#ouat marco

[naivesilver]

August & Marco // Ciao Papa, from Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio

[lizardthelizard]

Been having Thoughts about August again.

So, you know how, in the Pilot episode, Emma comes to Storybrooke and, once she makes the decision to stay in Storybrooke for Henry, the clock tower starts working again and time becomes unfrozen ect?

Well, I'm just thinking about August and his reunion with Geppetto in The Stranger. And the parallel between that and between Emma causing the clock to work again.

Because, the clock that Geppetto and Pinocchio were working on in Fairy Tale Land is now broken in Storybrooke and sitting in Rumple's pawn shop. And, it's not until August makes the conscious decision to try and make amends with his father that he's able to help Marco to fix the clock and get it working again.

And, of course, it's a metaphor for the pair of them making amends and fixing their estranged relationship and for August trying to do the right thing for once in his life ect.

But also? I feel like it represents some of the same things that Emma(/Henry) 'fixing' the clocktower does, just on a smaller scale. Because, even though Marco still doesn't have his memories back and doesn't know that August is his son...He's still able to act as a mentor type figure, and August might not be filling the role of 'son', but he IS filling in a gap that Marco has been feeling throughout the 28 years of the curse in some small way. And the fixing of the clock has set things in motion for the pair and their future (even if August doesn't think he has much of a future left).

It's about change!!! It's about setting things in motion! it's about repairing the damage that has been done by both Regina and by Marco and August themselves!

[summersnow82]

Sins of the Past - Part 4

Fanfiction_Once Upon a Time

Fictober 2023_Prompt 7: “Do you recognize this?”

Fictober 2023_Prompt 18: “We can’t do this on our own.”

Summary: A continuation of Sins of the Past. Part 4.

Author’s Note: Sorry it took me so long, y’all. Doubling up because I’m behind.

...

“Emma!” Ruby fell against the bedroom door, hammering her fists hard at the wood.

“Move!” David commanded, running at the door with his full force. He bounced off the wood, flying backwards, and hit the wall behind him.

“David!” Mary Margaret knelt by his side, checking for injuries. The look on his face was a stunned panic.

“Magic,” he said quietly, looking from her to the door.

“Dark magic,” Leroy acknowledged gravely, his natural frown deepening.

“We can’t do this on our own,” Ruby said, turning to face them. “We’re going to need help.”

“Blue?” Mary Margaret offered, still holding her dazed husband.

“I’ll go.” Ruby took off for the front door.

“I’ll get the dwarfs,” Leroy added, following the brunette at a slower pace.

“Oh, Archie,” Marco said quietly, clutching his hat in his hands. “Please, please hold on, my friend.”

….

Emma looked around the room she was in. It felt vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place it. The room was dark, cramped with four twin beds, and the smell of urine was palpable. “They catch you trying to run again?” A voice devoid of emotion came from one of the beds, and a boy rolled over to stare at her. His hair was greasy, his clothes ill-fitting and stained, and his eyes were dull. “Might as well give it up, Swan. You’re never getting out of here.”

Emma’s brow furrowed. There was something she was supposed to remember, like a tickle at the back of her brain. It felt important, but what?

“She’ll never learn,” another voice added from the doorway. An older girl with the same dull look in her eyes stood there in similar dingy clothes. “No one cares about you. No one’s coming for you.” She strode across the room, towering over Emma. “You’re worthless,” the girl sneered. “Just. Like. Us.”

The girl moved past her to another bed and flopped down. Emma turned to look at the doorway, and caught sight of her reflection. Young, maybe thirteen. She felt so much older. She looked like she’d been in a fight – a dark bruise was forming on cheek.

“Might want to make yourself scarce,” the girl said, rolling over to face the wall. “There’s more of that when Queenie gets home.”

The itching at the back of her mind intensified. What….?

“Queenie,” Emma repeated, reaching up to touch her cheek. “Home.” She winced at the touch. “But this isn’t home,” she murmured, turning around to examine the room further.

The boy snorted. “’Course not, but it’s better than the streets.” He paused, then added, “But barely.”

…..

The wagon moved along at a brisk pace, and Jiminy rushed to keep up. He knew if he couldn’t match the pace his parents would force him to ride in the back, and it felt too much like a cage for his comfort.

“That was fun, wasn’t it, son?” Martin’s voice called from the front of the wagon. Jiminy wondered how long he could wait before he replied.

“Oh, don’t pressure the boy, Martin,” Mryna said. “He’s still learning the trade. Don’t worry, son. We’ll make an excellent thief out of you yet.”

Jiminy felt his heart sink, and his pace grew slower. “You’re absolutely right, Mother! Oh! And one more thing – happy seventh birthday, son.”

Seven? But he was twelve, wasn’t he? Or was it… something felt off, like a dream he couldn’t quite hold onto. There was something nudging his mind, whispering in a voice he couldn’t quite hear. The wagon continued on ahead, and Jiminy stopped for a moment staring at his hands. So small and agile. They’d already taught him how to pick a lock and lift a purse. What else was there?

“Yes siree,” Myrna sang. “We have a lifetime to perfect our art. C’mon, Jiminy, catch up. We aren’t quite done yet.”

A hopeless feeling began to settle into his young heart, one he didn’t quite understand. A lifetime. He had a lifetime of this misery, and no way to escape. He wanted to cry, but when he looked up he saw how far away the wagon was, and kicked up his legs in a sprint to catch up.

….

Blue took in the destruction of Archie’s home as she stepped inside. Marco had busied himself by sweeping up the glass, and trying to straighten up a bit. It gave his hands to do, and preoccupied his mind from what might be going on behind the bedroom door.

The magically locked bedroom door.

Blue walked slowly, carefully through each room. Her eyes were scanning the house for something, but she said nothing as she went. The others gave her a wide berth as she moved, her fingers trailing over bits of furniture, books spines, pictures on the wall. She opened cabinets in the kitchen, pulled out drawers, but continued walking in silence. She walked by the trashcan near the back door, stopped, turned, and walked back. She stood there for a moment, silently staring at the trashcan before triggering the foot pedal. She inhaled sharply before reaching in with both hands. Marco’s hands fluttered to his heart as Blue pulled out two dolls – a man and a woman of crude fashioning – and placed them on the counter.

“Do you recognize this?” She asked, never taking her eyes off the dolls.

Marco nodded, horrified. “My parents,” he whispered. His voice broke, and he took a minute to gather himself. “Jiminy made a deal with Rumplestiltskin so he could escape his parents. They switched the vials. He didn’t mean for this to happen.” He looked around the room, his eyes pleading with the others. “He has grieved about it for so long. Why would he have them?” He asked Blue.

“Was he trying to bring them back?” Mary Margaret asked, and Blue shook her head. Her eyes never left the dolls in front of her.

“What has been done cannot be undone. Archie knew that from our time in the Enchanted Forest. These seem,” she waved a hand over one, then drew it back quickly as if it stung. “They’d been tampered with, manipulated somehow.” She cocked her head to the side, frowning. “It’s dark magic, which normally means Gold or Regina, but…,” she paused, leaning in and sniffing. “There’s something else here.” She stepped back, straightening her back. “It will take some time for me to figure it out.”

“Our daughter is trapped in that room,” David cried, thrusting a hand at the door.

Blue looked up, her jaw set. “Your daughter is the savior of this town. If anyone can stop or break what’s happening in that room it will be her.” She paused, her features softening. “We must have faith Emma and Archie are strong enough to persevere.”

[hjbirthdaywishes]

August 24, 2024

Happy 73 Birthday to Tony Amendola.

[clairabow]

emma every time she sees someone she recognizes

[knight--error]

I love how the OUAT showrunners handled August. You could tell they wanted to tie his story up and give him and Marco a happy ending, but also, they realized that having not one not two but THREE tall, dark-haired men romantically pining for Emma was just a touch too much. Ergo, he is now teeny-tiny again. Direct, effective, simple. More shows should do this.

[magnusmodig]

answer & tag 10 people you want to get to know better and/or catch up with!

Favorite colour/shade: all shades of purples, mint greens and turqoises !

Last song listened to: "Your Ghost" by Marianas Trench

Last film watched: .....Thor: the Dark World..... again.... tho this time for a specific meta

Currently reading: Various screenplays, actually! But I've been eyeing my copy of George Orwell's "1984" again...

Currently craving: Marco's pizza or chinese food tbh

Currently watching: I've been thinking about rewatching OUAT, but most of my spare time is spent watching videos essays on screenwriting, narratives in films, etc, which I don't think is the intended answer haha;;

Coffee or tea: Tea, all the way! Black teas preferably, though I've found I have a liking for white teas too.

Tagged by: @divinityrisen <33333

Tagging: @mischiefmodig / @flameindream / @hypnoticallycaucasian / @chenshixianyou / @chaoticclaybomber / @particlexxdealer / @thundheir / @sparesovereign / anyone else who reads this! >:D

[pulaasul]

"jumpstarts the apocalypse" oof dearie, his actions do not even come close to what these characters have intended and have done

OUAT's various characters like Rumpelstiltskin, Regina Mills, Corra Mils, Zelena Mills, Captain Hook, Emma Swan

Persona 3's Yukari Takeba

Persona 5's Takuto Maruki

Steven Universe's Pearl (she got better)

Star Vs The Forces of Evil's Star Butterfly and Marco Diaz and Mina Loveberry

Tales of Symphonia's Mithos Yggdrasil

Injustice's Superman

Marvel's Wanda Maximoff

Fire Emblem Three Houses's Edelgard von Hresvelg, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd and Rhea.

His actions do not even come close to what this characters have done/intended to do.

[naivesilver]

One of those Eliana plot moments I was dying to reach, deliberately sprinkled with some family angst 💗

✍️(◔◡◔)

There are days where Emma thinks the world must be out to make things as difficult as possible for her. 

This should not be one of those days, and yet, predictably, here they are. In a way it was almost easier at the beginning of this ordeal - Gold showed up with some new cronies, sure, but that's on par with the course. It's arguably part of their town's routine, by this point. 

Then those cronies took August. That, Emma suspects, was where everything started picking up speed as it went to hell. 

She spares a glance at Eliana, who is pacing around like a caged tiger, her movements jerky and impatient. Emma can't exactly blame her - even if her brother hadn't been the one who got taken, she must be still riding the high of his rescue, full of adrenaline and pent up energy - but it is an unnerving sight, muddy footprints tracking across the hospital floor notwithstanding. 

Emma sighs, forcibly returning her attention to the book pages that have given them all so much trouble lately. In the brief bout of lucidity he had at her house, August casually informed her that that is where their mysterious Author is, so now she's on her own trying to puzzle out how to get him out - her friend lost consciousness shortly afterwards, which made him of little help, with the addition of having to figure out where to go to get him checked out. 

In Emma's defense, she did propose the convent right off the bat, and she still wagers it would have been the better choice; magically sturdy and magically knowledgeable, it’d have been the perfect place for their needs, so they could continue worrying about pretty much everything else. Eliana, however, fought against that option so strongly that it was impossible to make her change her mind, and, as Emma has learned the hard way in the past few hours, most people will capitulate rather than arguing with someone whose face is deliberately spattered with Cruella De Vil's drying blood. 

The sound of approaching footsteps invades her train of thought. The sheriff looks up, expecting Whale or one of the members of his staff, but is instead met with Regina's flat expression. 

The mayor is still playing double agent, technically, but the only other supposed ally of Gold is on the opposite wing of the hospital, bound to her bed and with enough gauze wrapped around her neck to satisfy a mummy. Even if she were to spot Regina, which is unlikely, it would simply look like another attempt to swipe the illustration of the door from Emma’s hands, albeit in a more crowded environment than usual.

“Still no word from Gold,” Regina announces, her gaze moving between the other two women. “He’s probably huddling somewhere with Maleficent until he gets another bright idea, since this one worked so well.”

Emma sighs, stashing away the pages again. The less people see them, the better, even at this point. “I don’t know if that’s better or worse, honestly,” she says, her voice terse and unamused. “Did you come all the way up here just to tell me there was no news?”

“I wish. No, Gold’s off the radar, but you’ve got another visitor.”

“Really? Who?”

“The Mother Superior. She’s come to check up on August, since they used some…unusual magic on him.”

For a brief, surprisingly lucid second, Emma feels a stab of regret about not having asked Regina to speak in private. She doesn’t get much more time than that, anyway; a second seems to be enough for Eliana to register what she’s just heard, freezing on the spot halfway through her brooding - her head swivels around, looking at the mayor with her purple-ish eyes as wide as saucers, but her face is completely expression-less, a waxen mask stained with red from the chin down.

Then, what feels like just another second later, she rushes past them both, stomping out of the door without looking back.

“Crap.” Emma stands up so abruptly the rickety hospital chair almost falls backwards, cursing more under her breath as she grabs Regina and sets out on Eliana’s trail. “Did you really have to say it where she could hear? Where is the Mother Superior, anyway?”

Her friend all but glares at her, though mercifully she falls in line with Emma pretty easily, as if picking up on the urgency of the matter. “At the entrance. I told her to wait until I asked if August could have visitors. But what-”

“That girl went for Cruella’s jugular only a few hours ago, do you think it’s safe for Blue of all people to be around her?”

“Well, if Blue couldn’t guess that her kid would be here, that’s on her, not me,” Regina scoffs moodily. “Personally I’m on Eliana’s side- that dog lady wanted Henry, Emma. If she’d gotten to him like she planned, I wouldn’t have stopped at the jugular, and neither would you.”

The problem is, she’s right. Emma has nothing against Eliana. Eliana is, by and large, a nice enough person - she grew up with Ruby, and Henry likes her, and August, who despite everything is still one of Emma’s closest friends, thinks the world of her, like the besotted younger brother he is. She might have a penchant for butting heads with her mother and Emma’s, sure, but she doesn’t look the type to go for unwarranted violence, and besides, what Regina said is true: without her, Cruella De Vil would have tried to take Henry instead, in the hope of luring his family out for good.

But Emma’s personal opinion matters little and less, right now. She is still the sheriff, and she is still the Savior: while babysitting a young woman who’s barely gotten off the adrenaline rush of biting a chunk off a villain is not her top priority, she’d rather avoid having a matricide in her hands anyway, in the midst of all that chaos.

Thankfully, the Mother Superior is still relatively in one piece when they stumble into the hospital's hall, though she looks far from pleased. She and her daughter are both small women, nearly of an height, but where the fairy's wearing sensible shoes and exuding her customary air of authority, Eliana has turned into a looming, haunting presence, as though her wild hair and the way she's standing up ramrod straight were making her appear larger than life. 

"Nobody asked you to come," Emma catches her hissing as they draw closer to the pair. "You're not welcome here."

Blue scoffs, with the same look of annoyance one might have after stepping on a chewed gum. "This is not the time for your childish games, Eliana. I need to make sure your brother is in good shape, and- oh, God, what happened to you?"

"You did." Eliana leans forward so that she's almost nose to nose with her mother, her voice lowering so much it's almost inaudible over the din around them. 

"You're what happened to me, and to August. So many of the things Gold did to him, they were because of what you did to him first - look at yourself, Mother. You're a fucking disease. I'm not letting you get close enough to poison my baby brother again."

"I'd thank you to avoid that kind of language when you speak to me-"

"Or what?" The question is delivered with a sort of hysterical giddiness, but none of that shows up on the young woman's face, save perhaps for a brief glint in her eyes, a sharp, pestering flash. 

"What will you do to punish me? Will you make me stand in the corner? Will you let August get hurt again? I am tired of having to chase away his monsters myself just because you can't be arsed to do your duty. And you didn't pass anything useful down to me, otherwise I'd have needed less time to burn that cursed island to the ground, back then."

Eliana points at the crusted blood with surprising ferocity, all but livid with anger. "But this? This is yours alright, Mother. This is how you would have solved things, too, if you weren't too proud to get your own hands dirty, so don't tell me you're here to help, now. You already did more than enough when you gave us both life."

She spits the word out so venomously that it catches even Emma off guard, though the sheriff still takes the split second the Mother Superior spends faltering to cut between them, wary of possible escalations. "Okay, ladies, that's enough. Blue, thanks for checking in, but I think we're managing just fine for now. We’ll call if we need anything. Eliana- you need to get some sleep. August will be fine. He's in good hands."

"He is," the younger woman agrees readily - except she doesn't look that much younger, at present. She is still fresh-faced and minute, at a first glance, but when her eyes raise to meet Emma's there's a fury in them that feels ancient, burning blue and purple like gas fire. 

"I trust you with him, Emma Swan, and I trust the mayor, but I do not trust her. She already let him die once; she might do it again if you don't keep an eye on her."

There's a sharp intake of breath from Blue, and suddenly the nun is struggling against Emma's flimsy separation, face contorted in anger. "You're going too far, child," she says, her proverbial calm straining. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Call me child one more time, I'll choose some new names for you as well. What do you say about liar, uh? Murderer and liar, maybe?"

"You dare-"

"Yes, I dare, Mother!" Eliana explodes, clutching at the sides of her head as though her skull were splitting in two, fingers twisting in her tangled curls in a way that must be at least a bit painful and yet shows no sign of stopping. 

"You have no idea of what you've passed down to me, of what- what I've heard in that forest, and you still judge me for how I've acted all these years, but this is on you, Mother. Gold hates you. That's why he tricked me and why he hurt August. None of us would be here right now, if you'd just done your job with him. You should be ashamed. You-"

"What's going on here?"

There’s a beat where Emma almost thanks whatever divine intervention might have just saved her arm from being torn apart by the mother and daughter barking on either side of it. It only lasts a beat, however, as when she raises her eyes she finds out the new voice belongs only to Marco, standing in the hospital hall with his hat in his hands and a concerned look on his face.

“Great, it’s a family reunion,” Regina mutters, acidly, as Blue takes the chance to compose herself and turns around to address the man directly, as though she hadn’t just come out of an hysterical catfight in a public place.

“Geppetto, please, control your daughter better- she’s in a state, right now. She’s not fit to look after anyone.”

She probably expects Marco to side with her, just as Emma’s own father has gone along with some of her mother’s worst ideas; judging by the way her expression freezes, however, she must not be expecting him to stiffen and say, evenly: “She is your daughter, too. Not just when it suits you.”

He walks past them to reach Eliana, then, and only hesitates a moment before stepping to her side and wrapping an arm around her chest, at once protection and holding. He is not an extraordinarily tall man, Marco, but the girl looks pretty much dwarfed by his grip, even if anger is still dripping from her every pore - Emma feels safe enough to step away, then, though she keeps her guard up, just in case.

“My girl,” the carpenter says frettingly, scanning his daughter’s features up and down. “What happened? I thought it was your brother that- Is that blood? Are you hurt?”

Eliana doesn’t respond immediately, eyes still staring vacantly in her mother’s direction, so it’s Regina who steps in once again, her tone dry but not devoid of any admiration. “She is what happened to some old friends of mine. Your girl got August out- without her we’d still be running in circles.”

“And that was very brave of her,” Blue interjects, somewhat irritated, “but no one knows for sure what Rumpelstiltskin did to August yet. Emma, you know it better than I do- if it’s dark magic, then the sooner we get rid of it, the better. We’re only wasting time with this farce.”

“You’re the only one wasting any time here, Mother.” Eliana speaks softly and haltingly, but her gaze is still hard as steel, despite everything.

“My brother is fine where he is. Touch him again and I will eat you alive. This will be your only warning.”

Marco hums pensively under his breath, his eyes flitting from the girl in his arms to Regina and Emma. “If Eliana says there is no danger, then I trust her. Emma? Have you seen my boy yet?”

“Whale thinks he’ll be okay,” the sheriff replies, picking her words cautiously. “Sort of. He’s going to need some time to rest and recover, but that’s about it.”

“Then we don’t need your help right now, Mother Superior. You can leave my children alone, if you please.”

It’s a low blow, lower than many would expect from a man as mild-mannered as him. It’s easy to guess Blue might be of the same opinion, too - she looks absolutely floored by the remark, enough not to be able to get even the proverbial last word in, and it’s a miracle the whole hospital doesn’t fall onto their heads as she leaves, so enraged she appears to be.

Still, she does leave, and Emma turns back to Eliana, dread pooling in her gut. The girl hasn’t torn her eyes from her departing mother yet, either, but something has changed in her all the same; it’s as if she were being taken by a full body tremor, one that picks up pace when Blue finally walks out of the door and threatens to make her buckle at the knees, with only her father’s presence keeping her upright.

It occurs to the sheriff that she has never seen them so close to each other, before. There is some strain in that relationship, to hear August and Granny tell it, and though they must have exchanged a few words in Emma’s presence at some point, it was nothing like this - Eliana shakes and shakes, run through by shivers as though she’d gotten stuck in a blizzard, and Marco seems at loss of words over her reaction, cradling her cheek with his free hand like an additional point of support.

“Marco,” Emma ventures, ever so carefully, “August’s still sleeping. You can go see him if you want, but she really needs to get some rest too. Everything else can wait.”

“No.” Eliana squirms in her father’s hold, an uncharacteristic pleading note in her words. “I don’t want to. I can’t.”

The man shushes her gently, pulling her even closer. “Of course you can. We’ll go see your brother, and then I’ll take you home. It’s alright.”

She shakes her head brusquely, sagging further on herself. “Papa,” she says, and it’s barely more than a hoarse croak, tears pooling in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. Gone is the ageless air she was sporting before; now she looks like a child, and she sounds like one, too, a little kid tired out at the end of a sugar rush.  “Papa, I think I did something awful. I don’t know what got into me.”

“Oh, my girl.” Marco presses a kiss to the top of her head, in such a tender gesture that Emma feels prompted to look away and give them their privacy.

“I know that’s not true. You’re alright- Eliana, my sun, I’m so proud of you. It’s alright. You’re safe, and so is your brother. Everything will be fine, I promise.”

In the corner of her eye, Emma catches Regina turning around as well, gaze stubbornly fixed on the ceiling. The sheriff imitates her, and then thinks, idly, that she shouldn’t be feeling so gloomy about everything, about this heartwarming scene that’s unfolding behind them even as she tries to pretend she can’t hear anyone sobbing over the buzzing of the neon lights overhead.

She shouldn’t be, and yet she is, because that persistent worry that something’s bound to go wrong still clings to her, and has not left the room with Blue, as they, Eliana included, must all have hoped it would.

[lizardthelizard]

400k anon...I didn't mention I'm only 12 chapters in,the backstory grew exponentially. 😅

And Jiminy is mostly human as I play with the concept of blue fairy magic and rumple's dark one magic, accidently creating a sort of curse like ability.

As to the ouat, it takes place mainly in storybrooke, but with flashback not always linear, but I may take out the flashbacks and create a more linear timeline.

And to say that it was years in the making...no I wasn't ok when I wrote this

And I didn't mean to imply Marco wasn't already but in a verse where it's more talked about/acknowledged and shown through an adult Jiminy as this is a found family type situation with him.

I've not posted anything besides a few things about it.

'only 12 chapters but the backstory grew' oh I FEEL that in my bones, I really do. Even so, I'm now even more dumbfounded by the number of words you've dedicated to this fic, holy shit!

Anon, I'm SO sorry if this is entirely Not what you meant, but the first thing that came into my head when you describe Jiminy as having a curse like ability is 'were-cricket'. Anyway, I'm so??? Intrigued by this concept of Rumple + Blue's magic colliding in such a way?! If it's not huge spoilers, I'd love to hear more about it specifically!!!

Also STORYBROOKE huh? I totally had the setting as the Enchanted Forest in my head, so I'm even more 👀👀👀 about it all than I was before. Am I getting ahead of myself if I ask more questions about how things played out with the curse? Did Jiminy grow up alongside Pinocchio? or where their timeline's a bit jumbled up and weird because?? how old IS Jiminy? I have qUESTIONS!

also, I'd say that the inclusion of flashbacks depends on how integral they are to understanding the plot/characters. Sounds like you might need them here with such a big change to canon, but I also totally understand the desire to keep things linear and cleaner.

Anyway, if you want to ramble about this, my inbox is always open <3 thank you for sharing it in the first place.

[takadasaiko]

Burn the Wolds Chapter Twenty-Two (a OUAT fic)

Story Summary: Rumplestiltskin had everything set up just as it needed to be for his curse and to find Bae, but when an enemy bent on destroying him makes his way through to Storybrooke as well, he may find that his cursed persona isn't a match for the cleric. Pre-S1. AU. 

Chapter Summary: Emma receives answers, the Blue Fairy takes a risk, and Regina gets an unexpected surprise.

FFN II AO3

22.

Rumplestiltskin was gone and the Evil Queen was nowhere to be found, which meant the sheriff might or might not be of any use at this point. And that meant he was on his own. Again.

August had laid low as best he could once he'd slipped away from the clerics. No one had followed him and he'd found a trailer in the woods that had been abandoned in a semi-livable state. It had been the flush of magic just under the forest floor that had pulled him out of hiding and sent August skulking around Storybrooke's streets.

He didn't think Emma could break the curse this early, but he couldn't just keep hiding. He took advantage of the cold, the hood around his face pulled tightly to avoid any immediate recognition. The last thing he wanted to do was end up on Magnus' twins' torture chamber again.

His first stop was his Papa's shop. He just about ran into him in the older man's haste to exit, and from the flash of recognition, August though maybe she'd done it. Maybe the curse was broken.

The momentarily startled expression evened out. "August Booth. I haven't seen you in some time. I thought perhaps you'd left."

No. This was definitely Marco. The curse hadn't been broken. August tried for a smile. "Just been a little tied up," he said vaguely. "You good? No problems after the two guys at the pawnshop?"

"Oh, it's been quiet," Marco said as he locked the shop up.

"Closing down for the night?"

"Marco, you heading to the meeting?" a familiar voice called from the street behind him and August glanced back. Jiminy.

"Just locking up," Marco confirmed and offered August an apologetic smile. "We'll be open first thing in the morning."

All August could do was nod his understanding as Marco joined a very human Jiminy and started down towards the center of town. A small frown tugged at the writer's lips and he couldn't shake that something was wrong. Well, more wrong than usual in a cursed town where no one knew who they really were with an ancient sect of clerics waging war against the Dark One. This place had a lot going on and none of it was good.

More people wandered by in the same direction - almost like the whole damn town was going to the same meeting Marco and Jiminy were - and August pushed a frustrated breath out through his nose. He was going to regret this.

He slipped in with a listless crowd, pulling his hoodie a little tighter around his face as he did. He fell into step with them all the way to the town square. Once there, people filed into the building and were milling around as if they were waiting for something. As he lingered towards the back, August spotted a group of people that he hadn't actually met in the convent, but that he would have put money on being clerics, make their way on stage. They were directing and setting things up. This wasn't good.

As if to prove his point, Soren and Silas ascended the stage from opposite sides. Yep. This was really bad.

Silas stepped forward. "Quiet down," he instructed, and his voice carried even without a microphone or sound system.

When no one seemed to notice, his brother's voice boomed loud enough that August was sure the walls shook. "Enough!"

A startled hush fell over the cursed citizens and they took their seats.

The doors to the lurking writer's right burst open, revealing a very harried looking Sheriff Graham Hubert. He looked as if he'd spent the better part of the day on a wild and unsuccessful chase, and when his gaze fell on the twins it became clear that he hadn't been the one to release them from custody. His hand lingered near his holstered gun.

Soren smirked and, with a twitch of his fingers, the gun went flying, pulling several confused and startled gasps from onlookers. "Take a seat, Sheriff."

Graham's dark gaze remained fixed on the gun just a few yards away now, cursed mind desperately trying to piece together an explanation it could understand. He recovered quicker than August would have given him credit for, though, and turned back to the men he must have had in a jail cell until very recently. "I don't know what game you're playing at, but —"

Silas tilted his head and a chair seemed to move of its own volition. Metal scraped across the wooden floors and took Graham out at the knees from behind, forcing him into the seat and it continued its path up to the stage with the sheriff in it. Once there, the cleric flashed a truly vicious smile, seeming to soak up the panic that was brewing around them. "Your queen can't protect you now," he directed at Graham.

Soren took a step forward, addressing the increasingly nervous crowd. "And the Queen's pet can't protect you. You answer to us now."

"What Queen?" Granny demanded from the crowd. "And who the hell are you?"

Silas' terrifying smile only broadened. "We're the ones you answer to now."

This was worse than even August's active imagination could have predicted. He needed to get out of there. He needed to —

A flash of smoke cut him off from what he'd hoped would be a quiet exit and Soren stepped out of it, magic having repositioned him there. "You're not going anywhere, Puppet. All your friends are gone. You're one of them now." He motioned to the powerless crowd.

Great. This was getting worse by the minute.

—-

She had known Magnus for many, many years. He'd been a man once. A pious man with hopes and dreams of leaving the world they lived in better than he'd found it. He spoke of it often. Clerics had gathered to him, listened to him, his booming voice carrying across crowds that hung on every word. He wanted to strive for a world with no pain, no evil, and while it was a noble goal, Reul Ghorm had lived long enough to know it was not an altogether achievable one. Though to find balance in the world, good must always struggle against evil, so she admired the man for his had been so long ago now. Before the Dark One's curse and before the obsession rooted itself deep in his soul. He'd only been a man then. She wasn't sure exactly what he'd become since.

After the first Dark One had appeared, Magnus had set his eyes on ending that curse. As time dragged on and the curse's power grew, Blue had watched as he crossed line after line in pursuit of his new goal. The Dark Ones had always vexed him - the curse proving impossible to eradicate thus far - but there was something about Rumplestiltskin that had finally tipped him over the ledge. Blue had kept her distance after her failed attempt to help poor Baefire save his father as a boy and had only intervened when truly necessary. She hadn't stepped in when the dark sorcerer had flung a curse powerful and complex enough to destroy the cleric's eyes beyond repair and she hadn't had a hand in Magnus' near destruction of the same man two centuries later. It hadn't been until the prophecy of the Dark Curse that the Blue Fairy found herself entangled in this endless battle. He would come through, he'd told her. That much he'd seen to. What he had needed from her - demanded from her, calling in every favour he swore she owed - was the ability to retain his memories.

And she'd done that for him.

How he'd known, she still wasn't certain. It had taken a tremendous amount of planning in precious little time to prepare the memory potions in a way that would be safely delivered. It had been a year before she'd happened to stumble across hers as she had brewed a cup of tea. By then, Magnus had already been awake. Thankfully he hadn't discovered her entire stash, though. It wasn't much, but it was enough. Enough to give them hope as a cleric that might have once been a hero spiraled closer and closer to becoming the darkest of villains.

"I don't understand exactly what it is you'd like me to do," Mary Margaret said as she wrapped her hands around the steaming mug, but hadn't taken a sip yet. She seemed focused on who she believed was Mother Superior. "Mr Dawson is —"

"A threat to everyone in Storybrooke, I'm sad to say."

"Should we call the sheriff? I think he took my phone…"

Blue resisted the urge to sigh. Sweet as Mary Margaret was, it was Snow she needed now. "How is your tea? Too warm?"

The dark haired woman inhaled the steam before taking a slow, intentional sip. "No, it's…" Her voice tapered off as her eyes lost focus for just a moment. The change came as the sharpness returned. It was in the tilt of her chin and the squaring of her shoulders. And the recognition. "Blue," she breathed.

The fairy smiled. "Hello, Snow."

She remembered that rush as memories fought for their place where a false past had been implanted. Granted, Snow didn't have quite as long as Blue did to come to terms with. Her expression shifted and settled into something between fear and anger. "He wants Emma. Why does he want my daughter?"

"Let's fetch David and I'll tell you all I know."

—-

It was a strange world that they had been dragged into, and, if his instincts were correct, the one that the Enchanted Forest inhabitants had been pulled away to years prior. When magic had rolled up and over them and time had stopped. It was difficult to say just how long it had been since it had happened or who had enacted it. The rumours had been enough to keep Robin and the Merry Men away from the source. He'd counted them lucky, but now here they were… dragged into the middle. It would have been much more manageable if they hadn't brought Roland along, but that very much seemed to have been the point.

His young son clung to him, nose buried in the crook of his neck as they made their way through a snow topped graveyard and towards a large building made of stone and wood. The man - Caiden, he was called - had taken Robin's bow and arrows and even the knife hidden in his boot as he'd used magic to teleport them there. All he had were his wits, but he'd be damned if he let them lay a finger on his child.

"Papa, I'm scared," Roland whispered.

Robin kissed the side of his head. "I'm right here." He leaned closer so only the boy could hear him. "Are you watching?" He felt a nod. "Good lad."

Caiden led them up the stairs and Robin found himself being watched closely by women dressed in strange, dark frocks as they made their way through the large doors. The women cleared a path, silent and nervous, and Roland tightened his grip.

"Isn't it about time you tell me why we're here?" Robin demanded and Caiden didn't bother to turn as he answered.

"We need your help. Magnus will explain the details."

"Let me guess. This has something to do with your war against the Dark One." Caiden paused at a set of doors, hand pressed lightly as if he were pausing before opening it. "You think I didn't hear that?" Robin growled, shifting Roland in his arms so that he was positioned between the threat and his son. "You chose the wrong man for this. I owe him a debt."

"One that you'll be relieved of once this is done," Caiden said softly and looked to his left where one of the ladies hesitated. "Sister Astrid, please take the boy and keep him safe. Do not let him out of your sight."

Robin pulled in a steadying breath as his son clung tighter. They might be in a strange world with a strange enemy, but in the end it wasn't too different from what they'd always prepared for. The boy was a Locksley. Even if he was afraid, he would know what to do. "Remember what I taught you," Robin murmured and kissed him again. Finally, Roland loosened his grip just enough to slip free and slide to the ground.

Sister Astrid offered a sweet smile and an outstretched hand. "I'll take good care of you while your dad talks to Mr Dawson."

Roland hesitated for just a moment before releasing his father's hand and taking Astrid's, following her down the hall.

The sound of the door opening drew Robin's attention back around and Caiden was already moving through it into a dimly lit, albeit large room. Candles burned and a man sat with his broad back to them, legs crossed and palms pressed against the wooden floor beneath him. It shimmered, rippling as water would around a stone dropped into its depths. Though instead of rippling outward, it moved in and towards the man's hands.

"Welcome, Robin of Locksley." The voice reverberated all around them and Robin squared his shoulders as the figure began to move in an unhurried fashion. "I trust Jefferson provided you with a comfortable journey?"

"Somehow I doubt comfort is your foremost goal."

A rough, strange sound left him and Robin thought it may have been something of a laugh. As he turned, though, and the thief caught sight of those milky white eyes surrounded by scars, he remembered the name Caiden had given. Magnus. He'd heard of the old, blind cleric before. Heard of him in the same way he'd heard of the Dark One before slipping into his castle in an attempt to save Marian's life. He was a legend, his name whispered around campfires. Sometimes he was a hero that vanquished evil, but sometimes he was a man blinded in more ways than one who had lost sight of his original oaths to protect. His only goal was to destroy the Dark One, and he would burn the worlds to rid them of his enemy.

"Why am I here?" Robin managed, unable to look away from those strange eyes.

An eerie, unnatural smile spread. "I have put things into motion. The Dark One will return to Storybrooke, but he's a clever demon. He's always known how to hide from me. But you… you will track him down and bring him to me."

"Even if I wanted to help you, I don't know this place."

"I suggest you make yourself a quick study. Your boy's counting on you."

—

Belle woke to the sound of someone retching. The first thought that her sleep-addled brain provided to her was that it was Emma again, but there had been a bathroom in Emma and Bae's room and this sound was coming from theirs. She reached over to the right side of the bed and found it empty, giving her the more likely candidate.

She tossed off the covers and padded her way over to where the door stood ajar to find Rumple seated on the floor of the bathroom and leaned over the toilet with his cane propped against the sink next to him. At least that explained how he'd gotten in there quietly enough that he hadn't woken her.

A long moment passed, then another before his entire body tensed again and his stomach attempted to expel what little he had inside of it. Belle inched in a bit further and grabbed a washcloth, turning the sink on warm to wet it. When he was done - at least for the moment - she handed him the dampened cloth.

"Thank you," he rasped and she caught sight of the thick, dark liquid in the toilet bowl. When he brought the washcloth away from his lips, the same seemed to stain it. He glanced at it then up at her and she realised she must have been gawking with the strained smile he tried for. "Despite appearances, this is a good sign."

"The poison?"

"The curse was feeding it in Storybrooke. Without it… shouldn't be long till I'm rid of it."

He settled back against the wall and she reached over to fill a glass full of tap water. He took it gratefully and, as he took small sips, she sank down to the floor with her back to the sink. "Do you feel better, at least?"

"A bit." He took another careful sip and his dark eyes flickered up to meet hers. "Once it's out of my system, I should be able to go back."

"You still need time to recover," Belle pointed out.

Rumple let his head thump lightly against the wall behind him. "Magnus may not be able to kill Regina, but he'll use everyone that Emma's grown attached to to lure her back. Bae'd be fine - he wasn't caught up in the curse - but you and I…. At best we'd revert back to our cursed selves."

"She's why we made it over?"

"Yes."

He looked exhausted, even if the colour was slowly starting to creep back into his cheeks. "You can't fight him like this."

"No, we'll need to get the lay of the land. I have a place in the woods. Should do nicely to regroup there."

Regroup. She wished they could do more than regroup. From the moment that she'd gotten her memories back she felt like it'd been a race. There was some downtime, it was true, but within Storybrooke the threat of Magnus and his clerics always loomed over them. When they'd left, they'd been racing towards the goal of saving the man she loved, but that wouldn't have been the end. They all knew it. There were others that they had to go back for… some that had risked everything and others that knew nothing at all. If Rumple was able to go back, they couldn't delay.

There was a soft knock at the door that connected their room to Bae and Emma's and Belle glanced over. "What time is it?" her love asked tiredly and Belle pushed herself to her feet, glancing at the clock. "Six and forty two," she read the numbers and received a soft, amused chuckle for her efforts.

"Just six-forty-two, dear," he corrected softly and shifted carefully to his knees. "Too early for Bae. Would you let Emma in?"

He was already reaching for his cane as she nodded and padded on bare feet to open a door that had never been locked. Rumple was right. Emma Swan stood in the opening with her blonde hair sticking out at odd angles and puffy shadows under her eyes like she'd cried herself to sleep the night before. She motioned back to the room. "Neal's still sleeping, but it sounded like you guys are up…"

"And you're in need of answers," Rumple said from behind and Belle turned to find Rumplestiltskin standing - mostly steady - with his hands against his cane and a look of authority somehow surrounding him, despite the fact she'd just found him bent over a toilet a handful of minutes before.

The blonde teen squared her shoulders. "I think you owe me that."

An amused chuckle left him. "Oh do I?"

"You do," Belle answered with an encouraging smile. "Is there a place where I can get us some coffees?"

"I saw a Starbucks in the lobby earlier," Emma offered.

For what it was worth, Rumple still looked more amused than irritated. He motioned to where a couple of plastic pieces the same size as his credit card sat next to his discarded - and rarely used - cell phone. "Have them charge it to the room."

She nodded and offered Emma an encouraging glance before stepping out and hoping that Rumple would be willing to trust the girl with the truth. She deserved that much.

—-

An awkward silence followed Belle's departure and Emma shifted uncomfortably, finally half-closing the door and nodding back. "If Neal wakes up and thinks I left, he's gonna freak."

Rumplestiltskin wasn't entirely sure what she meant by that, but he thought he understood the sentiment. Bae would be afraid she'd left if he woke alone. Fair enough. At least with the door cracked he could hear her voice once he stirred.

She moved further into the room in a way that indicated she didn't quite know where to begin and Rumple shuffled to the bed and took a seat. His cane remained in one hand, ready should he need to move again, but not so ready that he looked as if he were ready to flee the conversation. "What is it you'd like to know?"

That caught her attention, and Emma moved to the shuttered windows, pulling back at the thick curtains to look out at the town that lay somewhere between Storybrooke and Boston. She seemed fascinated by something for a long moment, or perhaps she was just gathering her thoughts. Finally, she loosed a breath. "So, um… I was dropped on the side of the road as a baby. Nothing but a blanket and some kid found me. I grew up in the foster system and I didn't have anyone until…"

Rumplestiltskin watched her as she struggled through her own past.

"It doesn't matter. What does is that I've been looking for my parents - my real parents - my whole life. You told me I was tied into this."

"As are they," Rumple offered.

"How?"

The Dark One steeled himself, silently grateful that his curse couldn't reach him here in more than the barest of whispers. "In our world, I can see the future. Pieces, at any rate. I knew your parents would be important to finding my son because you would be important."

"Neal said Mary Margaret is my mom and the guy that was in the coma is my dad."

"Both true."

She snorted, the sound strained. "So I'm the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming and I just happened to meet the son of Rumplestiltskin and fall in love with him? Do you know how insane that is?"

"More insane than magic in a land with little to give?" He waited for that to sink in for a moment before standing slowly, moving to join her at the window.

Emma swallowed hard. "If they're the same people from fairytales, they're heroes. What am I supposed to be?"

He found hazel eyes on him and he pursed us lips together, forcing truth through them. He had to keep her onboard. He had to keep her on their side. "You were the key."

"To what?"

"The curse. I'm… good with names. Just before the curse was cast I got yours. I knew you'd be the one to break it. To save them."

"Break it… you mean… my parents could remember me?"

"Indeed they would." He watched that sink in.

"Why me though?"

Rumplestiltskin's lips quirked up. "There's no magic more powerful than True Love, dear, and you're born from it."

She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. "I can barely take care of myself. How am I supposed to save a whole town?"

A soft breath escaped him. "You weren't meant to just yet."

"What do you mean?"

"Twenty-eight. That's what I saw. Exactly that. You'd come to Storybrooke and that would, eventually, lead me to Bae, but… he came. He brought you." He turned to meet her gaze. She deserved that much. "What that means for the curse, I don't know. But what I do know is that you're meant for something more than you've lived. Bae may not have known who you are, but fate's funny like that."

"I have to go back for them. Regina, my parents…. Everyone."

He pushed an amused sound out through his nose. "You are your parents' child."

"Hey," a sleepy greeting pulled both of their attentions around to where Bae stood bleary eyed. "You explain everything?"

"As best I could."

"You good?"

Emma nodded and Barlfire sauntered in, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss to her temple. "We going back?"

Rumplestiltskin pulled in a surprisingly strong breath. "I think the poison's just about cleared out. Belle's bringing up coffee though. I imagine we should wait."

The simultaneous agreement pulled a real smile from him and he looked to Emma. "Don't fret, dear. You've got some time yet before you have to be anyone's savior."

Bae tightened his hold on her. "Yeah. This is a team effort."

She nodded, even though she didn't look like she entirely believed it. That was fine. She didn't have to. She only needed to live it.

—

They wouldn't let Roland see his papa. Sister Astrid was nice enough, but he didn't like the people that had brought him here and he really didn't like the mean man that had taken Papa away. They wouldn't let him out - "We'll build a snowman in the morning," Sister Astrid had promised. "Won't that be fun?" - but the nice lady stayed to read him a bedtime story.

Roland didn't fall asleep though. To stay awake, he thought about all the things his papa had taught him to do if mean men ever took him. Papa said to watch everything and not to be scared. He just needed to get free and get to the woods and to burrow next to the river where they stored treasure. Papa would find him. No matter what. He's come for him.

The boy waited until Sister Astrid's voice trailed off and he cracked one eye open to see her slumped down in her chair, the book in her lap and her head tilted back in sleep. He waited a little longer - people always woke up if you made noise right after they fell asleep - and finally risked moving. The bed gave a creak and he watched, but the lady didn't stir. After another second or two more, Roland grabbed his boots and his cloak, put them on, and climbed up on the bed so he could reach the window.

It was stuck. It was cold outside and the snow had frozen to it, but he gave it a sharp pull and it broke free. Sister Astrid stirred at that, but Roland was already moving. Out the window, dropping to the porch below, and he darted towards the woods out back. He couldn't let them catch him.

He hit the tree line and heard noise behind him, including the nice lady shouting his name worriedly. He didn't look back, but instead ran through the thick brush, crawled over a fallen tree, and didn't stop. If he did, they'd find him. They'd catch him. He had to get away from the bad men like Papa taught him.

He was tired though, and he didn't recognise anything, even as the earliest morning light began to brighten up his surroundings. This wasn't Sherwood Forest. He didn't know where he was and if he couldn't find the safe place, Papa wouldn't know where to find him.

Roland sniffed hard, running his sleeve across his nose and he heard the sound of the people chasing him. Always look around, Papa had said. He did, and he spotted an opening in the side of a hill that was overgrown and covered with brush. He risked oneglance back before darting forward, slipping through the growth and into the space.

It was dark and cold and it smelled funny, but at least he heard the sound of footsteps racing by. They hadn't found him.

He looked around, the growth blocking most of the light from the outside, but as the footsteps died out, he thought he heard something from deeper inside. He didn't know what, but as he inched closer and closer to the sound - finding the walls of the cave narrow and the ground under his feet slope down - he started to get a better look at where he was. His eyes were adjusting some, but there was also light coming from deeper down. He followed it, careful to stay quiet, until he rounded into a tunnel lit with strange torches lining the wall. He followed them and the noise that sounded like someone was really, really mad.

And she was. It was a lady with dark hair that was yelling at the walls. The walls didn't yell back, which only seemed to make her more mad. Roland jumped back, accidentally kicking loose gravel at his feet and she spun on him. The rage in her eyes softened just a little as her dark eyebrows drew together, her focus entirely on him. "And who are you?" she demanded and Roland stood frozen where he was.

---

TBC

Notes: Poor Roland. Regina's a terrifying figure when you stumble into one of her tantrums :') 

It's been so great to see that folks are still interested in reading this story! Hope you're still enjoying it!

Next Time: Regina finds herself responsible for a small child while Rumple and the others make their way back into Storybrooke. 

[hjbirthdaywishes]

August 24, 2023

Happy 72 Birthday to Tony Amendola.

[candorverity]

I'm most of the way through OUAT s2, and I have some thoughts.

This story haaates when people are anything other than good or evil, black or white, and its very clear when Henry is used as a moral compass. He gets mad at the "Good Guys" for reacting like adults with a bad person to face. Is killing Regina the best option? No. But consider that she has killed so so much, and just earlier this season we were considering her able to be redeemed. Then Cora came and wrecked her recovery, but point being that if a mass murderer is redeemable, why isn't Mary Margret after helping kill one other mass murderer one time.

Yes, there should be a showing of some mental and social consequence of aiding in the death of a person, but literally turning her soul black? That's not it folks.

Continuing through, in s2 ep18, Snow slaps Marco because he LIED to protect his own kid, and in turn putting the entire community in danger. Is it a good thing, no? But for the major consequence to be a slap, I don't think that's the downward spiral to being on par with Regina and Cora the show thinks Mary Margret is on.

[lovecanbesostrange]

(In relation to your 'my best friend's wedding' comment)

Imagine this: Lay it out a bit like a regular OUAT episode (although things will be a little sillier here and I'm not sure how well the structure of this ACTUALLY works but even so). It starts with Emma at her wedding, wondering where August is a why he hasn't shown up. Marco (also at the wedding) isn't sure either. Then, maybe Emma gets some kind of cryptic text from August telling her that he's sorry he's running late and that he'll explain things later (it's a long story).

Now, even though they've been reassured that he's okay and no one is actively worrying about what could have happened to him, Emma is still a bit disappointed. This is where the second plot comes in because Snow tries to reassure her that she also had a similar thing happen at her own wedding with Ruby.

From here we can swap back and forth between whatever happened in August's day to make him so late and to whatever happened in the EF with Ruby and what made her so late to the wedding. High jinks ensue.

alternatively, as you suggested, musical related nonsense occurred and disrupted things. Emma is upset about it at first but also finds it very funny and won't stop bringing it up in conversation later

YES! You already had me at "a little sillier", but the format alone is perfect. Love using the canon way of telling a past and present story with some relation. And that means we can start with at least a heartfelt moment in the beginning.

Emma getting ready for the big moment, getting walked down the aisle by her parents. She can take a peak at the crowd and her face betrays her for a second. Snow sees it immediately. "Oh no, is something wrong? Cold feet? I am ready to drive the getaway car, just tell me what you need." "No, no cold feet. Also I'd rather ask Dad to drive. No offense." "Some taken. But what is it? Everybody who loves you is here a-" "Not everybody."

And so we get a nice little insight into the complicated feelings, because Emma wished August was here to witness her happy ever after moment, since he kinda was there from the very rocky start (causing some of her drama, but also giving her hope and nudging her on - they were both kids). "It might seem small since you had your big fairytale dream wedding." "That got crashed by Regina, mind you. I drew a sword!" - "Okay, that is indeed a bigger bummer." "Oh, but I understand what you mean. A slightly less catastrophic bummer was Red not being there."

*tada* We switch into story mode. To then find out how both of these dorks got up early, having the perfect gift figured out and then tripping into pure chaos. They both make it in time for cake, dissheveled, apologetic smile, and the gift having a slight crack/tear. It turns out they also helped save the day from a catastrophe nobody knew was coming. It was however a silly type of apocalypse.

For the "what did I miss part" we get deadpans of "Nothing, we just got threatened with a curse." // "Leftover music magic for a big song-and-dance number." I don't know why and what happened, but August comes with his pants covered in glitter, so he would have fit in.

Possible IPs involved: - Winnie the Pooh - The Rescuers - A Bug's Life - Ratatouille

Yes, these are all very animal oriented. I think they both can handle talking animals (or animals turned very confused people).

[jrob64]

Stats Tag game

I was tagged by @firawren for this game. What a lovely surprise! Thank you!

Rules: These are my fics with the most hits, most kudos, most comments, most bookmarks, most words, and least words. 

These are all OUAT Captain Swan fics

Most hits

Devastation and Healing - 8954 hits

Most kudos

Coming to Her Senses - 322 kudos (over the next most by almost 100, which blows me away. It’s my very first fic, a one-shot, and still gets numerous kudos a year!)

Most bookmarks

Coming to Her Senses (again) - 78 bookmarks

Most comments 

Sowing Seeds of Trust - 258 comment threads

Most words

Also Sowing Seeds of Trust - 120,678 words (not including the second part, Marco’s Legacy)

Least words

Time Alone - 841 words

Tagging @kmomof4 @cs-rylie @snowbellewells @whimsicallyenchantedrose

Have fun ladies!

[lingeringscars]

❔give us more crossover dynamics laura, and go

send ❔ and i’ll list a couple muses that i’d like to throw at yours! / always accepting

mare & bellamy. also ryan. i'll be able to say more when i refresh/continue but i just feel like. vibes.

evangeline & lydia. also luna. yeah. silvers.

emily/ava & inej/alina/mal. i really cannot explain my thoughts on grish/averse and zombie apoc but it is always there. also ofc bellamy/harper/miller/luna. also eden/june. their canon is v dystopian and i think could easily fit into a zombie apoc verse

zoya & emma. i don't have any thoughts but more of our grisha x ouat thanks

nina & lydia. there is something here with their powers i just gotta figure it out.

the only person i had an actual thg verse for was lydia. so johanna/katniss/annie & lydia. god annie/lydia would be A LOT. bellamy and gale are like THE thg crossover, so katniss & bellamy.

cordelia/maria & emma s/lydia/phoebe. it's the powers of it all. lydia and cordelia make sense in a b/uffy universe too.

liz/isabelle & claire/jemma. geniuses that could explore but stay in their little town where they think they can do good. trying to discover the secrets of the universe. trying to help those around them.

ashley & christian. the families. their families. what they have to live with knowing their families are capable of. how that impacts them moving forward.

penelope & maddie. people who hear the horrors but aren't necessarily on the front lines. maddie could use some of penelope's light and humor.

shadowhunters x ouat. just hear me out.. the Other World. traveling between dimensions.. this is because i was thinking about lydia b & ruby. also i think jasmine seeing through the "mist" and being able to see shadowhunters... makes sense too.

isobel & prue. mind powers. i think it would work.

maribel & john/marcos. this is mostly just me Thinking they could fit into this universe

talia & kaitlyn. i just think a post game verse where kaitlyn was turned and her being Scared about everything but talia taking her in and caring for her <3

aliana & ryan. they could be in the same grade easily. ryan would Love her (as he loves everyone). logan. same deal as ryan. on that tho maybe lydia & logan... banshee verse.

kira & christian. i'm thinking about kira's powers going whack and christian always being in control of his own. fire and thunder. idk idk but They.

ruby & ryan. not being in control of their powers having disasterous consequences.

davina & alina. so powerful they get locked up. there is more that I am blanking on but like. hot.

cami & spencer. pll being supernatural adjacent. how desperately spencer needs someone like cami. how well they could get along.

josephine & christian. christian comes in in s6 because it is the best parallels i can make and it Works. but also that connection to the children of gabriel / his parents trying to usurp the primes for immortality.. the way this could trickle into their interactions.

rebekah & mal. i don't have real thoughts. i just Think.

niylah & alina. hiding parts of your identity. alina on the run... probably from nia .. niylah hiding them / helping them hide.

jenna & adrian. i just know they have flirted. i just know it.

faye/diana & jasmine. witches. i'll watch this eventually.

enid & harper. lydia. supernaturals. overbearing mothers in lydia's case.

spencer & sonya. i don't remember where you stopped but i think. they make sense in my head. a lot.