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lizzybeth1986 · 5 years ago

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Very Slow Thoughts on TRH Book 1 Chapter 8

• This chapter is meh. It's basically a full chapter of the writers taking the Walker ranch portion of the story, and stretching it like chewing gum at this point. I was pretty much sleepwalking through this one tbh.

• The only interesting bit in this was the Drake childhood scene, but because the initial scenes will always be slight buildup to the actual meat of the backstory - rather than the story itself - its placement in a chapter as dull as this one doesn't exactly do it any favours.

• To avoid seeing these posts on your dash, you can block the following tags: #trh quick thoughts, #trh qts, #trh qt reblogs, #long post

• Screenshot Credits:

Drake: @thefirstcourtesan and the HIMEME YouTube channel

Hana: The Abhirio YouTube channel

I'm sorry I don't have any Maxwell screenshots this time around, since I couldn't find it on YouTube, and I wasn't able to ask permission for screenshots on time. As soon as a video of his route is up on YouTube, I'll try adding the collages with his screenshots up. But I do have a tiny gist of what happens in certain portions of his playthrough, thanks to Tumblr, so I'll put those up as quotes.

• Title: Ride Like The Wind

Alternate Title: There Are Other Things My MC Could Be Riding...But Okay

• We begin with the sisters (yeah Leona and Bianca are back to being sisters now), worrying over how they'll get their cattle to the upcoming auction on time since every ranch hand they'd reached out for help pretty much declined.

• Not only is stubbornness a family trait, but so is the tendency to judge people at face value (I'm looking at you, Leona).

• There are a bunch of parallels between the Walker Ranch situation and the Beaumont house one in Book 1: both for the Regatta and the Beaumont Bash. Only difference is, the writers won't bother to expand much on Beaumont History but throw around every minute detail they can imagine for Drake's family (IIRC, even the mystery in Beaumont House in Book 1 was mostly Savannah related).

• Even in moments of dire need, Leona HAS to slip in snide remarks about people she barely knows.

Slight variation on the third option, if you're married to Drake. The other two highlight either the fact that the MC spent most of her life as a commoner and could think on her feet, and the second establishes that she has at least some riding experience. Leona pokes fun at you for both, but has the sense to not deliver much of her unwanted opinion for the third (besides stating they don't have much of a choice).

• The MC also highlights the benefit of bringing the others along: Hana and Liam have a lot of riding experience, Drake is 'capable' and 'outdoorsy' and for some reason Maxwell is known only for his enthusiasm (even though Beaumont House HAS horses and a stable and the Brothers Beaumont would have had SOME experience at the very least 🤷🏽‍♀ [Didn't the Beaumont Bash involve letting in a couple horses into the house? I doubt those horses would even be there if those two didn't know how to ride and manage them]).

Hands down my favourite line in this chapter (Liam's king voice one comes a close second). I really love this because in stories like TRR/D&D, there's always that divide between nobility vs commoner, aesthetics vs utility...and in dialogues like these you can really see that difference. It reminds me a little of one of my favourite scenes from D&D Book 1, where Briar looks at the MC's embroidery and wonders aloud how a pretty piece like this would be of any use to anyone.

• The suede is fine but there's too much going on with the rest of the outfit for me to really admire it. Our LIs obviously don't agree with me:

Drake and Liam have the same dialogue, Hana and Maxwell have different ones. (in Maxwell's he tells her he is ready to "serenade my amazingly dressed, darlin' wife").

• Everyone gets their horses (Bianca gives King Liam a gentler horse so she doesn't end up indirectly harming a king, and Leona gives Bertrand a rough horse on purpose. Because Bertrand has to be on his best behaviour he agrees despite his initial fears).

• Hmm. Chuck finds out about the lack of help via a rumour. Hmmmm. Bertrand gets as skittish as his horse until the MC and Bianca remind him that they might as well take all the help they need.

• So the task is to ensure that the group reaches the big fair on time (or before) so that the sisters have enough time to prepare for their auction. Since they're short of staff and have a lot of cattle, every minute counts.

• There are roughly 3 tests that can ensure we get there on time if we pass:

- help move a group of stubborn cows from the six dozen we're taking to the auction (you can either say giddyup or scream out silly idioms that they won't understand). If you don't say giddyup, Drake will say it for you.

- Move the herd of cows away from a mud patch on the way. Drake suggests a move he and Savannah used to do as kids called The Cyclone, where 1-2 people get in the way of the herd and the riders come from another side to steer them away. This ensures that they get the cows away from the mud patch. This one is the most time-sensitive of the three, because if we fail this one a lot of time gets spent in getting the cows that fell into the mud patch out of the muck and onto the path again.

- Get a cow wandering through the stream out of it safely using a lasso. The problem arises when the cow starts fidgeting while you're taking them back. Here is where your suede outfit has an advantage, because if you choose "grip the pommel with your hands" and almost fall off the horse, the sturdy outfit will ensure you're safe.

All of this results either in you getting the cattle to the auction way before time with an hour to spare, or so late that they reach after the auction itself has begun. In the second option, Leona is nervous about their chances but Bianca insists that they did better than they could have done alone.

• Some stuff that you learn/that happens on the way:

- Chuck calls Leona Miss Walker, so is Walker really Bianca's surname rather than Jackson's? Jackson is also referred to as Jackson Walker. So whose nickname was it initially?

- Wild West Nicknames:

* Maxwell can either be Mad Maxwell or Maxwell 'Calamity' Beaumont. Both nicknames from the MC speak of his tendency to veer towards chaos, or his boundless energy.

* Liam is simply called King Liam because PB is fucking lazy.

* Drake is called The Lone Ranger by Hana, and Hana is called Lucky Lee by Drake.

* The MC can choose her nickname - Cow Boss, Jewel of the Prairie and Wild [Surname]. The second is a nice callback to both one of Valtoria's House mottos (Jewel of the Earth) and a name that Maxwell gives to a caviar dish for the Beaumont Bash (Jewels of the Sea). Personally I think the second one is a better parallel since the Beaumont House situation was already a precursor to what is going on with the Walker Ranch.

Well yes Liam, on people.

That aside...Jesus Christ is this man adorable.

- Alright, so much as I can't stand Leona? At least she has a legitimate ax to grind with Cordonian monarchy. Why the hell is CHUCK being like her and acting all condescending?? The closest thing to a 'noble' he's been around was Savannah and they barely even had anything together if we go by what Savannah says. What is he, the shit stirrer of Walker Ranch?

I have two points to make about this:

1. Constantine...is a fucking asshole. Most of us knew that. I think TRH just seems to be expanding more on that.

2. Sooo...exactly what was Constantine like before the Nevrakis ppl did what they did coz at this point he sounds like an utter failure in every way imaginable. His wife seems to have serious issues with him at this point, he's too busy fighting to spend any time with his kids (well. at least the one the writers remember), has neglected his friend Hakim, doesn't have good political relations with anyone, screws over the King Guard who he gave a Guardian of the Realm honour to earlier, for saving his life...after the man has died.

3. Leona pretty much doesn't seem to care about anything else besides the money Bianca could have been bringing in. It's the main thing she mentions when we first meet her, and it's the front and center of what she's telling us now. What Bianca was going through, the fact that her kids were left behind in an environment that was seemingly not a good one for them - she hasn't mentioned this so far in any of her more obvious complaints towards the nobility. I mean, is that the first thing you think about when your sister returns to her maternal home after such a devastating tragedy? Really??

4. The other funny thing is...she complains about not getting compensation from the royalty yet forgets that for a whole year or more when Bianca and Leona were not there for her (not their fault obviously, since she likely never told them)...it was a noble family's money that supported Savannah and Bartie. The money of the same Bertrand Leona is now enjoying lording over. I guess she would only know this if she were actually giving her sister's children the time of day, and I have hardly seen her do so, so far.

• Once we reach the fair and the sisters have moved forward to where the auction is happening, we are allowed to check out the rest of the fair. Cue diamond scene!

• I kinda think of this as a Group-LI kind of diamond scene - one where you spend time with the characters, but not separately. In a usual group scene they interact and do stuff together before you get time alone with them, but here, the group interactions are minimal and you get time with each LI in different situations. If you are married to said LI, the dialogues are obviously more romantic.

Drake: Opts for bull riding. He's shocked at the number of waivers he has to sign before participating, has a tough time atop the bull BUT manages to stay on longer than the rest. The rest of the group cheers him on as he comes out victorious, and the MC can either be baffled at his daring, or try it out herself.

The MC who is Drake's wife can opt to kiss him just before he participates and tell him to be safe.

Maxwell: Asks us to join in a tandem pie eating competition with him. The MC and Maxwell can either easily win, or be disqualified for starting a pie fight. Either way, the experience is a blast.

As Maxwell's wife, you get to kiss him after you've won/gotten disqualified, and tell him how his ability to make you laugh and have fun is exactly why your marriage is so amazing. (as Maxwell puts it: "never a dull day and more pie eating contests than you'd expect").

Hana: Has found a dressage-trained horse, and is happily getting the horse to do a perfect figure-eight. What follows is a heartfelt conversation about what home means to her, all the possibilities she can now freely explore, and the changes she has experienced. You can either tell her about her tendency to be competitive (something she apparently did not know herself...uh, yeah, sure), or her love and loyalty towards her friends.

As Hana's wife, you can kiss her, tell her you're falling more and more in love with her each day, and Hana gets to tell you that for her, home is where you are.

Liam: Has learned how to make a lasso from a local at the fair. He speaks of how places like these make him feel like he perhaps may understand his own people better, even if these activities are not what the court would expect or approve of from a king. He can show a few rope tricks to the MC, like catching a chair with a lasso, or be 'captured' by the MC.

As Liam's wife, there's the opportunity to flirt either by using the lasso on Liam, or asking him to tie you up.

• Savannah gives an update from Bertrand on how the cattle drive has gone, and Drake brings along some Texas barbeque. The group love it, but the MC finds it a little too much on the spicier side (bold of you, team TRH, to think I can't handle the seasoning in Texas when I have numbed my tongue on bird's-eye chilis!).

• Gah. The paps again. But this time, we're prepared and able to put a positive spin on our trip to Texas (this is either a romantic getaway to ensure we conceive a child, supporting a local business, attending the wedding of a noble) and the paparazzo runs with it. Chuck comes to our 'rescue' a minute later and Savannah is very appreciative.

• Tensions continue brewing beneath the surface between Bertrand and Chuck. Chuck tries to bond with Bartie, who is naturally a friendly child, and Bertrand isn't able to hide how he feels about this. You get to either deflect the situation by telling Bertrand to show Bartie how a "Beaumont high-five" works, or by telling Chuck not to cut into Bartie's animal petting time.

• Savannah complains. Only improvement is that at least this time she mentions that she's spoken to Bertrand and even then he feels he has something to prove (gee, Savannah, I wonder why. It's not like your AUNT has anything to do with that, for sure!)

• "Whatever's going on with Bertrand, I hope he figures it out before our wedding". 'Because I sure as hell don't care', Savannah forgot to add. Like...the root of his current insecurities is right in front of her. Right in her family. Leona has been rubbing it in that he is a 'useless noble' ever since he's been here (even giving him a skittish horse on purpose) and not once has Savannah ever said a thing - either in front of Bertrand, or secretly to us in all the times she's been complaining about him. That's a...surprisingly cavalier attitude for someone getting married to this guy in a couple days.

• Seeing Bertrand, Savannah and Bartie as a family leads the MC and LI to talk about their own search for a family. Nowadays I generally tap over a scene like this because I personally find the MC having the option to be upset and sorry for herself about not being pregnant, a little annoying. I wouldn't under normal circumstances, considering what this book is about (in fact I would be quite happy) - but I think I'm allowed to feel sore over the fact that the MC unfairly gets the space to feel about this the way others can't. So yeah, for me scenes like these are not worth talking about.

• We're back at the ranch, where the group laughs and reminisces over the last trip some of them (Liam, Drake, Savannah) took to the ranch, and the strongest memory we here about is of Jackson, Drake's father who was once Constantine and Eleanor's security detail.

• In our second childhood diamond scene, we are taken back to their last visit to the ranch, where a rather unwell Eleanor is protected by Jackson, and where the children witness a fight between the king and queen. Drake and Jackson have a conversation in the stables later, where the father evades questions about Constantine and Eleanor from a very worried son, and instead chooses to ask him questions about his future. Here are the things I could glean from the scenes:

- Bianca doesn't get a younger sprite here even though she is present in the scene, and there's a chance that they're maybe saving that for a flashback scene for her (?)

- Eleanor's meant to appear unwell, tired and very unlike herself in this sequence - and even if we've just met her it's quite clear that something is off with her. She is shown looking weary a couple of times, and Jackson says "easy does it" at one point. She shows a lot more frustration towards Constantine than in the last scene, calling him out for his paranoia and asking him if his questions (about her wanting an alliance with Auvernal) are an order from the king rather than a request from her husband. Even Constantine points out that she is not herself.

- Other than Auvernal being her maternal home, what else do we know about her connections there? (besides that telling quote by Bradshaw about Eleanor always graciously welcoming them - which interestingly seems to leave out Constantine). I feel like the upcoming trip there next chapter is going to give us an insight into that.

- There is a heavy emphasis on Liam and Drake's friendship, and Drake's feeling of 'responsibility' towards Liam...which I think is kind of a pointer to the whole question of him returning to court after the assassination and staying with Liam when they're older. Even his conversation with Jackson has the latter mentioning that he would be of the most help if he keeps Liam and his parents happy during their time in the ranch.

- The ending itself shows a significant shift from Drake's attitude towards Liam in the first half (playful, friendly, wants Liam to be safe around his mother's home) to the last (protective, determined to cheer Liam up and more reflective). This scene is clearly a Drake scene through and through and the approach is very different from the first set of childhood scenes. This might be how childhood solo scenes will be dealt with from now on.

- Jackson also mentions not being able to speak openly about the problems between Constantine and Eleanor, and Liam tells us later on that he was kind of a confidant to both of them. Jackson also mentions in the stable scenes that he is responsible for keeping them alive but not for their personal problems. The perfect King Guard. Constantine is an ass for denying his family compensation (but also I wonder if there is more to that story the way they frame it. I hope they don't try to force another of those "it was for the good of Cordoniaaaaa" excuses the writers always keep ready for Constantine.

- If Olivia was so suspicious, why were they leaving her behind?

- There are significant differences between the Drake playthrough and other playthroughs in terms of certain scenes. One lies in the options little Drake can make with regards to his future. The third options in both playthroughs show indicators of his future. If present-day Drake is single in your playthrough, it will focus on his desire for a simpler life. If he is married now, then the flashback will include this:

The other two options are Drake speaking about wanting to be a King Guard like his dad, and wanting to stay Liam's best friend. The King Guard thing obviously doesn't happen, the second one happens because Liam almost died. The third one is more clearly a pointer to Drake's future.

- Another significant variation if you are married to Drake is that you have a conversation with him after the scene is over, about his thoughts on his child becoming an heir to the throne:

Reminds me of the conversation we had at the American bar. On the one hand, I like this because as an outsider in the court and someone close to the security detail at the time, he would think of Liam's life very differently. Kids are impressionable, and ostentatious shows of wealth in front of a kid who cannot afford that much can definitely sting.

- Hmm. Hmm. So Liam's sacrifices only become important to Drake when his own kid might face the same challenges? Until then he will yap about how much luckier Liam is and how everything revolves around Liam? How girls were after Liam and not him (yet the one girl who did like him, he eventually treated like trash)? How he thought of Liam as "leading the MC on" by spending time with her when they first met/during the social season? (that's an actual dialogue he says, in Book 3 Chapter 16). Added to this is the fact that Drake stayed in the palace for free, as Liam's friend, and hardly had to do much (he freely roams around the cities Liam has to visit for diplomatic reasons, he can opt out of court events when he wants, he doesn't even have to dress the way others do - even the MC that doesn't buy outfits has to wear a gown that represents her sponsors/duchy for official events). Now when it's convenient for Drake he chooses to think about the flip side? When that flip side should have been the most obvious to him, the Prince/King's best friend??

• The setup for the next chapter comes in the form of a letter from Auvernal, asking the MC to meet them. Well. It's not Texas, so I'll take it.

General Thoughts:

- I don't have a lot to say about this chapter. There's not much really. It's boring and bland and even the nice Drake childhood scene at the end can't save it.

- Bianca's little line about not wanting to harm a King on her ranch...I feel like part of it may be concern because Liam was after all her son's best friend, and part of it may be wariness because of Constantine? But a lot of this is definitely me reading too much into this one little line 😅

- It does have some decent callbacks though:

* Team TRH FINALLY remembers that Hana has done dressage, which was shown to us as far back as TRR Book 1 Chapter 13. Brava!

* The whole premise of a family struggling with money problems and us offering help and getting the job done, is very reminiscent of the pre-Beaumont Bash sequences where we were scrambling together appetizers, helping with cleaning and setting up the ballroom for the big event. It's kind of ironic because the Beaumonts were in this position once, and now at least 3 books later they are involved in helping the sisters get the cattle drive going.

* The pie fight in Maxwell's section of the diamond scene has some similarities to the food fight in the fondue party scene in Book 2.

* Hana's response to eating barbeque strongly resembles how she approaches eating sloppy joes in Book 1, at the beach party. Back there, she is nervous about sampling the food because it is messy, and here she initially asks about utensils to eat it with, to which Maxwell says "you have ten of them!" referring to her fingers.

* The Jewel nickname for the MC, which we've seen versions of before in Book 1 and Book 3.

* A lighter version of the MC-Drake conversation in the Drake x MC playthrough can be found in the American bar scene in Book 1, where he speaks about how his parents always tried to get him things for his birthday but Liam's parents always went many steps ahead simply because they could afford it.

* Drake being called the Lone Wolf by Hana, which was something the MC could opt to dub herself in her interview at the Derby in Book 1? (a bit of a stretch I know but I'm having fun with this okay 😂)

- Could a kind anon (or not-anon) tell me if there is a reference behind 'Lucky Lee'? In fact behind all the names except maybe the Lone Wolf one for Drake. I couldn't find any hehehe.

- Now that we're going to Auvernal, I think we'll find (paywalled) clues there that might tell us more about Eleanor. Those clues about her changed behaviour and physical condition must have been placed exactly here for a reason.

- Usually Chapters 9 or 10 have been chapters that dealt with some aspect of Constantine and his family (his abdication + news of his impending death in Book 1, discovery of his involvement in the conspiracy in Book 2, and his death in Book 3). So now would be the perfect time to discover the truth about Eleanor and her relationship with Constantine, and what was troubling her.

- One theory I have is that Eleanor's being slow-poisoned, and these may be symptoms of what she is having. @thefirstcourtesan mentioned that pregnancy could be a reason too, and it would be another connecting factor with the MC. One thing that I do feel a little certain about is that this trip to Texas may have been a little while before she died.

- How is it that the narrative has absolutely no memory of the fact that Leo was once heir to the throne? I can imagine him not being very close to Liam-Drake-Maxwell or being a teenager who didn't want to be around his father (esp if that father is acting the way Constantine does in these scenes)...but not even a reference? A mention? You have the time to draw an entire sprite of little Savannah who pretty much has very little to do with this part of the story (or any part of the overall story) but Leo isn't even mentioned? Sounds a little fishy to me.

- I possibly wouldn't have minded Savannah's complaining and lack of proactiveness with the Bertrand situation, if their entire storyline didn't revolve around her being this "perfect angel" Bertrand has to be worthy of, and Bertrand's mistakes repeatedly being pulled up while Savannah doesn't have to answer much for the occasions where she is irrational or hasn't made good decisions. What we're seeing now is just an extension of this particular storyline.

- You can tell that the original epilogue series was meant to revolve around the Walker Ranch coz whatever we're seeing here is probably way way more than we have seen of Cordonia so far. There are frantic attempts to tie this to the overall plotline, but within the larger picture it makes very little sense.

Like I hate the paparazzi in the series and even then I found myself agreeing when he pointed out that it was weird that half the Royal Council was roaming around Texas.

- Speaking of the Council I wonder what the other court ladies were doing while we were at the fair. Sleeping off those hangovers?

- There could be other childhood/flashback scenes coming up. We will need an adult perspective, so Bianca might get one. Olivia needs to be seen as important and relevant to the plot (plus Constantine was shitty to her too), so she will get one.

- I wonder why Bastien had such a loyalty and attachment to Queen Eleanor (as stated in Book 2 by Regina) if he actually wasn't that close to the royal couple then (Jackson seems to fulfill that role here). I'm pretty sure they're probably going to ignore/forget that little detail.

- Will Hana and Maxwell get flashback scenes? They should, and there are ways you could incorporate that even if they weren't involved as much. Maxwell's could (FINALLY) focus on what happened to his family fortunes and you could slip in a little something about the palace there. Hana's could focus on her family and also have Lorelai catch up on Cordonian news/talk to her Cordonian relatives. Liam needs a solo scene of his own too, because after this I'm pretty sure his life takes a turn for the worse. If Hana and Maxwell (but esp Hana) don't get one...that's going to be extremely disheartening because they deserve way more attention than what they're getting now. I'm sincerely hoping we see more of their childhood memories too.

- You know what I'm REALLY looking forward to? Writing TRR 1's Chapter 8 QT. I'm very fond of that chapter and have a whole bunch of points to make about it 😀

- Until the next chapter, everyone!

#long post #trh quick thoughts #trh qts #the royal heir #king liam #hana lee #maxwell beaumont #drake walker #bertrand beaumont #savannah walker

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thegrimmsisters · 5 years ago

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The Problem Child, Chapters 4 & 5

So, this is my second attempt at making this post cause Tumblr deleted the content. So here we go again. These two chapters have a LOT of changes and some of them are super weird so I’d love to hear what other people think. Also, it’s clear no one read these books before releasing them to the public...

Chapter Four:

-The part when Daphne says she thought they could do some research after breakfast and then winks at Sabrina is gone.

-Granny’s line about Puck being so good at saving people that maybe it’s what he was meant to do is gone.

- A lot of filler things are gone like various glances, looks, and grumbles, etc.

-When they get in the cab to go to the school Van Winkle is complaining about Elvis and Sabrina says, “there is nothing that Elvis could do to him that Father Time hadn’t already.” Now the term Father Time is gone.

-Instead of saying “For the love of all things good and holy!” Van Winkle says, “For the love of Pete!”

- When Morgan comes over to the family and says, “isn’t it lovely?” Sabrina replies “Yeah for a grave.” Rather than “cemetery”

-Morgan now says “yes, I heard about what happened. My thoughts are with you and your girls, Relda. Mr. Canis was a good man.” Which is a really nice addition because previously she kind of just walks away awkwardly and we know Morgan is nicer than that, so I thoroughly enjoy this line.

-Sabrina no longer observers that the man with a pumpkin for a head is made of sticks.

-Briar is now described as being ‘brown skinned’ instead of ‘cocoa skinned’

-Instead of telling Sabrina she looks like a ‘captain on a cereal box’, Charming now tells her she looks ‘deranged’

-Sabrina no longer thinks Boarman, Swinehart, and Hamstead of overweight. Which I suppose is part of MB’s continued effort to stop blatant fat-shaming within the series. Though at the same time, being rather rotund is part of the characterization of those three so I’m not 100% sure how I feel about getting rid of any mention of anyone being even slightly overweight. (See the first book changes in which he got rid of a ‘chubby’ character tag) (feel free to put in your two cents here)

-Instead of saying opening a school should be a national day of mourning, Puck says it should be a ‘depressing event’ and when everyone turns to look at him, he says “What? I’m really sad.” Which is kinda funny admittedly.

-Instead of Charming saying he is “one of the most famous Everafters of all time,” he says he is “one of the most respected Everafters in the community.” Which is really neither here nor there for me, both seem well within the range of Charming’s ego.

-Heart now says the giant caused millions in property damage.

-Charming now argues against Heart that he is a mayor for both Everafters, and humans and that the money has to be divided equally. (aww Charming being a good guy)

-Sabrina’s line about Puck not caring about anyone but himself is gone.

-When Puck gets in the fight with the cyclops, he used to say, “You dare mock me?!” he now says “Whatever!” which…is kinda sucky.

-The troll no longer says “Fairy, I’m going to rip you limb from limb and suck on our bones.”

-When Jake lands on his back the Troll now says, “Get off me flea!” instead of the original, “Turn off your magic, sorcerer!”

-When the head of the Charming statue gets knocked off, it now rolls to Sabrina’s feet and “looks up at her smugly”

Chapter Five

-Granny no longer cries when she sees Jake again for the first time.

-Jake no longer calls Sabrina ‘Peanut’.

-The original exchange between Puck and Jake is changed dramatically. The lines: “Face it, some of the bad guys have to be handled by adults” and “Well I’m a bad guy and you’re an adult. Let’s see how well you handle me!” are gone. So, Granny yelling at them seems really out of place and super awkward and uncalled for.

-MB no longer says that Granny looks after Puck leaving with worried eyes.

-Jake calls traveling by car ‘prehistoric’

-Instead of saying “Merry Christmas” to Van Winkle. Granny says, “Happy Holidays” Yay for inclusivity!

-Granny tells Daphne not to eat the giant candy canes because it will ruin her dinner.

-Daphne no longer mentions that the decorations are just like home. Which is SAD! I loved that she mentioned that. It made their hard situation hit that much closer to home.

-MB still says that Henry kept fairy tales from the girls despite the fact earlier changes now dispute that. It’s even more confused than before.

-Jake says the Anderson Triplets found the Wand of Merlin when originally Jake had found it.

-He also says that the Anderson Triplets’ collection rivals the Hall of Wonders.

-When talking about Oz, Jake says that Ferryport Landing wasn’t exciting enough for Dorothy, which implies she has been there at some point??? How?? He also says that she now works for “some science institute, collecting data on storms.”

-Sabrina now thinks she is relieved that there is someone else in the family dedicated to bringing her parents home. She says, “a tremendous weight has been lifted off her shoulders because now she has help.”

-Jake says that the two of them should work together in secret to get them home.

-When Sabrina tells Jake that Henry told her coffee stints a kid’s growth, Jake looks at her and says “Sabrina, I’m six feet two inches tall, I think you’ll be fine.” Which is Hilarious.

-When Sabrina and Jake figure out Red’s plan, Sabrina thinks she is “10 times scarier now”

-Sabrina asks what’s at the end of the Hall of Wonders and Mirror says she isn’t ready for that yet. More obvious setting up for later books.

-Sabrina comments that the power from the helmet feels the same as the wand.

-Jake’s speech to Granny about how useful magic is and how Basil wanted them trained in it is shorter now.

-Granny no longer says the best thing she can teach the girls is that magic always has a price.

So that’s chapters four and five. As per usual I like the additions and dislike most of the other changes. The biggest take away is probably how MB treats fat people. Getting rid of the blatant fat shaming of Wendell in the last book was probably a good thing but I also don’t want him to get rid of every fat character because fat people exist and being fat isn’t a bad thing.

Other than that I wish MB would read his own books because man so many of these mistakes could have been avoided.

Please leave comments because I really want to talk about some of these changes. As always, feel free to ask questions too!

#sisters grimm 10th anniversary editions review #chapter review #The Problem Child #sisters grimm

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diceforanaltmode · 5 years ago

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Team Fire: Session 3, Egg?!; Part 1: Reunions? Breakfast?

Team Fire has continued their adventuring and at last we can bring you more of their shenanigans! Thanks to Hawke for providing recordings for this session and for the rest of the party for taking so much of their time to help with the transcription of all ~3.5hours of it - now you have an even more detailed account of all the hijinks! The full summary came to 30pages/10k+words, so we’ve split it into four parts to make it a bit easier to read on tumblr - click through to Session 3 part 2 at the end to keep reading!

TEAM FIRE

Rodimus by Frosty (tiefling sorcerer) Drift by Space (earth genasi rogue) Ratchet by Hawke (firbolg cleric) Magnus | Minimus by Tuna (half-orc paladin | human/tethyrian wizard) Megatron by Briar (goliath paladin) Rewind by Robin (high elf wizard) (out for this week, but back soon) First Session | Second Session

We begin our adventure with the party asleep after their long day defeating Zeta. In the middle of the night, Rodimus wakes up in the room he shares with Drift, with the sudden sense that someone has gone, like that feeling when people say they know that a relative has died, but also a sense of relief, like it was a shitty relative. To help himself get back to sleep, Rodimus casts sleep on himself.

Ratchet passes out in bed asleep, just conks right out. He dreams of his memories of what happened to the hospital. What Megatron did. But still, Ratchet rises early and rolls out of bed. He’s getting ready for the day when there’s a knock at the door.

“Yes?”

Roller’s voice comes through the door. “Ratch, it’s me, can I come in?”

“Yeah, sure.” Ratchet opens the door.

“Ah, hey, you doing alright? You sleep okay?”

“Ah, yeah, yeah, Slept pretty well.”

“That’s good. Hey, uh, I got a message from Orion, asked if we could meet to catch up since we didn’t really get to yesterday.”

“Oh, did we now.” Ratchet says sarcastically. “Yeah, the little screaming match yesterday,” Ratchet coughs. “Anyways - yeah, did he want to meet with both of us, or?”

“Yeah. To, y’know, avoid any shouting matches again, there’s a cafe a couple streets down, if you wanted to walk over, they open pretty early, and the coffee’s better than what Swerve serves - but don’t tell him I said that.”

“I’ll always take a good coffee.”

“Alright,”

“I’ll be ready in ten,”

“Okay, I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Ratchet and Roller walk over in companionable silence. Ratchet’s still reflecting on the last day, after having spent the evening mostly drunk, and Roller doesn’t force any small talk.

As they walk into the shop, they see baskets of bread and bagels and rolls, rows of pastries in glass cases, and in a large, round case, a whole cake, decorated with frosting shaped like yellow flowers. There are a few others in the cafe eating breakfast or picking up a loaf of bread for the day, Rung and Nightbeat are finishing up their breakfast.

Orion is in a back corner, halfway through a mug of coffee and an apple turnover, and, talking to an Aarakocra woman, dressed in similar armor to Orion, who looks upset and angry. As Ratchet and Roller get closer, she stands up to leave, and they overhear Orion say, “Alright, I’ll ask him.” Orion looks up and acknowledges Roller and Ratchet.

Ratchet grabs a coffee and then joins Orion. There’s a bit of awkwardness because the last time they saw each other, Orion was screaming at the scourge of Kaon and they had just killed Zeta. Roller follows, getting a coffee and a bearclaw. Ratchet and Orion both sit with their backs to the wall, while Roller has his back to the room.

“Thank you for coming,” Orion says, “It’s good to see you again in better circumstances.”

Ratchet stares into his mug of coffee for a little bit, before taking a deep slurp. “So, Orion, how’s the mind control been?”

“Well, better now that you all got rid of Zeta. Things aren’t quite yet coming back, but I’ve been talking with the AVL folks and they’ve been filling me in on what’s happened, they’ve been filling in all the guards. That’s also - the woman who just left, she’s also in the guard, she had the mind control, and, well, we both had the same thing, but she had it worse because - well, we can’t remember, but her kid is gone, and from what we can piece together, she thinks Zeta ordered her to bring her kid to him and leave the kid.”

Ratchet makes a horrified face at the notion.

“I take it from your reaction that you didn’t see any sign of the kid when you made your way through the castle.”

“To be honest I was a bit preoccupied on our way out making sure you got out, so no. We might be able to go back, search the premises if it helps, if - I’m not sure.”

“Yeah, I - assumed if you’d seen someone you would have made sure they got out, but I promised Ekalu I’d ask, since you were in the castle.”

“Yeah, I - I could ask the others when I get back to the tavern…” Ratchet says, trailing off to mutter, “her fucking kid...”

“I appreciate that.” Orion says, to Ratchet’s offer.

“Her fucking kid.” Ratchet mutters again, shaking his head.

Orion looks very downcast. “Fortunately from what we can tell it seems her kid was only gone a few days at the most, maybe a week. So at least not the entire time Zeta has been here.”

“So - you want to stage a search and rescue?”

“I wouldn’t know where to start. There’s the map the AVL showed you, I wouldn’t know where else a kid would be,” he considers, “unless there’s some part of the castle that Zeta built recently, something the AVL wouldn’t know about.”

“Yeah, I have an idea.” Ratchet says, “and you can rule out the high-security dungeons, we combed through those.”

“I heard. I -” Orion pauses, frowning, “ - what happened in there? I - You don’t - you don’t have to give me all the details.”

“Ah, not much, freed a lot of men, stumbled across a repentant warlord. Ya know, everyday things.”

“So you really buy it?”

“Coming back to this city was a mistake. I - I’m,” Ratchet considers. “He didn’t try to murder us. I don’t buy it. I don’t buy it. But - well, for now, he hasn’t tried any shady things, so - that’ll have to be enough for the moment. Drift - one of my companions on that job, Drift, seemed - rather opposed to taking Megatron down or securing him, or, or even just letting him say in the cell - you know, he was in a variable voltage harness, we didn’t have to let him go.” Ratchet sighs. “This whole thing’s been weird from start to finish.”

Orion sighs. “Well, for what it’s worth, seeing as you’re part of the reason I’m not under Zeta’s mind control anymore, I wouldn’t say coming here was a mistake,” he says. “How’ve you been? It’s been, what, fifteen, twenty years?”

“About. On the road, odd jobs. Trying my best. Trying, sometimes failing. Hmm,” he pauses, considers, “patching up people, the old wandering cleric life. I’ve - I’ve come here for First Aid originally, didn’t think I’d, you know, do the whole fighting a Vampyric overlord thing. I’ve been - y’know, I’ve been undercover.”

Orion nods. “Oh, First Aid’s here, that’s good,” he says, then adds. “They were debriefing all of the guards, they said they’re going to start up city council elections again, get things running back the way they were supposed to be.”

“Oh, well that’s good.” Ratchet considers his coffee. He’s not much of a morning conversationalist, not that he’s much of a conversationalist at any other time. Then, “I’m really glad you’re okay. I’m really fucking glad you’re okay.”

Orion smiles. “I’m glad you’re okay too.” He sighs. “After everything happened in Iacon - just - it’s been hard not to worry, these past few years. And, knowing what you were up against in there - I’m real glad you made it out of there okay.”

“Yeah, I got out, and I -” Ratchet huffs, “I might be so foolish to say I might have some opportunity here, which is - better than nothing. Better than nothing at all.”

“Well, that’ll be good to hear. I don’t know if I’m going to stay in the city.”

“Wait,” Roller interjects, “why - why wouldn’t you stay here?”

Ratchet leans in, skeptical. “Any plans, Pax?”

“Y’know, I - in Iacon, I tried to see what I could do working within the system, and in Kaon I tried to see what I could do outside the system. Then I tried looking for a reformer in Zeta and that obviously didn’t work out -”

Ratchet scoffs.

“- yes, I know, if you had been around you would probably have had more sense and talked me out of it, but - I don’t know what happens next. And I don’t know if there’s a place for me in rebuilding this city. I don’t know how many people recognize me only as someone who worked for Zeta.”

“That’s… if it’s any consolation, if the mind control thing gets out, we might be able to stir up some ruckus, get some new souls on the crew,” he says. “The mind control - it wasn’t you. It wasn’t your fault. I get not wanting to risk things. I get - having been forced to spend time as Zeta Prime’s mook, I get that.”

“Yeah.”

“So - what’s your plan? What’re you doing? Where’re you going?”

“I don’t know yet. I think I’ll have to see.”

“All right, well, hit me up when you’re going out into the world. I’ll prepare a big well-wishing speech, and maybe some flowers; hell, I could arrange a cake.”

Orion laughs. “If that’s true, you’ve changed more in the last twenty years than I could’ve imagined.”

Ratchet grins. “Hey, you never know how the times change, you never know where things go.” Ratchet looks at Orion’s plate. “Suppose you want to get proper breakfast food; you don’t look like you’ve eaten much.”

Orion takes a couple more bites of his apple turnover, “Eh, I’ll be fine, I’ll - well, I suppose I’ll get something else.”

“Alright!”

Ratchet finishes the rest of his breakfast in the cafe as well - exactly three and a half peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fancy ones. The cafe staff are a little confused by the order, but they make it in good time, the bread is delicious, the peanut butter is good, and the jam is made in house, and it’s just prime.

As Ratchet sits back down to eat, Roller asks. “So - what about you, Ratch? What are you planning to do? I know you talked to First Aid about maybe setting something up here.”

“Yeah, I’m thinking of - looking around, looking for people who can help, Y’know, we’ll need a place, people to help, to spread the word. It’ll be good to have a place again, where people - where anyone can go to get themselves patched up. For now, I’m staying, helping Aid, so I suppose I’ll keep to the headquarters.”

“Yeah, that’ll be where most of the political decisions are getting made. I, uh, I don’t think Prowl’s slept all night. I saw him on the way out.”

“Oh boy.”

“So if you want to know where things are being decided about how to rebuild, how to get things back running again - I know back before Zeta, there was - I don’t know if it was quite what you were talking about, but there were some clinics, a couple of them, in this town. Might be getting those back up to what they used to be.”

“So I’ve got a point to start. That’s honestly more than I would have hoped for.”

“Glad to have you here, Ratch.”

Ratchet lets out a long sigh. “Same.”

Roller chuckles.

---

After waking up, Magnus goes downstairs to check in with Dominus, and Rewind steps out so they can talk. Magnus walks in and immediately Dominus tries to leap out of bed to hug her but falls instead. She catches him before he can hurt himself.

“Thank you, sister, I -” Dominus sighs, “I keep thinking that I should be feeling better but it’s - it’s still taking its toll.”

“You have - you need as much time as you can possibly get! Don’t worry about it.”

“Ah thank you, I’m terribly sorry.” Dominus lies back down, propping himself upright just enough to give Magnus a hug.

“I heard from Rewind that you and your friends were able to kill Zeta and free the city”

“Ah - I - yes.”

“That’s unbelievable, sister. And I -” Dominus looks at his sister, very sincere, “thank you for keeping yourself and my husband safe.”

“Of course! Of course.”

“How are you doing now? Are you alright?”

“I - I do not know. I’m here now, I saved you. It’s been a long road to here. It’s been three years and - and I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

Dominus reaches out and pats Magnus’ forearm before sighing. “I think everything will be alright. I think it will take some time but everything will be - will be alright now. Found a place that I think can be a safe home in a way that -” Dominus pauses. ”In a way that Iacon couldn't.”

“That’s good. That’s very good.“

“Maybe not,” Dominus says quietly before continuing. “Of course that’s - that’s because of you, because you freed the city, so thank you and thank you for coming to find me.”

Magnus is trying to hold back tears.

“I - thank you Dominus. I -” she trails off. Dominus hugs Magnus again, not wanting to let go.

After all the heavy talk Magnus tries to make small talk with Dominus.“So - uh, the hammer?!”

“It’s - it’s quite alright, I know you sister; you don’t need to try and make small talk. It’s quite alright.”

Magnus sighs. “True. Thank you. No - but seriously- why did you make the hammer?”

“Oh, I - Rewind said he gave it to you. Do you like it? Do you like it?!” Dominus asks excitedly.

“It’s absolutely fantastic!”

“I’m so glad! I thought you’d appreciate it. I certainly hope it was useful to you. I’m glad I was able to finish it before you came, although I would’ve liked to give it to you under better circumstances.”

“Heh - yeah it’s - hm,” Magnus considers. “I don’t know how else to describe it; it’s just- useful. Very nice. And you put so much detail on it, so it’s nice to see your work again.”

“From you sister, that’s the highest compliment.”

“Thank you.”

Seeing that Dominus can’t take much more conversation and needs to continue resting, Magnus says, “you need to rest more and knowing me I will pass out if I do not eat something in the next five minutes so - please do rest.”

“I will. Rewind brought me something to eat earlier but please make sure you get yourself something, many things.”

Magnus laughs a bit at the wording. “I intend!”

Dominus gives Magnus one last hug before leaning back on the pillows and closing his eyes. Magnus places a hand on Dominus’ forearm, kisses his head, and says, “Please sleep well brother, I love you.”

“I love you too, sister.” --- Continue to part 2!

#game recap #team fire

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shreyamistry · 6 years ago

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okaaay, i'm finally sending in these requests. like last time, i'd love if all the MC's used they/them pronouns! "don't act innocent, you had me pinned underneath you 5 minutes ago," for tille x mc (idk if this one would be technically be nsfw, and i know you say in ur rules no they/them peeps in a nsfw fic unless you specify what they have, but mc would be afab!). "i will love you forever, and when 'forever' ends, i'll love you some more," for annabelle x mc (bc i LOVE the way u write them!)

Pairing: Annabelle x MC

Prompt: “I will love you forever and when ‘forever’ ends, I’ll love you some more.”

Word Count: 1.2k

Summary: A rewrite of the diamond scene with MC’s LI after the duel. Hannah goes to visit Annabelle after the duel to make sure she was already. Once there the pair worry over their future, and Hannah doesn’t know if they can handle everything anymore.

Song: A Thousand Years by Christina Perri

A/N: So this was heavily based on the song A Thousand Years because it came on shuffle while I was writing and it seemed perfect for the pairing/prompt! So you will see an integration of the lyrics within the work, I hope that’s okay Kylie! I heavily encourage you to listen to the song while reading, I think it ties it together beautifully, but either way! (also made me really want to watch twilight saga again, their soundtracks snapped and 13 y/o nate adored twilight) Sorry if it’s weirdly formatted on moblie, I designed it to look formatted correctly on browser but ! tumblr sucks lmao.

Tagging: @pixieferry

Thanks for reading! I hope you like it!

“Darling, don’t be afraid.”

Annabelle clutches Hannah’s hands in her own. Tears pool on the edges of their lashes as they look into her warming gaze. She squeezes their hand tighter within her own, tears threatening to break her water lines. Hannah pulls their hand away to wipe the back of it against their cheek, drying the tears that have fallen.

“I promise you, Hannah.” Annabelle sniffles with her words.

“Come lay down,” Hannah whispers as they help Annabelle limp back towards the bed. They help her settle down into the bed, clutching her hand as she winces in pain from her gunshot wound. Hannah draws around the other side of the bed, pulling back the covers crawling underneath up against Annabelle. They tuck their face into the crook of her neck, her arms falling around their waist. “I’m afraid, Annabelle.”

She draws in a breath looking over at Hannah. “Nothing will keep me from you.”

“You simply can’t promise that,” Hannah replies, a lingering silence fall between them.

Annabelle runs her hand soothingly up and down Hannah’s arm, trying to convey comfort to them that they didn’t feel. She leans her head further to the side, pressing her cheek to the top of Hannah’s head. Her hands comb through the end strands of Hannah’s hair, pressing closer to them.

“You can’t promise that,” Hannah repeats it again, and they both don’t know who they’re trying to convince, themselves or Annabelle. Annabelle looks over at the hollow empty look in their eyes, their face heavy with sorrow, sleep deprivation, and life. She can’t help but notice how drained Hannah looked, how much he drained from them. It made Annabelle’s heartburn with anger.

“I can and I will.” Annabelle musters the strength to sound as confident as she could. “No one will ever keep you away from me. You’re one step closer to me and I won’t back down now.” Hannah brings their hand to her cheek, brushing their fingers against her face drying the tears that built on her skin. Hannah felt like they died every day they were apart from Annabelle, ever since the Duke announced their marriage without their consent and their grandmother stood silently beside them. “I won’t lose you.”

Everyday… they thought to themselves. Every day they died over and over again. Waking up to be in the nightmare of being engaged to the vilest man in England, it burdened their heart so deeply. Mr. Chambers offered them everything they needed and more, and they couldn’t believe they didn’t get the chance to embrace that.

“Every breath and every hour Hannah. I have been brought closer to you.” Annabelle falls silent trying to find the words buried in her brain. The feelings she’s repressed and the anger and anxiety, it built in her and spread over her inside filling her lungs to the point she felt she couldn’t breathe sometimes. She knew her heart and lungs could bud and breed flowers, but how it felt they did. She nearly expected a sunflower to sprout out of her mouth. Every moment she wasn’t with Hannah, she felt herself withering away, knowing the torment they felt alone with the Duke. She wished deeply she could be with them all the time, she’d even pretend to be Briar if it at least let them be together all the time. “Time doesn’t exist when I’m with you.”

“How do you sound so sure of us?” They whisper.

“Because I have you. I will love you forever, and when ‘forever’ ends, I will love you some more.” She falls silent forcing her eyes closed listening to the subtle hum of Hannah’s breath on their lips. She couldn’t possibly keep them open any longer, but she couldn’t fell asleep on them. “Hannah…”

“Oh Miss. Annabelle Parsons you say the loveliest things to me…I almost believe…”

Sleep hits her mid-sentence, the words leveling in her ears as the sandman encases her in a fit of sleep.

Annabelle pries her eyes open, the dark of the night streaming in through the window. The light from the moon gave her little to look at and see in the darkness, but she found the other side of the bed empty, the imprint of Hannah’s existence a bleak mess of sheets. She reaches out despite knowing their absence, praying she’ll find them just by reaching for them.

Her hand glides across a thick piece of paper, that crinkled under her touch. She quickly snatched it into her arms getting a glance of the writing told her it was Hannah’s as she brought it to her chest holding it tightly to her heart. Hannah… how could I have fallen asleep on you? She frowns heavily before releasing the letter holding it at arm’s length to get a glimpse at it, catching it at the right light.

“My love,

I must return to Edgewater. I waited longer than I should to leave hoping you might awake and see me off. Mr. Sinclaire was adamant that you would not be awaking with how exhausted you were from the drawl and the recovery, still I could not press forward without you. Bless his heart, but I wish he wasn’t right, I spite him for being right in this instant.”

Annabelle chuckles brightly to herself, “Oh, Hannah.” She reads again.

“I believe you. If there is anyone to keep us together, it shall be you. With your strength I will fight more, I won’t give up. We are one step closer than we were before despite the loss of the drawl between both of you. He cheated and misguided us. It will be added to his crimes, among being arrogant and selfish. Enough ill speak of him.

Time stands still when we’re together. I will be brave this time, I will not let anything take away from us or our love, it is eternal. I feel I have loved you for a thousand years and I will love you for a thousand more. He will not take me away from you and I will not allow anyone else to take me away from you. I will fight until my dying breath to be with you. I have died every day waiting to be with you. I wish you the best until I may see you again, my love, my one, my only. I will break out of Edgewater every night if I must no amount of space or time will keep us apart. I plan to return tomorrow night if my wishes align, please wait for me.

Yours, and yours alone,

Hannah, they of Edgewater.”

Annabelle places the letter on her heart again tears in her eyes, knowing they weren’t there and couldn’t hear her, she still whispered the words to herself again picturing Hannah in the bed beside her. “I will love you forever, and when ‘forever’ ends, I will love you some more.”

#annabelle parsons #annabelle x mc #playchoices #desire and decorum #d&d #choices desire and decorum #mc x annabelle #my writing #request #prompt #kylie jenner? no the better kylie #i will love you forever and when 'forever' ends i will you some more #this made me soft so i really hope you like it #im not one to typically do letters/journals in fics since my emma one didn't go well but i thought it worked so nicely here #anyways let me know what you think!#the butterfly gif is to express like freedom and it looks pretty and made sense to me sorry if it doesnt to anyone else alfksjaflkj

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flslp87 · 6 years ago

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A Happy Ending Begins With Hope A Season 7 Canon Divergent

Summary: Revenge, Kidnapping, Curses, and Redemption all revolve around an unlikely source…Hope.

You can read the parameters I used for this story here.

Thank you @linda8084 @jamif @juliakaze and @duathadun for being my guinea pig readers.

Can be found on AO3 and FF.

Tumblr - Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7

Chapter 1

Words ~ 6400 Rating ~ K+

Occurs immediately after the EQ cast the curse sending those from the Enchanted Forest to the Land Without Magic.

Wish Realm

WHook arrived at the docks to find his crew lounging around like the vermin they were, and with a loud bang woke them all. “Get up, you filthy bilge rats. Playtime’s over.”

They slowly roused, giving him enough attention for him to order, "I need the Jolly Roger ship shape before we set sail. You have an hour."

"But, WCaptain,” Smee interrupted, “you haven’t even told us where we’re going yet."

"We,” WHook boasted, “are going to the land without magic, Mr Smee. Once the WEvil Queen casts her curse, I will finally get my chance to exact revenge on the Dark One."

"Actually,” the WEvil Queen sauntered across the dock, “no one’s going to be going anywhere. And neither will I,” she finished dejectedly, moving closer to where he was standing.

“Your majesty,” WHook gave her a confused look, “shouldn’t you be casting your curse?"

"Well, I would be,” she began, “if that insipid WSnow White and her WCharmless Prince hadn’t stopped me."

"How the bloody hell did they do that?” he scoffed, not quite believing what he was hearing.

“They stole my magic.” She pouted, but something in her demeanor served to put him on edge.

Smee whispered, “WSnow White defeated the WEvil Queen? I did not see that coming."

His last words reached the WQueen’s ears, causing her to whip around and lift her hand as if to choke him, but without magic her move was ineffective.

WHook wanted to smile but her lack of magic could prove to be a rather large obstacle in his ability to exact his revenge. "That must be frustrating.” His thoughts were zipping around in his head as to what this meant. “Hang on, if you can’t cast the curse then my chance of revenge is lost as well."

"Perhaps,” she hummed, turning her back on him and holding up a piece of paper. “I’ve brought a map that leads to a special flower…a magical flower,” she clarified, a small smile playing along her lips.

WHook watched her as she explained that the map would lead him to the flower and that if he found it and brought it back to her, then she would use its magic to cast the curse. The more she talked the more he suspected that she wasn’t being completely truthful, but bloody hell, if it helped lead him to the Crocodile, he would do whatever was necessary.

“Will you help?” she asked, a hint of desperation in her voice.

“Aye,” he told her quietly, his mind already making plans. As he gathered supplies, WHook kept one eye on the WQueen, noticing her peculiar behavior. She was almost carefree, not bitter and angry, snapping at everyone to do her bidding. "Something’s amiss with our guest,“ he whispered quietly. "Keep an eye on her while I’m away."

Smee gave a quick nod of his head. "Will do, WCaptain."

WHook grabbed his pack and as he walked past her hissed in her ear, "You’d better be telling me the entire story, Your Majesty."

With a gasp, she looked up quickly through squinted eyes. "Why, WCaptain,” her hand went to her chest, “you don’t trust me?"

WHook held her gaze a second or two without saying anything, holding his hook in such a way as to draw attention to the tip. "As much as you trust me.” Her widened eyes confirmed she understood his message, and with another glance at his ship, he whirled around and hurried off.

~~~ouat~~~

The map was rather crudely drawn, but simple enough to follow if one knew what he was were doing. Simple though it was, it was not a short walk and would take many hours before he reached the part of the forest where the magical flower grew and where, legend had it, a witch was imprisoned in a tower. As the day was coming to an end, the path ended abruptly, dividing into two; one traversing off to his right, the other…to his left. The map no longer any help, WHook, had to choose his own fate, and with a glance in each direction, took a step to the right to see where his fate would lead.

The path was not straight, nor was it simple, filled with many twists and turns and overgrown with briars and thorns that clawed at his duster, forcing him to cut his way through. With each thicket that he cut away, his thoughts kept returning to the possibility that he had taken the wrong fork, that the path to the left might have been the easier road to take him to his destination: a magical flower, that with the WEvil Queen’s magical knowhow would allow him to finally…finally get his revenge.

His path blocked by a particularly dense growth of plants, WHook set to work, chopping and then pulling off, chopping and pulling off, over and over until the last branch parted. He stepped through into a clearing, the ground covered in dirt, brown and dry with numerous cracks running like veins in every direction. Grass, if any had ever been there, was no longer lush, but only visible in sparse patches of a browned, yellowish, hay-like substance. The air was dank, smelling not of forest, but of death and despair, and in the center, stretching up into the clouds, was the tower. It stood alone, defenseless, ripe picking by a resourceful pirate, he thought as he uncoiled his rope and prepared to climb.

One foot, a hand, the other foot, then his hook, slowly WHook moved up the side of the tower, finding footholds in the many vines twined around the old stones or in the crevices left from decay. Several times during his climb, he thought of turning back but fate had chosen this path for a reason and he was determined to see it through.

As he neared the top, the gentle light emanating from the window seemed to indicate that someone, indeed, lived in the tower. Was it the sorceress that was rumored to be trapped within or was there some other reason that the tower appeared to be inhabited? Time to find out, he thought as he reached the window.

He sank the tip of his hook into the soft clay surrounding the window and hoisted up enough to get one leg over the edge. After that all he needed was to reposition his hook and he was inside and getting his first look at the room.

It wasn’t the sparseness of the furnishings that drew his attention, nor was it the haggard appearance of the supposed sorceress, but rather her long blonde hair that struck a chord deep inside his mind. A memory of a woman he’d met in a bar, one whose very being made him believe he could let go of his first love and find someone else. “It’s you,” he breathed as she slowly turned around and the hope inside shuddered and died.

“Oh, you look upset that I’m not the one you wanted.” Her body language was relaxed in contrast to the haughtiness in her voice as she moved closer to where he was standing.

Her looks, while not the features from his memory, were not unpleasant, making him think she could have been a hasty diversion, had he not been on a mission. “No great loss,” he shrugged his shoulders, creating a distance between them. "The view,“ he gave her the once-over, "is pleasant enough."

He watched a transformation come over her face, moving to seductive in the blink of an eye as she sidled closer, running a long nail around the collar of his leather jacket. "I’m so happy to see you,” she purred, moving ever closer to rest her head against his shoulder. "I’ve been waiting for a brave, strong man to rescue me.“

WHook met her gaze and there was something behind her eyes that told him there was more to the story. "Rescue you? Who put you here?"

"Why, Rumpelstiltskin…Captain.” He tried to cover up his surprise that she knew who he was, but her smirk told him he had been unsuccessful.

“Seems you have me at a disadvantage. You are?"

She gave him a demure smile. "Rapunzel,” she answered quietly.

WHook nodded his head briefly, “A pleasure.” Her eyes flashed something that he wasn’t sure how to interpret, but as she had quickly turned her back and walked away, he let it go.

She picked up a small flower lying on a table close by. “I need the magic of a special flower to escape from this place. This one just isn’t strong enough,” she whispered softly, her eyes burrowing into his, almost hypnotic in their intensity. The woman trailed the flower along his jaw, down his chest, creating a feeling of euphoria inside his head and heart but…his will in contradiction with both. Hook wrapped his hand around her wrist almost forcefully, creating distance between his body and hers. Was she worthy of his trust?

As he put more distance between himself and the flower, the clearer his thoughts became, forcing him to consider the possibilities. Could his revenge on the Dark One be so close? “You said the Dark One trapped you in here?” He leaned back against a table, folding his arms across his chest. “Why?"

Her eyes shifted away from his, a slight frown appearing on her forehead. "The Dark One?"

"Aye,” WHook answered impatiently, “Rumpelstiltskin."

"No, it was Savior Rumpelstiltskin. He’s the one."

"Savior?” WHook advanced, yanking her close by her arm. “Explain."

She detailed that in her Enchanted Forest, Rumpelstiltskin had been a Savior until he had done something that had darkened his soul. Hook was left pondering the possibility of Rumpelstiltskin the Savior and Rumpelstiltskin the Dark One. Could there more than one Rumpelstiltskin, and how did he know which was his real nemesis? "Bloody hell!” He slammed his hand down on the table, the magical flower crushing under his palm.

The woman hissed, “See what you did?” Her mercurial moods continued as she stomped her foot in frustration before quickly bringing her fit of temper back under control. “Will you help me…please?"

And just like that, he was once again at a crossroads. Did he stick with his plan for finding the flower and trusting the WEvil Queen to help him with his revenge or did he trust this lass and help her? "I’ll get the flower,” he finally told her, but he knew he would wait until he had it in hand before deciding what to do with it.

“Oh, thank you!” She threw her arms around his neck, kissing him heartedly.

WHook removed her arms. “Don’t thank me yet, love. Save that for later.” With one last look at his surroundings, he winked and climbed back out the window, the look in her eyes staying with him as he maneuvered himself down the cobbled stones of the tower.

~~~ouat~~~

Once his feet were back on the ground, WHook returned to the place where the path forked, and this time moved off to the left. He found that the farther away from the tower he walked, the clearer his head, the more focused he was on his journey.

His path took him deeper into the forest, the trees becoming thicker and the ivy and plants denser. It wasn’t long before the soft ivy gave way to limbs full of thorns and briars which caught on his leather sleeves. Every thorn that stuck brought to mind the Dream Shade plant and his brother’s bull-headedness when it came to that plant…and many other things, if he were honest. What would he think of the man his little brother had become?

The thorny plants quickly gave way to foliage so thick that he pulled out his sword, prepared to cut his way through. Lifting his arm high, he sliced forward, but instead of watching pieces of the plant fall to the ground, it…folded in on itself, the limbs, moving out of the way. "Bloody hell!“ he exclaimed, his outburst sounding loud in the near silence surrounding him.

But after that, it was as if he’d been invited in, as the forest seemed to come alive. The trees looked like they were bowing, and the leaves were folding aside just enough to allow the last rays of dying sun to peer through, each ray ending as it barely touched the tips of a golden flower, its petals glowing with life, pulsing with the magic it held inside. Enough flowers for me to bring one to the lass, Rapunzel, he thought, and several to the Queen.

WHook stepped up to the field and opened his satchel, intending to fill it with the magical blooms, when a familiar voice whispered, "Don’t touch!"

Without thinking, his sword was drawn and he had whirled in the direction of the voice, only to be caught by surprise to find only an apparition before him. WHook jabbed at the sight. "Crocodile!” His sword went completely through his nemesis. “Show yourself!"

The ghostly body wavered a bit brighter, but never fully formed into that of the man whom he had sought to kill for so many years. "Miss me?” WRumpelstiltskin cackled with pleasure every time the sword was swung toward him. "Come now, WCaptain. Is that the best you can do?“

"Revenge will be mine, Dark One, when the tip of my sword pierces your flesh,” Hook promised menacingly.

“Is that any way to speak to the man who has come to warn you?” WRumpelstiltskin giggled.

WHook studied the ghost-like figure in front of him, wondering how he had known where to find him, and why. “Warn me?” WHook raised a brow, “What would you know that you could warn me about?"

The Dark One steepled his fingers, a sneaky smile crossing his face. "I know that you were thinking of gathering several of those flowers to spread the magic around. But don’t touch them, you can’t control your thoughts…your feelings…or your actions if you do."

The awareness of how his thinking had become muddled after the lass had touched him with the flower floated through his mind. "Explain yourself!"

The Crocodile studied him quietly before answering, "The magic…it can, shall we say,” he waved his hand around, “alter your thoughts."

WHook scoffed. "My faculties are my own, but,” he raised his sword higher, its tip resting in the chest region of Dark One, “since you ask so nicely, I plan to rescue the lass that you imprisoned."

His visitor laid his hand on his chest, an expression of shock crossing his face. "Moi? I did no such thing."

"Savior Rumpelstiltskin ring any bells?” WHook asked, his question laced with sarcasm.

The ghostly Dark One’s maniacal laugh rang loud in the forest. “That bumbling idiot? You’ve got your story wrong, WCaptain. Beware of the friend who is really your enemy, and the enemy who is really your friend.” His golden eyes glowed brighter. “Ta ta.” And with a wave of his scaly, transparent fingers, he was gone.

WHook worked quickly building a fire, all the while thinking about the cryptic words spoken by his greatest enemy. And yes, he was a liar but the instinct that had helped him survive hundreds of years was telling him that there was a note of truth in there…somewhere, and perhaps he needed to listen.

Once stretched out on his bedroll, he pulled the memories of every conversation, every feeling he’d had over the last 24-hours out and examined them, but unable to find any answers he drifted into a restless sleep.

~~~ouat~~~

The Watcher breathed a sigh of relief that the plan was falling into place. Soon everyone would pay for what they had done and the happy ending would belong to one.

~~~ouat~~~

WHook awoke from a night filled with too many dreams, too many memories, none of which made sense, but with the urgency to get on with his revenge, he plucked a few blossoms. One of the magical flowers was tucked inside his satchel, the other he held tightly in his hand, thinking to free the lass on his way back to the docks.

The farther from the garden he traveled, the less urgent was his need to return. He felt free of his burdens, so free in fact that when he reached the fork there was no hesitation in which direction he would take. He was going to help the lass and if more happened to occur, well…his crew could just wait.

With each step, everything seemed to matter less as he hurriedly brushed aside obstacles, his destination ahead. He pushed aside a particularly large vine with his hook, surprised when, as if it had a life of its own, it suddenly snapped back. Self-preservation caused him to drop the flower, his right hand catching the vine with a loud thwack!

The noise reverberated inside his head, startling him…waking him in such a way that he looked around, reminding himself where he was. His last clear thought had been of the urgency to get back to the docks before the WQueen found some other means to leave, and then…nothing.

The Dark One’s voice floated through his head, “Its magic can alter your thoughts.”

“The flower?” WHook frowned down at the yellow blossom laying crushed at his feet. With a shake of his head, he kicked the flower off the path, deciding it had side-tracked him enough for day. With it out of the way, there was no question as to what he was going to do. He quickly performed an abrupt about face, and followed the path leading him away from the tower and back to the docks, as nothing mattered more than skinning himself a crocodile.

~~~ouat~~~

The pirate’s abrupt change in direction caused the Watcher to throw a glass object against a wall in a fit of anger. "One thing, WCaptain, that was all you had to do.“ The sentiment was repeated several times, each one slightly louder than the one previously heard. "And she was your type, too. That, I know. Now I’ll have to do it myself."

Supplies were gathered quickly and with a puff a smoke the Watcher materialized inside the tower. "I told you what to do. What happened?"

Rapunzel sneered at the visitor. "What do you mean, what happened? He went to get me the flower. He’ll be back."

The Watcher scoffed. "Your WCaptain Hook seems to have lost interest in your charms, Rapunzel. He left."

"He did? Good.” Her enchantment wore off, magically turning her back into the witch, Gothel. “But you can get me out of here, right?"

"Of course. Lucky for you dear, I’m more powerful than the one who cursed the tower in the first place.” A flick of the wrist and the curse was broken, and they were far away from the tower, making plans for what was to come.

~~~ouat~~~

WHook arrived at the docks to find an almost party-like atmosphere with Smee and Her Majesty locked in a battle of dice. “While I was away, you ran out of things to do?” he snapped, his eyes daring his crew to counter him.

“Sorry, WCaptain,” Smee pushed up from the table, “the WQueen and I were…passing the time until you got back."

"Well I’ve returned,” WHook stormed farther into the melee. “Are we ready to set sail?” he asked of his crew before turning to the WQueen. “Ready to go find the Crocodile?"

"You found the flower? Oh goody,” she clapped her hands, “give it to me."

"I found it,” WHook acknowledged opening his satchel so she could see where it had been hidden.

“Excellent.” She pulled it from the satchel. “It’s working, I can feel my magic returning."

Her dark eyes flashed with some hidden message, causing him to momentarily doubt her word. He stopped her movements. "You’ll keep your promise?"

"Don’t I always?” was spoken softly before she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

As soon as she was gone, WHook sent his crew scurrying around, readying his ship for the long voyage. When the WQueen hadn’t returned after an hour, he decided that she was having difficulties with a spell until he saw some of the crew pointing. In the distance he could see thick purple smoke covering the area, threatening to wipe away anything in its path. Hastily, he and the crew set sail, putting enough distance between the ship and the pier to see that the smoke wasn’t so much destroying as it was shielding. His ship had been blocked, unable to dock again and with no other option, the Jolly Roger set sail in hopes of finding the realm without magic.

Book World

The Rumpelstiltskin who lived in the Book World Realm had been created by a version of himself, who had teamed up with a rogue author creating a land where villains would get a happy ending. His life was perfect, as he was married to the love of his life and had a small daughter, but then…a young boy showed up and the darkness inside of him took control.

After that his life changed, and not for the better. He found that while his goal was still to defend his village, he didn’t always take the hero’s path, often opting for the path of the least resistance…or the quickest to glory. SaviorRumple ceased to exist and KnightRumple was born, albeit a knight with tarnished armor.

Since the new author had undone Isaac’s work, the King and Queen returned to the side of good, but KnightRumple didn’t always agree with their plans, often working to thwart them. He found himself at odds, not only with the person that he had become, but with the rulers of his land, and more importantly with his wife. She wanted what he found difficult to give.

As things became more complicated between him and Belle, he received word that there were several villains he had encountered over the course of his life who were after him…or after his family. Protecting his family became the most important aspect of his life, but no matter how he tried to explain this to her, she wouldn’t listen.

“I don’t want you to protect me,” she’d admonished him. "I want you to trust me.“

The next time he returned home, the very thing he had been guarding against had happened anyway. His family was gone. He had lost the battle.

He spent years in self-reflection, looking for ways to turn his life around and have a chance to live the life with his family that they deserved. It didn’t matter what he did, they were lost to him but still Belle’s voice echoed in his head:

"But you’re the light one. Whatever this force is, you’ll overcome it. You’re a hero, Rumple.

Through his unwillingness to change and take a chance that love was all that was needed, he had lost Bae when he was fourteen, he had lost Belle and he had lost their daughter, Alice, when she was the same age. He was not SaviorRumple. He was not KnightRumple. He was a coward. He was alone.

To Storybrooke

Hope looked down at the magic bean in her hand and once again closed her fist without throwing it. All she had to do was toss it, think about home and she would be back with her family but…would they even know who she was? She had memories of being raised by them, but to her parents, she was only days old.

"What are you so afraid of, love?"

As usual, a chill ran up her spine at the words spoken to her by the man who was her father…yet he wasn’t. Words that she had read, time and again, inside the pages of her mother’s book. Words that her father said to her mother when they were in Camelot and her mother had been afraid to let go of the darkness to light the Promethean Flame. But she wasn’t her mother. "What am I afraid of?” she tossed right back, and then shook her head at how sharp her response had sounded. “Sorry,” she hastened to apologize, for she knew it was the right thing to do, and he didn’t deserve her ire. “I’m just,” she took a deep breath and then tried again. “I’m not my mother. I’m not the Savior. Is this the best plan for me to get my family back?” The look that crossed his face had her quickly amending it to, “For us to reunite me with my family."

"No, Hope, you aren’t the Savior. You are the Guardian, someone stronger even then the Savior. And besides,” he grinned, “I’ve yet to see you fail.” Something must have flashed across her face, because his grin grew contemplative. “I did it again, didn’t I?"

"Yes.” They shared a gentle smile, “I wish,” she worried her bottom lip, while organizing her thoughts, “I wish you could read their story. It’s something else."

The expressions that crossed his face made her wonder if she was doing the right thing, bringing him back to Storybrooke with her. "So do I, Hope,” he whispered, “so do I."

Her breath caught in her throat at the truth behind his words. She had read his thoughts before, seeing it on his face every time she caught him looking at her when he didn’t know she was looking. And now after everything they had learned from Rumple about the whole converging and diverging of one’s lives, there were still so many what ifs. "What do you think will happen? Will you know? Will it hurt? And what about me?” She knew her voice sounded a little too close to panic, but she couldn’t help it. There had been so many things happening lately that, well…the possibility of another loss was a bit terrifying.

He moved closer, giving her a paternal hug, and the smell and gawd, just the feel of him was so her dad that she felt the sobs rushing up inside. When he pushed her hair off her shoulder with his hook, just as her father had always done, she wanted to tell him to stay behind, that the possibilities were too great of a risk. But he hadn’t put himself first any other time, why would she think he would do so now?

“If the Crocodile is to be believed,” his quiet voice interrupted her thoughts, “we’ll not know until it happens… or doesn’t happen.” His eyes delved into her soul with their sincerity. “We just have to wait and see, but Hope,” he squeezed her hand tightly, “you know there is no way I’ll not chase you back to Storybrooke, right?"

A part of Hope felt bad that this man that she had grown to care for…to love…knew that his future was uncertain, and yet he still wanted to be there…to reunite her with her father, her mother, her entire family, really. The fear was there for herself, but for a different reason. She wasn’t thinking about herself, but of her parents and how important it was for them not to miss out…on anything. "What about me?” she finally asked. “In Storybrooke, I’m a baby. Will I become that baby or,” an awful thought crossed her mind, “will that baby disappear and my family…” She couldn’t finish the thought because there was no way she was allowing them to lose any of their happy beginning.

He shook his head slowly, unable to give her an answer. “I don’t know, Hope, but we’ll handle it…together."

Tears immediately filled her eyes, and nothing could stop her from throwing herself back into his arms, hugging him with everything inside. "It’s not fair,” she mumbled against the shoulder of his leather jacket.

She could feel his heart was heavy even though he didn’t say anything, but she knew he never would. He was just like her father in that sense and no matter how much was inside, he often didn’t share it with those in his life. She knew that it had taken a while before her father shared everything with her mother…and her mother with her father. “Hope,” his pensive voice rifled her hair, “we’ll all be there for you. Whatever you need…whomever you need…we’ll be for you."

His words made her stronger and with one last hug, she stepped back and squared her shoulders. "I’m ready."

"Good, now shall we go?” He looked pointedly at the hand holding the bean.

She sent him a grin and, with her parent’s faces and Storybrooke in her mind, tossed the bean. The portal burst open, and home beckoned. “I did it."

"Well done, love.” Together they jumped.

~~~ouat~~~

The portal spit them out in a wooded area on the outskirts of Hope’s home, Storybrooke. WHook watched happiness bloom on her face as she gazed down over the buildings below and the rest of the tension he’d been holding onto dissipated. That she’d had a happy childhood had been evident in every word she had spoken, but to see the radiant smile inspired by the town with his own eyes was an experience he’d not soon forget. Could he give up his nomadic ways and make this his home? he wondered as he took in his surroundings. But when the light from the setting sun caught the auburn highlights in her dark hair, he knew the answer was yes, he would give up his life for this girl…he had given up everything for her.

“Perhaps I should go first,” he couldn’t stop himself from suggesting even knowing it would raise her ire. When, as expected, her blue eyes sent sparks his direction, he couldn’t stop the feeling of pride that coursed through his system at seeing how confident and tough she was. “I know you are quite capable,” he hastened to add. “But,” unconsciously he tugged on his right ear, looking up at her, “I need to do this."

Their eyes, so much alike, locked in a battle of wills until with a simple roll of hers, she relinquished control, even if only for a small moment in time.

WHook tipped his head in acknowledgment, his thank you accepted with a slight up tilt of her lips, and putting one foot in front of the other, he pushed off. He had taken no more than a dozen steps when the air shimmered in front of him, a barrier blocking their way, almost invisible unless standing close enough to feel its power. "A protection spell?” He looked at his companion, hoping she had the answer.

She shook her head, a tiny frown appearing between her brows. “I don’t think so.” Slowly, she lifted her hands, holding them out in front of her, as if attempting to push the wall aside. “I remember reading about this exact thing in my mom’s book.” She ran her hands along the ‘walls’ of the barrier in an attempt to see if there was a way through.

He tried unsuccessfully to cut into it with his hook. “Can you find any way in?"

She pushed on the surface, but her efforts were just as ineffective as his. "No. Any other ideas?"

"Use your magic, love."

His encouragement earned him a smile as she held her hands in front of her, focusing her thoughts on her desire for the invisible wall to dissolve. And just like she had discovered in the Enchanted Forest, the palms of her hands came alive.

"That’s a girl. Now can you channel that power into removing this obstruction?"

As Hope’s hands grew closer to the barrier, the air in front of them pulsed and sparked. With an optimistic look sent his way, she stretched her hands toward the invisible obstruction.

Sparks flew.

The air shimmered.

And with a flash, the barrier was gone. The smile that lit up her face could have provided enough light to guide them down the hill, if they had needed it. "I did it!” She clapped her hands in glee, making her look much younger than her eighteen years.

“Lead the way,” he waved toward the buildings in the distance.

Without another word, Hope did as requested and led them through the woods and to the town up ahead. They encountered no other obstacles on their journey, in fact, they encountered nothing. No singing birds or animal sounds of any kind.

By the time they reached the town line, his sixth sense, the one that had helped him survive for so many years, was trying to get his attention. “Is it always so quiet?” he finally asked.

“No,” Hope mumbled, stopping to look around. “Something’s wrong."

Hook gazed around the silent space, nothing moved, neither two legged nor four, which in a town this size had to mean Hope was correct and that something was amiss. "You know this town. Do we go to your home first?"

A tiny frown rose between her brows while she worked out a plan. As if coming to a conclusion, her eyes met his. "We should go to Granny’s."

"Granny’s?” he inquired curiously, “You want our first stop to be your grandmother’s?"

She snorted, "Not my grandmother’s, just Granny’s. It’s like…a tavern, a gathering place. Come on."

She took off running toward her destination, her long black hair swinging around the shoulders of her black, leather jacket. She’s like a mustang filly, he thought, graceful and powerful and sleek. Someone who would never be tamed, who should be allowed to roam free in her territory. Without another thought, he took off after her, willing to follow her through space or time.

~~~ouat~~~

Standing outside of Granny’s, Hope knew whatever they were going to find inside wasn’t something that had occurred naturally, but she could still feel traces of magic. Hesitant to face it alone, she waited until WHook caught up with her, "I’m scared."

She could tell that her confession startled him, as his face softened, and he moved a step closer. "Go on, now,” he encouraged softly.

Slowly, she pushed the door open, not all the way, but just enough to feel the stillness in the room. His hand covered hers as she pushed the door the rest of the way, her gasp echoing in the quiet. Granny, Leroy, Doc and someone whose feet were only showing from behind the counter were slumped in various poses throughout the room. "Are they all dead?“ she asked in a hushed voice.

WHook lifted his brow. "I don’t think so,” he placed his ear close to Leroy’s face, “this one’s breathing, but,” he wrinkled his nose, “he smells like bacon."

Hope giggled, "That’s Leroy. Not dead, so a sleeping curse? Really? But all of these people…again? I thought once you’d been under…” Panicked eyes lifted to his. “My parents!"

Without any hesitation, she took off out the door, knowing he would follow. They ran through the main part of town, onto the street where she had grown up, her childhood memories bombarding her the closer she got to the large, blue Victorian home. She crashed through the gate leaving it swinging behind her, up the stairs and with a cry wrenched open the front door. "Mom, Dad,” she yelled, “I’m home."

~~~ouat~~~

Across the way, in the central part of town, the clock’s hands that had stopped moving when Hope was taken from Storybrooke started turning once again. The time was 8:16.

~~~ouat~~~

Hope froze just inside the door, her hand immediately covering her mouth, willing the sobs to stay inside. Her parents were sitting close together on the settee, her mother’s head on her father’s shoulder, appearing peacefully asleep, as if they had not a care in the world. "Daddy,” the agonized cry was torn from deep inside her tortured soul as she ran across the room, the tears streaming down her face.

Hope glanced at WHook who was following slowly behind, looking around as if expecting someone to jump out at them, his eyes cataloging everything. "What do I do?“ Her panicked voice caught his attention, "How do we wake them?” Since arriving at her father’s side, she hadn’t stopped touching him, assuring herself that he was indeed alive, but when his skin felt warm to the touch, she relaxed, just a little.

WHook touched the top of her head softly. “You know the secret as well as I, love. Go ahead, give it a try."

"But,” she looked back and forth between her parents, “which one first and what if…” She turned her tear stained face up toward him. “What if it doesn’t work because they don’t know me?"

"Hope,” WHook knelt down beside her, “they’ve known you since you came to be."

"Really?” She stroked her father’s heavier than normal beard and her mother’s smooth cheek.

“Aye. Go ahead."

Hesitantly, Hope leaned over and kissed first her mother’s cheek and then her father’s. As soon as her lips touched skin, she felt a powerful rush of love burst through her and around the room.

"Bloody hell,” her father exclaimed his eyes meeting hers before going to WHook’s.

“Killian!” her mother cried, pushing up from the sofa to run to the crib nearby. “Killian, where’s Hope?"

"I’m here, Mom."

Emma’s gaze swung wildly around the room, coming to rest on Hope, a look of confusion crossing her face.

Killian pulled Emma close. "It seems we’ve slept through an important story, Swan. Care to enlighten us?” His eyes glanced back and forth between Hope and WHook.

Hope worried her bottom lip, trying to read her parents’ minds, wondering what they must be thinking, but not really sure where to start. She sent a silent plea to Hook, hoping he would have an idea of what to say…of how to explain.

With a subtle nod, WHook sent her father a cocky grin. “She looks just like mother, doesn’t she?"

Her father studied her, a soft smile playing across his mouth. "Aye, that she does."

"Doesn’t act like mother, though, has a bloody mind of her own."

Killian’s smile grew bigger. "I wonder where she got that.” He sent his wife a side-eyed smile, “But get to the point, will you?"

WHook took a breath, "Perhaps you’d like to gather the family, as it’s one hell of a story."

Emma didn’t wait for any other information, but reached for her phone and quickly dialed. "Mom, gather everyone and meet us at Granny’s. Visitors have arrived.

~In Chapter 2, you learn how it all begins and will get your first look at life in Hyperion Heights.

#season 7 canon divergent #WHook #Rumpelstiltskin #Hope

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