#so there's obviously a lot of zelena under the cut

[ouatnextgen]

Halloween Costumes!

One Halloween, the Storybrooke gang decide to dress as the Disney versions of their parents.

This is the abomination culmination

Roland: Because this happens after Robyn learns the truth about what went down with Zelena and Robin, she's....not happy with her mom rn. So, Roland graciously decided to let Robyn be Robin Hood.

He decided to be his step/adoptive mom instead of his birth mom for a few reasons: 1) because it was less emotional for him, 2) so Regina wouldn't feel left out (Henry and Jacinda were doing a couples costume), and 3)...because the Evil Queen costume was way easier to find online.

He ends up slaying in it, obviously.

Alex: She knew she wanted to be Prince Charming right away, even though her mother protested.

They put their hair up using a million bobby pins and about two cans of hairspray, and adjusted the outfit to fit their boobs. They were also the one who made adjustments to everyone else's costumes to make sure they fit.

Leo: He was uncomfortable wearing and dress, so he went with Prince Florian. David offered him one of his old Enchanted Forest outfits, to which Leo had to explain that the cheap costumes were what made it fun.

The costume had the downside of coming with a pair of very cheap and tight tights. PJ seemed to like them, though

PJ: Picked out his dress on September 1st. He rocks both it, and the shitty felt crown headband it came with.

Robyn: Could not find a single commercially available fox Robin Hood costume. So, she bought a Peter Pan one, and had Alex make some adjustments.

She slapped on a fox tail and a different Robin Hood hat, and called it. (On the bright side, she and Alice have matching hat feathers)

Gideon: Really didn't want to be his dad (even the Disney Beauty and the Beast version) so he went with his mom's Disney version.

He doesn't rock it as well as PJ, but he makes it work. And on the bright side, now he and Hope match. (On the downside, his shoulders are freezing)

Alice: Alice really wanted to be Captain Hook. So, if she rigged the coin toss that she and Hope did for who got to be him, sue her.

Luckily, there were a lot of official woman's Hook costumes for her to pick from, including some fancy wigs....which she ditched after the pictures were taken (those things are itchy), but she kept the hat, so she and Robyn could match.

Hope: After losing the coin toss, Hope suddenly realized that Emma didn't really have a fairytale counterpart. The closest things were the Ugly Duckling or the Swan Princess. All of the Ugly Duckling costumes were made for kids, so Swan Princess it was.

The two animated versions of the Swan Princess (Barbie and the other one) didn't have commercial dresses, so Hope got a chunky plastic tiara and a cheap ballet dress (she used her own ballet shoes)

Hey, at least she matched with Gideon.

Individual Edits Under the Cut: (They look bad up close, but you can't see Robyn's tail in the group shot lol)

[jokersjr]

below is my ouat villain tier list but i have words so it's going under a readmore

iirc this is only like main villains but anyway. this isn't really a ranking of whether i "like" them (although there are clearly ones i don't like) but this is just like, talking about them. i won't go into detail for everyyyyone but here are some highlights

i love rumplestiltskin a lot and i think he's a really good character but i do think that a lot of what happens with him is excessive. i get he's bad but he doesn't really have to be THE villain ALL the time

hook teeters on the edge of the first category and the second. while i argue that he's really well done, i also acknowledge that he, too, could have made way for other villains and it didn't have to be just HIM all the time. again he is one of my favorite characters but he might not really be written well.

ingrid oh ingrid. her arc is notoriously the arc where many many watchers "including myself" stopped watching because of how excruciatingly bad the writing was. i actually think that without all the frozen characters, an ice queen arc would have really been good! i love what they did if they had just cut out all the obviously unchanged frozen plotline. it was bad and rushed and a clear moneygrab. they lost a lot of viewers because frozen was just... not made to be put in ouat. i do like her arc finale though.

dark emma was suchhhh a good plotline i really love it. however CAMELOT was certainly... a choice. i really like the intrigue that another dark curse causes (because as watchers, we are also missing much of the time that happened during the curse while it is gradually revealed to us). however it all comes together as pretty... meh. i love the twist but i think it all could have been done better.

oh and i hate cora. i hate her a lot but i didn't put her in the dislike categories because i really do think she was just too much.

i don't like greg and tamara. i don't like zelena. i don't like hades. i don't like jafar. i don't like nimue. i don't like most of the witches from s7. just in general.

[sieben9]

“it’s not easy being green” impressions

Well, there's good news and bad news.

The bad news...

Yeah.

The good news is that this episode of "oh look, more pain!" is delivered by the best collection of one-liners since the Cricket Game.

"You're insane!" "Besides the point."

God, I missed this sparkly asshole.

Look, I try to get my joy where I can find it. See how well I managed under the cut.

And the parade of terrible OUaT-parents continues!

You know, I’ve had this theory that Henry’s “you’re adopted” conversation didn’t go too well, but… probably still better than this one.

Also, Walsh is back!

Hi, Walsh

Sorry things went like they did, buddy, you seemed kind of nice. (In an untrustworthy way, I mean.)

OK, Once, we have to talk. Specifically, if you want some sympathy for the devil, maybe wait an episode or three between the painful character death and the tragic backstory. Yes, I know, shorter seasons, but I just checked, and there were ten full episodes between "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" and "The Stable Boy". Maybe you could have found room for two? Also, you know, less of the gloating over the grieving parent. That... may have helped.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the episode's effect was deliberate. Yes, this was Zelena's "evil isn't born, it's made" story, and it's clear that her awful home life damaged her badly, but still... there was this whole theme about "her insides showing", and while Regina obviously started out as a kind girl who, between Cora and Rumple, got pushed around until she broke and then just kept going that direction, because what would have been the point otherwise, Zelena just... well, whines a lot.

.3 seconds between finding out she has a sister and hating her guts has got to be some kind of record, though

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is a bad backstory, I was just left with that “cool motive, still murder” impression. I did feel sorry for young Zelena to an extent. It just wasn't a very big one.

Also, this episode was a good reminder why I called OUaT "Dramatic Irony, the series", because each and every interaction between young Zelena and sparkly Rumple had me cringing in my seat. Not because they were bad (honestly, these two are amazing together and seeing them play this entirely different dynamic was a joy to watch), but because uuuugh, it's all about to go so terribly wrong and then it's going to go even more terribly wrong in the future, and everything is awful!

so the guy rejects you and you decide to, take away his autonomy, lock him in a cage, and kill his son? ...yeah, that seems healthy. and proportionate.

Anyway, back in the present, something entirely unexpected happened.

I genuinely enjoyed the Hook-subplot. And I know why, too. He wasn't being weirdly "flirty“ or demanded anything in return for taking care of Henry, he just seemed genuinely concerned with keeping Bae's son out of trouble and honouring his memory by telling Henry a little about his father. It was nice. I seem to like Hook best when he's in the role of "that weird cousin who's not really related to any of us, but we let him hang out anyway". Yes, I know, not exactly snappy.

Anyway, also in the present: witch fight!

Not going to lie, after I was done writhing on the ground in agony, because no, Rumple, this was hands down my favourite part of the episode. And not just because Regina punched Zelena in the face. ...also because of that, but not just. The fight showcased both their abilities and their character very well. Zelena is clearly more powerful, but she works completely alone -- well, there's Rumple, but only under extreme protest. Regina, on the other hand, basically wins this round (alright, "survives" is more what happened), because she could trust another person enough to keep her greatest weakness safe for her. That's some grade-A character growth right there.

I'm not quite sure how this arc will wrap up, exactly, but if Regina (and the ways she's grown as a person) don't play a significant role in defeating her sister, I will be very disappointed. They've already set up all these connections, parallels, and contrasts. Would be good to do something with them.

Oh, and the whole snark off during the fight ("Black is my colour!" or "Never bring your heart to a witch fight")? Pure awesome. Very good and happy stuff to set off all the awful, earlier.

What "awful", you ask? So glad you did! (Nope, no getting out of this, I had to suffer and so do you)

kudos to Belle for NOT getting in there with him, though; good genre-savvy

Turns out even True Love doesn't help all that much against the dagger's control. Damnit. I really had some hope for a while there. Not that he'd get out, because we're not quite there, yet, in the season arc, but maybe some hint that Belle could help him free himself? Just a little one? Ah, well. Guess we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way, after all. And I am glad that they made at least a token attempt at getting Rumple out of there. Mind you, it was motivated by "oh no, Gold will kill us all" rather than "holy crap she's got the guy in a dog kennel", but at least they tried...

(Also, seriously, can't someone pickpocket the dagger away from the woman or something? Not looking at you, Robin, but basically looking at you, Robin.)

I think that's everything. Oh, one honourable mention goes to the best-worst one-liner, because it was so drenched in gallow's humour, I could almost hear the rope creak.

"What, no meat pie?"

I'd tell you not to snark at the unstable lady with your remote control dagger, but honestly it can't get much worse at this point. Snark away

And after all that, we finally know both Zelena’s motivation and goal. Which is... uh... Time travel, huh?

Should... should we tell her about the hat? I mean, no, obviously we should not tell her about the hat, but I'm just saying. You may be making this overly complicated, lady.

Then again, this is not the face of someone who cares about little things like that, is it?

You know, from what I've just seen, the episode title is a complete and utter lie. It's not being green that's difficult.

Also, I just wanted to mention something that's been bothering me on an Evil Overlord List level. There's absolutely no need to keep Rumple in that cage. She could have put him in the guest room and said "stay here", and that would have had the same effect. Yes, I know, not the point, but still. It's unprofessional, lady.

[violetfaust]

I'm interested in hearing more about why you think Margot should've been Rumbelle's daughter. Sounds interesting, but what would that mean for her enchanted forest life? I think her being Robin Hood's daughter would've been fine if not for Zelena

Okay, Nonny, since you sent this a few days before Mother's Day, I'm gonna finally take the opportunity to try to sum up and speed-run the Belle's Daughter Margot feelings that have haunted me for THREE YEARS. Buckle in; this will be more than you or anyone asked for.

Disclaimer 1: It's been, well, three years, so my memory of Curious Archer and their story is not perfect; could be off on some details here. And Disclaimer 2: I really loved Tiera Skovbye as Robin/Margot; she did a lot with not much screen time, and she and Rose had fabulous chemistry. So although she was well cast as Robin Sr.'s kid, Tiera would be perfectly believable as a Rumbelle daughter, too--maybe give her some low-lights and call it a day. We keep Tiera as Margot in this rewrite. Okay: onward.

(Since one of the few things that would have to change about Robin if she were Rumbelle’s daughter is her name, I’ll just mostly use her Hyperion Heights name “Margot” throughout this post for simplicity.)

First and foremost, the foundation of everything: Margot is so like Belle! She is so like her. They have the same love of adventure, a similar sense of humor. She took Alice on a date to a bookstore. Most of all, she has Belle’s ability to see past “the mask of the monster” to a person’s heart. There was a great scene where Tilly explained that she didn’t want Margot to see her “bad days” because she thought it would be “too much,” and Margot said words to the effect that she was there for the bad as well as the good.

Obviously, people don't have to grow up to be exactly like their parents (Belle and Rumple sure didn't)...BUT. In fiction, one of the fun parts of next-gen stories is for the audience to see how their favorites' personalities are passed down. It's just more fun to see a Henry who has parts of Regina/Emma/Neal than one who doesn't; it's fun to see Lucy resemble little Henry. And it would be fun to see Margot be like her parents (she is very like Robin Sr; not so much Zee). Seeing a character who has so many of Belle's traits becomes just more...fun...when she learned them FROM Belle.

The family feud Rumple/Hook angle turns Alice and Margot’s relationship up another roman tic notch. A classic trope! It’s about reconciliation and love remaking and erasing those old grudges. Which is even more important when we’re supposed to believe that the evidence of Rumple’s final redemption is his saving Rook.

On a more macro level: the entire claim that OUAT is "a show about hope" COLLAPSES because it ends with the annihilation of the Stiltskin family. Rumple, Belle, and Neal are all dead; Henry doesn’t acknowledge them as his family; and Gideon is a friendless and forgotten orphan in another world. I did my rants about this three years ago, but long story short: the show’s not about hope unless it’s hopeful for EVERYONE. And having at least one of Rumbelle’s children alive and happy at the end (with her True Love and friends and acknowledged as part of the family) would fix that. My objection has never been that Rumple (and even Belle) die, but the way it happened.

And of course, Rumbelle needed to have at least one other child because Kitsowitz managed to deny them even one single shared happy moment surrounding Belle’s pregnancy with Gideon and his birth. Even if the audience didn’t get to see it (and we could have gotten a glimpse in Beauty), we deserved to know it happened.

Finally: Zelena did not belong in S7, period. I know it was fun for her fans! (Although apparently there weren't enough of them to positively affect the ratings, meow.) I do know! But it was bad storytelling. She served no point in the larger season arc, and the serial witch killer plot that was invented to serve her was one of the worst and most stupid things Kitsowitz came up with in seven years, and ate up time that could/should have gone to develop other characters. (Driz and Ana come immediately to mind, instead of having them shunted off to another universe, but also Henry/Cinda/Lucy and of course Rumple since his plot was coming to a close.) Zelena didn’t even get any significant growth herself, or develop her relationships with Regina or Robin. She still didn’t express regret for the horrible things she did to characters we love (Rumple, Neal, and Robin Sr.); the only result of all that screentime was to give an unrepentant rapist a love story with a person--we barely see and have zero investment in. And even that was ultimately negated at the end of the season, because in the finale Zee’s back in Storybrooke sans Boo Bear.

So, all that said: what would have to change about Margot’s, and Curious Archer’s, FTL storyline to give us Margot Gold?

Her name—but actually very little else. (And frankly it would have been more respectful to have Belle name her daughter after Robin Sr., who was actually her friend, than for Zee to name her kid after the man she raped, manipulated, and ultimately got killed—but that ship had sailed.)

Belle and Rumple could have given their daughter any number of fairytale names after people they know, aka fresh take on a Disney character. My favorite possibilities are Aurora (and then Curious Archer could have been Curious Beauty, and done a riff on the Sleeping Beauty story as part of their FTL backstory, with a built-in TLK) and Merlin (very pretty for a girl, I’ve always thought).

But the character herself would have been very much the same: she could be Rumbelle’s jock daughter, trained in archery and swordsmanship by family friends (Merida/Mulan/Charming), but always feeling out of place in her family of scholars/sorcerers/nerds.

I am SO sorry for the length of this--there's even more under this cut!

Robin/Margot felt insecure about trying to live up to her father’s name; Rory/Merlin/Margot could have similar anxieties trying to live down her father’s Dark One rep. There could even be a similar story where she was born with magic (like Robin was) but loses it or chooses to give it up—something that would estrange her further from her family. Or, if she was Merlin, she could keep her magic but be reluctant to use it, and part of Curious Archer’s Hyperion Heights arc would be both Margot and Tilly discovering and accepting their magic. (Sapphic sorceresses for the win.)

Now, one of the cutest things about Alice/Robin’s FTL dynamic was Robin being a girl from the Land Without Magic finding her feet in an enchanted forest, with Alice’s help. But it would only take a little finessing of S7 Rumbelle’s story to get that for Rory as well. (Of course, any decent story would have a LOT of finessing of Rumbelle’s plot so that Belle didn’t die and put Rumple on a suicide mission, but again—assuming the ship has sailed…)

Say that Rory is five to six years younger than Gideon. The Rumbelle family spend a dozen years or so traveling the realms, but then Rumbelle decide that they want Gideon and Rory to be comfortable in the LWoM with their extended Charming family, so they settle back into the Pink Palace so the kids can get a LWoM education. They still take occasional journeys, often Rumbelle going to save some hapless souls, but Rory grows up primarily in SB with very few, vague memories of all the fascinating places they visited when she was a small child. This feeds her hunger for adventure along with some envy of Gideon for having so many more fairytale experiences—another thing that makes her feel like a misfit in her family. So, presto, when she moves to FTL she and Alice have pretty much the same meeting/adventures.

One of the key notes of Rumple and Alice/Tilly's relationship, showing his growth and making it so special, was how he chose to set her free of being the Guardian or whatever, allowing her to be free and get what he never had, the chance to grow old with the woman she loves. And that would be weakened if Rumple knew that by choosing Alice's happiness over his own, he was also choosing his own daughter's happiness (because we know Rumple picks his kids over himself ever time). But--he doesn't have to know WHO Alice's True Love is when he makes that choice. He could just know that there is someone, or simply realize that Alice deserves her freedom for her own sake. (Rumple's daughter also getting happiness would be a side benefit that he didn't learn about till later, and have the added perk of Rumple actually getting a narrative reward for doing something good. Which almost NEVER happened! Bonus.)

Finally: I do understand that Robin's presence on the canvas was important to fans of Robin Sr.--getting to know he's remembered and having someone carry on his legacy. Of course I get it--Rumbelle and their family not having that is my biggest complaint (of so so many).

But we don't need a grown-up Robin Jr. to be Robin's legacy. Let her stay a cute background kid with perennially baby Prince Neal. There's already a character, one we're invested in, to carry on for the Hoods: Roland. And again, it would be satisfying for the audience to learn that a five-year-old orphan wasn't shunted off from what family he had left (Regina and Henry) into another universe and never heard from again. If Kitsowitz didn't waste time with Zelena, they wouldn't have needed the idiotic Jack-is-Hansel-the-serial-killer twist, and we could have have had Roland filling the role of Henry's best friend/little brother (and therefore Lucy's fake HH dad--God, that plot was bad all the way back in season 1; why Kitsowitz why?). We'd see Roland onscreen, part of the family, at the end of the show, perhaps with his own True Love (Drizella, maybe, or better yet Gideon) and happy future.

So, that's it: the combination of Margot Stiltskin-Gold and Roland Hood tightens and heightens the storytelling throughout S7, closes some plot holes, and actually fulfills some of the show's stated themes. Who knew!

Anyone else want three years of OUAT theory vomit? 😋 Shoot me an ask!

(I actually have another one, god help us all, but I might save it till Father's Day...)

[celticheartedfangirl]

My OUAT Rewatch -- S6E8 -- I’ll Be Your Mirror

Link to Rewatch Review and Ranking archive

That is seriously an excellent summary for this episode, which I have ZERO memory of, probably because a) I chose not to watch or b) it was so ridiculously stupid that I blocked it out of my brain.  And judging from my November 2016 blog it sounds like the latter.

Also, fun fact:  This is the first OUAT episode that aired after IQ45 was elected, so on top of THIS bullshit we also had THAT bullshit to deal with.  Good times!  

Sadly, no Emma game show today because her outfit wasn’t horrendous, but don’t worry, I’m certain it will return!

I have a lot of links under the cut and a lot to say but don’t know how to say it without just cursing up a storm, so I will probably rely on links.  Also Belle dragging is done this way for those not interested to skip over.  

Are we ready?

Oh yeah by the way, this was mostly a SWAN QUEEN centric and that part of this episode was LOVELY!  I’m sure it produced tons of SQ fanfic.  

So anyhow, that’s what drove me nuts about this episode -- the Swan Queen stuff -- the Henry stuff -- that was SO GOOD!!!!!  

Which is why I’m certain that that part of the episode was written by Leah Fong.  This was Leah Fong’s first episode BTW, and I always felt she had a good handle on Swan Queen and Rumbelle, which is why I’m certain that the rest of this shit was written by Jerome Schwartz, most likely with Eddy Kitsis whispering in his ear the entire time.  

Because aside from the Swan Queen/Swan Mills stuff -- this was just such utter horseshit.

Belle going to ZELENA for help, Belle fucking BLACKMAILING Aladdin (the HELL????), the Golden Queen nonsense, Rumple being an utter dickhead, and oh yeah . . . . this . .. . . . 

The YEAR OF SNOWING, yo!!!!  Yup, early on this season in an interview, Eddy Kitsis dubbed Season 6 to be “The Year of Snowing.”

He is such an ass.  But I already pointed out that by episode FOUR they had already OBVIOUSLY changed direction, so whatever.

But anyway -- DAMN, but Belle was a fucking bitch in this episode.  Screeching and screaming and yelling -- who in the hell IS this woman?  We don’t need Dark One Belle, we got THIS bitch!

And WTF with the OOC Rumple shit?  I mean why?  He’s NEVER been like this so WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL???

You know what guys -- if you’re going to do a total 180 on a character’s personality, make sure there’s a REASON for it, don’t just write it just cause.  Cause that’s BULLSHIT HACK writing.  

It was at this point in the series that I said I was bailing. I obviously didn’t because -- you know -- Bobby -- but lord, they didn’t make it easy.

Also there was a whole TWO WEEKS between this episode and the next one which I will DRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAG when I watch, so there was plenty of time for me and others to post a bunch of shit.  

This is where I also REALLY lost a bunch of followers.  Anyhow . . . . here’s some 2016 me . . . . . 

Just some general “I’m done with this shit” posts:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/153152913972/fuck-this-shit-im-out

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/153152114417/oh-i-cant-wait-to-see-how-all-the-happy-happy

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/153054502457/watching-old-belle-clips-is-so-depressing-now

Adam getting DRAGGED on Twitter and it was beautiful to behold:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/153180708647/saltyrumbelle-violetfaust-robertmarch82

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/153157537852/damn-rumbellers-are-dumping-on-adam-on-twitter

Adam Horowitz trying to pretend he gives a fuck about Rumbelle and their fans after they RIPPED into him over his hack bullshit:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/153389844502/judymulder-dancingscorpiodearie-adam

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/153200422737/violetfaust-charmedrumbelle-violetfaust

Belle dragging:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/153772646777/belle-stans

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/153215109247/rumplegasm-0ceanofdarkness-woobierumple

Me being SO FUCKING DONE with the idiot Hook fans as well as the character (this is one of my favorite posts I ever posted and also one of my most liked/reblogged posts ever):

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/153189888662/i-know-this-probably-makes-me-a-bitch-but-i-am

Fandom fuckery because after this episode we Rumple fans got a lot and I mean A LOT of hate:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/153344012367/anyone-who-is-glad-that-belle-is-friends-with

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/153393557702/insulting-fans-that-are-already-heartbroken

This is the open letter I wrote to the Rumple haters before E9 aired and I also shared this on Twitter to Adam and Jane (also one of my most liked/reblogged posts ever):

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/153742809782/an-open-letter-to-any-anti-rumple-and

6 Years of Kitsowitz (not my OP but a good post):

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/153173351417/6-years-of-kitzowitz

The media fucking DRAGGING OUAT because this was exactly the time that the live action BatB was being released:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/153181604137/beauty-and-the-beasts-romantic-trailer-arrives

There’s MUCH more but I’m done -- just follow any of those links, I’m sure you’ll find more gems from this hellish era.  

Points tally:

40 points to start

5 points for Swan Queen

5 points for Leah Fong

20 points deducted for OOC Belle and Rumple

10 points deducted for Hook and Zelena

10 points deducted for the Zee and Belle nonsense

Full 25 extra deducted because as much as the SQ stuff was GOOD, the rest was SHIT and I really can’t justify adding anything extra because it was JUST THAT BAD.  If there’s a video of JUST the SQ scenes, I’d be fine revisiting just THOSE scenes again.  The rest can die in a fucking fire.  

Total points:  -15

Me watching the next episode:

Follow #celtichearted OUAT ranking tag for more to come!

[enixamyram]

Top 10 Magic Users From Least to Most Powerful:

(Note - This is normal people with natural magic, so no Dark Ones, fairies, deities, and so on.)

Robin Hood-Mills

We saw straight away that while Robyn had magic, she had no talent for it. Even when she tried, she could just about do the bare minimum and in the end, she gave up her magic to her mother, choosing to follow her father's noble example instead.

Gideon Gold

He never really did anything with his magic and most of what he did do was because of Fiona. Since we never saw much, we can't accurately say how powerful he is. But at the same time you can take his lack of use to mean that he's not as strong as some others, maybe.

Cora Mills

While she was gifted, she mostly used her magic on people who couldn't fight back. And when she did face people who could and would (like her daughter), in the end she wasn't really much of a challenge, despite the big shows he made (or maybe that's why she made them).

Drizella Tremaine

Like Gideon, we didn't see much of her against others per say, however we saw and knew just enough of her that we know she stood up against other witches - which means she's a step ahead of Cora at least. She just needed Regina to give her a little boost is all.

Anastasia Tremaine

As a potential Guardian, Ana obviously ranks high but she also never got to stretch her power. Beside's playing around with Drizzy as kids, she wasn't much of a user and even with her sisters power combined with her's, she's still quite young & inexperienced.

Zelena Mills

Once powerful with talent, Zelena has gone through a lot but she ended up with her daughters magic. And we know Robyn's is quite weak, so Zelena has to rely on her own talent. While it puts her ahead of others, it still doesn't get her to the top.

Regina Mills

One thing you have to give Regina is that she wasn't a natural, yet she trained and eventually became one of the most powerful people (and threats) on the show. However, her magic was dark for a long time and there's just a few people who I think outmatch her.

Aladdin

While (like Robyn) he no longer has his magic, when he did, he had Saviour magic. Which meant he was quite powerful, and we also saw that he was quite natural with it - using without even thinking(/or knowing he could) - and he helped many people before he cut his fate.

Emma Swan

As the Saviour, Emma has special light magic and she also was shown to be quite natural with it (which begs the question, are all Saviour's just born with the knack of magic or are Emma and Aladdin just special?) and with her magic she saved the day a lot.

Alice Jones

It is canon that she is the only one who can take the Dagger without being corrupted, single handedly beat Gothel AND broke blood magic without even realising! (Not to mention creating life and needing something extra in order to keep her under the Dark Curse).

So these are just my opinions of course. Don't take it too seriously if you disagree, and if you really disagree, why not (calmly) tell me why and we'll discuss? I would genuinely like to know what other people think.

[calendiles-remade]

Why “s7 of ouat doesn’t exist”

I know OUAT has basically faded from Tumblr’s collective consciousness, but seeing as it’s ending soon, I figured I might as well.

As you may have noticed, this particular statement is currently written in my about page, I stand by it, and I wanted to address it (also I really just haven’t had a good old-fashioned TV rant in ages). Like many others, I hold the opinion that this show peaked years ago (in season 3 honestly, but that’s neither here nor there). But this season was just the literal Worst (as of the time of writing, up to episode 16 has aired), and the last few episodes might make it all worthwhile, but that seems unlikely. Anyway, the full rant is under the cut to save those who don’t care (or disagree) the annoyance of scrolling through it.

Spoilers, obviously.

1) The plot...is literally season one’s plot

Now, the plot of season one was never the show’s strongest, and I found myself way more interested in the flashbacks during that season than what was actually happening in Storybrooke. The thing is though, this season’s plot is literally the exact same thing. Little kid finds their parent and spends an entire season trying to convince them the curse is a thing. Incessantly. And it’s the exact same curse, with the exact same characters being awake essentially (Regina and Gold). I know the thing about Henry dying if the curse is broken was supposed to add extra drama but...it doesn’t in my opinion. Even “kid almost dying” was already done in season one.

2) The timing makes absolutely no sense

Why are some characters ageing while others aren’t? Regina, Hook, Emma, etc. all seemed the same age when they came to the other realm to see Henry, which okay, fine, maybe time passes slower in Storybrooke’s world. I’ll buy that. But that doesn’t explain why later so much time passes for Rumple and Belle? Or how Zelena doesn’t appear to get older when Robin does? Speaking of which, Regina and New Hook didn’t age in the alternate Enchanted Forest either? I honestly don’t understand it, and I’m not sure why they felt the need for such a convoluted timeline. In previous seasons, they used to say the actual year or at least “long ago”, but now time seems entirely meaningless and they’re just doing whatever they want and we’re not supposed to think about it too hard.

3) The relationships

This part may be more a personal thing, but I wasn’t a fan of any of the relationships in this season. Alice x Robin was kinda just introduced to us with no reasoning or build up, which is kinda important if you want people to actually get invested in the relationship. I get that they’ve been showing more of how the relationship came to be in the recent episodes, but you would think they would start off with that instead of tacking it on later. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad there’s finally more LGBT+ and POC representation on this show, but this one just seems forced, kinda like Dorothy x Ruby. It’s like they know a big part of this fandom wanted SwanQueen and this is their meagre attempt at trying to provide f/f relationships even though the best option for that was staring the writers in the face for six seasons.

Regina x Facilier also came out of nowhere, I’m pretty sure I heard about it on Insta and was completely blindsided. Now, I’m not sure about everyone else, but to me generally being blindsided that a ship is coming usually isn’t a good sign. And plus, I generally wasn’t excited about the idea of Regina in a relationship with a villain. Like, after such a long redemption arc, it’s like they’re throwing it away and I don’t understand why. I don’t understand why this show feels the need to pair basically everyone off, I honestly think they should have just let Regina be (honestly what I’ve been saying every time they make her suffer tbh), because it would have been really nice to see her be happy without a man.

And to be real, Cinderella x Henry didn’t seem to have much chemistry either in my opinion. I didn’t actively dislike it, but it just seemed boring and mostly just like the writers wanted to establish this relationship without actually working for it. I feel like that’s the case for all of the romances this season, honestly.

4) Weak villains

Honestly, the villains in this show have never been my favourite, but they seemed especially boring in this season. Lady Tremaine/Rapunzel turned out to not even be the main villain of the season even though the beginning of the season treated her that way. The concept of her character was neat, but I think they missed a lot of opportunities. I do actually think Drizella is a somewhat interesting character, but she doesn’t make the best villain. It seems a bit drastic to cast this big important curse over everyone just because she wants revenge on her mother (which again is a repeat, the never-ending curses out of revenge). She also ends up being “redeemed” or at least regretting her actions. Like, I love myself a villain with complex and interesting motives, but I’m missing a villain who is just pure evil, like Peter Pan was. It makes the stakes higher and I really like seeing the heroes actually face serious problems. While Gothel may sorta qualify, her role in Hyperion Heights is barely existent. In fact, she spent a significant amount of the time so far being trapped. And now we just have Hansel, and I can’t imagine he’s going to be a grand mastermind.

5) Just general boredom

From the plot repeat to the lack of any true threats to the heroes, it just doesn’t really keep my interest anymore. They’ve even managed to make Rumple boring, which I didn’t think was possible. Instead of being an interesting (although infuriating) character, he hardly does anything. Older season Rumple would have practically reduced the world to dust after what happened to Belle, but now he’s just sitting around asking Henry about his book. Even Regina, the main reason I watched this season to begin with, has basically lost the aspects of her personality that made her interesting. They erased all of her darkness, her amazing sarcasm and humour, and just made her a typical hero, which is the furthest thing from what anyone wanted. This season is just generally missing something to keep my attention.

When I started watching, I didn’t expect to be practically begging for this to end, even though I’d seen the fandom fade and heard it goes downhill after the midpoint. Even though season six had a lot of issues, its finale still would have been a much better ending than dragging the story out. The show has just lost the spark that got people interested in the early seasons, that made me fall in love with it a whole three weeks ago. It’s no longer a complex and lively story about defining your own fate and finding happiness in every kind of love, but a muddled mess that’s barely an unoriginal echo of what it once was.

[worryinglyinnocent]

Once Upon A Different Time Episode 317: “Poles Apart”

A re-work of Once Upon A Time from the beginning of season 3.

[banner by ripperblackstaff]

Catch up on previous episodes:

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Season 3A episodes 1-11

Episode 312: “New York, New York”

Episode 313: “Monkey Business”

Episode 314: “The Wonderful Wizard”

Episode 315: “Cardinal Points”

Episode 316: “The Vault”

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Once Upon A Different Time

Episode 317: “Poles Apart”

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Enchanted Forest – Past

Robin peered nervously out of the hidden shelter built into the roots of a clump of entwined trees. The shelter offered a good lookout point onto the main road, and Allan had designed it with natural arrow slits. His fingers brushed over the fletches in his quiver, ready to notch an arrow and strike at a moment’s notice. There were footsteps getting closer, hurried footsteps, and he did not yet know if they were friend or foe. He adjusted his grip on his bow.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped and a distinctive whistle sounded. Robin gave a sigh of relief and lowered his bow as the shelter’s flap opened up and Marian slid down inside.

“You always leave it so late to signal,” Robin groused as she came over and kissed his cheek. “One of these days I’m going to shoot you by accident.”

Marian just laughed. “You’re paranoid, did you know that?”

“Well, is it any surprise?” They both glanced over to where Roland lay, wrapped up tightly in blankets, sleeping as soundly as if he were in a feather bed in a palace, rather than in a hole in the ground in the forest.

“The others have already gone, I take it?” Marian glanced around their deserted camp.

“Yes, they’re on their way to the new place now. As useful as this has been as a base, we’ve nearly been caught here too many times lately. It’s time to move on.”

“It’s such a shame. I really didn’t want to uproot him so soon. He’s only just settled here.” Marian picked up her baby son and held him close as he stirred, nuzzling the top of his downy head. She sighed. “You’d better take him and get going after the others.”

“What about you?” Robin asked, alarmed.

“I’ll catch up, I won’t be too long after you. There’s a carriage coming up towards the traps on the western road and it looks like it’ll be a good haul. It would be a shame to waste it when it could provide us with necessary supplies.”

“In that case, I’ll go,” Robin said, trying to hand Roland back to Marian. She shook her head.

“Robin, we both know that I’m the only one light enough to spring those traps from the trees. That’s the way they were designed. If you try you’ll only end up with arrows flying everywhere, and then where would we be? You take Roland. You’re better placed to protect him if you come across any unpleasantness on the roads.”

Robin conceded that point, slipping his quiver off his shoulder to allow Marian to tie Roland to his chest in a snug papoose. She leaned in to kiss his forehead.

“Stay good for your papa, my brave little archer,” she cooed. “Mama will see you again very soon.”

“I’m holding you to that,” Robin said. “If you’re not at the new camp by dawn I’m leaving Allan to look after Roland and coming back for you.”

“As any chivalrous husband would.” Marian smiled and kissed him. “I’ll see you very soon, I promise.”

Robin left the camp, looking back over his shoulder towards her as he made his way down the road, and Marian waved. As much as she hated to leave Roland behind, she knew that this was the only practical and least dangerous way, and whatever Robin might say, they badly needed the supplies and valuables for trade or sale that the carriage heist would bring them. Casting a final glance around the shelter to check that there was nothing incriminating left behind, she grabbed her pack and left her temporary home for the last time, making her way to the western road. She climbed easily up a tree and checked the trap lines before settling down to wait for the carriage. The worn, old spyglass that Robin had carried with him since time immemorial proved very useful in situations like these, and she sat watching the progression for a while. It was obviously a minor noble’s carriage, not important enough to have a large retinue of guards, just a single outrider who would be easily taken care of by the traps. The most important thing was the luggage piled up on the back running board. That was going to be the prize. On second thoughts, maybe Robin should have come with her; that was going to be a lot of baggage to carry to the new camp on her own, unless she commandeered the outrider’s horse or the carriage itself. The horse would be a better bet, that could be released once she was finished with it, but a carriage was a lot harder to hide in the woods.

Marian took the spyglass away from her eye as she heard a rustling in the branches not too far from her. It was too loud to be a bird and too clumsy to be a creature used to climbing, which mean that it had to be a person. Silent and catlike, Marian crept along her sturdy branch to check out the intruder. All she could see was a dark cloak huddled in the branches a few yards away, wobbling on the tree limbs. Marian muttered a curse. Of all the times for an amateur to be invading their patch, it had to be now, when she was about to make her final catch.

Presently the cloak looked up, revealing a pale face and dark hair, and Marian gasped as she recognised the interloper.

  Storybrooke – Present

“We’ve got to do something. We know she’s planning something and we know she has no qualms about hurting innocents in order to do it. I say we go in now and cut her off before we find out what it is she’s up to.”

It was the most like the Enchanted Forest that Storybrooke had ever been. In the aftermath of discovering that Rumpelstiltskin was alive and their failed attempt to get him out of town and out of Zelena’s sphere of magic, a crisis meeting had been called. Regina was hosting the impromptu gathering, as the owner of the largest dining table, and all those present who had lived through wars and campaigns before could well see the grim similarities to a council of war. There was a distinct sense of déjà vu among the participants, and Regina especially found herself wondering just what had happened during the year they could not remember, and how far they had come in their interactions with Zelena then. She could not help thinking that they were somehow retreading old ground, and if they had not been able to stop Zelena casting the Dark Curse and bringing them all back to Storybrooke before, then did they have any real hope of preventing her nefarious plans now? On the other hand, perhaps the curse casting was a mark of desperation on Zelena’s part, and having forced her hand before, they were more likely to back her into a corner now. Regina had no way of knowing, and what was even more frustrating was that all the variations of the memory potions that she had tried did not work. It was clear that this amnesia was tied to the current curse just as it had been last time, when she had cast it herself. They would just have to wait for the curse to be broken.

“I agree with Leroy,” she said eventually, as strange as it felt to be siding with someone who was one of her staunchest opponents and who would have been quite happy for her to take the blame for their current predicament. Even Leroy himself looked rather shocked by her support. “She’s already proved herself to be more than capable of causing chaos and we can’t just let her get away with it. She needs to be neutralised before she can do any more damage.”

“In principle, I agree,” David said. “But we’re at a disadvantage, and launching a full-scale assault from the back foot isn’t something we want to be doing.”

“We’ve got the advantage of numbers,” Leroy pressed. “Sure, she’s incredibly powerful, but there’s only one of her.”

“No,” Belle said. “David’s right. There may only be one Zelena, unless she knows some kind of duplication spell, which I really don’t want to think about, but she’s got a whole army of flying monkeys at her beck and call, and she has the most powerful sorcerer in all the realms under her control. And whilst she won’t care about a little collateral damage, those people are her victims just as much as we are. They’re our friends and loved ones and we cannot fight back against them, no matter what they might do. Believe me, I want the witch dead as badly as the rest of you, but as long as she has the monkeys and Rumpel, she has power over us.”

It was a chilling but unavoidable truth. They couldn’t afford to risk harming any of the monkeys when they had no idea who might be under the fur. With so many citizens, personal friends, still unaccounted for, it was too high a price to pay.

“We need to get the dagger back,” Neal said. “Once Rumpelstiltskin has free will again, that’s one huge hurdle solved.”

He looked around the table for support, but with the exception of Belle, the rest of the co-conspirators didn’t seem too enamoured by the idea.

“It’s too dangerous, Neal,” Mary Margaret said plainly. “I know you want to rescue him and I can completely sympathise, but you know what happened the last time.” It was only the previous day, it was still painfully fresh in Neal’s memory and he didn’t need reminding of their failure, but something inside him would not let the matter rest. That was his father inside that witch’s lair, and for all they hadn’t seen eye to eye for the last few hundred years, Neal wouldn’t wish his father’s fate on his worst enemy. He chose not to argue Mary Margaret’s point and instead sat back to see if anyone else came up with a better idea.

Robin had been called in out of the woods to take part in the conference, as one of only a few to have come through for the first time, and thus far he had remained silent, a thoughtful expression on his face. Presently he leaned forward.

“Maybe if we could take out the brute force of her little army, we’d stand more chance against her, either in a rescue attempt or a complete assault,” he said. “If it’s just Zelena and Rumpelstiltskin that you have to worry about then the confrontation becomes more evenly matched, especially since, from what I hear, Rumpelstiltskin will be expending as much energy fighting against her as he is doing her bidding.”

“Take out the monkeys and stop her physical fighting force,” Granny agreed. “But how do we go about that in a humane way?” she gripped her crossbow a little tighter, obviously itching to use it.

“The monkeys are garrisoned, for want of a better word, in the woods, patrolling the town’s boundaries,” Robin continued. “It should be easy to pick them off individually, I’ve learned these woods well and tactics in trees don’t vary much from place to place. We’ve got magic on our side.” He nodded respectfully to Emma and Regina. “If we can find a way to de-monkey the monkeys and bring them out from under Zelena’s control, then my men and I would be able to administer the antidote unobtrusively, without Zelena getting too suspicious.”

The rest of the war council looked at each other. It was the only plan they had, and it was a good one, even if more time-consuming than an all-out assault on Zelena’s farmhouse would be.

“Sounds good to me,” Emma said with a shrug. “Of course, I don’t have the faintest idea how to de-monkey a monkey, but I’m sure there is a way.” She turned to Regina, a little helplessly.

“Yes,” Regina said firmly. “I’m sure that there is an antidote to whatever spell Zelena has them under, but I’d need to be able to get close enough to one for long enough to study the enchantments so as to be able to break them.”

“Papa could capture a monkey.” Roland had, naturally, come with his father and was sitting unnoticed at Robin’s feet, playing with some of Henry’s old toys that Regina had found in the attic. She had almost forgotten that he was there. “Papa’s good at hunting.”

“The problem would be keeping it contained once we’d subdued it,” Robin said. “And subduing it in the first place. They’re persistent creatures, I’ll give you that one for nothing.”

“Ruby’s cloak,” Granny said. “You could use the cloak to return them to their human form for a while. Take it off and they’ll transform right back. As long as she gets it back in time for the next full moon, you can keep it for as long as you need.”

“No offence, Granny, but isn’t that a wolf thing?” David asked.

“Mainly wolves, yes,” Granny explained. “But it will work for any creature which was originally human and which can’t fully control itself when shifted.”

“Are you sure?” Regina was almost embarrassed by the very obvious hope in her voice. Granny nodded.

“I don’t trust Rumpelstiltskin as far as I can throw him, but he uses his words wisely. He said that it would work for any feral creature that was once human, and I believe that. I’m sure that the monkeys come under that category.”

“Wait, Rumpelstiltskin made Ruby’s cloak? How did we not know that?” David spluttered.

“It never seemed like a particularly necessary thing to impart,” Granny said simply. “So, are we all agreed on the plan? Robin will capture a monkey and restrain it with Ruby’s cloak, and Regina will work out a humane counter measure.”

Her brisk, no-nonsense tone pulled everyone back into the present and made the plan seem so simple that there was no point in going against it. The other all voiced their agreement and got up to leave, and Roland brought the little wooden cars that he’d been playing with back to Regina.

“Oh no, sweetie, you can keep those.”

The boy beamed and ran off after his father, who gave her a smile. Regina smiled back, but inside, her heart, yearning for Henry and missing him so much, was breaking.

 Enchanted Forest – Past

Marian didn’t really have time to register the fact that Princess Snow was staring up at her with wide, frightened eyes, as the carriage was almost underneath them and she had a matter of moments in which to spring her trap.

“Don’t move!” she hissed to the princess, who nodded mutely as Marian dashed back to her position and untied the ropes that loaded the traps, yanking down hard as the carriage approached. A large clump of tree branches swung down over the road, startling the carriage horses and knocking the outrider out of his saddle. A second tug had the leaf cover of a large trench fall away in front of the horses, making them rear and back the carriage up a little, placing it in prime position for the final part of the plan. Marian unhooked the final rope and used it to swing across the road and hook up several bags from the back of the carriage as she went. They fell into the waiting nets strung up among the treetops on the other side of the road, and Marian got ready for another pass. The carriage driver and outrider were too busy trying to calm the horses to pay much attention to what was going on behind them, and the lord in the carriage wasn’t able to do much other than shout as Marian hooked up more of his belongings. None of them were armed with bows, only blades, and she was too far away and moving too fast for those to be effective. The lord tried to grab one of the bags as it swung past him, but ultimately he couldn’t maintain his grip and he fell down into the mud churned up by the horses’ hooves.

“Get them!” he bawled to the driver and outrider, gesturing frantically into the trees, but it wasn’t going to be any use; they’d never get up into the tree canopy and Marian had already netted the bags. She glanced down at Snow, who was watching mutely.

“Come on,” she whispered. “Let’s get out of here; I’ll come back for the loot. Follow me.”

Marian was a good climber, as at home in the trees as she was on the ground, and she cut a clear path through the canopy away from the ground, pausing now and then to make sure that Snow was still following her. Once they were at a safe distance but still able to keep an eye on the nets, Marian stopped and sat down on a thick branch. Snow flopped down beside her.

“I take it that you’re relatively new to forest banditry,” Marian said. Of course she was, it wasn’t all that long ago that she had been a beloved princess living in a palace. A lot had happened in the last few weeks, and living in a forest meant that Marian wasn’t always up to speed with the latest royal gossip.

Snow nodded mournfully. “I saw the traps set up and I thought I might be able to use them. Maybe I should have picked a smaller target for my first time.”

“It’s not good form to use someone else’s traps,” Marian pointed out.

"Oh. Yes. Sorry."

"It's all right, you'll know for next time." She held out her hand. "I'm Marian."

"Mary."

It was clearly a false name, they both knew who the princess was and Marian could guess at why she was in the forest. With such a well-known face and lineage, it was probably the safest place she could hide in, both for her own sake and that of any villagers who might face dire repercussions for hiding her. At least, being a bandit, Marian knew that there was already a price on her own head and she wouldn't be in any worse a state for helping the fallen princess. 

"Well, Mary, the first thing to remember is not to be scared of the trees. If you're going to make your home and your living in the forest for whatever reason, then you have to understand the trees. They aren't out to get you, they aren't going to throw you out of their branches. They're just going to stand here like they've always done. What you do with them and how you use them is up to you, but as long as you trust them, they'll never let you down."

"You sound like you've been at this for a long time," Snow said, a touch of awe in her voice. Marian shrugged. 

"Times are getting harder under Queen Regina's rule," she said. "They were never brilliant before, but we all do what we have to in order to survive. If banditry is what it takes, then so be it."

"I had no idea it was so bad," the princess said mournfully. "I never really knew enough about the kingdom until..." She tailed off, forgetting herself for a moment and having to force herself back into the Mary persona. "Until I had to come out to the woods."

"Well, you’ll always have friends here," Marian said, and she hoped that Snow could see through her words to what she really meant. "There are many of us who would welcome a change in the current ruler."

Snow smiled. "Thank you."

Marian just nodded and changed the subject. "Once you get over your fear of falling out of trees, you'll find that you can walk through them as easily as you can walk across the ground. The trick is to forget that you're up in the air. The moment you look down, you're lost."

"Yes." Snow was staring down at the ground several feet below. "Yes, I think that might be where I have a problem."

"Invest in some good strong rope and nets, and then you can rig up some traps and keep things in the treetops. Only the truly determined or truly desperate will follow you up into the trees to reclaim stolen goods. As long as you know how to tie really good knots, you'll be fine. Speaking of stolen goods, though, I should really be getting back to my nets. I have to meet the rest of my group. Good luck, Mary."

"Thank you. Wait!" Snow called as Marian got up and made to clamber her way back across to her catch. "Will I be able to find you again in the forest?"

"I imagine so." Marian smiled. "Just look for the traps. One of us is usually nearby."

She had barely got back to the nets when she realised that something wasn't right. The carriage and outrider had gone, giving up the retrieval of their goods as a bad job, but she could still hear the stamping of hooves. Several horses were coming down the road, and it sounded like a military formation. Marian's first instinct was to draw back into the safety of the trees; they had long since worked on a principle of avoiding confrontation when it came to travellers with obvious martial leanings as there was no sense in asking for trouble. She peered through the leaves and her heart sank. More than just soldiers, they were Black Guard, Regina's elite unit. There was no doubt in Marian's mind that they were there for the princess. She looked up at her nets and down along the road. She really shouldn't get involved. She didn't owe Snow White anything and she'd already helped the girl out of one scrape. The rest of the group were waiting for her. Robin and Roland were waiting for her. At the same time, though, she knew that her conscience wouldn't let her leave the princess to whatever fate awaited her at the hands of the guards. Heaving a sigh and knowing that she was probably going to regret it, she made her way back through the trees to where she had left Snow. The younger woman was just testing her climbing ability, gaining confidence on the higher branches.

"Watch out!" Marian hissed as the guards passed along the road under them. They were moving slowly now, fanning out into the trees on foot to look for their quarry. It would be no good trying to take them on, even if there was only one of them. They were too highly trained, and it would be suicide. Their only option was to hide. 

"Come with me, I know somewhere you can lie low."

It was a good job they'd just vacated their old camp. Marian dropped down from the trees and gestured for Snow to follow her; soon they were back at the old camp and Marian bundled the princess down into the tree roots before scrambling back up into the trees to keep watch. Just as long as Snow didn't make a sound, they would be all right. Marian could feel her heart beating painfully in her chest as the guards came ever closer. Just a few minutes more and they would be in the clear. A prison wagon trundled along the road; they definitely meant business, and Marian winged up a prayer. Not long, not long now...

Fate was not on their side. One of the soldiers was almost on the hideout, and it was clear that he could tell something wasn't right. He began poking about at the roots, discovering the entrance flap. Marian couldn't watch, pressing her hands over her face as they dragged Snow out of the once-safe haven. To give her due, she was fighting tooth and nail against them, but it was never going to be any use. She was too young and too inexperienced in the life of an outlaw, and soon enough she had been tossed unceremoniously into the prison wagon. Marian did not let out the breath she had been holding until after the guards and wagon had gone from view. What was she to do now? She couldn't leave the princess to her fate, she had already made the decision to get involved. Logically she knew that this was something that would need the rest of the group, and they were probably already wondering where she was. But when it came to prisoners, Regina wasn't in the habit of hanging around with the ones she wanted gone, and every minute's delay spent gathering the troops for a rescue mission brought Snow closer to the scaffold. By the time she caught up with the rest of the group, persuaded them to help her, and they'd set out to Regina's castle, it would likely be too late. Marian accepted that she as going to be on her own for this one. She sighed, hoping that Robin and the others would forgive her for taking such a big risk in the name of the greater good, and she clambered down from her perch. The outlaws had hidden caches of weapons throughout the forest, and she made her way to the nearest one, grabbing a bow, quiver, and several coils of rope along with some extra daggers. With any luck, she wouldn't need them. She wasn't anticipating a fight, just a quick and clean extraction.

Determination etched into her features, Marian set off at a run through the forest. She knew all the shortcuts, and with any luck she could make it to the castle before dark. 

  Storybrooke – Present

Objectively, Regina knew that she shouldn’t be seeking Henry out, and that in their current relationship of mayor and visitor, and nothing closer than that, it would definitely seem creepy to the outside observer. The only outside observer in this case was Henry himself; everyone else in the town knew who she really was and why she was doing it, even if they didn’t agree with it. At the same time, she really couldn’t help it. She missed him so much that it was physically painful, like a hole had been torn in her guts. She was reminded of Rumpelstiltskin’s words of warning when she had cast the first curse, about a gaping hole in her heart that she would never be able to fill. Perhaps that was coming back to bite her now.

She stood outside the diner for a long time, wondering whether to go in. She had a lot of other things she needed to do, and ought to be doing, but she couldn’t bring herself to move. Henry was sitting inside at the counter, chatting happily to Ruby, and Regina steeled herself before walking inside. She needed to talk to Ruby anyway, she kept telling herself. This was definitely not just an excuse to speak to Henry.

She slipped onto the stool beside him and declined when Ruby came over with the coffee pot.

“No thanks, I’m not staying long. I just needed to talk to you. Did Granny tell you about the plan?”

“Yeah, I’ll go and get the cloak now. Be careful with it; I’ve been quite sure how effective it is when it’s damaged.”

“Ruby.” Regina’s tone was a warning one, and she gestured quickly to Henry, who seemed for the time being to be oblivious to the strange exchange.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, I keep forgetting. I’ll go get it.”

Ruby disappeared into the back of the diner and Regina sat twiddling her thumbs nervously, wondering how to start the conversation with Henry. She was saved the trouble when he spoke to her.

“So, is it like an invisibility cloak or something?” he asked, a little smirk spreading over his face. “Ruby made it sound like it’s got some kind of magic powers.”

“Maybe it has. You never know. Magic can be found in the strangest of places.” A little seed of hope burst into fruitful life in Regina’s mind. Maybe if she could get Henry believing in the existence of magic, then they could be one step closer to breaking the curse and restoring his memories.

Henry looked curious. “I’ll admit, there is something about this place that doesn’t quite add up,” he said. “I still can’t shake the feeling that I’ve been here before, and I keep having these strange dreams that are more like memories.”

“You never know,” Regina repeated. The more doubt that she could sow in him now…

“Are you a witch?”

The question came completely out of the left field and Regina was thrown for a loop, unable to respond for a long time.

“Pardon?” she squeaked eventually, her voice choked. She hadn’t expected her gentle suggestion to be quite that effective that quickly.

“A witch,” Henry replied. “You know, like a Wiccan white witch. I’ve overheard a lot of the town talking about magic and spells and curses and potions, and it just made me wonder if there was something deeper behind it.”

The notion of being a white witch steeped in light magic was so far from Regina’s usual modus operandi that it made her laugh. Henry looked somewhat sheepish and embarrassed.

“Yeah, I know, it’s a stupid idea,” he muttered.

“No, no, you’re right in a way. I guess a lot of the townsfolk would call me a witch, although probably not one of the good white ones.”

“You’ve always been nice to me,” Henry said plainly.

“Of course I am, you’re…” She tailed off. She couldn’t exactly tell him that he was her son, but she’d made the commitment to the sentence now, and Henry was looking at her expectantly.

“I’m…” he prompted.

“You’re a very special kid, Henry,” she finished. “There aren’t all that many children in Storybrooke and it’s always nice to get some young people here.”

Well, that didn’t sound weird or creepy at all, and Regina could tell that Henry was nowhere near convinced by her words. Still, he didn’t push the point and Regina wasn’t going to offer up any alternative explanation either. Presently Ruby returned with her cloak.

“There we are. I trust you know when you need to return it by. We’ve already got enough trouble going on in the woods, let’s not add any more.”

Regina nodded; she’d consulted the lunar calendar before coming out and there were a good two weeks before full moon. With any luck, the antidote to the monkeys’ curse would be ready by then and they wouldn’t need to worry, and they would be one step closer to getting the better of Zelena once and for all.

“Trouble in the woods?” Henry asked. He had always known more about what was going on than Regina gave him credit for, and as awkward as it made things now, she was glad to see that he hadn’t lost that trait along with his memories.

“Wild animals,” Ruby said quickly. “Wolves, bears and the like. They’ve been getting closer to the town, attacking people. Like Neal and Belle.”

“Yeah.” Henry shuddered at the memory.

“Probably best if you don’t go near the forest,” Ruby added.

“Don’t worry, after what happened to my dad and Belle, I don’t plan on it.”

There really wasn’t any way to spin the conversation with Henry out any longer, although it was something of a bleak note that they were ending on.

“Well, I’d best get going. Thank you for this.” She folded Ruby’s cloak over her arm and slipped off her stool. “Take care, Henry.”

“I will. Bye, Regina.”

She left the diner, looking back over her shoulder, but Henry wasn’t looking in her direction any more. Regina sighed, hugging herself tightly. She seemed to have given him a push in the right direction at least, but waiting for the spell to break of its own accord was agonising. A thought occurred to her briefly. Henry’s new memories were not the result of the same curse that the rest of them were under. She had used magic to alter Henry’s memories herself, and that meant that she knew the exact way to reverse the effects. A standard memory potion would work, the only trouble was getting him to accept it. Not to mention the profound ramifications of spiking a minor. And there was Emma to think of as well; she had not shown any interest in restoring Henry’s memories, and she probably wouldn’t appreciate Regina doing it without her knowledge.

A small, shrill part of her became increasingly vocal, reasoning that all else aside, Henry was still her son and she still had the right to be his mother, but since all that had been arranged in a somewhat furtive manner thirteen years ago, and all she’d done in the process was sign on the dotted line, perhaps legalese wouldn’t be her best recourse here.

She continued to make her way down the street, stopping outside the pawn shop. It seemed that everywhere was giving her memories of her time with Henry today. This was the place where she had first laid eyes on him, and the place where he had been named. It was a favourite memory of hers, but now there was a tinge of sadness to it as well.

Still, she needed to check out Rumpelstiltskin’s stocks for things that she needed for the monkeys’ antidote, so Regina pushed the memories to one side and strode in purposefully.

Belle was alone behind the counter, sorting through the boxes of index cards as she attempted to make an inventory of everything in the shop. With Rumpelstiltskin’s continued existence revealed, Regina wasn’t sure why she was still doing it, unless she had no hope of him ever returning from his enslavement. Still, Regina supposed that it gave her something to take her mind off their gloomy situation, and if she found anything that could help free him, then so much the better.

Belle looked up as the shop bell rang, and Regina saw the moment she went into a defensive stance, backing up a few steps towards the back room.

“Regina,” she said, her voice measured.

“Belle. I think you can guess why I’m here. What have you got?”

“Well, that depends entirely on what you want.” Belle’s tone was icy and Regina didn’t think she’d ever heard her sound so… unlike herself. Belle was warm, she was gentle and forgiving and she got on with everyone. Rumpelstiltskin’s plight must have hit her harder than Regina realised.

“I need…” Regina began, but Belle cut her off.

“How about three years locked in a tower knowing that the only reason you’re still alive is because someone might need to use you as a bargaining chip in the future?”

Regina’s blood ran cold.

“Belle, I…”

“Don’t fancy that? Maybe you’d prefer twenty-eight years in a padded cell with no memories at all, being drugged up so much you don’t know whether you’re awake or not and you can’t even remember your own name!”

“Belle, I’m sorry, I…”

“What about a set of false memories that bring out the very worst in your character and send you into the arms of a man who, once upon a time, tried to buy you like livestock?”

Belle’s voice was rising with every sentence, the anger rolling off her in waves.

“Belle, I’m sorry,” Regina said.

Belle snorted. “You know the worst part of all that? You didn’t even hurt me because you wanted to hurt me. I was so unimportant that you hurt me solely to hurt Rumpel. You do all that and now you expect me to just turn around and help you out like nothing happened?”

“Belle, this is for Rumpelstiltskin,” Regina pleaded. “I need these ingredients if we’re going to get anywhere near to freeing him.”

“I know,” Belle said sharply. “But I am my own person, I am not just an extension of Rumpel, a plaything that you can use to hurt him. What I have here is self-respect, and I am not going to sit back and let you pretend, in the name of the Greater Good, that you haven’t treated me absolutely horrifically in the past. I can live with a lot, Regina, but even I have a limit.”

She was shaking now, and Regina’s stomach was churning.

“Belle, I’m sorry for what I did.”

“Are you really sorry, or are you just sorry because you need my help?”

“I am really sorry, Belle. I had no idea…”

“No idea of what?”

“No idea that it had affected you so badly. You’ve always been so…” Regina struggled for a suitable word that wouldn’t dig her even further into a hole.

“Remarkably well-adjusted considering everything you’ve put me through? Well, that’s because up until now, I’ve had to be. We’ve always been in a big group discussing bigger issues and I’m pragmatic enough to hold my tongue. But now it’s just you and me, and frankly, Regina, after everything you’ve done, I don’t feel safe being alone with you.”

Regina felt like she’d had a bucket of ice water upturned over her head. In their current predicament, it was all too easy to pin all the menace on Zelena, to point out that she should be the one that everyone should be scared of and blaming for all the ills in their lives, but it couldn’t be denied that the accusations Belle had levelled against her were true.

“Belle, I’m sorry for all the horrible things I did to you. I truly am.”

Belle nodded. “I believe you. Now please leave.”

“Belle…”

“I can accept your apology, but that doesn’t mean I have to forgive you or suddenly start trusting you.”

She had a point, and Regina decided to retreat gracefully. She’d come back later, when Neal was around, and maybe bring Robin as a friendly face that Belle trusted. She left the shop, still shaken from the brutal truths that she’d been forced to face up to, and she thought back to her plans from before the missing year, before Pan had turned up in Storybrooke and everything had been set in motion again. She had been going to return all the hearts she’d taken to their owners, the beginning of her atonement. The confrontation with Belle reminded her that she still had a long way to go. It wasn’t her fault that her plans kept getting derailed by other, bigger threats on the horizon, but making amends wasn’t something that could be put off indefinitely.

“Hey, Regina.”

It was Emma, no doubt heading towards the diner to collect Henry.

“I see you’ve got the cloak. Any update on the grand de-monkeyfying plan?”

“No, not at the moment. I’m still missing some ingredients. I’d better get this to Robin so that he can start rigging a trap.”

“Yeah, the sooner we get to the bottom of this, the better.” Emma paused, her brow furrowed. “Are you all right? You look kind of down.”

“Yes. I just received a rather forcible reminder of the person that I used to be. A person I’m trying to get away from.”

“Well, you can’t just ignore your past,” Emma said. “Believe me, I know from experience. I’ve got more regrets than I can count and running away from them never really works too well. I’ve tried. I guess you’ve just got to face these things and make peace with them.”

“That’s very philosophical of you. Who are you, and what have you done with Emma?”

Emma just laughed. “I think the last year has put things in perspective a little bit.”

“I wish I could remember the last year,” Regina muttered. “I’ll be kicking myself if it turns out that this is the second time I’m having all these uncomfortable conversations.”

“Well, at least you know that whatever it is you’re talking about will have been very thoroughly discussed.”

In spite of everything, Regina had to laugh. “And probably come to exactly the same conclusions.” She paused. This was the perfect opportunity to talk about Henry. “Speaking of memories though…”

“Yes?”

“I’ve been thinking about Henry. As he’s not bound under the same magic as the rest of the town, I could probably make a memory potion that would work on him.” She couldn’t help the hopefulness in her voice as she spoke, and she tried not to look too disappointed when Emma sighed, her face grim.

“I don’t know, Regina. I appreciate the offer and I appreciate how much you miss him and want him to remember you, but I just don’t know if it’s a good idea. Our lives are still in New York, and he has friends there.”

“Are you really going to come all this way and help save us all and then go back to New York as if nothing happened?” Regina asked incredulously.

“I don’t know!” Emma exclaimed. “I don’t know anything anymore. I have no idea where I belong or where my life’s supposed to be, and I don’t want Henry to feel the same way.” She sighed, leaning against the wall. “And I guess a selfish part of me doesn’t want him to remember that I actually gave him up,” she admitted quietly.

For all Regina wanted to be outraged, she couldn’t find the anger within herself. Emma sounded so defeated and disgusted with herself, and after the conversation she’d just been through, Regina knew exactly how she felt. She thought about what Emma had said about running away from the past, and leaned on the wall next to her.

“Thank you,” Emma said eventually. “The memories that you gave me, those years with Henry that I never had before, they were wonderful. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I figured that after everything, you two deserved a happy ending.”

“When I realised that it wasn’t real… I don’t know. I guess I keep thinking that I can go back to that life. But I know I can’t, I’d be living a lie. And even if by some miracle, I was able to keep Henry oblivious, I would know that he’d be living a lie too.”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, Regina said. “Maybe his memories will return of their own accord. Things do seem to be bleeding through, and he’s already got the impression that there’s some kind of magic at work in the town.”

“Hmmm” Emma’s brow was furrowed, her expression perturbed. “The more I think about it, the more I wonder. We’ve been trying to use Henry’s lack of memories to keep him safe, but if he’s the only one in town who doesn’t know what’s going on, then it could prove dangerous. From what I’ve seen of Zelena and her methods, she wouldn’t hold back against Henry just because he’s clueless in terms of magic.”

It was a chilling thought and not one that Regina particularly wanted to dwell on.

“I mean, the entire town’s keeping an eye on him at the moment and there’s safety in numbers,” Emma continued, “but if Zelena manages to get him on his own… That contraption that I saw in Zelena’s place had four points on the gimble. Belle’s hair, Rumpelstiltskin’s tears, my blood, what if the fourth thing she needs comes from Henry? He’s the truest believer after all, and it wouldn’t be the first time that someone’s tried to capitalise on that.”

As much as it pained her to think about it, much less say it, Regina knew what had to be done.

“We shouldn’t wake him up prematurely,” she said. “Without his true memories, he has no reason to believe in magic, so he can’t be the truest believer. If Zelena wants him, she’ll have to wait until he believes. If we do nothing and he comes to that realisation in his own time, we have more time to stop her plan in its tracks.”

Emma nodded. “Although wouldn’t it be better to try and stop him believing for as long as possible, in that case?”

“No. You and I both know what Henry’s like. If we try to keep it from him then he’ll get suspicious and take matters into his own hands. That’s how you ended up coming to town in the first place. I’d spent so much tome telling him that what was true wasn’t that he set out to seek the truth himself.”

“We don’t want to do that to him again.”

“No. Definitely not.” Regina paused. “Maybe he is better off without his memories of that time.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Emma said. “For now though, we agree that the best course is to just keep going on as we have been. Not actively hiding the truth from him, but not encouraging it either.”

“Yes, I think that’s the best way. And once this is over and we have breathing space, then we can see what happens then.”

Emma snorted. “As long as we haven’t all been turned into flying monkeys by then.”

“On that note, I’d best get on. The sooner the better.” Regina held up the cloak.

“Good luck,” Emma said.

“Thanks.” Regina knew that they were likely going to need it.

Enchanted Forest - Past

It was dusk by the time Marian made it to the castle gates, the kind of grey twilight that made visibility poor. Perhaps not the best weather for delicate jailbreak operations, but with her grey clothing, she should be able to get in relatively unnoticed. The outer walls were not well guarded as the stone face was practically sheer, just a garrison by the main gates and soldiers patrolling the top of the walls.

Marian crept around to the side of the castle, timing the intervals between the guards passing along between the watchtowers. It was going to be tight, but she thought that she could make it. There was a gibbet bracket affixed near the top of the wall, and Marian tied a line to the end of an arrow. Robin was the one with all the archery tricks, but Marian had learned a few things during her time with him. She fired the line through the gibbet hook and ran to grab the arrow, untying the line and testing the strength of the rope and bracket. It seemed to hold her weight. Now to pull herself up before the guards came back past and realised that there was something amiss.

It was slow going; this really wasn't Marian's favourite method of climbing, and she had to stop and dangle precariously a few times whilst the guards came past. At last she was at the top, and she waited a few moments to make sure that the coast was clear before getting up on top of the wall and checking her way down. There was a guardhouse below, and she could jump it. She landed heavily, making more noise than she would have liked, and she quickly slipped off the roof as she heard the guards inside startle and make for the door. Years of surviving in the forest had given her a feel for the darkness, although she yearned for the safety of tree cover here in the exposed main courtyard. The guards did not notice her slip past towards the castle itself, and she avoided the main door, climbing cat-like up the wall to dive in through an open window.

She landed in the kitchens, causing a few startled exclamations from the maids, but she didn't hang around, moving quickly through the room and out into the corridors before anyone could raise the alarm. She had never been inside the castle before, but she knew that dungeons were always underground, so as long as she kept going down, she'd get there in the end. She could hear commotion behind her, as one of the kitchen staff had no doubt told someone about the strange woman who had nearly landed in the soup, and Marian kept running, following a straight line that she could find her way back on. She stopped short before dashing across the main hall; there were two guards in there standing at the top of some steps downwards, into what had to be the dungeons. She just needed to distract them.

Slipping back into the shadows, she notched an arrow and fired out of the gloom, hitting the wall above their heads. It took them a few moments to realise what had happened, and then they rushed towards her. Marian stepped back into an alcove to let them pass, pressing herself up flat against the wall. This was her chance, and she made a break for it, crossing the room in a matter of seconds and stealing down the steps. The guards within the dungeons were all in their room, a few playing dice or drinking. Marian slipped past easily, prowling along the rows of cells until she found Snow. The princess was picking desperately at the lock with her fingernails, and her hands were bloody from her efforts.

"Let me." Marian pulled out a knife and began working the lock. It was a trick they'd had to learn after people had begun putting extra security measures on their money chests. 

"Marian?" Snow was unable to believe what she was seeing. "What are you doing here?"

"Breaking you out, what does it look like?"

"But why? We've only just met."

"Well, Mary, I get the feeling that you're destined for better things than a cell. Besides, you're never going to get any better at climbing if you're stuck in here."

"I don't know, I have tried climbing the walls."

The lock finally sprung with a scrape of metal on metal and Marian swung the door open.

"Thank you."

"Thank me when we actually get out of here," Marian muttered, leading the way back down the rows of cells and shoving Snow in behind the open door to the guards' room as one of the came out and passed them. "He'll raise the alarm that you've escaped, run!"

There was no time for secrecy any more, speed was of the essence. They careened back up the stairs to the main hall just as the guards from the stair well returned and noticed them, giving chase. Snow grabbed Marian's hand and pulled her off down a different corridor.

"Trust me, I grew up here, I know my way around. How did you get in?"

"There's a line set up on the west wall, by the guardhouse. You know it?"

Snow nodded. "Yes, I can get us up to the wall."

Marian followed her blindly through the labyrinthine castle, but the guards were gaining on them. They were halfway up a spiral staircase, almost at the door out onto the wall, but they weren't going to make it.  Marian pulled Snow to a stop.

"Swap cloaks, it’s you they're looking for." She pulled off her grey hood and handed it to Snow. "You can blend in better with that. Get out and get down the rope. I'll distract them from following and see you down there; I'll get up to the roof and come down the outside."

Snow threw her green cloak over Marian, who drew her knives, took a deep breath, and charged back down the stairs a little way, just until the guards could see her. Throwing a knife at them, she ducked back up the stairs, just in time to see Snow vanish over the wall as another troop of guards came straight towards her. There were thundering footsteps from above; getting out onto the roof of the tower per her original escape plan was out of the question now. She'd certainly caused a distraction, but now her exit routes were blocked and she couldn't go up, down, or out. She was helplessly outnumbered. 

A hand grabbed the back of her borrowed cloak and Marian was sent sprawling, hitting her head hard as she went down, her other dagger skittering across the floor. Blackness touched her vision as pain radiated out from her forehead, making her woozy. Then a hood was shoved over her head and the darkness became complete.

Storybrooke – Present

Determining not to go back to the pawn shop until Belle had had time to calm down and Neal was back with her, Regina drove through town towards the woods, parking up as close as she could then making her way through to Robin’s camp on foot. He was waiting for her, sharpening arrowheads with a flint.

“I’m hoping that we won’t have to use them,” he said. “We still have the tranquiliser darts that David took from the animal shelter, but if the worst comes to the worst then I want to be prepared. Is that it?”

Regina held up Ruby’s cloak. “The answer to all our prayers,” she said. “We hope, at least. As long as everything else works. We can’t exactly get Rumpelstiltskin to run us up a couple of dozen to try and neutralise every monkey in the forest.”

“Well, the trap is set,” Robin stuck the arrows back into his quiver and stood up. “It just has to be baited whenever you’re ready.”

“What’s the bait?”

Robin gave a grim smile. “Allan. Don’t worry, he volunteered. With Tuck still in the hospital and everyone else currently wearing wings or awol, there wasn’t a lot of choice, and I’m the better shot. Do you want to get started now?”

Regina nodded and Robin called to Roland, who left his new toys and trotted along after them quite happily. Not for the first time, Regina wondered what had happened to Roland’s mother and why she was no longer in the picture, but it didn’t feel prudent to ask right now. Given the life that the outlaws had led before coming to Storybrooke, it was likely that her story was not a happy one. She kept her thoughts to herself as she followed Robin through the trees, closer and closer to the edge of town. There was a distinct chill in the air the closer they got to the boundary, and Regina couldn’t tell if it was just the Maine air, or if it was some kind of deterrent on Zelena’s part, or if she was just imagining it. Nevertheless, she pressed on, finding Allan in a clearing just a few yards from the boundary.

“We’ve worked out that this is as far as we can come before the monkeys get active,” Robin explained. “Further than this line and they’ll start to swoop.”

Regina looked up into the treetops, searching for tell-tale eerie yellow eyes, but she couldn’t see any. She handed over the cloak, which Robin strung up between two trees, attaching it to ropes with clothes pegs. It was the strangest mish mash of whatever items they could get their hands on, but if Robin was confident that it would work, then Regina had faith in him.

“You’d better get out of the way,” Robin warned, indicating a thick clump of bushes a safe distance away from the trap. “Take Roland with you.”

Regina grabbed Roland’s little hand and ushered him to safety, pulling him in close as she crouched in the bushes, watching through the tiny gaps in the densely packed greenery. Robin slung his quiver and bow over his shoulder and climbed up a tree, steadying his balance in the topmost branches and notching an arrow, aiming it into the tree canopy. Regina hoped that it would be a last resort too; they’d already said that they were trying to be as humane as possible, and with at least two, if not more, of Robin’s original group now resigned to their unfortunate furry fate, she’d hate for him to have to drop one.

“Ready?” Allan called up to Robin, who nodded. “You’d better be, this is my neck on the line here.”

He set off at a determined march through the trees, crashing through the undergrowth and making no attempt whatsoever to be furtive. Regina could still hear him long after he vanished from view, but she could not hear any signs of the monkeys. Perhaps they had more intelligence than she gave them credit for and they had realised from Allan’s very obvious noise and movement that they would be flying into a trap. Up in his tree, Robin checked the tranquiliser gun. It was an agonising waiting game, and Regina wasn’t sure how much more of it her nerves could stand.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, there was an unholy screech of winged terror and the flap of powerful leathery wings, along with a scream that could only have come from Allan. Alarmed, Roland jumped up, but Regina pulled him back down out of sight, cuddling him in close to her chest so that he couldn’t see what would happen in the clearing.

“ROBIN!” Allan screamed through the trees. “I HOPE YOU’RE READY!”

Allan burst into the clearing, running hell for leather, and he grabbed hold of a rope that Robin unfurled from his tree with a well-placed kick. The monkey was only seconds behind, flapping and snapping and snarling as it bore down on Allan.

“ROBIN, DO SOMETHING!” Allan yelled, clinging to the rope and fending off the monkey with his feet and elbows. “NOW!”

Robin’s arrow soared through the trees and hit its mark, and a huge counterweight fell down out of the canopy, pulling Allan up off the ground. The monkey followed him up, but then a red-tipped dart was whizzing out of the trees and lodged in the beast’s wing. It didn’t drop it immediately, but it slowed it down as it scrambled to pull the dart out. It obviously wasn’t as effective as a hit in the body would have been, but it was no longer pursuing Allan, and it came back down to earth with an ungainly thump. Regina could just make out Allan moving in the treetops, and a moment later she heard the swing of detached ropes and Ruby’s cloak was catapulted across the clearing, landing on the monkey who, for good measure, was then bundled up in a net and left dangling.

There was silence for a long time and Roland looked up at Regina.

“Is it safe?” he asked quietly. She peered up over the top of the bush; Robin and Allan were shimmying out of their respective trees and moving across to the writhing lump in the net.

“I think so,” she said eventually. “But stay close.”

Roland nodded, clinging to her hand like a little limpet as they came out of their hiding place. The bundle in the net had stopped wriggling, and as Robin approached it, an undeniably human voice called from the depths of the cloak.

“Help!”

“John?” Robin asked in disbelief, not quite willing to accept that their plan had actually worked. “Is that you?”

“Yes!”

“Hold on, we’ll cut you down. Stay under the cloak.”

Allan cut the ropes securing the net in place and John landed heavily on the ground. The others set about untangling him, and then they were helping him to his feet, a large man only just fully enveloped in Ruby’s cloak, but a human man nonetheless.

“It worked!” Allan threw his arms around the slightly confused John.

“Yes, but that was only stage one,” Robin said. “There’s still more to do.”

“Could someone tell me what’s going on, please?” John asked mournfully. “One minute I’m a monkey and the next I’m not and I don’t know whether I’m coming or going.”

“We’re rescuing you,” Roland piped up happily. “Papa and Allan caught you and Regina’s going to make you better.”

John looked over at Regina with a mixture of disbelief and gratitude.

“Can you really do that?”

“Well, I’m damn well going to try. It’s a complicated process, I have no idea what kind of enchantment you might be under.”

John shrugged. “Sorry, I can’t help you there.”

“That’s all right, I can work it out, but it might be painful. And we should probably go somewhere a little safer.” Regina looked around; there was no sign of any disturbance but being out in the open was making her uneasy. “The other monkeys and Zelena might not have noticed your absence yet but I wouldn’t want to stick around here too long if they do. We’d be better off going back to town, to the mayor’s office. I’ve got my potion laboratory set up there, and no-one will disturb us.”

“I’ll take Roland back to camp,” Allan volunteered.

“Can’t I come with you?” Roland pleaded to his father.

“No, Roland, it’s too dangerous. John’s still under a powerful curse. But Regina’s right, town might be safer for a little while, for all we’ve always felt safer in the trees. Just until we’ve got this sorted out. You and Allan can go and get ice-cream at Granny’s.”

The prospect of ice-cream cheered Roland up and the five of them made their way out of the forest towards Regina’s car. The first stage of their plan had been successful, and now it was all up to her.

 Enchanted Forest - Past

Regina watched from her balcony as the guards dragged Snow White over to the scaffold. She'd wanted to wait until dawn and make an event of it, but the girl's earlier escape attempt had forced her to move her plans forward. In hindsight, perhaps a quick execution was a better idea. Although the people could be kept in line with fear alone, they did still love their fallen princess no matter how much Regina might try to turn them against her, and a spectacle might be the spark that started the revolution. She could really do without the revolution when she was trying to strengthen alliances outside of the kingdom. She couldn't be seen to be a weak leader. As such, dissidents would be dealt with swiftly and without mercy.

Snow was looking a little dopey, as if she'd been hit hard on the head under the hood. Good. Then she wouldn't try to resist. She and her accomplice had already caused enough trouble for one night.

She was silent as she was tied to the post; Regina was a little disappointed. She'd hoped for at least some begging for mercy, but the girl was obviously more stoic than she'd realised. The guards looked up to the balcony, waiting for her go ahead, perhaps wondering if she'd had a last-minute change of heart. Regina smiled. Victory was hers at last. 

"Fire at will."

The guards moved out of the way and a spray of arrows flew cross the courtyard, hitting their mark exactly. The hooded head dropped down against the chest like a mannequin, and Regina wondered why she didn't feel satisfied. Maybe it was the fact that it had been done so quickly and bloodlessly, but unlike certain other monarchs of her acquaintance, she found beheading to be far too crude a solution. 

"Leave her there," she called to the guards. "I'm coming down."

She looked very small and limp, Regina thought as she approached, and it really struck home that she was barely more than a girl. 

Something caught her eye, and her brow furrowed as she went to investigate. Snow was wearing a band on her wedding finger, an intricately woven design of pale wood. There was no reason for Snow to have such an adornment, and Regina realised in a rush of indignation what had happened. She yanked off the hood, and sure enough, the pale dead face beneath was unknown to her. 

"Idiots!" she screeched, turning on the guards. "You didn't think to check you had the right prisoner?"

Cheated of her triumph, Regina stalked back into the castle, fuming with anger at her guards' incompetence. Snow White would be well away by now, and another opportunity to get rid of her forever had slipped through Regina's fingers. 

  Storybrooke – Present

John and Regina were alone in the mayor’s office, Regina checking the potion equipment and John sitting on a chair as far away from the delicate apparatus as possible, eyeing the rope on the desk with caution. Robin had been sent to the pawn shop with a shopping list of items that Rumpelstiltskin hopefully had in his stores.

“Run that past me again,” John was saying. “I lost you after the Wicked Witch keeping Rumpelstiltskin in her cellar.”

“Long story short, none of us can remember what happened in the Enchanted Forest during the last year and now Zelena – the Wicked Witch – is attempting some kind of four-point spell. She’s got Rumpelstiltskin, the most powerful sorcerer we know, in thrall, and he’s locked in her cellar, and she’s kidnapping people like you and turning them into an army of monkeys.”

“Right. And you’re using me as a test for breaking the monkeys’ spell?”

“Yes.” There was no other way around it, so Regina didn’t both to sugar coat the news.

“Right.” John seemed understanding of his fate, and they fell into silence for a while, waiting for Robin. It was an awkward time, knowing so little about each other, and most of what John knew about Regina came from hearsay and rumour regarding the Evil Queen.

“John,” Regina began presently, “you’ve known Robin a long time, haven’t you?”

“Yes, most of our lives. My crew and his joined forces after his outlawing.”

“Can I ask you something?”

John’s eyes narrowed. “That depends on what it is.”

“What happened to Roland’s mother? Is she just missing, like the other people ostensibly turned into monkeys, or has she been absent for longer than that? It’s just that I’ve never heard Robin or Roland talk about her.”

John gave a long, pained sigh.

“We don’t know what happened to her,” he said eventually. “We’ve never really known. We can guess, but there’s no proof either way. It wasn’t long after Roland was born. We were camping out in the forest as we’ve always done and we needed to move our base camp. Marian stayed behind after all the rest of us had left, she wanted to spring one final trap because we needed the supplies that the ambush would bring. She was supposed to catch us up the next day, but she never came. Robin and I went back to traps but there was no sign of her. The traps had been sprung and the supplies were there waiting for us, but Marian was nowhere to be seen. We think she was possibly captured, but it’s common practice for captured bandits to be named before their sentencing as a warning for others. There was no announcement, and we never found a body. So, we’ve never really known. She just vanished. She knew it was a risk that she was taking in staying behind, but it shouldn’t have been that big a one. It was a trap she’d sprung hundreds of times before without incident. She just… vanished.” He was cut off by Robin’s return, and it was clear that the subject wasn’t going to be discussed any further in his presence.

“Did you get everything?” Regina asked. Robin nodded, unpacking bottles and jars from the paper bag he was carrying.

“Yes. Leroy was in there too and he gave me some fairy dust for good measure.”

“That man will never cease to amaze me,” Regina muttered. “Still, there’s no time to lose. Let’s get to it.”

They worked in silence broken only by Regina giving Robin instructions for measuring out ingredients, and soon the apparatus was bubbling away. Now came the difficult part. The base of the potion was ready, but the rest of the ingredients and their quantities could only be found out by analysing the curse itself and to do that, Regina needed the monkey. Ruby’s cloak was suppressing the magical signature and she needed to feel it fully.

Robin gave John an apologetic smile as he approached with the rope from the desk.

“It’s for your own safety as much as ours,” he explained. “The monkeys do tend to have a certain rage factor and we wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself in such a confined space on a rampage.”

John looked forlorn, but nonetheless consented to being tied to the chair. For good measure, Robin tied it to the wall as well.

“You were always very good at knots,” John grumbled, pulling at the bonds to make sure that they would hold. “Too good, sometimes.”

“In our line of work, you have to be,” Robin said. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

Robin pulled the cloak off him and quickly stepped back. For a moment nothing happened, and Regina wondered if they needed something else to trigger the transformation into simian form. Just as she was about to give it up as a bad job, John’s eyes flickered yellow, and a howl of pain rang out as he began to transform. Regina was horrified by the grotesque, but Robin just looked resigned.

“It doesn’t get any easier to see,” he murmured, but he did not turn away out of solidarity for his friend. After a few minutes the transformation was complete, and the monkey was snarling and hissing at them, wings and tail lashing out and trying to pull the chair away from the wall. It managed to lift a few inches off the floor before crashing back down, and its wildly flailing tail sent Regina’s bowl of apples flying all over the floor.

Regina ignored the chaos that was going on around her and reached out a hand, reaching out with her magic as well. A faint shimmer appeared around the monkey’s form, a magical silhouette – Zelena’s magical signature. It was sickly green, unusual for a dark magician, but at least in keeping with the Wicked Witch of the West theme. Regina gasped as she felt the intensity of the magic against her fingertips.

“Regina?” She heard Robin’s voice beside her ear. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, it’s just this magic. It’s very raw, very powerful. It shouldn’t be this powerful, not for someone of Regina’s age and training. According to Belle and Neal, Rumpelstiltskin trained her like he did me. She shouldn’t be so powerful. Unless.”

“Straight up spells, dearie, tough on the system,” Rumpelstiltskin said in her memory after the first curse had broken.

“I don’t care if they turn me green,” she had replied.

“Regina!”

“I’m all right, I’m all right.” It was hard to concentrate on the curse, but she gathered all the green threads and felt the essence of the magic. She knew what she needed, and she pulled away, letting her hand drop back to her side and her shoulders droop. Robin flung the cloak back over John and stayed with him as he transformed back into a human, but his eyes were on Regina.

“Did you find what you needed?” he asked.

“Yes. I also realised where the green connection comes from. She’s casting with borrowed magic, it makes her spells more powerful.”

“You can still break it, right?”

John poked his head out from under the cloak. “Did it work?”

“Yes,” Regina said firmly. “Yes, it worked and yes, I can break it. It’s just going to take a bit more punch than I’d originally thought.”

Robin made to untie John again but the other man shook his head.

“No, I think I ought to stay like this, just in case,” he said. “I can still feel the beast in the back of my mind.” He looked around at the strewn apples. “Sorry about that.”

“They’re just apples.” Regina set the potion brewing again and began to add extra ingredients. "This had better work first time," she muttered to herself. With the amounts that she was using, she really didn't have all that much room for trial and error if she wanted to make enough to transform all of the monkeys. The potion was bubbling violently, usually a good sign; she just had to catch it at the right time before it got above itself and exploded. Robin was looking rather worried at the amount of steam that was pouring out of the flasks, and John appeared to be rethinking his decision to stay tied into his chair.

With a deft flick of her wrist, Regina unhooked the vial containing the finished potion from the apparatus, and the threat of a conflagration immediately lessened, much to everyone's visible relief.

"This should be it," she said, bringing the potion over to John and Robin. "I warn you, with the combination of ingredients in it, it's not going to taste pleasant."

Robin unbound one of John's arms so that he could take the potion, and he eyed the murky green concoction warily before knocking it back. Immediately he gagged at the foul taste, but manfully swallowed it with a grimace.

"Not pleasant is an understatement," he muttered. "I hope this works, because I'm not taking another one of those."

"How long do we have to wait?" Robin asked.

"It should move pretty quickly," Regina said. "Provided that I got the quantities right." In the chair, John wriggled.

"It feels like I've got worms under my skin," he complained. "Is it supposed to?"

"Probably fleas," Robin teased.

Regina raised an eyebrow. "I will not have anyone depositing fleas in my office, thank you very much."

"Well, you can't deny that John's spent a lot of time covered in fur recently." Robin shrugged. "I imagine that it's an occupational hazard."

Regina rolled her eyes, but it did feel good to be able to joke about things in spite of their bleak situation. The fact that Robin felt relaxed enough to launch into these jokes around her was important to her, and she had to wonder. There had been a camaraderie between them ever since she had first encountered them in the woods just after their return to Storybrooke, and she wondered if perhaps there was the prospect of something more than that. It seemed so stupid to be thinking about something like that in the midst of all their current upheaval, but it had been so long since she had felt anything like this that the newness and potential was exciting. Of course, there was still Marian to consider... Regina pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and focussed on John, who was still muttering about worms.

"It's probably the effects of the potion burning through the magic that's already binding you," she said. "Once the feeling fades, then the antidote should have done its work."

"It is getting better," John admitted. "It's concentrated here now." He indicated his chest, around his heart where the grip of Zelena's control on him would be the tightest. "And the monkey in the back of my mind has gone quiet."

"That's encouraging." Could they really have hit upon a solution? Regina could scarcely bring herself to believe it after all the things that had happened and all their attempts against Zelena that had gone wrong, both remembered and suppressed.

"Yes, it feels like it's gone," John affirmed, and he looked to Robin. "Can we risk it?"

"We don't really have another choice." Robin pulled Ruby's cloak off his friend once more, and they waited with bated breath. Nothing happened, even after the time it had taken for him to start to transform the previous time. Tentatively, Regina reached out with her magic again, but this time she did not encounter any resistance from Zelena's trademark green glow. She could feel the last tendrils of her own dark blue magic still affecting him, but Zelena's influence had been purged.

"It worked." The idea was so miraculous that she had to laugh with glee at it. "It really worked!"

Robin and John both shouted in triumph, and Robin set about untying John as Regina looked over her remaining ingredients. She didn't want to risk losing the efficacy by diluting the potion, but there probably wasn't enough to help all the monkeys. Still, any dent that they could make in the force was a good one.

"I'm starving," John said plaintively, and the frank statement, so out of place in the middle of the momentous occasion taking place, made them all laugh.

“Well, Allan and Roland have gone to Granny’s for ice cream,” Robin said. “I’m sure that we can catch them up and spread the good news.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t spread it too far yet.” Regina was as keen to share their success story as Robin and John were, but she knew all too well the dangers of celebrating too early. “If the news gets back to Zelena, she might change her tactic. Or worse, start killing off minions who are no longer useful.”

Robin shuddered at the thought. “You’re right, we want to avoid her retaliation as much as possible. Still, a quiet toast to a plan well-executed is in order, I think.”

“I agree. Let’s go.” Regina made sure that her potions apparatus was safe and in no danger of blowing up her office, and followed the two men out of the room.

If she hadn’t dropped her keys then she would never have noticed it, but she was in such a hurry to get out and let Mary Margaret or David or someone (but not Leroy, or else it would be all over the town in a matter of seconds) know that they’d managed to pull it off against the odds, and she was not her usual precise self. The keyring fell from her fingers, and Robin bent to pick it up.

“Here, let me.”

Reinga had not had all that much opportunity or inclination to study Robin’s hands up close before, but now that he was holding out the keys to her, his wedding ring was obvious. It was a distinctive style, and as Regina now saw, not made of silver but pale carved wood instead. Her blood turned to ice in her veins as she recognised that ring, or rather its twin, from a past she had long since tried to bury.

“Regina? Is everything all right?”

“Yes, yes.” She took the keys quickly. “It’s nothing, just a bit of a headache. Probably the fumes. You go on ahead, I’ll see you there.”

Robin nodded, perturbed, and he and John left the town hall in the direction of the diner. Regina could only stare at her shaking hands in disbelief. Of all the cruel irony in the world, she’d had to develop feelings for a man whose wife she had executed under false pretences.

[geeky-galpal]

OUAT S7 Ship Names

So I was thinking about this while eating my breakfast, but we are now 4 weeks/episodes into season 7 and we still have no agreed upon Shipping Shorthand for most of the new cast additions.

I am the type of person who religiously tags on my blog, not only for my own organizational reasons but also so my followers can blacklist as necessary. I think that having ship names makes it easier to “find your people” who like what you like, but also avoid what it is that you would prefer to avoid. It makes for a happier dash and fandom experience for us all. Or at least that has been my experience so far.

That little rambling intro out of the way, WE NEED SHORT HAND/ NICK NAMES FOR THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS:

 (under the cut for brevity)

Cinderella (I have seen “Glass” most frequently for her; I am into it. But it’s not catching on, and I am curious as to why?)

Princess Tiana (I have seen “Frog” thrown about, but listen- I am not calling a black woman a “frog”. For a variety of obvious and legit reasons. We need something else ASAP. What about “Green”? Because that’s the color of frogs? Or is that already Tinkerbell’s Ship Name? I have no Idea. And also perhaps it’s too close to Zelena’s trademark? If Not “Green”, I would even take “Hop”- which is what Frog’s do? I don’t have an answer here! But she needs a name! And I hate Frog! lol)

Lady Tremaine (I’ve seen “Victory” a lot, I assume for Victoria? That’s not so bad. I would also be interested in just using “Lady” as her shorthand, ex/ “Lady Queen” for LT and Regina or “Glass Lady” for talking about Cinderella and her step-mother, though now that I think about it “Glass Victory” has a nice ring to it...)

Lucy (This one is super tricky! And I don’t have a name in mind! I think people were calling Lucy “Light” for a bit over the summer? Which is fine, but doesn’t feel super specific to her character to me. I want to call her Dimples! But that’s already rightfully taken by Roland of Locksley. soooo...)

Drizella (I actually think that her HH cursed name may work well here, “Ivy”. So,  “Glass Ivy” for Cinderella and Drizzy” or “Lady Ivy” for Drizzy and her mom. But I am not married to the idea.)

Alice (I have noooooo idea! But I want it to be cool! I feel like we are going to be talking a lot about Alice this year when it’s all said and done. Maybe “Cheshire”? After the “Cheshire Cat” from the Alice in Wonderland stories, but also because Rose Reynolds has quite the Cheshire smile? I don’t know the answer here! But let’s brainstorm!

Wish!Hook (Maybe we just keep calling him by the already established Hook nicknames? For ease and because everyone already knows them? That’s fine with me. I’ve also seen people taken to calling him “Rook”- for his daughter’s chess piece and because it’s a squish of “Rogers and Hook”, I kinda of like that as well.)

Adult!Henry (I’m really ok with him just keeping the “Believer” moniker, because he is still our Henry, just grown up. But I also respect that some people feel that “Believer” should be unique to Jared. I think that “Glass Believer” has a good ring to it, and obviously you can’t get more iconic than “Regal Believer”. If Adult Henry needs his own name, I put forth “Author” as my choice.

This is a OUAT Positivity Post! And totally meant for fun! If you have a shipper nickname idea, choice, or preference for any of the above listed characters, please feel free to reblog this and add them here. Hopefully we can get an open conversation going!

Or not. IDK. It’s the weekend. Do you what you want.

[lizacstuff]

Anons 7x06

Lots of anons in my inbox, a few under the cut. The tone of most asks is not complimentary towards the season or episode, you have been warned. 

Anonymous said:Seems like there must not be a lot of Regina fans out there, despite the ER making a lot of noise. Demos held steady. 

I wouldn’t count those numbers before they’re hatched.  Sound like the show was preempted in certain markets (Boston, a huge DMA, for one) so the numbers should be adjusted for that when the nationals come out on Monday. Right now OUAT is getting credit for whatever replacement programming the affiliate put in it’s place. 

Anonymous said:I'm seeing that for some areas the episode got pushed back till early Saturday morning. Do they take into account when figuring out the ratings? I'm already seeing ERs complaining about it and saying if the ratings are bad that's the only reason why. 😒

See above. The overnights (today's ratings) include viewership for whatever aired in OUAT’s place.  Monday they should adjust to reflect more accurately how many people watched the actual episode. They are right, though, in it negatively impacting the live numbers. However, it shouldn't really impact the L+3 or L+7 numbers. 

Anonymous said:Is it bad that I laughed outloud when I saw that Regina gave everything Ivy she needed to cast her curse? Just like the time Regina pushed Lily too far and she turned into a dragon and endanger the town? Or the time she told Zelena to go after Hades and change him and refused to listen to anyone's concerns and everyone almost ended up trapped in Hell? I'm surprised the writer's still don't see the pattern like fans do.

Even without malicious intentions, she’s a disaster who ruins everyone’s lives. It’s bizarre that the writers continually follow the pattern, but never have Regina question her own judgement when she’s doing it. Whatever else happens, Regina makes emotional, unilateral decisions that usually end up biting other people in the ass. 

Anonymous said:Why would Regina stop henry for having a tlk with jacinda to break the curse? they don't have chemistry but they have been written as tl, at least make them kiss to destroy this stupid season one for all

Because Ivy did something, that Regina remembers, that will put the people that Regina “loves” in jeopardy if the curse is broken.  We don’t know who is in jeopardy or how. 

Anonymous said:So the reboot it's all Regina's fault? Why am I not surprised? Having Henry all for her and without snowing and captain swan, obviously a villain like her was behind this

Regina isn’t being purposefully villainous, but her stupid choices have landed them in this position.

Anonymous said:So regina thought she never adopted a child and its now forced to live with him not knowing her and can't break the curse?? Also her soulmate still dead and she is away from sb and her "family"&"friends"? Hahahahahaha karma is a beautiful thing!!! So she is alone and miserable and childless? Jefferson, snowing of the early seasons and the whole ef1 is laughing and partying

I suppose she is getting a little bit of karmic retribution, but I wouldn’t consider her knowing Henry is her adult son, and still being close to him even though he doesn't know, as quite the same thing as orphaning Emma and Snowing missing out on raising her or knowing her for 28 years.  

Anonymous said:Its weird since I thought Shoe Believer had an okay start in the beginning. It wasn't anywhere near CS or Snowing but they were still okay. With every episode they just feel more and more dull and forced.

I always thought it was forced, particularly in the pilot, but I thought it might grow as the season progressed. I’m not feeling it.  They are telling us it’s true love, not showing us.  Unlike CS, Snowing or RB where we saw those relationships develop over time, this feels completely unearned, and a TLK would be like  Zades or Red Warrior where it feels like complete out-of-nowhere nonsense.  CS had to go through multiple seasons of trials and tribulations, both proving they would go to the end of the world or time for one another, before the show would even whisper True Love at them.  The writers have lost their mojo when it comes to writing a love story.

Anonymous said:After this weeks episode I'm more thankful than ever that Regina is far away from Captain Swan and everyone in storybrooke. They don't need to suffer the consequences of someone who has failed as a queen and a mayor.

Honestly, it being canon that Regina and Rumple are out of Storybrooke, is the silver lining to S7.  

Anonymous said:I’m kind of confused , since 7x02 I’ve been trying to keep up with show . But I haven’t been paying that much attention ( I usually just put it on the tv while I’m on my computer or something, so it’s really just background noise ) but I do have a question, who is that hag in lady tremaine’s basement thing ? And also ..... can you list the people who are aware that there was a curse / who’s now awake . Cuz I can’t keep up

That’s the witch.  Right now I think the only characters awake are Ivy, Regina, and sometimes Alice when she isn’t on medication.  I could be wrong though, because my ability to stay focused during this show has not been great. 

Anonymous said:I stopped watching s7 after 7x02 but as someone who still watches it/keeps tabs on it do you know if the timeline is explained like now that Lucy is born and is 10 years old does that mean captain swan's child is around that age or is Emma still pregnant cause time moves differently?

They haven’t really answered that question yet as far as I know. My gut is that very little time has passed in Storybrooke and as we speak Captain Swan is preparing for their baby. But that’s my gut, not fact. 

Anonymous said:I'm so mad - this was the last drop for me with this show. I have been watching S7 for Colin (I'm a Nielsen family and my viewing does count for the ratings) but what they had Henry say last night was the last straw. Swan Believer and their amazing dynamic in season 1 was what kept me watching the show (until CS came along ) and to have to see the writers IGNORE what was once the backbone of the original show (Emma/Henry) to prop an abusive mother/son relationship is absolute bullshit.

cont - previous ask about Swan Believer. I feel sorry for Colin and for the cast and crew, but from now on I will not be watching the show anymore. Nothing about it excites me/makes me happy. It feels like a chore. And these writers do NOT deserve to get renewed nor to get anymore chances to ruin their own canon of what was once a beautiful show.

Describing it as a chore is pretty spot on. I understand you wanting to watch for Colin (especially as a Nielsen household) but you gotta do what’s right for you.  That line seemed completely unnecessary. There were a lot of ways they could have had a nice mother/son moment without going there. 

Anonymous said:I just saw a gifset of Regina waking up from the curse. So that's really the reaction she chose to go with? She really hasn't seemed to grasp the subtleties of acting, has she?

No, she has not. However, I have to say that Lana’s acting as Roni in Hyperion Heights this episode was the least of the episode’s problems. 

Anonymous said:Did you see any of Lana's answers to her fans on Twitter? Besides laughing at the idea of her wanting to do a remake of Silence of the Lambs and play Clarice, when she was asked what she's learned from Bex she said that red heads have more fun than blondes. I imagine in this situation you answer these questions quickly and don't contemplate on your answers, but wow did that seem like a dig. And if you look through the comments all of her rabid fans seemed to think so too and were loving it.

I thought a more accurate tweet would have been  “Red heads kiss my ass better than blondes."  ‘Cause Bex has had her lips permanently affixed to her ass for years now, just the way Lana likes it. 

Anonymous said:I'm indifferent about Wish Hook, and I wouldn't mind if his daughter was Alice and they got a storyline together, but they got nowhere in this episode? And going by the promo, the mess of the wish realm strikes again as Wish Hook was realm-traveling apparently. How did a non-wish Rapunzel from a separate realm come across someone who didn't exist until present-day 6x10? This is unexplainable.

Do we know that Rapunzel is from a separate realm and not from the Wish Realm?  It would be unbelievable to think that WishHook left the WISHAU before it was created with EQ’s “wish” in 6x10.  I think looking for any sort of logic or even in-universe fairy tale logic to make sense of anything to do with the WishRealm, including WishHook, is an exercise in futility.

It simply doesn’t make sense, and each episodes they change the rules to accommodate anything they want to do.  Of course I think it’s nonsense, but I’d still rather this and have CS safely tucked away from this ridiculous season, than have them using the real Hook this season.  Because honestly I don’t care about the integrity of the storytelling in S7, I only care about CS. (though that doesn’t stop me from poking fun at it.)

Anonymous said:I honestly was not one bit surprised when Colin said he was still under contract this season, but at the same time I do believe he enjoys playing this character and I'm sure he feels loyal to the show, it has been his big break. But I have to believe with the storylines and the material he's given, if not already, then by the end of filming he'll probably be in the same mind frame as Bobby. 100% only there for a paycheck. I just hope his agent is actively seeking better opportunities for him.

We really don’t know what he’s thinking or feeling, but low ratings have got to affect things on set in some way, so it sucks if he’s in any kind of stressful environment.  Even if it’s just them getting pressured to send out scripted PR tweets for each episode. On the upside, other than 7x02, he’s been in these eps so rarely, that I’d guess he’s not working more than 1-2 days per episode, which probably means a lot of time that he can be home with his family and newborn.  It might be a blessing for them right now. As I said we can’t know, but I just wish the best for him and his future career.

Anonymous said:Was there something wrong with the Rogers' scenes? I thought they were pretty decent, especially his interactions with Alice.

To all my anons wanting to know about Rogers scenes, you’ll have to come off anon if you want to chat about it. 

[queenofglassbeliever]

For @oqfixitweek day 1 prompt

The bloody Savior had attempted to lower the barrier that Zelena had put around the court house. The barrier was to keep out an hero who dared to take Zelena's daughter from her. Yet, two heroes had managed to slip inside. Robin Hood and Zelena's own half-sister, the reformed Evil Queen, Regina Mills. Zelena and Hades found the heroes standing over her baby. The Wicked Witch was convinced that Robin and Regina were going to take her daughter away. Regina tried to convince Zelena that that was untrue. They only wanted to protect the baby girl from Hades. Zelena may have been swayed to believe Regina, had it not have been for the small quake that shook the courthouse. Zelena knew what that meant. Someone was trying to take down the barrier and Zelena knew exactly who. The Savior, Emma Swan. Zelena left the mayor's office to deal with Swan. The Savior's magic was powerful, but it was no match for Zelena's. Zelena blast Emma away from the barrier. She would have done a lot worse if Daddy Charming hadn't shown up to convince Emma that the best thing she could do was walk away. Zelena returned to the mayor's office to witness a scene from her nightmares. First, her eyes landed on Hades, her true love. He stood there, in the middle of the room, with the Olympian Crystal in his hand. The crystal was clearly pointed at Regina. Zelena saw the malicious grin on Hades face and the crystal glowed. Zelena made a split second decision.

"No!" Zelena rushed forward and tackled Hades to the ground. She ripped the crystal from his hand. Zelena quickly got to her feet and backed away from Hades. Pain and betrayal could be read on her face. She gripped the Olympian Crystal so tightly that her already pale knuckles turned bone white. Hades got to his feet as well.

"Zelena, what are you...?"

"You lied!"

"What are talking about?"

"Don't pretend you don't know. I saw you. You were going to kill my sister!"

"She was going to take your daughter away from you. All I want is to give you your happiness."

"That's not true, Zelena," Regina interceded. "The only thing Hades wants his power. His using you."

"Zelena," Hades said her name sweetly. "You and I can have it all. Everything you've ever wanted. Do you really think that these heroes will ever accept you?" Zelena looked back and forth between Hades and Regina. All of her doubts and fears clouded her mind. Perhaps Hades was right. She was the Wicked Witch. What chance did she have of sitting at the heroes table? To everyone's surprise, Robin spoke.

"Zelena. Hades is wrong about you."

"What?" Zelena was confused. Did Robin Hood just defend her?

"I saw what you just did, Zelena. I saw how you tackled Hades when he was threatening Regina. You protected your sister. That was a selfless act. It will take time, but you can be could."

"Robin is right," Regina said. "It won't be easy and you'll mess up along the way, but you can find redemption. You can be the person, the mother, that your daughter needs. You can have a second chance, Zelena. Just help us defeat Hades." Zelena let Robin and Regina's words sink in. Could they be right? Was redemption truly possible? Zelena would give anything to be a part of a family. She slowly eased her way to stand next to Regina. Hades hair caught fire and he was obviously outraged.

"You traitor!"

"I will not be used!" Zelena said. "You lied! You tried to kill my sister. You tried to us me to get what you want. You never cared about me!" Hades stepped towards Zelena. Zelena held up the Olympian Crystal and pointed it directly at Hades.

"Stay the hell away from me." Zelena's voice was harsh.

"You wouldn't dare," Hades said.

"Try me."

Before Zelena could blink, Hades moved and his fingers were around a throat, but it was not Zelena's. No, Hades had a hold of Robin Hood. "Let him go!" Regina demanded. She tried to hide the panic in her voice, but she was unsuccessful. Robin struggled under Hades vise-like grip. He desperately grabbed at the Lord of the Underworld's hands.

"I'll release him when Zelena comes to her senses."

"My senses are perfectly clear," said Zelena. "Now do what my sister said and let him go." Zelena wasn't entirely sure why she was trying to save Robin Hood. Perhaps what she wasn't really protecting Robin. Perhaps she was trying to protect her sister's happiness. Hades grip around Robin's neck got tighter. Robin continued to struggle, but his attempts grew more and more feeble.

"Zelena, you have to do something!" Regina said. "If you don't do something now Robin will die!"

"Can't you see what's she's trying to do!?" Hades asked Zelena. "She's trying to force you to choose! Me or Robin Hood. She'd have you sacrifice your own happiness!"

"Zelena, listen to me. This isn't a choice between Hades and Robin. This is a choice between the person you were and the person you want to be. I know what you want. You want love and acceptance. To be loved and accept. And you can have that Zelena. You just have to make the right choice."

Tears fell from Zelena's eyes. "How will I know which is the right choice to make?"

"It won't always be obvious, but we'll be there to help you along the way."

Robin Hood had stopped struggling and was now unconscious. Hades laughed. His laugh was cold and manical. His laughter was cut short by an intense pain in his chest. He looked down to see the Olympian Crystal sticking out of the left side of his chest. Right where his heart was. Zelena let go of the crystal and stepped back. Hades' lost his old on Robin Hood and the outlaw tumbled to the tiled floor. Regina rushed to his side. Hades no longer existed. He had evaporated before Zelena's eyes. Zelena stood in still. Too shocked and overwhelmed to move. It had happened so fast. Her sister's grateful cries is what eventually broke Zelena out of her daze. Zelena moved to kneel beside Regina. Regina held Robin close to her and the outlaw had his arms wrapped tightly around the brunette. Robin Hood had regained consciousness and had woken up in a fit of coughs. His neck and throat ached, but he was alive. Regina pulled back just enough to look at Robin's face. To look into his eyes and see that he was still here.

"You're alive."

"I'm alive." In his peripheral vision, Robin caught a glimpse of red. He faced Zelena and held his hand out to her.

"Thank you."

Zelena shook his hand.

"You're welcome."

Cries pierced the air. The three adults stood up from the floor and and quickly moved to stand in front of the crying baby girl. Robin lifted his daughter from the basket and rocked her. Regina stood on Robin's right and Zelena stood on his left. Zelena reached her over to stroke her daughter's cheek. The baby's pudgy hand gripped onto her mother's finger.

"Is she alright?" Zelena asked. Robin nodded his head yes. " I believe so. I think it's just been a long day for her."

"It's been long day for all of us," Regina said. "Come on. We'd better go and tell the Charmings that Hades isn't a problem any more."

[terreisa]

The Savior and the Scoundrel: Hello, Goodbye

Emma has had a few titles attributed to her in her life: princess, captain, pirate but none sat so heavily on her shoulders as Savior. When fate forces her to step into the role prophesied before her birth the only saving she wants to do is to bring back the man she loves. Fulfilling the Prophecy along the way is an additional reward. Sequel to A Crown and A Captain.

Prologue, Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6

ff.net, AO3

“Excuse me Your Majesties, Your Highness, a messenger from Phrygia has arrived.  Shall I show him in?”

“Of course, Johnson.”

Emma scowled at Snow’s pleasant demeanor.  They were a week away from her twenty-eighth birthday and her own patience was wearing thin.  A messenger from Phrygia meant that any news from their mouth would be focused on the movements of King George and not the location of her ship.  She made no effort to rearrange her features when the young man bearing Phrygia’s coat of arms stepped into the room.

“Your Majesties-” the messenger bowed at Snow and to Liam who sat at her right.  Then he bowed to Emma who was on her mother’s left, “Your Highness.  I bring urgent news from Phrygia and Queen Abigail.”

“Obviously,” Emma scoffed under her breath, causing Snow to scowl at her.

“King George’s troops are on the move-” he continued, seemingly oblivious to her comment, “though for now they seem to be merely skirting our borders.  Queen Abigail has made it clear that if they cross into Phrygia it is as good as a declaration of war.”

“We’ve received similar reports from other kingdoms,” Snow said, with a hint of dismissal in her voice. “Thank you…”

“Philips, Your Majesty,” he said with a small nod of his head. “That is not the only distressing news I have.  We’ve reason to believe that the recently deposed king of the Southern Isles and some of his brothers have pledged their allegiance and have thusly offered their support to King George.  The subjects of the Southern Isles that maintained loyalty to the former king along with the armies of the kingdoms the brothers have married into have swelled the numbers of men fighting on King George’s side.  Queen Abigail has bid me to remain in Misthaven for as long as necessary until a response is ready.”

“Of course,” Snow said gravely, clearly troubled by the news. “We won’t have an immediate answer for you to return with but Johnson will show you to a room in the meantime.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Philips said bowing one final time.

As soon as the door closed behind Philips and Johnson Emma pushed back from the table and began pacing the length of the room.  Her grandfather and his army had only been an irritating threat, one Emma knew Snow had been hoping could be dealt with without going to war.  Emma, however, had been under no such illusion and for once Liam had agreed with her.  Begrudgingly they had worked together to create plans for any and all scenarios they thought King George might employ.  They had not anticipated that he would find support outside his own kingdom, however.

While she had been occupied with that there was the ongoing search for the Tarina Brooke, led by Roland and Grace and aided by the kingdoms they were in contact with.  There had been no sighting of the ship in any ports or on the open water.  What hadn’t helped matters was that she hadn’t been the last one to sail her.

The last time Emma had seen the Brooke had been back in Arendelle and the last she’d heard about her Red had assured her that the Sherwood inlet she’d anchored the Brooke in was out of the way, with no signs of any other ships around.  Emma didn’t even know where that inlet was.  She did know that without the cloak she usually put on the ship to conceal her there was an open invitation for someone to pillage her or to take her as their own.  That thought alone set Emma’s teeth on edge and the idea that the person could find and use the bean that was somewhere on the ship incensed her.

“This changes nothing.”

“This changes everything!”

Snow and Liam’s raised voices caused Emma’s steps to falter.  Snow was frowning up at Liam who was standing with his hands braced on the table, glaring down at her.  He looked up and when he caught Emma’s eye he dropped back into his chair and scrubbed his hands over his face.

Liam had returned to Misthaven only a few days after Emma and the others had returned from their journey to the beanstalk.  He had so far treated her with polite tolerance, only a bit better than the cold indifference from before, and she suspected that Turner hadn’t held back in reporting everything that had happened during his absence.  She was glad Liam was no longer hostile but also knew that they both had some words that needed to be said before a true peace could exist between them.

“Do you think Regina or Zelena would have taken over your kingdom so easily by themselves?” Liam directed his question at her.

Emma furrowed her brow before slowly shaking her head, unsure of the point he was trying to make, “Regina didn’t need help the first time.  She just accused my mother of murder and assumed the throne under the guise of protecting the kingdom.”

“She used her black knights to enforce her protection, yeah?  The people of Misthaven were loyal to Snow, the rightful heir, even with the lies Regina told.  So where did those men in the cowls come from and why did they follow her orders without question?”

“Fear,” Emma scoffed, looking at Snow to share a commiserating look and was surprised to find her mother avoiding her gaze.

“That will only get you so far until there’s dissent within the ranks.  Look at how quickly support has rallied around you and your mother time and again-” Liam opened his arms wide, clearly indicating the castle that was filled to bursting and the troops camped along the shoreline. “No, Regina, as well as Zelena in her disguise, relied on something far stronger than fear to recruit their soldiers.  They turned to family.”

“What?  Regina is, er, was an only child and we don’t know a lot about Zelena but she seems like the type to hate her family, not embrace them,” Emma pointed out, not liking the turn the conversation was making.

“Regina may have been raised as an only child but that doesn’t mean she had no family,” Liam countered. “In the wake of her own heinous acts many people forgot that she was a minor royal herself, even before she married King Leopold.  Her father was the fifth in line for the throne but the favorite sibling of their heir nonetheless.  William and Henry were so close that their heirs were raised practically side by side until Regina’s mother Cora put a stop to it.  Regina never forgot about her cousin, the one who ascended to the throne of a small kingdom that had a powerful navy…”

“Balliolshire,” Emma breathed out, stunned. “Your father was her cousin.”

“Aye, but I didn’t become aware of the fact until I became king.  The connection has been erased from public records but it was in my father and grandfather’s personal journals.  The bloodline was easy to trace in the older, more private records kept by our private historians,” Liam grimaced, as though merely acknowledging the connection had left a bad taste in his mouth.

“Did you know?” Emma asked, turning to Snow who was looking at her sadly.

“Yes-” Snow’s eyes dropped to her hands where she was fiddling with her wedding ring. “When my father decided to make Regina his wife her family history was closely scrutinized by the council.  At the time they still had the power to denounce a match if it was unsuitable.”

“Is that why I’d never heard of Liam or Killian until they were sent to capture me?  It was more than just keeping an ally of Regina’s at arm’s length.  You didn’t want there to be a chance that I might fall in love with someone that has her family’s blood running through their veins!  And you!” She whirled back to face Liam, “Is this why you loathe me so much?  Why you came here hating that Killian had chosen me, someone who has never fully ruled out the possibility of just killing Regina to spare us the trouble of keeping her alive?  Are you afraid I would go after the rest of her family since Zelena’s just as power hungry and murderous as her sister?”

“Emma!”

Emma ignored Snow, well aware that her accusations were groundless.  Killian had told her of his and Liam’s promise to break their kingdom’s ties with Regina.  One the brothers had made long before they had ever met Emma.  In a not so small part of her mind she knew that she was lashing out over the mounting frustrations that kept piling up.  She had once toasted to Fate with Killian as a joke and she felt that Fate had taken offence instead and was punishing them all for it.

“We may be linked by blood but that woman is not family,” Liam ground out, scowling.  Then he added reluctantly, “And I don’t hate you.”

“But you don’t like me,” Emma pointed out, daring him to contradict her.

“Killian is a good man but he is impetuous and has let his temper rule when a cooler head should have prevailed.  He has let himself be swayed before by a woman he whom he believed to love to almost disastrous ends.  Since meeting you, Swan, he has been forced into situations he never would have found himself in on his own and now he’s lost in another realm in the clutches of a mad witch.  Forgive me if the last thing on my mind right now is finding reasons to like you.”

Liam stated it without malice but Emma still felt as though he had been yelling at her.  She could see her mother opening her mouth to either defend her, scold Liam like a child, or both and was almost willing to let him suffer under the verbal lashing but knew in the end it wouldn’t accomplish anything.  As she placed her hand over Snow’s to calm her she maintained eye contact with Liam.  It was a lesson she’d learned from her father: the first blow wasn’t always made by a blade, not when a word or even a look could cut deeper.

She nearly crowed in victory when Liam broke his gaze away from hers first but became puzzled when his eyes neither dropped down nor skittered around the room, instead focusing on a point over her shoulder.  When she turned to look for herself she jumped in surprise at the overlarge snowflake floating in front of her nose.  Unlike with the messenger from Phrygia a missive from Elsa had two different possibilities: either more information regarding her grandfather’s movements or word on the location of the Brooke.  With trembling fingers Emma reached up to grab it and watched nervously as it transformed into an icy letter.

Emma,

The Brooke has been spotted by our patrols heading towards Balliolshire waters.  They were unable to get close enough to try and overtake her.  Whoever is captaining her is skilled and has no compunction firing against a royal navy vessel.  Be careful.

The letter had barely melted in her hands before she was conjuring her glittering birds.  First was a response for Elsa, thanking her for the information and her help, next were identical ones for Roland and Grace instructing them to send nearly everyone they were out scouting with back to the castle and to make their way to the main port of Balliolshire to wait for her, and last she created an exotic bird she’d once seen on a tropical isle for Anton.  Since she had returned from the beanstalk she’d sent him messages regularly, even though he had no way to respond but she knew that he appreciated every one of them all the same.

Emma felt a slight pang as she created the message.  Anton would be happy that they had found her ship and the possibility of finding a bean along with it but there was a shadow lurking behind every word.  Even without explicitly saying so it was easy to read that she was telling him goodbye.  She knew herself well enough that once she started for the Brooke she would stop for anything, not even to send a true message of farewell.

“Emma?”

She pulled her gaze away from the fading trail left by the large bird winging its way to Anton.  Snow and Liam were watching her with matching looks of wariness.  They too knew that a message from Elsa could be another blow or could be a buoy of hope.  Grinning triumphantly she tapped her finger on the map that was spread out across them table indicating which troops were where

“Elsa’s men found the Brooke heading towards Balliolshire,” she said excitedly. “We need a ship and only a few men to crew her.  Roland and Grace will meet us in Williamsport and we’ll run the Brooke down from there.”

Her enthusiasm faded as she realized that neither her mother or Liam were showing any indication that they were in any way as happy as she was with the news.  In fact, they both seemed more troubled than they had been after they had learned of George’s new alliance.  Emma’s smile faded and she prepared herself to rally against the arguments for her to wait or to not go at all.

“Sweetheart,” Snow said gently, “I won’t be going with you.”

“I-” Emma stopped short, all her thoughts leaving her instantly. “What?”

“We’re on the brink of a war with King George.  Every day more and more people who had fled when Regina took back the throne have been returning.  There are decisions that need to be made that will affect our kingdom for generations to come.  If I am to regain the trust of our people, to truly earn my place as their queen, I cannot abandon them when they need me most.”

Snow’s voice had been strong, resolute, as she had spoken but wavered at the end.  Emma knew it was a rehearsed speech, coming from a decision that hadn’t been made impulsively or lightly, but the blow was still a surprise.  She had only just found her mother, she wasn’t prepared to lose her again.

“What about the people who are missing?  They’re your subjects too!” Emma said hotly, resolutely ignoring Liam who seemed to be scrutinizing her closely.  She leaned forward and haltingly asked the question she never thought she’d have to, “What about Daddy?”

At that something in Snow’s eyes dimmed and she seemed to age ten years.  Emma blinked back tears.

“I love your father more than I can put words to and I have missed him every single moment we have been separated.  There are days where I cannot- cannot breathe, where I wonder if Regina really had crushed my heart but kept me alive to suffer.  Even the joy of being reunited with you is bittersweet because I look to my side and David, my Charming isn’t- he isn’t here.”

Snow buried her face in her hands as her whole frame shook with the force of her sobs.  Emma immediately pushed herself out of her chair and rounded the table, dropping to her knees at her mother’s side and hugging her as best she could.  It became easier to tighten her hold when Snow slipped from the chair and pulled her desperately closer.  She couldn’t fight the tears that were falling from her own eyes even if she had wanted to.

When she finally felt somewhat steady she pulled back and nearly starting crying again at the anguish etched in Snow’s face.

“Come with me,” Emma pleaded, her voice barely loud enough to hear the words, “Please.”

“I love your father,” Snow repeated vehemently, her voice cracking with emotion, “but we made a promise.  The kingdom, our people, must come first no matter how much we want to choose otherwise.  We thought that it was a decision that neither of us would ever have to make but it was something we needed to have a plan for.  Now that I have to make that decision it is the most difficult, agonizing thing I’ve ever had to do.  The only reason I’m not breaking the promise I made and finding Charming myself is because I know that you will bring him home to me.  I have no doubts about that.”

“I don’t know if I can,” Emma whispered.

It was a thought that had kept her up at night and settled on her shoulders like a heavy winter cloak during the day.  When she wrote her letters to Killian it had become harder and harder to keep her tone optimistic, to not let her growing despair leak into the words.  If she could only blame the rumor surrounding the murmurs that she was ‘The Savior’ she believed it would have been easier to shake off her doubts.  Unfortunately the thoughts that plagued her were ones she had wrestled with from the age of sixteen, when she’d been forced from the life she had always known.  The added pressure of saving her entire kingdom had only magnified the weight of her doubts.

“Of course you can, sweetheart,” Snow murmured with a confident smile.  She gently cupped her face and wiped away the tracks her tears had left, “Look how much you’ve achieved already.  You found me, you forged alliances with kingdoms we never would have otherwise, and we stand a chance against King George because your magic gets messages to the troops and their leaders much faster and more reliably than my birds ever could.  Not to mention everything you’ve been up against and prevailed over since we were torn apart.  You are so much stronger and capable than you realize Emma.”

“Maybe I should be the one to stay behind,” Emma said, giving a watery chuckle as Snow wiped away the tears that had started again.

“Nonsense-” Snow tsked, “I don’t even know what your Killian looks like.  It wouldn’t do for me to bring back a stranger who hasn’t had the great privilege of winning my daughter’s heart.”

“Take the Jewel.”

Liam’s voice was quiet, reminding her of where she was and that he had witnessed her vulnerability.  She sucked in a deep, calming breath and wiped at her cheeks and nose with as much dignity as she could muster.  Letting out the breath she stood, crossed her arms and hoped he thought the red in her cheeks was from annoyance at him and not embarrassment that he had something to lord over her.

“We have plenty of ships I can use.  I don’t need your pity.”

Emma watched as Liam’s jaw and fist clenched simultaneously.  His eyes dropped to the map in front of him and from what Emma could guess he was seemingly counting the little colorful markers that indicated what troops where where.  When he looked back up at her a moment later only the spark in his eyes belied the calm demeanor he had donned.

“I’m not offering her out of pity or obligation, Swan.  The Jewel is the fastest ship in the realm, which I’m sure you’re aware of-”

“Never had the chance to run her down,” Emma grumbled.

“What you might not be privy to-” Liam continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “is that she’s made out of enchanted wood.”

“Enchanted… wood?”

She shared a skeptical look with Snow who had seemingly pulled herself back together.  She was sitting in her chair once more, her red tipped nose and overly bright eyes the only indication that she had recently been crying.  Then, to Emma’s surprise, Snow’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“How did you come by enough of that wood to build an entire ship?” Snow’s voice was hard, “The Enchanted Woods were decimated decades ago.”

The tips of Liam’s ears flared a bright red, matched by the color high on his cheeks.  Emma watched in fascination as he fidgeted in his seat, looking remarkably like a child being scolded for behaving poorly.  His gaze traveled between her, her mother, and the map on the table before he sighed and finally focused on Snow.

“It was an incentive, a reward.  If we were able to eliminate the pirate threat from Misthaven waters Regi- Zelena promised us something better than riches.  When we succeeded she gifted Balliolshire the wood and heavily implied that the more pirate ships and their captains we sent to a watery grave the more wood we would receive.  Our primary focus had been finding and destroying Blackbeard and the Revenge when we were forced to pursue the Brooke instead.”

“Just how many of your ships are made from the enchanted wood?” Snow questioned, her voice like steel.

“The Jewel is they only ship made entirely from the wood we were given.  What remained was distributed amongst her sister ships, mainly along their hulls or for a spar or two.  The Jewel is the only one we’ve been able to discern any type of difference in, however-” he paused, seemingly unwilling to continue.  When Emma raised her brow he sighed, “Her design had already guaranteed the she would have been fast on open water but with the wood she is leagues faster than what our master shipbuilders could have ever anticipated.  She has weathered storms that have sunk other seemingly hardier ships.  Rumor among the men that have sailed on her is that she could withstand anything, even travelling across realms.”

“And what do you believe?” Emma asked, not entirely willing to trust his claim.

“The Jewel is a ship beyond compare,” Liam said, looking at her straight in the eye, “I would not have offered her for you to use if I didn’t believe her capable of accomplishing what was needed of her.”

“Okay,” she said quietly, then louder and more firmly, “Okay, I’ll take her.”

“However, I have one request to make.”

“What?” She asked warily.

“Take Turner with you.  I would ask to accompany you myself but the reasons that prevent your mother from going are the same that keep me bound here as well.  Turner is as much an older brother to Killian as Thompson was a younger one to me.  If I cannot help you find my brother allow Turner to go in my stead.  Please.”

Emma wasn’t sure if it was the intensity with which he was looking at her or the uninhibited desperation in his voice but she found herself nodding.  Liam’s shoulders dropped in relief and then his eyes narrowed.

“I expected more of a fight from you, Swan.”

She shrugged, “If getting Turner to join me was the only thing you were going to be stubborn about I figured I’d save us time and a lot of arguing.  I also know that if I was the one who had to stay behind I’d sleep better knowing someone I trusted was going for me.”

Liam scrutinized her closely before giving her a tense nod.  She couldn’t help feeling as though she had passed some kind of unspoken test.  It was a feeling that was confirmed as he gave her a small, genuine smile when he noticed she was still looking at him.

“When do you plan on leaving?”

“As soon as I can muster up the minimal amount of people it takes to sail the Jewel,” Emma answered resolutely.  Snow’s shoulders dropped and she continued apologetically, “If I hadn’t already sent instructions to Grace and Roland I might have been able to delay a day or two.”

“No, no, sweetheart,” Snow said quickly, shaking her head, “You finally have a lead on your ship.  There’s no time to waste if you’re to catch her.”

Emma was relieved Snow had neglected to mention anything about time remaining in regards to the Savior prophecy.  It had been a constant buzz in the background of her thoughts, like a gnat circling around her ear that avoided all attempts at being swatted away.  With her birthday so near the buzz had steadily grown to a roar.

“I’ll take my leave and gather the sailors you need.  I assure you that between yourself and Turner only two or three more hands will do.  It’s a number I can easily spare, yet another perk of a ship made with enchanted wood-” With an uncharacteristic wink reminiscent of his brother Liam made his way to the doors leading out of the room.  He paused before opening them and looked back at her, all traces of humor gone, “I’m trusting you to bring my little brother back, Emma.  He’s all I have left.”

She could only nod in return.  His quiet sincerity and the use of her real name had robbed her of her voice.  He accepted her nod for the promise it was and gave one in return before he slipped from the room.

“Emma, you can do this.”

Turning back to Snow her chin began to wobble.  Even on the cusp of another separation her mother had unerring confidence that was evident in both her tone of voice and the smile on her face.

“Please come with me,” Emma whispered. “I just got you back.  I don’t want to leave you again.”

“Oh, Emma,” Snow moved to crouch down beside her, running gentle fingers through her hair and down her cheeks, “It’ll only be for a short while and when you succeed and come back to me we will all be together again.  Although your father and I may be losing you once more if you and Killian are anything like Charming and I were after we had been forced apart time and again.”

Emma blushed at Snow’s implication.

“When I find Dad what should I tell him?” She asked in a small voice, avoiding the topic of marriage altogether.

“That I love him and I miss him-” Snow brushed back Emma’s hair and placed her hands on her shoulders, “-and that when he gets back we need to have a serious discussion about how to handle this mess with King George.”

Despite the tears that had been threatening to fall Emma found herself laughing instead.  Snow laughed with her, looking pleased.  When they settled Emma knew that it was time for her to leave or she would end up lingering and lose the chance of finding the Brooke.  The sad smile Snow was giving her let her know that her mother had come to the same conclusion.

“Go on, sweetheart.  I’ll be fine,” Snow assured her. “With Liam and the other kingdoms George won’t stand a chance against us.”

“I’ll have Elsa direct her snowflakes to you,” Emma said quickly. “Anton won’t be expecting visitors but I’ll leave my cuff on my desk anyway.  Just, don’t send Will up there.  If I can I’ll try to send a message before we take the portal.  I mean if there’s actually a bean left or if we even catch up to the Brooke.  I’ll send a message even if we don’t-”

“Emma, leave the unnecessary worrying to me.  You have a ship to find.”

With a huff of laughter Emma fought once more against tears as she stood and pulled Snow into a fierce hug.  Her mother returned it with equal fervor, sniffling lightly.  Snow gave her a final squeeze and then pulled away, her tears falling freely.  Emma’s own tears finally fell as she made her way out of the room.  Within the hour she was on her way with Turner and two others, heading for the Jewel on horseback.

Despite Liam’s assurance Emma had been skeptical about his claims regarding the speed of the Jewel.  It was only once she had brought the ship out to open waters that she believed him.  The Jewel had practically flown as she had made her way to Balliolshire and Emma’s hope had soared right along with her.  The minor delay in Williamsport to gather supplies hadn’t even come close to dampening her newfound optimism.

Yet, with the astounding speed and the palpable anticipation from her small crew there had been no sign of the Brooke.  As the days had worn on and they had criss crossed the sea in every direction spirits had begun to fall, none more so than Emma’s.  She hadn’t spent more than thirty minutes away from the helm in nearly three days.  Therefore she was unsurprised someone was making their way towards her.  It was a surprise that it was Turner, looking far too nonchalant as he stepped up to the helm.  He stood next to her and clasped his hands behind him, looking out across the deck.

“The last time I saw someone so diligently remaining at the helm Liam was trying to get us home as quickly as possible to try and control the upheaval his father’s murder had created.  He cursed himself blue in the face and threw me in the brig for two days once the poppy powder wore off.  The bastard.”

The snarling retort she’d had ready died on her tongue.  She hadn’t been prepared for the anecdote or the shockingly casual way Turner had told it to her.  He smiled at her silence.

“Liam was my friend long before he was my king.  Which can work both for and against us in certain situations-” Turner dipped his head towards her, as though ready to impart a great secret, “I can see why Killian was drawn to you.  He hasn’t always had it easy with both his father and Liam each pressuring him to follow in their vastly different footsteps.  I imagine you challenged the part of him that was ready to find a way of his own.”

“You never-” Emma shook her head slowly, her thoughts muddled by exhaustion and the bewildering conversation, “You never saw us together.  I mean, we weren’t anything when I first met you.  I barely knew Killian at that point.  He was just some idiot who didn’t know when to give up!”

Turner snorted in laughter as he straightened, mystifying Emma with the sound.

“Killian’s obstinance is a familial trait.  Waiting for either he or Liam to bend to the other’s will is truly a test of patience.  Having the privilege of getting to know you these past months and serving under you as first mate this past week has shown me what Liam refuses to see himself.”

“And what’s that?” She asked hesitantly, suddenly desperate to hear what he had to say.

“That you are Killian’s perfect match,” Turner said with an easy shrug of his shoulders, as though he had merely stated that water was wet or that fire burned. “Much better than Jaqueline ever could have been.  Even when she nearly succeeded in deceiving us all.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

Emma was suspicious, even as her curiosity was piqued by the unfamiliar name.

“Perhaps it’s because at any moment we’re about to leave our realm and I want you to know that you can trust me.  Perhaps it’s my way of apologizing for my past behavior and meaning it-” he leaned down, turning towards her, “Or perhaps I’m merely trying to appeal to your softer side so when I suggest taking an hour or two’s rest you’ll consider it.”

“You would have had better luck with the poppy powder,” she grumbled, firmly planting her feet and tightening her grip on the helm.

“I considered it but it affects everyone differently.  I assure you, knocking you out for a day or two is not my intention,” Turner hummed.

“A day or two?  No wonder Liam threw you in the brig!”

Turner gave that snorting laugh again, “He was out for four days, actually.  I may have been a bit heavy handed when I pulled from the pouch.”

Emma burst into surprised laughter.  Turner gave her a wide, unabashed smile that made her laugh all the more.  When curious heads turned towards them across the deck and popped up from below she lost control completely.  Tears streamed from her eyes and her stomach cramped in her mirth but she was caught up in the current.  She realized in a detached way that the stress and exhaustion were contributing to her laughing fit but it felt too good to let go that she let it run its course.  When her giggles finally tapered off she wiped the moisture from her cheeks and gave Turner a resigned look.

“I will go rest for one hour if-” she held up her finger and narrowed her eyes at him- “you tell me what that Jaqueline woman did that made Liam so fixed in his judgement of me.”

All traces of humor drained from Turner’s face, leaving her with the stoic, tight lipped vice admiral she’d come to know.  Emma lowered her finger and her gaze as her mind whirled with all the possibilities of what had happened with that woman and if she was the same one that Liam had mentioned before.  As she was about to apologize for prying Turner sighed and looked at her with an apologetic smile of his own.

“It’s not my story to tell, Captain, especially if Killian hasn’t spoken of her to you.  You deserve to hear it from him and not the second hand account I would give,” Turner hesitated then gently placed his hand on her arm, giving her a reassuring squeeze. “I can say that it’s taken many years for Killian to open his heart again.  It comes as no surprise to me that it was you he was willing to do it for.”

Emma felt her cheeks heat up and quickly faced the prow.  They were sailing at a steady clip and the sea was unbroken in every direction around them.  The sun was only at the beginning of its daily climb, nowhere near warm enough to thaw the autumn chill in the air.  She sighed and stepped back relinquishing her hold on the helm.

“Keep her on course, if they’re using the same winds we might finally find them.  Send someone to wake me before the midday meal if the Brooke remains elusive.”

“Aye, Captain,” Turner said easily accepting her orders as he moved into the space she had vacated.

She gave him a nod and headed down to the captain’s quarters that she’d barely used in the week they’d been at sea.  Without even bothering to remove her boots she laid down, wondering if she’d be able to relax enough to fall asleep.  For a few minutes the tempest of thoughts in her overtired mind seemed to prove her right on that account.  Then, as she allowed herself to contemplate the mystery of what had happened between Killian and the mysterious Jaqueline she slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.

What felt like only moments later Emma woke to the sounds of boots pounding overhead.  She had barely stood up when Roland burst into the cabin.

“We found her!”

Emma wasted no time as she crossed the cabin, barely pausing long enough to grab her sword in its scabbard.  As she fastened it at her waist she made her way upwards, trying to shake off the last tendrils of sleep and barely listening to the words tripping out of Roland’s mouth.  When she stepped out into the light that she vaguely noted was that of early evening one of Liam’s men, not much older than a boy really with dark brown hair and eyes, handed her a spyglass and pointed off the starboard side.  It only took a few seconds before she had her ship in her sights.

The Brooke looked much like she had the first time Emma had seen her.  A few of her sails were messily patched, her paint was peeling, and from what she could tell there seemed to be something wrong with the main mast.  Red and Pinocchio had called her insane for choosing such a run down ship for their ventures but they had helped Emma build her back up to a thing of beauty.  Indignation ran through her veins to see her beloved ship once more in such a state of neglectful disrepair.

“We’ll be within firing range within the next ten minutes,” Turner called down to her.

“Aim for the water,” Emma barked at the men manning the cannons.  She looked at the skinny, dark haired young man who had handed her the spyglass, “Ever been in a battle at sea?”

“Er, no, Cap’n,” he squirmed slightly under her gaze.  Then he puffed up his chest in an attempt at bravado, “Can’t be much different than a fight on land, cannit?  Although, there’s more chance of drowning out here.”

“True,” Emma said with a grim smile. “What’s your name?”

“Martin but I prefer Marty if it’s all the same, Cap’n,” Marty answered with a toothy grin.

“Alright, Marty,” she handed him back the spyglass. “Get yourself up in the crow’s nest and take note of everything you can as we approach.  I want to know how many hands are on deck, if they’re loading their cannons, the look of their captain, everything.  Got it?”

“Aye, aye Cap’n.”

Marty gave her a sort of half salute before scurrying across the deck and up the mast as only someone his age could manage.  She followed his ascent until he was firmly in the crow’s nest, the spyglass jutting out from his eye.  There was something familiar about him but she didn’t have the time to worry over it.  Turning to Roland she motioned for him to follow her to the helm.

“Do they know they’re being pursued, Turner?”

“Aye, they spotted us almost the exact moment we spotted them,” Turner said tersely, making small adjustments on the wheel, “They’re running with full sails and from the way they’re handling her they’re well versed in outrunning when they’re outgunned.  I’d wager good money that we have pirates on our hands.”

“Then it’s a good thing there’s a pirate calling the shots-” Emma winked at Roland who bit his lip against a smile.  She raised her voice to carry above the wind, “As soon as we’re close enough I want two warning shots fired on their port side.  Only two.  We’ll get a read on what they intend to do before engaging further.”

She watched as half the men and women moved across the deck in uncoordinated and stiff movements.  Grace had seemingly lost her ease at sea while Roland and the three others they’d picked up in Williamsport had all admitted they’d never set foot on a ship.  Emma and Turner had tried to teach them what they could in the week that they had been sailing but as the days had gone by she had stuck to the helm and Turner had tried as best he could with them.  As she watched she was once again reminded of the early days on the Brooke.  Although she was pretty sure she hadn’t looked as out of place as Roland, who seemed to be nearly as tall and as wide as the Jewel’s mast.

“We’re in range, Captain,” Turner informed her, his voice tight with anticipation.

“Fire two shots when ready,” she ordered grimly.

“Fire!”

At Turner’s command the starboard side cannons fired.  Emma watched with trepidation as the shots arced towards her beloved ship.  She breathed a small sigh of relief as they landed right where she’d ordered off the port side.  The Brooke rocked in the waves created by the cannon balls but showed no sign of slowing.  With a frown she was about to pull out her spyglass when a hand shoved one under her nose.

“There’s only five or six of them, Cap’n.  All looking a little worse for wear if you ask me-” Marty grinned widely at her, his hair a windswept riot. “The man who looked to be captain was the worst of the lot and I don’t mean dirt and grime.  From what I could see he’s either fought his way to the position or fought to keep it ‘cause he’s missing an eye and the bandage looks fresh.”

“Orders, Captain?”

“Hold fire,” Emma commanded, her voice carrying across the deck once more. “Sail us right up alongside the Brook.  When we’re close enough take out the main mast.”

“I’m not sure we’ll even be able to get close enough without them returning fire, Captain,” Turner said somewhat diplomatically, clearly trying not to upset her by questioning her orders.

“Leave that to me, Turner.  You just worry about getting us into position.”

Emma placed her hands on the rail, flexing her fingers on the smooth wood.  Her hands began to glow and she gave a satisfied grin when there was no sign of a single tremor from them.  The magic spread quickly through the grains of wood, racing along the hull and up the mast, casting a glittering glow over the ship momentarily.  She wasn’t sure if it was the enchanted wood or the familiarity of the spell but it seemed between one moment and the next the glow encompassed the whole ship and then snapped into nothingness.  The Jewel appeared unaffected but Emma could feel, much like wisps of smoke across her skin, that the cloaking magic had worked.  Her shoulders relaxed and she confidently watched as they approached the Brook with unnatural speed.

“What did you do?” Turner asked, his mouth slightly ajar in awe and his eyes alight with confusion.

“A trick that kept me from being spotted by governesses and patrolling ships with equal success,” Emma said proudly.

It had taken a lot of practice for her to master the cloaking spell she had inadvertently discovered as a child.  What had sufficed for a minute or two while a governess or tutor was looking for her in her nursery or in the gardens had been woefully inadequate in hiding an entire ship and the people on it.  There had been a few close calls and many frustrations before she had been able to do it completely and consistently.  Once she’d mastered it she had started building up her reputation as Captain Swan and had begun her attacks on Misthaven ships.

Before she had a chance to explain fully they were sailing alongside the Brooke, just within the short range of their cannons.  While she didn’t need the spyglass any longer she put it to her eye anyway and instantly agreed with Marty’s report.  The crew was bedraggled and gaunt, clearly unable to use the Brooke’s former reputation to their advantage.  As she watched more than one of them paused in their scrambling across the deck to catch their breath.

Marty’s observations about the captain hadn’t been far off either.  The man had a dirty, bloodstained bandage not only over one of his eyes but also one wrapped around his right forearm and another wrapped around the opposite thigh.  He was red-faced and yelling, gesturing wildly at the sea behind the Brooke.  Emma let out a chuckle as she lowered the spyglass and looked at Turner.

“Fire when ready.”

Emma tried not to flinch as the cannons were fired but had to close her eyes as the shots hit their marks.  She listened to the sounds of wood splintering, men yelling in panic and fear, and the triumphant cries of her own crew.  By the time she opened her eyes Turner was barking out orders to slow the ship down and prepare a boarding party.  Looking back at the Brooke she was devastated to see that one of the shots had landed short and the deck was a mass of smoking, splintered wood.  Her only hope was that the damage wasn’t too extensive and that she’d eventually be able to repair it.

For the entirety of the time it took for them to maneuver the Jewel to the Brooke’s starboard side Emma continued to keep the cloak on the ship.  They had dealt crippling damage to the Brooke but there were no illusions that the men on her would surrender easily.  She silently signalled to Roland, Grace, and the others to prepare for boarding.  The Brooke wasn’t entirely dead in the water but it was a close thing.

With a nod from Turner she gave a second signal to Roland and Grace.  Along with teaching the others how to sail they had practiced time and again how they would board the Brooke once she had been found.  In coordinated moves hooks were thrown from the rails of the Jewel to lodge in the ones on the Brooke as Roland and two others swung across to land on her decks.  Emma kept the cloak on for a few moments longer, waiting for the planks that Grace and Marty had dropped down between the ships were somewhat secure and ready for the others to cross.  The surprised yelps the crew on the Brooke had voiced when the hooks and men had seemingly appeared out of nowhere became shouting curses as they were swarmed by Emma’s crew and she ended the cloaking spell.

Emma remained on the Jewel with Turner, anxiously shifting from foot to foot as she waited.  They had all agreed that she would only enter the fray when they had the upper hand in the fight.  There had been no discussion about what would happen if they were the ones at a disadvantage.

“Marty and I have the Jewel in hand, Captain.  If you go over now you’ll have a better chance of catching that poor excuse for a captain unawares,” Turner said conversationally, only raising his voice a little to be heard over the cacophony of sounds.

“Looks like he’s willing to fight to the death for your your ship, Cap’n,” Marty said with a tinge of awe.  He pointed towards the Brooke’s helm where the other captain was successfully holding off two of their men, “How do you plan on getting up there?”

Emma unsheathed her sword and gave Marty a playful wink, “Like this.”

She furrowed her brow in concentration, focusing on the open deck behind the other captain.  A cloud of white smoke quickly engulfed her as she felt a pull in her stomach that she’d only experienced once before.  The smoke cleared as quickly as it had appeared and Emma grinned widely when she found herself looking at the heaving back of the other captain.  Her sneak attack was thwarted, however, when the men the captain was fighting both gasped, causing the captain to strike out with his foot, knocking out the men he was fighting and immediately spinning around to defend himself.

The man was quick and strong despite his injuries and the fighting he had been engaged in.  He was sweating profusely but his breath was steady as we went on the attack.  Emma could see how he had held command of the Brooke for so long.  She would have been impressed if she wasn’t trying to gain the upper hand in their fight.

“Should ‘ave known it was you, sweets,” he sneered, his fetid breath washing over her. “No one wants anythin’ to do wi’ this ship on account o’ the princess o’ Misthaven lookin’ for it.”

“Then why are you so determined to keep it?” Emma asked as she quickly ducked under one of his swings and backed up a few paces.

“Takin’ it as me payment.  The least you owe me for leavin’ me stranded wi’ a dead captain and a ship tha’ was more flotsam than vessel.”

Emma parried a blow as she realized what he was talking about, “You were on Blackbeard’s ship?”

“Aye, Miggs is the name and I had both me eyes an’ proper respeck ta boot last you saw me.  Been runnin’ a tad short on both at the mo’.”

Miggs gave a loud guffaw as he made brutal strikes against her sword that reverberated all the way up her arms, rattling her teeth in her skull.  Emma ducked again and heard his sword thunk dully into the rail as she scrambled away.  She tried to catch her breath as he wrestled his sword free.  Her arms ached and she realized with desperation that if he had been fighting with brute strength alone she could have outmaneuvered him.  Unfortunately he had competence with the weapon as well and it meant nothing good for her.

“Aha!”

He wrenched the sword free and stalked toward her.  She raised her sword but it trembled slightly in her grasp as her muscles protested.  Miggs gave her a wide, predatory smile as he slowly stalked toward her, tapping her sword teasingly with the tip of his own.

“I don’ know who will pay the more handsome reward for your hide, sweets, your mother, your grandfather, or King Arthur.”

“What?”

Her sword dipped slightly in stupefied shock and Miggs took the opportunity to strike.  His attack was faster and more powerful than she thought him capable of, wiping all thoughts from her mind.  She tried to keep him at bay but he was too vicious and clearly looking to go further than merely incapacitating her.  He forced her back to the rail as his smile gleamed triumphant.

“Do you think they’ll pay me t’all for your corpse?”

“I’m not letting you find out,” she gasped.

In a final, desperate attempt she raised her hand and concentrated with all her might.  A bright flash erupted from her palm.  It hit Miggs squarely in the chest, sending him flying back to the opposite rail.  She watched in horror as he hit it with a sickening crack and tumbled head first overboard.  The sound of him hitting the water couldn’t be heard over the pounding in her ears and Emma rushed to look over the side, dreading what she would see.

Miggs was floating face down between the ships, unmoving aside from the rise and fall of the sea that had become his grave.  She forced herself to look away, feeling nauseous.  He wasn’t the first person she’d had to kill and likely wouldn’t be the last but those thoughts did nothing to assuage the guilt that was pressing down on her.

“Emma?”

She startled as Roland’s hand settled tentatively on her shoulder.  The sounds of fighting had ceased around her.  With a scan of the deck she noted with grim satisfaction that her crew had successfully subdued the pirates.  Grace and three others were tying up the defeated men while another was checking for injuries.  Roland was watching her with concern through the beginnings of two black eyes, caused by the newly crooked set of his nose.

“You need to get that fixed or it’ll heal crooked,” she said dully, sheathing her sword.

“It had to be done,” Roland said with a nod towards the water.

“See to it the prisoners are placed in the brig and everyone but you, Grace and Turner are moved to the Brooke.  Since none of ours were killed the positions I assigned will remain,” she ordered, ignoring the hitch in her voice and Roland’s furrowing brow. “I’ll inform Elsa and Liam of our coordinates to allow them to come to the aid of those we leave behind.  Once the moves have been made begin searching for the bean.  Start with the hold.  Triple check everything.”

Emma dismissed him with a gentle squeeze of his elbow as she turned to head towards the captain’s cabin.  As she went she conjured her message for Liam and Elsa and then one for Turner to give him the same instructions she had given to Roland.  She sent a final one to her mother as she dropped below deck into the cabin that had once been hers.

Three hours later the cabin looked as though a typhoon had torn through it.  Emma was no closer to finding the bean than when she had entered it.  Miggs hadn’t done much to the cabin during his short tenure as captain, aside from staining her blankets with spilled wine and food grease.  He had also made what looked like several failed attempts to break into her safe but nothing else seemed disturbed.  The safe had been the first thing she’d opened and as she sifted through the contents for a fourth time she began to consider the notion that she would never find the bean.

The others weren’t having any better luck.  Marty had taken it upon himself to be a go between, relaying the progress between those spread across the rest of the ship and herself.  Grace had a group going through the crew’s quarters while Turner and Roland had the rest coming though the hold for the second time.  She had even tried locating the bean using her magic but nothing had happened, not even a tiny spark of light.

“Cap’n?”

Looking up Emma saw Marty standing in the doorway once more but with a more dejected air about him than he’d had the previous times.

“Nothing?”

“‘Fraid not.  Grace and her lot are going through the galley now and Turner’s wondering if we should hold off searching some more until the morning.  Roland glared daggers at him for that one.  At least I think it was a glare, his nose is so swollen. Then he mumbled something about a prophecy.  Either way they’re about done in the hold and want to know where to look next.”

She blew out a frustrated breath as she reigned in the urge to hurl the wooden box she had been sifting through across the room.  It was full of gemstones and gold and silver ingots that had all once been fine pieces of jewelry on their way to Misthaven’s castle.  Instead she closed it with a sharp snap and placed it on the desk in front of her among a few other items she believed would be of use to them in the unknown realm.  With a frown she realized that her hand had begun to twitch.

“I’m inclined to agree with Turner,” Emma sighed as she tightly gripped one hand with the other. “We’ve been at this for hours, there’s not a lot of candles to spare, and we did were in a heavy fight before all this.  Maybe some rest would help us find what we’ve missed in the morning.”

“If I tell Roland that he’ll never believe me!” Marty whined, shaking his head. “I don’t suppose you’ll want to tell him yourself?”

“Might as well-” she shrugged. “I’ve been sitting here too long as it is.”

As she stood she stretched, wincing at the pull on her muscles and the pops in her joints.  She vaguely wished she was as young as Marty again if only to ease the aches she’d felt after a hard day like the one she’d had.

“Better here than trying to maneuver around Roland.  Mans not built for life on a ship.”

Emma huffed out a laugh.  Marty grinned, clearly pleased to have elicited a positive reaction from her.  He glanced around the cabin before focusing on something by his feet.  Nudging it with the toe of his boot she saw it was a large, black tricorn hat trimmed with golden thread.

“Did you wear this when you sailed this ship, Cap’n?”

“No, I dressed the same as the crew,” she said slowly, thoughtfully. “It kept people from knowing who the captain actually was.”

“Can’t see that Miggs fellow wearing it though-” Marty bent down and picked it up.  He looked it over before placing it lopsidedly on his head, “Who’d you suppose it belonged to?”

“Give it here-” she held out her hand impatiently as she nearly burst with anticipation. “I think it was Blackbeard’s.  Miggs must have brought it with him from the Revenge.”

“Why?” Marty asked, clearly confused as he handed her the hat.

“Because-” she murmured as she carefully ran her fingers along the inner seams. “If I had something more valuable than any treasure I could pillage and small enough to keep in my pocket I’d hide it somewhere no one would think to look but would still be with me all the time…”

Finally her fingers ran across a misshapen lump along the inside rim of one of the upturned flaps of the hat.  It took a moment of fumbling, due not only to her excitement but also to the design of the pocket, before she was able to extricate the contents.  When she opened her hand two glittering translucent beans were sitting in her palm.

“Marty, inform the others of our discovery,” she said calmly as her heart thumped in her chest in double time. “If you please.”

“SHE’S GOT IT!” Marty bellowed as he tripped out of the room, knocking into the opposite wall before skidding down the passageway. “THE CAP’N FOUND IT!  SHE FOUND THE BEANS!”

Emma laughed a little hysterically at Marty’s yelling that she could still hear clearly as he moved through the ship.  With somewhat nerveless hands she gathered the items she’d set aside on the desk and shoved them into an empty sack.  She didn’t care a whit about the rest of the cabin, those left behind could clean it up while they waited for the rescue ship to come for them.  Grasping tightly onto the beans she made her way up to the deck.

It was a cold, clear night.  From the position of the stars Emma guessed it was near midnight.  She laughed again, the sound raw and panicky.  When the new day began it would be her twenty-eighth birthday, the day prophecy stated she would break a curse.  Her hands began to shake at the thought.

“You did it!”

Roland’s triumphant cry was the only warning she had before she was engulfed by his strong arms and lifted off the deck.  He spun her around twice before setting her down, an elated smile on his face.  The others had gathered on the deck with him, all smiling tiredly and yet excited all the same.

“With Marty’s help, yes,” she said, shaking her palm at him and grinning at the rattle the beans gave off.  She turned to the sailor Wilson who was to act as captain until rescue came, “You’ve enough supplies to last you for at least four days.  A ship should be here well before then.  Let King Liam decide what to do with the prisoners, we captured them in his waters after all.”

“And your ship, Captain?”

“All repairs can wait until I return.  Don’t let anyone touch a single board on her.  Understood?”

“Understood.”

Emma looked over the crew they would be leaving behind.  They were good sailors and loyal to her despite only knowing her for a week.  She almost wished they could accompany her but it was too much of a risk for her to endanger even more lives than she already was.  With a nod she moved to the planks connecting the Brooke and the Jewel.

“We’ll sail far enough away that the portal shouldn’t affect your position.”

“Of course, Captain, just as you’d planned.  Get on with it now, time’s a wastin’.”

She smiled and crossed back to the Jewel without further comment.  Grace, Roland, and Turner quickly followed pulling the boards back to their deck as Wilson cut the lines anchoring the ships together.  Without prompting Turner took the helm as Grace worked to unfurl the sails and Roland hoisted the anchor.  Emma allowed herself one last look at the Brooke before moving to the helm herself to grab Anton’s compass before proceeding to the prow of the ship at practically a run.

It was almost like an itch under her skin, having to wait until they had sailed far enough away for the Brooke to be safe from the reaches of a portal.  Emma found herself continually swinging her gaze between the ship behind them and the open sea in front of them.  Finally Turner hollered at her over the wind at the same moment she judged they were at a safe distance.

Holding tightly to the compass in her left hand she pulled one of the beans from vest pocket she had slid them into.  It seemed to gleam in the starlight, as though reflecting the constellations of lands not yet traveled.  Emma closed her eyes and wished with all her might that it would work.

“Please.”

Her whisper was lost to the wind as she opened her eyes and threw the bean with all her might into the sea.  Though she couldn’t follow it against the night sky it was immediately clear where it had landed.  A glowing, green vortex had opened in the sea before them.  The sounds of churning water and rushing air drowned out everything else.  She only hoped Turner could steer true and that Grace and Roland were holding onto something.

The Jewel sailed on as Emma wrapped a rope around her forearm and hand as best she could with the compass in the other.  The portal swirled violently as the Jewel approached.  Her last thought as the prow of the ship began to tip forward was of Killian’s smile.

Of all the ways she had travelled from place to place Emma was absolutely certain that the portal was the worst of them all.  Her senses were filled with the green malstrom they’d fallen into.  She felt simultaneously squashed to the deck by some invisible hand and as though the only thing anchoring her down was the rope about her arm.  With a mighty upheaval the prow of the Jewel crested a final emerald tinged wave, landing roughly in still waters like a child throwing a twig into a puddle.

“I never want to do that again,” Roland groaned, the others echoing his sentiments.

Emma waited until her footing was steady before she untethered herself.  She found it hard to breathe, not because of their crossing but because of something heavy and metallic saturating the air.  As she sucked in labored breaths she found her gaze drawn to an unnatural glow lighting the night sky off the port side.  Pulling out her spyglass she focused on a stretch of coastline that was bathed in an odd orange light.

It was clear it was a township of some kind.  The structures were constructed in a way she had never seen before in metal, wood, and even brickwork alike.  The source of the orange-ish glow seemed to come from lamps that lined the oddly pitch black roadways as far as she could see but she could not detect any flickering or smoke that indicated candles or lamp oil.  Even the ships bobbing in the harbor were the likes of which she’d never seen.  They were small, dingy things and though they had no sails they were still too large and also somehow too small to use rowers to get them out to sea.

“Lower the anchor,” she ordered as she lowered her spyglass.  They were a good distance out in the harbor but she didn’t like the idea that the Jewel was now the finest ship in the water, “I’m going to cloak her.  Gather your weapons and we’ll row to shore once I’m finished.”

Placing her hands on the rail she frowned slightly at the feel of the wood under her hands.  When she tried to place the cloaking spell her frown deepened.  She felt nothing, not from the ship and not from wherever her magic coalesced.  Closing her eyes she concentrated harder, flexing her fingers in time with the beat of her heart but still nothing came.  Looking down at her hands she saw her knuckles were white from her grip and not the glow of magic.

“It’s gone,” she whispered.

No one was around to hear her and she was about to say it louder when the hatch in the deck popped open.  Immediately they all unsheathed their swords, the sound of rasping metal ringing loudly out into the night.  Instead of an enemy a sheepish Marty poked his head out from below, his hair standing on end with a cut on his forehead he was dabbing at with a strip of cloth.

“Did we make it?”

“Scarlet you were to remain on the Brooke!”

“Dammit, Marty, your mum is going to kill me.”

Emma stared incredulously at the men spread across the deck.  Even Grace appeared more annoyed at Marty’s sudden appearance than shocked at his surname.

“Scarlet?” She asked weakly. “As in Will Scarlet?”

“Yeah, Da and Mum like to keep it a secret but what’s the harm when we’re in another realm?  I didn’t see the point in staying behind with the others when I can help.  Like I did with the beans!”

Marty pleaded with wide eyes and it only made him look younger to Emma.  She pushed aside her annoyance at herself for not paying closer attention to her crew, especially since she could clearly see Will and Belle’s blood influencing the look of the boy in front of her.  Turner and Roland avoided her gaze seemingly aware they should have said something to her earlier.

“We’ll deal with your inability to follow a direct order later, Scarlet-” she raised her brow at Marty as he flushed dully.  She focused on the others, “We have bigger problems.”

“What?” Grace asked immediately scanning the waters around them for trouble.

“My magic isn’t working.  I can’t cloak the Jewel which means it might not be long before Zelena finds out we’re here.  I don’t even know if the portal brought us to the right place,” she said disheartedly.

“We have to trust that the compass did as it was purported to do,” Turner spoke up after a moment. “As for not being able to cloak the ship the solution is as simple as sailing out of sight of the docks and anchoring there.  We’ll have to row ourselves in at a different point but even that inconvenience will work to our advantage.”

“If you can’t use your magic then perhaps Zelena can’t either,” Roland mused.

“I don’t want to find out the painful way,” Emma said dryly.  She looked back towards the shore as she came to her decision, “Turner, you and Scarlet will sail north and anchor the Jewel where she’ll best be hidden.  Roland, Grace and I will row ourselves in now and scout out what this realm holds in store for us.  Once we get a good idea of where we are and what we’ll face we’ll return to the Jewel.”

“But-”

“Aye, aye Captain,” Turner said, cutting Marty off with a glare.

They wasted no time launching the small rowboat.  Emma let Roland row as she watched a sullen Marty and an exasperated Turner begin to sail the Jewel away from the harbor.  It wasn’t long before the Jewel turned north and they were bumping up against a piling.

The metallic tang in the air was stronger onshore.  There was a constant low humming that she couldn’t find the source to but seemed to come from the strange lamps that were only more confounding up close.  Everything she looked at was strange and unfamiliar but somehow not at all.  She was about to inspect one of the lanterns at the edge of the dock more closely when she heard the far off sound of scuffling feet on wooden planks.

Emma turned towards the shore and found herself staring at a tall, lean figure that was backlit by the lights behind him.  She squinted, feeling as though she was in one of her dreams.  The ones where Killian was by her side.

“Killian,” she breathed, hardly aware that her feet were already leading her towards what she was sure was a man standing there.

“Emma!  No!”

She ignored Roland’s panicked whisper.  The painful pull as she wrenched her arm out of Grace’s grasp was enough to convince her that she wasn’t dreaming.  The man didn’t move, clearly caught off guard by three people being in a place he had probably thought abandoned so late at night.  Emma was already halfway up the dock when the man’s features became clear.

“Killian!”

Emma ran the rest of the way up the dock, throwing herself into his arms.  He didn’t float away in a wisp of smoke when she touched him, his arms were strong around her back as he stumbled to keep their balance.  She buried her nose in the curve of his neck and breathed deeply, filling her senses with him.

“I found you. I found you.  I never gave up.  I knew, I always knew.”

She knew she was rambling but she didn’t care.  Until she realized that he wasn’t truly hugging her back, he wasn’t murmuring in her ear about how much he missed her, in fact he wasn’t responding in any way at all.

Warily she pulled back.  Killian looked much like she had the last time she’d seen him, telling her to save herself to save them all, except there was no joy at reuniting with her in his eyes.  There was only bemusement and confusion in the blue depths.

“Killian?”

Killian’s brow furrowed.  He tilted his head, looking at her as though he’d never seen her before.

“Er, who?”

If you’d like to be tagged so you don’t miss future chapters let me know.

Tagging: @teamhook, @galadriel26

[rock-and-compass]

Rock and Compass Watches Once Upon A Time – 6.13: Ill-boding Patterns

Overview

Killian struggles with the weight of the unfortunate discovery that he killed David’s father and the ramifications of telling Emma the bad news. Gold tries to reach out to Gideon and steer him towards a better path. A flashback to the past involving Balefire and Beowulf suggests that this won’t necessarily be an easy thing to do.

Discussion, thoughts & things that could be significant

Ill-boding patterns – The title of the episode literally invites us to look at the patterns being highlighted in the story. Rumple’s history with Beowulf and Baelfire inform his choices with Gideon. He tries the same memory potion spiked tea on both sons, he gives both his trust only to have it backfire, the sword Hrunting is important in both stories and in the end, Rumple does something dark to save his son from having to do it – once by force and once by choice.

To the first Ogre War - The flashback must take place very shortly after Rumple became the Dark One and before he turned into an overbearing tyrant who had the villagers terrified. Slim window of opportunity…

The Magic Sword – Beowulf’s sword, Hrunting, is the same one Emma found in Gold’s shop and the same one sought out by Gideon as the weapon with which he can defeat the Saviour. It is imbued with light magic and is said to be very powerful -  Although the sword doesn’t really live up to expectation on any of the occasions we’ve seen it in use, except for that one time when it injured the Evil Queen. Obviously the light magic in effect, but is that the reason it didn’t also injure Regina (as it should have – Jekyll and Hyde established that what harms one, harms the other). Maybe this sword is more judicious than a regular blade?

A Blue Creation – The sword was made by The Blue Fairy. My god does this woman have a long, long history! And why wouldn’t she have spoken up about the sword earlier? She’s a nun now, maybe she didn’t know about it. You’ve got to wonder why they don’t bring Blue into the inner circle a bit more; she knows a lot of stuff that could make all their lives easier.

Who so ever holds the …. Beowulf says that whoever wields Hrunting will be hailed a hero. Is this the basis of Gideon’s misguided belief - The legends that are attached to the sword? It is also interesting that in this story an external object is given the power to grant a heroic status, rather than the actions of the person using it.

Cowards vs Hero – so many comparisons of cowards and heroes throughout the episode and not just concerning Rumple and his sons. The opening scene concerns an unnamed piece of cannon fodder and his inclination to flee the battle. He is then inspired by the very tall, very imposing, very stereotypicaly hero Beowulf to be brave and fight. Cannon fodder ends up dead. His confidence in Beowulf’s confidence (in his sword) was misplaced yes, but it reinforces the idea that being brave doesn’t necessarily bring reward and more importantly, being brave is often not an easy choice. Both very important messages throughout the episode. Beowulf himself, seems like the picture of heroinism but we find out later that he is much more attached to the personal prestige of being a hero rather than the altruistic worth. He is devious and manipulative and resorts to some very cowardly acts to try to maintain his status – sometimes heroes are not what they seem and no amount of magic hardware can make them one.

That certain crutch – throughout the episode we see three examples of characters needing an external crutch to be a “hero” – For Rumple it is the dagger. It allows him to defeat the ogres and go from being the town coward to being a celebrated hero. Beowulf, who believes that his ownership of Hruting automatically entitles him to be considered a hero, and Gideon, who believes he needs the same sword to fulfil his destiny to be the saviour of the Dark Realm. In each case, the person’s faith in the object is misplaced; being a hero is about internal choices and actions and by choosing to do the right thing rather than the easy thing. Yep that message is really getting smashed home isn’t it.

Finding courage - Killian too is drinking to try and find some courage, although to be fair, I don’t think his mid-morning tipple is so much about courage as it is about processing what he’s learnt about himself. He’s processing what it means for him and for the people he is closest to – Emma and her family. He knows he’s got to tell Emma, even though he could just keep his mouth shut and noone would be none the wiser, but this is never really a viable option for him. When, at the end of the episode, Hook throws back that final shot and goes home he is clearly resolute about telling Emma the truth because it is the right thing to do. Killian Jones has never been a coward and so for him it’s not really a coward vs bravery thing, it’s more that sometimes doing the right thing takes bravery, particularly if there is an easy way or a short cut on offer…

A safe secret? – Killian thinks that no other living soul knows the truth of his murder of David’s dad. So naturally this means that someone else knows. Regina must know; The EQ gave David the coin. But who else might know? And if Killian doesn’t come clean about it, who will be the one to spill the beans? 

The Black Fairy – Rumple makes such a point about her being ‘trapped in another realm’ that it’s clear that she is going to appear sooner rather than later. Where is she trapped? And why is she trapped? Is it just the limits of inter-realm travel? How did she get through to steal baby Gideon? And who is going to help her gain entry into Storybrooke. The Wish Realm is looking awfully suspicious right about now – like some sort of key to unlock passage? Fake Robin – FRobin is also looking pretty suspicious with his attempts to open the town line, and his suspicious comments about not liking children and having a partner in crime who is competent with magic….

Retconning Rumple – While the flashback slots neatly into a slim window of opportunity in Rumple’s backstory, it does add a noble layer to Rumple’s darkness that is not as easy to accept given what we already know about him. In this new addition to the story, Rumple is already enamoured with the power of the dagger but not necessarily completely under its spell. He likes it, he wants to use it but with persuasion from Bae he is convinced to forego it. He voluntarily hands the dagger over to his son – something I don’t think we’ve ever seen him do again. Balefire cops it big time in this flashback to prop up the revisions to Rumple’s story – He becomes something of a hypocrite, particularly after taking such an anti-magic stance and clearly positioning himself as Rumple’s moral superior,  when he commands his father to kill Beowulf and then begins to consider the possible benefits of having a tame Dark One at his beck and call. Rumples use of the memory potion to restore Bae’s innocence is done out of lov,  but is it necessarily right to mess with a person’s mind like that? The price for the intervention is large; it sets his relationship with Baelfire on a very specific course – cements the dagger as a point of contention between father and son that is never overcome and really, leads to the Dark Curse and Storybrooke and where we are today. I will concede that this addition to the story actually provides some textual scaffolding to Neal and his inherent weaknesses and his willingness to use very dark magic to resurrect Rumple as a means to getting back to Henry.

Who’s got the dagger – There is a lot of dagger swapping in this episode! It’s a timely reminder of the power of the dagger. I still think we are ripe for a change in Dark One (particulalry if Robert Carlyle is leaving the show).  

A young master – Gideon’s magic is strong. He should be a formidable opponent and yet somehow, I just can’t take him seriously… and I keep thinking why isn’t Belle the one trying to help him? She is clearly a soft spot for him and is going to be more successful than Rumple in reaching him. Despite my finding Gideon unconvincing, he is written incredibly ruthless. He is prepared to harm his godmother to get what he wants, he is clearly willing to kill Emma to achieve his purpose. though I can’t help but think that all the efforts to protect his soul from corruption are too late? The intent is already there. You need darkness to make these terrible decisions in the first place – surely his heart is already spotty? I don’t think Rumple can ‘save’ his son; Gideon needs to choose a better path for himself. Isn’t that the point. 

A box of potions – this box of black potions could have many uses, many possible concoctions. I wonder if we’ll see more of its uses than just the sucking magic spell.

Inside Regina’s wardrobe – Very interesting costuming for Regina – A red pantsuit, (classic early Regina) covered by a very light beige trench-coat and hat. Have we ever seen Regina wear something this close to white before while in Storybrooke? It just strikes me as odd, for a woman so frequently in black. Is it to be taken as a sign of her authentic change?  While wearing the coat she is all about doing the right thing – she wants to help Frobin - she’ll even help him get out of Storybrooke if that’s what he truly wants. That being said, I still find her response to Frobin really weird – she seems to flip-flop between accepting that he not Robin Hood and yet still hoping that she can still somehow force the transformation. Most inexplicable is her assertion that meeting Frobin in the Wish World was some kind of test, that was meant to see if she can move foreward with her life… if this was the case, then wouldn’t meeting Snow and Charming in the Wish Realm have been a test to see if she could like, maybe not kill them? She really does have an impeccable knack at making everything about her. I liked that when she was talking to Zelena they were both dressed in singular colours – Green for Zelena (for her “wickedness”) and Red for Regina – the red is so interesting when used in conjunction with Zelena because it really plays with the allusion to apples and reminds us of Regina’s fondness for red apples and the fact that they were frequently her weapon of choice. And I still haven’t forgotten that the colour of magic used by the robed figure in Emma’s original vision was red. Yup I’m still suspicious.  Okay, sure, when she’s discussing the Evil Queen with her sister she does have the decency to own that she is responsible for the Evil Queen’s past actions, but she also maintains a certain degree of separation – a “her and me” mentality because they are separate. Plus she still cultivates that deep persecution complex where everything that happens is somehow all designed to rob her of happiness. And until she starts wearing her past and doing constructive things to make up for it, beyond hoping for personal gain, I’m not buying any depth of change.

Resistance is futile - Once you give in to the darkness it’s almost impossible to resist. Hmmm, I can think of a couple of people who did resist it but that’s not the point.  The point is that those who use Dark Power find it difficult to stop doing so. Is that why Hook’s redemption is so much more convincing than Regina’s? Because he is not a slave to dark power and is actively making the choice to change? Whereas Regina, who has used Dark power to get what she wants for so long is like an addict going cold turkey. How long will she stay on the wagon? Rumple of course is a functional addict. He fully admits his need for power and has no intention to give it up.

Bullseye – Frobin suggests that Zelena has a “target on her back”. The comment comes out of nowhere and seems to have no substance so I’m thinking we are perhaps supposed to take this as foreshadowing? Ill-boding pattern indeed.

Hard way vs Easy way – Rumple’s story is an exploration of the choice. Bae encourages the hard way (defeating Grendal without magic) but ends up using the easy path of dark power to kill Beowulf. And he also chooses the easy/hard way (depending on how you look at it) when he chooses to help Gideon by usurping the Blue Fairy’s magic to reforge the sword. It’s an odd one; I get that he does it to help his son avoid darkness (which  is a debatable topic in iself) but he willingly drains Blue of her magic. Why is Gideon’s need greater than hers?  And of course, you could argue that Gideon needs to make his own decisions – even if they are bad. He’s a grown man. He shouldn’t need the cotton wool.  We also get reminded that Regina took the easy way to redemption with her split personality – rather than work through her dark urges, she decided to cleave them away from her.   And we also see Killian succumb to temptation and take the easy way of not telling Emma the truth about his past before he proposes to Emma. None of these ‘easy ways’ is going to turn out well, that’s not the lesson from this show (and I stand by this expectation even in the light of today’s developments with Regina and her other half!)

Think again – Before Blue is drained of her magic she outright tells Gideon that “killing Emma with that blade won’t make you the saviour you think.” It sounds like Blue, who did make this sword, knows what she’s talking about. It’s clearly a warning that all of this is not what any of them thinks. Twist coming.

The Proposal – Killian is obvious in his intention to tell Emma the truth when he first arrives home. But Emma inadvertently finding the engagement ring makes him veer off course somewhat.   For the life of me I can’t work out why they wouldn’t have shown Emma finding the ring! It would have only been a short scene, it would have tied the two ends of the story together beautifully – Show, don’t tell, isn’t that the first rule of writing? Hook’s desire to confess the crime is mistaken for endearing nervousness and uncertainty. She makes the proposal easy for him, reassures him of her feelings and lets him know that she will say yes. It’s understandable that he got caught up in the moment and pops the question; the woman he loves wants to marry him, she handed him the freaking ring! The beautiful bittersweet rendition of the Captain Swan theme acts as a warning that this is not as nearly settled as it seems. Hook’s expression as he and Emma hug is the real kicker though; he knows he’s made a mistake and it won’t be easy to just live with it – and that truth is going to get out the only question is how. Will Killian come clean and admit the truth by his own volition or will someone else force confession? Either way, angsty times ahead for Captain Swan.  

[sieben9]

“the black fairy” impressions

{Quick request to anyone reading: I’m watching OUaT for the first time, and I want to avoid spoilers. So, if you want to discuss something spoilery, I’d be grateful if you could start a new post for that. Thank you!}

Wow, you really weren't kidding about this being one hell of a ride. ::pokes shattered remains of my heart:: Good thing I don't need that one, huh?

All joking aside, I loved this episode so much. I mean, yes, I do have some issues with specific bits, but overall it was 40 minutes of a good script, performed wonderfully, especially by Robert Carlyle, who should be legally forbidden to ever cry on screen again. (I am kidding, he is fantastic.)

More under the cut. It's mostly gushing, to be honest. Except about Blue. Screw Blue. Also, screw the Black Fairy, but that's nothing new.

Alright, before I get into the whole Rumple-related bit of the episode (which is also most of the episode, obviously), I just wanted to mention the amazing snark-off/witch-off in front of Granny’s with its tonally very appropriate ending.

can I call it the zucchini-mobile?

It was perfect. I loved it. Regina being about 90% unimpressed with the Black Fairy's trash talk and being just about ready to tear her apart in the middle of the road? Perfect.

And yes, Zelena's timely intervention via dubious looking car was hilarious and I laughed out loud. This whole scene was good

In fact, the whole subplot was surprisingly funny, considering what went on. But the somewhat dark humour of the characters' lines and the excellent delivery by all actors really made it work. Special mention goes to the "put on your Mayor Pants"--"excuse me?" exchange, because, just... excellent comedic timing. Well done, that.

And another honourable mention goes to Snow’s very belated realisation that yes, you should all have safewords! Like… someone gets impersonated roughly every other week, and now is when you figure that out? I mean, better late than never, but damn, this was pretty late, guys. Did none of you read Harry Potter even once?

Honestly, I despair of you human disasters, sometimes.

Over in the flashback:

too tiny! this is too tiny a person for me to deal with!

What do you mean “he’s the Saviour”??

Or “a” Saviour, as the title is clearly not unique or even exclusive at any single point in time. Still, that was one hell of a wham line. I so want the conversation where he and Emma talk about the fact that he basically “made” his successor/replacement. I know I’m not getting it (with about 98% certainty), but I can dream, right?

speaking of which…

And one of the reasons I want the conversation is that this episode reminded me how much I loved Emma’s and Rumple’s interactions back in the early seasons. These two are so similar, yet so different in a few crucial aspects that make them clash in the most interesting ways. It’s fantastic. Rumple going “nope, I just brought you because I didn’t want to do this alone and didn’t want to risk Belle I don’t want you starting shit in the waking world”, and Emma bantering with him, because well, she’s here anyway, so why not go along with it. Or Emma pushing him to confront his fear and deep-seated hurt about being abandoned by his mother. The “we are bad at being vulnerable” line, and the fact that she never once judged him for being afraid of his past, but showed understanding and compassion and, ugh, damnit, why can’t this be the show every week?

Just an aside: I don’t have a clear enough recollection of all the prior episodes, but I think this might be only the second time the flashback is actually integrated directly into the episode. As in, something the characters experience themselves. And I’m hesitant to count the first, because that wasn’t a flashback, that was time travel. (Meaning the 3B finale)

Anyway, it was a neat little touch, and I liked it a lot, even if the actual content hurt my heart.

Like this:

I just keep thinking that this is the first time he’s met his son on actually equal terms. No lies, no mistrust, no missing heart to force them apart… and it was beautiful and perfect and I loved it, but it was also sad, because the whole situation is incredibly fucked up. Even if the Black Fairy didn’t have his heart, there’s the matter of the 28 years she stole from Gideon and his parents. Like Belle said, they’re not getting those back, and just… ugh. Pain. Lots of.

And that is why I still don't find Fiona sympathetic. Not as she is currently, because... yeah, she might have had the best intentions, but the road to hell and all that. She kidnaps children to enslave and torture them. That's just on its own level of evil, right next to Pan, which... damn, Rumple, do you need another hug?

I feel like there should be more hugging

Like I said: she’s only more sympathetic than Pan in that she at least had selfless intentions to start with, even if they brought her to the place where she is now. With Blue’s help.

Yeah, let’s talk about that.

Because from where I’m standing, the story goes like this: to a happy young couple, a child with a great destiny is born. Two fairies visit the couple, to declare that they will watch over this child, because of his great destiny. In the process, though, they reveal that part of the child’s destiny is to die in battle against a great evil and then… basically leave her alone with that. No consolation, no offer to help her deal with the horrible truth, just “oops, I shouldn’t have said that” without further acknowledgment of responsibility. I’m willing to let Red at least partially off the hook, because she had her hands full with damage control, and didn’t realise how far Fiona had gone in her quest to save her son’s life (which makes me think that she hasn’t worked with many parents before, but nevermind that.) And in the end, the mother does find a way: sever her child’s fate, so he will never have to face the evil that she has become. It’s a flawed solution, but it works.

Which is when Blue pushes her through the portal, and then drops the child like a hot potato. In fact, she doesn’t even leave Red behind to watch over the little guy, who is now in the care of a father who professed to hate him right in front of their noses. Like… they were in the room. There’s no way they didn’t realise what that would mean.

Great fairy-godmothering, right there. And weird how Blue dropped this completely innocent child like a hot potato the moment he was no longer the Saviour (read: "useful to her").

I mean... damn. We're absolutely sure she isn't evil?

And all that doesn’t even go to the way Blue interacted with Rumple afterwards. I would love to go there, but at the same time I doubt this was meant to be part of their history until maybe ten episodes ago, so it feels a little nitpicky. Blue is just not a very good person. Or even a good fairy, if you ask me.

By the way, after seeing all that, doing all that soul searching, after being so painfully reminded of what the Black Fairy did to his son…

…I’m supposed to believe that Rumple would work with her? Yeah, get out, show, nobody buys that. He either already has a specific plan for stabbing her in the back or he’s hanging around until he gets an opportunity. I mean… that whole speech sounded suspicious as hell and I cannot believe neither Belle nor Gideon noticed that, but I’d like to believe that my reading of “I have a plan, please trust me, even if it looks really bad for a while” is the correct one.

The only thing that worries me: if I find this ploy painfully transparent, you would assume the Black Fairy might catch on to it, as well. Yes, the villain gets to hold the idiot ball on occasion, but if she doesn’t… well, let’s say I really hope that was Gideon’s actual heart Rumple gave back to him. He’s pulled that trick himself before, I hope it stays a one-off.

scheming seems to run in the family…

So. I gather next episode is the wedding? Or at least an attempt at a wedding. I’d be extremely suspicious if this goes off without a hitch (no pun intended) because that is not how Drama works. If you want a quiet wedding, have it after the finale. If you want an awesome wedding, have it during. “Before” is just asking for trouble. Look at Snowing!

[somewhereapart]

I know you're supes busy and primarily focused on BIn, but any chance there could be a sneak peak for camp au sometime... (you know, just to hold me over for the next year😄)

Well, sure, why not. Let’s do the scene immediately after this sneak peek. It’s a little further into their summer, obviously, but, well, that’s what I have sitting around for ya. lol 

Under the cut, as per usual. 

This is the night he’s going to kiss her.

Here, tonight, while they’re shepherding thirty-odd kids as they stuff their faces with half-cold pizza, this is going to be it. Regina is in a tanktop that he wouldn’t exactly call threadbare, but it’s not particularly thick. It’s a dark color, and it clings to her in a way that isn’t really sexual but is ridiculously sexy, even in the paltry and intermittent light of lanterns and flashlights, and she’s in matching shorts that are long enough to be decent, but then there’s all that leg beneath them.

She’s parked on the asphalt of the tennis courts not three feet away from him, holding court with a few of her girls, and he cannot take his eyes off her. She has those silly glowing bracelets stacked all up her wrists - there has to be at least five of them on each arm, one pushed all the way up to ring her right bicep. They’ve placed a neon blue circle to crown her head, and two more - orange and lime green - ring her neck. They make the skin around her collar glow faintly. Someone has tied a glowstick to one strap of her tank top and it hangs down alongside her breast, tugs that side of the top down disproportionately. It’s not indecent in the slightest, but he has it bad for this girl, and he finds himself running Manchester United stats in his head to keep from having an obvious problem. He should stop looking at her, or drag her off into the dark and kiss her senseless. One or the other.

Before he has a chance to make a decision, Jefferson sits down beside him and stage whispers, “You’re staring.”

Regina turns her head, and Robin isn’t sure whether or not she really heard the other guy’s comment until her eyes narrow and she asks, “What are you two whispering about over there?”

Jefferson just grins, a shit-eater of a smile if Robin’s ever seen one, and shrugs. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

She frowns, lifts a finger and wags it between them. “Uh uh. Against the rules. You two don’t get to gang up on us until Robin and I have had a chance to retaliate.”

“I don’t believe there are actually rules to this sort of thing,” Jefferson replies, sinking back onto his hands. “Besides, this wasn’t so bad. For your girls, anyway.”

“Ah, but I’ve got men in their underwear,” Robin reminds, making up his mind and declaring, “And their humiliation at your hands must be avenged.” He pushes to his feet and holds a hand out to Regina. “Come, lady Monarch, we have vengeance to plan in secret.”

Regina laughs as she reaches for his hand, lets him pull her up to her feet and lead her away from the crowd.

“So, have anything in mind?” she asks him once they’re all the way to the far end of the courts, and Robin just bites the bullet and goes for it.

“I’d like very much to kiss you right now.”

It throws her, he can see that even in the dim light of the moon, the way her eyes go wide, and she’s stopped walking beside him. “Robin…” It’s not a promising sound, not full of yearning or flattery or any of the things he’d like. It’s a warning, though not a very heated one. Maybe he should’ve gone with looking away from her instead. She lifts a hand, tucks her hair behind her ear and says, “I’m lit up like a Christmas tree, and there’s thirty kids over there, no doubt watching our every move. They’d be able to tell what was going on.”

Oh.

Well.

Maybe this is more promising than he thought.

“I see,” he says with a nod, adding, “I suppose you’re right. But if it weren’t for them?”

She shrugs a shoulder, arms crossed in front of her now, over her chest, and he’s kicking himself for bringing this up now. It’s too soon. She’s made her feelings about a relationship pretty clear, but he knows he hasn’t been imagining the glances she’s stolen at him tonight, or at the beach, and she’s friendlier to him than any of the other guys here, aside from Jefferson and David but there’s a history there. And there was that day, on the dock, when they talked of their lost loves - he thought he’d felt something between them then. Maybe he was reading her wrong?

He must have been, because she’s still hemming and hawing over an answer, opening her mouth to speak but nothing comes out, and Robin doesn’t want to push, doesn’t want to be that guy, so he gives her an out.

“Forget I said anything,” he tells her, sure to keep it friendly so she doesn’t suspect any ill will on his part. “How are going to-”

She reaches toward him, sets a hand on his arm, and interrupts with, “It’s not that I don’t like you. I do. A lot, actually. But…” She hesitates then, her gaze sliding away to the side, and he feels like a heel for making them have this conversation when they could be plotting their revenge and eating pizza and having fun with their kids. “After Daniel, I… There’s a lot of mixed up feelings about all this.”

And he understands that, he really, truly does, so he nods, and tells her with all the care he can manage, “Take your time. And if those feelings start to sort themselves out…”

She smiles at him then, finally, and it’s not as sad as he’d expected it might be. “I know where to find you,” she finishes, letting her hand slide down until she can weave their fingers and squeeze gently.

Robin holds on to her, lifts their joined hands up until they’re almost to his lips, and then he asks, “Perhaps just here, for now?” Her bright white teeth stand out in the moonlight as she digs them into her lower lip, her smile never dimming as she nods. Robin presses his lips to her knuckles - all of them, each in turn, then opens her until he can drop a kiss on her palm. She’s still worrying that lip, still smiling at him, as he lets their joined hands fall back down between them. He can wait for her, can wait as long as she needs if she’ll just keep bestowing those radiant smiles upon him in the meantime.

“So,” he says, switching topics intentionally, “Silly Spray attack in the dark of night?”

Regina laughs, and nods, and says, “If we can’t come up with anything better, sure. But we have to wait a while, until they think they’re safe.”

They stay there for a while, brainstorming, until Zelena calls them back and insists it’s bedtime for the campers.

[scribbles-by-kate]

Thoughts on 6.7 “Heartless”

This was actually a very sweet Snowing episode. The flashback was nice and there were lovely reminders of Snowing’s story. I could’ve done without a certain scene in the back room of the shop, though…

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

The Evil Queen’s hatred of Snow - it really runs soooo deep. It makes her crazy. And Regina’s obviously still been carrying that around with her even with her and Snow on better terms. It’s very interesting because part of it obviously connects with Regina/the queen’s perception of Snow as this pampered princess who got everything she wanted. It’s not just about Daniel: it’s also about how spoiled and petted Snow was in comparison to Regina.

‘Prince Farming’ - ha! That was funny.

Snowing flashback - it was sweet. It didn’t add a whole lot to the story: Snowing flashbacks generally don’t any more, but I liked that moment at the end where she was in the cart and wouldn’t let him see her for his own safety. I also liked her giving him her money, which explains why she was still in the Enchanted Forest long enough for them to meet for real. Wilby was adorable also. I love dogs on this show. The Woodcutter was scary.

Longbourn - Jane often puts some literary reference into her episodes. In “Skin Deep”, it was Avonlea from the Anne books; now it’s Longbourn from Pride and Prejudice. Eventually, it’ll be Thornfield or Middlemarch, or something like that :)

The vision can change, but the death is certain - so Emma’s kind of down about her fate and feeling like there’s nothing she can do to change it. I think this is also a hint that the vision will change, but what of the outcome? Will Emma die in the end? I’ve wondered for a long time if it’s Emma’s fate to die in the end. You don’t use a term like ‘Saviour’ without making that link.

Water from the River of Lost Souls - how’d you get that back, Rumple? And without anyone knowing? Did you stash it in the box with Belle? Or was it always a bluff? Did the queen really have enough to destroy the whole town? Perhaps she and Rumple knew Snowing would surrender their heart.

Love means nothing: only things hold their value - a reminder of cynical Snow from season one. That’s a nice bit of continuity.

He’s not acting like the man he could be - yes! When I heard this, I thought ok, they really are going for the ‘Rumple is better than how he’s behaving’ idea. He is better than wallowing in darkness. He’s acting so complacent right now and I want him to snap out of it and start behaving like the man his wife and son deserve, the man he always wanted to be for himself. He’s just given up on being better, and it’s frustrating and sad for me because I love him. I agree with Belle: he is better than this.

Reactions to Rumple and the EQ - the Charming crew’s faces pretty much said it all. I liked Emma, Hook, and Henry’s reactions in particular. Like ewwwwwww!

That’s a very ominous-sounding noise for a family show - that was my reaction when I heard the creaking when Zelena was in the shop. Like, seriously, show? I knew then that Rumple and the queen were up to something. Thank goodness it was just kissing! Though Rumple didn’t seem averse to taking it somewhere more comfortable, since he kissed the queen again after she suggested that. Thank goodness for Zelena’s interruption! At least she’s good for something! Part of me wonders if Rumple knew she was there and got hot and heavy with the queen because he knew she’d interrupt them. Was he trying to drive a wedge between the queen and her sister? He’s definitely not emotionally into the queen - he looks like he’s going through the motions with the kissing, so is it just about cutting her off from Zelena? Or is he just desperately lonely and missing Belle, and trying to lose himself in the arms of someone he thinks understands him? I wish I knew what he’s up to.

Jealous Zelena - so, even though they gave her Hades last season, and he was supposedly her True Love, she still wants Rumple. Or is she jealous because the queen’s teaming up with him instead of her? I suppose it could be both. All I know is we can’t completely trust anything she tells Belle because she likely wants to get back at Rumple. I definitely think giving Belle the sleeping curse was also about getting back at Rumple too, though Belle being so desperate maybe didn’t think of that. Or maybe Zelena on some level does want to help Belle as well, though that might be ascribing too selfless a motive to her.

Hook and Emma in the vault - this was actually a sweet scene. Hook has his moments, usually when he’s being written by Jane, where he is all about Emma for real, rather than just trying to get her attention or wanting something for himself. No one else writes Hook the way Jane does. She kind of twists his character to make him less selfish and more healthy boyfriend material for Emma. It’s kind of jarring, actually, since when everyone but Jane writes him, he comes across as selfish. If he’d been written the way Jane writes him from early on, he’d be more acceptable as Emma’s boyfriend (he’d be more like Neal, interested in what’s best for her and not himself), but for the most part, he only wants her for selfish reasons, to validate his character development, which makes it weird when we get a scene like this. The show thinks it’s writing him the way Jane writes him, but it’s not: there’s a difference. Jane writes him differently than everyone else.

The True Love sapling - it’s really sweet this idea that Snowing invented True Love, and I love the montage when they picked up the sapling, but shouldn’t the sapling be rooted in the ground? No wonder it hasn’t grown in years! And what does it mean for Snowing that the queen was able to break the sapling? I’m sure it’s not the end of their True Love, but the queen breaking the sapling still seems ominous.

Zelena and Belle - so, yeah, Zelena wants to dish all about Rumple and the queen to make other people miserable. That look on Belle’s face when Z asks if she wants to know what else Rumple and the queen have been up to is interesting, though. I do wonder if Belle has been wondering about Rumple and the queen since Jekyll said Rumple had an ‘arrangement’ with the queen on Hook’s ship. Belle got this look on her face then, so maybe she’s been wondering about it for a while. And obviously she does ask Zelena what she knows, so that could partly be because she wants her suspicions about Rumple and the queen confirmed, but it could also be because she’s worried about what he might be planning in relation to their baby. Belle’s paranoia is probably at maximum levels here, and she’s probably also hurt that Rumple’s romantically involved with another woman when she, his wife, is having their baby. All of this doesn’t make for very rational thinking, even when you’re as smart as Belle. Being intelligent doesn’t necessarily mean you’re emotionally intelligent anyway: I think Belle proves that.

But aren’t Snow and David immune to sleeping curses? - They were both under one before, so I thought they should be, but maybe because the curse is on their heart it’s different? It’s not in their blood, so it’s different, maybe. That one asleep while the other is awake thing is so cruel. Like they can be in the same room together, but they can’t talk or be really together. It’s really sad. Hope they’re able to undo it soon. If Emma kissed David and baby Neal kissed Snow at the same time, would that work?

‘It doesn’t mean anything’ - ok then, Rumple, could you please explain why you’re messing around with the queen, then? I know I’d like to know why you’re plotting with and kissing her instead of trying to mend your relationship with your wife. Does he think he has no shot of fixing things with Belle any more? Has he even tried? He’s been holed up in his shop for days. Wouldn’t it have been better to go see Belle the moment he found the ultrasound picture instead of plotting to unleash the River of Lost Souls on Storybrooke? What are you up to, Rum? I don’t understand.

Belle, sweetie, you’re not fooling anyone - you don’t care what he does or with whom he does it? Really? Belle, darling, you are jealous. There’s no point denying it. I’d be jealous too if the love of my life was getting cosy with some beautiful, elegant queen. And I’d be hurt and angry about it too, and saying I didn’t care when I cared very much. And I’d be lashing out at him with angry words and telling him no way can he do what I think he wants to do to our son.

What does Rumple want the shears for? - So, Belle believed Zelena that he wanted to use them to make sure their son didn’t hate him and Rumple didn’t deny it, so are we supposed to believe that’s what he wanted them for? I think we are supposed to assume that he did want to use them, but maybe not for the purpose Belle was led to believe? How much knowledge did Zelena have about why Rumple wanted the shears? The queen told her she’d made a deal to give them to him, but did she tell her anything else about his plan, maybe off screen? How much did Zelena know for sure, how much did she surmise, and how much did she make up? Can we trust that she gave Belle accurate information? Maybe it only matters that Belle believed what Zelena told her. I won’t be angry with her for that. Rumple isn’t showing her she can trust him and no one else is giving Belle information about what Rumple is doing, so even if Zelena’s got ulterior motives, I can understand why Belle would believe her. I’m not saying she’s right to, but it’s kind of a case of any port in a storm, and Belle’s got no one, really, who will tell her the unvarnished truth (not saying that’s what Z’s doing, but that’s what Belle THINKS she’s doing). Belle, rightly or wrongly, thinks she has some reason to trust Zelena’s word, if only because no one else is telling her anything. Belle feels like she’s entirely alone, so when she gets information, even if it’s wrong, she runs with it. She should really think about what Z’s motives might be, but she isn’t, because she’s too caught up in worrying about her son’s fate to think clearly, and she thinks Z helped her before with the sleeping curse, so maybe she’s not all bad. I do think also that Rumple could have cleared the air and explained what his motivations are, why he wanted to use the shears if he had another reason for wanting to use them other than preventing his son from hating him, but he didn’t do that, so, in Belle’s mind, and mine, I have to say, a lack of denial is as good as an admission of guilt. If he has another reason for wanting to use the shears, out with it and let’s clear away this misunderstanding.

Belle still believes in Rumple’s goodness - after everything they’ve been through, this is huge. It’s amazing to me that she can still see that he’s capable of goodness. The difference now is that she doesn’t have it in her any more to stay with him in hopes that he’ll act on his good side. He’s changed and changed back and said he’d be more honest and courageous, and they still end up with lies and secrets, so she can’t do it any more.  If it were just her she was thinking of, maybe she would give it another go and be with him, but Belle has made it clear since the first episode of this season: she’s thinking of her son’s welfare. She believed ‘Morpheus’ in their dream and she’s trying to do what’s best for him. For her, right now, that means not being with Rumple. I’m not saying she’s right, but I won’t say she’s wrong either. I will never say a mother is wrong for wanting to do the right thing for her child, even if she thinks the right thing is not being with the father of that child. I think Rumple asking about failing is an excuse not to try. He’s too afraid to try and I find that so sad. I know he lost a son and being a good man couldn’t save Bae, but is he happy the way he is now? All signs in the show are pointing to no, so why not try another way and maybe, just maybe, find that happiness he so desperately wants? At some point, he’s going to have to take a leap of faith and just try for something better, even with his fear. Everyone gets afraid sometimes, but they still have to try. Being afraid is no excuse not to try, and I think that’s what Belle means when she talks about fear of failing being worse than being evil. He’s made so many promises and so many failed attempts to be better that she’s just tired. He has to try himself now. He has to want it for himself. Because if he can’t try for himself, without her there to support him, he’ll never be able to do it at all. The fact that the moment Belle leaves, his first thought is to be angry at Zelena tells me he has a long way to go before he can decide he wants to be better for himself.

Belle is harsh - but she’s not abusive. She actually doesn’t have to take Rumple’s traumas into account when she’s hurt and worried and has her own issues. She doesn’t have to walk on eggshells around Rumple. Belle is acting now on behalf of the one person she believes truly loves her: her son. She doesn’t believe she can trust Rumple. She’s probably not even sure he loves her any more since he’s carrying on with the queen. She also believes he wants to use magic on their child to make him the way he wants him to be, take away his potential, decide what his fate should be. She is allowed to be harsh and mistrustful and say ok I’m done. She’s allowed to not be perfect. She’s allowed to be impatient and react badly. She’s allowed to walk away and be paranoid and angry and bitter. Rumple isn’t giving her any reason not to feel those feelings. Until he does, things aren’t going to change. And he’s perfectly within his rights to express anger at her too.