#i hate cs forester so much i wish he would come back to life again just so i could kill him with my own two hands

[quatregats]

Well ummm I managed to make it through and there were a few things that made it worth it but god this really is the trial of the century

Hornblower as a character is like catnip to me but C.S. Forester is so so annoying <3

[snowbellewells]

Self-Promo Sunday: “And by a Sleep We Hope to End the Heartache”

(This story was originally written for the second edition of the CS Storybook on Tumblr – go check that out if you haven’t, it’s amazing!!  My episode for that project was 5x04 “Broken Kingdom”, and within that framework, I wanted to imagine how Killian might have tried to help comfort a sleepless Emma as she fought the darkness within. The title is taken from a line in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Hope you enjoy!  I’d love – as always – to hear what you think!)

“And by a Sleep We Hope to End the Heartache”

by: @snowbellewells 

           “Lass…Emma… Love, please, you have to stop…” his quiet voice, vibrating with emotion despite its soothing timbre, still somehow managed to slice through the paranoia, the swirling images, and yammering voices roiling inside her skull.  It was the one thing, other than her son’s hopeful, trusting face, which had managed to do so since she had risen from the ominous hatch in the Camelot forest, alone, confused, and the newest Dark One.  Her stride faltered at his plea, her step finally pausing before the window of the castle suite they had been given by Arthur for their accommodation.

            Looking over her shoulder to find his fraught gaze, Emma turned slightly toward the pirate, a glance half exasperation and half desperate need on her conflicted face.  “What do you want from me, Killian?” she whispered tiredly, her shoulders slumping with a weary defeat he had rarely seen from her.  He had no way of knowing that Emma desired nothing so much as to cross the large open chamber and collapse into his arms, as she had a week ago when they’d first found her in the stone circle about to crush Merida’s heart.  His embrace tight around her, his heart beating frantically just under her palm, those few moments had been the only time the riot inside her head had seemed to cease – when she could think clearly, as only herself.  She needed that relief again, and yet she feared letting down her guard, even for a moment’s comfort.  She was barely keeping all the violent, persuasive urges twining through her consciousness at bay, barely keeping all the raw power tingling under her skin from breaking free.  She could not allow herself the peace of Killian’s embrace; rest might let the horrors loose upon them all.

            Her pirate watched her knowingly, his eyes gentle, yet seeing and understanding too much as his discerning gaze studied her from across the room.  Those blue pools of his stare took in the way she vibrated slightly, no matter how she tried to hold still.  He saw the tangled, disheveled fall of her hair – usually more a silky sheet of gold – the strange, rough grey duster she wore, still trailing dirt and dried leaves from the forest floor behind her.  This was his Swan before him yet, but she was in distress and guarded once more, in a way she had finally begun to put in her past – and he experienced a disorienting, long rush of despair at how to help her.  He only knew for certain that he must find a way.

            “Come here, Lass,” he finally murmured, half a directive and half an appeal, as he held out his hand to her from where he sat at the edge of the room’s large canopy bed.

            “Why?” she fired back nervously.  “I’m the Dark One now.  I don’t sleep, remember?”

            The unhinged tone in her voice, as well as the unvarnished bitterness, worried him more than he cared to admit.  Killian hesitated, biting his lip and considering his next words carefully.  His pause only seemed to agitate her further.  Why indeed?  And yet, he could not help but want her near, wish to gather her to his side, run the curve of his hook down her spine, and attempt to soothe her, bring her some measure of comfort, however ineffectual it might prove in the end.

            Heaving a deep sigh, Killian forced his voice to remain slow and even, despite his frustration and his utter anger at the situation his Love had been cast into.  Crooking his fingers in invitation, beckoning her forward while keeping his hand extended to her palm up, he raised an eyebrow slightly in challenge.  “Nor am I trying to force you to, Emma. I have not forgotten what you are battling, but can I not try to aid you in the fight?  Can I not hold the woman I love for a few moments?”

            Her lower lip trembled in response, before she pressed her mouth tightly closed, considering his offer, the longing clear on her face, until she let her swirling green eyes meet his at last.  “Y-you still…you still see me?” she finally whispered, her voice desperately fearful, quivering at the end with hope.

            There was no need for flowery words, only to hold her gaze, give a decided, affirmative nod and answer, “Aye.”

            At that single word, Emma took one hesitant, faltering step toward him, then another, until he could clasp her hand in his questing fingers and pull her against him, sitting at the edge of the rich, overlarge bed.  Mumbling quiet nonsense, Killian tucked Emma under his chin, cradling the back of her head in his palm and rocking them gently from side to side.  “Shh, Love, shh… it’s going to be alright,” he crooned, injecting steadfast certainty he wished he truly felt into his tone.

            Emma’s voice was broken and child-like as she spoke, her words muffled slightly by the leather of his sleeve.  “How can it be?” she asked plaintively.  There was something achingly human about her now, when before she had seemed so steely and impervious – untouchable as she stood at the window like a sentry, proud and strong, but cold and hard as well, looking out over the courtyard into the dark night.  The power within her was a distancing shield, a barrier higher and more impenetrable than her emotional walls had ever been.  Pulling back again briefly to look into the limitless eyes of this man who had pulled her back from the brink, her face was flushed and wet with silently shed tears, as real and vulnerable as he had ever seen her.  “I’m hanging by a thread, Killian.  There’s so much pressing inside, trying to escape, and the voices, the Dark Ones before me, they’re constantly whispering, watching, tempting me and trying to take over.  If I let my guard slip, if they get loose…  I’m terrified of what might happen, what I might do… who I might hurt…” The last words dropped to the barest whisper, her eyes falling to their intertwined fingers anxiously, unable to see the disgust and disapproval that must surely be on the face that had always before been nothing short of adoring.

            However, what she found when she looked up was far from devastating – so tender it made her very pulse still, bringing her up short and blinking in disbelief.  “That will never happen, Emma.  I know it with every fiber of my being, as surely as I know the way around my ship and as clearly as the navigator’s course is marked by the stars in the sky. You are stronger than that demon, Love.  Though I hate that you must fight so bitterly, I have no doubt that you will win.”

            “Thank you for believing in me, Killian,” she bit her lip, the lower one caught by her teeth, and she continued to play with her fingers, again avoiding his eyes to stare at their joined hands.  “But I can’t help worrying.  You can’t know that for sure!  When you found me yesterday evening, trying to take the dagger from Regina’s hiding place, I nearly took your head off!  It was your quick reflexes that saved you, not any restraint of mine.  I wasn’t in my right mind at all.  Wh- what if you had been killed?  What if you had been Henry?  Or my mom with my little brother?”

            Killian sighed, giving a moment for Emma to feel her words had sunk in, gathering her closer still against his chest and pressing his lips to the soft hair at the crown of her head, humming gently against her skin, hoping to quiet her anxious quaking in his arms.  When he did speak at last, his voice was low, a mere warm undertone at her ear.  “Swan, you have already fought back since then.  Think of our ride this afternoon, and that moment of perfection in the Middlemist field.  The Crocodile’s vile echo, any of the others, they were not present then, were they?  Those insidious voices vanished, aye?  Do not grant them a way back in.”

            Emma nodded weakly, burying her adorably perfect little nose into his thickly furred chest, as if it were the softest pillow she had ever rested against.  Killian had never seen her so fragile – his angel of boots and leather and steely resolve – and though his heart swelled that she would finally turn to him in her need – he hated the burden she bore.  It was too much, too much to ask of a woman who had been so strong and carried such hurt all her life.  A little sigh escaped her rosebud lips, the breathe tickling his collarbone, and Killian felt a rush of tension and wild energy drain from her, her shoulders slumping and her slight form leaning against him more heavily for support.

            “So, do you think you can allow yourself a bit of peace?” he asked, smoothing mussed strands of her hair back over her shoulder affectionately, just as he had done almost since their first meeting.

            Emma only muttered unintelligibly against him at first, before she finally put enough distance between them for him to make out her husky voice.  “I’ll lie down with you and try to rest a bit.  You still need to sleep, Pirate.  But I won’t…it won’t work…I’ve figured that out by now.  It’s just the way it is…”

            “Fair enough then, Swan.  I will make do with what I can get,” he assured her, offering a crooked half-smile and scooting back toward the pillows piled at the head of the bed while still keeping her in his embrace.

            She made no effort to distance herself, moving with him and placing her hand over his heart near her flushed cheek as he settled comfortably on the mattress, looking up at the high, stone ceiling above them.  His one hand began to trace idle patterns on her shoulder and arm as they cuddled together, neither drifting into sleep yet, but perhaps finding a bit of respite all the same.

Eventually, when Killian did find his eyes fluttering closed, he began to speak, softly and almost without thought.  He would not leave her alone in her struggle, and so he began to fill the void with words to keep himself awake and with her.  To his own astonishment, what came to his lips were tales he had long forgotten until that moment, memories from when he was but a lad long ago, which no other person had heard – not even Milah or Bae – until that moment.  And he was grateful then for Emma’s warmth and full attention as he spoke, emotions that had needed vent for centuries were now finally loosed – all the pain and rejection of being left alone and afraid in the dark, a child who had started out on an adventure with his papa and instead been thrown rudderless into the heaving waves of a cruel and treacherous adult world.

His voice dwelt haltingly on his one light – both his anchor and his compass – his Liam.  Once begun, the story of their stolen boyhood streamed from him, the bits and pieces of the beloved older brother who had been his companion and the only family left to him, in a harsh, dark world of slavery and bleak deprivation.  Liam, who had told him stories when he couldn’t sleep for the suffocating pitch blackness of the hold where they were sometimes locked at night merely for the sake of the other crew’s entertainment or for some imagined mistake, the growing young man who had given half his rations to his gangly younger brother whose belly never felt properly full, who had found a way to splint Killian’s ankle when the sadistic bosun on their master’s ship  had yanked and twisted it to keep Killian from scaling the ropes to the crow’s nest where he could hide from the hulking man’s mistreatment, the protective father figure who had curled around his sibling offering body heat when they both shivered in their bunk, one threadbare blanket between them on winter nights at sea, and his hero who had given Killian the one gleam of hope he had possessed in those endless suffering years. It had all been pent inside him for so long that once he began to speak of Liam, Killian couldn’t bring himself to stop until it was all voiced.  Liam Jones had been taken from the world much too soon, and Killian had not allowed himself to grieve – taken to piracy and retribution, plunging headlong down the ages -  until that moment in Arthur’s kingdom with his silently listening True Love.

His deluge of words did not seem to faze Emma; in fact, she appeared to welcome his outpouring, tracing gentle fingertips over the contours of his face and into his hair, the strokes as soothing as his touch had been to her a short time ago.  Killian didn’t know how long he talked and Emma listened attentively, but his eyelids at last drooped closed in the still watches of the night, his voice slowing and tripping sluggishly, exhaustion and flagging adrenaline towing him under until he could not fight sleep any longer.  He thought he saw Emma’s hand wave over him, but then he was lost in slumber.

~~~88~~~

When he woke with the next day’s dawn, the spot where she had rested beside him was still warm, but Emma was no longer there.

~~~88~~~

            They set up a reassuring pattern after that.  Night after night, for as long as they were guests in the castle of Camelot, Killian could at least coax Emma to lie down in the circle of his arms and rest her weary body, if not her mind in actual sleep.  It was better than nothing, and the pirate strove with all he had to stay awake with her, to keep vigil at her side through the lonely grey hours, when she was most vulnerable and her strength might flag.  Exhausted though they both were, it could have been so much worse, and Killian was grateful for what she did allow him to do.  The first time he had fallen into slumber and woken with her gone, his heart had been in his throat, fearful for where she might have gone and what horror could have gripped her and spurred her from their resting place.  However, when he found her where they all convened for breakfast, a tiny, almost light, smile curved her lips upward at the corners when she spied him.  Something in her face let him know that she appreciated what he had shared, that he had allowed her to comfort him, and that somehow in granting her that caring gesture, he had made her feel more human once again, given her back a bit of herself.

            Those sleepless nights in the broken kingdom of legend’s Once and Future King, when Emma curled into his side and he finally felt the shaking ease from the taut muscles she had held under rigid control all that day, more terrified with each passing one that she might slip and do some terrible magic she couldn’t take back, and he sensed more than heard her say that the hissing demons in her mind had ceased their torment for a while – those nights were when their fragile love, born in Storybrooke over moonlit walks, pizza with Netflix, and interrupted coffee dates, took root and grew into something dauntless, lasting, and True.  From those nights he held her until his body gave up and forced him to sleep, or they both stayed awake and saw the morning paint the sky together, from then on Captain Hook and his Swan savior were joined in a bond which could not be severed by distance or foe, the Darkness or even Fate.

            Once they left the land of Avalon, there was further pain and trial.  The fatal cut from Excalibur would have been Killian’s death; he had been resigned to it, had lived much longer than he’d ever been meant to and begged Emma to let him go.  But the threat of losing her pirate – her reason to finally open her heart again and let herself fully live – caused Emma to make a tragic mistake.  The temptation that had finally broken her resistance and blackened her soul after all her desperate struggle and restraint was bending the laws of nature to keep him alive and at her side.  His angel fell to the need to save him, to not lose one more person who loved her and allowed her to love – to feel – in return.  And when she crumbled, it drug him into the pit along with her.  Harsh words and rage, bitten into blades that wounded and scarred, passed between the True Loves who then shared the worst Darkness the realms had ever known.

            Yet, after the torture, the fire, and one more crippling separation, they found the way back to each other.  Exhausted, battered, but hand-in-hand, after traveling to the very Underworld itself and defying the lord of that domain, in the end even death could not part the Savior and her captain forever.  When they finally stole a moment upon their return – tripping tangled together up the front steps of the house that Killian and Henry had chosen by the dim light of the stars on a chilly May night in Storybrooke, Emma was so sleepy she was nearly punch drunk in her pirate’s grasp as he barely managed to catch her before she fell onto the wooden porch.  Both of them were chuckling lightly, blearily only half awake, but so glad to be alone together and safe, at least for a moment, that anything else could wait.  It had been a long time coming, and the austere hall and front room were somewhat haunted yet by their distorted alters’ presences and the barbs they had thrown, but they bypassed that silent space – it would keep for the morrow – to finally enter the bedroom they had always meant to share.

            The peace which washed over Emma in that moment they fell together, sinking into the thick, cushy comforter, navy blue dotted by tiny white anchors she had chosen with him in mind, and the joy she felt at the sleep-muted delight on his face on first glimpse of them, was the most comfort she had felt since he stole her away on horseback that afternoon in Camelot.  It seemed lifetimes ago now, though she could still feel the pink petals of the Middlemist flower he had handed her in that green haven and the sun slanting down on their faces as they had kissed.

            She realized then that though there was healing still to be done, they had once more reached the place of hope they had found amidst the dazzling field of blooms and golden light.  There was the promise of forever in that hazy remembered moment, with the white dress and cape, the wind in her hair, the kiss that had swept her up in delight. Though the sky had been their only witness, Emma had felt her heart blend irrevocably with his in that moment, and there in their home by the sea, weeks or months later, so jarring and confused she hardly knew which, as he pulled the sheet and blankets up to her chin before huddling beneath them with her and hoping to banish the world outside, it felt as if they were finally going to enjoy the vow that had been made between them in that fairytale scene rose-tinted in her mind’s eye. With Killian at her back, arms wrapped around her so that hand and hook could rest upon her skin, and his nose nuzzled warmly at the nape of her neck, at long last Emma finally slept.

Tagging a few who may enjoy: @kmomof4 @hollyethecurious @searchingwardrobes @effulgentcolors @winterbaby89 @resident-of-storybrooke @ilovemesomekillianjones @whimsicallyenchantedrose @jennjenn615 @therooksshiningknight @gingerchangeling @blackwidownat2814 @bmbbcs4evr @teamhook @revanmeetra87 @spartanguard @laschatzi @drowned-dreamer @ps1473-4 @let-it-raines 

[rebeccasjack]

for the ask meme: 001 - once upon a time 002 - captain swan 003 - ruby lucas pls and thank u

Thank you!!!!

OUAT

Favorite character: Emma & Alice 

Least Favorite character: Gothel

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): CS, curious archer, rumbelle, snowing, outlaw and dragon queen (im cheating lol)

Character I find most attractive: Regina

Character I would marry: Emma or Belle

Character I would be best friends with: also belle lol but also charming

a random thought: alice and robin had like an actual ouat style royal wedding, everyone showed up and it was just so big and they looked super regal and gah i have a lot of opinions on that

An unpopular opinion: i think jefferson had a pretty complete story??? the last time we see him he reunited with his kid so i dont feel like his story needed more closure as compared to other characters

My Canon OTP: CS or curious archer (their both tied for me lol)

My Non-canon OTP: Dragon queen

Most Badass Character: Alice “the guardian” jones or Emma “product of true love” swan

Most Epic Villain: pan or zelena (i like her as a regular character but she was a lit villian)

Pairing I am not a fan of: lolllll sw@nfire but also $q but i really tried to like them for a long time but long story short both ships……not it lmao

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): august tbh, he existed in the first season as a friend of emmas and someone who was young and could not live up to his dads expectations and then they retconned the shit out of him and he helped send her to jail at 16/17 and he so rarely gets mentioned again, hes a boy and then a man but also the “one real friend” emma had??? even tho he was barely a friend to her lol, i really did like him and the actor who played him was amazing and ya…..wasted potential

Favourite Friendship: huh i ship like all my fav friendships lol but frozen swan or captain charming

Character I most identify with: ALICE!!! or killian (mainly the original version)

Character I wish I could be: idk charming??? he has a great wife and then i could protect emma with my life idk i think being him would be cool

CS

When I started shipping them: ive been watching the show live since like mid season 2 but i was hella dumb when i watched 2x06 and im the only cs shipper who didnt see how obvious the set up was lol but ngl i just……hated ne@l and it lead me into the anti tag where i read so many meta posts about how killian was the “anti” ne@l and how he would be good for her and i just remember i was like “well anything’s better than her ending up with him” but when 2x22 aired and hook turned his ship around for her i was like oh shit oh shit 

My thoughts: they’re everything???? true love lost souls who find home in each other (which is the BEST kind of trope) excellence. they were both so BROKEN when we met them and when they met??? and they helped HEAL each other and learn to love again??? their so powerful and i adored them with my whole heart; no show ever did with another ship what this show did with them 

What makes me happy about them: thinking about 2x06 and how closed off they were and then they found each other and got a FAMILY and someone who loved them unconditionally and they both DESERVE it

What makes me sad about them: huhhhh i just miss them. i do wish jen stayed for s6 but im not like angry or resentful 

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: ooffff uhm??? i dont wanna say anything too specific fanfic writers are AMAZING. but ive always been more on the swan believer deserves better side which is really just that idk ive read fics where sometimes emma came off as a bad mom so killian could be the “hero” dad and it always feels hella heteronormative (it exists with a LOT of m/f mom/dad fics *cough cough* bellarke) and it bugs me a lot it always comes across as icky 

Things I look for in fanfic: i absolutely adored cs neighbours fics idk why??? it fits them so well but also enchanted forest aus are so good especially bc given canon we have so many of those aus and them as kids is really great: it takes away a lot of their individual pain so its always a fun au

My wishlist: we were so spoiled so im not gonna like beg for more but let me just say; in 4x12 when she was putting his heart back the “ive never done this before” “held my heart; believe me you have for much longer” lines SHOULD NOT have been cut

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: uhm killian with milah and emma with elsa

My happily ever after for them: i have different ideas of their jobs but pretty much got everything i wanted for them and more??? they have a home and two kid(s) as well as amazing friends/family and theyre living their happy beginning as they SHOULD

Ruby Lucas

How I feel about this character: a BISEXUAL legend; thank you for ur service we all thank you. shes amazing and we deserved to see her again for the final season and her storyline in season 2 was so important to me??? her episode where she was all “i choose me” to her mom and she realized she wasnt the monster was all so good i loved her

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: SHES SO SHIPPABBLE lol; snow, belle, charming ( as like an ot3 with snow), mulan, dorothy

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: well her and snow were never romantic so ya snow??? their scenes were probs some of my fav in like the entire show ngl but also granny 

My unpopular opinion about this character: huh some people shipped her with victor and i never really saw it??? they were insanely popular in s2 and they had like a nice scene together but i just didnt feel much at all. also red snow >>>> red beauty (but l like them as well)

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: she STUCK AROUND!!!! and met more disney princesses 

Favorite friendship for this character: maybe her and emma??? i could never get into them as a ship either just cause i remember this one fic where she told emma that snowing were gonna make her godmother and i realized how true that probably was but i like them as friends and i wish we got more 

My crossover ship: idkkk uhm (i wish she got to meet elsa and killian tho)  and they could lead emma defence squad but maybe rebbekah from tvd i feel like theyd be bisexual queenns together lol

[killian-whump]

OUAT 3x01: Rewatch Blog

Welcome aboard, mateys! It's time to start rewatching Season 3! As usual, I'm a bit behind everyone else on this rewatch, but I've decided it's more fun for me to move at my own pace, so I probably won't be catching up anytime soon ;)

That said... Let's get started on Once Upon a Time Season 3!!!

Whoa. Wait a minute. Eleven Years Ago?! I really AM behind... ;)

Seriously, though. Do they really have to handcuff her ankle to the bed? Do they have a problem with women in labor jumping up and escaping prison right at that precise moment in their lives?

That's sad, though :(

Ooooh... I love the deadly stillness after the ship "lands" in Neverland. It's so... eeeeeeeerie. 

Ahhh, and the ominous look on Killian's face.

You can just FEEL the tension in the air.

"Aye. Neverland."

AHHHHHHHH TENSION AND ANGST

Kinda lame title card, haha.

Aw, great. It's this guy. NOBODY MISSED YOU GREG. YOU CAN GO BACK TO WHEREVER YOU WENT DURING THE HIATUS NOW.

SHIT. HE BROUGHT TAMARA, TOO.

I really hate these two, guys. Like, really.

Oh, come on. Don't shove a fucking kid, you asshat. Fucking GREG. You're an insult to your name, and I don't even like your name.

Oooooh, spooky noises. I love the atmosphere they built for this realm.

"Who we work for is not your concern, kid." Well, according to YOU as of about 20 minutes ago in show time, it's not YOUR concern either, dipshit.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA THERE'S SAND IN YOUR BATTERY COMPARTMENT, YOU FUCKING MORON. WHO PUT SAND IN YOUR BATTERY COMPARTMENT, HUH? YOU FUCKING IDIOT.

Shut up, shut up. I know it was Peter Pan. LET ME HAVE MY MOMENT.

"It's a good thing you guys don't ask any questions." Hahahaha, bested by an 11-year-old and sand.

...and there he goes, shoving the damn kid again. You're just a colossal jerk, aren't you, Greg?

At least Tamara has the sense to look mildly concerned right here.

"Oh, I know, my hot-headed queen."

I JUST DIED. Forward my mail to my gravesite.

I totally forgot that line ever happened. I love rewatching this show.

"I hope not, or we've wasted our lives." AAAAAAANGST

"Your lives... well... THEY'VE SUCKED" hahaha, Why don’t you tell them what you really think, Emma XD

"We found you." Awww... "And lost Henry! And Neal!" Well, to be fair, it's not like you can expect them to give two shits about Neal. They met him, like, last week. And he's kinda a dick. And his Dad's, like, evil incarnate. But okay.

"Oh, that's a great use of our time: A wardrobe change." One of the best lines ever, really.

I mean, did Rumple really need to do the dramatic cane-spinning exit, though? It makes for good TV, so it's cool and all, but imagine it in real life. Like, just a boat full of people staring at where he once stood, thinking, "JFC That was unnecessarily dramatic."

OH, YEAH, LET'S LIGHT A FUCKING FIRE, GREG. THAT'S A GREAT FUCKING IDEA, GREG. Fucking loser.

Yes, I do plan on doing this until he dies. You have your hobbies; I have mine.

"You making S'Mores?"

HAAAAAAHHAHAHAHA OMG LOOK AT HIS FACE:

Fucking goon. Haha. I named that screencap "assface" when I saved it, because I feel it's fitting for both the character AND the face he's making.

"What if the empty communicator wasn't an accident?"

You mean the one someone OBVIOUSLY filled with sand instead of batteries ON PURPOSE??? Noooooooooooo.

"Don't let the kid get in your head." He's not even TRYING, Greg. He's just hungry and wants some fucking S'Mores. I want some S'Mores, too. We all want fucking S'Mores. S'Mores are delicious, FuckingGreg.

OH LOOK, IT'S FELIX.

AND ALL THE REST OF THE LOST BOYS ONES BOYS. I think we’re calling them “Boys” now. Must have gotten the rights.

Kill him, Felix. Somebody. Anybody. I'll even settle for the annoying Lost Boy with the face that annoys me, although I don't think he's in this season, but he's welcome to join it IF HE KILLS GREG.

"Then you're not getting the boy." Oh, Greg. It is entirely too late for you to do anything remotely likable now. Like, I literally want to throw Henry at them now just to spite you.

YEEEEESSSSSSSSSS RIP THAT MOTHERFUCKER'S SOUL OUT OF HIS BODY. TAKE HIS SPINE, TOO. THE ENTIRE SKELETAL SYSTEM. MAYBE A DISEMBOWELING'S CALLED FOR HERE?

Or, you know, you can just leave his husk there by the fire to rot away. That's good, too. I'm not picky.

GREG IS DEAD, EVERYBODY.

Tamara and Henry are running! Oh no! Will they make it? Will they-

This is a great scene, everybody. Thank you so much. This is the best thing to ever happen to me and the season only started 10 minutes ago.

Hahaha, they even show us a close-up of Tamara lying motionless on the ground, and then Greg. Like they KNOW we've all been waiting for their demise and they wanted to give us screenshots for our scrapbooks.

Anyway, thanks Felix! That was pretty cool. Much obliged.

Hey, look. An enterprising young chap has helped Henry up. There's no way he could be a bad guy.

I have to say, of all the "twists" in Once, this was one of the worst ones in terms of how OBVIOUS it was.

To some extent, it's the casting department's fault, because Robbie Kay is just TOO fucking perfect for Peter Pan. Like, he just EXUDES Peter Pan and he's not fooling anybody.

Heeheehee CS flirting <3

"What do you want?" All due respect, but it's HIS fucking ship? Like, he doesn't really need a reason to be below deck on his own ship?

"I didn't realize you were sentimental." "I'm not."

I love it when he spits the cork out, but how many corks does this man go through?!

Oh, look. Speak of the devil - It's Neal.

"Tell Emma I'm alive. And I love her."

Well, that's a GREAT message to pass on through your kiiiiiid. Won't get his hopes up or anything.

ANYWAY.

"Long enough to know I miss him, too." T_T

UH OH. TROUBLE'S AFOOT!!!

Oh, Dave and Snow are at the helm. That explains it. LEARN HOW TO DRIVE, SNOWING. Gosh.

Pun intended. I'm so sorry.

Regina: "What the hell are you two doing?!" Ahahahahaha :D

"Prepare for attack!" "Be more specific!" I love all these interactions. This is like the WORST family vacation EVER and I love every second of it.

"What's out there? A shark? A whale?" "A kraken?"

YOU FUCKING WISH.

Actually, no, Dave probably doesn't wish... but Kraken-san does! :D

Emma's response is classic. "Mermaids?!" Like what the fuck else does she have to put up with in this crazy sham of a life NOOOOW?

Dave's kinda hot manning that cannon, I gotta say. He's showing off some guns firing off that gun, if you know what I mean.

But really, what did they plan to DO with one mermaid, anyway? Especially after Regina chased them all off with her fireballs?

Oh, look. Henry and Totally-Not-Peter-Pan are on the run!

I'm super fooled by him talking himself up in third person, though XD

"If Pan wants you... he WILL get you."

"Pan will rip their shadows into oblivion."

"Pan loves nachos with spicy cheese."

"Pan is the awesomest guy on this island."

Aw, man. This scene is a snoozefest :/

Literally. They're all just watching Aurora sleep XD

Wait. HOW is Neal feeling better? He got shot, like, 10 minutes ago in show time and he's had no REAL medical care, aside from whatever they bandaged him with, since none of these folks here have magic.

HOW IS HE FEELING BETTER?!

I gotta be honest, though. Rumple is hot as SHIT in this season. I ain't gonna pretend otherwise. This leather clad badass thing WORKS for him.

Oh, look. Tamara's still alive.

"C-Can you forgive me?"

I'm gonna guess that is a HARD ASS NO, bitch.

Haha, love the way he flicks the dust off his fingers.

"GET THAT THING OFF MY SHIP!"

I love how panicked he is by the mermaid XD It gives my entire life meaning :D

I wish we had more information in canon about Hook's time in Neverland. We can tell this is FAR from his first skirmish with mermaids, but how/when/why/what happened? I NEED TO KNOW! Especially if it involved wounds or peril or other things relevant to my interests...

Touching Mulan and Neal chat.

More running in the woods with Not!Pan.

"Well, I'm all out of fish food." Love you, Regina <3

"Fillet the bitch." Seriously, love you so much bae <3

Snow's face, tho XD

This is 110% why I watch this show. SHENANIGANS.

...and a pirate. Don't forget the pirate.

"I've outrun many a storm!" We know you have, babe. We know. You keep telling us...

SHAMPOO COMMERCIAL TIME!!!

PERIL ON THE HIGH SEAS!!!

CERTAIN BLETH DEATH!!!

SUPER DRAMATIC MUSIC!!!

...as we cut to a peaceful, though somewhat dilapidated, castle in the Enchanted Forest. Birds are singing, dawn is breaking, the world is alight with hope and possibili-

JUST KIDDING. GET BACK TO THE FUCKING DRAMA STORM, SHOW.

I hate it when they do this.

Hey, Sean. Nice intro.

"You don't want to see ID?" Neal... ISTFG.

Disappearing arrow, heehee. SHENANIGANS.

I love how interested Robin is in what's inside the vault XD Always a thief, eh?

"This isn't a storm. It's bloody damnation!" Love that line <3

"Let the slags go!" Haha "Don't call my wife a slag!" Haha!

BOY FIGHT!! BOY FIGHT!!!

They're all wet, too! Slow down, cameraman! I wanna see ALL of this!!!

Oooh, almost gutted with his own hook. Haaaaarsh.

Emma, no one's listening to you. Emma, no one's... They're not... They're not even looking or paying any attention at all... They won't even- Oh. Okay. Somehow everyone saw you jump, despite literally being in a fight for their respective lives. Neat.

...aaaaaaand cue the convenient rigging falling loose and hitting her in the head.

SHENANIGAAAAAAAAANS

Oh, look! They're flying!!!

This would be super touching if it wasn't, you know, exactly what Pan wants XD

Haha, Emma looks so ethereal floating there, unconscious, in the waters of Neverland, facing certain death.

Awww! A big group effort rescue!!! Good job, team!

"Told you." Right, but no one was listening...? So how do they even know what she's talking about? Well, I guess maybe they WERE listening...?

Shenanigans? idek anymore...

SHENANIGANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awww... Bobby's acting is so great right here. This is awesome. Very moving. The part after the shenanigans, I mean. Although they’re great, too.

Felix, you're kinda a dick, though. That’s kinda a compliment, tho?

I love it when magic flops :D Dramatic music aaaaaand... nothing.

"Actually, I quite fancy you from time to time, when you're not yelling at me."

You like her even more when she's yelling at you, son. IT IS KNOWN.

His offended face when Charming says, "With him?" XD DAVE, WHY WOULD YOU SAY THIS ABOUT ME. DAVE, I THOUGHT WE WERE PALS. DAVE. DAAAAVE.

Hahaha, his adorable shrug to Regina. SHENANIGANS <3

"You couldn't be more right, Henry."

I'm so glad they didn't try to drag out the reveal of Pan to another episode, because he seriously wasn't fooling aaaaaanybody.

Except for Henry. Oops?

It's so great how ominous they're being at the end of this episode, advancing on Henry like that...

Although Pan's "let's play!" is a lot less frightening when you know he literally means "let's dance around a fire and create a rhythmic ruckus" but hey. It still works for the ending of this episode, which is now... OVER!!

PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!!! PEW PEW PEW!!!

[searchingwardrobes]

Desdichado: Ch 11/?

Finally, the next update on this fic! Unfortunately, this has no Captain Swan in it. However, it is very important to the plot and sets up the next chapter. This also has the development of two of the other couples: Aurora/Phillip (which is good for CS, right?) and Outlaw Queen.

Summary: I think I’ve summarized this differently every single time, but basically this is an Ivanhoe AU. It’s also a fix-it fic (for me anyway) because I never liked how Ivanhoe ended. So basically you’ve got knights, jousting, chivalry, castles, lords & ladies, and Emma and Regina under suspicion of witchcraft. (That last part hasn’t been a big plot point yet, but trust me, it will. You know what I’m talking about if you know Ivanhoe.) Did I mention Killian is a knight? That’s always good, right?

Rating: T

Trigger Warnings: “set in a time period where women were treated like crap” basically sums it up, also starts off Sleeping Captain, but you all know why I’m here . . . lol. Oh, and it Neal is a straight up evil villain in this . . . shocker from me, I know!

You can catch up on Ao3

@bethacaciakay @teamhook @kmomof4 @whimsicallyenchantedrose @snowbellewells @kday426 @snidgetsafan @delirious-latenight-laughs @jennjenn615 @mythologicalmango @wellhellotragic

Chapter Eleven

Aurora blinked, but no light penetrated the dark of the forest around her. She shivered. Even with Sir Phillip’s cloak added to Emma’s, the chill of night could not be warded off. This was the second night spent under the trees since fleeing their captors, and still Phillip insisted upon giving her added warmth while he took none for himself. He did the same with the meager rations in his satchel and the meat from the coney he had managed to shoot for their dinner. He was different from the rest of the knights in his company, and his gentleness and kindness warmed Aurora’s heart even as she feared what her father and Killian may be suffering.

She shifted on the hard ground, wondering what had awakened her from her slumber. Then she heard it, a sharp cry from the other side of the cold embers of last night’s fire.

“No, no! Please, no!”

It was Phillip’s voice, and the brokenness and fear in it made Aurora’s heart clench with an almost physical pain. She heard him thrash and cry out again. The mumbled tone of his voice let her know he wasn’t awake. She crept across the ground to where he lay, letting his cloak slip from her shoulders. She eased down to kneel next to him, and was concerned to see how he trembled. Whether it was from the dreams plaguing him or the cold, she wasn’t sure, but she draped his cloak over his shoulders nonetheless. Her hand drifted to his shoulder and lingered there. She startled when he grasped it firmly in his own.

“Mother?” he asked in a wavering voice.

She eased forward, eyes straining in the dark, but she didn’t think he was awake. She squeezed his hand and ran her thumb along his knuckles soothingly.

“Phillip?”

“Mother,” a slight cry trembled in his voice, “you’re here.”

His voice slurred, and his hand grew limp in hers. She reached out and traced his forehead with her other hand and felt furrows under her fingertips. He was grimacing in his sleep; evidently still within the throws of his nightmare.

“Don’t leave,” he whispered, sounding so much younger than his years.

It was the most vulnerable any man had ever sounded in her presence, and something about it made a part of her heart unfurl in a way she had never known before. She shifted to sit next to him, running her fingers through his hair.

“I am going nowhere, Phillip. I promise.”

“There’s so much pain here, mother, so much hate . . .”

“Shhh, sleep,” she whispered, her fingers still gently soothing his scalp. He let out a sigh, and as she traced his forehead with her thumb, it was smooth. His breathing soon evened out, and his fingers slipped from her grip. He was asleep again.

Aurora gazed into the darkness, tears rolling down her cheeks. She knew what he was dreaming of; it was the Crusades.

*******************************************************

Regina stomped across the campsite, looking around for something to kick, and frustrated when she could find nothing. The rising sun was burning off the mist of dawn, and she squinted against its light as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her fingers dug into her upper arms as she ground her teeth.

“I always find ladies quite fetching when they want to hit something.”

Regina spun around to see Robin Hood leaning cockily against a tree, his own arms crossed as he watched her with an infuriating smile upon his face. She scowled openly at him.

“You make women irate on such a regular basis?”

He chuckled as he pushed himself off the tree. “My wife would have said so when she lived. Yet her fire was one of the things I loved about her. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. All men need such a partner in life, in my opinion.’

Regina rolled her eyes. “Please, you believe no such thing.”

Robin’s eyebrows rose, “You think I’m lying?”

Regina stomped closer to him, “Yes, I do. For one, men universally wish women to be meek and worship them no matter how infantile their actions. Secondly, you certainly didn’t listen when I spoke my mind just now.”

His face softened as he placed both hands on Regina’s shoulders. Her skin heated at his touch. “You have to trust me.”

Regina blinked, thrown slightly by the tingle that skittered down her spine at his nearness. She shook her head and took a step back.

“Trust you? Why should I? You’re a bandit that I’ve known for only two days. And the plan that your merry men and Stefan’s knights have cobbled together could very well get Emma killed.”

“Don’t forget that I fought alongside Sir Killian in the Crusades,” Robin retorted, his voice rising slightly. “I do not wish to see him harmed, nor does Lord Stefan want his daughter endangered.”

“Then we storm the castle!” Regina cried.

Robin stepped directly into her personal space and gazed into her eyes with fire in them. “And we would fail. You heard our scout. He saw Prince James and his knights heading for the castle where our friends are being held. We are far too outnumbered.”

Regina looked away, partly because she didn’t want to hear his arguments and partly because the way he looked at her had her feeling off-kilter. She blinked rapidly as worry and fear threatened to overwhelm her. But Mills women didn’t show softness; they didn’t show weakness, so she squared her jaw and took a step away from the bandit at her side. He stopped her with a gentle hand to her elbow.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned eluding the Sheriff of Nottingham, it’s that you don’t reveal move three before you’ve made moves one and two.”

Regina jerked her arm away. “This isn’t chess. Emma is no pawn.”

He grinned at her. “But how do you know I don’t have an extra knight – or even a king – up my sleeve?” He reached out for her again, running his hand up and down her arm in what she assumed was supposed to be a soothing gesture. How could he know his touch left fire in its wake? “We’ll draw the Templar knights away from the castle where my men fight best. Meanwhile Stefan’s men will attack from the rear –“

“- and set fire to the garrison,” Regina interrupted in irritation, “I was there for the strategy meeting, remember? So excuse me if I don’t want my dau – my ward – set on fire!”

Robin shook his head. “It’s a diversion, remember. It will give us time to –“

“To search every inch of that enormous castle?” she barked a sarcastic laugh. “There are so many holes in this plan, it’s ridiculous.”

Robin’s eyes narrowed, a sure sign he was beginning to lose his patience with her. Regina could care less. She may have been the only women in this little band, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to just be dragged along in any fool hardy scheme they concocted. The two of them were in an obstinate standoff, but before either of them could get in another barb, a sharp, high pitched cry pierced the edge of the camp.

“Please! Mercy! I beg of you!”

Regina’s eyes rose in alarm as they met Robin’s, and they raced across the camp. At the edge of the forest clearing, the merry men had a figure surrounded, their bows fitted with arrows to point at the interloper. When Regina and Robin pushed through the crowd, they were both shocked to find a slight young woman with dark brown hair crumpled on the ground with both hands raised and a look of terror upon her face.

“Stand down, men, she’s but a child!” Robin barked. Then he reached out for the girl and helped her up, speaking soothingly to her until her trembling ceased. He led her over to one of the logs by the fire, his eyes connecting with Regina’s as he did so. She understood his meaning and rushed to get the girl a cup of water. She accepted it gratefully, but only took a sip before speaking.

“My name’s Violet, and I am a servant at Glowerhaven castle.”

“Where they’re keeping Emma!” Regina gasped as she eagerly sat beside the girl. “No one seems to know who the Lord of that castle is. What can you tell us?”

The girl’s eyes filled up with tears, and Regina rubbed her back soothingly. She took a deep breath, then spoke.

“It will be Sir Baelfire’s once he weds. It’s part of his father’s holdings, though it’s only been a summer holiday retreat all the years I’ve worked there.”

Robin clenched a fist as he growled under his breath. “Lord Robert.”

Violet nodded. “Aye. His main estate is Fortress Gold on the far side of the kingdom, though I’ve never been there.”

Regina shook her head in frustration. “But what of the prisoners. What of my Emma?”

“And my dear Aurora,” Stefan added, coming to stand beside Robin, his face a tortured mask of worry and fear.

“It was Lady Emma and Sir Killian who told me to run. You see, her and Lady Aurora switched places that first day. I was to be the Lady Aurora’s chamber maid, but I’ve been Lady Emma’s instead while she cares for Sir Killian’s injuries.”

“Switched places!” Stefan cried. “Where is my daughter now?”

“She fled with Sir Phillip. To . . . Misthaven I believe?”

“She fled in the company of one knight?” Stefan moaned as he sank to the log. “She’ll be ruined!”

“Your daughter managed to escape from her kidnappers, and that’s what you’re worried about?” Regina exclaimed. Lord Stefan gave her a disapproving glare that could have curdled milk, but Regina could care less. Of all the patriarchal, ridiculous –

“Oh, but she had no choice, my Lord!” Violet exclaimed. “Prince James was on his way to force her into a marriage.” The child flushed as she glanced at the two men before her, then leaned towards Regina and whispered. “She was terrified, m’lady, she seemed to think he would . . . deflower her.”

Violet began to tremble again, and Regina shot a glare of her own at Lord Stefan as she pulled the poor girl close. After a few moments of Regina’s soothing fingers in her hair, the girl lifted her tear streaked face to Regina.

“Lord Killian was mending well under Lady Emma’s care, but then Sir James arrived. He frightened me so! He may be the prince, but he’s cruel.” She turned her gaze to the men. “He plans to use them as bait to capture Lord Stefan.”

Robin nodded, rubbing his chin with his hand. “He assumes we still believe Aurora to be imprisoned at Glowerhaven.”

“And we did,” Regina put in, giving Violet another smile, “until this brave girl found us.” Then she sighed deeply before looking up at Robin. “I do hate admitting when I’m wrong, but . . . what was that chess move you were planning again?”

Robin grinned down at her, and she felt a blush rise up into her cheeks. He clapped his hands, “All right, Merry Men! Let’s prepare for battle!”

Regina rose to her feet, relieved to finally be doing something to help her ward. She was also relieved that she hadn’t been forced to make her final chess move in order to ensure Emma’s safety. But before she could follow after Robin, Violet grasped her hand frantically.

“They have to hurry!” Violet implored with a trembling voice. “Prince James has murder in his eyes.”

Regina swallowed the bile that threatened to rise in her throat. She knew all too well Prince James’ true nature, and she’d be damned if the past eighteen years had been for naught.

[flslp87]

6x21/22 The Final Battle   Pictures in My Mind

 A deleted scene from 6-21/22 that starts as he falls from the beanstalk and she's leaving Storybrooke.  Rating - K (I felt the finale needed to be fixed and so this is my fix)  Thank you @jell-obeans for reading my mind regarding artwork. 

As his hand slipped from the prince's and he plunged toward the ground, Killian's thoughts were of Emma.  How everything he'd told the Prince was true in that they had fought for their love and won.   There was no bloody way he was going to allow Emma to be a widow before she had an opportunity to be a wife, his wife.  He was a survivor after all.

When he hit the ground, the breath was temporarily knocked out of him and he was buried under brush unable to see the light of day.  As he lay there, trying to get his bearings, he heard the leaves rustling and opened his eyes to see his brand-new mother-in-law,

"Hello there, mummy," he responded cheekily.

"Mummy?" he heard Jasmine say.

"Oh, there was a, there was a wedding," Snow answered her. "That's going to take some getting used to." She helped clear the brush away so he could stand.

"What happened?" she asked him with concern.

"Well first, I fell and then," he pointed toward the beanstalk, "then it fell.  But we managed to get this." He pulled the bean from his pocket.

"Great," she whispered.  "Where's David?"

Killian exchanged concerned looks with Jasmine, "You mean he's not here?"

Snow quickly turned toward the forest and called his name, "David."

"He was on that?" Jasmine pointed toward the fallen beanstalk.

"We should start searching.  This beanstalk was our last-" he started looking around for where David might have fallen, but then Snow White interrupted hi

"No, you're getting back to the castle.  Take the bean.  Get to Emma and Henry! Don't worry about David.  I'll find him.  The realms are disappearing, we don't have much time."  The tone of her voice told him that the situation was quickly becoming urgent. “Get to Emma. It's important. Make her believe again."

She took off running to look for David and he climbed on Jasmine's carpet to ride back to the castle.  He hated leaving Snow alone, but had no doubt that he would be found. His priority was getting back to his wife.  With that thought, they took off flying toward the castle.

cs~cs~cs

"So, it's true," Henry accused Emma, "you're really leaving Storybrooke."

Slamming the hood of her bug, Emma turned to face her son, "It's what's best for both of us, kid."

Henry shook his head and walked up onto the curb, "Don't you get it?" he questioned her, "this is what she wants. The Black Fairy cast the curse so all this would get you to leave."

"This is why I have to go," she pleaded with him. "Because you still believe this nonsense is true."

"It is-" Henry answered exasperatedly.

"Henry, stop!" Emma clipped, tired of having the same discussions that never seemed to move anywhere. Taking a step toward him, she grabbed his hand. "Kid, don't you know I am so happy you found me.  I am so happy I got to know my son.  But it's so clear now, coming to Storybrooke wasn't good for either of us."

"You're wrong," Henry started.

"Look where I ended up," she finished. "Look at you.  Look at your arm.  It sent us on a dangerous path.  I've got to get back to Boston, get back to my life, and so do you."

"She did it," Henry finally responded. "You really don't believe."

"There's nothing to believe," she cried. "Goodbye, kid." Kissing him on the head, she whispered, "I love you," and climbed in her bug, heading out of town.

The minute Emma saw Storybrooke in her rearview mirror, her hands started to shake and she couldn’t see where she was going because of the tears falling from her eyes.  Stopping the car in the middle of the road, she held her hands up in front of her and watched them tremble.  “What is wrong with me?” She wiped her face, not once or twice, but several times and when the tears continued to fall, decided she needed to move.  Getting out of the car she kicked a rock and watched it bounce across the road, trying to understand why she felt this way, because leaving had been her choice, right?   “It had nothing to do with Fiona and her wishes,” she kept repeating to herself, hoping that eventually the words would sink in and she wouldn’t feel this huge sense of loss.  The pain she felt was because she was leaving Henry behind, nothing or no one else, and as soon as she was stronger, she would return.  That while all other thoughts and feelings might be muddled in her brain, the pain was because of him, and only him.  

Dismissing the possibility that it was because she had come to think of Storybrooke as her home, she jumped into the car and, without looking backward, continued her journey toward Boston.  That was the city where she belonged, and as she drove, if other thoughts tried to sneak into her brain, she forcibly shoved them away. Getting on with her life was her priority and deciding the best and quickest way to do that was to reach out to her former boss as soon as she crossed into Boston city limits.

~~~~~~~

As the carpet flew over the Enchanted Forest, Killian's thoughts were of Emma and what could be happening back in Storybrooke.  He couldn't fathom what she must be going through there without him and the rest of their family.   What did the bloody Black Fairy have in mind beyond separating them, and how had she succeeded?

Seeing the castle in the distance, Killian thoughts were on what he should tell Regina and the others before he left, when he was overcome with such a feeling of loss and despair that he doubled over in pain. “Emma,” he whispered, knowing immediately that the feelings were hers and not his and he needed to get back to her...now!  "Set us down, Jasmine.  Please."

Jasmine looked at him, confused, as the carpet set them carefully down. "I don't know how to explain it," he told her, "but I need to get to Emma now.  Will you trust me?"

"I trust you.” She told him quietly, “Don’t worry. I will let them know what happened."

"Thank you," Killian answered sincerely. Taking the bean out of his pocket, he looked down at it and thought about Emma.  Tossing it on the ground, he watched the portal swirl and grow, and once it had reached full size, he jumped.  His thought as the portal carried him away was for it to take him to Emma.

~~~~~~

Walking into her apartment, it was as though she had never left instead of being gone for two years.  The furniture, the counters, everything was exactly as she had left it two years ago, except nothing looked like she had been gone for so long.  Almost as if there was magic, the fanciful thought flitted through her mind. Dropping her bag onto the bar, next to the birthday candle that was still there, she sat down in her favorite chair, thinking not of how happy she was to be away from that place, but in fact, that she didn't feel happy at all.

As if something were guiding her eyes, she looked toward her bag and noticed a book had fallen out of it; a book, she had never seen before.  Curious, she walked to bar, opened her bag and let the book slide completely out. There was a handwritten note taped to the front cover.

You might not think this story is true.  But I know that it is.  And it can still have a happy ending.  Henry

Oh Henry, she thought, we talked about this.  What... But the phone rang pulling her thoughts away from the book temporarily. "Hello."

"Hey, Swan.  Got your message.  You back?" she heard from her old boss.

"Yeah, I'm back."

"Great.  I got a guy who jumped bail.  Perfect mark for your 'first date' trick. What do you say?"

"Sounds good," she answered, unable to find any enthusiasm for the job.

When she clicked off, she couldn't get Henry and his insistence that the stories he kept telling her were true.  She was no savior, but unable to resist, she flipped open the book to the first page.  What she saw caused a slight frown to appear between her brows because he had drawn her blowing out the star candle.  

Shaking her head at all the work, he had put into drawing the storybook for her, she flipped to the next page. There was a dragon with a comment of her striking the fatal blow and then another picture of her kissing a young boy lying on a bed. She wasn't the person he kept saying she was, but she found she really wanted to be.  Taking the book with her, she sat down, flipping from page to page and read his comments.  He has quite the imagination she couldn’t help but think, even as she realized that what she really felt was pride in his abilities.

Continuing to turn the pages, she saw he had drawn a picture of her being hugged by a dark headed woman and blond man.  These must be my parents, her thoughts were as she stared at the picture wondering why she felt as if she knew them when that wasn't possible. Interested to see what was next, she resumed turning the pages and reading what was written beneath each drawing.

~~~~~~

Killian fell from the portal and landed in an alley between several tall buildings. Where was he?  Was he in the New York or somewhere else? The one thing he was sure of, though, was that his Emma was in one of these buildings and he was bloody well going to find her.

His wedding finery had been restored, so as he walked into each building looking for his bride, people stopped to stare.  His patented Captain Hook glare seemed to work to deter them, which allowed him to get on with the business at hand, which was finding Emma.  He studied each building, trying to get a sense of which one could be hers and once his decision was made, he entered.  The door wasn't locked and no one seemed to question his presence. Within minutes, he was staring at a wall of letterboxes, searching for something that would show him where he would find her.

~~~~~~~

As she perused the pages of the book, a story unfolded before her of this woman, who had come into Henry's life and had made a difference in the lives of many others.  A legacy that anyone would be proud to have, and once more the thought that she wanted to be this person crept into her thoughts.

Throughout the book, a sense of hope, belief, and family stood out, and the people that surrounded this woman loved her and she loved them. And the face of the man who had appeared in her mind when Henry had taken her out on that roof was featured prominently.  

In one picture, Emma saw the man wrapping her likeness' hand in a scarf because it was wounded, and the look between them was intense, even in such a simple drawing.  The comment below read simply, "Hook tends to Emma's hand when she's hurt."  Looking away from the page, as if hesitant at what she might see, Emma looked down at her left palm.  When she saw a faint scar, she frowned in confusion.  "Where did I get that?" she murmured.  "I don't remember scraping my hand."

Unable to come up with any answers regarding her palm, she continued turning page after page, each story more fanciful than the next. Stories of a Neverland where Peter Pan was the villain and stories where she was fighting with a flying monkey. She looked out the window and frowned. How can any of this be true? Shaking her head in confusion, she moved on.

One page after another, she read through the story until finally a picture of her and the man Henry had claimed was her True Love caught her eye.  He was holding her close and their clothing looked as if they were at a ball.  The smile on the man's face was tender and sweet and Emma couldn't help tracing her finger along his lips. "Do I know you?" she whispered to him.  When he didn't answer, she read Henry's words, "Captain Hook and Emma attend King Midas' Ball as Prince Charles and Princess Leia." Unable to stop herself she snorted at the names Henry had given them.  "Charles and Leia, huh?"

Following the story of Charles and Leia was a fun read, but totally unrealistic and, rolling her eyes at Henry's sense of humor, she turned a few more pages.   What she saw next nearly took her breath away in its beauty and simplicity.  The man and woman were sitting and by the way, he was cupping her cheek, it was evident they had been kissing or were getting ready to kiss.  Their focus was only on each other and the intensity of their feelings could be felt leaping off the page.  She read, "You traded your ship for me?"  Wondering why that would be a big deal, she looked for more to the story but finding none, moved onto the next section.

~~~~~~~~

There were hundreds of letterboxes for Killian to read the names on, and after making his way through several floors, he felt no closer to finding her than when he had started.  When he had to move aside to allow someone to get inside their box, he thought about asking of Emma, but something told him that she hadn't made friends with her neighbors.  And remembering his reception when he found her in New York reminded him that strangers in a big city were not always well received.  

Moving up to the next level of letterboxes, he had completed three and moved onto four before he saw one that was a possibility. "E. S., 421," he read, but not willing to settle, he continued.   Five - Six - Seven - Eight, "Bloody, hell," he blurted out before thinking.  Quickly looking around to ascertain he was still alone, he double checked his find.   "815, E. Swan," he read, his face breaking into a relieved smile. "Found you, wife. I wonder if you even realize the significance to your apartment number."

When he stepped into the contraption that could whisk him to Emma, he instantly was brought back to the last time he had been inside one.  He and Emma had ridden one into the depths of the Underworld and even though he wished to get to her as quickly as possible, he couldn't make himself stay.  The steps lay ahead, and putting one foot on the bottom one, he began his climb.

~~~~~

Emma had reached the back of the book and had been staring at a picture of the man and the woman getting married. What drew her to the picture time and time again was their clothing, as they matched the pictures that flashed through her mind when Henry had taken her out onto the roof and told her it was the last place she had seen all her family. According to him, that had been the last place she had remembered who she really was, the savior. How could he say that though?  She was Emma Swan, his mother. Not the hero he imagined her to be, but… if she were honest with herself, the person she wanted to know more about. Henry's words came back to her,

"This is where you married your true love, yesterday," he started to explain.

She had scoffed, "Sorry, kid.  That's not how the world works.”

"It does.  It did for you. You married Captain Hook, right here." He had moved to a place on the roof, almost too easily.

But in an almost belittling tone, she had responded, "Captain Hook.  Who officiated?  Tinkerbell?"

He had gone on to explain to her that it had been Jiminy Cricket who married them, in front of friends and family.  When she had tried to scoff at him once more, he had forcibly pulled her up on the stage and that's when the pictures had flashed through her mind.

She had seen the man from the book smiling at her as she walked down an aisle in a white gown and then, then she had seen the couple kissing in the spot where she was standing.  Flashes of rings sliding onto her finger and then a repeat of the kiss.  

Shaking her head at how vivid the pictures were, she wondered where they had come from.  Why had that place brought those images to her?  He said she was married, but if she were married wouldn't she know it? Wouldn't she feel it? She looked at her left hand, but if she were married where were her rings? Setting the book aside, she checked her pockets, but no rings.  "What now?" she asked the empty room as her gaze locked on her bag where the book had been found. Picking it up, she had just started rummaging through it when there was a pounding at the door.

Walking toward the door, Emma felt something different in the air, as if there was an energy that hadn't been there before.  Henry would call it magic, but to believe that would be ridiculous, she knew.  Taking a deep breath, she pulled the door open quickly and had to take a step back.

"Hook," she whispered confused as to how the man from the pages of the book had come to life.

He smiled a smile unlike she had ever seen before and took a step forward, forcing her to take another one back, "Swan, I knew I'd find you."

"Do I know you?" She asked him, wondering why she was even standing here speaking to him.

He tilted his head while he studied her face, making her curious about his thoughts.  As if he had made a decision, he took a step, advancing closer. "Your family needs you, Emma.  I came to make you believe."

Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her.  One side of her brain screamed to push him away and give him a good swift knee where it would be painful, but the other part of her brain said wait.  The feel and scent of him were familiar as was the taste of his tongue.  

I want this to be real.  As soon as she opened her mind to the possibilities, the air around them became charged and picture after picture of her life with Henry, her mom and dad, and Killian paraded around in her head.  All the pictures that she has just gazed upon once again became real to her until everything culminated in her marrying her True Love in a wedding of the ages.   Feeling the air swirling around her body, she stepped back just as the dress she had been wearing when the curse struck, fitted itself back over her.  Dressed again in her wedding gown, in her mind she was transported back to that rooftop, holding tight to Killian as they watched the purple smoke encompass all of them.  Taking a deep breath, she looked up into a face that even without memories, she couldn’t completely forget.  

With tears streaming from her eyes, she cupped his face between her hands. "Killian," she breathed, "oh Killian." Pulling him close again, their lips met and as the kiss continued to grow, she realized that once more she was whole.

Eventually, their kisses became less frantic, more secure in the knowledge that they were finally together and the passion that was always between them began to rise.  When they broke apart and the old familiar routine of leaning their heads together just naturally happened, she couldn't help it any longer and completely lost control of her emotions.  

~~~~~~

Killian couldn't believe that the magic of a True Love's Kiss had actually worked this time.  After three failed attempts, she remembered and he had her in his arms again. Holding her as if he'd never let her go, he allowed her cry.  His only thoughts of how good she felt beside him, and that when she was ready to talk, he would say what she needed to hear.  

Moving them around so he could shut the door, he used his thumbs and wiped the tears from her face.  "I'm happy you didn't use that knee this time, love," he teased her about the way she had returned his kiss in New York.

She smiled and shrugged her shoulder, "Me too.  But Killian," she took his hand and he followed her to the sofa, "what happened when the curse struck?

~~~~~~~~

In the Enchanted Forest, Snow White and David had made it back to the castle and were waiting to see what was going to happen. In the distance, they saw a huge purple cloud rise up and, expecting it to encompass the land, they were left speechless when it dissipated just as suddenly as it had appeared.

"He made it," Snow breathed to everyone. "Emma's back."

~~~~~~~

Once Emma had told Killian everything that had happened in Storybrooke after she woke up from the curse, she asked him about her parents. He explained all that he could remember about their difficulties in the Enchanted Forest.  When he came to the part of the story about how her belief was affecting the realms, she pushed up from the sofa, unable to sit still.  "What do you think is happening now?"

"The realms were disappearing because-"

"-I didn't believe." she finished his statement.

"Aye," he agreed, "and now that you believe-"

"-the realms should be fine," she concluded as she paced back and forth in front of him, her wedding dress swirling around her legs with each turn. "We need to get back to Storybrooke and save Henry."

Killian knew that's what she would want to do, but he also knew that they needed to rest.  Pushing up from the sofa, he walked slowly toward her, pulling her into his arms again.  "Emma," he nuzzled her cheek, "we will go back, tomorrow. Tonight, we need to regroup."

~~~~~~~

Emma knew he was right, that they needed to rest and regain their strength but she was worried about Henry. However, she also realized that she had left not only for her peace of mind, but also for Henry's and without him constantly pushing against Fiona, for her sake, he would fine. "You're right."

He lifted a brow, "Say that again.  I'm not sure I heard clearly."

She slid her arms around his waist. "Your advanced age must be affecting your hearing."

"I'll show you my advanced age," he leered as he swung her up into his arms and started down the hall toward the bedroom. "after all we still haven’t had our honeymoon."

His carefree smile and the easy way he carried her in his arms and wanted to take care of her made her heart do a few flips as they made their way toward her bedroom. "Too bad my magic doesn't work so I could stop time."

"Too bad your magic doesn't work so you could poof that dress off.  Have you seen the buttons down the back?" He gave her a cheeky grin.

Not expecting it to work, Emma waved her hands over her body and to her surprise and Killian's delight she was left in a strapless bra and tiny panties.

"I like," he told her as he let go of her legs and they slid down against the soft velvet of his tux.  "What about me?"

She waved her hand and his suit and everything else disappeared. "I like," she sighed against his mouth as they sank onto the bed and no more words were exchanged for quite some time.

cs~cs~cs

The next morning, they packed the bug and began the long journey back to Storybrooke. They didn't think that their kiss had broken the curse on the town, but were hopeful.  As they drove closer and the Welcome to Storybrooke sign could be seen, both worried that Killian might be pulled away.  Needing a little more time alone, Emma parked the bug.

"I'm scared you might disappear again." She smoothed her hand over his cheek.

Killian picked up her hand, kissing her fingers, "If that happens, I'll be back."  He glanced in the back seat, "Too bad this contraption has such a small back seat, Swan." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

She laughed, "Do I need to ask how you know about back seat behavior?"

His grin said it all. "Some of those movies Henry enjoys, of course.  I like our bed better."

Without thinking, Emma threw open the door and met Killian in the front of the car where they fell into each other’s arms. Their kiss said everything they didn't have time to say with words and expressed every emotion that was in their hearts.  As their lips parted, they knew it was time to drive over the town line.  

"I love you, Swan," were the last words he spoke to her before he was whisked back to the Enchanted Forest.  As Emma drove onward to fight the final battle, she had no doubts that she would win because nothing stands in the way of True Love. However, once she had won, she was kidnapping her pirate and surrounding them with a protection spell for a few days of uninterrupted honeymoon.

~fin

Read the rest of the stories in the Once Upon a Captain Swan Storybook, Vol 2 which can be found here.  

[scribbles-by-kate]

Thoughts on 6.21/6/22 “The Final Battle”

The final chapter of Book One! I really liked the finale on the whole. I could have wished for more Belle in the first hour, and less Hook, but I think everyone got a good story and a fitting finale.

My Fan fiction My Once Upon a Time episode reviews, essays, and meta

Swan Believer feels - the return to the season one vibe, with Henry trying to get Emma to believe, was lovely. It was a nice reminder of how important this relationship was in the beginning, and gave Jared an important role to play in the end of the first book.

Emma’s belief - centring the whole Final Battle on destroying Emma’s belief is cool. It’s like the Saviour’s belief is the thing that really brings the stories to life: she’s the link with the realms, and if her belief dies, they die, and all the characters. It’s funny that they never alluded to this before. In the past, Henry was able to get people to believe to bring magic back, but would that not have worked with the stories too? Is it not also true that people’s belief, and continuing to read stories, brings them to life? But, ok, they go with the idea that it’s the Saviour’s belief that provides the flame for these worlds to exist. I don’t think they set it up very well, but it creates jeopardy for the finale, which is what they want, and it calls back to season one, when Emma didn’t want to believe and was reluctant to believe. She didn’t want to be the Saviour, and she’s been the reluctant Saviour ever since.

What does destroying the realms do? - Destroy light? Bring eternal darkness? I think that’s certainly what’s being suggested, isn’t it? It’s not just about destroying the realms: there’s more to it. The Black Fairy talked about darkness coming, and she talks to Rumple about changing the rules of magic, so the Final Battle is what will lead to that. It’s the ultimate battle between dark and light. And it makes sense for this all to be connected with stories, because stories are hope and belief and light: if you destroy them, darkness comes, the absence of hope. I think that might be something they want to explore more in season seven, though, perhaps. There’s definitely something more meta they can do there.

Jaime is excellent - that scene where she’s trying to convince Emma to burn the book, and she’s holding her hand like a spider or claw, is so good. You can feel Fiona’s need and frustration. She just wants the Final Battle fought already so the darkness can come. She’s so sure she’s going to win and she’s so impatient for it. Excellently creepy and unhinged on Jaime’s part.

The Enchanted Forest crew - Regina, Snowing, and Hook, and then Zelena and the Evil Queen, all working together to try to get home was really good, I think. I really liked the Evil Queen helping, and that moment with Regina calling her Regina was really special. The Evil Queen loves Henry, and I think she was the first to put herself in harm’s way, really, against the darkness. She was the first to be wiped out by it. I also really liked Zelena being supportive of her sister - the ‘of course you can, sis’ line. I think they’ve done a good job of creating that sisterly bond. I also noticed that Zelena saved people from Oz. How she got them to follow her, I don’t know, unless they’d seen in other instances that she’d changed, but the show isn’t really good at establishing a process of change: it just happens when they need it to. Zelena’s less selfish than she was, but she’s rather vindictive when it comes to Rumple, still, which they’ll never have time to address now. Still, some progress for her, at least, and her relationship with her sister has definitely improved.

Hook was really not effective - going up the beanstalk was just a callback to how CS met, but it didn’t actually achieve anything plot wise, apart from allowing some Hook/Charming bonding. The bean didn’t even work in the end. I could really have done without that interlude, to be honest. I don’t believe they’ve had to fight for anything, whatever Hook says, and he definitely didn’t make Emma better. I’ve never found their relationship well developed or satisfactory in any respect. The show’s always tried to make us believe in CS by saying all these things that they simply haven’t shown or developed properly.

Snow and Charming - nice callback to him waking her up. Now she’s waking him. This is Josh and Ginny’s final episode, so it’s nice to take that full circle. I loved seeing Jasmine helping Snow by calling on the carpet! Hook calling snow mummy is gross, though. Ick.

Belle and Gideon’s curses - so Gideon hates his mother and Belle is agoraphobic. And I’m supposed to believe the Black Fairy loves her son? If she loved him, she’d never have given his family such cruel curse personas. She made them the opposite of who they really are just to isolate Rumple. Thankfully, he didn’t fall for it.

Fiona fishing for information - she’s obviously testing Rumple in that first scene, to see if he’s really under her curse. I think the ‘our anniversary’ line is part of her curse: I don’t believe this is RumBelle’s actual anniversary. She’s trying to see if he’s under her curse, and he provides the information about the anniversary to fool her into thinking he is. What a cruel thing to curse him to believe it’s his anniversary, and then ask him about it! She’s really weird in this curse relationship with Rumple and Gideon. She can’t be Rumple’s mother, so she’s…what? Is she trying to take the place of his missing wife or something? Creepy!

Rumple is an excellent actor - OMG, he really had me fooled. I thought something would wake him up early, like he’d hidden some kind of trigger before the curse was cast, that, when he saw it, would wake him, but I didn’t guess he’d be awake the whole time! How did he manage that?! But it just goes to show that he was never working with her. Ok, he allowed her to cast her curse, but he was probably betting on Emma and her family to succeed, and I’m sure he had his own plans for stopping her, which he does do. And I think there’s something to be said for letting her think she’s won and then taking her out. And I would also argue that the Final Battle HAD to be fought. Indeed, Henry says as much. I’m just very impressed by Rumple’s acting! He looks so distraught when he sees the pictures of Belle, like he really believes she left him. And when he says this has been ‘illuminating’, I suppose he means the lengths his mother has gone to in her deception. Once we know he was awake all along, we understand that him questioning Gideon is his attempt to discover the nature of his curse persona.

Belle’s presence - I’ll say this for the show, that even when Belle isn’t in an episode much, her presence is always felt. I loved hearing her voice recite her message for Gideon and seeing Rumple so determined to find her. I loved how he fought for her with Gideon, how he insisted that, even if things went wrong between them, she would never leave their son. ‘Your mother loved you, Gideon’ *sob*. I think he was really trying to break Gid out of his curse there, by reminding him of his mother. It must have hurt to hear him say Fiona’s been more of a mother to him than Belle. Rumple’s being such a good husband here, even if Belle never wants to be with him again. Putting her and their son first is everything. I love how he just will not give up on Belle, and how it drives Fiona demented! Rumple playing with his wedding ring as he talks about Belle always makes me smile too.

Rumple and Henry - lovely scene. I love Henry just not taking no for an answer and then realising Rumple is awake. I think he probably suspected it anyway, or he wouldn’t have gone there. He was just wanting to force Rumple to admit it, I think. Him demanding help with saving their family is very in character for Henry, but Rumple insisting on Belle being all he cares about is very in character for him. And Henry doesn’t argue with him. He knows Rumple loves Belle, and his grandfather is being straight about his priorities, not just being selfish. He has his own person to save, so, no, Belle can’t wait. Glad Henry accepts that and then just asks for something to help him.

Rumple and Belle - I love how he finds her, but he doesn’t try to force anything with her. He sees she’s afraid, and, though he tries to tell her this isn’t who she is, he doesn’t push it. He knows where she is and that she’s not likely to go anywhere, so she’s safe, and he has time to go after his mother. I love how outraged he is at what his mother did to her, and how he swears he’ll make her pay. He’s so gentle with Belle and so protective, and I love him like that. I also love poor, sweet Belle being so scared, but still sort of captivated by this strange man. Emilie plays it really well. It’s just a pity we didn’t see more of that, but they rush so much in finales.

Emma losing belief - it’s surprising that nothing Henry shows her can get her to believe again, and that she doesn’t want to fight, but I think this is a message about belief being a choice. He can’t make her believe: she has to choose to on her own. He’s understandably distraught when he thinks the Black Fairy’s won, but the hero always gives up before finally taking up the mantle of heroism. And I think Emma’s journey has been about choosing to be the Saviour, about wanting to be that. She’s been called the Saviour, but, a lot of the time, she hasn’t been the one doing the saving. It’s been Regina or Rumple being the heroes and making the sacrifices. This is the first time Emma really becomes the Saviour, rather than paying lip service to the idea, and rather than doing it reluctantly.

Henry going it alone - love this. He wants to be a hero so much, and it’s a nice parallel with the opening scene, where he stands in front of the darkness with his grandfather’s sword. We see Henry transitioning to being the hero of his own story.

Emma’s return - again, the story had to be about her choice. Henry couldn’t make her believe: she had to choose to. And I think it was important that she chose to come back before her memories returned, because that meant she was choosing to try to be the person Henry showed her, even if she wasn’t sure that’s who she was. It’s important to try to do the right thing even if you think you’ll fail, and I think that mirrors Rumple in the mines, turning his back on the Darkness even when it doesn’t save Gideon, at least immediately. He doesn’t call the Darkness back when Gideon’s heart goes dark. There’s more paralleling of Rumple and Emma in this episode: they’re sort of mirrors of each other.

Rumple fulfils the prophecy - he was supposed to be the Saviour who died in battle killing the ‘great evil’, who turned out to be his mother. Even though she cut his destiny away, that prophecy still came true, only Rumple didn’t die too. Maybe being the Dark One is what saved him there. Maybe he was able to use the Darkness to destroy darkness, since Emma later says light can’t destroy darkness. Maybe darkness can, though. In being the one who kills the great evil, Rumple does become the Saviour, only he chooses to be that rather than being destined. He chooses to fight his mother for love of his family, and fighting for love is what breaks her curse and brings everyone home, just as they’re about to die.

They remembered how the Black Fairy’s wand works - I’m so happy about this! They established in season three that it can recreate any magic, so Rumple is able to use it to undo the magic that made his mother a fairy, turning her to dust in the process, because she should have died centuries ago. That’s a cool bit of continuity, and, again, I wonder if anyone but the Dark One could have done that. Could Emma, Regina or Blue? Would they have known to try it? Would they have had the power necessary? They were going to use the other wand to banish her, so that suggests they didn’t think they could use her own. Or else the writers remembered about her wand when they were writing the finale, which is possible!

‘I’m no longer willing to pay it’ - I am so proud of Rumple! He finally realised that all the Darkness promises just leads to more heartache and people he loves getting hurt, which leads to pain for him. Even when his mother is offering him everything he could ever want, he says no, because what he really wants is to earn his family’s love and to live in a world where they can choose for themselves. He turns his back on the Darkness not once, but twice. He refuses his mother’s offer, so the Darkness itself puts in an appearance, and he still refuses, because, again, he wants a real life. He doesn’t want something like the Author’s AU: he’s learned and grown, and he wants something real. Accepting that offer would destroy him in the end anyway, because it wouldn’t really be Belle and Gideon, just shadows of them. He’d lose his humanity to the Darkness as surely as he nearly lost it before. He’s finally learned his lesson. I don’t believe the Darkness is done with him, but he’s stronger now. The fact that he says he was destined to be the Saviour really indicates what path he’s chosen. He’s chosen light, let love wake him up: now he has to keep doing that, and, if he can, he’ll get stronger and better able to resist temptations. I’m so proud of him for taking that first step. He could really be the person Merlin spoke of, who can use the power for good and not let it burn through his soul.

Only light can snuff out light - and that’s why she took Gideon. I love how Rumple knows that before she even says it. Gideon is a True Love child, and he has his mother’s goodness, though I would say he has his father’s too. I love that he’s so much a child of light, as much as Emma is.

Belle’s return - the fact that she runs right to Rumple and she doesn’t even bat an eyelid at the fact that she was just cursed suggests that she knew all along. He told her about the curse and the Final Battle, and she was ok with it. The fact that she doesn’t yell at him like she did in the season four finale, before he collapsed, strongly suggests she knew the score and accepted it, because if she didn’t know what was going on, she would have yelled at him for sure.

Belle twisting her ankle - was silly. I know they wanted Rumple to face the Darkness alone, but… Obviously it was a nod to Belle’s towering heels! Hey, it got the job done, and I loved her telling Rumple to go on, trusting him to save their son and Emma. They’ve come a long way.

Find a third way - I knew when the queen said that earlier this season, it would come back into play. I really enjoyed that Swan Queen moment where they rehashed their relationship in less than a minute. ‘We were both his mother’ - aw! That’s one of the best stories the show has told: both Regina and Emma as Henry’s mother :)

Emma becomes the Saviour - I think the speech she gives herself is really her accepting who she is and choosing that for herself. She chooses to be the Saviour as much as Rumple does, and, when Gideon says he hoped she could save them both, she sees what she has to do: she finds the third way. Sacrificing herself, as Saviours do, defeats the darkness, and then Henry’s True Love is what saves her. Everyone wins!

Good and evil made the right choice - I was kind of annoyed by this line at first, because it seemed to kind of put the blame on Rumple, and cast him as the evil, but I actually think the phrasing equals them out. Both Rumple and Emma had to choose right. Emma had run away, but then she came back, and then she chose to be the Saviour. Rumple resisted the Darkness twice, even when its offer was very tempting both times, and even when he realised he’d failed, he didn’t call the Darkness back. That line is suggesting that both good and evil can make wrong choices too: they just had to choose to make right ones. There’s good and bad in Emma and Rumple, but they let their good win out. They were brave and they faced their fears. They were selfless, and that’s what’s important, not the titles. They couldn’t have won the Final Battle without both of them doing the right thing, so they are both heroes at the end of the day. It was a joint effort.

Gideon’s happy beginning - I’m sure he got what he wanted in being turned back into a baby. He looked relieved when Emma’s magic did its thing. Though he didn’t say what he wanted, it’s heavily implied. And baby Gideon sounds so happy when he appears. I really love that moment when Belle is comforting Rumple, after he’s done his absolute best, and then they hear their baby. I love that it’s a moment of despair that they’re comforting each other in, and then it turns into a moment of utter joy. There’s no anger or disagreement between them now: they’re completely together, and then they have their baby, and it’s beautiful. A happy beginning indeed.

The happy beginnings:

CS - seems kind of understated to me? Just her making him her deputy: no kiss or big romantic moment. I mean, I’m happy there wasn’t, but it seems like they were kind of an after thought in the whole thing.

Snowing - aw, David gets to have a farm and Snow goes back to teaching and shaping young minds. Lovely! And Wilby II!

Regina - perfect. Her happy ending is feeling at home in the world, so I love this acceptance from people. She’s their queen and they love and respect her. That did make me emotional.

Zelena - I know there was a scene that was cut. I suppose her happiness is being with her daughter.

Henry - he’s got his moms walking him to the bus and the nice Swan Mills family moment, and then his first love waiting for him. Lovely.

RumBelle - so in love, dancing to their song, their baby being rocked gently to sleep. Belle’s got her wedding ring on and they’re so happy. Love it. And then their big entrance into Granny’s, and the welcome from Emma and the others. I think the highlight of the happy beginnings montage is them, with Regina coming a close second.

I love the family siting down to dinner together, finally all together and an extended family.

Henry and his daughter - there’s much that’s intriguing about this. The darkness, the idea that they have to protect the book and the stories from it, because stories are the only way to defeat darkness. I think this is the ‘more meta’ potential of season seven that I mentioned before. Henry’s disappearance and Lucy being all alone, and why he doesn’t remember her in the Seattle part, and which comes first: Enchanted Forest or Seattle? The fact that they’re continuing with Henry as an adult is interesting. I suppose we’ll see what Book Two brings!

[dancingships]

Regina’s friendship VS Killian’s love  - Part 1

I hate it when people try to tell me CS is toxic and abusive yet ship Emma with a woman that has often belittled her. I get Hook was a villain. But even as a villain, he believed in her. And now as a changed man, I can’t fathom ANYONE being more supportive of Emma.

Lets start out reviewing just how *great* of a friend Regina is after she is supposedly redeemed.

Regina is emotionally abusive to Emma

Season 5 - Using the dagger on her

This has got to be one of the most sickening episodes between Emma and Regina.

During the scene at Merlin’s tree (5x02), Regina takes away Emma’s agency when King Arthur asks who the savior is. Regina stops Emma from answering then assumes her identity. It’s cloaked in a “I did it for you” dialog but her body language and actions suggest otherwise.

However, you can’t ignore fact. And fact is, Regina liked controlling Emma. She didn’t even apologize for it.

Regina: Shut up and listen! Emma: ::struggles to speak:: Regina: Oh I could get used to this.

Her response to Emma’s distress was “whatever”. Regina showed 0 sympathy that her actions, whether incidental or not, were hurting Emma. She simply didn’t care because she was enjoying it.

Thank goodness the woman didn’t become the Dark One. They’d all have been dead by now.

Then the most sickening part of all was when Emma had to thank her for her abuse. And then *truly* thank Regina for her abuse.

Regina sure let her stolen identity as the savior go to her head super quick, didn’t she? REGINA is going to figure everything out, eh? But hey, this is the woman who views Emma as a waste of an ability so what else do you expect?

Regina: I can use the dagger to make you do this, but I’m not. I’m asking you!

So if Emma refused, she would have used the dagger on Emma which could have the real possibility of sending her over the edge and into darkness? Interesting...

This is basically emotional blackmail.

Regina was ready to use force. She was actually going to use the dagger on Emma despite already knowing how much being controlled distresses her.

Killian refused to let the dagger be used on Emma.

Killian: We can’t do that. This has to be her choice.

Truth be told, he didn’t need to use the dagger. His love for her reached her. His belief in her reached through the darkness. He didn’t need force. He used love.

Season 6 - torturing Emma

Killian went to NYC to help Emma regain her memories. He attempted a true love kiss (just like Charming did, by the way) which didn’t work (neither did Charming’s). So what did he do? He opened up to her, he let Emma see who he was. Told her to use her super power. And it worked. And he didn’t need to murder her parents in cold blood.

Regina on the other hand murders Emma’s parents right in front of her.

It was cruel. Also, Regina just got to live out one of her life’s goals; she got to kill the Charmings in cold blood.

The fact that Emma THANKED Regina for that is absolutely horrifying. But that’s the one problem with Emma. For the sake of Henry, she has stopped standing up to Regina. And that is SAD.

Also she murdered Wish Snowing for no reason. I thought she was supposed to be redeemed? Mmmmhmm.

Season 4 - Bring out power

Killian has brought out her magic through love. Regina nearly killed her on a bridge.

Season 3 & 4 - Using Henry

Season 3 incident is with Pan masquerading as Henry. Regina refuses to acknowledge Emma’s worries (which turns out to be true - this is touched on more below).

But in S4, Regina actually refuses to let Emma take care of Henry when Regina knows Emma is immune to the curse. Emma would in fact be his best chance since Regina was about to return to her mass murdering ways. But hey, no one argues with Regina, right? Even while she’s undermining Emma’s capabilities!

Regina is verbally abusive

Season 1 - Can’t even accept Emma saving her life.

Regina: Set me down gently!

Season 3 - Henry/Pan

Emma: I know. He just doesn’t seem quite himself. Regina: Really? You mean because he asked for me? Emma: No, I didn’t. I didn’t mean- Regina: That’s exactly what you meant. You cant face the fact that I am his mother too. And maybe, just maybe, he wants me when he’s frightened. You forget - I have ten years of soothing his nightmares under my belt. He’s fine. Emma: It’s not about you, Regina, I just have a gut feeling. Regina: Well, maybe you can use that gut feeling to find the Shadow instead of obsessing over who’s going to comfort our son.

Regina’s first instinct is to lash out at Emma instead of listening to her. Her jealousy almost caused all of them to lose their lives to Peter Pan.

Season 4 - Marian

Regina: Ms. Swan, what an unpleasant surprise

Regina: I’ve been busy working on Marian, on the problem you created.

Regina: You’re never thinking of consequences

Regina: You’ve never had my back

Regina: Seems like the savior needs saving these days

Emma: I’m an idiot Regina: Finally something we can agree on

Regina: Does it matter if I mind? If I say no, you’ll just come anyway.

Regina: And then what? Complimenting my outfits? Giving me a makeover? Braiding my hair? Calling Robin Hood and hanging up? You’re trying to win me over so I can assuage your guilt intentionally or not, Ms. Swan, you brought Marian back. You ruined my life. And there is no coming back from that.

Emma did not know who she was bringing back from the Enchanted Forest. The only thing she was concerned about was saving a woman’s life. Regina? She could care less about a woman’s life because it inconvenienced her.  Funny, this life that Emma saved was a life Regina was about to snuff out (and did in the original timeline) and happened to be married to Regina’s boyfriend. Even funnier, Regina was looking for ways to have Marian killed again but gave up because it would look too obvious.

Regina’s redemption is a joke.

Because I know you think you didn’t mean to, but you hurt someone. So do as I do and learn to live with it. Welcome to my world.

She dares compare her murderous rampages that caused the death of women and children to that of Emma “breaking her heart."

What is more important here? A woman’s life or Regina’s broken heart? Apparently Regina believes her broken heart matters more. Spoken like the true evil queen that she is.

By the way, Killian would have never agreed with Emma about being an idiot. Because our Killian has never put Emma down. Even sadder, Emma was trying to be Regina’s friend.

Season 5 - Saving Hook vs Saving Robin

Regina: And you didn’t think of the consequences for everyone else?

Funny how Regina never stopped to think about the consequences for Emma when she begged her to save Robin’s life. But Regina is above consequences. Isn’t she? However, she is all about tearing Emma down for decisions she’s made.

She BEGGED Emma to save Robin.  But when it came time to save Killian? Would Regina show any support for Emma? No. Not a bit!

Season 5 - Hypocrite

Regina: You’re just saying that because you feel bad about ripping her heart (Violet’s) out in Camelot.

First she has to throw something Dark One Swan did that would release Merlin from the tree, something that also hurt Emma. Why isn’t all of the things Regina did to Henry (which were ten times worse) ever thrown back in her face? What right does she have really?

But lets look at what prompts her to verbally attack Emma.

Emma knows about Henry and Violet’s song. Regina doesn’t. Henry has flourished under Emma’s parenting. He was able to make friends in NY whereas in Storybrooke with Regina he had zero and now he’s able to talk about his teenage crushes with Emma. Not Regina.

Why is that, you think?

Because Emma is always supporting Henry & was encouraging his relationships with others whereas Regina has selfishly wanted Henry to “be mine” as she would always say.

Just look how pissed Regina is at witnessing her teenage son kissing his girlfriend.

Whose the better mom again? But I digress. EvilRegal is just as abusive as SwanQueen.

Season 5 episode 22

Emma: He tried to wipe the search history clean. Luckily I can get it back. Regina: I won’t hold my breath

Once again, you’d never hear Killian Jones doubting Emma Swan’s capabilities.

People claim this is just Regina’s “sass”. Except her sass isn’t said out of jest. She truly means it. She’s rude and obnoxious. It was funny back when she was a villain but she isn’t supposed to be that person anymore.

Regina belittles Emma’s relationships

A good is supportive. Regina? Not so much.

Regina: And you think it’s the best plan because your boyfriend came up with it?

Every time Regain has referred to Killian as Captain Guyliner.

Or made fun of his disability

The time she wanted to rip his throat out.

Regina is physically abusive

Regina tried to murder Emma as a baby.

Influenced Sydney to try to murder Emma.

Regina tried to kill her with an apple.

Regina tried to kill Emma, the Charmings and the rest of the town in season 2.

Oh wait, I can’t use references from S1 & S2 when Regina wasn’t redeemed but you can of villain Hook & DO Hook? Leave your hypocrisy at the door. Thanks.

Season 4 - Shattered Sight

She was technically cursed but her true feelings for Emma were once again revealed.

Weren’t those bracelets bound by true love? Hmmm.

Regina would destroy her own friend’s life

Regina: Yeah, there's one problem with that. I did cast a curse that devastated an entire population. I have tortured and murdered. I've done some terrible things. I should be overflowing with regret, but... I'm *not*. Because it got me my son.

So basically, despite being Emma’s bestie, Regina would orphan Emma all over again and destroy her life all for her own personal gain.

What an awesome friend! Where can I find one?

To be continued in part 2

[themattress]

The GOOD things about the OUAT Finale

The finale for the sixth season and original series of Once Upon a Time was sadly not on par with previous finales (save for Season 5′s) nor the ideal series finale it could have been.  But with that said, there were several positive aspects to it and I think they are worth looking at.

The Parallels - While the literal usage of the Dark Curse in order to give a sense of coming full circle was groan-worthy, there were many great parallels to the first season that came along with it such as Emma and Henry’s relationship, the evil gaslighting female mayor, Snow and Davd’s kiss and following exchange, the place they were married, Emma’s old apartment, Henry getting a sword from Mr. Gold just like Emma did in the finale, and of course the role-reversed True Love’s Kiss between Emma and Henry. That all worked.

Mayor Fiona - Fiona as the Black Fairy was a pretty lame villain, even with Jamie Murray doing her best in the role.  The awkward attempts to portray her as the Ultimate Evil and sheer unoriginality of combining many past Big Bad traits into one character left me very unimpressed.  But strangely enough, as the mayor of her cursed Storybrooke, Fiona finally became genuinely scary and despicable to me.  How seamlessly she could adopt the mask of being a kind, caring person made her even more hateful than the over-the-top Mayor Mills of Season 1, and her absolute psychotic conviction that all of her manipulative villainy was for a just cause made her frightening.  In the end, she was actually a pretty decent final foe.

The Multiversal Apocalypse - Even though the reason for it happening made absolutely no freaking sense (Why is the existence of all the realms suddenly bound to the Savior’s belief?), I still loved the stakes and intensity that it brought to the finale.  It was also a fantastic visual.  The image of a darkness consuming the world brings to mind the Nothing from The Neverending Story, which makes perfect sense for a show like this to reference. 

Operation Cuckoo’s Nest - Thank you, Henry. Finally a real nod to the fact that the psyche ward nurse and janitor are so clearly Nurse Ratched and Chief Bromdan from that story.

Hook’s Speech - In front of the beanstalk where the Captain Swan relationship officially began, Hook makes a passionate speech to David that sums up exactly why the couple, despite the missteps made with it in the past two seasons, is so great.  They weren’t some pre-destined pair that was guaranteed a happy ending by fate (the kind of relationship that Swanfire shippers insist that their ship was), it was two people who had to fight for their love and earn their happy ending.  Even better, Hook acknowledges the fact that is barely talked about in-show and out of it: that he and Emma made each other better.  Previously the show had been acting as if was just the love of a good woman than changed a bad man, while certain fans seem to think that Hook made Emma worse since S1 Emma is the pinnacle of strength and badassery (more on that later…), but in fact both characters have helped develop and improve one another over the course of their relationship. That is why CS > all.

Captain Charming - Following up from this, Hook and David’s beanstalk adventure and the reflection it shows on how their relationship has developed is beautiful.  If you ignore the bullshit retcon about Hook killing David’s father like the show does once its purpose of contrived temporary angst has been served, then the Hook/David bromance has been one of the show’s most endearing bonds over several seasons, and it culminates with the exchange where David admits to Hook that “he’s not trusting a pirate, he’s trusting his son….in-law.” 

Rumple’s Comical Misogyny - Rumple has always been a misogynist and usually it’s disgusting, but in both episodes of this finale it crosses the line into flat-out hilarity.  The first is when Fiona, after some dramatic build-up, reveals the supposed fate of Belle under this curse to him.  She has dared to pull a Milah, leaving her family to actually pursue her own dreams and sustain her own well-being by travelling the world!  Rumple’s horrified face as he looks through the obviously Photoshopped selfies of Belle at foreign landmarks is priceless. The second is when Rumple kills Fiona.  Not only is this another woman to add to his body count, but it’s his own mother!  Rumple’s habit of killing women who oppose him has finally reached the point where he kills the very woman whose womb he came from, the very woman who birthed him!  Again, his expression after this deed coupled with his shaking arm is hilarious, as if even he realizes just how fucked up his murderous misogyny has gotten!

The Book Burning Scene - The closing scene of Part 1, where Emma burns the Once Upon a Time storybook all while shit is getting real back in the Enchanted Forest, is excellently shot and scored.  I especially like when Fiona is to the side of Emma, tempting her, with flames seen just below her to signify how devilish she is, and when Emma sees the burning page of Hook’s picture which triggers something in her subconscious memory. It’s True Love, people.

“Hello there, Mummy” - Just…that line from Hook to Snow.  Best line in the whole finale.

The Evil Queen - One of the biggest surprises in the finale was the return of the Evil Queen who had been split from Regina and served as the main antagonist for the first half of the season.  Not only was the plot hole of her previous “happy ending” addressed (it wasn’t safe for her in the Wish Realm), but she proved to be noble and self-sacrificing in a way that Regina seldom has been.  I mostly liked the Evil Queen earlier in the season, and her performance in this finale just reinforces my firm belief that like with Jekyll and Hyde, it’s the alleged “dark” part who is truly the better half.  I can actually get behind her happy ending.

Gideon Gold - I never cared for Gideon throughout this season.  He was a whiny psycho who lacked charisma when he first showed up, and the retcon that his heart was being controlled by the Black Fairy still didn’t endear me to him.  But, like his surrogate mother, he was actually more effective here.  First he was a complete asshole under the curse which helped show how bad Fiona and what she has done is, then he was hilarious with his befuddled reactions to Fiona ranting on about magic and having his heart, and finally he was a truly sympathetic figure, forced to be a puppet who had to fight and kill Emma even when he didn’t want to, a huge improvement over his “I wanna be the Savior!” crap from before.  I actually felt for him, and was glad that he was reset into a baby, giving him another chance.

Emma’s Character Development - Whenever people say they want “Season 1 Emma” back, they seldom mean the Emma who had great plot relevancy who got to be the hero, nor the Emma who saw Regina for the sociopath that she was and stood up to her.  No, they mean they want the shallowly “badass” Emma who was cold and muted in her emotional reactions, wore leather jackets all the time, punched people, said snarky things to everyone, and who was cynical and unbelieving in magic…and who was also a sad, pathetic loner. She was someone with no life beyond her job, had no friends because she pushed everyone away with her “walls”, and refused to believe in magic that she was at the center of because her self-esteem was so low that she refused to believe she had any such worth.  All that bluster about “punching back and saying ‘this is who I am’?  Just a way to repress what she truly thought of herself: as an unlovable orphan.  In this finale, they brought Season 1 Emma back, were not subtle about how negative a person she was, and then showed just how she’s changed for the better.  Even when cursed to regress back to her Season 1 self, all of Emma’s development doesn’t just disappear.  It’s still there in her subconscious, and thus she ends up doing something the actual Season 1 Emma would never have done - believe in Henry and believe in herself because she wants to be the kind of magical hero he insists that she is and she’s willing to take a chance on becoming that hero. She’s truly punching back - against her own bleak outlook - and defining who she is: the Savior, giver of hope and light.

Rumple Beside Himself - Why did it take until the last episode for Rumple in his present-day Mr. Gold identity to stand opposite from his manic, sparkly past alter-ego?  Given how the Dark One was established to work in Season 5, this felt like a much more natural thing to have happen than Regina and the Evil Queen sharing screentime together.  Robert Carlyle is fantastic in both roles, as Rumple is tempted by his own dark side into once again making the wrong choice and screwing everyone over, but for some reason or other, he’s not having any of it this time and does the right thing.  This doesn’t redeem him by a long shot, especially since the current crisis is his own fault, but it’s nice to see him take a stand all the same.

The Final Battle - Fiona may go out in an anticlimactic way, but she does leave behind a pretty ingenious trap: she gives Gideon’s heart the command for him to kill Emma at all costs. If Emma is killed, then light magic as embodied by her will die.  If Emma kills Gideon, who is an innocent victim, it will cause light magic to die too!  In a callback to 6x02, Regina says Emma can find the third way that she could not when faced with a similar situation when the Charmings were attacked by the heart-controlled Edmond Dantes.  She finds that third way by allowing Gideon to stab her in order to save him, hoping that a self-sacrifice like this will spare light magic.  At the same time, Rumple gives Gideon’s heart the command to not kill Emma, which can’t fully override Fiona’s command but causes his stab to curse her rather than irretrievably kill her.  And because good as represented by the Savior and evil as represented by the almost-Savior both did the right thing, both combatants of the Final Battle are able to survive it.  I’ll admit it - that’s actually some decent writing. Still, I’d rather Rumple have died as a part of his contribution, since it’s pretty galling that he gets off scot-free. 

The Closure - The happy ending montage is beautiful…for the most part, anyway.  The “Swan-Mills Family” pandering moment is ridiculous, and Regina and Rumple’s big scenes are morally twisted and infuriating.  But the closing scenes for Snow, David, Emma and Hook are all perfect, with the first couple finally getting a better house complete with a barn and David’s old dog, and the second couple patrolling the streets as sheriff and deputy, with the hilarious added detail of a siren put on the yellow bug.  And if you’re actually able to stomach the presence of Regina, Zelena, Rumple and Belle, then the final shot of the big family dinner at Granny’s is pretty touching as well, especially when it turns into the final page of the book. 

[spartanguard]

hey i was wondering if you take any fanfiction requests..if you do, could you write a smutty fic about what happened post-wish realm? (cs obv) love your stories btw!

more than i could wish for

Hey nonnie! Thanks so much! I’m hit or miss on taking requests, and obviously this one took a bit, but I’d already kind of been toying with it when you sent this so…here ya go! A little over 2k of some reunion lovin’. Thank you so much to @optomisticgirl and @xpumpkindumplingx for looking this over! (Rated M; set within my version of the wish realm found in all rise for the captain and i know you) 

When Emma finally got home—hours yet after arriving back in Storybrooke, because of course she’d stumble right into the Gideon crisis and have to fight for her life—she nearly collapsed fully clothed on the bed.

Killian—her Killian—wasn’t far behind, wearing all the same signs of exhaustion. Somehow, they both managed to get out of their actual clothes and into something resembling sleepwear (a tank top and underwear for her; just a pair of sleep pants for him), helping each other along the way before finally embracing under the covers, pressing their bodies as close together as possible.

She was just starting to drift off when he quietly asked, “Well, Swan, did you get your wish?”

Trepidation tinted his voice, and her eyes flew open to see that his features were etched with concern, visible even in the low light. She should have known his thoughts would eventually wander that way, but was hoping it’d be when she had a bit more sleep and coffee in her.

“I did…unfortunately.” The questioning look on his face made her continue. “I mean, I was happy enough—I had my parents and Henry, a good childhood and a home. But…I like me better in this world. I like us better.”

“Was I there?” There was that self-doubt again, the one that seemed to transcend realms.

“Killian, of course you were. It just…took us a while to find each other. Too long, actually.”

“How so?”

She described the adventure, if it could be called that, from Regina’s arrival, to finding Robin, to searching for him on the ship, to finally meeting him in the forest.

“Was I still my devilishly handsome self?” he wondered with his typical cocky front.

“You could say that,” she teased back. “There was…kind of…a bit more of you to love.”

“Oh?” His eyebrow was arched in question, so she described the man she found there, bracing herself as she watched his face fall. “That doesn’t sound like a man worthy of your affections, Swan,” he concluded disappointedly.

She shook her head at his self-loathing. “He was still you, Killian, and you know what he made me realize?”

“What?”

The longer she had traveled through the wish-created world, the more she had realized she was living her own sort of It’s A Wonderful Life moment. Being the Savior, and all the events and responsibilities that came with that title, hadn’t affected just the course of her life—it had changed everyone’s around her, some for the better and some for the worse, in ways she couldn’t imagine. Now that she was back, she wouldn’t trade any of it.

“If I wasn’t the Savior, this version of you wouldn’t exist. And of all the versions of you I’ve met—and there have been an absurd amount—I love you, the one here next to me and at my side through all of the crap we’ve been through, the most.”

Slowly, an awestruck smile took over his face, crinkling the still-fine lines around his eyes, and it didn’t move until his lips met hers. It was amazing how even a chaste kiss lit a flame within; he just put that much passion and fire into even the smallest things. It wasn’t that his older counterpart didn’t; that man just hadn’t had a reason to in ages, and she was determined to make sure her pirate always did.

Right now though, it seemed like that wouldn’t be a problem. Suddenly, they were both awake, eager to truly reunite, with that tiny flame quickly becoming an all-consuming inferno. It may have hardly been a day that they’d been apart, but it felt like so much longer and right now, she needed nothing more than to feel his touch and his skin against and within her.

Their mouths began a well-practiced dance with each other, nipping and sucking and tongues playing and teeth crashing, as his hand slipped under the hem of her shirt and her fingers made their way to the nape of his neck.

She abandoned her assault on his mouth in favor of drifting downward, leaving a trail of kisses along the sharp cut of his scruff-covered jaw down to that patch of soft skin just behind his ear; she sucked on it gently and that was enough to elicit a soft moan and a shiver from him that sent a jolt of arousal right through her.

Her hands drifted to his chest, the feeling of his oh-so-perfect hair on her palms a visceral reminder that she was home, with him. With her lips, she followed the constellation of birthmarks on his neck down to his prominent collarbones. Meanwhile, his hand drifted farther up her side, bunching the fabric of her tank top as he went, until the pad of his thumb drew a stripe of heat across her breast, making it her turn to shudder.

They needed a slight change of scenery. In one well-practiced movement, she grabbed his shoulders and pushed him flat on his back, straddling his hips so she could feel his arousal through thin layers of cotton, right where she was aching for him. In his surprise at the movement, he’d gripped her breast harder, but not unpleasantly; once settled, he continued to massage, thumb circling her pebbled nipple.

She leaned down to resume kissing him—it felt like forever and a day since they had and she wasn’t about to leave his lips alone right now. As their mouths continued their waltz, Killian’s hand kept teasing her breast while the stump of his left wrist worked its way up her other side, following a similar path as his hand and taking her tank top with it.

For a moment, his right hand stopped its pleasurable pawing, but she felt him moving to tug her shirt off and she obliged, letting him slide it over her arms and then finishing the job herself by pulling it off and tossing it across the room. She didn’t pay attention to where it landed before she pressed herself against him, the friction of skin on skin and his chest hair on her nipples making her gasp for a moment; her princess counterpart had never known pleasure like this.

She was about to start lavishing the other side of his neck but Killian had similar ideas of his own. Gently, he nudged her up with his left wrist, settling her back against his propped legs and sitting up enough to reach her mouth. He started there, placing small but firm kisses on her lips, her neck, continuing down across her chest until finding her other nipple; she knew how much he hated to give attention to one and not the other, and of course, she hardly minded. His talented tongue twirled around the bud as his hand resumed attention on the other; she moaned along with his ministrations.

Tension was quickly building within (and without, if the twitch of his cock she felt against her own aching arousal was any indication). Absentmindedly, her hand drifted down over her stomach and under the waistband of her about-to-be-soaked panties, finding her sensitive nub tender and wanting. As he continued his adoration of her breasts, switching his mouth to the other side and caressing the other with his wrist, she began to massage her clit, arching her back and giving into the nearly overwhelming sensations that ran through her veins like electricity.

He clearly noticed what she was doing, because his now-free hand followed her own, nudging her fingers out of the way in favor of his. His thumb took over where hers had just been, and a dextrous finger circled her entrance, making her gasp and tense with pleasure. He gradually slipped it inside, and out, beginning a pattern that brought her closer and closer to the edge with each movement.

She was on the precipice, but she didn’t want to come alone—there was no way, not now, not after the day (or whatever) they’d had. Gently, she grabbed his blunted wrist with one hand and placed the other over his right, stilling his motions. He gave one last suck on her breast, leaving it with a pop, before looking her in the eyes. She brought his hand between them, licking his fingers clean while staring him down; he knew what she was after.

Then she slid back, pushing his knees down and freeing her access to where he too was longing. He made no protest (not that he would) as she pulled at the waistband of his pants, only watching as she tugged them down to free his erection. She slid off the end of the bed to remove them completely, then shimmied her underwear down, stepped out of them, and resumed her position straddled just below his narrow hips.

Supporting herself with one arm, she bent forward and gently but firmly grasped his cock with her free hand. His head tilted back, eyes closed, and breathed a stuttered gasp at the contact. She stroked a few times, from the base to the tip of his silky shaft, pausing a moment to briefly massage his balls before two final strong pulls on his generous member.

“Can I…?”“Aye,” he answered before she even finished her question; they were just that in sync.

She rose on her knees and braced her hands on his shoulders, settling a bit forward and making sure he was right where she needed him, before sinking back down on top of him. This—this was something that shy princess had never known: the utter bliss of being intimately connected and filled by her True Love. That alone nearly brought her collapse; she rested her forehead against Killian’s and just soaked in the moment, knowing just how close she’d been to never having it—never having him—again.

“Hey,” he whispered, hand coming up to her cheek and thumb brushing away a tear. “Look at me, Emma.” She opened her eyes and met his, staring at her with so much love. “I’m here, and you’re here, and that’s never going to change, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Promise?”

“I do.”

He sealed his informal vow with a kiss and slowly began to move below her. She instinctively followed suit, rising and falling at a languid pace in an attempt to delay the inevitable. Now that she truly felt she was home, she wanted to drag out their bliss as long as possible, and kept time with the lazy, reverent kisses they were sharing.

But he shuddered a bit underneath her, and the pressure within was building faster than she could control. She sat up and gripped the muscles of his sides, her motions growing frenzied and his matching, meeting her every movement with his own. Time was both racing and standing still: she could feel her release quickly approaching and yet still felt every inch of him inside her, every drag against her walls at every pleasure point.

One more lift of her hips and she fell, shouting his name. Waves of euphoria threatened to drown her, but his hold at her waist was an anchor keeping her in place amid the rolling sea of her orgasm. He wasn’t far behind; it took only a couple more subtle thrusts before he let her shuddering walls hold him tight and take him with her to that ocean of bliss.

Neither one surfaced from the currents of their shared rapture for some minutes, still too caught up in the feel of being together after so long. When she finally broke free of her haze, she was lying on top of him, breathing in the scent of his skin at his neck; he was idly tracing patterns in the skin of her back with his hand.

She slid off him and rolled to the side; he moved his arm so she could better tuck into him, and then turned to face her. The bit of moonlight that came through the window curtains illuminated his face and the relief and love shining in his eyes. She reached up, brushing back the sweat-matted hair from his brow, and then traced the fine creases around his eyes and mouth, the line of the scar on his cheek, and the gentle roughness of his manicured beard.

His older self was still not far from her thoughts, so it was reassuring to feel the evidence of his youth (regardless of how old he really was) under her palm. By no means was it a reason of vanity that had her feeling like that—it just meant that they had more time together, and she’d be able to grow old with him, not apart.

A chill made her shiver as the sweat cooled on their bodies, and he instinctively pulled the blankets up around them. With one last kiss, she snuggled in as fatigue began to win out. He apparently had one more query for her, though:

“You didn’t answer my question: was I still devilishly handsome?”

She laughed into his neck, where she’d tucked herself. “Oh yeah. You’re gonna rock the gray hair someday.”

He squeezed her a bit tighter and, proving that they were eternally on the same page, answered “We will together, Swan.”

eeeee thanks for reading! tagging some friends who might be interested (feel free to ignore tho): @kat2609 @captainswanismyendgame @thesschesthair @fergus80 @shipsxahoy @cocohook38 @nfbagelperson @wingedlioness @disastergirl @laschatzi @jscoutfinch @ive-always-been-a-pirate @lenfaz @kmomof4 @lizzyc807shipscaptainswan @queen-mabs-revenge @annytecture @the-lady-of-misthaven @ultraluckycatnd @ilovemesomekillianjones @galadriel26 and there are prolly more but idk where people are on spoilers

[justanotherwannabeclassic]

Finding Neverland (2/?)

Summary: History has a funny way of repeating itself. Juliet Jones learns this the hard way as she finds herself thrown decades into the past, and tasked with ensuring that her parents fall in love. (CS movie redux) 

Read on AO3! Previous Chapters: [1] Tagging: @poetic-justice-96​ (if you want to be tagged in updates let me know!

Chapter 2

“I can’t believe Romeo and Juliet are in Neverland.”

“Are they particularly notorious in your realm?”

“They’re like the most famous love story from my world,” Emma explains in a whisper to Hook as they head back to camp, Romeo and Juliet behind them. The couple has their wrists bound in vines, a concession they had made as an agreement to let them follow. They hadn’t intended to come to Neverland, and seemed quite eager to find a way off. “We’ll do anything,” Romeo had pleaded as Hook held a blade to his throat. And that was when Emma had suggested bringing them along. 

“So their fame leads you to believe we can trust them?” Hook inquires as he leads her through the flora of Neverland. It’s a testament to Hook’s resourcefulness that Emma so easily forgets his unfamiliarity with her world. To her, Romeo and Juliet’s story is common knowledge. It appears to not be so much in the Enchanted Forest or Neverland.

“In the stories, they weren’t villains,” she answers with a shrug. “It’s more that I feel bad for them. They both die in the end.” “Ah, and you think by helping them, you might be able to prevent it from happening.” 

She casts a glance back to the star-crossed lovers, who seem to be having a whisper argument of their own. Distracted by their conversation, Juliet trips over the root, falling to the ground with a large thud that causes Emma to wince. Together, she and Hook watch as Romeo attempts to help his girlfriend stand, his efforts hindered by his bound wrists. Emma feels a surge of hope that Shakespeare had been wrong about these two, and wishes that they could find their happily ever after. Though she still isn’t comfortable with the whole Savior thing, but she doesn’t want to see anyone die. And even if they weren’t Romeo and Juliet, the possibility of them dying in Neverland is high. She feels the persistent knot in her stomach tighten as she thinks of Henry, and she wants nothing more than to save him. She knows if given the choice, she would choose saving him over Romeo and Juliet – no question – but she feels compelled to at least try.

“Well, if anyone can prevent their untimely deaths, I’m sure you can, Swan.”

Emma’s heart twists at Hook’s comment, and she is suddenly glad for the heat of the hike already making her skin flush, because she feels the heat of the blush across her skin. He says his statements with such conviction – as if it is the most obvious thing the world that she can play hero.

She doesn’t know how to handle Hook when he is being earnest. She can combat innuendos easily. A flirty wink here or there is manageable. But when he looks at her with such belief, she feels as if she was standing on uneven ground and could fall at any point. It is terrifying, and precisely why she left him on the beanstalk all those weeks ago. In an effort to break the tension, she looks back to Romeo and Juliet.

“Are you two alright?”

“Peachy keen, Miss Swan,” Romeo calls back as Juliet rolls her eyes and mutters something about hating “this bloody island.” Both Emma and Hook miss the fact they never told the couple her last name.

-/- 

She knows about Neverland. In school, her teacher had made her class read J.M. Barrie’s classic. Juliet had been the one to point out everything that had been wrong, resulting in her teacher requesting a parent-teacher conference. How the meeting went Juliet doesn’t know, though she’s wished ever since she could have been present to witness how Miss Stuart had attempted to explain to Captain Hook that his daughter was quite (obnoxiously) insistent on calling Peter Pan “bloody awful.” Even so, that meeting had resulted in both her parents sitting her down and reminding her that though stories can be factually wrong, they can still teach us lessons. (It didn’t stop her father, however, from treating her to her favorite ice cream.) Her parents never really enjoyed talking about their adventures in Neverland. Her father had always said it was a bad place, but where he first fell in love with her mother, but left it at that. Her mother had said it sucked. Juliet knows, however, more of the story. She’s read Henry’s books, after all, and listened to him weave the tale of his own experience. Everything she’s gleaned has matched her parents’ descriptions: Neverland is a bad place.

Now she is here in the bad place, her hands bound, knees aching from her earlier fall. And worst yet of all is that she’s been captured by the past versions of her parents. Time travel is also something Juliet knows a thing or two about.

That is a story her parents had never been shy about hiding – how they’d almost accidentally written her mother out of existence, ensured Snow White and Prince Charming fell in love, and in turn, fell a little bit deeper in love themselves along the way. Despite the romance of the whole thing, Juliet had also learned that time travel is also a very bad thing. In short, she’s screwed. 

“We’ll be fine,” Gideon tells her in a whisper as the follow her parents. “We’ll join in on the effort to rescue Henry, and then find a way home back once we get to Storybrooke. Besides, it will give you something else to lord over Henry.” His teasing isn’t appreciated, but his plan has merit. Though she isn’t too keen on sticking around her parents and potentially disrupting the timeline, she honestly has no idea how to even leave the island. They could stay for decades and hope that someone comes to find them – her father had been stuck here for centuries – but she’d much rather not. In Storybrooke, they’d have access to the pawn shop and library, except – 

“The curse,” she gasps a bit too loudly. Both she and Gideon whip their heads forward to the figures ahead of them. Neither Hook nor Emma seem to have noticed, and she sighs in relief. Juliet lowers her voice as she speaks, “Pan’s curse. In Storybrooke, we’d have an incredibly limited time to get home.”

In short, they’re screwed.

-/-

“You can’t be serious. They’re not stray dogs in need of a home. They’re potentially dangerous.”

As expected, Regina is furious, David is wary, and Mary Margaret just stares at the couple with a sad sort of expression that screams “you die in your story.”

“Are you sure we can trust them?” David asks, eyes flicking back to the still-bound couple that is sitting a few meters away. “You know, that they aren’t working for Pan as a spy?” “When they got here, we asked them if they were working for Pan, and they said it didn’t. It didn’t set of any alarms,” Emma explains, wincing at her answer. She know it sounds weak, and if anyone had been telling her the same thing, she wouldn’t believe it either.

She doesn’t know how to explain she has the same feelings about them as she did about Hook at the beanstalk. And though she can’t really afford for her instinct to be wrong with Henry’s life at stake, Hook’s presence on this mission strengthens her the resolve not to abandon the couple.

“You can’t honestly expect us to believe in that stupid lie detector of yours,” Regina snaps, rolling her eyes and raising her hands upwards as if questioning the gods. 

“Actually, yes, we should,” Hook cuts in, and Emma is both annoyed and grateful at his support.

“Please, we only know you’re sticking up for Emma because you think it’s the easiest way to convince her to fuck you.”

“Enough!” It is David who yells this, and Emma is thankful for his interjection. She glances over to her captives, both of whom are staring at the group with wide eyes. Juliet appears more confused than anything, and Romeo looks to be trying – and failing – to contain a laugh. They don’t look like killers, or minions of Pan. Then again, neither did Tamara and Greg, but Emma had been able to sense their untrustworthiness.

As if reading her mind, Mary Margaret says, “Look, Emma is good with these things. She had a bad feeling about Greg and Tamara, and was right. If she thinks we can trust Romeo and Juliet, then we trust them.”

Mary Margaret beams at Emma. Emma knows she should feel grateful for her support, but all she wants to do was curl inside and hide. She isn’t accustomed to this parental support, and doubts she ever would be. 

“Besides,” Hook adds in a low whisper, his expression dark, “when Pan does decide to stage attack, we have more bodies to throw his way. Your stories do say they die, maybe this is how.”

-/-

Juliet cannot sleep. She blames it partially on the conditions. The ground is hard and unyielding, she’s using Gideon’s sweater as a pillow, and her coat as a blanket. It’s not what she’s used to, and she longs for her bed back in New York with the large pillows and mountains of blankets. But as she listens to the crackle of the fire and Gideon’s soft snores, she knows that’s only a small part of it.

In the dark, she can make out her grandfather moving about the camp, keeping watch in case that Pan or the Lost Boys stage an attack. She has to remind herself to call him David. He’s just a stranger to her now, not yet the man who taught her how to ride a horse or would sneak her candy behind her grandmother’s back.

She’s not used to seeing them all so young. Her family’s dynamic is so different than what she’s used. Her mother keeps her distance from her father, and her grandparents don’t seem to like him very much. When they aren’t trying to connect with her mother, they’re making digs at his untrustworthiness and piracy. Juliet knows they didn’t always like him, but it still feels wrong to witness it. But seeing the way her family interacts is nowhere near as unsettling as the way they look at her – like she’s a stranger, like she shouldn’t be trusted. Even her mother, who had pled their case, still studies them with doubt, as if she’s reconsidering her position.

It hurts. 

She rolls away from the fire and her grandfather toward Gideon. She’s glad he’s here, that she isn’t alone in this mess. They haven’t had time alone to really talk, but she wants to thank him for not letting her go, for falling into this mess without question, and for grounding her.

He’s been that person for her for quite awhile now, ever since she stepped into New York City wide-eyed and a little too idealistic about life outside of Storybrooke might be. He’d been starting his third year at NYU, and though she was at Columbia, he’d taken the train uptown to visit her often. He had confessed to her that it was nice to have someone to talk to about things back home for once, someone nearby. And Juliet had quickly learned how difficult it could be to navigate life having to hide certain parts of her life from others. It’s gotten less difficult over time, she thinks, her family coming to mind.

But it had been years since the early days of their budding friendship. She had long since graduated from Columbia, a degree in Art History under her belt, and an ill-paying, but stable, job at a gallery to add to her resume. He has finished medical school, and is working on his residency. And maybe most important, they have each other, even in the past.

Juliet burrows herself against his chest, and takes comfort in his warmth and smell. Maybe Gideon is right. Maybe, just maybe, everything will be fine. She just has to have faith. This is, after all, Neverland.

[youllneverknowmysecretidentity]

Chapter seven: healing

(TW: blood, self abuse, talks of suicide, negative self thinking) Mullen’s p. o. v. She was avoiding contact, I knew what this was about, I had all day to think about it. She was avoiding something, she still had a wall up. So did I, but mine was for a good reason. Hers was silly, there’s nothing she could throw at me that I couldn’t handle. I huffed again, I couldn’t handle how Jonavah was looking at her, he whispered in her ear and put his hand around her shoulder. It was infuriating, I don’t understand why she froze so quickly, I mean if I was human then maybe I’d be scared too. I didn’t scare her right? She kept her eyes glued to the road, we were almost at the house, when she pulled in she didn’t even register that I had smoked away so that she could have a bit of peace. I was still angry, I needed to make it clear that what she did was dangerous. I just wasn’t sure how. My P. O. V. I was pissed, I couldn’t handle anything, in all the time I’ve know Mullen the only thing separating me from true happiness was the stupid fucking fact that he was always breathing down my spine. I wanted death now, I didn’t realize it but I’ve wanted it for so long, maybe Jonavah was my option. I want to know what Mullen is hiding from me, maybe I’m actually the pawn for Mullen. Maybe I’m already getting played? Maybe, maybe was a dangerous word I always had in my vocabulary, why couldn’t my brain shut the fuck up? I sat on my bed, the sky had already started the shift with the passing time. I wish I had time in my pocket, I’d always use it when I wanted peace. I felt the hot tears roll down my cheeks, I needed some release. I needed away from Mullen. I couldn’t stay with him, I just knew I was getting played. I just knew I was nothing. I couldn’t break my own promise. Not this one, not anymore. I stood from my bed and made my way to my desk, pulling out a pen and paper I wrote a letter that even broke my own heart. I tried to ignore the ripping feeling I had in my soul, that painful awful torment when a lover is taken away. I wanted to just be free. To have anyone inside. I didn’t want another soul in there. One was enough, why couldn’t I find the strength to sign it and throw it out the window, why couldn’t I. The air felt so cold, Halloween was nearing. I didn’t sign it, I threw it out the window, a second later I heard the sound of paper being crumpled up and tore. I felt my soul hurt even more. I felt weak. Useless, I know what I have to do. Mullen’s P. O. V. What the hell is she thinking?!?! I know she loves me, I know she won’t admit it, it’s okay if she won’t admit it but to simply say she never wants to see me again? It’s not that simple, I can’t just leave her alone it would physically kill me, and perhaps kill her too. A broken heart is a common death. I flew into the woods, i didn’t care what trees I tore down or who heard me, I’m sure some hick is out there thinking I’m the kill of a lifetime. The trees look like they’re burning, it only fuels my rage, i deafen the forest with my roars. Halloween is coming. I can’t handle the noise, i cant do this without her, shes my purpose now, how the hell can I show her I’m not going to hurt her. A week later Hannah’s P. O. V. A whole week passed without seeing Mullen, I haven’t eaten in two days, slept in four. I feel so insignificant, so jaded. I feel more played now than ever, I want to know why I can’t die. C talked to me yesterday, he kept on trying to coax out of me why I looked dead, I felt dead. Lauren and Grady are concerned as ever, I haven’t even bothered to pick up the book about the gaelic gods. I never want to see his face again. Ava constantly asks me about it, i feel bad for wasting her time. I cried myself silly in bed last night again. It’s finally Friday, I want the world to end. I stared at my car as the parking lot traffic passed, I told my mom today I would walk the library trail. Maybe I’ll be okay, maybe. You know, after a while the word maybe becomes better and better, it’s not yes but it’s not no, it’s the happy in-between. Something life never really gets to have, you can only have a shitty extreme. I like the word maybe. It means maybe, I’ll lean to the good extreme one day. The trail was empty, the sky cloudy and the world dark. The skin whipped my face like an angry captor, I almost wished it would hit harder, the tears kept on falling and taking the hits for me. I want the tears to stop. They’re so dramatic, I’m sick of them. I’m don’t even notice a body following me until I hear the footfalls, I could smell it before I saw it. It was Cs cologne, or at least attempt at cologne. I always got sick when I smelled it. He was obviously trying to catch up to me, I sped up my steps. “Hannah wait!” I ignored it, kept my face to the pavement. Until I slammed into a dark chest in front of me, I felt all the wind knock out of me. Jonavah stared me down, he smiled a wicked smile. “Aw dove~ are you crying,” only Mullen called me dove. “Someone is trying to catch you, let’s take care of him shall we?” He smiled again and chuckled, I turned to C, he stopped mid run and stared with confused eyes, I tried to signal for him to run. As much as I hated him, he didn’t deserve this fate. No one did, except me. He stared like an idiot obviously, jonavah made a few steps to him, smoke billowing out from where he stepped. “Now you skinny mortal, I’d say you crossed the line chasing my kill like this. And now you’ve seen me. Shame, you would’ve made an amazing slave.” I choked on my air, I tried to scream, Mullen wasn’t here, I couldn’t save both of us. I knew the only thing I could do. I ran to jonavah, ignoring Cs protest and pushed jonavah as hard as I could, I had a slight element of surprise. He went down fast but not hard, I turned and took off running as fast as I could carry myself, I kept running until a solid hit to my back sent me down. I landed with a hard thud. My head hit the pavement, warm blood gushed down my hair, I turned over to my side. My eyesight got fuzzy, I could hear a far off voice of the Welsh god, he laughed. His laugh bubbling in my brain like toxic ooze. I tried to tune out his voice, the pavement cold on my cheek, it felt soothing, a warm feeling like gushing with life, and a cold cheek chilling with each second I lose blood. I shed a final tear. Waiting for a cease, but nothing came, instead a crack of thunder and then a flash of gold, standing before me was Mullen, he had tears in his eyes, I couldn’t make out his features well but from what I could see, he just wanted to protect me. I felt the black ink of melancholy lift off me. I cried more tears. Soon my shoulders were being shook, it was C, he was shaking me and trying to wake me up. I slowly rose, he gripped my shoulders in his hands and screamed for me to run, I grabbed his hand and dragged him to the nearest forest opening. He stopped me, “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT, THEYRE FUCKING MONSTERS, ALL OF THEM, WHY ARE THEY TRYING TO KILL YOU, HOLY SHIT.” I slapped him, I didn’t know why. But it worked, he shut up just in time for me to slur to him, “the golden one, the king, he protects me.” Then like a flash of lightning, images flooded my brain, images of Mullen in a golden coat, crown on his head, he screamed a war cry, jonavah behind him, a dark old man driving a spear through a man wearing white. Me. In a green gown sitting on a throne, I dropped to my knees. Blood gushing out my nose. I started to cry, i heaved up non existent food. The roars grew silent and a familiar smell of jasmine and pennies filled the air. C gasped and screamed, “stay the fuck away from us!” I could hear him yell at the boy to shut up. Strong hands were on me, I flinched then cried. I didn’t want to be separated from him again, I stayed in his arms. C stared at us for a second, “so he’s a good guy?” Mullen nodded, his deep voice vibrating my body, “my sole purpose is to protect Hannah. To love her, to care for her.” I could see the debate in Cs face, “we need to take her to a doctor.” Mullen shook his head, “she doesn’t have a concussion, I need to get her home, she does need to be cleaned up though.” He picked me up easily and placed me in my car. He turned to C, “go home, never speak of this or I WILL consider you a threat.” He nodded and scurried off to his car. Mullen began driving home, “your mother is currently at the store so you don’t have to worry about her seeing the blood, I do want you to take a hot shower and sleep. You hurt yourself.” I nodded, upon arrival at the home I stared at the bathroom in fear, I was so scared to see my body, he guided me to the bathroom and helped me undress, he didn’t dare touch me. Leaving me to clean, I scrubbed the red water away and stared as it drained, I was mortified by what I saw. I wanted to know. When I got out of the shower, I saw a note saying ‘I must find jonavah, I will return.’ I waited till midnight. He came in my room, his anger obvious, I only added fuel to the fire by the fact I was awake. He stared in irritation. I stared back in defiance, “I have to know, why were you wearing a crown, why did I have a vision of you wearing a crown.” He stared then sighed, “you didn’t read the book did you.” I shook my head, he smiled then handed me the borrowed book from Ava, page already dog eared for me, there, in bold lettering. I saw the truth, MULLEN: KING OF THE PROTECTORS RIGHTFUL RULER OF THE LIGHT. I stared at the book then dropped it, I cried again, he held me. I sobbed for 20 minutes babbling about nothing, i babbled about my week and how I couldn’t sleep I babbled about how I was so scared of being with him and how scared I was of not knowing anything. He only held me, tighter with each sob. At the end of my word vomit, I realized my walls had been broken, I felt like I had holes all over me, they gushed and oozed more than my head wound. My heart pounded and fluttered at the same time, my stomach trembled and rose into my throat. My hands shook like earthquakes and sweated bullets. I stared at him, and froze, everything stopped, the wind, the trees, the birds, the bees, the shaking in my knees and my whole body. I even stopped breathing, in that moment I felt peace, I felt cared for, I felt truly safe. No doubt no sadness no anger. I exhaled, “I love you Mullen.”

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

The Strongest Magic--pt. 3

The Strongest Magic

Pairing: CS (duh!  That’s pretty much all I ever write!)

Setting: Neverland, just after 3x8

Rating: Somewhere between K+ and T

Summary: Pan has stolen Henry’s heart, but all is not yet lost. Emma, the Charmings, Hook, Regina and Rumplestiltskin must defeat Pan within six hours or Henry will die. Pan discovers the heart of the truest believer doesn’t contain the strongest magic of all. For that, he will need Emma’s heart. When Hook realizes what Emma’s planning, he makes a desperate plan to save her life.

Previous sections: (Part 1) (Part 2)

A/N  In honor of the Neverland Renaissance that seems to have swept Tumblr (I approve; I definitely approve!), and in honor the fact that it’s Throwback Thursday I decided to revisit one of my early CS fics.  (In fact, this is my very first fanfiction of any kind, so be gentle, lol.)  It was written during the 2 week break between 3x8 and 3x9, so it’s canon to that point.  This was written long before I joined Tumblr, so I’ve never posted it here, and I figured, with the resurgence of interest in Neverland, why not? Anyway, it’s a multi chapter, but rather than spam your dash with 9 separate posts, I decided to divide it up into 3 sections.  Enjoy!

A/N 2: Okay, so apparently I either never posted part three of this story back when I posted it for Throwback Thursday, or Tumblr ate it.  So, in order to rectify the situation (I kind of left Killian dead at the end of the previous part, and we know that can’t stand!), I decided to post/repost.  Enjoy!

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Chapter 7: A Change of Course

Emma sat heavily on her bunk below decks of the Jolly Roger. The ship had taken off ten minutes ago, Neal at the helm. Emma clutched Hook's letter firmly in her hand. She'd already read it three times. How had it come to this? How had Captain Hook come to matter to her in such a profound way that it seemed she was leaving a vital part of herself behind on Neverland. Hook had given his heart for her, but she was the one who felt like she had a giant gaping hole in her chest.

This is what happened when you let yourself care for someone. No use denying it now. She did care about him. He said he wanted her to go home and live a joy-filled life, but how exactly could she do that under the circumstances? She would never be able to explore the…whatever…that was starting to develop between them. She would always wonder what could have been. And she couldn't even pretend she hated him, like she had with Neal. Hook hadn't betrayed her; he'd shown selfless devotion to her.

It hurt to care. Oh, how she longed for an average boring life. She wished she'd never met Hook. No, that wasn't true. Her life was infinitely enriched from having known him, having been loved by him. If only she could just stop feeling. She just wanted to go numb. Too bad Regina was out of sleeping curses, she could use the peace you could find in sleep.

The tears began to flow again. She had cried more during the last few days on this bloody island than she ever had before in her life. She laughed grimly to herself. She'd called it the "bloody island;" she was even starting to think like him!

There was a soft knock on her door.

"Come in," she called listlessly.

"I thought you might like some company," Mary Margaret said as she walked in and sat on the bunk beside Emma.

"Yeah," Emma said, running her hands through her hair and sighing. "Maybe it would be better not to be alone right now."

Mary Margaret put her arm around Emma, and Emma laid her head on her mother's shoulder.

"He loved me," Emma said bleakly.

"Yes," Mary Margaret agreed, laying her cheek against the top of her daughter's head. "Long before…well before what just happened, that was becoming obvious. The question is, what are your feelings for him?"

Emma was quiet for a long time. When she did speak, her voice was so soft Mary Margaret had to strain to hear it. "I…I think I love him too."

"Oh, honey," Mary Margaret said gently, "I'm so sorry. I can't imagine the pain you're feeling right now."

"Yeah," Emma said brusquely. "You know what the hell of it is? After Neal, I swore to myself I'd never love another man, never let another man have enough power over me to make me hurt, yet here I am. I almost wish I could hate Hook. Hate would be easier to deal with."

They were silent for several minutes. Emma appreciated Mary Margaret's silence. She was glad her mother wasn't throwing stereotypical words of comfort at her. Sometimes sorrow is too deep for words.

Mary Margaret chuckled softly to herself.

"I was just thinking about the day we met Hook," Mary Margaret said. "Who would have thought that debonair, ruthless pirate would one day save your life?"

Emma smiled. "He was so full of crap. He had so many one-liners up his sleeve, it was a wonder that black leather jacket fit over his arms!"

"What happened up on that beanstalk?" Mary Margaret asked, rubbing Emma's back. "You seemed different when you got back. You seemed to think even worse of him than when the two of you went up."

"I don't know," Emma said evasively. "I guess I just got scared. We worked so well together up there, and there was already, I don't know, a spark, I guess. I could see already that he would help me in any way I needed, and it scared me. I was scared I might be wrong about him. Then, afterwards, I guess I was kind of ashamed that I'd chained him up there. He had, after all kept his end of the bargain. I'm kind of surprised he even wanted anything to do with me again after that."

There was silence again for several moments, and then Emma spoke up again.

"Mom?" Emma could tell Mary Margaret was pleased to be addressed like that. "Is love really worth it?"

"I wouldn't trade a moment I've had with your father for anything in the world," Mary Margaret said simply. "It wasn't always easy. His step father was against the match; my step mother was against…well, me and anything that might make me happy; the curse made him think he was married to another woman; I was stuck in a different realm when we were sucked into the Enchanted Forest. Through it all, I always had that faith that somehow, your father and I would always find each other."

The anger started then. Anger at her parents for their "happily ever after." Anger at herself for falling in love again. Even anger at Hook.

"He lied to me, Mom!" Emma ground out. She balled her hands into fists. "On the way back from the Swamp of Despair, he lied to me. He promised me he would never leave me. He swore it to me! Now look. He has left me!"

"No, Mom," came a voice from the door. Emma hadn't even heard Henry come in. "He didn't leave you; you left him! You're the one who left him on Neverland."

"Henry," Mary Margaret said gently, "now isn't the time. Your mom's pretty upset."

Henry paid no attention to Mary Margaret, but walked into the room and stopped right before Emma. "He saved my life. I couldn't believe it, but Captain Hook saved my life! We have to save him!"

Emma felt the lump in her throat grow larger. "Henry," she said taking his hands and looking into his face, "there is nothing in this world I would rather do, but I just can't. Pan's won. Hook's body has gone cold already. If it was just me, I would go back and try anyway, but it's not. I can't put you in danger like that."

"Mom, you love him, don't you?"

"Yeah kid, I do." Emma answered simply. One solitary tear trickled down her face. She briskly wiped it away.

"Don't you see?" he asked earnestly "That's it! True love is the strongest power on earth. Love is strength. Believe in your love. You can use love to save Hook!"

Believe in your love; love is strength. Those phrases tugged at Emma. She gasped. Love is strength. She had said those very words to Cora when she performed her first bit of magic. She had pushed Mary Margaret out of the way…out of love…and Cora was not able to take her heart. She thought of the fires she'd finally been able to start in Neverland. She produced the fire when she thought of Henry, when she thought about how much she loved him, how much she wanted to protect him from Pan. What about what happened at Dark Hollow? She'd been able to light the candle only after Hook was taken by the shadow. It was fear for him, love of him that had allowed her to light the flame.

Regina was wrong. The strongest magic wasn't fueled by anger, it was fueled by love! Love was the source of her magic!

"Henry's right," Emma said animatedly. She jumped to her feet. "We've got to go back. We've got to save Hook. It may be crazy, but I've got to try!"

Emma raced toward the helm. Neal stood at the wheel talking and joking with Tinkerbelle.

"Neal, turn around!" Emma shouted. "We've got to go back! Hook needs our help!"

Suddenly everyone began talking at once.

"Emma, what are you talking about?"

"Have you lost your mind, dearie?"

"Not a chance, Miss Swan."

"Emma, we've already talked about this…"

"David, she's right."

Could they all just shut up for a second? They were wasting time!

"GUYS!" she shouted loud enough to drown everyone out. They all fell silent and turned toward her. "We can't just leave him. You know we can't. Look at all he's done for us, all of us throughout this whole Neverland nightmare! He's been our guide. He's saved Henry's life and David's life, and my life. He's rescued Neal. He's been my rock, and…I love him."

Neal's face clouded, and Tinkerbelle discreetly stepped back.

"Emma, what are you saying?" Neal asked in a pained voice.

This was neither the time nor the place for this discussion, but then, she supposed there would never be a good time or a place for it.

"Neal," she said gently, stepping forward to touch his arm. "A part of me will always love you. You never quite forget your first love. But things have changed. I've changed. I'm not the same person I was 11 years ago. Neither are you. Look, I know you had the best of intentions and everything, but what happened back then, you letting August convince you to send me to jail…well, it left a scar. A deep, painful scar, that is only now beginning to heal. Neal, I do forgive you for what happened, but there are some things a person just can't ever forget."

"Emma, please," Neal pleaded, his hand gripping hers. "I know I was wrong. I know I hurt you, but our love can overcome this."

"That's just it, Neal," Emma said sadly. She didn't want to hurt him, but she had to make him understand. "What we had was beautiful, and I'll never regret it because it brought us Henry, but I don't think it was true love."

If possible, Neal looked even more wounded.

"I've seen the love my parents share," she continued. "They'd do anything for each other. I thought I'd never be able to find that kind of love, but I have. It's like…I don't know…it's like there has always been this piece of me that was missing. When Hook gave his life for Henry, for me, well, I knew he was the one that completed me."

Neal dropped his eyes.

"Neal," she said touching his arm again. He looked back up at her, "you deserve to find the woman who completes you like that."

He merely looked at her for several moments and then nodded. His eyes flickered briefly to the side. Toward Tinkerbelle? What exactly happened on that trip to Pixie Hollow?

"This is all very touching, dearie," Rumplestiltskin said striding forward, "but you can't honestly be suggesting we go back and take on Pan for a man who is already dead!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Emma said earnestly. "Look, there's never been any love lost between you and Hook. I get that. But what about Pan? Do we just leave him there…all powerful? Do we let him bask in his victory? Give him the power to terrorize other people, other families the way he's terrorized us? We need to defeat him, so that he can never hurt anyone else again."

"Emma," Charming said firmly, taking a step forward, "we just can't do this. It's too late."

"No," Mary Margaret said firmly. Emma shot a grateful look at her mother. "Charming, what is it we always say to each other? I'll find you. I'll always find you. Our love has always been strong enough to overcome any obstacle. It's time we let our daughter go after her true love. She believes her love can save him, and I believe in her."

They looked at each other for several moments. Finally Charming nodded.

Rumplestiltskin growled deep in his throat. "Regina," he said, "talk some sense into them!"

Regina looked at Emma for a moment, an assessing look on her face. Finally she rolled her eyes. "Sorry Gold," she said grimly, "but I've found it to be fruitless to try to change Miss Swan's mind once she's made it up."

"Alright everyone," Neal said, turning back to the wheel. "Prepare for a change of course. Neverland, here we come!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 8: The Final Battle

"I'll stay with the boy," Tinkerbelle offered. "I have no desire to confront an angry and immortal Pan."

"Thank you," Emma said gratefully.

"Mom," Henry said earnestly, "I want to come too. I can help."

"No!" said Emma, Regina, Snow, Charming, Neal and Rumplestiltskin.

"Kid," Emma said, crouching down so that she was on eye level with her son, "We need to know you're safe. This is going to be a difficult and dangerous mission, and we'll need to focus all our energy on saving Hook and defeating Pan. We can't worry about you being in danger."

"But I can help!" Henry insisted. "I have the heart of the truest believer. I'm not afraid of Pan."

"Henry," Charming tried, crouching down so that he was next to Emma, "do you remember when your mom and grandma were stuck in the Enchanted Forest and I started teaching you about becoming a knight?"

"Yeah," Henry said uncomfortably, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Remember, what I said about courage?"

"Yeah," Henry said with a sigh, "You said that sometimes courage means not acting when you want to. Sometimes it means staying behind."

"Exactly," Charming said. "This is one of those times. I need you to stay on board the Jolly Roger and protect Tinkerbelle. I need you to guard the pixie dust and make sure the ship is ready to make a quick getaway as soon as we return."

Henry sighed. "Okay. Just be careful, okay?"

Emma hugged Henry once more and looked up at Charming. Thank you, she mouthed. He nodded in acknowledgement.

The rescue party, led by Emma cautiously walked off the gangplank and onto the shores of Neverland. Would Pan know of their return already? Would he set a trap for them? As they carefully walked across the shore, their confidence increased. No one was there to meet them.

"Come on," Emma shouted, breaking into a run, "We've got no time to waste."

They ran at a breakneck pace until they reached the mouth of Skull Rock. Emma rested for a moment in the entrance, leaning against a wall to catch her breath.

"What's the plan, Miss Swan?" Regina asked breathlessly.

"I need to make sure Hook is here," she said, her glance encompassing the whole group. "And…I need a moment with him."

Mary Margaret rubbed Emma's shoulder. "Go on honey. We'll guard the entrance of the cave until you call for us."

Emma walked slowly forward. The cave was well lit, both by the sconce burning on the wall and by the brilliant green pillar of light in the center. She had barely entered the cave before she saw Hook's lifeless body lying awkwardly on the floor. No one had arranged it after he fell; he looked so uncomfortable.

Emma ran to him and collapsed beside his body. She clasped his cold hand with one of hers, and gently brushed his dark hair from his brow with the other. She'd known what he'd done for her and for Henry, but seeing him here brought it home to her all the more vividly. The tears filled her eyes again, but she ruthlessly pushed them away. If she was to defeat Pan, she had to stay clear-headed. She couldn't afford to indulge in emotion.

"Hook…Killian," she whispered caressing his icy cheek, "I will find a way to save you. I love you."

She leaned forward and gently kissed his still lips. A wave of magic, warm and rose-colored erupted from their joined lips, and quickly spread to fill the entire cave. Of course! Emma thought to herself. Why didn't I think of this before? True love's kiss! Could it restore Hook? She watched him intently. Color slowly came back into his face and hands. Emma hastily cupped his face in her hands once again. He was warm!

"Wake up!" she whispered, "Come back to me!" She waited several minutes, caressing his face, his hands, his hair, but he never stirred.

Emma knew a moment of disappointment, but then she gathered her resolve back around her. If true love's kiss could revive him enough to bring warmth back into his body, she knew her love could defeat Pan!

Peter Pan abruptly stopped playing his pipes and raised his hands for quiet. The lost boys immediately stopped their dance.

"What is it?" Felix asked.

Pan clutched at his chest, where Hook's heart had suddenly begun to pound. "They're back, and they've reached the captain."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Felix asked with a cold smile. "Let's go show them what happens to those who refuse to heed Pan's instructions!"

Emma had gotten to her feet and was striding toward the cave's entrance when she heard her mother's shout.

"We've got company!"

"We've got to guard his body!" Emma shouted back. "Help me."

Snow, Charming, Regina, Neal and Rumplestiltskin poured into the cave. Each took a place, until they had Hook completely surrounded. Emma was in front facing the opening of the cave.

"Take care of the lost boys," she ordered, naturally falling back into the role of leader, "Pan is mine."

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than the lost boys rushed into the cave, their war cries echoing along the stone walls. Emma expected them to attack immediately, but they didn't. They surrounded them, raised their weapons and then waited.

Pan flew in on a jet of yellow-green light. He landed before Emma. The mocking look that she was used to seeing on his face was gone, replaced with a deadly earnestness.

"I thought my instructions to Henry were crystal clear," Pan growled, "You should be halfway back to your beloved Storybrook by now."

Emma shook her head. "That's not how true love works. I won't leave Hook to rot on this island. He's coming back to Storybrook with us…him AND his heart!"

"You're weak!" Pan spat back at her, "You let your heart dictate your actions. You think your love can save him? Well, you're about to find out how worthless your pathetic love is!"

"Well let's get on with it then," Emma ground out.

Pan gave a sign with his hand, and with a cry, the lost boys attacked. Emma drew her sword and advanced on Pan. The cries and shouts of pitched battle were going on all around her. She heard the metallic sound of swords clashing. The whooshing of an arrow leaving it's quiver, the crackling of a fireball, and some sort of crashing sound that must be Rumplestiltskin's magical weapon of choice.

She swung at Pan, but he disappeared and materialized several feet away. How the hell was she supposed to fight an enemy that she couldn't even seem to touch? She advanced and tried again, but her progress was stopped by a lost boy who fell at her feet, an arrow protruding from his shoulder.

"Looking for me?" came a voice from behind her. She whirled and raised her sword in both hands.

She realized her mistake immediately. Pan was there, far too near her. With both arms raised, her chest was exposed, and Pan held a knife high, poised to plunge right into her heart!

"Emma!" she heard her mother scream. It seemed like time moved in slow motion. She saw Pan's arm swing downward, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the blinding, screaming pain.

But it never came. She abruptly opened her eyes and saw a brief look of shock on Pan's face. He struck out again, but the knife stopped two inches from her chest as though it had come in contact with an invisible wall. Pan uttered a cry of rage.

What was going on here? Suddenly, understanding dawned on Emma's face. "You can't touch me!" She said in wonder, her eyes widening. "Hook's heart beats in your chest, and it won't let you harm the woman he loves!"

Charming hurtled through the sea of combatants, clearly coming to her aid.

"Stay back, Dad," Emma yelled. Charming stopped abruptly. The lost boys must have sensed that something momentous was about to happen, because almost as one they dropped their weapons and turned toward Emma and Pan.

Emma sheathed Neal's sword. She knew, she suddenly had absolute confidence that it would be the magic of her love and no other weapon that would defeat Pan. The boy stood still, wearing a look of utter bafflement on his face.

Emma closed her eyes and extended her hands. She thought of Henry back at the ship. She thought of her parents fighting with all their might to help and protect her. She thought of Hook lying still and dead on the floor of the cave. Love welled up from the very depths of her being. She felt its force and power flowing from her heart, through her arms and out her fingertips.

Pan gasped, and Emma opened her eyes. Rose-colored light flowed from her fingers and coiled around Pan like a rope. He struggled, but he was completely immobilized. The love light bound him from the neck down. Only a small space just over his heart remained free of the entanglement.

"Regina, get over here!" Emma ordered. "We need Hook's heart!"

Regina stepped forward and extended her open hand toward Pan's chest, but she couldn't reach inside.

"Emma, honey," Snow White breathed, "It has to be you. The heart belongs to you. You're the one who has to retrieve it."

Shaking slightly, Emma extended her hand. It slipped through Pan's chest as easily as it would slip through warm water. She grasped Hooks warm, beating heart, and gently pulled it out.

"No!" Pan shouted. The column of light faded until it was almost nonexistent.

Emma looked at the heart. It was bright red and strong. Not a smudge marred it. Here was proof, if anyone needed it, that Hook was a hero.

Gently, Emma slid to her knees before Hook. She extended her hand and slipped his heart back into its place in his chest. Emma watched and waited a beat. Two beats. Suddenly his eyes opened.

"Emma," he breathed gently, smiling and reaching up to cup her face.

"Hook!" she yelled, tears streaming down her face. She raised him up and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. His heart beat strong and steady against her ear.

"I love you!" she whispered over and over again.

"Look!" Neal called out, gesturing to the center of the cave.

Emma pulled herself back from Hook far enough to see where Neal was pointing. The light in the center of the cave was suddenly extinguished. In its place sat the giant hourglass Emma remembered seeing during her first trip to Skull Rock. The top of the hourglass was more than half empty and the sand rushed out at a breakneck speed.

"No!" Pan shouted.

It took only minutes for the last grain of sand to settle into the bottom of the hourglass. Pan fell to the ground and closed his eyes. A wave of green light settled over his still form, and when it lifted, Peter Pan was gone. In his place lay a middle aged gentleman with longish brown hair and a red coat.

"Papa," Rumplestiltskin breathed in an agonized whisper. Then, he firmly turned his back on the man who had abandoned him for a chance at eternal youth.

Peter Pan was no more.

Half an hour later they were on the docks where the Jolly Roger awaited them. It was over. It was finally over. Peter Pan could never harm anyone again. Hook was surprised at the extreme wave of relief that suffused his entire body. He was only a few minutes from leaving Neverland…for good this time.

They were walking up the gangplank in groups of two. Snow and Charming led the way followed by Regina and Henry. Rumplestiltskin and Neal, talking animatedly, came next, followed by Tinkerbelle and Wendy. Hook, walking near Emma, took a step onto the gangplank, but she stopped him with a hand to his arm.

"Hook," she said looking him straight in the eye, "For the record. You are the most honorable man I know. What you heard in the swamp was dead wrong. You're not a villain or a looser. You're a hero. Thank you. For all you've done for us. Without you, Henry would have died."

Hook dropped his eyes. He had been a "villain" for so long, he hardly knew how to receive praise and thanks anymore. But it gratified him. Particularly from this woman, it gratified him. The "charming rogue" mask he'd worn for so long to hide his true emotions slipped into place.

"Well, love," he said with a grin, "I seem to remember you offered me a display of your gratitude for saving your father's life not too long ago. I wouldn't turn down a repeat performance."

Her grin matched his. "I don't know," she flirted, "I kind of thought saving your life back there at Skull Rock was thanks enough."

"True enough, lass," he returned, "It would appear I'm the one who owes you a debt of gratitude."

Hook brought his good hand to Emma's cheek and moved forward. He waited when he was a hairs-breadth away from her and looked into her eyes. If she pulled back, he would step away. It would nearly kill him, but he would step away. But there was no hesitation in Emma's eyes, only invitation, and a deep abiding love.

Hook closed the distance and settled his lips onto hers. This was a slow kiss, a gentle one. It had none of the urgency and fire of their first kiss, but in some ways it was eminently sweeter. Emma's arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer, and his encircled her waist. The kiss went on and on, but eventually he ended it. He rested his head against hers for a moment, trying to catch his breath.

"That was…" he began, just as he had after their first kiss.

"A three time thing?" she replied, and he could hear the laughter in her voice.

"Not hardly!" he growled, and planted a quick peck on her lips as a punctuation to his sentence.

"Let's go home," Emma said with a radiant smile. It was like the sun breaking out on a cloudy day.

Hook sighed. "I've had no place to call home for as long as I can remember. Are you sure you want me with you when we get back to Storybrooke?"

Her smile turned tender. "Hook, don't you get it? With the strongest magic in all the realms binding us together, how could I want you anywhere else?"

The End!