#I love when my dreams give me coherent plots instead of nonsense

[clumsiestgiantess]

Bringing back this fantastic g/t dream I had forever ago because I’m thinking about Inventor and Apprentice again…

(I had one last night but it wasn’t good enough to beat this one, and unless I get a lucid g/t dream it will probably stay my fave)

A g/t dream that happened suspiciously soon after seeing the Antman Quantumainia movie:

The dream started out with two lovers, a guy and girl, both scientists and inventors.  Though none of their insane inventions actually worked/were given funding, they gathered enough money to buy a countryside cottage house far away from their problems and start a new life.  They were married and worked on funky lil projects together.  Their inventions progressively kept getting crazier until one day they cracked the code for inter-molecular travel.  (This could cure any number of viral diseases by going in and fighting them head on, and even genetic ones by potentially re-organizing cell reproduction to skip over harmful strands of DNA)

They celebrate their victory and the husband suddenly starts crying.  His partner asks what’s wrong and he says ‘nothing!  I- I’m glad we figured this out in time!’  Apparently he has cancer and isn’t going to be around nearly as long as he thought.  However, before they test the machine to try and save him, a Kang-the-Conqueror-type villain appears out of the new machine and tries to take over.  The husband and him duke it out while the wife desperately tries to fix the machine to send him back. 

Husband manages to cut the villain’s suit (which he needs to breathe in such a new world, like a space suit) and the villain dies.  Shortly afterwards Husband falls to the ground having been given a fatal injury in the fight.  There isn’t a hospital for miles around, and even then it would be too late.  Her husband dies in her arms.

(timeskip)

A few years later, a new person moves to town.  She’s a young inventor wannabe herself and heard rumors of the secluded widow that was once a brilliant mind.  She finds her tinkering with stupid machines (like the unserious ones from the funnier mad scientists in Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Back to the Future, Epic, etc), and gets barred from entering by some crazy device. 

As an aspiring inventor, she reverse-engineers the device that’s stopping her from getting inside and tries to talk with the woman.  At first she keeps giving no answers and telling her to leave, but the newcomer is persistent and keeps coming back to help. Eventually the two come to some friendship.  The younger one becomes her apprentice, but also teaches her a few things herself being only a few years younger than the older inventor.

One day Apprentice finds the old inter-molecular travel machine and (being science-y and studying it for a moment) realizes what it’s for.  She excitedly asks if it works — if it’s possible — but gets immediately shut down and the machine is yanked from her hands and hidden away again.  Inventor tells her it’s not safe and she should never touch it again.  Of course, where would our story be if she listened to that?

Apprentice secretly takes the machine home and works on it herself, getting it to run after working on it for some time.  In her spare time (and possibly by stealing parts from Inventor) she builds a small spaceship-looking vessel that can take her down where the machine goes.  She boots up the thing in her front yard (the ship is too big to be in the house and the backyard is too wooded) and goes on her own. Wow! So many cool things! She’s having an awesome time and doesn’t understand why Inventor was so scared of it.

(we zoom back out to the normal front yard)

Apprentice put her small dog behind a locked dog door to keep him from messing around in the yard while she does her thing.  Unfortunately, the mailman comes up to the porch to deliver a package, stepping past the machine with nothing but a confused look. The little dog goes nuts the moment the mailman steps onto the porch and bursts through the flimsy plastic to chase him.  He runs off the front porch and trips over the machine, damaging it before quickly speeding away.

The machine is rapidly dying and the ship can sense it, sending out an alarm.  Apprentice rushes back to the surface before the connection is cut, but doesn’t make it in time.  She’s stuck at about half a centimeter tall.  Some weird cells/microscopic creatures grow with her too and she sees them all spasm and die in front of her through the ship’s windshield, simultaneously realizing that if she were to step outside, the air would be too large to breathe and she would die too.  Thankfully, both the suit and the craft have the ability to synthesize smaller air from the larger normal one.  However, she’s still trapped at a ridiculously small size.

A day later, Inventor comes looking for her because she didn’t show up to the house.  She becomes terrified as she looks into the front yard and sees the dead machine.  Had a similar fight occurred to the one she witnessed?  Was her friend lying dead somewhere, and the conquering person wandering around ready to take the world? 

Thankfully not; the now much smaller Apprentice made camp by the machine and Inventor spots it while assessing damages to it, figuring out what must’ve happened in her head.  Her friend isn’t in the camp (off scavenging to survive) and she fears that they died.  Inventor calls to Apprentice in a normal voice, which would be like shouting through a megaphone to their very tiny friend.  Apprentice rushes back to camp, waving her arms wildly, so so relieved that they were found before the inevitable happened.  Inventor tells her to get in the ship (which is reinforced to go through the entry and exit phases) and brings it carefully inside to a counter where she can see her better.

Thankfully, there’s an intercom on the ship for talking between the person out in the suit and the people on the ship (just like any space suit).  Inventor reprograms it and is able to hear their friend through the intercom.  Apprentice starts crying, apologizing to Inventor over and over again, saying that she was right, it was dangerous and she should’ve listened to her but now it’s too late.  Inventor gently calms her down. 

Though she’s angry that her friend used the machine after she warned her about it, she’s clearly learned her lesson, and worse.  Apprentice gets scared and sad (as anyone in her situation would be) telling Inventor that she’s ruined her life and will be stuck like that forever.  See, if you stop the process halfway through, whatever height you stop at becomes your new true biological height.  Trying to pull her back up with the machine won’t work because the systems wouldn’t see that as bringing her back to normal height. She was already brought back up.  That is her normal height now.

After the initial terrifying few days of organizing things and getting used to simply being around someone so vastly different in scale, Inventor comes up with an idea to create a machine that basically does the opposite of what the old one did.  It could be used to vastly grow someone instead of vastly shrink them. Apprentice dejectedly points out that she thought of that already, and did the math.  The process will multiply anything’s mass instead of dividing it, simple as that.  At a normal human size, that would multiply two big numbers together and make them absolutely massive.  At her size, the number would be much smaller.  At best she’d be about 15 centimeters tall — giant-sized for someone who’s half a centimeter, but not so much for someone who isn’t.

Inventor nods, having done the math themselves, and asks her ‘surely you’d rather be the length of my hand than the length of a pen tip, right?’  Apprentice agrees and they set to work.  Time goes by and their relationship grows ever closer as they learn to live together and trust eachother at such a dramatic difference in scale.

At last, the machine is done.  Apprentice steps in and grows to — as calculated — about 15 centimeters tall.  At last she doesn’t need the suit to talk and breathe; she doesn’t need to hide away from everything, even the sun itself, which was a lot hotter as half a centimeter tall; she doesn’t need to constantly be surrounded by food and heat in her little ship, lest she quickly freeze or starve to death.  Overjoyed, the two share an awkward little g/t embrace.  Both celebrating the fact that they can easily walk around and talk to the other without fear.

Time goes by and they become even closer through various little g/t scenarios — closer than either expected. After a while, they decide to destroy both machines and any records of them permanently.  They’re way too dangerous to be kept around. Apprentice can’t go through the growing one twice (cells would stretch to decay) and Inventor is too afraid to mess with the shrinking one to try and make her height more accommodating to Apprentice.

This duel destruction causes an unforeseen explosion that drags tiny Apprentice into it. Inventor rushes to the blast site, and is met with quite the shocking scene.

The blast actually negated all previous effects of both machines, and Apprentice is there covered in ash, back to normal size.  The two happily share a true embrace for the first time in years.  A bit of romance/drama stuff ensues as both struggle with their feelings for the other, which grew from friendship to love while they were living together.  Eventually, Apprentice tells Inventor that she loves her and Inventor gets even more conflicted because they love her too but.. her husband. 

Idk what happens in between (there was a very poorly timed timeskip, but because of the ending I know they end up together)

So I imagine Inventor learns to let go and move on.  I remember watching a Studio Ghibli looking montage of pretty hand-drawn backgrounds (since the thing is animated in my dream) of them doing things that lovers do.  There was a heartwarming ending scene where they add their first true invention they made together to the little memorial that Inventor and her husband made of their first one.

The end I think.  I woke up after that. Honestly my favorite g/t dream to date, despite not being in it myself.

[janiedean]

I have to tell you something but PLEASE, please, don't be mad. I love Brienne, and I loved her with Jamie, and I'm mad and sad that they didn't get to have their happy ending...but I don't think his ending was shit. Or OOC. First at all, book!Jamie is not TV!Jamie: his relationship with Cersei is different, not as sick or manipulative. He loves his siter and is loved by her in a more "helthier" way: in the show she told Tywing the truth about them, and it's huge considering the love for power1/?

He watched her lose their 3 children, he learned about her walk of shame to get back to Tommen, he witnessed Robert’s humiliations. I think he would have stayed with Brienne if she knew his sister was safe, but he couldn’t be happy if his siter died and he did nothing to save her. He needed to be that person, otherwise all his growth would be lost, and he would have dragged Brienne in his spiral, and he didn’t want to make her miserable. To me he is still an honorable man, bc when there was a chance to do something, he did it: he killed the king to save KL, he fought the dead army, but over and over he said that the Lannister army didn’t stand a chance against the dragons or the Dathraki, he was not a fool. His speech was not about NOT CARING, it was about knowing there was nothing he could have done. He did good, he was good, and till his last moment he tried to be honorable, he tried to be the person Brienne inspired him. P.s.: Still heartbroken that he died, but I think there is some poetic justice with Cercei crashed by the symbol of the power she tried lo long to hold.

anon, I appreciate that you’re being nice and I appreciate that you’re trying to find some sense in this entire thing, but… okay, I’ll go over it and please don’t take me as *me* being mad or whatever but I don’t think a few things were clear here so I’ll try to do it now:

jc in the show is not healthier. it might be different, but it’s not and the fact that it might have been less obvious doesn’t mean that they didn’t drag that toxic mess out for four seasons when it had no reasons to exist. now: I was down with looking at it until s4 because that was book canon and I can deal with book canon. I had to look at three more fucking seasons of that toxic abusive mess happening and I don’t know if it’s obvious or not, but if I have one thing, like one in the universe that I can’t deal with, that I hate and that makes me feel sick more than anything else it’s emotional/psychological manipulation. and show!jc has that in spades and I can’t. like, as it is right now I’m pretty damn sure I’d take reading explicit thramsay fic that ends horribly with annexed detailed fanart than even rewatching five seconds of a scene where those two are in the same frame and is2g if they had kissed at the end of 8x05 I’d have thrown up. please for the love of everything if you think it’s better than book canon your prerogative, but don’t come at me informing me of that because I can’t. especially not right now;

I honestly can’t give much of a damn about the stuff c. suffered when 80% of that is her damn fault and I’m especially talking about tommen who only did that because she gave zero shits about his opinion in anything but we’re supposed to think she’s a good mother or that she cares which makes me especially sick because people have decided that for her out of nowhere when we all know how much leeway they give catelyn for that and I’m honestly done with it, and maybe it’s not inconsistent that he’d care, but it’s inconsistent how they wrote it;

because I mean if they showed some half-regret over leaving brienne or she was mentioned or if the entire thing was addressed instead of spending four episodes building it up and then did in four minutes what it took six feet under an entire season to do with nate and brenda back in the day is bad writing, has no consistency, it also murdered tyrion as a character because I can’t believe that in the span of two episodes he goes from I’m happy that you’re happy to WELL I DON’T HATE MY SISTER SO MUCH JUST GO TO PENTOS when ah, wait, c. sent bronn to kill both of them?

also ‘who ever cared abotu the innocents’ or whatever the fuck that line was??? wow, that’s all this asshole has ever cared about in canon to the point of losing his reputation for it not counting c. or tyrion at least in the very beginning of the series when everyone thinks he’s an ass, and I have to buy that this episode was halfway decent writing?

also: even if I was okay with jaime’s ending - which I could have been if at least it amounted to something because that entire episode was a plot hole after plot hole (where’s widow’s wail? he waves WITH THE FAKE HAND??? WTF??, did he ring the bells so he actually helped destroy the city without knowing dany would lose her shit through jon connington’s ghost possessing her? if bran didn’t rat him out bc he had A ROLE TO PLAY what was the damned role since he hasn’t done anything until now that warranted it??? just the first four) and he didn’t even… help cersei or take her out like he literally was there to just give her some basic human comfort and rocks fall everyone dies, what’s the sense of it?? -, anon, this entire narrative leaves brienne horribly;

because sorry but in the best of chances she’s not pregnant and someone lies to her and tells her jaime went there to stop cersei and tried to be honorable (which given what they made him say about not caring for the innocents makes it bad writing but nvm) and she can think okay, I waited years for the right guy to trust/open myself to and then he left me like that but at least he did it for a good reason now will I ever trust anyone again, maybe, and I assure you that getting over such a thing is not too easy, but that would be the best option. mid-bad option: she still thinks he did it for the right reasons but she’s pregnant so hey, she has an illegitimate child from a man who left her like that to go into a senseless death making her believe she was wrong about him and breaking her heart and she has to play single mother in tarth without him or maybe she can hedge knight along with the kid or leave him with pod or smth but that doesn’t look good on jaime either. or worse, she’s pregnant and she finds out he went just to die with cersei and didn’t even mention her or anything to tyrion along the way so she did all of the above…. for a guy who at the end of it as the narration puts it just went back to die with c. and a kid he didn’t even know might be real or not when she could have given him what he always craved/wanted/needed and left her like that? like, anon, even if it was a good ending for jaime, there is no bloody way that brienne gets out of this mess of a season with a dignified ending unless they somehow manage to pull a miracle out of their arses and sorry but their writing has been so bad that I honestly doubt it, not even david milch showing up like the calvarly could salvage this crap of a finale, and for all characters tbqh, not just them;

on top of that, sorry but it passes the message that brienne, only rep. in this show for nonstandard attractive people who spends years thinking she’ll never find love and suddenly thinks she can be happy with the guy who also fulfilled her greatest dream and opens herself up to him putting her vulnerability on the line (and while I don’t really think the whole virginity thing is that much of an issue since she actually did manage to give it to the guy she wanted it does mean something in this context)…………. shouldn’t have done it because wow, left like that without a second thought and without being addressed in the next episode at all by at least tyrion who has spent the previous four episodes either admiring her or trying to get her and jaime together never mind jaime? wow, I mean, I surely signed up to see the character I always saw myself in getting this shit treatment by people who obviously didn’t understand either her or jaime at the bottom of it for as much as I still think 8x04 did it right until the end?

anon, I appreciate your optimism about that narrative, but this episode was so badly written that it managed to about destroy the narratives of characters that weren’t even in it (sansa and brienne, and let’s not even discuss sansa because lmao), to have every single person but davos and possibly jon but meh behave ooc given what half of their lines said if not their actions because even if we take jaime’s actions as your reading (legit) what they made him say was still atrocious and ooc and same for tyrion, let’s not even touch dany or sandor/arya or really anyone that wasn’t davos. I cannot, in all good conscience, find anything good about this mess because it was badly written. period. even if we decide that the plot and motivations were fine and we try to make them make sense the way you did, the execution was shit, the dialogue was shit, it looked like they weren’t even trying, it did a disservice to every single character that was in it except davos who was there for five seconds to smuggle stuff and I honestly, honestly, cannot even find the force of will to try to make sense of it.

this entire season has been a gigantic plot hole, it wasn’t coherent within its own narration see ep. 2 clashing with ep. 8, 90% of what happened post 8x02 was for shock value without giving a single fuck about making it look in character and making the characters behave nonsensically - and I don’t mean just jaime, I mean all of them to serve the undoubtedly wtf shocking ending they have in plan for us which if I guessed already I’ll hate with the force of a thousand suns, and I’m honestly done with trying to make sense of this thing because nothing makes sense anymore. I appreciate that y’all are trying but I give up. I can’t make sense of a narrative that goes like ‘we’re doing this because it’s cool and if it doesn’t add up with everything we did before who gives a fuck’, and I honestly can do without trying to find a silver lining in a show that has totally twisted the message of the books and turned into an angst fest for which everyone has to be miserable at all costs or it’s not good tv, and that’s the last I’m going to say about this specific matter because:

a) I’m tired, b) I want to finish my spitefics and ignore this mess ever happened and concentrate on doing something that makes me happy, c) if I just keep on thinking about how bad this was IN GENERAL I wish jaime was my #1 problem I just feel worse and I don’t need it, d) the fact that they did brienne this dirty and she wasn’t even in this episode is really leaving the worst sour taste in my mouth and it’s already bad enough that I have to hope her ending is only 80% crap and not 100% crap, I honestly can’t with discourse that tries to find any basic sense in how this episode was conceived and executed beyond my problems with jc, jaime’s writing and the fact that they managed to get wrong one of his three most basic character traits that has nothing to do with brienne or jb for that matter.

thanks for being polite and nice about this and I swear I’m not mad but I honestly can’t with this episode and I would appreciate if from this point on anyone could refrain from trying to make jc sound better than it is where I can see it/where I can’t blacklist it because it’s really not a good idea right now. thanks again and have a possibly nicer than than mine. ;)

[wistfulcynic]

Finding The Altar: The New Beginning

Summary: The only person Killian Jones loves more than his best mate David Nolan is David's sister Emma Swan. He knows he can never act on his feelings... but what happens when she acts on hers?

Read it on AO3: The Beginning : The Middle : The End : The New Beginning

On Tumblr: The Beginning : The Middle : The End

Tagging:  @wellhellotragic, @teamhook, @kmomof4, @resident-of-storybrooke, @rouhn, @let-it-raines, @deathbycaptainswan, @jennjenn615, @tiganasummertree

The New Beginning: 

Six months later

Emma opened the cardboard box as quietly as she could, but no amount of stealth could defeat Killian’s Vulcan hearing. 

“That had better not be a box of Milk Duds!” he shouted from the living room. She sighed. “Oh come on, I’m eating for two now.”

“That is precisely the issue darling,” he said, coming into the kitchen and wrapping his arms around her waist. “I won’t have you teaching my child—”

“Our child.”

“—our child poor eating habits in the womb. At least wait until she’s born for that.” 

Emma grinned, knowing he was only half-serious, that if she truly wanted Milk Dud popcorn or any other terrible foodstuff, he would move heaven and earth to obtain it for her. Knowing also that he knew how much she secretly loved his nagging her to eat more healthily. 

She leaned back into his embrace. “Still think it’s gonna be a girl, huh?”  

“Oh, aye. A beautiful little girl with her mother’s green eyes.” He caressed her slightly rounded belly as he pictured their daughter in his mind, a mini-Emma that he could shower with all the love that her mother hadn’t known until Ruth and David had come into her life. 

“What about a handsome little boy with his father’s blue ones?” inquired Emma, and the image in Killian’s mind shifted. 

“Well, I suppose that would be acceptable as well,” he conceded. “After all, a face as devastatingly handsome as mine should be passed on.” He grinned as she huffed in feigned annoyance and elbowed him in the ribs. “Now step away from the chocolate caramels, my love, and let’s put this movie on.”

He took charge of the bowl of popcorn before she could adulterate it with her gooey candy and sat down on the sofa, wrapping an arm around her when she joined him. He couldn’t help remembering a year ago, when they had sat together on a different sofa, trying to focus on a different film as tension and desire simmered between them. The desire was still there —he could never stop wanting her— but it was softer now, more comfortable and far less desperate. His fingertips stroked the bare skin on her arm while hers traced nonsensical patterns on the inside of his thigh. A year ago even such light touches would have set him on fire, burned him alive with frustrated passion. Now the coals of that fire were pleasantly banked, content to glow faintly in the background as they cuddled. He loved that they could happily spend hours curled up together on the sofa wearing flannel, then do filthy things to each other in bed just a few hours later, with just as much enthusiasm as their first time. 

(His whole body lit up when her lips touched his, every coherent thought burned from his brain as his animal instincts took over, driving his hands into her hair and his tongue into her mouth before he could stop them. Her moan was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard, the sharp pain of her fingernails digging into his bare shoulders the most welcome sensation. He was rock hard in an instant, and when she crawled into his lap, cradling his aching erection against her hot core, he nearly came. 

“Fucking hell, Emma,” he moaned against her mouth. 

Her eyes flew open. 

“Oh my gods,” she cried. “Oh no, oh fuck, I’m so sorry…” She scrambled out of his lap and off the sofa, looking distraught and rumpled and gorgeous. “I shouldn’t have done that, Killian, I know you don’t— it’s just, I— Oh what have I done?”

She turned to run but he leapt off the sofa and caught her wrist, pulling her back against him and cupping her cheek in his other hand. 

“Why did you do it, Swan?” he asked, his voice gravelly, his heart pounding so frantically he could barely think. “Why did you kiss me?”

She looked up at him, eyes wide and devastated. “I didn’t mean to,” she said, “I just couldn’t stop myself.” “You couldn’t stop yourself,” he repeated, trying desperately to read between the lines of her words, hoping like hell he wasn’t wrong about what they meant. “Why couldn’t you?”

“Killian…” 

“Why couldn’t you, Emma?”

She pulled away from him and turned her back, wrapping her arms around herself. “Because I’m in love with you, okay?” she snapped. “Because I’m an idiot and I’ve wanted to kiss you for ages, and then you were there next to me looking so stupid hot and I just couldn’t help—” She broke off as he spun her back around into his arms, capturing her lips in a bruising kiss. 

“I love you too, Emma,” he panted several long minutes later, resting his forehead against hers. 

She was equally breathless. “You do?”

“Aye. From the moment we met.”

“Oh, Killian, me too.” 

 They kissed again, deep and hard and frantic, and when she took his hand and pulled him towards her bedroom, he didn’t hesitate. Somewhere deep within his consciousness a tiny voice was howling in protest, trying to remind him that this was David’s sister, that there was a reason he’d fought so hard against his feelings for her, that this would bring consequences he might not want to face— but that voice was annihilated by the pounding of his blood through his veins and the heady sensation of all his dreams coming true. 

Her skin was cool silk beneath his fingers as he stroked them up her sides, pulling off her tank top and caressing her pebbled nipples with his thumbs. Her fingers raked through the hair on his chest, down his abs and under the loose waistband of his sweatpants, fisting around his cock and and he hissed out his breath through clenched teeth as his vision went black around the edges. Desperately he tried to tamp down his hunger, the driving need to get inside her so intense he feared if he let it run free he might injure her, but when he made to pull back, to give them some room to breathe, she merely pushed him down onto her bed and pulled off his sweats before shimmying out of her own pyjama bottoms and climbing up to straddle his hips. He gazed up at her, at her rosy-flushed skin and wild hair and wondered if it was possible for a heart to explode with joy. 

“You’re beautiful,” he told her and she smiled, a surprisingly shy smile considering she was stark naked atop him. 

“So are you,” she said. 

“I think you’ll find that’s 'devilishly handsome’ darling,” he growled, flipping her onto her back and lunging for her, trailing his lips down her neck and up to to tips of her breasts as she shrieked and then giggled, arching her back as he sucked on her nipples. Her laughter drifted into a moan and she lifted her hips, rocking them against him, coating his cock in her slick moisture. She was so wet, he thought wildly, so ready. Catching his face in her hands she pulled him off her breasts, forcing him to meet her eyes. Their expression was dazed, their green nearly eclipsed by black. 

“Please, Killian,” she whimpered, “Please…” and he could wait no longer. 

 With shaking hands he grasped her hips and thrust inside her, groaning through gritted teeth as her soft, hot cunt enveloped him. 

“Fuck… so good… Emma… gods… so tight… so soft…” The words spilled from his lips, disjointed and as harsh as Emma’s panting breath in his ear as she thrust up to meet him, matching his frantic rhythm, her fingernails raking bloody trails down his back as her thighs gripped his hips and her heels dug into his ass. 

“I love you,” she moaned, “Love you. So much, Killian. Wanted this forever. Oh gods I’m so close…”

“I love you,” he growled in her ear, thrusting harder, grinding his pelvis against her clit. “Now come, my love, come for me, darling���”

With a high, keening cry she did as he urged, gasping and trembling as pleasure engulfed her, her inner walls clenching around his cock and sending him tumbling into ecstasy. 

 With his last ounce of sanity he managed not to collapse on her with his full weight, instead rolling them until she was cradled against his side, his face buried in her hair. 

They lay entwined until their breathing steadied, then Emma stretched luxuriantly and nuzzled Killian’s neck. 

“That’s never happened to me before,” she purred. 

“What, darling?”

“I’ve never come just from, well, from that before.” She gave him a cheeky grin that he could swear he’d felt on his own face. “I always knew you’d be able to live up to that innuendo.” 

He felt the tips of his ears turning pink, that one spot just below the right one beginning to tingle. “I’m not quite sure how to respond to that,” he said, torn between delight at having thoroughly satisfied the woman he loved and embarrassment at her teasing. She chuckled.

“No need to say anything,” she replied, her voice sleepy. “Just promise to keep doing it.” 

He smiled, stroking her hair and pressing a kiss to her forehead as her eyes fluttered shut. “I think I can promise that, my love,” he said.)

The film she had chosen wasn’t nearly as bad as he’d feared. The lead actress was charming in her dual role, her fake “British” accent not as cringey as so many were. The plot was silly but engaging. He had to admit that Emma's love for these films had genuinely rubbed off on him. They were undeniably comforting. 

There was only one thing that grated on his nerves. 

“Wembley Studios, in Belgravia?” he grumbled. “It’s like someone chose these place names by closing his eyes and stabbing a map of London with a pushpin.” 

“Wait… there really is a Belgravia?” asked Emma. “Aye. It’s a very posh neighbourhood in west London.” 

“Huh,” said Emma. Her forehead crinkled, and he could almost see the gears turning in her head. “Maybe we could we go there sometime,” she said.

“To Belgravia?”

“To London. To England. You’ve been basically everywhere while I’ve never even been out of the US, and… I’d like to see someplace new. I’d especially love to see where you came from.” “Well, I definitely didn’t come from Belgravia. But I’d like that too, love, to show you something of my origins. If you’re interested.” 

“Of course I’m interested. I’m interested in everything about you,” she replied.

“Well, then, what do you say to New Year’s Day in London?”

“What, this year?”

“Love, by next year we’ll be someone’s mum and dad. Let’s have a last hurrah before we settle down to domesticity for the next fifty years.” 

“Well, I can’t hurrah too hard, the rugrat won’t like it.” 

“So we’ll both drink club soda and make fun of all the drunk people. What do you say?”

“I say it sounds like a plan.” 

Swept up in the excitement of their spur-of-the-moment decision, they spent the next two hours booking flights and AirBnBs and planning things to see and do. 

“We’ll have to tell David and Mary Margaret that we’re going,” said Emma when they finally took a break, sipping the hot chocolate she’d wheedled from Killian, with whipped cream and marshmallows since she’d forgone the Milk Duds earlier. (‘The rugrat needs sugar, Killian!’ ‘I’m certain that’s the last thing she needs, love. But if you insist…’)

“Naturally,” he replied. “I don’t dare keep anything from Dave these days, not even the colour and style of my underpants.” 

“What? Ew.”

“Aye, your brother’s opinion of the daily underpants reports is very much along those same lines, but then he did insist on there being no further secrets between us.” 

“‘Daily underpants reports’?”

“You think I should call them daily briefings?”

Killian looked so delighted at his ridiculous pun that she couldn’t help laughing. He had the dad jokes down already and their kid was only the size of a lime. He was going to be great at this. “You’re an idiot,” she said fondly. 

“Just taking all necessary precautions, love. A good sailor doesn’t tempt the fates. We’ll tell them this evening. One more revelation to add to the pile.” 

(Killian arrived at Granny’s early and sat alone in a corner booth, tapping his fingers nervously on the tabletop and watching as the steam from his teacup wove intricate patterns through the air. Granny had brought him the tea without being asked, a sympathetic expression on her face. She couldn’t possibly know why he was there, but he supposed his face must hint at his anxiety and Granny was nothing if not perceptive. David arrived precisely on time, giving Granny a tight smile when requesting his usual drink. He sat down, not meeting Killian’s gaze. 

Tense silence settled heavily between the two old friends, likely for no more than a minute or two, but to Killian it felt endless. He was just on the verge of taking desperate measures, upending his teacup perhaps, or squawking like a chicken, when David finally spoke. 

“I’m sorry,” he said in a low voice.  

Killian blinked in astonishment. “You’re sorry?” he spluttered. That was just about the last thing he’d been expecting to hear. 

“Yeah. I’m still fucking pissed that you lied to me, but I’m sorry for the things I said yesterday. I was out of line.” 

“I’m sorry too, mate,” said Killian. “I hated lying to you. We both did. We should have told you from the beginning, but I just… I couldn’t find the right words.”

“You couldn’t find the words? Mister ‘mot juste’ himself?”

Killian wanted to laugh with relief, or maybe weep. David taking the piss out of him was a very good sign. He put on his best wry smirk. “To tell my best friend that I’m in love with his sister, no, those are words that I confess even with my considerable talents I struggled to find.” 

David actually chuckled, then finally looked up to meet his friend’s eyes. “You really love her?”

Killian met his gaze unflinchingly. “Very much,” he said quietly. “More than I can express. I fear that my much vaunted wordsmithing skills fail me on this subject as well.”

David was silent for another long moment, then he seemed to relax, releasing a long breath and sitting back in the booth. He took a sip of his coffee, his eyes never leaving Killian’s. “You know, when my mom first brought Emma to live with us, she was like a wild animal. She jumped at every loud noise, flinched at every touch. She was so scared, and so wounded, and trying so hard to hide those things behind this facade of toughness, and all I wanted to do was help her. I loved her right away; I knew from that first moment that I would do anything for her. She wouldn’t even let me hug her for months, rejected every single attempt I made to show her love, even though it was obvious that she desperately wanted it. It took the best part of a year, but she finally started to let me in, to trust me, to believe that I really did care about her and would be there for her. And then you know what I did? I left, went off to college. Left her, just like everyone else.”

“Mate…”

“And even though she still had my mom, who loved her just as much as I did, she took my leaving pretty hard, and she acted out. She was still only fifteen, and had a lot of emotional baggage from her foster homes. Years of feeling worthless and unloved, being abandoned by everyone she dared to care about.”

Killian knew all this already, had heard it from Emma herself, but he could sense that David needed to tell the story so he sat and sipped his tea without comment. 

“It seemed like every time I came home she was involved with some new boy,” David continued, “all of them scumbags who treated her like shit. I couldn’t figure out why she always seemed to go for that type when she was so pretty and bright that she could have had anyone. I finally realised that she thought that kind of treatment was what she deserved.” David’s voice dripped with disgust, his face twisted in remembered pain. “I tried to talk to her about it but naturally she wouldn’t listen to reason, didn’t believe me when I told her she could do so much better. I kept those little bastards away from her as much as I could, but I was in Boston, first for college then work, and I couldn’t get home as often as I should have. I wasn’t there when she needed me. I wasn’t there when that asshole Cassidy got her sent to jail.” He paused and ran his hand over his eyes, dashing away the tears that had formed in them. “I’ve never forgiven myself for that.” 

Killian’s heart ached for his friend. “But you came for her right away,” he pointed out. “You got the charges dropped, got her out. She only spent one night in jail.” David coming to her rescue had meant everything to Emma. It was what had finally convinced her that he would always be there for her, no matter what. ‘No one ever fought for me before’, she’d said.

“She shouldn't have spent any nights there!” growled David. “That experience, that betrayal from someone she thought loved her, just when she’d started to trust again… it was devastating. It’s the reason she left Storybrooke and got into bail bonds. I hated her doing such a dangerous job, but she told me she needed to do it. She needed to be the one to catch people trying to evade justice, the way Cassidy had done. She caught him eventually, did she ever tell you that?” “Aye.” 

“I’ve never been so proud in my life as when she hauled that piece of shit in. For skipping bail on a robbery charge, if you can believe it. He framed her for one robbery, then went straight off and committed another. Arrogant prick. She brought him in to the station where I was working in Boston. Her face when she presented him for booking, man, I’ll never forget it. She was like a — what are those warrior women from mythology?”

“Amazons? Valkyries?”

“That’s the one. She was like a Valkyrie.”

Killian could easily imagine that. His Emma was as fierce as they came, and he shared David’s pride in her. It would take a far cleverer man than Neal Cassidy to ever get the better of Emma Swan. 

“After Cassidy, she dated a bit here and there, but mostly she kept to anonymous hookups, one-and-done, no emotional attachment. Better than the scumbags, but only just. Still men who didn’t respect her or treat her as she deserved. It got a bit better when she moved back home, but still you saw the guys she went for here..."

"Aye," growled Killian. Not one of them had been fit to lick her boots.

"When I found out about you two, the way I found out, walking in on you like that, all I could think about was your track record with women —yes, even though I know the reasons behind it, it was still my sister you were touching— and the first thought in my head was to protect her from being fucked around again. Protecting her from her own worst impulses is something I’ve done for half her life, it’s so ingrained it’s almost an involuntary reaction. All I could think was why would you hide it from me? If you really cared about her why would you keep it a secret? It’s not that I don’t respect Emma or trust her judgement, it’s just that she has a long history of bad relationships and I couldn’t stand the idea of her getting hurt again.”

“David, you must know I’d never hurt her. Even before we got romantically involved, you knew that I cared about her.” 

“Of course, but I thought you cared about her as I do, as a brother. I guess it never occurred to me that you wouldn’t have any reason to see Emma that way until Mary Margaret kinda… forcefully… pointed it out to me last night. She’s my sister but that doesn’t make her yours. To me she’ll always be that terrified little girl, at least a bit, and I’ll always want to protect her. But I do know that she’s grown up now, and that she’s strong and tough and beautiful. I get why you’re attracted to her. I don’t like to think about it, but I get it.”)

Emma answered the buzz of the doorbell, flinging open the door and grinning at David and Mary Margaret. They both looked tanned and relaxed, and couldn’t have more obviously just come from two weeks in Hawaii if they’d carried signs announcing it. 

She laughed lightly and leaned into Mary Margaret when the other woman immediately pulled her into a hug. MM gave good hugs, she thought contentedly. 

David hugged her as well and she leaned into that one too —it had been two weeks since she’d seen him— then did the same to Killian, who returned his hearty embrace enthusiastically and whispered “Boxer briefs. Black.” into his ear before smiling angelically and turning to kiss Mary Margaret on the cheek. David winced.

“Please stop doing that,” he muttered, but Killian only smiled wider. 

“No secrets, remember, Dave,” he said cheerfully. “Your rule.” 

“You know I didn’t mean about everything—” David protested to thin air, as Killian had already taken Mary Margaret’s arm and was leading her into the living room. David shot Emma a pleading, desperate look, but she merely shrugged. 

“Just be glad he hasn’t worn the ones I got him for his birthday yet,” she said, and David groaned. 

“I really do not need to know any of this,” he grumbled. Emma laughed. 

“You knew he was annoyingly literal when you told him not to keep anything from you in the future,” she said. “You gotta be more careful with your phrasing.”

“I love how this is somehow my fault,” said David, not quite under his breath, as he followed his sister into the living room where Killian and Mary Margaret were already ensconced on the sofa, deep in conversation over a glass of wine. They got along incredibly well, especially considering that Mary Margaret had once tried to set Emma up with another man. But that misunderstanding had long since been forgiven, along with so many others. 

“How was the vacation?” Emma asked David, pouring wine for him and hoping he wouldn’t notice that she wasn’t having any herself. 

Her brother’s expression immediately went soft and dreamy. “It was magical,” he replied, drifting off into memories for a moment before shaking off his reverie with a slightly wry grin. “I thought I’d be bored with nothing to do all day but sit on a beach, but… well, we found ways to pass the time.” 

“I’ll bet you did,” said Emma, then marvelled at how a year with Killian had opened her up to the point where she was tossing saucy innuendo at her own brother. 

“Seriously?” David’s voice rose to a painfully high pitch. “You too?”

Emma just laughed at him again. 

“Actually,” said David, speaking loudly enough for all to hear and stressing the word. “Speaking of our vacation, Mary Margaret and I have an announcement.”

Killian and Emma exchanged a glance. “Um, we do, too,” she said. “Do you mind if we go first?”

Frankly, she thought, she could easily guess what Mary Margaret and David’s announcement would be, but hers and Killian’s would come as a bit more of a shock. 

“Uh, sure, I guess,” said David, and Mary Margaret nodded. 

Killian stood, placing his wine glass on a side table and coming to stand beside Emma, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. 

“So, I know we all promised we wouldn’t keep anything from each other any longer, and you know how diligently I have been adhering to that directive,” he began. 

“Don’t I just,” muttered David. 

“But there is something Emma and I have known for several weeks now, and we haven’t mentioned it because we wanted to be certain there would be no complications. But we saw a doctor last week and all seems to be well, and so we wanted you to be the first to know.”

Emma could tell by their faces that David and Mary Margaret had pretty much guessed what was coming next, so she decided to come right out with it. 

“We’re having a baby,” she said. 

“Aaaaaaahhhhh!” shrieked Mary Margaret, leaping from the sofa to pull Emma into another hug, hopping with joy as she did so. “That’s fantastic!” she cried. “Oh, I’m so happy for you!” She pulled back, and Emma could see that there were tears in her eyes. “You’re going to be the best mom!”

Emma wasn’t so sure, but she mentally stomped down her fears and smiled. “I’m going to try,” she said. 

David was shaking Killian’s hand. “Congratulations,” he said, and the joy in his smile was genuine. “Although I might have preferred if you’d waited until you were married…” 

“Ah,” said Killian, scratching nervously behind his ear. “Yes. About that.” 

Mary Margaret spun around to face him. “No!” she gasped. 

“Well, you see, it turns out Emma actually shares some of Dave’s more traditional views, and she wanted her child to be born into a stable family.” 

David caught Emma’s eyes, smiling warmly at her. He understood, she thought, as she’d known he would. It wasn’t that she was traditional, she just wanted to ensure that her baby would have everything that she herself had lacked. 

“So last weekend we flew to Vegas and got married,” concluded Killian, and Mary Margaret shrieked again. 

“Vegas?” David’s eyebrows drew together in a scowl. “Not very romantic.” 

“It actually was romantic,” laughed Emma. “We’ll tell you the story. But also, we thought speed was more important than finesse in this case—” 

“Only in this case, mind,” interrupted Killian, with a smirk.

“And so we’ll have a blessing ceremony with the white dress and the flowers and all that jazz, after the baby’s born.” She looked up at Killian. “Maybe for our first anniversary?”

“That’s a lovely idea, darling.” He smiled, tightening his arm around her. 

“Oh, and we’re going to London for New Year’s,” Emma concluded brightly. 

“What?!” 

“So, that’s all our news. What did you want to tell us?”

David’s jaw was hanging ajar as he tried to process everything he’d heard. Mary Margaret laced her arm through his, patting his bicep comfortingly as she replied to Emma’s question. “Well, you’ve pretty effectively stolen our thunder,” she laughed, “but we did want to tell you that we’re engaged.” 

“That’s great, you guys!” cried Emma. She might not be surprised by the news, but she was genuinely thrilled. Mary Margaret and David were perfect together. Like her and Killian. 

Killian who had tears in his eyes as he clapped David on the back. 

“Well done, mate,” he said. 

“Thanks,” replied David, “Though I never would’ve guessed that you’d be married before I was.” 

“No, nor I.”

“Are you really going to London at New Year’s?

“Aye. Care to join us?”

David looked at his sister’s glowing face and at Killian’s bright smile, and thanked the gods for the millionth time that he hadn’t let his pride get in the way of their happiness.

He shook his head. “Maybe next time,” he said. “I don’t think I could handle you two being newlyweds all over each other for that long. Let’s give it a year or two so you can cool off a bit.” 

“Well I can’t promise anything to that effect, mate. Your sister is really hot, you know.” At his friend’s scowl, he threw up his hands, his face a picture of innocence. “Hey, just being honest. No secrets, remember? Your rule.” 

David groaned. 

[freechoicedreamer]

Body and Soul (Ch. 2)

AO3

A side note: a potential plea against the 'canon-compliant' claim - a fundamental premise set out to both stories of this alternate Final Season series - may come from the background seen on the thematic illustration of this chapter. It is a screenshot of the United Realms, as portrayed in one of the final scenes of OUAT series finale. Despite the clear visual evidence, I refuted the idea of all realms being this closely gathered around Storybrooke, seemingly as if they were mere aggregated parts of one single town. I based my assumption on the likelihood that practical production/logistics issues were more prevalent than the need to craft more carefully a setup that would not imply on geopolitical garbage and storytelling nonsense. To be honest, that came with no surprise, even for OUAT typical narrative patterns, well known for not going beyond a superficial and only apparent coherence; after all the series finale condition loosened the need of establishing a minimum continuity level. As a matter of fact, the image appears to be just an iconic concept instead of an accurate representation of a real (and reliable) geographic distribution of the united realms. Actually, it looks - more likely - as a random collage of castles and kingdoms (taken from some OUAT-CGI database) quickly assembled for just one single and short scene. In other words, one may argue that this conclusion is open to interpretation but I may counter argue that the concept all realms physically gathered like all-stuck-together has not been consolidated-by-a-solid-narrative enough to acquire the 'canon' status. In summary, in any feasible configuration, even taking into account the innumerable storytelling possibilities opened by the 'magic' combined with 'mixed fairy tales' formula, the realms should be, at least, a little bit more physically spread, say... throughout the territory of Maine, for instance. That would assure to each kingdom a minimum space to breathe without culturally suffocating their neighborhood neither being suffocated in reverse, thus preserving their original identity. That is the premise I chose to assume, as proposed by the thematic illustration on the previous chapter. 

Opening theme

There are people who paint it as the absolute absence of heat; there are those who imagine it as the infinite absence of cold. Neither cold nor heat, neither ice nor fire, there are souls who know it as the absolute absence of love, the pinnacle of hopelessness, the utter void of hatred, the utmost devastation of war, the despair of hunger and thirst, the desolation of loneliness, the consummation of envy, the slavery of the ego, and the corrosion of jealousy. For as far as these souls know, more than the absence of the breath of Life, more than Death itself, Hell is the lack of Significance.

*

Storybrooke, Sweet-Jones home

Emma and Emm are spending the afternoon together, one more afternoon in a recent row of three afternoons together at Hope's insistent requests, always justified as being “very important, Mommy”. Visiting Luna, Missy, Aunt Em, and the Belly Babies is the recurring excuse. Usually, Emma does not like to fulfill all requests for not spoiling her daughter too much but, given the current exceptional circumstances, she has found it best to give in to the girl’s wishes. And for her it is also nice, she loves talking to her sister. Each day the two realize how deeply bonded, by mysterious ties that transcend any purely familiar connection, they are. And so, here they are, sitting by the kitchen counter for a little snack while Hope runs around the house playing with the two pets. If times were different, Hope would be at Storybrooke’s Kindergarten so that Emma could work half term, but because of the exceptionalism of the moment, she took a leave of her Sheriff duties thus freeing herself to observe– and to protect - her daughter more closely.

“It's amazing how the loft became the exact expression of you and Key, Emm. I never imagined that you two would be able so soon to superimpose your personality on the legacy of who was once known as 'Mary Margaret'. The aggregated details are just a few pieces and touches here and there, such as the paintings on the walls, new curtains, a new rug, other quilt covers on the beds, but all the little details make up a whole that adds to the atmosphere in an incredibly harmonious way, not to mention the musical instruments on the mezzanine - where once was my room, creating a magical atmosphere. Your music is really magic, you know that, don’t you? It lights up the house."

"Thanks, Emma, coming from you the compliment has a special significance to me. While Mary Margaret lived here under a curse that prevented her of being close to her daughter, in a parallel reality, my mother was fulfilling the dream that was denied to yours: the dream of seeing her kid growing up, of being able to raise her daughter together with her Prince Charming. Therefore, it is a deep honor for me to live in this space, you know, it is with reverence that Key and I add such 'little details' to the vintage decor. You see…” she then starts to pointing to the objects, “these nautical-motivated paintings are all Key’s, except that canvas that we both painted ‘magically’ during the Sweet Suite adventure. There are also those oceanic-motivated frames and the big starfish, which is a magic connection with Alice - her and Robyn’s gifts to us, something like our ‘wedding gift’, and those two landscape paintings near the sofa, which are my Henry's gift. Other than that, the curtains, the bedspreads and the rug were manually woven on Hearty Island, one of my hobbies there. Now, about the magic music, I think you and I have it in our heart – and I know that not because I watched your ‘music in the heart’ story through the magic mirror, but because I feel it. Music is as much of your essence as it is of mine. Our stories may have shaped us differently: I may not have developed the warrior side towards being a bad-ass - as you use to say. Nor may you have not developed the domestic docility side, but in essence, our magic has the same origin, our essence has the same substance, our strength will always show itself – on its own style - when necessary."

“I agree with you, I also feel this connection with Music, even though I have not had a formal music education, I feel this force so deeply, like an explosion of feelings. You know, it is really impressive how mysterious this empathy between wish and non-wish versions is. For example, in my turn, I understand and deeply feel the loss of your parents and I know - I feel - that you understand on a deep level the difficulties I had in childhood mainly, to cope with the abandonment of my parents, unaware that through Music in my heart I was always connected to them. This degree of empathy doesn't just happen between us, look at our husbands, or even see how my parents feel connected to you and, I believe, to their deceased wish counterparts. This is an incredible mesh of love and union entwined after an evil wish of Split Regina - it’s really incredible..."

"Yes, it is a Mystery, one more in the Book of Mysteries: Split Regina... Back in Hearty Island, I used to hate her. I’m not very proud of that feeling, but it is the truth, I simply could not accept what she did. But… ironically, it was this wish, driven by dark feelings, that originated, in a distant past spread to the present, the duplication of worlds thus creating the wish and non-wish versions. She changed our lives with only one wish against you – and me. And then, I also hated the Good Queen because of her cruel method to bring your memories back – at least that’s how I used to think based on what I had watched. You know the story, thanks to the gods’ intervention, who kept me in touch with my parents’ souls, I could finally understand, accept, and forgive her. And thanks to all of that, Key and I could find each other, could live on its plenitude our true love. And then… there is also Wish Regina, the Evil Queen I grew up fearing and hearing about, now a reformed sorcerer in charge of the Social Assistance Ministry of the United Realms. Too many turns and plot twists with too many Reginas, don’t you think?” she asks playfully while watching Luna in Hope’s lap, both surrounded by a watchful Missy.

“Too many, I agree. I have had my own dose of struggle to deal with them, that is, rigorously speaking, with the first two of them, but I also have learned to cope, to accept and to forgive them… About their names, Killian told me that Captain Nemo suggested a numbering system to simplify their identification but they are still reluctant to accept that. Particularly, I think this may be a good ID system. Differently from the multiple wish/non-wish people, who come in pairs, in their case there are 3 of them!!" Emma chuckles.

Thoughtfully, Emm caresses her belly, "yeah, coming in pairs..."

“Confirmed then?” Emma asks tenderly.

"Twins, indeed…" Emm nods. “We have to concede this one more credit to our little Pythoness’ account!”

“Yeah…” sighs little Prophetic Priestess’ mother, “get ready for a daily renewed surprise brought by your little products of squared True Love! Wait for squared surprises, in your case!” Emma grins reticently, noting in awe the tiny points of light Hope is creating in the air to entertain Luna and Missy, and then completes her question: “How are you feeling about that? How are you and Key dealing with the idea?”

“I’m feeling truly happy and scared at the same time. You see, it is intense in two extremes: extremely amazing but also really scary given the present uncertain context and then… things are changing so quickly that Killian and I… oh, rephrasing, Key and I, had no option rather than adjust ourselves really fast to the news. Perhaps, if the circumstances were different we would have more time to freak out about the prospect of being parents of twins. But given the scenario, we both went into ‘protecting offspring at any cost’ mode and then we calibrated our momentum in that direction.”

…

As the afternoon falls and the sisters’ conversation continues, Hope and the two pets eventually join them for a snack. Emm mentions that she and Key were positively surprised and became very fond of Dr. Stephen Maturin, not only because of their personal rapport with him but, also, for his patience to explain in details all medical procedures they will follow along the pregnancy. She confesses that, despite having had a good preparation about the modern world, it was not enough to provide all the knowledge related to what she would deal with. In this sense, Dr. Maturin’s empathy is natural since he experienced the same learning stages when he came from the Land of Untold Stories less than 10 years ago. In terms of adaptation, strictly speaking, Dr. Whale's entire medical team has been updating their skills because the 21st century medicine was recently introduced to them with the arrival of those who lived in Hyperion Heights.

…

“Mommy, why Daddy and Uncle Key did not come for a snack with us yet? They are hungry too and I miss them."

"They won't be long, Sweetie, first they had to meet with Grandpa David. They learned that two other kids of Storybrooke also had sad visions that same day you had a sad vision and, as it happened with you, they didn't like it at all."

"Aye, I did not like it, Mommy, too scary... Want to know why?"

“I do, only if you want to talk about it, Honey. If you are okay with that, tell Mommy and Aunt Emm, please, why nobody liked the vision…”

“Because.... it was dark, it had a green river... Hmmn, what more… it had other colored rivers… it had Mommy, Daddy, Hope, Uncle Key, Aunt Emm, Belly Babies, everyone and… all scared… and it had empty bodies and empty souls. Luna and Missy saw everything too, they told me what ‘body and soul’ is; I did not know before, but now I do.”

Exchanging glances with Emma and changing the subject of the conversation, Emm intervenes: "Speaking of emptiness, I'm seeing two empty bowls and one empty glass of juice, so... Who will want more rations with water and more juice with chocolate cake? Raise your hand, who has a hand, and wag the tail, who has a tail!!”

…

In the late afternoon, Killian and Key arrived and joined them at the snack table. Hope asked to bathe in Aunt Emm's tub and is now in the bathroom playing the game of ‘sailing the pirate ship’ while the two couples continue to talk. Emma comments about the girl's revelations and the brothers, in turn, tell them that Storybrooke's other two children also spoke about the world of the dead. Gradually the pieces of a huge puzzle begin to fall into place and some shapes and contours begin to unfold. In this way they already know that there is indeed a threat coming from the Underworld.

Embracing Key, head resting on his shoulders, Emm mutters under her breath: “It would be so good if my parents could talk to us now, as it happened on Hearty Island through the magic mirror...” Turning to Emma and Killian she explains: “even though it has been installed on the mezzanine next to the same musical instruments as before, the mirror never turned into a magic screen again. Maybe it was the case of going upstairs tonight and trying to contact them; I could sit at the piano, meditate, concentrate and then, if I am fortunate to be inspired, play a heart-dictated song… I really wish I could talk to them again, if only the gods gave them permission...”

Elysium, Islands of the Blessed, Wish White-Nolan’s home

Sitting on the lakefront pergola at Wish Charmings' home, Rumple, Belle, W. Snow and W. David silently watch the parade of images reflected by the calm water mirror. As if watching the scene, the whole landscape of the garden - birds, leaves of the trees, flower bushes… everything is quietly still. The only movement comes from the black and white images transmitted by the retinas of Luna and Missy in their dreamy state on Earth.

"Fascinating and disturbing," Rumple breaks the silence to comment. "So .... Every time Luna and Missy sleep on Earth they broadcast images, like journalists reporting to you the latest news?"

"Not always," Snow replies. "In general, they do not communicate at all, that is, if there is no transmission, we infer that there are no problems and we are released to our eternal rest in peace, even though there are times that they dream happy dreams and we can watch our Emma with the other Snow and David, or with her twin sister, their respective husbands, and Hope. Luna and Missy simply love the sweet little girl, a special child indeed, as far as we could observe..." she sighs, turning to the lake, worried with the sequence of projected images showing the scary visions shared by Luna, Missy, Hope and the other seer children.

"I have one question. Well, actually, I have several questions, but I will start with this one," Belle chuckles trying to lighten up their mood before continuing, "exactly, do you know who Luna and Missy are?"

David shrugs before saying, "to such a straightforward question, Belle, an equally straightforward answer: exactly, we don't know. Now, by inference, we know that they are beings of Light most likely sent by the gods to the Heart-shaped Island as a company to our daughter, to look after her. I believe the time will come when we will know the exact answer to your question but until then, the inaccuracies and doubts are many..."

Snapping her fingers, as if remembering useful information, Snow goes on. "We also have a mirror in our living room that has functioned as a magical screen transmitting colorful images from Earth; actually, it used to function as a screen when Emma was in the Heart-shaped Island, it never worked that way since Emma moved to Storybrooke," Snow remembers. "It was through this mirror that we were able to talk to her, you must remember when we told you the story."

"Yeah, we do remember," Belle confirms, "… and now that you mentioned it, you see, there is a mirror in our living room as well, but it has never worked as a window between worlds. So far it has been just a mirror..."

"We should confess something," Rumple interrupts Belle. "It’s about what brought us here. It all started with a philosophical talk about rules of incarnation, a curiosity that led us to wanting to talk to the gods about the subject and that, by its turn, ended up on us missing our son and triggering our memory about the story of your communication with your daughter. We know that it happened thanks to a divine intervention so, because of this sequence or reasoning, we decided to visit you. What happened during our teleportation to your house, on the light of these transmitted images, adds more relevance to the case: Belle felt an inexplicable concern, an intuition about a metaphoric storm getting close to Gideon, which should be enough to increase our initial need to meet the gods. Now, seeing these premonitory images clearly indicating a real threat originating from the Underworld hovering over the Earth – I assure you that the need has just become an urgency."

“Well, what I can tell you is that they found us…” David explains, thoughtfully searching his own words for clues on how they should act in the present situation. “To be precise, the gods found us. Actually, Zeus found us; he came to us and told about an intense outburst, from our Emma, addressed to the Sea gods from the sands of the Island. He said it was a completely justifiable outburst that deeply touched them to the point where he came to meet us in our house and allowed us to talk to her. The rest is history but I have no idea how we could try to contact the gods...”

“There is no need, they have already contacted us…” says a voice coming from the backyard, approaching the group. They all turn to the voice direction and meet a smiling Merlin, accompanied by his loyal Apprentice, Jack.

…

After everyone exchanged greetings, Merlin revealed the reason for his and Jack’s visit. He told them that Jack was meditating in the tower, where they live, when a mirror on the wall began to display the image of a cocoon opening and morphing into a transparent-winged butterfly. Almost in a trance, he called Merlin and they both witnessed the butterfly turning into a woman of extraordinary beauty.

She introduced herself as Psyche, the goddess of the Soul and the wife of Eros, the god of Love, and told them that she was, once, a mortal princess that became immortal because she drank the gods’ nectar of ambrosia. She then explained to Merlin that the origin of his full name, Merlin Ambrosius, dates back to the desert oasis where he was born. The first trees whose fruits came to be known as ambrosia were original from that oasis although, initially, they had no magical property. Only later, when planted in the orchards of Mount Olympus and irrigated with waters of the Holy Fountains, did the fruits acquire special properties, among them to confer immortality on those who drank the nectar produced from them. Psyche then reveals to Merlin that it was this nectar, drank in the Holy Grail, which made him an immortal Wizard. Or rather quasi-immortal, since immortality is not synonymous with invulnerability - and Merlin, better than anyone, knows this Truth.

"And why did you come to me to reveal this story?" Merlin asked.

"Because the Ambrosia trees from the Olympus Orchard are drying up, as well as the waters of the Holy Fountains. Some gods - my husband included, believe that the source of the problem lies in the Underworld Rivers, and we will need the help of the Elysium souls as well as some souls in the Underworld, under the command of Persephone, to locate and neutralize this source. If the problem spreads, everyone may be affected, especially the mortals, on Earth."

…

The visitors are already gone and W. David and W. Snow are now in their living room. Sit in front of the mirror - functioning again as a magic screen, they watch their daughter playing a piano piece she has dedicated to them. The harmonious notes cross the spaces until pulsating in sync with the two monarchs’ ethereal hearts and, although not seen by her, they feel that she feels their presence. Resigning themselves to what they are allowed, the two send to their  Emma - and to the two little points of light shining in her womb - the blessings of their eternal love.

“And they say rest in peace for all eternity…” David mutters.

“Yeah,” Snow chuckles, “they never mention the stormy weather in between two lulls.”

“What can we do, Snow? Psyche didn't explain much beyond what she briefly told Merlin. According to him, she only warned that we will be – her words – ‘activated’ when the right time comes. Until then ... what can we do, Snow?"

"We can listen to the music our daughter is dedicating to us, David; we can send our beloved ones all our best energy. We can keep in tune with the other Snow and David. In practice, they are our representatives on Earth and worship our daughter as their own. In addition to looking after our loved ones, we can keep the flame of Hope alight - theirs and ours...”

On Earth, sensing the presence of her parents, Emma raises her head and looks at the mirror. In a flash, she sees their smiling faces mouthing ‘I love you’ while their image dissipates.

Enchanted Countryside, White-Nolan’s home

“Neal!”

From the porch of the ranch headquarters Snow shouts for her son, whom she hasn't seen since early in the morning, at the breakfast table.

Looking around, she sighs. The Charming Farm is the fulfillment of an old dream of David combined with more room for the vibrant energy of a preteen practicing light magic and within easy reach for Snow on her way to work. They were well adapted to the routine of a country life close to an urban life but since David accepted Regina's invitation to the Ministry of Defense the farm has not been so carefully taken care of. Snow would not say it has been neglected; on the contrary, it would not be fair to belittle Anton's good work as a farm administrator, but the lack of David's almost magical touches everywhere - in the stable, in the pastures, in the corral - is remarkable. Exception, of course, for the magic bean plantation, always over zealously cared for by Anton. Although magic beans are no longer needed to open portals between realms, as they are now unified into the same time-space dimension, the delicious feijoada prepared with them by Snow for special occasions, an adaptation of the classic Brazilian feijoada - became famous. In fact, its fame crossed the borders of Storybrooke and for the Summer School closing dinner, in Camelot, in response to everyone's insistent requests, she prepared a cauldron of feijoada that deserved the highest praise. The ceremony just couldn't be as triumphant and joyful as Snow would have liked because of the worrying news that began to come from various parts of the United Realms…

PUFFF!!!!

Lost in thought, Snow jumps in fright at Neal's sudden appearance on the porch, surrounded by a pale blue cloud.

“Did you call, mom?”

“Neal, how many times do I have to ask you not to scare me like this? Yes, I called you, my boy. Although we are discussing in the Ministry about setting up a school recess while dealing with the current crisis, classes have not yet been suspended. Are you ready to go?”

“I do but… look, there comes Dad; he seems in a hurry - as always, recently.”

“Snow! I just got a call from Killian warning that Nemo is about to land on the northeast coast. He reported an anomaly in the Enchanted Sea on the same day as the premonitions. It seems that, with the exception of humans and humanoids, all other inhabitants of the oceans exhibited, during a few hours, a completely chaotic behavior as if in a collective trance, an underwater hysteria that only ended with Poseidon's intervention - neither Triton nor Ursula could contain the sea fauna fury - the seas have been very rough, it seems. If that happened with the creatures of the Ocean, now I’m worried about the inland creatures. I’ll call W. Robin, Merida and Kristoff asking for a report on the Enchanted Forest, the Enchanted Highlands’ and the Enchanted Mountains’ wildlife; maybe it’s the case for increasing the vigilance in these areas to protect the animals.”  

“Dad, you are thinking Wish Cruella may be behind all of it, isn’t it?

“Yeah… I'm suspecting she may be behind the erratic behavior of the sea creatures, indeed.”

“Then, Dad, I'm telling you what I am thinking. I think I should work on the protection spell that Gideon taught me so that Wilby won't be left defenseless. And I think we should leave him indoors, is that okay?”

“Agree about protecting Wilby, good idea, son. If you feel safe preparing the magic, go ahead, maybe we should ask Anton to help you in extending the spell to the other animals. Do you think you can manage that? You will be late today for school but it will be worth.”

“Sure Dad, be back in a minute!!” Neal answers already puffing himself into the house to get the ingredients he will need.

“David,” Snow says, “I do not want to increase the overall worry or to generate another panic wave but, is that a case to sanction a general school break?”

“Maybe, but we’ll have to talk to Regina and some ministers first. We will deal with that in Storybrooke, after Neal works in the protection spell, okay?”

…

On their way to Storybrooke, Snow and David talk about what they are working with and what they would love to do. David knows he is much needed in the present crisis but he wishes he could go back to his farm activities, he misses the country life. Snow is happy in her dreamy work, being able to promote a real revolution on Education…. They keep talking and end up commenting on the good partnership the two Killians are developing at Storybrooke’s PD, despite Emma’s temporary license, and that reminds them how the two Emmas are becoming as close as two close sisters. To be quite honest, they have to admit that not only the two Emmas are tightening their emotional bond, they feel that the ‘girls’ are more and more becoming their very dear twin daughters...

“David, because of the fuzz yesterday night caused by Hope’s description of her vision, I forgot to mention that Emm had called me earlier with good news: they are indeed having twins!”

“That’s great news, Honey,” David smiles at his wife and sighs, “at least one really, really good news.”

“Yeah… two more babies for us to love,” Snow completes, looking at the countryside landscape through the car window.

“Mom,” Neal cut them from the back seat, “isn’t that Zelena’s farmhouse entrance? Look, there is a car getting into there!”

“It’s Robyn’s,” David explains, “she and Alice are temporarily living there while deciding where to move for good, to finally settle down – I guess they are tired of being on the roads. They have traveled a lot in the Land without Magic since they got married.”

“Oh, that reminds me of another novelty, Charming. Did you know that Zelena and Chad are our neighbors now, I mean, sort of?” Snow asks.

“Really? How come? What about Chad, doesn’t he have relatives that will want to visit him?” David asks, impersonating his Defense Minister mode.

“Split-Regina didn’t enter into little details, we talked just a bit, while waiting for Neal and Coralline at the school door, but what I know is that Zelena and Chad moved to Portland, Maine, a couple of weeks ago. It seems that he got a transfer to the East Coast in a scheme that appears to be safe, David, no need to worry. Living in Portland will allow Chad’s relatives - as well as the couple’s friends from San Francisco - to visit them without any suspicion. Regina told me that their house is near Storybrooke’s town line, it looks like Zelena has created an amulet for Chad so that he may cross it whenever he needs regardless of whether she is with him, so they both have free access to the United Realms."

“This is so cool…” Neal smiles dreamily, “I would love to have a strategic base for horseback ridings and explorations outside the Realms…”

“You can get your little horse out of the rain for now, young man. As long as the current crisis is not abated, the only strategic base you are allowed to have is our home, next to your parents," David warns him playfully..

Portland, Maine, Zelena and Chad’s new home

“You were right, the view from the room at the tower top is really beautiful, Zelena: a panoramic view of the city and the sea. A view of Paradise, with this blue sky; and I can imagine how incredible it might be during starry nights, I’m sure they will love it!”

“I agree, it’s perfect for them. It’s not a hexagonal room with a balcony, like ours on the floor below, but it has the exact breadth of sight they asked for. It was really fortunate that we found this house in such particular coordinates and with such an architecture that satisfies Robyn's poetic request, and I quote:  an architecture that reminds towers but, at the same time, invokes free space, liberation; a tribute not only to Alice's experience of breaking free from her prison in the tower but also my passing ritual of giving up magic in favor of becoming an archer, thus embracing the dream of honoring my father’s memory: a tower symbolizing a springboard for us to fly freely.”

"Poetic… Robyn was quite inspired when specified her dreamy room in our home if we were to buy a house. Listening to this quoted description leave me with no doubt, they will love their towered room. The house is beautiful. To be honest, it’s a bit too much for just the two of us but it’s fitting to be always full of life and visitors. Besides Robyn and Alice, I hope to get more guests occupying our 4 bedroom house,” he turns to Zelena.

"They will come, from the Realms and from the West Coast, I’m sure. I will love to welcome your parents and our friends from San Francisco. This is a fresh start for us, Chad, but it is also continuity. I am happy to be here, near my family and friends from the Realms and, at the same time, to keep the door open for the world we built to ourselves in the Land without Magic."

All of a sudden, interrupting Zelena's words, a feminine voice echoes off the hexagonal tower walls: "the doors of this house are also open to the worlds below and the worlds above, Zelena!"

Petrified by fright, Chad can only move his eyes toward the woman's form materializing before him and his wife. "What the hell!?" he mutters.

"Technically, not necessarily a 'hell', Chad." Smiling, the beautiful woman walks slowly towards the couple and continues, "please, do not be scared, nor fear, I come in peace. Oh! What a bad behavior on my part... I did not knock neither introduce myself. Forgive my bad manners…  So, I ask permission to come in.  I’m Persephone," she bows extending both hands to them, “nice to meet you”.

“Persephone, as in…. the goddess? I mean, Greek Mythology? Really?” he asks incredulously taking one of her hands.

“Says the Wicked Witch’s husband!” Persephone replies with a small chuckle and immediately corrects herself, “actually, ex-Wicked Witch, nowadays, a respectable sorceress. It’s an honor to finally meet you, Zelena.”

“Yeah, sure, ah… permission granted, I guess, and, thanks… my pleasure too, Persephone.” Zelena and Persephone shake hands.  “I’ve wondered so many times about you and your whereabouts, you have no idea. Hades once spoke to me about you. Despite the hardships you couldn't quite solve, he said you were determined and firm…” Zelena returns the compliment and invites her to the living room on the first floor.

…

“You must be curious about my visit," Persephone explains, "it is natural to be so. I'm not planning to go around in circles, because time to lose is something we no longer have, but... I believe it is necessary for me to explain the context of my visit to you. As a start, I think it is important to make it clear that, in the time count, Hades and I broke up for over a thousand years. While in a marital life, our marriage arrangement was described in the literature with reasonable accuracy. I did in fact alternate - and still do - my stay on Earth and Underworld with a periodicity of six months, although the part that associates this alternation with the creation of the seasons has been very romanticized and mythicized. In other words, there are truths and there are myths related to that. Truths refer to the majority of storylines dealing with my relationships in a more personal level, the mythicized part, to the creation of the seasons. You see, I’m not affirming that there is no relation between the cycles of my stay and the seasons; I’m just saying that everything is much more complex and intricate than a metaphoric legend, or myth, describing something that is real but too complex for the rational mind to absorb completely… there are Mysteries and Secrecies that are so named for a reason; for decoding them one needs to combine wisely all sciences, all areas of human knowledge, so to speak...” she smiles reticently.

“But resuming this not so short ‘introduction’, in general Greek myths are about an early world; usually, they explore themes of parental treachery alternating with tales of filial betrayal,  love and loyalty - all the essentials of good plot-lines linking birth and cosmic creation. Seen today, they have become ancient stories and part of the ancient mythological worldview. But, believe me, gods and goddesses, existed then and still exist now. We may be known only for the ancient part of our existence, but we are still ‘around’. This way, to contextualize, Demeter is in fact my mother and Zeus, her brother, is, indeed, my father.  Athena, Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus, Hermes, and Hephaestus are indeed my brothers and sisters. And Hestia, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, Hades and Zeus are, indeed, brothers and sisters…”

“The moral code of your family is, indeed, quite different from ours,” Zelena mutters with high dose of sarcasm.

“Indeed,” Persephone agrees, with a wink, “but you must remember that we are talking about early human civilization. I understand that incest is a taboo now, but it was considered ‘normal’ and most prevalent in families of royal lineage to keep the bloodlines ‘clean and pure’. Non-royalty rarely participated in incest. Maybe that is the origin of all the drama in my family, that and our immortality, but, looking cautiously, even in many religions and traditions of nowadays, the myths of creation start with the narrative of incest…”

“You are right, when we really think about we see that most of them do start this way,” Chad concedes.

“Of course they do. The key is to never be too judgmental and keep in mind all historical and cultural context. We are talking about metaphoric stories explaining complex transcendental science. These stories usually use hyperbolic language to exaggerate some colors, or to emphasize some attributes. Take Hades, for instance. He was not as bad as they usually say, at least until the Olympian Crystal incident.  As the god of death and the Underworld, he suffered a bit from a bad image. He is often treated like the Greek version of devil, but that’s a bit of a stretch. To start, Hades never chose the Underworld as his domain. He and his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, drew straws to see who would be lord of what realm. Zeus drew the Heavens and the Upper world, Poseidon drew the Seas, and Hades drew the Underworld. As the Underworld rulers go, during the time we were married he was a pretty decent king. When Orpheus descended into the Underworld to retrieve his bride, Hades was moved by his pleas and agreed to let the woman go, on the condition that, when leaving, Orpheus wouldn’t look back. You know, he did, of course, and lost her – but that was not Hade’s fault. Today, when I think about it, I see how Hades started to downgrade into darkness because of that passage, which led him to cut the Ambrosia tree in the Underworld. That used to be the only tree of my garden - in that quadrant - that wasn't dry… But it is important to note that he was not responsible for the condemnation or redemption of souls. Those who died were subject to the judgment of demigods, not Hades. As for me, although he did in fact, tricked me to stay in the Underworld - he kidnapped me - after a deal with my father he became a respectful and good husband. Differently from most gods and goddesses, we were both faithful to each other – and quite possessive, I must confess. There was a time that he fell in love with a nymph and I turned her into a mint plant so that my husband wouldn’t be able to have her as a lover. That is not my most glamorous story, I know, but, as far as a marriage between gods goes, those were good times for us,” she sights reminiscent.

After a pause, while Zelena and Chad exchanged discreet glances but didn’t say a word, Persephone continues. “Anyway, things deteriorated fast between us because of that ancient crystal, shaped like a crude lightning bolt, the Olympian Crystal. Because of an old sibling rivalry, the crystal, which belonged to my father, was stolen by Hades. My father, by his turn, cursed Hades' heart and, since then, Hades changed radically. He could not love, he could not feel. You know the story, Zelena. For us, that's when we parted and he became the cruel, vengeful god without noble feelings. Only you, Zelena, was strong enough – and I admire you for that – to penetrate his petrified heart and break the curse with a true love kiss. You were able to see his remaining good, but even that was not enough to lead him into a redemption path. On the contrary, with his distorted mind he deceived you, he schemed against you and your sister, and he caused suffering and losses. Eventually, he ended up losing his immortality. Not even his soul could be saved and, sadly, disintegrated. The irony is that he ceased to exist because of the illegitimate power he wanted to possess. That was the end of Hades but that was not the end of Evil, and that is the reason of my visit today.”

“Are you implying that you came because you didn’t like me not only killing Hades but also disintegrating his soul and your father’s Crystal? Well, I’m sorry and not sorry at the same time. In my defense, I had no option, he was going to disintegrate my sister in the same way he tried to do with Robin right in front of us. You see, I did love Hades, but not to the point of living with the burden of Regina’s death. At the end of the day, after all struggles, many curses and turns of the world, here I am. I met a man who loves me as much as I love him and we built up a healthy and happy life together. Even Regina, despite not being allowed to live side by side with the love of her life, came out of all that victorious. She was able to save his soul by opening her heart to host his soul; in other words, their love was so strong that they could overcome the soul disintegration power of the Olympian Crystal, did you know that? ” Zelena vents, holding tight to her husband's hand.

“Yes, I did, they were impressively brave. And let’s be clear, I’m not here because of Hades or of what happened to him and the Crystal. As I told you, Hades and I rarely spoke or saw each other for over a thousand year. You see, the Underworld is big enough to ‘accommodate’ its King and its Queen in such a way that I always managed to keep my distance from him, mainly because I didn't approve his evil behavior. Only after his death I went back to where you and your friends have been, that place he called Underbrooke - a section of the Underworld he built to please you. There, I helped Arthur to reorganize the broken kingdom, as Arthur used to call it. Thanks to my intervention, Arthur was able to rescue and to retrieve the essence of some lost souls who had accidentally fallen or been thrown into the Lost Souls river before being judged and without deserving such a sad fate. Actually, to be extremely honest, my coming here is indirectly connected with Hades. Going straight to the point, I came because of Hades’ legacy, the evilness he planted in a land that cannot be called fertile unless the sowing is dry, hard, and… cruel. For Evil, the ground is fertile, and that is what Hades sowed. Unfortunately, it seems, the harvest has just began. In fact, the process started a few months ago, a period of great light and love for people from the United Realms thanks to the harmonious waves of the Sweet Suite. Meanwhile, the counterpart was being unfolded downstairs, so to speak, as reported to me by Arthur, when he noticed the first anomalies in the smoke coming from Tartarus.”

“Anomalies?” Chad, increasingly frightened and uncomfortable, interrupts to ask. “What kind of anomalies do you refer to? Could you be more specific?”

“Of course,” Persephone concedes, “I’ll get there. Continuing, I was talking about Arthur. Although he and I have taken every precaution in our bailouts, some lost souls not supposed to get free and to recover their evil ego managed to escape without our help, probably they were helped by the one who took over the Underbrooke’s City Hall and became a stumbling block in Arthur's path: Cruella Deville. Apparently obsessed with the idea of returning to Earth and taking revenge on Emma Swan, who killed her to save her son's life, after freeing some lost souls Cruella stole from the library of Hades one of the ‘Mysteries & Secrecies’ books accessible only to the gods and a few humans who get permission – in this case, granted by me to Arthur."

Taking a sip of tea, Persephone inhales and exhales deeply before continuing. "Here, a parenthesis is needed, since you and others have already been in the Underworld and may wonder about what I'm about to reveal. Despite having similar buildings, as you must know Storybrooke and Underbrooke do not share exactly the same layout - quite the contrary, actually. Particularly, downstairs, the public library - where Wish Belle, a soul with unfinished business, works - is adjacent to Hades's forbidden sector. Belle isn't allowed to get in there but she has been given permission to borrow some books from there. To read and decipher their ancient texts she uses a magical translator, a gift of mine, an appreciation for her good behavior and impressive achievements as a researcher. Now, closing the parenthesis and going back on track, Arthur and I found out that Cruella not only had stolen Belle's translator but had also broken the magic lock to the forbidden library. We managed to prevent her from stealing all banned books but one of them she hid and, especially with the help of two other souls, Pan, whom she rescued from the river of Lost Souls, and Wish Rumple, she managed to read - and learn - the content of a very specific Mystery & Secrecy tome: ‘How to clone human bodies’.”

“Is that a Mystery, or a Secrecy, really?” Zelena interrupts Persephone with a nervous chuckle. “I mean, not that I don’t believe the seriousness of what you are telling us, but I’ve seen so many wish and non-wished versions of people, or split versions, of whatever that it’s really doubtful this is such a mysterious secret…”

“There's a big difference between what you have seen and what I’m referring to: you have seen body-and-soul alternate versions of people, duplication even triplication of people in a so-called quantum process of magic involving the concept of infinite possibilities. I am referring to cloned bodies, you can think about them as empty bodies, ready to host deceased souls in a process that does not involve reincarnation as we know it. It does not involve a restart, a reset with forgetfulness and detachment of the past life, with the loss of ego for starting all over again aiming at a spiritual evolution. In short, their plan is to clone bodies – your bodies, before killing you so that in a fraction of seconds they will magically switch places with your souls which will force your souls to descend to the Underworld. This way, by taking  your place, they will enter your clones. They also plan to clone all gods’ bodies, after drying our source of immortality. The process of this kind of cloning involves a hibernation state of the cloned body until the new soul enters the empty ‘vehicle’.”

“Bloody hell…” Chad interjects.

“You have no idea how bloody this hell is,” Persephone acquiesces. “The anomalies refer, as I said, to a kind of smoke that may change Nature's behavior across all kingdoms - including the Underworld. They precede, as an alarm, the main and final cloning magic, which involves the use of a special fruit cultivated in the Olympus associated with water from a special fountain there. With them we have indications that our enemies are on their way, unfortunately. Although we managed to send Pan, Cruella, Gaston and James Nolan to Tartarus, attempting to avoid the problem, now we think that sending them may have increased the likelihood that it will occur. Wish Rumple hasn’t been judged yet and remains in Underbrooke, Arthur and I will see what we will do with him, but I guess sending him to Tartarus will not be a good idea…”

After a prolonged silence, during which Zelena and Chad processed the huge amount of information, Persephone concludes: “There are some facts that we don’t know yet, for example, it seems that they have a connection on the Upperworld, some sort of help coming from the United Realms, and we really fear that, led by Pan and Cruella’s souls, the condemned souls may be plotting from Tartarus. As I said, there are lots of things we still don’t know but we do know that the situation goes beyond what our power alone can handle. We need you, humans from Earth and souls from Elysium, to help us. There is a major disaster with proportions that I would not like to think about being forged and we need to prevent that. So, there you have it, the reason of this unexpected visit of mine. I came to ask for your help.”

Enchanted Seashore, Wish Regina and Roland’s home

“Roland, where have you been? After my sister Queen announced, this morning, the suspension of classes, I didn't see you anymore; I was starting to worry and thinking about using a location spell...  I waited but you took so long that I decided to have lunch first. Now… let's go to the kitchen, my dear, to warm up your food.” Wish Regina tells the 15-year-old as he begins to climb the back porch staircase.

"No need for worry, Gina, I won’t go too far from here, promise. I was in my other room, at the tree house and didn’t hear you calling because I was chatting with Lucy, Neal and Coralline. Neal and Aline are staying at Lucy's house while their parents are in a meeting with the Queen and the others, at the City Hall."

"I see…  Well, as you know, I attended this meeting via Web, as well as a few other ministers who did not travel to Storybrooke, but in my case I only needed to be present for 2 hours. We decided that, at the moment, the activities of my Social Assistance Ministry will remain in a standby mode, waiting for more information regarding the mysteries behind the children visions and the ocean ‘turbulence’. By the way, one of the absent ministers, Nemo, warned us that he is about to land near our house and I have, since then, been waiting for the Nautilus, cooking a few dishes, a couple of apple pies… I guess they shouldn't be long. Now, about you: seriously? 6 hours of chat?" she asks playfully. “Thankfully, the power consumption of the equipment developed by Nemo and the Dragon is 100% self-sustainable, otherwise people with magic in all United Realms, working in sync, would not be able to energize all transponders that the young people use!" she quips.

“I see no problem in talking too much. Adults can spend a whole day in conversations and meetings – which is accepted as normal. What about us? This is our world too, what happens now affects our future. The current crisis seems to be so serious that the four of us needed to get together to discuss our positions, nothing that won’t be coordinated with what you will decide, don’t worry. Adults are in charge - and we know that, but we needed to align our claims and we can help. Neal and Coralline have magic, Lucy is a True Believer and I am a champion Archer, not to mention our cunning intelligence! And do not forget:  as the senior of the group, I’m kind of their leader!” Roland responds proudly, already devouring a heated lasagna.

“We will see about that, young ‘senior’…" Regina’s reply would be longer but, fortunately for Roland, the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Nemo, Liam Jr, Wish Brennan and Liam Senior, together with Ursula and W. Ariel, who traveled swimming by the Nautilus' side, “just for the fun of it!”

…

"Like Lieutenants Martin & Harris who, by the way, opted to have lunch and stay nested aboard, those four out there are becoming inseparable couples, if you know what I mean..." Brennan smiles muttering under his breath to be heard only by Liam Senior and Regina, the three sat on the oceanfront balcony. He refers to the couples walking arm in arm along the shore with the excuse of digesting Regina's hearty meal but, in fact, looking for an alone time. That is especially valid - it seems - to Liam Jr and W. Ariel, moving away as if in search of a more private corner.

“You prepared a real feast for us, Regina, everything was delicious,” L. Senior says, between sips of an herbal tea.

“Thanks, Liam. Knowing that six people were coming was an ideal excuse for me to try and forget about the problems. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to prepare anything special, I hope you stay long enough to enjoy something more elaborate. Oh yeah… something that doesn't involve seafood, out of respect for Ursula and W.Ariel. Maybe a cheese soufflé with a good red wine...” she plans dreamily. “You know, cooking for me is a therapy, especially when I'm just like now, really worried. There was a time when I used to vent going to the 'witch's cauldron', instead!!” Regina and L. Senior have a good laugh at that, and she goes on, “but now that my witchcraft times are past, my hobby is cooking, I love to try new recipes, combine new seasonings and condiments ... Sometimes I resent from not having a taste keeper more open to novelties, you know, since Roland is not that much given to spices - especially seafood, I must confess. Well, I love the sea, no wonder I chose to live in front of it taking care, obviously, to find a seaside location close to the Enchanted Forest, which is Roland's natural habitat.”

“Well,” Liam Sr. replies bluntly, “if registration for tasting your cuisine is open, I'll be the first in line to appreciate the Chef's production!”

Rubbing his beard thoughtfully, Brennan interrupts the flirtation to ask about Roland, and Regina goes on to explain how the two eventually got closer, and today share a bond resembling the one between a son and a mother.

…

Approaching the balcony, Ursula, accompanied by Nemo, asks:

"Regina, do you know why we came to your house before going to Storybrooke?"

“No, I don’t. Although I feel much honored by your visit, I must confess that I was curious about it,” Regina replies.

“The reason is simple and complicated at the same time, but I'll try to summarize it,” Ursula explains. “The location of your home is special. In fact, Nemo and I found out that some homes in the United Realms are very specially located. I do not know whether by the architects’ intuition or knowledge of occult sciences, or both, but many houses are located at points of telluric energy chakras and they are very useful as a communication channel for the members of my family. You probably know my family tree from literature – so you might know that I'm the daughter of Poseidon's union with Amphitrite and I'm Triton's sister. You might also know, I imagine, that I have many uncles, aunts, and cousins, including my cousin Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter. So… yesterday, Persephone telepathically contacted me to let me know that she was going to visit your half-sister, Zelena, at her new home in Maine. Although it is located outside the borders of the United Realms, Zelena chose a house positioned at one of these energetic crossing points to which I referred, and that opened Persephone's passage to the Earth plane coming from the Underworld. I don't know exactly the subject of their talk, but I do know that my cousin asked me to be at one of these energy points because she needed to talk to me too - with urgency - and the conversation would be lengthy, thus more complicated to sustain, via telepathy, if I were outside of them. In face of that, Nemo and I searched in his maps to locate the nearest point in relation to where we were – in other words, your home was the answer. And this is, my dear friend, the original reason that brought us to your welcoming house. The extra bonus, that is, our great time here and the opportunity to strengthen the emotional ties that bind us, might be a result of one of Cousin Eros’ romps,” Ursula mumbles and Nemo giggles.

“I see, interesting…” Regina replies, pensive. “Well, while Persephone doesn’t contact you, I invite the two of you to join us in our tea time and, then, if possible, I would like to know more about these energy lines and points, that is, if you or Nemo, or both, could teach us about them. If I got the idea roughly right, they may be useful for us to deal with what is coming even though we don’t know yet what it is.”

“I will tell what I can for now,” Nemo addresses the small audience, soon joined by Roland, Liam Jr, and W. Ariel, while Ursula quietly retreats to the living room, “so that Ursula may be free to relax and meditate.  Well… let’s start from a scientific fact: there are straight fault lines in the earth’s tectonic plates, to many people known as ley-lines. It’s also scientifically known that through these cracks the magnetic energies released are very powerful. Our ancestors have known about these lines for thousands of years: each culture on the planet has known about them yet with different names. Native Indians of this same region where we are right now, for example, used to call them spirit lines  because their electro-magnetic energy helped their Shamans to contact the spirits. The druids called them  mystical lines. In Wales, as in eastern countries, they were called dragon lines. For the aboriginal people of Australia these lines were known as dream lines. Throughout history all megalithic structures have been strategically built on top of these so called ley lines. These electro-magnetic lines may be seen as veins that receive energy from the sun, thus connecting and affecting every living thing on this planet. The atoms of our bodies, because they are surrounded by electrons, are connected to the earth’s electro-magnetic fields and our heart, as a battery, may be charged by them. Right now, Ursula is in the living room, meditating on one of these crossing points, or megalithic centers, to elevate her electrical aura, intellect, and connection to her higher self, which will activate her energy centers (or chakras).”

“Wow...” Roland exclaims softly.

“Of course there are dark forces that are knowledgeable of these lines and concentrate effort to manipulate these fields and to control or influence the geo-electrical grid. For this reason the access to this knowledge is not allowed to every mortal and few cultures have it completely mapped - the maps in my possession are a rare treasure, among the few out there with the complete grid involving all alternate and superimposed realms – such as the United Realms, which is superimposed to Maine, the Upper world, the Underworld and the Olympus. Around the world, multiple alternate realms, aligned to multiple cultures and traditions, are superimposed, which explains how Henry Mills, our Author, ended up in a realm with another Rapunzel, another Cinderella – which is made possible due to a magic quantum process of infinite possibilities.”

“I have a question, Sir!” Roland raises his hand.

“Go ahead, young man,” Nemo replies in a benevolent tone.

“How is it possible to converge, to the same time and space, characters and stories, known through literature for hundreds of years, which were, according to their origins, mismatched in time and in space? And how come that they all speak the same language - English, in our case?"

"Wow, I'm positively impressed with the complexity of your question... what's your name again, my boy?"

"Roland, sir."

"Very well. So, Roland, the ley lines - which I usually refer to as Earth’s meridians of energy, in an analogy with the millennial Chinese medicine, allow connections that mix time and space and activate, on those that are transported through them, the necessary adjustment of language skill and, sometimes, cultural adaptation. In other words, they equalize the inner communication channel of the person crossing a portal. This means that you need portals, like those opened by magic beans, like the ones I used to open, for the Nautilus, with kraken blood fuel - thanks to Ursula, this is a method I no longer use - or any other magical means to open portals between realms and dimensions. They translate different temporal and spatial planes to converge into the same plane. Before you ask – yeah, I’m seeing your eyes shining while your mind is processing the information - let me tell you one thing. Time travel in the same realm is far more complicated than that between planes of different realms and often requires dark magic. So, back to the convergence of characters originated from different times in History into a common space-time, you’ve got to remember that they are characters like all of us, right here and right now. We obviously know that these characters and stories are absolutely real – we are real!" Everyone laughs at that, before Nemo resumes, "the fact that we are known in the Land without Magic literature is also explained by the Earth’s meridian theory: during their dreams, writers, supposed to be our creators, travel through the dream lines and visit our original and very much real realms, they get to know real people that they turn into fiction characters, and by doing it the way they do, they frequently translate their dreams into mixed distortions of our real stories, you know the rest. In summary…” he sighs and pauses for a little while, “there you have it. Are you happy with my answer, Roland? "

"Very, Sir, thank you very much," the boy responds with a distant, dreamy look, sailing the waves of imagination fueled by Nemo's response.

Concluding his explanation, Nemo takes another sip of his tea and finally states, “to conclude, the Grid, with capital letter - that is how I call my maps, establishes higher levels of consciousness in a scale of 7 keys, but this is something to talk about in another day. Let’s hope Ursula will help us in understanding what is going on in our present situation and, also, in knowing what we should do to prevent chaos or to fight potential enemies.”

Underworld, Underbrooke

The air is dry, reddened by the pollution caused by a high dose of toxic gas spewing from chimneys spread along the sidewalks. However, for those who inhabit the decaying town, the existence of the permanent anomaly does not affect them yet: they do not properly breathe with lungs; though through their semi-densified souls, molded in the shape of the body they had on earth, runs a viscous liquid which - under the effect of torture, in Hades' time, gushed and bled.

The streets are empty; most of Underbrooke’s inhabitants are gathered in an assembly promoted by Arthur and Persephone, at the City Hall. The subject of the meeting may be or may be not new to everyone except for the two beings walking down Main Street: Wish Belle and Wish Rumple discussing and, in vain, trying to seek an understanding, a convergence of viewpoints.

…

"Rumple, no matter how hard you try to justify it, the fact is that you lied about not acting dominated by your Dark One persona. Dark Ones trick, Dark Ones lie! When Baelfire came back from Neverland, you tricked him and lied to me!"

Tousling his hair with his hands in exasperation, Rumple continues to argue. "Belle, we were a happy family until Regina killed Baelfire and you. We lived years of peace, harmony and love. What difference does a harmless lie make?"

"Harmless? Really? It's the cornerstone of everything that went wrong later, Rumple. It's the first domino, the first lie followed by a string of more lies. It means that all our happiness was grounded in lies. Our harmony was false, and I no longer know if your love was false too. Your love of power has corrupted your noblest feelings, Rumple.”

“How dare you?! Of course I loved you! I love you. Everything I did was because I loved you and Bael more than anything!” Rumple cuts her.

“Rumple, you know that I've always been able to see beyond the Beast, to see your primary light source despite your Dark One persona. The fact that you can't understand a truth as basic as this: our happiness was built on a lie, makes me wonder. It makes me think that you continue, even after you are dead, trying to delude yourself and, as a byproduct, to fool me too!"

"I lost everything Belle, I lost you, I lost my son, differently from the other Rumple I was left with nothing. My only option was to give up. I know I am worse now than I was when you died but ... I had no choice but to surrender to darkness. I lost Hope."

"Don't you see the pattern? Everything and everyone to blame but you! You're victimizing yourself again and we're going around in circles. I know it got harder for you after Bael and I died. But it was hard for me too! After dying we arrived here but he quickly moved on to the Islands of the Blessed. Meanwhile, with this hellish unresolved business called Rumplestiltskin, I've been here for almost 12 years now, always in a library, reading, studying the human psyche, and waiting for my unresolved, unfinished business to come in. Then you arrived, a soul completely darkened but … still, I still hoped, I still do, Rumple. I have not given up on you or on us. I wait because I'm your Hope. Can't you see, Rumple? You haven't lost Hope."

“Nah… you are the one not seeing, Belle. I know that I had lied to you and to Bael but I had good reasons. I did that so that I would be able to trick Regina and Hook by making them believe that she would cast the dark curse and he would follow me in a world where I would be vulnerable. I made them believe that I needed to go the Land without Magic to find my son when, in reality, I had already found him and we were secretly living in peace. All I wanted was Hook to cross the realms and be trapped there, staying there for the rest of his life. And why should I care in betraying Regina? She was Evil, she was a villain. So, I plotted with the fairies to capture her and to steal her magic – in one way or another, the result would be positive: the Enchanted Forest would get rid of two villains. What happened was not exactly what I envisioned, but it worked well, for a while at least. Hook moved to the other Enchanted Forest, to raise his daughter, and we neutralized the Evil Queen’s power - all realms benefited from that. I was convinced, and still am, that the end justifies the means - and the end was noble: to live in peace with you and my son, being a family of nobles with noble attitudes: charitable, generous, fair … Bael became a knight and married a Princess! We lived a happy life, we did!”

“Until we did not,” Belle sighs, and continues, “I don’t know what else I could do or say to make you see, Rumple. I don't know how far you still have in your soul traces of the connection with the Dark Ones lineage, or if it's all just you. I do not know how far you have not understood that lying is like non-consensual, abusive, sex; it is the absence of resonance, of transparency, of respect. There is no nobility where there is a lie. Nobility is, above all, a state of honesty, of sincerity. I’m not saying you did no good to a lot of people, I’m saying you did no good to yourself, mainly. Once I read a text, written by a man called Carl Gustav Jung, in his ‘Memories, Dreams and Reflections’, stating something like: You may feed the hungry, you may forgive an insult, and you may love your enemy…these are undoubtedly great virtues… But what if you should discover that the poorest of beggar and the most impudent of offenders are all within you, and that you stand in need of your own kindness; that you are the enemy who must be loved? What then?”

“Are you implying that I should love myself? Well, dearie, that would be the opposite of what you have always said when you accused me of being selfish, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely not, these are two different things and there you are again, trying to locate a loophole in my reasoning. I’m saying that you are your own enemy. Don’t trick me with your word playing, Rumple. You know what I meant. We are both too old and too dead for this kind of game.”

“One more reason for us to go back to Earth, to inhabit healthier and younger bodies, Belle...”

“Please, Rumple, not this nonsense again. I asked Arthur to come for a walk because he knows how and why I know the news he and Persephone are, right now, communicating to everyone and trying to find out who else, besides you, is behind the plan. He knows I’m aware of you being behind the sad news…”

“I still don’t see the sad aspect of it. You are neglecting a unique opportunity to keep your memories as Belle intact and be given the experience of a new life without repeating the same mistakes of the previous life. Look at my dark soul, I could evolve towards the light, don’t you see? I would be able to learn what still needs to be taught to me. Just imagine, you and I together, no dark magic this time, no magic at all, no tricks, and no lies: a new beginning – a reincarnation without forgetfulness. The prospect is fabulous: a new life in young bodies ready to express physically the pleasures of loving and being loved. Would you do that, Belle? For us, would you build with me a new life? Would you go back with me, if you knew that the cloning plan would work as it is supposed to work?”

Sighing, despite not breathing, just out of habit, Belle responds. “I love you, Rumple, I honestly do, I know – I sense – that underneath your darkness there are resilient seeds of goodness. But I could never go ahead with you in this craziness. And … you know what? I’m so tired; I need to evolve, I need to rest in peace.” Slowly, head down, Belle walks away from him, leaving Rumple completely alone.

…

"Fate behaves irrationally, and the energy of life inconveniently demands a gradient agreeable to itself; otherwise it simple gets dammed up and turns destructive. It regresses to former situations. […] Psychic energy is a very fastidious thing which insists on fulfillment of its own conditions. However much energy may be present, we cannot make it serviceable until we have succeeded in finding the right gradient. […] Life can flow forward only along the path of the gradient. But there is no energy unless there is a tension of opposites; hence it is necessary to discover the opposite to the attitude of the conscious mind. It is interesting to see how this compensation by opposites also plays its part in the historical theories of neurosis. Freud’s theory espoused Eros; Adler’s the will to power. Logically, the opposite of love is hate, and of Eros, Phobos (fear): but psychologically it is the will to power. Where love reigns, there is no will to power; and where the will to power is paramount, love is lacking. The one is but the shadow of the other: the man who adopts the standpoint of Eros finds his compensatory opposite in the will to power, and that of the man who puts the accent on power is Eros. Seen from the one-sided point of view of the conscious attitude, the shadow is an inferior component of the personality and is consequently repressed through intensive resistance. […] The conscious mind is on top, the shadow underneath, and just as high always longs for low and hot for cold, so all consciousness, perhaps without being aware of it, seeks its unconscious opposite, lacking which it is doomed to stagnation, congestion, and ossification. Life is born only of the spark of opposites…" (Carl G. Jung, Two Essays on Analytical Psychology)

*

[keyofjetwolf]

Jet Wolf Summarizes Act 39

The manga and I kind of hate each other. This is unfortunate, but still, I’m determined to come out of this with something. Rather than spend energy on a liveblog that’s increasingly negative, I’m reading each manga act (mostly) silently, and then writing up summaries at the end. I won’t pull my punches. There’s going to be criticism and snark about the manga, either wholesale or in details. If that isn’t a thing you feel like reading, please skip this post!

On the one hand, when I started this act today, I thought I was still in the Infinity Arc, which was bound and determined to live up to its name. I was not! I am even closer to the conclusion of the manga than I realized!

On the other hand, I’m in the Pegasus arc.

Dear god help me, I’m in the Pegasus arc.

We open with the Inners, but don’t get excited, this will be the last time you’ll see them for the next hundred pages. They’re gathered together at a park to watch the eclipse. Where’s Usagi, you ask? At another park somewhere else with Mamoru and Chibi-Usa, because if they were there, we might feel for a second that Mamoru was not the center of the universe, and can’t possibly risk it. CAN’T MINGLE WITH THE HELP YOU KNOW.

That little girl I posted earlier wishes to become an actress, and Minako whirls around, Kill Bill sirens blaring. "My dream is to become an idol!” she says to her friends for what is almost certainly the tenth time that hour. However this prompts the others to say their dreams (PS: THIS IS THE DREAM ARC) and they are every bit as obvious and lacking in character development as you’ve come to expect.

“I want to be a bride!” Mako says as I cry inside. "And then maybe have a flower shop or cake shop, but mostly bride!”

“I wish to become an elegant doctor!” Ami does not care that I am crying harder. Not brilliant. Not genius. Not lifesaving. ELEGANT. AMI MIZUNO’S PREFERRED ADJECTIVE IS ELEGANT AND I AM ON PAGE TWO OF THIS ACT

As for Rei?

While you will pry International Success Life Rei Hino from me absolutely never because my grip will only become stronger in death, fair enough, but for fuck’s sake, AMI ALREADY SAID ELEGANT REI I REFUSE TO BELIEVE YOUR EGO WOULDN’T DEMAND ANOTHER DESCRIPTOR.

Meanwhile, at No Senshi Allowed Park, Mamoru doubles over with chest pains. FINALLY SOMEONE HAD THE CORRECT DREAM. Unfortunately it passes quickly, just in time for the Dead Moon Circus to arrive on their fucking giant flying stingray shark pirate ship what the fuck??

THINGS ONLY GET MORE HORRIFYING

Of course if one thing is going to be consistent for me from the anime to the manga, it’d be how much the Dead Moon Circus creeps me the fuck out. OF COURSE THAT.

The Circus disappears then, and I’ll give the manga credit where it’s due here, it doesn’t have thirty fucking installments of no one seeing the bloody ten block giant floating circus tent.

Back to Peon Park, the Senshi also saw the circus arrive, and this apparently freaked Phobos and Deimos out so badly they had to to fly to Rei on her day off and bring her a newspaper and some feathers AND A FUCKING TAROT CARD ARE YOU KIDDING ME THESE GUYS NOT ONLY FOUND REI’S TAROT DECK BUT SORTED THROUGH THE CARDS TO FIND THE EXACT ONE TO BEST COMMUNICATE THEIR MEANING MEANWHILE I CAN’T GET MINA TO BRING ME THE GODDAMN BALL WHEN SHE WANTS ME TO THROW IT

Armed with this information, Rei, my beloved, light of my life, favourite character for over twenty years, concludes

Really, Rei. Really.

The Senshi rush to Usagi, though not one of them wonders why they bother, and that’s the real tragedy in this.

At the other, better park, for characters the author actually cares about, Mamoru thinks traffic will be bad getting home and suggests they wander around the shopping district instead. Hey look, there’s a sale on! This doesn’t seem strange at all!

Nobody thinks to mention the timing of this sale or arrival of an imminent circus alongside THE FLYING SHARK PIRATE CIRCUS SHIP, so maybe I was too quick with my credit-giving a minute ago. They wander around the stalls and shops, until something catches Usagi and Chibs’ eyes.

HMM I WONDER IF THESE WILL BECOME IMPORTANT

They convince Mamoru to buy them at $100 for the pair, which breaks down, in overall kaleidoscopic entertainment value, to about $100 a minute. As Usagi and Chibs rapidly burn through that minute, the Senshi show up, relieved to find everyone okay. “Should we join them?” Ami asks. “God no,” replies Minako, dragging everyone off to do jello shots for the rest of the issue.

God knows how many hours later, it’s 5pm and everything’s still just as packed as it was this morning, making Mamoru’s whole thing about having trouble getting home particularly dense because everyone’s fucking HERE and not on the road. But everything’s about to get a thousand times stupider.

Usagi says that it’s getting late and maybe Chibi-Usa shouldn’t go home until tomorrow. I was busy trying to puzzle out what that meant, like sleep-over in the park? No, no, she means home to the future, to which Mamoru says:

IT’S A THOUSAND YEARS IN THE FUTURE MAMORU THE DAY YOU’RE ON IN 1995 IS COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT TO THE 30TH FUCKING CENTURY WHAT SENSE DOES THIS EVEN MAKE

AND THEN CHIBS JUST MUDDIES IT EVEN FURTHER

HOW DOES

WHAT DOES THAT MATTER WHAT SENSE DOES ANY OF THIS MAKE THIS IS SO NONSENSICAL AND I’M LEGIT IRRITATED ABOUT IT

And then it’s Usagi’s turn to just make shit up as she goes.

SHE WON’T BE LATE IT’LL BE THE SAME FUCKING DAY BECAUSE IT’S A THOUSAND YEARS IN THE FUTURE AND THAT IS INDEPENDENT OF WHAT DAY IT IS IN THE PRESENT TIME IS NOT LINEAR FOR YOU PEOPLE AND YOU KNOW THAT BECAUSE YOU ARE HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH YOUR DAUGHTER FROM THE FUTURE

And I can’t even see why there’s all this bending over backwards trying to explain any of this away when plot coherency is something Takeuchi wrestles with on a daily basis about as much as she does character development.

SPEAKING OF

Cut to Mamoru’s apartment. Chibs is getting ready for bed.

Recognize the mirror?

JUST AS WELL BECAUSE THE MANGA COULDN’T CARE LESS IF YOU DO OR DON’T

FOUR TAGS WITH SQUIGGLY LABELS FOR MAMORU’S SHIT

THE PJS OF WHICH WILL BE MENTIONED IN-TEXT AT LEAST ONCE MORE IN THIS SCENE

FUCK ALL FOR MICHIRU

IT MANAGED TO BE EVEN WORSE THAN “MICHIRU WAS ALSO THERE” BECAUSE YOU CAN’T EVEN KNOW MICHIRU IS ALSO THERE UNLESS YOU ALREADY KNOW IT

WE DIDN’T THINK IT WAS POSSIBLE TO BE MORE DISMISSIVE OF MICHIRU BUT THE MANGA FOUND A WAY

Meanwhile Usagi is lying to Ikuko about sleeping over at Mako’s, and I’d like to think Usagi cleared that with Mako first, but that would’ve required thinking about her, and there’s just no way. The next three hundred pages are basically Mamoru and Chibi-Usa and I’d summarize what happened but I’ve punished myself enough today, and also NOTHING HAPPENED.

Over to the Dark Moon Circus, where we don’t begin with the Trio but with the Quartet.

Not that I expect anyone to have any personality. And just as well! Here’s a sample.

PALLAPALLA HATES BORING INTERCHANGEABLE DIALOGUE

Chibi-Usa has finally fallen sleep. I know what this means. I feel my mind, my soul, my very sense of self trying to shrink away, but to no avail. It comes.

AAAAHHHH

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

For relief, please join me in imagining for a moment a Sailor Moon SuperS revival featuring, as Pegasus, BoJack Horseman.

Pegasus and Chibs fly over Tokyo and then he gives her a little bell so she can summon him whenever she wants. In return?

CHIBI-USA TSUKINO I KNOW YOU READ A LOT DO NOT TELL ME THAT YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THIS IN ENOUGH STORIES AND FAIRY TALES TO WANT TO GET THE FUCK OUT OF THIS IMMEDIATELY YOU ARE SMARTER THAN THAT YOUNG LADY THIS IS HANSEL AND GRETEL WITH WINGS

The next morning, Usagi and Mamoru wake up and realize they were both dreaming about Chibi-Usa and her new horse friend. Nothing about this alarms them anywhere near the correct degree in this humble Jet Wolf’s opinion. Mamoru has another partial heart attack but again does not die because I never get what I want. They realize Chibs left without them, and if I were Chibs, I’d do the same.

In the park (probably The Creator Loves Us And Only Us National Park), Chibs digs in her pockets for her Time Key, and I know Chibi-Usa is concerned about wanting to be an adult and all, but she has literally never been more hashtag relatable.

She pulls it out, but also pulls out the bell. GASP IT’S REAL. She thinks about Pegasus and how creepy he is and how she should never talk to him again and then she shatters the bell on the pavement. IF ONLY. She also thinks about her mother, specifically how she said “Leave and don’t come back until you’re pretty and useful.” YOU THINK I’M KIDDING I AM NOT KIDDING

Chibs’ first action as queen? ABOLISH MOTHER’S DAY

She wonders if she’s okay to go home yet, but when she uses the Time Key, it rejects the shit out of her, so guess not. Mamoru and Usagi run up and Pegasus appears again for no particular reason that I can figure out. Then there’s a tiger attack (NO REALLY) and everyone runs off, except for Mamoru, who once again is taunting me with his imminent death that never comes.

Usagi and Chibs try to transform, but can’t, because they don’t have all the Senshi around to power them up. “God, what a stupid requirement anyway, like I ever see those guys,” says Usagi, and so she just makes a new transformation happen because that is a thing she can do.

The Quartet are behind this attack, and Usagi and Chibs try to fight them, but are apparently powerless without a new toy from Bandai, so it’s marketing to the rescue! Chibs calls for Pegasus and begs him for a new weapon. He complies!

AND I FUCKING SCREAMED. While Usagi and Chibs power up on their own -- which I actually thought was a better turn from the anime for a second -- all it functionally did was change their outfits. They don’t even try to fight or attack, I presume because they know they can’t, so while they look neat, they’re powerless and helpless until they beg Pegasus for help. Until Pegasus arrives to give them power.

Power that came to them BY WAY OF MAMORU ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW

So one of my biggest sources of anger and frustration with SuperS? ACTUALLY IMPROVED ON THE MANGA.

Also the Moon Gorgeous Sex Toy is sentient and can talk so. Yeah.

Back at the Dead Moon Circus, Zircon is all “The people of the White Moon reincarnated, god I fucking hate that,” so the Quartet respond by turning their tiger, hawk, and fish into, you guessed it.

They also see Chibs and Usagi and wonder what their dreams are.

APPARENTLY THE ANSWER IS ONE OF THE WORST EPISODES OF THE WORST SEASON OF THE ANIME JESUS WEPT WHEN WILL I KNOW REST

[jellybi]

Let’s Rate Demando!

Personality:  ★ ★ ★ Demando’s a weird one in that he does not express his personality as much through dialogue as behavior. He actually says very little that isn’t related to his mission or his obsession with Sailor Moon. His scenes with his allies -- even Saphir! -- are flat and impersonal, more often than not. What I get from his behavior though is that he’s arrogant and myopic, obsessed not only with himself and his mission but with a very narrow band of those interests that allows him to completely sabotage them without noticing (sitting back, smug and oblivious, while Wiseman sacrifices his allies and plots behind his back. Alienating Usagi immediately when literally all he would’ve had to do to gain her support and warmth was have an earnest conversation with her about his goals). He’s also obsessed with the idea that he must use POWER rather than persuasion to get the things he wants. It’s not executed well, but it all comes together into a reasonably coherent picture of a person. Three stars.

Style: ★ ★  I almost like Demando’s look, but it doesn’t quite work for me. He is supposed to have a Glamorous Rich Guy thing going on, so he’s got long hair, a fancy coat, spooky earrings, a throne he kicks back in swishing wine. Okay, sure. But it’s all just a liiiittle bit off. His hair looks like he’s halfway through growing it out to some target length, like it’s stuck in an unflattering in between stage. His coat jacket and his sleeves fall to exactly the same length, creating this awkward line bisecting his all-white suit that makes his arms look stubby. The wine thing gets overused to the point where it’s more of a lazy filler motif than something dramatic and character-establishing. And he needs gloves. I don’t know why, he just does. Every time I see his stupid wiggly hands in that death scene I’m like “why don’t you have gloves? This look needs gloves.” I do like the whole gang’s spooky earrings, though. Go go team spooky earrings!

Backstory: ★ ★ ★ Demando has some backstory notes in common with Saphir -- also, the flashback we do get is about Demando more than it is about Saphir. How his dream got distorted (It kinda started out a little distorted.) I definitely... have some questions, though. Like who was Demando pre-brainwashing? Was he a distinctly better person or did he just smile at his brother occasionally back then rather than musing aloud about how okay he is with sacrificing him to the cause? He still thought it was a good idea to CONQUER THE EARTH to get a flower garden, so that’s a sign that some of the problems with his mindset came pre-installed. I also really want to know how many people are living on Nemesis and like, do they have kind of an ‘evil culture’ of backstabbing and untrustworthiness or whatever. What happened to them after the story? Did they get peacefully welcomed back to present or future earth or just forgotten? We’ll never know! Maybe the Ayakashi Sisters helped sort it out offscreen.

Hero Relationships: ★ ★ ★ I poked fun at it, but I actually kind of liked Usagi almost effortlessly talking Demando out of his opposition to the people of earth. Cheap? Maybe. Poor writing? Oh, yeah. But after having to watch him sit there imperiously in his throne, blowing off Saphir’s warnings and protests and soaking up Wiseman’s halfassed excuses for an entire arc, MAN IT WAS SATISFYING to have Usagi point out the obvious and have Demando go “oh shit, you’re right! I’ve been wrong about literally everything!” It’s also really satisfying to have that happen after watching him so obsessed with Usagi’s outward appearance that he’s been trying to stifle her mind and will in order to 'own’ her -- the moment she overcomes his power to do that, she delivers a truth bomb that turns his world upside down and probably could have saved him from himself if he hadn’t put so much effort into keeping her from speaking or being a person around him. Sort of a whiff of justice to that.

Villain Relationships: ★ ★ I really did enjoy how broken up he was about Saphir, and that there were shades of his reaction that were what I’d wanted to see from Kunzite after Zoi. But beyond some dramatic facial expressions in two of his episodes, a creepy face petting in that one scene, and that wonderful little ‘truce’ moment after Saphir died, I really would not otherwise know that Demando is Saphir’s brother. I think that’s sort of the point -- that he’s grown so distant it’s ambiguous if he WOULD care if Saphir died. But also yuck, there is nothing there to watch or care about. Ditto his indifference to Esmeraude’s devotion. Having a person not react to stuff is not interesting, even if you’re doing it to make a point.

Likeable/Love to Hate: ★ ★ ★ ★  I had a lot of fun putting words into Demando’s mouth in his final episodes -- he’s a very frustrating character, and so I’m going to give him points under Love to Hate. He is so close to being an archetype I would enjoy, but then fails in just about every way possible. I liked him a lot more when I was younger and could fill in the blanks with character traits that rounded him out and made him more interesting or sympathetic. 

Resolution: ★ ★ ★  I do really like that his resolution was a callback to the Issues he had prior to his final episode. Conceptually, I enjoyed what they were doing with him sort of needing to shut up, switch off his magic eye, and just listen to Usagi for a second, and that doing this CHANGED EVERYTHING for him. I liked that he explicitly sacrificed himself for Usagi, and that he actually fought against Wiseman in the end instead of getting taken in by yet more nonsense and then either blasted to oblivion or set up to fail in a fight against Usagi, In many ways, though, Demando’s death was a mess. The turnaround with Usagi is rushed and comedically easy, and the fight and death scene are awkwardly animated to the point of giving me mild secondhand embarrassment to watch them. Four stars for what the scene wanted to be, but three stars for what it actually was.

Overall: ★ ★ Uh... I don’t know, I’m really sort of bummed out about not really liking the Black Moon Clan folks at all until their death episodes. I think that means that most of what I liked back in the day came from projecting my own ideas onto the characters, or getting ideas from the dub’s artistic liberties.

[airehaleinski]

Road to 6x14 Masterpost about fav episodes, Trash seasons, old metas no one asked for

I am such a walking nonsense at this point, and probably a bit masochistic, that's why I decided to watch the damn 7 episodes we have left of TW, even if I'm arachnophobic, I'm just too much curious about how this show can actually suck in storylines, storytelling and character development. I'll post under the anti tag, don't mind me if you actually care about the show, because you'll probably get offended. Once upon a time I used to care about the show, used to write metas and have faith in the writers. When I thought the development they were giving to the characters was linear. Now I still like to write about these characters, I have 30+ sterek plots I want to write, but that's it. Sterek will always be the only thing I'll care about. Well, honestly another thing I've always loved about the show was the ensemble. The main cast working together, solving mysteries, having chemistry. Now is just a bunch of new characters every season who make 0 sense, and storylines that have a lot of promises, but no actual consistency. FAV Episodes - from season 1 - 4 - My favourite episodes in season 1 were all the Sterek ones, obviously. 1x01, 1x02, 1x04, 1x09 and 1x11 because the prom was actually nice to watch. Season one was a nice foundation of a show that could do nothing but improve, what it did somehow. In season 2 my favourite episodes are 2x02, 2x04, 2x10 and 2x12. One of my favourite scenes ever is the one between Lydia and Jackson, when he recognises her and she says " I do still love you". That was such an heartbreaking performance, and the chemistry between Holland and Colton was over the top, no one can deny it. In season 3 my favorite episodes are 3x01, 3x02, 3x06, 3x07, 3x10. It was such a great season, but with episodes that ruined the mood to me. 3b was hands down the best season, even if they ended that with nonsense, as they love to do. Favorite episodes are 3x13, 3x16, 3x18, 3x22, 3x24. Then everything goes to f*ville in season four. Probably the best episodes in that season are 4x01, 4x02 and 4x12, to me. The rest is bland and such a huge mess I want to forget everything I saw. I haven't watched season 5 or 6, but I know that the only thing that saved s5 was marrish. Without Derek Hale, I still had Stiles, Lydia, Kira and Parrish, but the storylines were so boring, and I hated how they treated the sterek fandom, obviously so I stopped watching, but I wanted to spoil myself anyway. Not to mention s6 being basically a stydia fanfiction, I didn't want to witness. LOST PLOTS, MAGICAL METAS AND WHATEVER Every season used to have lost plots that would have been really really interesting, and metas fans used to write that were actually on point. In season one I remember people used to theorise that Jackson was actually Peter's lost son, because of the dreams of the fire he had (but that was maybe because of Derek's claws). In season 3 there was this lost plot Jeff wanted to use, about the alpha pack being Jackson's parents true killers and Ethan and Aiden trying to trick Lydia and Danny because they were the people Jackson cared about the most. There's a video about that. In 3b I remember correctly the "void t-shirt meta" and "Allison is another Nogitsune meta". But the one that still bothers me is this one: "Malia was supposed to be a villain meta, that was the most valid I've ever seen. For all of you Malia fans, being a villain isn't a bad thing at all. I don't want to diminish her character, as the writers actually did, I just want to point her inconsistency. I'm Italian and the name "Malia" (this is one of the metas I read) reminds me to the word "Ammaliare" that means "to charm someone". Malia is a coyote, and coyotes are TRICKSTERS, introduced during the season where tricksters were the focal point of the show. I refuse to believe that Malia wasn't supposed to be another villain because 1) She's written as Peter's daughter, and that's enough. 2)Her rescue took place during an episode called "more bad than good, that means that saving her would have caused troubles. But it's the episode 3x18 that reveals something more about this theory. Long short story: Stiles thought he was in EH basement, but he was in a coyote den instead. WHY EVERYONE SLEEPS ON THIS? I repeat: Stiles was found in a coyote den, that he thought he was EH basement. Then in 3x20 he had the infamous scene in the actual basement, with Malia, a coyote. The episode where they cut a powerful scene between Stiles and and Claudia to actually show the whole sex (??) encounter. During Malia's shower scene, the song is about not going to sleep, and being caught. That's when Malia wants to help Stiles, and when she starts to connect with him by using GUILT. Stiles saw the nogitsune, while sleeping and then he sees Malia. He lets the nogi in himself, just to protect her? I don't believe it a bit. Malia is a trickster, she tricked Stiles and worked along with the nogitsune. She charmed everyone, because it in her name. Then they changed the plans and let her stick around, but she was supposed to stay for a few episodes. I saw again her face while going out from Eichen House at the end of the episode. Yeah she was helping somehow Scott, but she was going out from EH. That whole episode is sketchy, it's a trick. The sex scene is an easily parallel with the one between Derek and Jennifer, when she basically seduced him and raped him. In both "motel California" and "Eichen House" the sex scenes are creepy and unnecessary, because they aren't sex scenes. They are a trick to both of the characters involved. In season 4, I l've always thought Danny was going to be the benefactor because he knew about the supernatural+ he is an hacker so he would have known how to use computers. That was seriously a lost opportunity. I don't know about s5/s6 but I read there was a wild hunt going around, and Ghost riders being involved in it. Ghost riders they didn't know how to defeat. And Lydia being the only one remembering Stiles, - forgetting about the stydia nonsense- because she can actually remember him because of their friendship? Connection? (Poor one because she didn't act like an anchor AT ALL when he tried to close the door to supernatural in his mind in 3x13...) How could they save Stiles with a coherent plot? They had Lydia, her effective connection with the hellhound Parrish, and Kira's thunder that was a weapon against Ghost riders somehow. Guess who they got rid of? Arden because they didn't know how to use her character (!!!!) and Marrish scenes because they had to tear down every Lydia connection that made sense to prop up Stydia. That's why I don't trust the writers anymore. They don't know what they're doing. But I'll have fun with watching their attempt of making sense, so I'll watch these 7 episodes left.