#csfrm

[snowbellewells]

CS Fic Rec Monday: "Past the Veil of Shadows" by: @4getfulimaginator2022

This crossover WP fic is still ongoing, but the author updates very regularly, and I get more and more engrossed in the story with every new chapter she posts. I don't even know that much about Game of Thrones (which is the fandom OuaT is crossed over with here) but @4getfulimaginator2022 has written the two characters from it so beautifully that I am empathizing with them almost as much as her Emma and Killian.

This action picks up from the season 3 finale in the OuaT timeline, which was prime CS goodness, and if you wanted to see them get more time in the show than they did onscreen, then this fic will give you that. You also get to see Killian in his pirate element here, which is thrilling as well. I love the high stakes and the adventure as well, and my heart goes out to Emma as she is yearning to get back to Henry and her other loved ones once more.

I'm definitely excited to see where else this story might take me, and who else I might meet along the way! If you love a good adventure with drama and feeling to equal the plot, then this one is one you should check out!

"Past the Veil of Shadows" by: @4getfulimaginator2022

[searchingwardrobes]

CS Fic Rec Monday

One of my favorite writers in the fandom is @welllpthisishappening​ , and while I can confidently rec all of her fics, today I am highlighting this one that was her entry in the Captain Swan Supernatural Summer event last year. This unique story gives an alternate version of the Enchanted Forest, the curse, and Dark Hook. It is really difficult to put this story into words, it is so good! As I was making a picset for this, I realized just how much she packed into this story. She features almost every character we know and love from Once, not just the ones I chose here. And like always, she writes the most beautiful found family in this story. Enjoy!

Author: @welllpthisishappening​

Summary: Magic is dying.

Emma knows it. She can feel it, the emptiness rattling around in her, like it’s trying to make sure she disappears as well. What she doesn’t know is what to do about it, because, suddenly, there is a man in Storybrooke claiming she’s the Savior and a seeress certain a prophecy promises the same and the last thing she expects is for her minimal amount of lingering power to pull her away.

To New York City.

And another oddly familiar man with blue eyes and a smile that sinks under her skin and makes magic bloom in the air around her. Things are about to get interesting.

Rated: M

Length: 27 chapters (complete)

Read on Ao3

[let-it-raines]

CS Fic Rec Monday

I hope you’re all staying safe and inside as much as physically possible! I said I was going to do this weeks ago, but I finally remembered to queue it all up! Here are some dang good multi-chapter fics you can curl up with! You’ve probably already read them if you’ve been around for awhile, but rereading is fun, too! Plus, I know these writers would get excited to see a new comment or two 😘 

-/-

As Real As You Want it To Be by @ive-always-been-a-pirate​: Teaching at the same school as Killian Jones was both infuriating and distracting, but when he throws Emma under the bus for the final time, she devises a plan to get back at him. After all, nobody likes to go to a wedding alone. Time for some CS AU fake dating.

Warm Nights and Firelight by @oubliette14​: When in the wake of a messy breakup Emma makes the impulsive decision to return home to her parent's ranch in the Rockies, she certainly doesn't expect to find a strange Irish guy living in what was once her apartment over the garage, and she definitely doesn't imagine that the home she couldn't wait to be rid of five long years ago would be the very place her heart begins to heal.

If Looks Could Kill by @wellhellotragic​: Emma Swan is a dedicated FBI agent getting over a bad breakup. When she and her partner, Ruby Lucas, are forced to go undercover as contestants on a reality show, Emma is forced to try and win the affections of Killian Jones, a man she despises.Killian Jones is a lost boy. Having recently been nicknamed the ‘Bad Boy of Boston,’ he’s been living up to his moniker using women and rum to avoid dealing with his dark past. When he’s forced to take the lead in a reality show, he encounters a gorgeous blonde who turns his world upside down. Miss Congeniality meets The Bachelor.

The Reason by @xemmaloveskillianx​: The three of them share a laugh before they all look to Emma. She has yet to comment on the new addition because she isn’t sure what to say. She usually doesn’t like change, they have a good thing going there, just the four of them. Plus, they all know him and she doesn’t, but she trusts their judgement, and she’s sure any brother of Liam can’t be all that bad.So, with a shrug and a smile she says, “Welcome to Storybrooke, Killian Jones.

The Wife by @ineffablecolors​: No one knows all that Emma has been through and certainly no one knows all that Killian has been through and being husband and wife doesn’t make them any less unknown to each other. And really, how can you help someone heal when you don’t even know how hurt they are?

Beauty in the Aftermath by @high-seas-swan​: Confronted with the sudden appearance of her birth parents, Emma, in a moment of panic, flees. She flees the diner, Storybrooke, the country. She finds herself a day later in the Dublin, Ireland Airport terminal wondering what the hell she has gotten herself into. With some fear, a little determination and a considerable amount of faking it along the way, she sets off on a trip she never planned on taking but needed more than she ever knew. She finds herself, she finds a Brit adrift on his own journey and finds out what home really means.

Playing the Part by @shireness-says​: As a stage manager who's clawed her way up from the bottom, Emma Swan can handle just about anything thrown her way. But does that include handsome lead actor Killian Jones? A CS Broadway AU.

Love, Kindness, and Other Useless Things by @joneskillian​: CS AU, set in 1815. Lord Killian Jones is haunted by the demons of his past which makes him nowhere near the man he once was, so he can't be the father he wants to be. And above all, he believes he is undeserving of love. Perhaps with Emma that is all about to change. But falling in love is never easy, that's just how it is.

Something Like You Love Me by @bemusedbicycle​: Emma decides the best way to get Mary Margaret off her back about Walsh is to say she already has a boyfriend. Except she doesn’t. That’s where Killian comes in. Fake!Engagement fic.

a one time thing (and other untruths) by @weezlywrites​: "She supposes the reason she tells him is the same reason she kept his phone number after all those weeks." Pregnancy has a way of throwing a wrench in one's plans.

Alone, until I get Home by @peglegsjones​: In Boston, Henry Swan's six-year-old brother Ian finds a book titled "Once Upon a Time" hidden beneath the seat in their mom's old yellow bug. As soon as Henry touches it, he remembers.Season 3 Canon Divergence-Emma finds out she's pregnant a few weeks after she and Henry leave Storybrooke with new memories and new lives. Nearly seven years later, another Dark Curse puts her family in danger, and Emma must return to Storybrooke to help them.Who's powerful enough to cast the Dark Curse? And how the hell is she going to tell Hook they have a son together?

Knock, Knock by @charmingturkeysandwich​: Emma Swan has made the best of her crappy apartment ever since she became best friends with her neighbor, Ruby. But when Ruby moves out and a loud Brit takes her place, the thin walls and lack of space are suddenly not so endearing. After a particularly stressful day, Emma decides to confront the nightmare next door, and entirely against her better judgment, she might just be making a friend.

These Nights Aren’t Made For Thinking by @nowforruin​: AU. Emma Swan came to Portland, ME to start over. She's got a job she loves, but when a particular case gets under her skin, she finds herself visiting the Jolly Roger and its curious bartender, Mr. Killian Jones, more often than she thinks is wise. But some nights aren't made for thinking. Captain Swan.

On the Two by @lifeinahole27​: He’s one bad trip from ending up in AA, and she’s one performance away from a solid job and moving closer to home. Their paths were unlikely to cross until Camp Hope brought them together. How and why they meet and intertwine is against the odds, and definitely against the rules, but will that really stand in their way? A Dirty Dancing inspired modern au.

Separate Lives by @lenfaz​: Set after 3x20 "Kansas". After saving the town one more time, Emma decided to return to New York, leaving her past behind. Three years later, she realizes that might be not have been the best decision.

Natural Opposite by @searchingwardrobes​: Dance is more than Emma Swan’s career; it’s practically saved her life on more than one occasion. But when it comes to reality TV shows, she’s always danced in the shadows of her twin brother David and her sister Elsa. Her first season as a pro on Dancing With the Stars was a disaster, and she enters her second season determined to prove herself. All she needs is a good partner. Hollywood bad boy and ladies’ man Killian Jones isn’t what she had in mind.

Walking in a Straight Line by @msgenevievee: It’s one of the oldest stories in the book. Two old friends have a few too many drinks, two old friends share a kiss. Happens all the time, right? But what happens when only one of them actually remembers it?

Out of the Frying Pan by @welllpthisishappening​: Emma Swan is only doing this for one reason, well, make that two. To get her show's numbers back up and, maybe, impress her son. She doesn't like admitting to that second one though.Killian Jones is doing this for absolutely, positively, just one reason. To expand his restaurant. And maybe get Regina off his back. So that's kind of two reasons.Neither one of them is doing a year-long Food Network all-star competition because they're celebrity chefs and there's not really any other choice. Of course not. And neither one of them is enjoying it because they maybe, kind of, sort of enjoy each other. That would be insane.

A Cold Awakening by @swanderful1​: Modern crime AU. Twenty years have gone by since Storybrooke was shaken to the core by a gruesome crime that went unsolved. Sheriff David Nolan and his partner, daughter Emma are forced to revisit the crime. At the same time, Killian Jones and his older brother Liam have been drawn back to the town they had longed to never see again, struggling to find their own answers. As taunting notes and clues show up they are taken on a journey to finally bring justice for the Jones family. And Emma Nolan finds herself caught in a situation more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.

Beyond the Horizon by @alexandralyman​: AU: When Princess Emma's ship is captured by the Jolly Roger and Captain Killian Jones, she offers herself as a hostage for ransom if he will let the ship and the other passengers go. With Emma, Killian remembers the honour he once held dear, and Emma catches glimpses of the gentleman Killian had been. Against all odds, the pirate and the princess begin to fall for each other.

[frauleinsmaria]

Meredith’s Favorite Fic Moodboards | @csficrecmonday

How Does Your Garden Grow by @theadventureofhistorygirl

A chance meeting with Mary Margaret Nolan in a juvenile detention floral design class sets Emma Swan on the path to being a florist. A rehabilitation program for disabled veterans gives Killian Jones his start in horticulture. Neither one ever imagined picking those paths, but they'll lead to each other. But can they keep the harder aspects of life from tearing them apart?

[mariakov81]

So yesterday I was thinking about the stories I love to reread. And there is the fic I've reread many times. It's raw emotion, it gets under your skin, it is about despair and hope, ...it's just brilliant!

This fic is at extremum terrae by @thisonesatellite

And I may have made a picset for it.

For @csficrecmonday

❤️

[clockadile]

@distant-rose‘s Ouat OC, Beth Jones. A very, very problematic child, and daughter of Killian and Emma.

I’m finally getting in on fic rec monday and kicking it off with some fic fanart because I was drawing it anyways.

You should read about Beth in A Once and Future Thing and in Ro’s Little Pirates series.

There are some amazingly sweet moments throughout of CS trying to raise their kids but with all the trouble you would expect from their offspring. But, A Once and Future Thing gets a special shout out for using the back to the future trope to dig into some heart wrenching parallels and themes as a troubled Adult Beth traipses behind an unknowing Captain Swan in the past. Beth is a fascinating character in her own right and her own rogue partner in crime, Jim Hawkins, makes this adventure all the better.

[csficrecmonday]

Announcing: CS Fic Rec Mondays!

In order to start the week on a little positivity, and to share the love, I propose to you a new event happening every Monday: 

 Fic Rec Mondays

Read a fic that you think deserves more love? That you like to read time and time again? That you’ve just discovered? Then share it with the community!

Nothing more simple: either reblog the original author’s post, or make one of your own, explaining what you love in this fic. Use the tag #csfrm, so that I can then gather all the recs on this Tumblr, tagging them by genre and length so other people can find what suits their mood.

Help spread some good vibes by making authors happy when they get more traffic, and by perhaps providing readers with a gem they hadn’t discovered before!

Hope to see you all on Monday!

[sals86]

Captain Swan Fic Rec Monday

My rec for today’s @csficrecmonday is:

Practice Makes Perfect by @rubyrose82

Emma and Killian have been dating for three months now and Hook still hasn't made any moves to take things to the next level. Finally Emma confronts him and gets an answer she wasn't expecting.

Rated: M

Chapters: 1

Words: 4k

ff.net & AO3

[laschatzi]

CS Fic Rec Monday

Today for @csficrecmonday I’d like to go back to the roots of @ilovemesomekillianjones‘ smut writing with New Things: in their new, blossoming relationship Emma feels safe enough to tell Killian about some of her fantasies... 

Delicious, kinky smut with a lot of feelings! Enjoy!

[darkcolinodonorgasm]

CS Fic Rec Monday: Knowing Little Notes

Knowing Little Notes by @accio-ambition

Rating: T.

Chapters: 1/1.

Plot: Emma Swan doesn’t do kids. Or, more accurately, she hasn’t done kids. But when a friend in need asks her to do kids - more specifically teach them - Emma dips her toes into the education field. Her first foray into substitute teaching is for Mr K. Jones, who proves to be a great asset in this whole “learning to teach” thing. It helps Emma understand what her friends get out of the job: that the best life lessons sometimes come from students and a nice little note.

This is pure teacher fluff™, tooth-rotting so, and I’m a sucker for it! It makes me go ahkgsdghsgkjskjgsdj *ç*

[snowbellewells]

CS Fic Rec Monday: "Call Disconnected" by: @exhaustedpirate

Okay, so this long one shot by @exhaustedpirate was published back in the fall, as part of the autumn bingo prompts that were happening then, but I am slow and just now getting to rec it properly. I loved this story - it had the feel of going back to the beginning of the show's timeline, with Emma concerned with working at the sheriff station, the action and mysteries centered on Storybrooke and its inhabitants versus various other realms, and of course the inclusion of Graham as a still-living, breathing, and involved character!!! (That last one in itself never fails to get me onboard! ;)

Anyway, I liked it so much, I even attempted some cover art. Hopefully you'll like it @exhaustedpirate! And if you haven't taken the chance to read this one yet, Go and do so now!

"Call Disconnected" by: @exhaustedpirate

[searchingwardrobes]

CS Fic Rec Monday

If you like angst during the holiday season instead of pure fluff, this fic is for you! It’s set just after Christmas, so maybe it would be more fitting for January, but the icy weather that causes the story’s conflict still works for this time of year. Not to mention the touching family moments sprinkled throughout.

Genre: canon-compliant, angst with a happy ending, family feels

Length: 5 chapters, complete

Rating: T

Trigger warnings: car accident

Darkness Before Dawn (leave hopes light on) by @snowbellewells​

Summary: A lovely holiday season has come and gone, and Emma hates to see it end. However, much more pressing concerns quickly take precedence when she and Henry are in a wreck. Now the Savior is fighting for her life, and those who love her can only hope she'll find her way out of the darkness one more time…

Read on Ao3

[let-it-raines]

Fic Rec Monday

Is this still a thing? This should definitely still be a thing. I am SO far behind on reading. It’s just not a thing that’s been easy for me lately, but you guys are chugging along and creating great content! That’s something that deserves some recognition, so here’s some stories that have posted lately! ❤️

-/-

Hold Onto What We Are by @peglegsjones: The Final Battle is approaching—whatever the hell that is. Apparently Emma has a part to play, though she has no idea what exactly is required of her—or what it will cost her. All she knows is that the two pink lines on her pregnancy test just raised the stakes.

(It’s not a fic rec post if I don’t include this one. lol.)

Given The Choice by @winterbythesea: Post-Neverland canon divergence in which everyone returns to Storybrooke with Pan safely trapped in Pandora's Box, and Emma tries to come to grips with her strange new life featuring pirates, parents, and flying monkeys.

(I’m behind on updates, but I know it’s brilliant because of who the author is.)

Chills and Thrills by @captainstudmuffin: Emma Swan has built her entire career on her reputation as a serious force in the ghost hunting world. When the network executives backing her paranormal investigation show decide that a co-episode with another team is needed to boost ratings, can she swallow her pride and learn to work with the group that makes a mockery of her profession? And what will this partnership mean when the other team's frontman, Killian Jones, isn’t the person he seems to be on television?

(On trend with me, I’m also behind on this one but have read the first chapter and a half and the detail alone is literally the greatest...among all of the other things that make it great!)

Beyond the Horizon by @alexandralyman: When Princess Emma's ship is captured by the Jolly Roger and Captain Killian Jones, she offers herself as a hostage for ransom if he will let the ship and the other passengers go. With Emma, Killian remembers the honour he once held dear, and Emma catches glimpses of the gentleman Killian had been. Against all odds, the pirate and the princess begin to fall for each other.

(I literally forgot this updated until after I made the original post so adding this in! It’s magical)

All The Memories We Make Will Never Change by @spartanguard: Oh don't you wonder when the light begins to fade? / And the clock just makes the colors turn to grey / Forever younger growing older just the same / All the memories that we make will never change (Henry and Lucy find some polaroids of a long-lost night, of a couple in the throes of young love. / Emma and Killian meet in a nightclub, and their lives will never be the same.)

when the snow falls (and the white winds blow) by @scientificapricot: Emma stares at Liam for a second, gauging whether his eyes match his words. Though there is hesitance in his gaze, his shoulders are set with determination, and she knows that ensuring his little brother’s well-being is the only thing that matters to him right now.

hello love (a silent kiss from a wish) by @ohmightydevviepuu: When Elsa admitted that she had no control over the ice swirling around and seeping into Emma’s bloodstream, Emma knew fear unlike any she’d experienced yet.She just--she wanted to believe that everything was going to be okay.

And that they would all live, happily ever after. 

(She was barely conscious and did not see the glow of the wishing star in the ice underneath her.)

Wouldn’t You Like To Know by @thisonesatellite: This is my take on How And When Emma And Killian Got Together: Three moments in time inside S3, three turning points on their road to each other.

it’s yours, it’s mine by @shardminds: Sometimes, Emma loves Killian Jones— well, all of the time, really. ‘Til death do us part and all that. Sometimes, however, in situations like these, as Whale pulls the thick glass shard from her palm, she really wishes he’d shut up.He won’t. He never does.

home is the sailor, home from the sea by @thejollyroger-writer: Killian Jones, captain of the Misthaven Royal Guard and best friend to Crown Princess Emma, just lost some of his best men in a skirmish with Camelot, including his co-captain and brother Liam and Neal Cassidy, the father of Emma's eight year old son. But losing these men wasn't the hard part -- telling Emma is. Will these losses finally give them each the courage they need to give in to their long-ignored feelings for each other?

The Convenient Groom by @searchingwardrobes: Killian Jones just happens to be there when Emma Swan gets the phone call that changes everything: her fiance is leaving her at the altar. The thing is, it also could mean the end of her career. Convenient that Killian has nothing better to do that day. Convenient that he’s secretly in love with her. Not that Emma has to know that.

-/-

Remind me and next week I’ll get you guys some recs of older stories that I read when I was not a commenter because they definitely deserve from love from me.

[frauleinsmaria]

Meredith’s Favorite Fic Moodboards | @csficrecmonday

Black Swan by @hopelessalways

"Emma Swan," Killian announces, and she hates that she loves the way her name sounds on his lips. "Darling of the ballet world, expected to be the next Margot Fonteyn, until you mysteriously disappeared when you were 18 - only to burst back onto the scene four years ago, somehow even better than you were before, shocking everyone with dazzling performance after dazzling performance. And now here you are, fresh from the American Ballet Theatre, for the role you know will make or break your career."

He grins, a heart-stopping stretch of perfectly white teeth, and she bites down her answering smile. It won't do to be attracted to the choreographer. Of course, then he walks away, and she can't stop herself from admiring the curve of his obviously toned backside. He winks at her over his shoulder, catching her in the act of ogling him, and her cheeks burn.

She is so screwed.

(Emma the ballerina and Killian the choreographer, breaking down each other's walls.)

[mariakov81]

CS FIC REC MONDAY

Drift by @thisonesatellite

Emma is the sheriff of a small coastal town.

The guy who moves into the cottage a few miles out is quiet and keeps to himself, mostly. The fact that they keep running into each other is purely coincidental. Really. And then winter comes and brings a blizzard.

Next up on Trope-a-palooza: Snowed In. With some mutual pining thrown in.

It's a brilliant story! Happy ending with bits of angst and a lot of snow. It's like a nature itself has got tired of occasional meetings and mutual pinning and decided to take the matter in its hands. Cut from the rest of the world with snow Emma and Killian have no other way but to be together, open up and share their feelings!

(for @csficrecmonday )

[ineffablecolors]

CS Fic Rec Monday

So, I haven’t had the time to do this in awhile but I’m gonna stick with my theme-based rec lists. This week:

Fics that are always at the back of my mind.

Summoning Love by @bleebug [AO3 for easy access to all parts] - Recently I’ve started thinking that either disaster witch Emma has put a spell on me or demon Killian has possessed me (wouldn’t that be nice) because I literally constantly remember this fic out of the blue and just sigh wistfully and go re-read it and sacrifice a virgin or two in the hopes of more. What is even worse(better) the artwork that goes along with it is so freaking amazing!! I had it as my phone home screen for ages and I need to put it back cuz it’s definitely the favourite one I’ve had. It’s just... @bleebug is the full package and so is this verse and I don’t think I’ve managed to even scratch the surface of how much I love witch!Emma/demon!Killian.

Pay It Forward by @acrobat-elle [AO3] - Listen, I think I should be given some sort of award for holding on until my second #csfrm to mention this one. I mean it’s beautiful and so damn real and just so... ugh, so realistic and brutally honest. But really, I don’t think I can really properly explain why I love this fic so much. I feel like I have decided that it will forever be my precious on and so it shall be.

Deeply Loved by @emn1936 (anyone know if they are on tumblr?) - So a few months ago I put a search post out for this fic because I keep losing it (worry not, it is now in my favs on ff.net where it belongs) and I keep remembering it and wanting to reread it. And when I say keep remembering and rereading I mostly mean the whole scene between Killian and Emma at Granny’s. Guys, you know I like my man being treated like he deserves but what I love equally as much is when Emma acknowledges when she hasn’t done that and makes amends and ugh, that scene in his room at Granny’s where she is kneeling by his chair is searing into my mind forever.

Cassé, Retrouvé, Sauvé by @killian-whump - if you do whump at all, you gotta do this whump!! It has it all - the physical torture, the psychological trauma, the shame and humiliation, the hurt and comfort, the rescue and recovery. Just... ughhh! It’s both a fantastic Killian whump piece but also a fantastic CS piece and I think about that scene where Killian is first found and rescued probably more often than is strictly healthy. But I won’t tell, if you don’t.

OK, this last one is both a rec and a search because I cannot stop thinking about it but I also cannot find it (I’ve been trying for the last hour, I’ve scoured @killian-whump and @sherlockianwhovian‘s blogs :D).  It’s very firmly in the whump category - Killian is rescued and brought to the hospital but Emma shows up there he doesn’t want to see her and freaks out at the very mention of her name. After scouring his captors’ records they figure out that they made him think that he saw Emma and Henry being killed in front of him and... I can give more details for anyone willing to get the literally gory details. I think it was a 3-parter and ugh, someone please?

thank you so much to @wyntereyez and @hollyethecurious for opening my eyes! I’m such an idiot. of course it would be @killian-whump. I scoured your “hospital” tag but completely forgot to look in “mental hospital”. please, excuse my blunder, love!