#emma arrests gold

[saveme-storybrooke-potc]

Melody: Oh! Because you're too afraid to ask Hope Swan-Jones to go with you. Gideon: That's not true. That's not true at all. Melody: [Begins her chicken dance] Chaw-chee-chaw-chee! Gideon: What is that? Is that a chicken? Malcolm: What's this? Melody: Gideon is scared to ask out Hope. Gideon: No, I'm not. Malcolm: This is priceless. [Starts chicken dancing with Melody] Malcolm: Caw-ca-caw-ca-ca-caw! Gideon: Oh, come on. Those aren't even birds!

[nefarious-nightjar]

Jack's list of Various Omega Red Media

@strongestbanner this is for you, if you are still curious about getting more into Omega Red's character! :D

EDIT, as of 09/17/2024: THIS LIST IS OUTDATED GO FIND THE SPIFFY NEW ONE HERE :)

———————————

Beneath all the murder, the bloodshed, the Soviet State intervention, and the medical malpractice, I really like Omega Red and I find him to be such and intriguing character; if not, in the least, quite the illusive one.

Marvel has never really given him a proper origin story, nor have they fleshed out his background like they have for other villains (like our boy Sabretooth). We don't really know all too much about him and his past apart from the few bits and pieces dropped here and there throughout his very scattered appearances. Even then, there are still some contradictions in the little we do have about him, so good luck with piecing together his past lol.

Regardless, I hope this list can at least give a glimpse into Arkady Rossovich as a character, and how he has been written and portrayed by the various writer throughout his 30 years of existence :)

— Comics —

So! We start with the comics! I'm going to try and place these in a roughly chronological order, but some of it gets a little hard to place timeline wise. This is also by no means a wholly comprehensive list, but I thought I'd highlight some of the more prominent ones I like and let you go from there!

X-Men (1991) #4-#7 Omega Red makes his first ever comic book appearance, yippee! These comics officially introduced Omega Red and his powerset, a well as his history with Wolverine, Sabretooth, and Maverick during their time as CIA operatives.

X-Men (1991) #17-19 Enter, the Soul Skinner! This little ark isn't too widely talked about (at least where I am), but I find this to be an intriguing one nevertheless, especially in it's regards to Omega Red. With a mutant that is terrorizing an isolated Siberian town, the Russian Government sends Omega Red to investigate. Turns out Omega is just as vulnerable to his psychic powers as the rest of the village, and he Soul Skinner ends up mind-controlling and manipulating Arkady into fighting the X-Men when they arrive to help.

Maverick: In the Shadow of Death (1997) This little one-shot is about as close to a 90’s followup to Omega Red’s debut as you can get. Focusing almost entirely on Maverick, Omega Red, and John Wraith, this little comic does a decent job at trying to explain his mutant death factor and his motivations for all of his killings, as well as using the words “carbonadium synthesizer” and “mutant death factor” more that was probably necessary. (also John Wraith gets to use a bazooka and i think that's fun. they need to let him do that more often lol)

*Iron Man (1968) #295-#297 Another one of his earliest appearances. Being such a new character, there is, sadly, not too much to him here. BUT it does establish the character of Olinka Barankova, Arkady's creator and someone who remains an important figure to his history.

*Cable (1993) #9-#11 This ark gives us some very good insight on how Arkady views himself, especially during the early period after which he was unfrozen in the modern day.

*Generation X (1994) #10 and #11 Arkady attacks Emma and Banshee’s little team in the present, while Banshee has flashbacks to his time as an Interpol agent, when he chased down and arrested Arkady BEFORE he went through the Carbonadium bonding process.

Wolverine (1988) #170, #173-#175 Here he shows up, working alongside Lady Deathstrike for Sabretooth.

Wolverine: Origins (2006) #6-#10, and #36-#40 I have not read all of this run yet, so I cannot speak too much on it. Only that showing up briefly in issues #6-10, Omega is mostly there as a back ground antagonist. And, come issues #36-#40, he reappears to be killed off.

X-Men Gold (2017) #9-#11 To Quote the Stone Roses, "I am the resurrection and I am the life". The ones in which Arkady gets his ass resurrected, yay! Can't say much on the run itself, but I'm mainly mentioning it to help place the status of Omega Red, so that you are not left questioning why on earth he's suddenly alive the next time he appears :/

Weapon X (2017) #17-#27 With Sabretooth newly leading Weapon X, he ends up being lured and dragged away by Omega Red during a mission. After a good amount of back and forth and a lot of bloodshed, Creed ends up offering Arkady a chance at redemption from all of the Soviet medical malpractice and lack of autonomy he's been put through at the hands of S.I.C.K.L.E. Accepting the offer, Arkady ends up joining Creed's X-Force in defeating S.I.C.K.L.E.'s Director, Vassily Rossovich.

Now I feel like I need that Gordon Ramsey meme with the "finally some good fucking food" text. These issues, especially #17-#21, are some of the best for Omega red and his characterization. Hands down. As well, this is technically the first time we every get to see him be a “good guy” of sorts, and joining Sabretooth’s version of Weapon X/X-Force for the rest of the comics' run.

Now, this brings us to the Krakoa era! There is quite a bit, so bare with me. Outside of his prominent presence in the X-Lives of Wolverine special, his appearances are very sporadic and a little hard to follow, though you'll usually find him kicking around in both Wolverine or X-Force. I will also admit that I am NOT up to date with all of the krakoa era stuff, so there may have been a good few comics in which I've missed.

His Krakoa appearances, in order (that I can remember) are:

Wolverine #1, Wolverine #4, X-Force #12, X-Force #15, Wolverine #8, Wolverine #11-#12, all five issues of X-Lives of Wolverine, X-Force #27-Present, and Wolverine #26-#27

* Lastly, there is also this website you can check out for finding all of Omega Red's comic book appearances in chronological order. I will admit, I found this a hard list to start with because it can very easily get overwhelming from the sheer amount of stuff to it. But then again, I'm not your boss, and if you want to got combing through every last little bit of Arkady's appearances, then by all means go hog wild and check it out! for yourself :)

— The Animated Series —

I thought I would add Arkady's appearances in the Animated series for the sole purpose of verity. He is in no way a major occurrence, but when he gets his spot light, I feel that he shines like like hell.

"Red Dawn" S2 Ep.4 Outside of a very brief flash of his face seen in Sabertooth's flashbacks during the S1 Ep.4 "Deadly Reunions", this episode is Omega's first real and proper appearance, as well as his introduction into the animated show. Having been resurrected by some radical Generals looking to reclaim and reform the Soviet Union, Arkady wrecks havoc on the Republic's capital and ultimately tuns on the Generals to try overthrowing the Russian Parliament and take control of the Soviet Union for himself.

"A Deal With the Devil" S4 Ep.2 Arkady gets his ass unfrozen by the American government to clean up the remains of a Soviet submarine filled with nuclear war heads off the Hawaii coast. This episode really showcases his cunning and his drive for self determination, even as he drags Wolverine and Storm kicking and screaming into his evil plot to nuke the world.

"Weapon X, Lies and Video Tapes" S4 Ep.16 Not much to mention of Arkady here, but he does shows up in flash backs to the Weapon X Mission where they were tasked with retrieving the C-Synth.

— Fanfiction —

Yes, I am recommending fanfiction, sue me. But honestly, although fanfiction is fanfiction and "rrraaagh Not Canon Material™!!! >:(", I still wanted to honourably mention the work of Soviet_Supersoldier's Living Weapon, Living Computer and a touch of Luck on ao3. It is, as they describe, "A behind-the-scenes journey through the 2019 X-Force and Wolverine series."

With passionate dedication to weaving together the gaps of the sporadic appearances of Omega Red through the Krakoa Era, and to giving characters outside of Wolverine their due, I find this work to be a lovingly crafted case study of Arkady, Sage, Neena, and other non-titular characters we see in the Krakoa Era. I will happily pour my heart out for this work, even if it one day bleeds me dry.

[caliburn-the-sword]

i think one of the biggest let downs for me in ouat was the daily mirror (honestly my own fault for thinking too hard). i'm sure that this has been said a hundred times but i feel so much about it.

not to be captain of the obvious, but within the very first few episodes of season 1 the major power structures in storybrooke are established: mayor's office, sheriff's station, mr gold's shop, and the daily mirror. prior to emma's arrival as the saviour, all of these uphold regina's reign.

then over the course of the first season (with exception), you see the figureheads of these establishments lose their position some way or the other. graham dies early in the series, sidney glass loses his job and then gets arrested, and this all cumulates in the finale of season 1 and the beginning of season 2, where everyone's got their memories back and regina, while not formally losing her position as mayor, but does face the backlash of the entire town. gold is a notable exception to this since the writers always intended for him to be a major player, but it only takes him til season 3 to no longer own his shop cause he died, and then again in season 4 when he's banished.

but beyond this, everyone regina had in her pocket was replaced by someone on emma's side. emma herself takes over the role of sheriff when graham dies and that's where we see the first crack in the foundation of regina's authority. belle becomes the owner of the shop both times gold is indisposed. i'd like to reiterate for regina that while she never formally loses the role, david acts as a stand in during early season 2 to fill in that leadership role over the general town, and then in season 3 we see snow become mayor in title for a time (whatever happened to that plot...?)

circling back to the start, the only one that is never replaced is sidney in the daily mirror, which arguably should be the most important role to fill post breaking the curse since meta wise, the magic mirror is the evil queen's most iconic henchman, more than the huntsman ever was. additionally, i'm a very big fan of free press. it's SO influential and could have played a much bigger role in storybrooke. sidney had clearly been replaced, given we still see newspapers throughout the seasons, but i just wish something more could have been done with it.

my number one nomination AND expectation was that this was gonna be a slowburn of sorts to build up henry as he grew up over the series. not only would it be perfect for the obvious reason of henry's subsequent author storyline, but there would be something delicious about regina's most loyal confidant eventually being replaced by her own son. something it being some kind of foil, where instead of the loyalty being built upon obsession and coercion and control, it's built on mutual respect and love and trust. which would then ALSO tie in very nicely to the ending of season 6 when regina becomes mayor again, and of course her and emma are allies.

i assumed that this was pretty much confirmed during the whole author storyline, and that the second he became working age in the usa (forgive me idk what it is) he would start an internship at the daily mirror and eventually work his way up to becoming the most high profile journalist in storybrooke. season 5 touched on the author plotline nicely tho i wish we could have gotten a little something more. season 6 came and went, and if it touched on anything, it was so minor that i don't remember it.

this is probably what makes it most painful to me that SEASON 7 of all seasons was the closest (and yet simultaneously also the furthest) from achieving this. yes, his journey through the realms is important, but arguably defining his writing ability in season 7 to a novel of what he thought was completely imagined, serves almost the same purpose as the storybook from seasons 1-6, but undermines him and does a disservice to him. the whole podcast subplot was close but because this was seattle and not storybrooke, and so it's not a one for one replacement of sidney with henry.

[sideburns-and-cigarettes]

NEW EPISODE: Part 1, Ep. 15 - "Let's Catch Lupin and Go to Europe"

In this episode Drew, Emma, Chris, Natalie, and Guillaume discuss the Saturday morning cartoon hijinks of Part 1, Episode 15, "Let's Catch Lupin and Go to Europe."

Zenigata has a conference to attend in Europe. Lupin has a gold bust to steal. With the clock ticking, Zenigata hatches a plan to arrest Lupin once and for all. Surely he'll do it this time right?

...Right?

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Season 2 Rewatch Drabbles--2x14 Manhattan

Summary:  A series of 100-500 word drabbles to accompany my   rewatch of season 2 of Once Upon a Time as an attempt to finally jump   start the muse again.  There will be a drabble–either a deleted scene, a   “fix it” fic or a character musing for each episode of the season.    Focus will be on Emma, Henry, the Charmings and Killian–with an   emphasis on the very beginnings of Captain Swan’s epic love story, as   soon as a certain dashing pirate makes his appearance.  

Word Count: 482

Other Chapters: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (15) (16) (17) (17.5) (18) (19) (20) (21-22) (22)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Note: After watching this episode again, I once again have the strongest urge to force Neal to walk barefoot across a room full of legos and rusty nails. The following fic shows you exactly why.

“I get it,” Neal said with a patronizing smirk, “we’re all messed up. Let’s just try not to pass that on to Henry, okay?”

Emma nodded and dropped her eyes, emotionally collapsing in on herself as she watched him climb out onto the fire escape to talk to their son.  Suddenly she felt small, unimportant, petty.  Suddenly she was that unloved, emotionally stunted seventeen year old again.

For years after her arrest she’d hoped and dreamed of the moment she’d see Neal again, hoped he’d come back for her, hoped there was some reasonable explanation for why he’d left her, why he’d set her up for his crimes.

But as the years passed without even a word from him, that hope had died.  She decided she really should thank him.  He’d taught her a valuable lesson: that you’ve got to look out for yourself, never let anyone in.  She’d built the walls that had protected her for the past decade, and she was stronger for it.

So imagine her shock when she’d successfully run down Gold’s long lost son this afternoon, only to discover that son was Neal.

She’d wanted to hate him on sight; wanted to throw in his face how much he’d hurt her, wanted to at least show him she was over him, over it all, but she couldn’t.  As soon as she saw him, she realized she’d never stopped loving him.  She’d never gotten closure, and so, she’d never moved past being that lonely seventeen year old who’d wanted so desperately to be loved that she’d soaked up every scrap of affection Neal gave her like the parched ground when it finally got rain.

Emma had agreed to have a drink with him, finally asking him for the truth.  When he gave it to her, she wished he hadn’t.

“Did you know who I was when we met?” 

“If I had, I wouldn’t have gone near you.”

“You left me and let me go to prison because Pinocchio told you to?”

She’d left, her heart shattered all over again.

And then he’d returned to his apartment, and everything had hit the fan.  She’d had to come clean to Henry about his father, and the betrayal in her kids’ eyes had nearly destroyed her.  She knew what this kind of betrayal felt like, and she was damn well NOT going to let Neal further hurt her boy.

She’d tried to stand up to Neal, tried to show him one last time how much he’d hurt her, tried to give him one last chance to apologize–or at least explain, but what she’d gotten instead was condescension and a chiding about being petty with regard to their son.

Maybe Neal was right.  Maybe she still was nothing more than that unloved teenager who’d never be worth a damn as a girlfriend, as a mother, or even as a human being.

                                                                               NEXT CHAPTER-->

[ouatsnark]

saw a comment saying emma never held hook accountable for anything bad he did after they got together but she has though? i'm confused

My question would be... what did they want her to do?

Because Regina isn't held accountable and neither is Rumple. While Rumple may not be trusted he is still allowed to live his life. In fact, every time Regina does something wrong the others never say a word. Regina got away with the most heinous crimes against Emma, Henry and the Charmings and she wasn't even made to apologize.

Regina isn't held accountable for abusing Henry, wanting to kill Marian and how awful she was at directing the blame at Emma when it was her fault, all of her sarcastic and rude remarks, the way she uses the dagger on Emma, ripping out Belle's heart and using her...

Just going to note that before Emma and Hook get together:

When Hook attacks Belle on the town line, Emma arrests him.

When he leaves with the bean and returns, he's punched for it.

When Emma thinks he's lied about showing up in NY and endangering Henry, she calls him on it (not saying he did anything wrong, I'm just saying she called him out when she thought he did).

And after they get together?

How would she hold him accountable for things he did while Gold was controlling him when he was holding himself accountable? Why would she heap more punishment on him when he was already punishing himself? Y'all just mad he's a better character with better character.

When he doesn't tell her about finding out that he was responsible for David's father's death, she calls him on it AND breaks off their engagement. What else did you need her to do? Oh lemme guess run into Regina's arms? Yeah she's so in love with Regina that she ran to a bartender instead.

And if they mean about the things Dark Hook did then I encourage them to rewatch S5. He didn't ask to become the dark one. He didn't ask to be consumed by evil. And he sacrificed himself for not being strong enough to resist the Dark Ones agenda. He was also holding himself accountable here.

Was there more? Because those are just the things off the top of my head.

So my question remains... what do they think Hook needs to be held accountable for and what did they want Emma to do? Because whatever the answer is then the same rules need to be applied to Regina and Rumple. The show didn't always handle consequences in the best way but Killian faced the most (died & tortured) and the more heinous villains, Rumple and Regina, faced none. I know Regina apologists refuse to accept that Regina did bad things before and after her so called redemption but it's just a fact that she did.

[a-complex-joke]

The Toymaker Chapter 5

MASTERLIST

The whole thing was crazy, wild goose chases, broken relationships, and a baby being born all in one day.

At the hospital, Gold and Emma were not fighting but definitely not agreeing.

"... let's just say you owe me a favor" I heard the tail end of their conversation.

"Ahh Miss. Banks what brings you here" he turned to me.

"A baby was born, I want to see the baby"

"Well, then ill leave you, ladies, to it. Wish Ashely my best" he said leaving.

"What a prick," Emma said want he was out of earshot.

"How so, I find Gold rather charming"

"You seem to be the only one, he wasn't gonna let Ashley keep her baby. I had to make a deal with him. What a jerk"

"No, I'm mean he was just doing what would be best for both the children involved in this, Ashley works as a maid and unmarried how will she support them both, the girls good but she's still a kid"

Emma rolled her eyes at my protest.

"Look at the little toy I brought for the baby, they can't play with it for a while but still"

You'd think that, that Gold wouldn't have something stolen from him so soon, well that was a no.

Around a week later, after already so many things had happened Gold's house was robbed.

The now sheriff Emma got back most of the things but according to Gold, there was something very important missing.

"Hey Penny you're close to Gold, I think he's planning something, has he done anything suspicious" Emma questioned me.

"What do you think he's planning ?"

"I'm not sure just something that could get him in a lot of trouble, where is he."

"Well if he is not at his shop he's probably at this house"

"Nope I've checked both there anywhere else he could be, favorite restaurant, a nostalgic spot in town"

"I mean I think he's got a little cabin in the forest that he uses sometimes"

"Come on let's find that cabin.

The car ride was silent, a thick air between us.

Do I think he was doing something bad no, but what if I was wrong?

"Stay here, this could get dangerous," Emma ordered

"What why bring me then? Plus he's not a madman"

"I said stay !"

So I had, it was only a minute before Emma came out Yelling "Call an ambulance!"

"What Is Gold ok," I said dialing 911.

"It's not Gold who im worried about"

I Practly jumped hurrying to see what happen, "My god"

"Yeah, he's been beaten pretty well, Do you know him?"

"I mean, he sells Flowers in town and he was the one who robbed Gold right? That's all I know"

"When Gold was hitting him, Gold was yelling something about him hurting a woman, any idea who that might be"

"No."

The rest of it was mostly a blur flower guy was taken to the hospital and Gold was arrested.

He wasn't held for long on a count of connections and such.

The ring of the bell at the door.

"Sorry where closed come back tomorrow," I said.

"If it's closed Why are you still here, so late at night," The familiar voice of Gold said.

"Oh, just busy working away"

"Penny Im Sorry I hope you don't see me differently after everything that's happened recently."

"I may not know the exact reason for why you did it, but based on the little info I got from Emma you did it for a woman. Love is a two-head viper, just maybe next time hide it a bit better" I joked.

"So what's that you got?"

"Well It's a doll I've had for many years now gifted to me by an old friend, I was hoping you could restore it to its former glory, it was damaged in the robbery you see."

"No problem, She doesn't seem to be tattered up, maybe a week to repair"

"Thank you I look forward to seeing you work your magic," Gold said Taking his leave.

The doll was beautiful, and definitely made by a professional, but still with a flare of feeling homemade.

[forensicated]

"What you been up to? Looking for Nemo?"

Inspector Gina Gold to PC Emma Keane after she got knocked into a pool during an arrest.

[martianbugsbunny]

Who Makes You See Color (A CaptainCroc Soulmates AU Fic): Chapter 13

Hello, darlings, you all are about to read one of my favorite chapters! This is the one where Killian finally gets his turn at being yeeten, so you Killian stans (folk of good taste, if I may say so) better gird yourselves. Bad news for any Rumple stans, though, because he’s also getting clobbered in this chapter. I’m just throwing bad life twists at my dudes left and right here. Tags: @wastingstarsss Have fun!

Gold woke up feeling…fine. His neck was sore from sleeping on the couch, but the low mood and general ache were both gone. He felt a bit foolish for calling off work, and wondered if he’s just been overreacting.

He decided not to call Roger in. After all, it wouldn’t really be fair to him to go back on a day off. Gold would rather work, though, and it might be nice to have the shop to himself again.

As he was walking to the shop, bundled into a thick overcoat and a dark blue scarf, he passed by Doctor Whale. “Mr. Gold, if I might have a moment?” he asked, his voice shot through with the fear Gold associated with those trying to get an extension on their rent. He did own Whale’s apartment complex, yes, but as a doctor, Whale had never been one to fall behind on payments.

Gold didn’t really like Whale, and was loath to give him a second thought, and yet he stopped walking and gestured for him to get on with it.

“Roger Davies was recently brought into your employ, was he not?”

“He was.”

“Late last night he went into cardiac arrest. We were able to resuscitate him, but his condition is…not good. You should start looking for a new employee.”

Whale moved on, not having a clue what he’d just done. Gold stood there, numb, for a moment, processing what the doctor had said. Roger was too young to be having heart trouble. It didn’t make sense.

Gold shook himself out of his daze and wasted no more time getting to the hospital. Fortunately for him, he was well-feared enough that nobody dared to keep him from going to Roger’s side.

His condition was poor enough that he was in a room all by himself, not recovering in a group like the patients who had a chance. It was quiet, except for the sounds of the various machines that were hitched into his veins and shoved down his throat. After living in Storybrooke for twenty-eight years, most of which he had spent unaware that these machines were anything new to him, the medical devices used in the land without magic still frightened Gold. They seemed so invasive and unnatural—but if they could keep Roger alive, then they must be good.

“Roger, you don’t get to die,” Gold said. “Do you hear me? You’re going to see the curse broken, and I’m going to tell you how much I love you when you can understand what it truly means.”

Roger seemed alright, other than the machines. Gold hated when internal things went wrong; injuries where he could see blood or bruising made sense, they looked real. Internal wounds were mysterious and always seemed so out of the blue.

Maybe...it wasn’t really. Gold hesitated, then put his fingers to his own wrist. It was difficult for him to judge it accurately, so he took a deep breath and placed his hand over his chest. There. Buried beneath his own heartbeat was a second. The curse must be weakening; he hadn’t felt a second pulse since being brought to Storybrooke. (He probably would’ve thought he was insane, if he had.)

Roger’s heart—Killian’s heart—did know him, after all. His pain had found its way through their link and been subsumed. Gold shook his head. Killian Jones would’ve been able to withstand it; he, too, was immortal, and he, too, had been through a lot in his life. But Roger Davies had no clue about any of that. He believed that he was a simple, mortal man, and a mortal could never bear the pain of an eternal being. His heart knew well enough to take the pain, but his head knew little enough to be brought low by it.

“Damnit, Killian,” he sighed, squeezing Roger’s shoulder.

“Gold.”

Emma Swan stood in the doorway. She had been more confident, lately, and Gold had to admit she was a good sheriff. That might be a problem for him. “Yes, Miss Swan?”

“One of the nurses called. She said you forced your way into this patient’s room?”

Gold laughed quietly, shaking his head. “That may be a bit of an over exaggeration,” he said. “This patient is my—my employee, Roger Davies. I merely wanted to check on him. We’ve…become friends, in the past few weeks.”

Swan seemed to be testing her superpower on him. Her eyes narrowed. “Then why did you call him ‘Killian’ a minute ago?” she asked.

He couldn’t admit to believing Henry’s theory, even if it was the truth and he knew it. He was suspicious enough in general. “I believe you’re mistaken, Miss Swan,” he said. He put every ounce of Rumplestiltskin’s lying ability into that one sentence, hoping it would be enough to fool her. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a shop to open.”

After that day, the shop was a less interesting place to Gold. He couldn’t look at a lamp without thinking of how carefully Roger cleaned it, or even at the windows without remembering how handsome Roger looked with his sleeves rolled up to scrub them. He developed a raw spot on his finger from twisting the ring Roger had given back to him, which he found himself doing whenever he missed Roger.

It was often.

His trips to the hospital were regular, but not too frequent, to avoid drawing attention from Sheriff Swan. He could hardly believe the way time seemed to just move on without Roger. It didn’t seem right. Gold’s world stopped for him, so why shouldn’t everyone else’s?

There was never a single day, in all that continuing time, when Gold visited Roger and didn’t repeat those three words. Roger might die without knowing it, Gold could never be sure, but he could at least try to make him understand.

[hcrexcellency]

☼☾ ( jeanine mason, 30 , she/her , cis woman , de la rosa 5 ) - have you seen MARIA DE LA ROSA? we’ve heard through the grapevine that they’re DAUNTLESS but also TEMPESTUOUS. when you think of them , you think of A SHIP SAILING IN A SEA OF FOG, SMEARED PAINT ON CANVAS, HANDS COVERED IN GOLD RINGS.

Basics:

Name: Maria De La Rosa Title: Princess of Sicily Age: 30 Birthday: January 25th (Aquarius) Sexuality: Heterosexual Marital Status: Betrothed Positive Traits: Brave, tactical, creative, loyal, decisive Negative Traits: Violent, short-tempered, bold, cunning, vengeful. Hobbies: Painting, sailing, fishing, swimming Family: Vero De La Rosa (father), Diego De La Rosa (father), Felix De La Rosa (brother), Mechai De Medici (sibling-in-law).

The Story: (tw; murder, blood, drowning, fire, nightmares)

On board a ship that was so valiantly named The Serpent's Blood, a pirate captain and his appointed queen fell madly in love after killing her terrible husband. They abandoned her village life permanently for the high seas and birthed a daughter. Until the age of 5 years old, she was loved for and cared for by her parents, watching them pillage and plunder from below deck, watching her mother clean off her bloody sword. But life with this family went as soon as it came, for a raid by a mystery navy crew ended the lives of her parents and their entire crew, leaving the child as its only survivor. The poor girl washed up on the shores of Sicily, found by its kings and taken into their family. She had no memory of her previous life, no recollection of the raid. She was speechless, completely in shock. The kings named her "Maria", for she came from the sea and was given to them as a beloved gift. She grew up loved, learning to sail the moment she regained her voice. Though rebellious in nature and defiant by desire, she was a difficult, yet devoted child. Having younger siblings, as she grew older, only made it easier for her to sprinkle her bad influence all over them, taking them out to bars, going out with sailors, and learning their pirate heritage from the pirates themselves. One of those outings with the sailors lead Maria to a pirate captain's son. While contentious at first, their relationship grew from constant bickering to sailing a ship together and falling madly in love with one another on the high seas. They kept their affair a secret from her family, for fear that they wouldn't approve due to her being a princess and he a mere pirate. Whilst sailing together on a blissful evening, a navy ship arrived, arresting her lover for crimes of piracy and imprisoning him in the Caribbean. Maria was able to escape, but in doing so, she lost the love of her life, wondering if she were to ever see him again. She'd written diplomatic letters in hopes that he would be released to her as a personal bodyguard, but alas, there was no word in return. She was left to believe that he was dead, and so Maria relented and agreed to journey with her family to France to give up her fantasy romance on the high seas. However... Ever since that night, when love slipped through her fingers, Maria has been having the same nightmares. She believed, at first, that they were visions of the raid, but it was more than that. She seemed to be hiding below deck of a ship she did not recognize, blood, fire, and smoke surrounding her. Could it be those missing years from her childhood? Could there be something connecting her now to her birth parents? Now that there was little hope of her love surviving, she could bury her broken heart in research, attempting to discover who she is and where she really came from.

Similar Characters: Wednesday Addams (Wednesday), Imelda Rivera (Coco), Emma Swan (Once Upon a Time), Angelica (Pirates of the Carribbean), Anastasia (Anastasia)

Established Connections:

The De La Rosa Family. The Pirates-Turned-Royals are the toughest of the other royals families that reside in Versailles, though they tend to come off the most awkward at most royal function, particularly when it comes to horseback riding. Her Papí, Diego, is the easiest for people to approach, and Maria turns to him in vulnerable times where she needs reassurance and comfort. One could look to her Papá, Vero, and see exactly where her stoic and rigid personality came from, and therefore he is often the only one she'll listen to. Felix, her brother, is quite the opposite from her, yet she would protect them with her life, along with her sibling-in-law, Mechai.

Jakob Hölm. Fiancé. What she needed more than forgiveness was redemption, a chance to make up for the years at sea, abandoning her royal life for constant voyages. Choosing Jakob as her betrothed, which would make him the future King of Sicily, was the only thing she felt she could do; give the people a king they deserve. She finds him kind, easy to talk to, and comforting, and the fact that she wants to be near him is entirely confusing to her.

WC'S

FIRST MATE. A lady in waiting who is really the first mate of her crew. She was the only one whom she brought along to France to provide her some sense of sanity.

[kazoosandfannypacks]

Hey, this is your Santa popping in to say that there's been a slight delay in the delivery of your present this year. Hopefully, you'll be able to hang in there until we get this whole thing sorted out.

The work I've been meaning to give to you is undergoing revisions (after all, you shouldn't be given coal this Christmas- okay, okay, I'll stop with the bad puns..or whatever they are called).

I'm about two thirds of the way done (the last section being a bit longer- I think it will be done tomorrow and up by the 27th). I appologize for the delay hopefully you can hang in there and wait, for our delivery

As I'm not able to share the entirety of the gift with you, I'd love to be able to share atleast a bit of it with you. So Merry Christmas and here's a preview

-+-+'$^#&(+=×;,?×??-+-+'$^#&(+=×;,?×??

And so a camp was set up, as Emma convulsed under the images that flashed though her mind- Gold and Neal finding Henry. Pan- A prophecy. Alienation- Neal captured- Henry smiling, dancing along to the lost boys tunes- agony.

To the last one she startled awake. Henry's name on her lips amidst the faint music ricocheting of the walls of her mind. Scrambling out of her sleeping bag and out of the tent, she collided into Hook. Firewood cascading onto the ground, as she fell upon him, a rushed appology on her lips- pausing, as she was arrested by the concern in his eyes.

-+-+'$^#&(+=×;,?×??-+-+'$^#&(+=×;,?×??

I'm hoping your Christmas went well and that you're staying well. Looking forward to sharing your gift with you soon :) ho ho h-

Hello santa! Feel free to take all the time you need; I don't mind the anticipation!

I like this so far, and I can't wait to read the rest of it!!! Merry Christmas!

[middlemisty]

1x02 thoughts

I forget how unhealthy Regina’s relationship with henry is in season 1. Like Regina comes so far. 

Oooh who are these darkest souls? I don't think we ever see these characters again

I swear Giancarlo Esposito who plays Sydney is like in every show I've ever watched

I’ve always liked cinnamon on my hot chocolate is it really like a weird thing for people to do?

Emma has literally been in Storybrooke for 2 days and got arrested twice 😂

Emma cutting down Regina's apple tree (even if it was like just a branch) is iconic

“Sister, you have no idea what I'M capable of.”

I want to know how much of the town Gold actually owned

Regina just smirking in the background when she sets up Emma to have Henry hear her call him crazy 😂

Cinnamon on hot chocolate is really like a trait that just gets passed down in this family from Snow to Emma to Henry

Are the pages of the book that Emma burns ever seen again? Like I feel like they are but I can't remember

Gold really comes in at the end of this episode to like dash the win Regina thinks she has 😂

[ocenitram]

( Regina on phone) : “ Yes, my little baby. Well there’s not much to know except I just put her back in diapers. She keeps having accidents so check her and try to encourage her to at least sit on the potty. And I don’t mind if you take her, as for the maid thing I’ll think about it. “

Regina finished feeding Emma. “ Yes you’re a baby” she cooed. “ And your big brother is going to change you. “

Henry wanted to refuse, but somehow he couldn’t. Laying Emma down on the changing table , he did peek a boo for Emma while he cleaned her. “ Wow you really had to potty, didn’t you?” He teased, getting a Minnie Mouse diaper.

(Mary Margaret on phone): " Alright I'll be there in a few minutes to babysit her. Okay got it encourages her to use the potty and check her. Thanks for letting me know and I mean I fear that I might not be able to keep the loft Mr Gold just raised yhe rent and being a teacher doesn't pay that much plus am not really qualified to do more, I really need that Job." Mary Margaret explained.

"But mommy me sheriff me no have time for changies me needs to arrest Mr teddy cause he going to rob the coloring books," Emma protested although she was just talking about playing pretend. Emma wiggled and squirmed as she was carried to her changing table. Emma laughed at the peekaboo game and clapped her hands "Again again," the blonde baby said. "Me baby me no knows me just go potty," The blonde replied to her big brother.

[hellsitesonlybookclub]

It Can't Happen Here, Sinclair Lewis

Chapter 33-34

CHAPTER XXXIII

WHEN the Falcks and John Pollikop had been arrested and had joined her father in prison, when such more timid rebels as Mungo Kitterick and Harry Kindermann had been scared away from New Underground activities, Mary Greenhill had to take over the control of the Fort Beulah cell, with only Sissy, Father Perefixe, Dr. Olmsted and his driver, and half-a-dozen other agents left, and control it she did, with angry devotion and not too much sense. All she could do was to help in the escape of refugees and to forward such minor anti-Corpo news items as she could discover, with Julian gone.

The demon that had grown within her ever since her husband had been executed now became a great tumor, and Mary was furious at inaction. Quite gravely she talked about assassinations—and long before the day of Mary Greenhill, daughter of Doremus, gold-armored tyrants in towers had trembled at the menace of young widows in villages among the dark hills.

She wanted, first, to kill Shad Ledue who (she did not know, but guessed) had probably done the actual shooting of her husband. But in this small place it might hurt her family even more than they had been hurt. She humorlessly suggested, before Shad was arrested and murdered, that it would be a pretty piece of espionage for Sissy to go and live with him. The once flippant Sissy, so thin and quiet ever since her Julian had been taken away, was certain that Mary had gone mad, and at night was terrified.... She remembered how Mary, in the days when she had been a crystal-hard, crystal-bright sportswoman, had with her riding-crop beaten a farmer who had tortured a dog.

Mary was fed-up with the cautiousness of Dr. Olmsted and Father Perefixe, men who rather liked a vague state called Freedom but did not overmuch care for being lynched. She stormed at them. Call themselves men? Why didn't they go out and do something?

At home, she was irritated by her mother, who lamented hardly more about Doremus's jailing than she did about the beloved little tables that had been smashed during his arrest.

It was equally the blasts about the greatness of the new Provincial Commissioner, Effingham Swan, in the Corpo press and memoranda in the secret N.U. reports about his quick death verdicts against prisoners that made her decide to kill this dignitary. Even more than Shad (who had not yet been sent to Trianon), she blamed him for Fowler's fate. She thought it out quite calmly. That was the sort of thinking that the Corpos were encouraging among decent home-body women by their program for revitalizing national American pride.

Except with babies accompanying mothers, two visitors together were forbidden in the concentration camps. So, when Mary saw Doremus and, in another camp, Buck Titus, in early October, she could only murmur, in almost the same words to each of them, "Listen! When I leave you I'll hold up David—but, heavens, what a husky lump he's become!—at the gate, so you can see him. If anything should ever happen to me, if I should get sick or something, when you get out you'll take care of David—won't you, WON'T you?"

She was trying to be matter-of-fact, that they might not worry. She was not succeeding very well.

So she drew out, from the small fund which her father had established for her after Fowler's death, enough money for a couple of months, executed a power of attorney by which either her mother or her sister could draw the rest, casually kissed David and Emma and Sissy good-bye, and—chatty and gay as she took the train—went off to Albany, capital of the Northeastern Province. The story was that she needed a change and was going to stay near Albany with Fowler's married sister.

She did actually stay with her sister-in-law—long enough to get her bearings. Two days after her arrival, she went to the new Albany training-field of the Corpo Women's Flying Corps and enlisted for lessons in aviation and bombing.

When the inevitable war should come, when the government should decide whether it was Canada, Mexico, Russia, Cuba, Japan, or perhaps Staten Island that was "menacing her borders," and proceed to defend itself outwards, then the best women flyers of the Corps were to have Commissions in an official army auxiliary. The old-fashioned "rights" granted to women by the Liberals might (for their own sakes) be taken from them, but never had they had more right to die in battle.

While she was learning, she wrote to her family reassuringly— mostly postcards to David, bidding him mind whatever his grandmother said.

She lived in a lively boarding-house, filled with M.M. officers who knew all about and talked a little about the frequent inspection trips of Commissioner Swan, by aeroplane. She was complimented by quite a number of insulting proposals there.

She had driven a car ever since she had been fifteen: in Boston traffic, across the Quebec plains, on rocky hill roads in a blizzard; she had made repairs at midnight; and she had an accurate eye, nerves trained outdoors, and the resolute steadiness of a madman evading notice while he plots death. After ten hours of instruction, by an M.M. aviator who thought the air was as good a place as any to make love in and who could never understand why Mary laughed at him, she made her first solo flight, with an admirable landing. The instructor said (among other things less apropos) that she had no fear; that the one thing she needed for mastery was a little fear.

Meantime she was an obedient student in classes in bombing, a branch of culture daily more propagated by the Corpos.

She was particularly interested in the Mills hand grenade. You pulled out the safety pin, holding the lever against the grenade with your fingers, and tossed. Five seconds after the lever was thus loosened, the grenade exploded and killed a lot of people. It had never been used from planes, but it might be worth trying, thought Mary. M.M. officers told her that Swan, when a mob of steel-workers had been kicked out of a plant and started rioting, had taken command of the peace officers, and himself (they chuckled with admiration of his readiness) hurled such a grenade. It had killed two women and a baby.

Mary took her sixth solo flight on a November morning gray and quiet under snow clouds. She had never been very talkative with the ground crew but this morning she said it excited her to think she could leave the ground "like a reg'lar angel" and shoot up and hang around that unknown wilderness of clouds. She patted a strut of her machine, a high-wing Leonard monoplane with open cockpit, a new and very fast military machine, meant for both pursuit and quick jobs of bombing... quick jobs of slaughtering a few hundred troops in close formation.

At the field, as she had been informed he would, District Commissioner Effingham Swan was boarding his big official cabin plane for a flight presumably into New England. He was tall; a distinguished, military-looking, polo-suggesting dignitary in masterfully simple blue serge with just a light flying-helmet. A dozen yes-men buzzed about him—secretaries, bodyguards, a chauffeur, a couple of county commissioners, educational directors, labor directors—their hats in their hands, their smiles on their faces, their souls wriggling with gratitude to him for permitting them to exist. He snapped at them a good deal and bustled. As he mounted the steps to the cabin (Mary thought of "Casey Jones" and smiled), a messenger on a tremendous motorcycle blared up with the last telegrams. There seemed to be half a hundred of the yellow envelopes, Mary marveled. He tossed them to the secretary who was humbly creeping after him. The door of the viceregal coach closed on the Commissioner, the secretary, and two bodyguards lumpy with guns.

It was said that in his plane Swan had a desk that had belonged to Hitler, and before him to Marat.

To Mary, who had just lifted herself up into the cockpit, a mechanic cried, admiringly pointing after Swan's plane as it lurched forward, "Gee, what a grand guy that is—Boss Swan. I hear where he's flying down to Washington to chin with the Chief this morning—gee, think of it, with the Chief!"

"Wouldn't it be awful if somebody took a shot at Mr. Swan and the Chief? Might change all history," Mary shouted down.

"No chance of that! See those guards of his? Say, they could stand off a whole regiment—they could lick Walt Trowbridge and all the other Communists put together!"

"I guess that's so. Nothing but God shooting down from heaven could reach Mr. Swan."

"Ha, ha! That's good! But couple days ago I heard where a fellow was saying he figured out God had gone to sleep."

"Maybe it's time for Him to wake up!" said Mary, and raised her hand.

Her plane had a top of two hundred and eighty-five miles an hour— Swan's golden chariot had but two hundred and thirty. She was presently flying above and a little behind him. His cabin plane, which had seemed huge as the Queen Mary when she had looked up at its wing-spread on the ground, now seemed small as a white dove, wavering above the patchy linoleum that was the ground.

She drew from the pockets of her flying-jacket the three Mills hand grenades she had managed to steal from the school yesterday afternoon. She had not been able to get away with any heavier bomb. As she looked at them, for the first time she shuddered; she became a thing of warmer blood than a mere attachment to the plane, mechanical as the engine.

"Better get it over before I go ladylike," she sighed, and dived at the cabin plane.

No doubt her coming was unwelcome. Neither Death nor Mary Greenhill had made a formal engagement with Effingham Swan that morning; neither had telephoned, nor bargained with irritable secretaries, nor been neatly typed down on the great lord's schedule for his last day of life. In his dozen offices, in his marble home, in council hall and royal reviewing-stand, his most precious excellence was guarded with steel. He could not be approached by vulgarians like Mary Greenhill—save in the air, where emperor and vulgarian alike are upheld only by toy wings and by the grace of God.

Three times Mary maneuvered above his plane and dropped a grenade. Each time it missed. The cabin plane was descending, to land, and the guards were shooting up at her.

"Oh well!" she said, and dived bluntly at a bright metal wing.

In her last ten seconds she thought how much the wing looked like the zinc washboard which, as a girl, she had seen used by Mrs. Candy's predecessor—now what was her name?—Mamie or something. And she wished she had spent more time with David the last few months. And she noticed that the cabin plane seemed rather rushing up at her than she down at it.

The crash was appalling. It came just as she was patting her parachute and rising to leap out—too late. All she saw was an insane whirligig of smashed wings and huge engines that seemed to have been hurled up into her face.

CHAPTER XXXIV

SPEAKING of Julian before he was arrested, probably the New Underground headquarters in Montreal found no unusual value in his reports on M.M. grafting and cruelty and plans for apprehending N.U. agitators. Still, he had been able to warn four or five suspects to escape to Canada. He had had to assist in several floggings. He trembled so that the others laughed at him; and he made his blows suspiciously light.

He was set on being promoted to M.M. district headquarters in Hanover, and for it he studied typing and shorthand in his free time. He had a beautiful plan of going to that old family friend, Commissioner Francis Tasbrough, declaring that he wanted by his own noble qualities to make up to the divine government for his father's disloyalty, and of getting himself made Tasbrough's secretary. If he could just peep at Tasbrough's private files! Then there would be something juicy for Montreal!

Sissy and he discussed it exultantly in their leafy rendezvous. For a whole half hour she was able to forget her father and Buck in prison, and what seemed to her something like madness in Mary's increasing restlessness.

Just at the end of September she saw Julian suddenly arrested.

She was watching a review of M.M.'s on the Green. She might theoretically detest the blue M.M. uniform as being all that Walt Trowbridge (frequently) called it, "The old-time emblem of heroism and the battle for freedom, sacrilegiously turned by Windrip and his gang into a symbol of everything that is cruel, tyrannical, and false," but it did not dampen her pride in Julian to see him trim and shiny, and officially set apart as a squad-leader commanding his minor army of ten.

While the company stood at rest, County Commissioner Shad Ledue dashed up in a large car, sprang up, strode to Julian, bellowed, "This guy—this man is a traitor!" tore the M.M. steering-wheel from Julian's collar, struck him in the face, and turned him over to his private gunmen, while Julian's mates groaned, guffawed, hissed, and yelped.

She was not allowed to see Julian at Trianon. She could learn nothing save that he had not yet been executed.

When Mary was killed, and buried as a military heroine, Philip came bumbling up from his Massachusetts judicial circuit. He shook his head a great deal and pursed his lips.

"I swear," he said to Emma and Sissy—though actually he did nothing so wholesome and natural as to swear—"I swear I'm almost tempted to think, sometimes, that both Father and Mary have, or shall I say had, a touch of madness in them. There must be, terrible though it is to say it, but we must face facts in these troublous days, but I honestly think, sometimes, there must be a strain of madness somewhere in our family. Thank God I have escaped it!—if I have no other virtues, at least I am certainly sane! even if that may have caused the Pater to think I was nothing but mediocre! And of course you are entirely free from it, Mater. It's you that must watch yourself, Cecilia." (Sissy jumped slightly; not at anything so grateful as being called crazy by Philip, but at being called "Cecilia." After all, she admitted, that probably was her name.) "I hate to say it, Cecilia, but I've often thought you had a dangerous tendency to be thoughtless and selfish. Now Mater: as you know, I'm a very busy man, and I simply can't take a lot of time arguing and discussing, but it seems best to me, and I think I can almost say that it seems wise to Merilla, also, that, now that Mary has passed on, you should just close up this big house, or much better, try to rent it, as long as the poor Pater is—uh—as long as he's away. I don't pretend to have as big a place as this, but it's ever so much more modern, with gas furnace and up-to-date plumbing and all, and I have one of the first television sets in Rose Lane. I hope it won't hurt your feelings, and as you know, whatever people may say about me, certainly I'm one of the first to believe in keeping up the old traditions, just as poor dear old Eff Swan was, but at the same time, it seems to me that the old home here is a little on the dreary and old-fashioned side—of course I never COULD persuade the Pater to bring it up to date, but—Anyway, I want Davy and you to come live with us in Worcester, immediately. As for you, Sissy, you will of course understand that you are entirely welcome, but perhaps you would prefer to do something livelier, such as joining the Women's Corpo Auxiliary—"

He was, Sissy raged, so damned KIND to everybody! She couldn't even stir herself to insult him much. She earnestly desired to, when she found that he had brought David an M.M. uniform, and when David put it on and paraded about shouting, like most of the boys he played with, "Hail Windrip!"

She telephoned to Lorinda Pike at Beecher Falls and was able to tell Philip that she was going to help Lorinda in the tea room. Emma and David went off to Worcester—at the last moment, at the station, Emma decided to be pretty teary about it, though David begged her to remember that they had Uncle Philip's word for it that Worcester was just the same as Boston, London, Hollywood, and a Wild West Ranch put together. Sissy stayed to get the house rented. Mrs. Candy, who was going to open her bakery now and who never did inform the impractical Sissy whether or no she was being paid for these last weeks, made for Sissy all the foreign dishes that only Sissy and Doremus cared for, and they not uncheerfully dined together, in the kitchen.

So it was Shad's time to swoop.

He came blusteringly calling on her, in November. Never had she hated him quite so much, yet never so much feared him, because of what he might do to her father and Julian and Buck and the others in concentration camps.

He grunted, "Well, your boy-friend Jule, that thought he was so cute, the poor heel, we got all the dope on his double-crossing us, all right! HE'LL never bother you again!"

"He's not so bad. Let's forget him.... Shall I play you something on the piano?"

"Sure. Shoot. I always did like high-class music," said the refined Commissioner, lolling on a couch, putting his heels up on a damask chair, in the room where once he had cleaned the fireplace. If it was his serious purpose to discourage Sissy in regard to that anti-Corpo institution, the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, he was succeeding even better than Judge Philip Jessup. Sir William Gilbert would have said of Shad that he was so very, very prolet-ari-an.

She had played for but five minutes when he forgot that he was now refined, and bawled, "Oh, cut out the highbrow stuff and come on and sit down!"

She stayed on the piano stool. Just what would she do if Shad became violent? There was no Julian to appear melodramatically at the nickoftime and rescue her. Then she remembered Mrs. Candy, in the kitchen, and was content.

"What the heck you snickerin' at?" said Shad.

"Oh—oh I was just thinking about that story you told me about how Mr. Falck bleated when you arrested him!"

"Yeh, that was comical. Old Reverend certainly blatted like a goat!"

(Could she kill him? Would it be wise to kill him? Had Mary meant to kill Swan? Would They be harder on Julian and her father if she killed Shad? Incidentally, did it hurt much to get hanged?)

He was yawning, "Well, Sis, ole kid, how about you and me taking a little trip to New York in a couple weeks? See some high life. I'll get you the best soot in the best hotel in town, and we'll take in some shows—I hear this Callin' Stalin is a hot number— real Corpo art—and I'll buy you some honest-to-God champagne wine! And then if we find we like each other enough, I'm willing for us, if you are, to get hitched!"

"But, Shad! We could never live on your salary. I mean—I mean of course the Corpos ought to pay you better—mean, even better than they do."

"Listen, baby! I ain't going to have to get along on any miserable county commissioner's salary the rest of my life! Believe me, I'm going to be a millionaire before very long!"

Then he told her: told her precisely the sort of discreditable secret for which she had so long fished in vain. Perhaps it was because he was sober. Shad, when drunk, reversed all the rules and became more peasant-like and cautious with each drink.

He had a plan. That plan was as brutal and as infeasible as any plan of Shad Ledue for making large money would be. Its essence was that he should avoid manual labor and should make as many persons miserable as possible. It was like his plan, when he was still a hired man, to become wealthy by breeding dogs—first stealing the dogs and, preferably, the kennels.

As County Commissioner he had not merely, as was the Corpo custom, been bribed by the shopkeepers and professional men for protection against the M.M.'s. He had actually gone into partnership with them, promising them larger M.M. orders, and, he boasted, he had secret contracts with these merchants all written down and signed and tucked away in his office safe.

Sissy got rid of him that evening by being difficult, while letting him assume that the conquest of her would not take more than three or four more days. She cried furiously after he had gone—in the comforting presence of Mrs. Candy, who first put away a butcher knife with which, Sissy suspected, she had been standing ready all evening.

Next morning Sissy drove to Hanover and shamelessly tattled to Francis Tasbrough about the interesting documents Shad had in his safe. She did not ever see Shad Ledue again.

She was very sick about his being killed. She was very sick about all killing. She found no heroism but only barbaric bestiality in having to kill so that one might so far live as to be halfway honest and kind and secure. But she knew that she would be willing to do it again.

The Jessup house was magniloquently rented by that noble Roman, that political belch, Ex-Governor Isham Hubbard, who, being tired of again trying to make a living by peddling real estate and criminal law, was pleased to accept the appointment as successor to Shad Ledue.

Sissy hastened to Beecher Falls and to Lorinda Pike.

Father Perefixe took charge of the N.U. cell, merely saying, as he had said daily since Buzz Windrip had been inaugurated, that he was fed-up with the whole business and was immediately going back to Canada. In fact, on his desk he had a Canadian time-table.

It was now two years old.

Sissy was in too snappish a state to stand being mothered, being fattened and sobbed over and brightly sent to bed. Mrs. Candy had done only too much of that. And Philip had given her all the parental advice she could endure for a while. It was a relief when Lorinda received her as an adult, as one too sensible to insult by pity—received her, in fact, with as much respect as if she were an enemy and not a friend.

After dinner, in Lorinda's new tea room, in an aged house which was now empty of guests for the winter except for the constant infestation of whimpering refugees, Lorinda, knitting, made her first mention of the dead Mary.

"I suppose your sister did intend to kill Swan, eh?"

"I don't know. The Corpos didn't seem to think so. They gave her a big military funeral."

"Well, of course, they don't much care to have assassinations talked about and maybe sort of become a general habit. I agree with your father. I think that, in many cases, assassinations are really rather unfortunate—a mistake in tactics. No. Not good. Oh, by the way, Sissy, I think I'm going to get your father out of concentration camp."

"What?"

Lorinda had none of the matrimonial moans of Emma; she was as business-like as ordering eggs.

"Yes. I tried everything. I went to see Tasbrough, and that educational fellow, Peaseley. Nothing doing. They want to keep Doremus in. But that rat, Aras Dilley, is at Trianon as guard now. I'm bribing him to help your father escape. We'll have the man here for Christmas, only kind of late, and sneak him into Canada."

"Oh!" said Sissy.

A few days afterward, reading a coded New Underground telegram which apparently dealt with the delivery of furniture, Lorinda shrieked, "Sissy! All you-know-what has busted loose! In Washington! Lee Sarason has deposed Buzz Windrip and grabbed the dictatorship!"

"Oh!" said Sissy.

[lilacmoon83]

Lightning in a Bottle

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 74: Unaccompanied Minors, Pt 1

Emma sighed, as she looked at her brother with incredulity in the garage. It had been a few weeks since they had arrested George, his wife, and several x'ers. The case was still ongoing and all of them were turning on each other for deals. It would work its way through the court system and she hoped they would throw the book at all of them.

In the meantime, Neal had been getting worse, but there was joy, as they welcomed Eden into their lives. Though Henry's nightmares since the night of her birth added a new layer of concern and sent her brother back to his boards to try to solve this latest puzzle. And his latest theory clearly meant he was on the brink of losing it.

"Okay…that's it. I'm telling MM, because she's the only one that can talk you back from going off the deep end," Emma said.

"Just hear me out," David requested.

"What? That we're false prophets that have come back from the dead? I thought you got off Samdi's theory months ago after a Calling saved MM and the baby," she replied.

"Yes…but pretty much since then, Henry's been plagued with nightmares of those three looming shadows," David said.

"That doesn't mean it's us. It means there's an evil out there, but it's not us, David. We just arrested some of that evil a few weeks ago, namely your boss," Emma replied. He sighed.

"I know…and I'm not saying that we're here to do evil. Just listen to this. I found it in Revelation," he said, as he held his copy of the Bible. It was one of many that had belonged to their mother.

"It echoes Samdi's apocalypse theory," he added, as he began to read.

"I saw three spirits coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, out of the mouth of the false prophet." David said.

"Creepy…but the Callings have done so much good and you know MM would agree," Emma replied.

"And I do too…I just hope that we're not doing good for bad reasons. When Samdi says that we might be lulled into obeying the Callings without question…what if he's not

wrong?" David asked.

"Okay…but it's not like we're going to go kill if a Calling says to," Emma argued.

"Maybe not us…but others aren't so noble. If we're being used for good…others could be used for evil," David argued. She sighed.

"Griffin…but he was punished for it," she said.

"No…he wasn't. His time was up…his Death Date came and he expired," he reminded her, which made her think of Neal. His date was approaching with frightening speed and

he quickly realized it.

"I'm sorry…I should have asked. How is Neal?" he asked. She shrugged.

"It's hard to tell. He never complains and goes through Regina's treatments, no matter what she tries. It's not working though," she replied. He sighed and hugged her.

"I'm sorry Em…" he said, in a soothing manner.

"He's running out of time," she replied.

"Neal isn't Griffin though. If anyone deserves to be saved, it's him. We'll figure this out," he promised, hoping it was one he could keep.

~*~

Gold put a cup of coffee down for him, as they sat at the kitchen table. Belle was living with them now and his father was genuinely happy. He was glad for that, because he

knew it was looking grim for him, even though he tried to keep up a hopeful appearance.

"Neal…talk to me," Gold requested.

"It's just…it's hard not to want to use, you know? I feel like I don't have a lot to lose and at least drugs would ease the pain," Neal said.

"You know that's not true. Even if…even if you are in your last days, you should be spending it with those you love," Belle said. He nodded.

"I know…and I am. I just feel like the hospital isn't doing any good and I should be out living while I can instead of spending it there," he replied.

"Emma won't take that well," Gold said and though he didn't say it, he wasn't sure how he felt about him giving up on the treatment either.

"I know…I need to get going. Regina will be wondering where I am," Neal said, as he got his coat and left the house. Belle hugged Gold to give him the comfort she knew he

needed in these times.

~*~

Emma pulled up in her car and parked along the curb. She was going to grab a few snacks from the bodega, before heading to the hospital to be with Neal during his

treatments today. But first, she felt the need to talk and hope that, whatever the Callings were, chose to listen to her.

"Okay. I...still don't know who or what you are exactly, other than a voice in my head. But enough is enough. Since the plane came back, you have called on me, relentlessly,

and I've listened. I have literally done everything that you wanted... because I believe that what you're asking us to do is for a purpose. I mean, it has to be," she said,

pausing for a moment.

"So why, after all that I've done, am I watching the man I love freeze to death?" she asked.

"A good, kind man who also listens to you, who has worked so hard to redeem himself. He doesn't deserve this. How am I supposed to know that this is for some greater good

if you just let him die? How am I supposed to keep listening?" she questioned.

"I need to understand. I don't wanna lose faith. Don't make me," she said, as she got out of the car and walked toward the bodega.

As she entered, a teenager dashed out and the clerk called after him.

"Hey…stop! Stop! Thief!" he cried, in which Emma leapt into action and gave chase.

"STOP! NYPD! Stop!" she called, as she chased him and caught up to him, before tackling him to the ground.

"It's your lucky day, kid…I'm a cop," she said, as she cuffed him.

"Please ma'am…it's just a candy bar," he pleaded.

"Sorry kid…" she replied.

"Please…my mom is gonna kill me. It's the first time I've ever done this," he begged.

"You should have thought about that before you took it," Emma replied, as she started taking him toward her car, when she heard her own voice in her head.

"Let him go…LET HIM GO…" it called to her. She paused for a moment and looked at the kid and he looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Okay…I'm going to let you off with a warning. But don't be stupid and make a habit of this, because you're not getting off next time," she said, as she took the merchandise

and released him.

"Thank you," he said, as he ran off and she returned to the bodega and placed the bars on the counter.

"What's this?" the clerk asked.

"What the kid stole," she replied. He scoffed.

"No, it isn't," he said, as he motioned to the pallet of cold tablets he was stocking.

"I turned my back for a minute and he made off with them, maybe twenty boxes. The bodega down the way got hit last week for the same thing," he said. Emma felt stupid.

She had been duped by a doe eyed kid, who was stealing cold tablets, probably for whoever he was working for, likely to cook meth. She apologized to the clerk and promised

she'd get him, before leaving the bodega and heading to the station. There, she found Killian at his desk and she approached.

"Can I run something by you?" she asked.

"Sure," he answered.

"I caught a kid stealing a candy bar and then I got a Calling telling me to let him go. So I did," she said.

"And?" he asked.

"Turns out the candy bar was a decoy and he swiped a case of cold tablets instead," she replied.

"So you think candy bar lad is cooking meth?" he asked.

"I don't know. The bodega owner said the one down the street got hit too for the same thing a week ago," she answered.

"Maybe the Calling told you to let him go so we could catch the bigger fish," he suggested.

"That's a terrible plan," she said.

"It would have been more helpful to bring him and interrogate him to find the bigger fish," she added.

"Em…why are you always trying to justify the Callings?" he questioned.

"Because I have to believe they're good, Killian," she answered.

"Well, I should probably help you track this kid down. Unless you wanna let her in on your gift?" he asked, referring to Ruby. She turned to her new partner.

"Hey, I'm probably gonna peel off with Rogers today," she said.

"Really?" Ruby asked. She nodded.

"Yeah. I witnessed a crime. He thinks it could be related to a bunch of robberies he's tracking," she fibbed.

"Yeah. You sure he's not just trying to get back in your pants?" Ruby asked bluntly, making Emma blanch.

"Um, no. I asked him to help," the blonde replied.

"Okay, all right. Well, if you're good, I'm good. It'll give me a chance to catch up on some paperwork," she said, as she looked at Killian when he approached.

"Hey Rogers. This is just a loaner, okay?" she questioned. He smiled.

"Yeah," he answered, as the two of them left the station.

~*~

David rocked the baby, as she cried and he tried to get her to calm down with the stuffed toy in his free hand.

"Oh…come on, Eden, give Daddy a smile," he cooed, as Margaret got them some coffee in the kitchen and smiled at him. David the husband was amazing, attentive, and

always romantic. It had been that way from the beginning and never faded. But David the father was a sight she'd never tire. Now that they had a baby again, she was

reliving those days from when the twins were little and it made her heart practically burst.

"Don't worry Daddy…you're not going to miss anything, because she's going to have so many smiles and you'll be here for all of them," she said, as she sat beside him and

they shared a smile.

"I hope so," he said, though it was on all their minds. Neal was approaching his death date and if he didn't survive, he knew their hope that he or any of the other passengers

could survive would take a huge hit.

"I have faith…" she said, as she gazed deeply into his eyes and he leaned over and kissed her tenderly. Eden fussed more so Margaret began humming to her.

"I like that…where's it from?" he asked.

"I don't know…just something that came to me. I started humming it to her just before she was born," she replied.

"It's very romantic…like us," she added. He smiled in agreement, just as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," she said, as she stood up and answered it. But she almost immediately slammed the door closed.

"Margaret, wait…" Leopold pleaded.

"You are NOT welcome here," she said, with vehemence. David was instantly by her side with a stern look for this man.

"Please Margaret…this strife has gone on between us long enough. Cora is gone…" he said.

"Did you know that she killed Mother?" Margaret asked bluntly.

"Of course not," he answered and she glared at him, trying to decide whether she could believe him or not.

"Please…I just want to talk and clear the air. I've made many mistakes. I'd like to atone for them," Leopold pleaded.

"Why should we believe you?" David questioned.

"You have no reason to…but I know you are both wonderful people. Ten minutes of your time is all I am asking for," he replied.

"Fine…we'll hear what you have to say and then you'll leave," Margaret said shortly, as she allowed him inside and shut the door behind him.

~*~

Neal sat on the exam table, as Regina conducted today's experimental treatment.

"I'm gonna do a little more debridement of the dead skin later, okay?" she asked. He nodded.

"Oh, joy," he deadpanned.

"I know it's painful. We're trying to slow the migration. The MRI will tell us if there's been any deterioration since your last scan. I need to replace your warm fluids with some

cold Dye," she said. He nodded again.

"You love torturing me, don't you?" he joked. She gave him a chiding look.

"Not even a little," she replied.

"What else is going on with you?" she asked.

"At my meeting today, my sponsor said I should be finding closure, so I'm ready to move on. It kind of made me mad, 'cause I'm not ready," he replied.

"There's no reason you should be. It's not fair, what's happening to you," she said.

"More painful than the treatment, is how it's affecting Emma. She really is my soulmate," he replied. She smiled.

"I know how you feel," she mentioned.

"I mean, it's not the same, but, yeah," she added.

"Of course…Robin," he recalled. She nodded.

"Mmm-hmm," she acknowledged.

"Hey, at least there's hope for you. I have faith in my retrovirus. We just have to... keep the frostbite in check until I fine-tune the formula," she replied.

"Though it would go faster if I tested on myself," she added.

"No…you're not doing that. Remember what David said about the Alzarus journal. If you cure yourself of the Callings, it could doom you of any hope of beating the death date.

Just like the sailors in the journal," he reminded.

"I know…I promised not to and I won't," she replied, as they continued.

~*~

Emma and Killian arrived at the main bus station hub and approached the lead dispatcher, showing their badges.

"What can I do for you, Detectives?" she asked.

"We're trying to track down one of your riders," Killian said.

"Happy to help, any way I can," she replied.

"He got on at 156th and Hewitt, a little after 9:00," Emma said, as she checked her system.

"You know what, right on time," she replied, as she found the bus in question.

"Do you mind if we talk to the driver?" Killian asked.

"Um, that'd be...Kory. I'll see if he's here," she replied, as she went to look.

"Thanks," Killian said, as he pulled up something on his phone to show her.

"I had Diaz put together a map of robberies similar to yours. It's all across the boroughs. If this is all the same operation, then it's huge," he said, as an African American man

approached.

"You're looking for one of my riders?" he asked.

"Hey, yeah. He's about 17, brown hair, backpack, got on after 9:00," Emma replied, but he shrugged.

"Lot of kids get on my bus around that time," Kory replied.

"Guy was shoplifting, probably got on last minute, definitely winded," Emma said, trying to jog his memory.

"Look, no disrespect, but if I remembered everyone got on my bus, I'd quit and go to Atlantic City," he said.

"Does your bus have security cameras? We wanna see the tapes," Killian said. He nodded.

"Sure. Just flash your badges at Sonia. She'll get you what you need," he replied, gesturing to the woman in the glass booth nearby.

"Thanks," Emma replied. He nodded and went back to his bus.

"Guess your calling's trying to send us on a wild goose chase," Killian mentioned.

"There's always a reason, Killian," she replied.

"Look, you don't have to help if you don't want to," she added.

"Now I'm curious," he replied.

"So, those shadows Henry sees…" he mentioned.

"What about them?" Emma asked.

"What if they're not supposed to make us doubt the callings? What if they're another warning, like the fire?" he asked. She looked at him and sighed.

"Yeah…I guess it could mean that something terrible is coming," she admitted.

~*~

"She's beautiful…" Leopold mentioned, as Margaret held their infant daughter.

"Her name is Eden," she replied.

"That's a beautiful name," he said.

"I loved your mother, Margaret…and I love you. I just became lost in the world of high finance. Losing your soul to money and greed is something that can happen so easily.

Your mother tethered me…but when she died, Cora helped lead me further down that path," he admitted.

"And I'm supposed to believe you just woke up one day and realized this?" she asked.

"The arrest…and the revelation of what Cora did was jarring, to say the least," he replied.

"The scandal of the whole thing…the company tanked and I was forced out of my own company," he added. They were surprised by that.

"The news of it will break this evening," he added. Margaret scoffed.

"So that's why you're here…your money is gone and they'll soon start seizing your assets," she hissed.

"I'm not here for sympathy…really I'm not. I had enough of my own personal wealth left to purchase a house upstate. It's in a very small and quiet town. I'll be there,

hopefully to do a little soul searching. I just wanted you to know where I am and that if you ever need somewhere to…lay low, all of you, there will be a place," he replied, as he stood up.

"Okay…well, good luck," Margaret said. She wasn't sure how to react to all of this. He left and she shut the door.

"I didn't know what to say…" she said.

"And no one can blame you for that. He was absent at best most of your life and then when he did try to be a part of your life, he tried to control you and separate us," he

replied. She nodded.

"I hope he's sincere…but I can't trust him yet," she said.

"Nor should you. No one is going to blame you if you still want nothing to do with him," he said, as he kissed her forehead. She smiled and they continued to dote on their little one.

"Come on…let's get this one ready for her checkup this afternoon," she said, as they got up and went to get ready for their appointment.

~*~

"Hey, you find something?" Emma asked Ruby, as she helped search through the surveillance footage.

"Yeah, I'm never sitting on a bus again. People are disgusting," Ruby replied.

"Thanks for the PSA. Any leads on the shoplifter?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, we have three kids who match your description of the runner," Ruby responded, as she pulled up the youths in question.

"Yeah, that's him," Emma pointed out and Ruby zoomed in.

"All right. He got off at...Franklin High," she said.

"Forward me a screenshot," Emma requested.

"Done. I'll call the principal and send it over for an ID," she said, before looking at her.

"So, how was your little walk down memory lane?" Ruby asked.

"It's good to be friends again, thank you for asking," Emma replied.

"I don't have many friends who would infiltrate a hate group for me," Ruby said.

"No, he's a cop. He's just doing his job," Emma refuted.

"Yeah, well, that maybe explains the undercover part, but that awful haircut, that's true love," Ruby teased. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Okay…just call the Principal. I'm heading over there," the blonde replied, as her partner smirked and picked up the phone.

[paradigmparadoxical]

1x12 Emma and Gold.