#baelfire/neal cassidy

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

au where emma keeps henry and then ten years later she tracks neal down because henry has some unidentifiable genetic problem and he realizes it's some bullshit from the enchanted forest that his father cured with magic and now he's gotta track that fucker down without letting emma know magic is real

[knight--error]

Ah man, on Season 3 of OUAT rewatch, and the best word for poor Neal really is just... unceremonious. Youch. I'm not a big Swanfire person but offing him like that is so lazy and cuts out so much good drama and other relationships. Neal and Henry! Neal and Rumple! Neal and Hook! Even Neal and Belle! I also love his energy. He is just a fairly average dude, no magic, no incredible skills, just his wit and his determination, and yet he consistently keeps up with our main cast.

Also, they put background actors who I think are supposed to be the Lost Boys at his funeral; imagine how cool it would have been if he took them in and became a group foster dad! That just feels like it would have been a lovely move forward for his arc.

Bah. The cracks in the writing deepen.

[dinneratgrannys]

You know, there’s not a ton about my father that I remember that doesn’t suck. But he used to tell me that there are no coincidences. Everything that happens happens by design and there’s nothing we can do about it. Forces greater than us conspire to make it happen. Fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it.

[florida3exclamationpoints]

ouat text posts: rumple

[swanfireprincessmydear]

I don’t know why I have never thought of this before. I don’t know HOW it never crossed my mind but another reason why Emma and Neal work so well together within the narrative of the show is because they’re both ORIGINAL characters to the show. They’re not retellings of characters we already know, they’re new, original characters that only exist within the show. They both fit in the same place.

No one else besides Henry (and a few minor characters) fit this category.

[anouatblog]

[boosyboo9206]

The one thing that I will never forgive Once Upon a Time for is killing off Neal.

Not because I'm a swanthief/swanfire shipper and wanted them together so bad. But because killing him off was complete and total fan service to pave the way for captain swan.

I'm not the biggest fan of captain swan because, honestly, they're a little toxic for each other. But, also, because Hook's only purpose after a season or two was only Emma.

At least, for Neal, he had other purposes. Henry's Dad. Rumple's son - literally his humanity and the whole reason Rumple did everything he did. He was friends with Belle. And Wendy. He had reasons to exist outside of Emma and could have completely moved on from her in time and find someone else.

They could have had a healthy co-parenting relationship and been friends. And, while it would have been nice to, at least, see them try a romantic relationship again, the time had totally passed. There's too much history and pain and things that happened for them to work. So her not wanting to try again with him and be with Hook could have still happened.

Killing off Neal was a copout and fan service and a terrible choice. They also totally ruined Hook by not giving him a purpose outside of Emma after/around, like, season 3.

[rumbelle-scream]

BAELFIRE DESERVED BETTER

You should've seen him. He overcame worlds.

[im-up-to-shenanigans]

i will never not get emotional watching the season 2 finale of ouat. like just watching killian's face fall when he finds out neal is dead. the realization the emma may have lit the spark of his redemption, but his love for baelfire is what fanned that spark into a flame

the direct parallel of the scene in the past of killian telling bae that he could change for him and bae saying he would never change bc all he cares about is himself

AND THEN WHEN HE TURNS AROUND AND COMES BACK EMMA SAYS SHE DIDN'T THINK HE CARED ABOUT ANYONE BUT HIMSELF AND KILLIAN JUST SAYS HE NEEDED REMINDING THAT HE COULD ASJDHHDJSK

and that reminder came after emma's speech in the diner. after she told him that he could be a part of something. he still didn't give her back the bean. he gave her an empty pouch and dipped. he had nothing to lose by leaving storybrooke to be destroyed, but he came back.

without anyone there with him to say just the right things and encourage him to make the right choice. emma already did that, but that wasn't enough. he still betrayed her

but he sat there with his own thoughts. with the knowledge bae was dead. and looking at the carving he made to teach this boy he once loved how to sail. AND HE TURNED BACK

BECAUSE HE BLAMES HIMSELF FOR TEARING APART BAE'S FAMILY. AND ONE OF HIS BIGGEST REGRETS WAS SELLING BAE OUT TO PAN. BUT HE'LL BE DAMNED IF HE DOESN'T TRY TO MAKE IT RIGHT. SO HE TURNS BACK TO SAVE BAE'S SON. BECAUSE HE MAY HAVE TAKEN BAE'S MOTHER AWAY FROM HIM ONCE AND PLANNED TO MURDER HIS FATHER, BUT HE WON'T LET HIS SON SUFFER THE SAME THING. HE WANTS TO BREAK THE CYCLE AND TRY TO MAKE IT UP TO THE BOY HE ONCE LOVED AS HIS OWN

and then he finds out that storybrooke's safe, but henry's been kidnapped, and he doesn't even hesitate to volunteer to help get him back, even when he finds out he has to work with the man who murdered the woman he loves and who cut off his hand. HIS LOVE FOR BAELFIRE OUTWEIGHED HIS HATRED FOR RUMPLE, JUST LIKE HE SAID IT WOULD WAY BACK WHEN HE TOLD BAE HE COULD CHANGE FOR HIM. HE MADE GOOD ON THAT PROMISE

and he finds out that henry's been taken to neverland, a place killian DESPISES, and he still doesn't back out. bc he may have sold bae into pan's hands, but he will save his son from suffering the same fate.

and everyone believes he's on neverland solely for emma, and he lets them believe that. bc he knows why he's there and it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. he may be falling in love with emma. she may inspire him to become better. but she was never the reason

and i can't stop crying

[jfksfanaccount]

It’s hating Neal Cassidy hours. Did Henry ever ask him why Emma made him out to be a firefighter who died instead of the truth? Did Neal tell him what he actually was, and what he did to the two of them? Or did he brush him off, the same way he brushed off Emma when she was telling him about how much he hurt her, and he didn’t want to hear it.

I wonder how old Henry was when he asked Emma how they met, and how upset he got. Or maybe he already got the information from the time of the 2nd Curse in New York. In which case, I’m glad he got to be angry at his dad before he died.

Sorry that got kinda dark. On every rewatch, I get so upset at how almost everyone in Emma’s life makes her feel like she needs to forgive Neal when she really doesn’t need to, and he doesn’t deserve it

[wastingstarsss]

OUAT text posts: ao3 tags

[knight--error]

It's really, really funny how the OUAT writers clearly have noooo idea what to do with Hook when he's fully on the redemption train. Our man goes from interesting bad boy love interest to Wife Guy Number 3 in six seconds flat. Switching to a normal leather jacket does not help this.

It's especially funny because the writers pretty clearly killed off Neal to make way for Hook/Emma, but Neal himself would never have had this problem, because he has bonds and desires outside of Emma to keep him interesting—Henry and Rumple particularly, and even Hook himself. Also Neal just seems more capable of making friends than Hook, like in his mini-adventure with Belle.

They just really shot themselves in the foot here. Even if you want to stick with Captain Swan, keeping Neal alive only helps you, because it gives Hook another emotional connection. Poor Neal. You deserved better.

[once28]

It’ll always be such a shame that Neal died. Like there’s the obvious reasons; death sad, no endgame yk

But also Emma and Neal were such a funny ship when they wanted to be like “Oh no I taught her that” will never fail to make me laugh. Also the exacerbated sigh Neal lets out in that moment, he’s like “omg god wtf is she up to 🙄.” Then with Henry being a mini them in training is just the cherry on top. They truly deserved to be one of those couples with endless “…being chaotic for 5 five minutes straight” compilations on YT

And the humor out of the co-parenting relationship with Regina we were robbed of would’ve been epic too, you can’t tell me Regina and Neal wouldn’t have the best sibling-like banter. I can just see her try to be intimidating and he’d have these snarky remarks like my father was the dark one you don’t scare me 😑

It’s just a shame that so much of his/their story is overshadowed by the sad stuff

[florida3exclamationpoints]

ouat text posts: rumple (pt. 18)

[swanfireprincessmydear]

Thinking about how 14 year old Baelfire wanted to fight in the Ogre Wars because no matter what happened, it would mean a better life for him and his father.

Worst case scenario, he dies and is a hero, and his father is redeemed in the eyes of the village, meaning he can earn more.

Best case scenario, he survives and works his way up in the army, and is able to make something of himself after the war. Yet again improving him and his father’s lives 😢