givers! If it weren't for you guys I probably wouldn't have had as much motivation to keep going with it.

Thank you to everyone and hopefully you'll have the final chapter by May :) (Pretend there's a red heart emoji here, LOL!)

"Secrets, Lies, and Blessings: A SwanFire Fanfic"

[sassyandclassy94]

I may or may not have written SwanFire’s wedding night over the course of three days… it was super hard, super awkward, and weird but, I plugged through and got past the worst part. Now after all this, I don’t even know if I’m gonna end up posting it after I finish Secrets🙊

[sassyandclassy94]

Anyone have any creative ideas/suggestions on what to call a compilation of deleted scenes from "Secrets Lies and Blessings"?

Anyone? I could use a little help.

[sassyandclassy94]

Hey! Hopin you have a great day. Just wondering, since I haven’t been around for a while..

I remember you had a swanfire fic, If I remember correctly where Emma was a princess, and she would hide her romance with Bae because he was the Rumpelstinski son. Until one day is revealed she is pregnant, so she has to marry bae. Do you still have it? If so, how is it tagged, to read it again

Oh my gosh, hi and thank you so much for the ask!!!

Yes I do still have the fic! It’s called ‘Secrets, Lies, and Blessings’ and it should be tagged in my tumblr under that title. But I’m not very good at updating the links on this panel, so I’ll post the AO3 link instead.

“Secrets, Lies, and Blessings: A SwanFire Fanfic”

Thank you so much for reading my story, you have no idea how exciting your ask was🥰 I hope you have a great day too!!

[sassyandclassy94]

“Secrets, Lies, and Blessings (A SwanFire Fanfic)”

Chapter XIV

As the days wore on Baelfire became more and more used to life at the castle; learning his way around the premises, getting lost less and less every day (he was also using his training and new duties as excuses to put off talking to his father, much to Emma’s dismay). As for two of the required skills for being a royal - or a noble, or… whatever he was going to be considered now that he was to marry Emma - horse and sword skills, he wasn’t getting the hang of them. At all. Wielding a sword required coordination he didn’t have and as for horses? Well, he still much preferred those beasts at a healthy distance.

Read more

[sassyandclassy94]

Guess what GUESS WHAAAAT?? I am on a roll and I am more than halfway done with the new chapter of Secrets!!! And guess what else?? It has PAPAFIRE in it!! Yup. That’s it. That’s the post.

[sassyandclassy94]

I have now officially turned Secrets Lies and Blessings into a series called “The Mist Haven Saga.” Yup. And I’ll be tagging it as such. Thank you. Have a good day❤️

[sassyandclassy94]

I don’t intend to pat myself on the back buuuut, i am PRETTY happy with the PapaFire scene in Secrets and can’t wait for you guys to read it. Is it wrong to say you’re proud of your own writing?

[sassyandclassy94]

Happy birthday to “Secrets, Lies, and Blessings!!

[sassyandclassy94]

Because stupid yours truly left off in the middle of a thought again (why do I do that?!), I went back to check out some of my earlier chapters in Secrets in hopes of getting the ball of momentum rolling. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t but right now, that’s not the point. The point is, as I write I sometimes leave little notes in either brackets or parenthesis - I got that idea from an author whose name escapes me - when I get stuck or can’t think of the right term for whatever. And all that is well and good but, do you wanna know what’s NOT well and good? When you realize that you’ve forgotten to edit out the notes and self tips and some of those notes and tips were left in the published chapters. Ughhh! Like, what even— Ugh! I don’t even know anymore. Bottom line is: if you’ve happened to notice my stupid little forgot-to-edit-out notes, im sorry🤷🏻‍♀️ hopefully they didn’t distract from the story... TOO much.

[sassyandclassy94]

Why didn’t anyone tell me that my chapters in Secrets were inconsistent?! SOME ARE ROMAN NUMERALS SOME ARE NOT!!! AGH!!