#here's a christmas present for all my ouat followers

[cogentranting]

101 Great Captain Swan Scenes

“Have you ever been in love?” Emma and Hook climb the beanstalk (2x06)

“I don’t mean to upset you, Emma, but I think we make quite the team” Hook and Emma knock out the giant (2x06)

“I can’t take a chance I’m wrong about you” Emma leaves Hook on the beanstalk (2x06)

Emma and Hook fight beside the portal (2x09)

“If I had to pick dead guy of the year, I’d pick you” Emma visits Hook in the hospital (2x12) 

“You and I, we understand each other” Emma tries to convince Hook to stay (2x22)

 “Maybe I just needed reminding that I could” Hook returns to help (2x22)

Hook gives Emma Neal’s cutlass (3x01)

Emma and Hook share a coconut (3x03)

“Perhaps you’re the one who couldn’t handle it?” The first kiss (3x05)

“It was what the kiss revealed” Hook’s secret in Echo cave (3x06)

“When I win your heart...” (3x07)

Saving Hook from the Shadow (3x07)

“There’s not a day will go by I won’t think of you” “Good” Hook and Emma’s goodbye (3x11)

Hook shows up on Emma’s doorstep (3x11)

Hook crashes Emma’s date (3x12)

“Did you miss me?” Emma drinks the potion (3x12)

“You mean the monkey you were gonna marry?” (3x13)

“If it can be broken, it means it still works” (3x14)

Hook talks with Emma about Neal’s death and offers to help Henry (3x16)

Emma asks Hook to watch Henry and they flirt (3X17)

Emma uses magic to steal his hook (3x18)

“You can see a future here” Killian tries to convince Emma to stay (3x20)

“Killian, come back to me” Emma save’s Killian’s from drowning (3x20)

“Never thought I’d see one of those... a smile” Killian thanks Emma for saving him (3x20)

“One of these day’s I’ll stop chasing after that woman” Killian follows Emma through the portal (3x21)

“We both know I’m his type” Emma flirts with past Hook (3x21)

“Pick a partner who knows what he’s doing” Emma and Killian’s first dance (3x21)

“You’re depriving me of a dashing rescue” Killian finds Emma escaping the dungeon (3x22)

Killian comforts Emma after Snow’s “death” (3x22)

Emma and Hook in Gold’s vault (3x22)

“You traded your ship for me?” Killian and Emma get together (3x22)

“You want to go home and see what’s on Netflix?” Killian tries to get Emma to talk (4x01)

Emma and Killian cuddle after she escapes the ice cave (4x02)

“Everyone I’ve ever been with is dead” Emma opens up (4x03)

Emma asks Killian out (4x04)

Killian picks Emma up for their first date (4x04)

“I’d love to know more about your beginnings” Looking through Emma’s childhood things (4x05)

“Wounds that are made when we’re young tend to linger”  Emma and Killian talk about their childhoods(4x06)

“I just wanted to be a better man for you” Killian calls Emma to save her from Gold’s plan (4x08)

“I’m a fan of every part of you” Killian realizes Emma is safe (4x09)

“I’m not a tearful goodbye kiss kinda person” Killian and Emma say goodbye before the curse of shattered sight (4x10)

Killian breaks through Gold’s control to warn Emma (4x12)

Emma puts Killian’s heart back in his chest (4x12)

Opening daily routine montage (4x13)

“I’m gonna choose to see the best in you” (4x14)

“Don’t you know Emma? It’s you.” Killian reveals his happy ending (4x16)

“You have your parents, Henry--” “You.” What Emma has to live for (4x20)

“I like when people find their good hearts along the way” Killian and Emma talk on the shore (4x21) 

Emma teaches Deckhand Hook to fight (4x23)

Deckhand Hook dies in the alternate Storybook (4x23)

Killian’s alive when they return to the real world (4x23)

Emma tells Killian she loves him for the first time (4x23)

“This has to be her choice” Killian keeps Emma from killing Merida (5x01)

“Just because I’m the Dark One doesn’t mean we can’t still be together” Dark Swan shows Killian their house (5x02)

Camelot dance like ethereal king and queen of the fairies (5x02)

Kissing Hook to make the demons go away (5x02)

“Come on love, let’s sail away” Hook comforts Emma as she’s seeing Rumpelstiltskin (5x04)

Killian and Emma spy on Henry flirting with Violet (5x04)

Killian takes Emma on a horseback ride to a field of Middlemist flowers (5x04)

“Bring her home to me” Killian gives Emma Liam’s ring (5x07)

“You’re more than the Dark One” Dark Swan saves Killian from Arthur (5x08)

“All sins can be forgiven when someone loves you” Killian tells Emma about his rings (5x08)

Emma heals Killian’s wound after he save’s them from Arthur (5x08)

“The future’s nothing to be afraid of” Killian asks Emma to move in with him (5x08)

“That’s not enough for me” Emma save Killian by turning him into a Dark One (5x08)

“We can do this” Dark Hook and Dark Swan send each other’s demons away (5x10)

Dark Swan gives Excalibur to Dark Hook (5x10)

“That’s the man I want you to remember” *Sword through the heart and you’re to blame* Emma kills Killian (5x11)

“I will find you” Emma heads to the Underworld (5x11)

Emma tries to communicate with Killian at his gravestone (5x12)

“When you love someone, you know.” Killian sends Emma a message by saving Megara (5x13)

“I told you to let me go” Emma saves Hook from the river of lost souls (5x14)

“Knocked the handsome out of me” “No one’s that powerful” Emma heals Killian (5x15)

“Perhaps I do deserve saving after all” Killian agrees to come home (5x15)

“Love is worth it” Snow tells Emma saving Killian was worth the risk (5x17)

Emma tries to give Killian her heart (5x20)

“That’s true love” Emma and Killian pass the True Love test with True Love’s Tackle (5x20)

“We’ve already had more time than we were ever meant to” Killian and Emma’s elevator goodbye (5x20)

Emma reads the story of her and Hook, Hook uses the book to help her (5x21)

“I miss you” Emma’s goodbye at Killian’s grave (5x21)

Killian’s resurrection (5x21)

Lift kiss and the first peaceful “I love you” (5x23)

The couch scene (6x01)

Emma watches Killian play with Ashley’s daughter (6x03)

Hook and Henry sword fight with sticks (6x03)

“I have a closet full of red leather jackets I feel like I can make some space for black leather” Emma asks Killian to move in (6x03)

“I would have done the exact same thing” Killian confesses he kept the shears (6x06)

“Now remember who you are” Story time with Killian (6x07)

“I just really desperately need to kiss you” Killian distracts Emma (6x12)

“It’s just you and me” Proposal number 1 (6x13)

“I’m trying to get home to you” Seashell call (6x15)

“There’s one thing I want you to be certain of: that I will always, always be by your side” Proposal number 2 (6x17)

“I’m just... happy” The pancakes scene (6x18)

“After tomorrow, there’ll be no getting rid of me” Operation Best Man (6x19)

A Happy Beginning- The Wedding (6x20)

“We fought for our love and we won” Killian and David talk by the beanstalk (6x21)

The final shot in the bug (6x23)

Emma watches Hook teach Henry to fight (7x02)

Emma and Killian say goodbye to Henry (7x02)

The final shot of Emma and Killian and Hope (7x23)

[the-empress-7]

There's nothing on tonight so by default, I'm watching Escaping The Palace. I tuned in about halfway through and here are my thoughts. Sorry this is long.

The Blue Fairy from Once Upon a Time is playing the Cambridges' advisor. I liked her in OUAT. She's very schemey here. The "Queen and her 3 heirs" from Christmas 2019 is presented as a PR strategy to shame Harry for spending Christmas in Canada.

Kate is very timid and docile. The movie seems to have gotten their "private at home" closeness right. I don't mind the way they wrote William. It could've been worse, but the actor is playing him very angry. The actor playing Charles looks constipated all the time. The Queen is very brash.

Meghan is much, much too calm and much too empathetic in the movie. She's being portrayed the innocent victim. Lifetime's version of the green Commonwealth dress is better than the real one.

The word "disgraceful" is used a lot to describe Sussex behavior.

The actors seem to slip in and out of British accents.

There's a clip of The Queen's Christmas Speech 2019. The actors took their own versions of the royal Christmas pictures but the film used a picture of the real Prince Philip for his.

Sandringham Summit: William, Charles, and Harry are sitting on the same sofa looking like they've been called to the principal's office. Queen comes in. Says something about how she hoped William and Harry would be different but they're just repeating history (division between Edward VIII and George VI, The Queen and Margaret, Charles and Andrew. Why'd she have to bring up Andrew?! Though after she mentions Andrew, she makes a face like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, which seems to be an unspoken reference to the mess with Epstein in a very kind of SNL-ish way.)

Scenes are very short and the transitions are super abrupt. It reminds me of how movies with young children are edited (with short scenes because no one knows what they're doing. See Chris Columbus's comments about Sorcerer's Stone.)

Ok so Commonwealth Day. According to Lifetime, there's a reception at Buckingham Palace before the Westminster Abbey service that all the Commonwealth representatives and heads of state attend. It is at this reception where Harry learns he's been demoted from the procession. Harry says it's all William's fault he's been demoted. Meghan steps in and tells William to say what he really wants to. (Cue dramatic tension, and long pause for effect so everyone watching at home can realize William is the racist senior royal.) William calls Meghan "a disruptor" who had no intention of ever fitting in and came in guns blazing to challenge the monarchy while he's the one who must defend and protect the monarchy against them. Kate intervenes with "you've walked side by side down the aisle dozens of times before but nothing could be harder than following your mother's coffin." Harry begs William to reconsider, that since he's the monarchy, he can change the rules (meaning let them walk in the procession). William refuses but agrees to show support by deciding he and Kate won't walk in the procession either.

There's a lot of Doria. I think Meghan sees Doria in the movie a lot more than the real Meghan sees Doria. The movie does imply Doria lives with them.

Any time Harry and Meghan kiss, it's like they're making out. It's super cringy and super gross.

They cut back and forth between scenes from Diana leaving the monarchy and Harry leaving the monarchy. Harry's Sentebale speech is interspersed with clips of Diana's 1993 speech. The Oprah interview is interspersed with clips of Diana's Panorama interview and Morton tapes.

Ends with a black title card announcing Lili's birth and that she was named after The Queen. Final scene is William and Harry leaving the Diana statue unveiling together with a caption about what the event was and some text from their statement.

No mention of Philip, his passing, or the funeral.

Final thought: The central conflict in the movie is Harry vs. William. Where William is the villain, hellbent on preserving and protecting the monarchy at all costs, and Harry is the victim, the "little guy" taking on the establishment. It does more like Lifetime capitalizing on The Crown's popularity than the Harkles' popularity but using Harry's perspective.

I really hope there isn't a fourth movie but I wouldn't be surprised if there was. I have no interest seeing the first half of the movie.

Thank you for this, and congrats on lasting as long you did. You should consider running the Iron Man ;)

[dinneratgrannys]

hi everyone! :) with christmas/the holiday season coming up, i wanted to do something to thank my followers for being so lovely all year. basically, i want to make edits as gifts for you!

how to enter: 1. must be following me & must like or reblog this post! 2. send me a message here with any of the following (as many of these as you’d like):      -your favorite OUAT character      -your favorite OUAT ship      -your favorite OUAT friendship/familial relationship      -your favorite OUAT scene      -your favorite OUAT quote      -really anything you love about OUAT in general! 3. your message cannot be anonymous! otherwise i will not know who to tag when i post the gift :) 4. i will make a gifset just for you, which will be posted sometime in the month of december, based on the info in your message.

**i’m not sure how many people will want to participate in this. for now i’m going to say the first 25-30 messages in my inbox will receive a gift. if i get a few more entries than that, i’ll keep going, but i am going to put a limit on # of entries at some point just because it just wouldn’t be possible to make an edit for every single one of my followers.**

**only one entry per person please!**

i can’t wait to make presents for you guys, and thank you for following me for another year! :)

xoxo, sarah

[wistfulcynic]

Three Non-Blondes 3 / 4

Sooo, the chapter count has grown yet again because I have no chill. This is the last time, I swear, and also Chapter 4 will contain the best dumb OUAT-related joke that I or anyone else has ever written. So that’s something to look forward to. 

Summary: Mary Margaret is certain that her fiancé’s sister Emma and his best friend Killian are perfect for each other. What she doesn’t know is that they think so too. Matchmaking hijinks ensue.

Rating: T

AO3

Chapter 3: 

David snuck quietly into his mother’s kitchen and reached for the small cupboard above the refrigerator where he knew she kept her liquor. She didn’t know that he knew —or he didn’t think she did, but then David had never been the sort of teenager to pilfer alcohol and give the secret away via noticeable reductions in bottle volume— and he loved that she hid it in a place she needed a stool to reach but he could access easily. Sometimes it was nice that she still thought he was ten years old. He groped for a moment before withdrawing the bottle of bourbon that was the “secret” ingredient in Ruth’s apple pecan pie.  He wasn’t much of a liquor drinker as a rule, generally preferring beer or a nice brown ale. But today, he thought, he’d make an exception. 

Grabbing a glass, he poured himself a generous measure and gulped it straight down, managing not to cough too loudly as it burned a trail to his stomach. Before he could think better of it, he poured another shot and tossed that back as well —it went down easier the second time— and was just debating a third when the door opened and Mary Margaret appeared. 

“What are you— David! It’s not like you to drink whiskey!” 

Gathering his liquid courage, David turned to face her. “Sweetheart, you know I love you more than anything and normally I would never question your judgment,” he began, then took a deep breath. “But are you sure this is a good idea? I just feel like Killian and Emma should be left to make their own choices—” 

“No one is saying they can’t make their own choices.” Mary Margaret interrupted firmly. “All we’re doing is nudging them in the direction of the right ones.” 

David plunged ahead, heedless of all peril. “Are you sure that’s what we’re doing? Because it feels a lot like playing with people’s lives.” Whew. There. He’d said it. 

“If people can’t get their own act together then other people need to step in,” snapped Mary Margaret. “Do you want Emma and Killian to be miserable?”

“But they’re not miser—” 

“They will be, if they have to spend their lives alone because they’re too stubborn to see what’s in front of them.” 

“Killian’s hardly alone, I’m sure he was in bed with someone when I called him this morning—” 

“The wrong someone, David!” 

David gave up. Mary Margaret in full battle mode was a force he was not equipped to reckon with. So he kissed her head, promised to be out in a minute, and surreptitiously took a generous swig straight from the bottle before returning it to its hiding spot just as the doorbell rang. 

“Here goes nothing,” he muttered, and prepared to herd two people he loved into an ambush set by a third. 

—

An hour later, David was… baffled. Nothing seemed to be quite going as he had expected. Which considering he had expected disaster, was… good? 

Maybe? 

Certainly, Mary Margaret didn’t seem to feel that there was anything wrong. She had introduced Killian to Belle as per the plan, barely restraining her glee as he and the pretty brunette had struck up a lively conversation within minutes of the introduction, then had begun prodding Emma in a way that was not nearly as subtle as she probably thought.   

“I’m so glad Killian and Belle are getting along, I knew they would,” she said as she and Emma sat in a corner of the living room, watching the pair in question. “I know Killian gets around a bit but this isn’t like those women he picks up at the pub. He and Belle have actual things in common—”

“What, because he’s a writer and she’s a librarian?” Emma broke in. “There’s a lot more to Killian than just books, Mary Margaret.”

 Mary Margaret didn’t even seem to hear her. “—Killian deserves that, you know, he deserves a real relationship with someone who loves him. I think Belle could be it.”

“Do you, now?”

As far as David understood the plan (and if he was perfectly honest, he wasn’t certain he did understand it), Emma was supposed to be jealous hearing that. She was supposed to realise her feelings for Killian in a blinding flash of clarity, some twisted Damascene moment, and resolve then and there not to let Belle take her man. 

Or something. 

Instead, she just looked amused. 

“Yeah, I’m not sure she’s really Killian’s type,” said Emma. She was, David noticed, holding her face very straight. Unnaturally straight. It was, in fact, exactly the same face she’d worn that year she found all the Christmas presents before Ruth managed to wrap them and had held it over David’s head for weeks. It was the face she had when she was trying not to laugh with glee. 

“No offence, Emma, but you’re hardly the best person to judge what Killian’s type is,” said Mary Margaret.

“No, you’re probably right,” said Emma’s mouth, but her eyes glinted with mischief. “I mean, I hardly know the guy.” 

“Well, exactly.” 

Mary Margaret smiled sweetly. 

Emma smiled sweetly. 

David’s head began to hurt. There was definitely something fishy going on here.

—

Things had become no less piscine by the time they made it to the dinner table. Mary Margaret managed to ensure that Killian and Belle sat next to each other with Emma across from them, and her smile as she watched Belle ask insightful questions about Killian’s latest book was decidedly smug. 

“Look at Emma,” she mouthed at David, whose angle on his sister was better than hers. “What’s her face doing?”

David watched Emma as the conversation died down while people helped themselves to food. She looked like she always did when she was about to tuck into their mom’s cooking, practically dancing with anticipation, and also… just for a moment, just the briefest flash… she smiled. At Killian. A small, secret smile, of the sort people only exchanged with those they knew intimately. Intimately in a very specific way. 

David’s eyes shot to Killian. Who was smiling the exact same smile. 

Holy fuck, thought David in a blinding flash of clarity, a twisted Damascene moment. They’re fucking. 

—

“Well, I think that went very well,” said Mary Margaret, some time later after everyone else had gone and she and David were cleaning up the kitchen. 

“Mmmmm,” said David. 

“Phase Two launches next Saturday. Have you called August?”

David decided to give it one last try. “Yes, but I really think that—” 

“No, David, this will work, I’m sure of it. We’ve already made a great start.” 

David sighed. “Okay,” he said. 

—

“Phase Two” as Mary Margaret called it was scheduled to get underway as soon as both Emma and Killian arrived at the pub for their usual Saturday evening meet up. All the troops —by which term Mary Margaret meant David, Regina, and Robin— had been marshalled early, and at ten minutes before the anticipated arrivals she and Regina had their heads together at a small corner table leaving David and Robin to drink alone. 

“So I’m told Phase One was a huge success,” said Robin. 

“Hmmm.”

“You don’t agree? Regina said that Mary Margaret was ecstatic.” 

David chose his words carefully. “It pains me to say this, and if she ever found out it might actually pain me, but I think Mary Margaret may be wrong.” 

“About what?” 

“I think,” David leaned in closely to be sure they weren’t overheard, even though the women were deep in conversation and paying no attention to them at all, “I think Emma and Killian are already together.” 

“What?”

“Look at the facts,” said David, and proceeded to tell his friend everything he’d observed at the dinner plus all the evidence he’d spent the past week carefully collecting. He had, he flattered himself, built a case that was meticulous and thorough. David was a good detective after all, even if his beloved did sometimes imply that he needed to be more observant in his personal life. Once he’d identified a mystery and applied his skills to it he usually solved it. This one hadn’t even been that difficult to crack. Once you actually looked at the signs, it was so obvious, like they were barely even trying to be subtle. David wondered if he should be insulted that they’d put so little effort into deceiving him.

“Do you realise,” he said to Robin, “that we haven’t seen Emma and Killian together in the same room for at least six months? Every other weekend one of them has an excuse for why they can’t come out with us, while the one who does come out only stays for a few drinks then pleads some commitment or other and makes an early exit.”

“Huh,” said Robin. “Now that you mention it, yeah, I can’t remember the last time I saw them together. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re together, er... together.” 

“Not by itself, no, but combined with how they acted at dinner it’s a pretty compelling case. But we need to keep a close eye on them tonight, see if we can find the smoking gun. You in?”  

“To find evidence that two of my friends are secret lovers and thereby foil the matchmaking scheme masterminded in part by my girlfriend? Hell yes I’m in.” 

Just then Emma arrived, a fashionable three minutes late. When she was followed precisely two minutes later by Killian, whose hair looked mussed and his cheeks pink, like he’d been, just as a for-instance, standing outside a pub on a brisk, breezy April evening for precisely two minutes before following his secret girlfriend inside, David’s lips curled into a grin previously only observed by those he’d interrogated and he subtly fist-bumped Robin. 

Gotcha, he thought. You two are so busted. 

“Emma,” Mary Margaret was saying, her face the picture of innocence as she steered her friend towards a dark-haired man sitting in a nearby booth and Regina distracted Killian. “You remember David’s old college roommate August.” 

“Um, sure,” said Emma, shaking August’s hand.

“August’s just got back from Japan,” said Mary Margaret. “Emma, you’ve always wanted to go to Japan, haven’t you?”

“Uh, yeah, I have,” said Emma on a note of surprise as her eyes flitted over to Killian. David was also surprised by this angle of attack. Didn’t Mary Margaret remember…

“Why don’t you tell Emma all about your trip?” Mary Margaret pushed Emma at the booth where August was sitting. “None of us has ever been to Japan, and—” 

“I have, actually.” 

They all turned to look at Killian, who had extracted himself from Regina and returned to the group. 

“Er, what?” Mary Margaret forced a smile. 

“I’ve been to Japan. Don’t you remember, Mary Margaret, I taught English there for a year after I finished university? I’m sure I must have told you.”

“Um, no, I don’t remember you ever saying—” Mary Margaret shot Regina a look of alarm, but her stepsister only shrugged. 

“Oh, aye, I loved it there,” said Killian cheerfully, subtly manoeuvring himself through the crowd and rearranging everyone so that when they slid into the booth Emma was across from August and he was next to her. “Some of the best food I’ve ever eaten and a fascinating culture, don’t you agree, er, August, was it? Curious name.” He barely allowed August a moment to answer before launching into a discussion ranging from the comparative merits of okonomiyaki from Osaka versus the Hiroshima version to whether it was preferable to visit Kyoto in the spring to see the cherry blossoms or the autumn to see the maple leaves, commandeering the other man’s attention completely and leaving the rest of the group gaping at them with various expressions of consternation, dismay, indignation, and amusement on their faces. 

“Of course, I was there for just over a year so I was able to do both,” he said, “but what do you think, Julian?”

“It’s August—”

“Oh, yes, of course it is, I always did get my Roman emperors mixed up.” 

“— and I was there in the summer.” 

“Strangely appropriate for a man named after a summer month,” remarked Killian with a look of such contrived innocence that David couldn’t believe Mary Margaret and Regina didn’t see what he was up to. “Well, if you ever get back…”  

“What the hell does he think he’s doing?” Regina hissed in Mary Margaret’s ear, just loudly enough for David to hear. 

He wanted to reply that it looked to him very much as though Killian were saving Emma from having to spend an evening feigning interest in August’s tedious travel stories —he remembered all too well the pain he himself had suffered after August spent spring break in Thailand that one year, if only he’d had a Killian of his own to rescue him back then— and enjoying the hell out of himself in the process. As for Emma, she had the Christmas present look on her face again. 

Realisation dawned. (That had been happening a lot lately.) Just then Robin returned with a round of drinks and when he’d finished handing them out to everyone David grabbed his arm and pulled him aside. “They’re playing us,” he said, half indignant, half impressed. ‘They know what’s going on and they’re freaking playing us.” 

“I think you’re right,” Robin replied. “They’re holding hands under the table.” 

“What?” 

“Yeah, I saw when I gave them their drinks just now.”

“God, it’s like they’re trying to get caught.” 

“Or they just have no chill.” 

“Or they think we’re too dumb to notice.” 

“Well, they might not be far wrong there,” said Robin, just as their respective partners came over to join them. Mary Margaret’s mouth was moving, but no words were coming out and Regina looked pissed. “How did this happen?” she asked as they approached. 

“How did you two not know that Killian lived in Japan?” retorted David “He’s got Japanese art all over his house—” 

“I thought he just liked that aesthetic—” began Mary Margaret.

“—and one of his novels was partly set there!”  

“Naturally I assumed he simply researched that book on the internet!” scoffed Regina. 

David stared at them. “His first professional writing job was a series of travel articles about Okinawa!”  

“Well I didn’t know that, did I?” cried Mary Margaret. “I never thought he’d actually been there, I just thought—” 

“Oh, I see,” said David, understanding in yet another bright flash. “You thought he’d be jealous because August’s been where he wanted to go and would enthral Emma with stories about it, was that the plan?” 

“Something like that.” 

“Well, it’s backfired but good now, hasn’t it?” 

“No,” said Mary Margaret. “Not yet. I have one more ace up my sleeve.” 

She marched back over to the booth. “Killian,” she said sweetly, interrupting what seemed to be a rapidly heating argument over whether fugu was overpriced claptrap or a valid cultural experience that justified the price, “I was just wondering, did you call Belle yet?”

“Aye, a few days ago.” 

Mary Margaret’s eyes lit with triumph. “And?”

“And I introduced her to my friend’s cousin Will, you remember he’s here visiting for a month or two. I thought they might hit it off.”

Mary Margaret’s face fell like a deflated soufflé.

“Did they?” asked David, twisting the metaphorical knife in his dear one’s gut even though he knew he probably shouldn’t. 

“Very much so. They’re out together right now, if I’m not mistaken,” said Killian. 

Mary Margaret pulled herself together, smiled the right smile and spoke the right platitude, but when she pulled David, Regina, and Robin back into their huddle she was glowering darkly, the light of battle glinting in her eyes. 

“We’ll get them in Phase Three,” she said. 

[sometimesrosy]

Ok so apparently the 100 is building a castle set w/a fancy staircase. And theres a few small red and yellow flagposts outside w/some christmas like trees. Wtf is going on?!? Lol the first thing that popped into my head when I saw it was the King/Knight and Queen/Princess reference for Bellamy and Clarke. Lol. I have no idea what's going on in this new planet. Or is a ball really happening like everyone is saying? Maybe like a peace conference ball type thing between Eligius and Earthlings? Lol.

OK, I wish y’all would post a link or site or search term when you come yelling about new information so I know where to go look and I’m not just going off second hand information. But I did find the bts pic.

I don’t know if that’s a castle, but the flags are banners and they are norfolk pines, not christmas trees.There does seem to be some pageantry involved with the banners and landscaping, which doesn’t fit either the wilderness or the high tech aesthetic, so it’s something DIFFERENT from what we’ve seen. There’s also topiary on the balcony.

 What I find interesting is the organic details on those stairs and backdrop, and I do not understand why the center of the set is orange while the outside of it is brown, which makes it look fake. So the conclusion I am coming to is that they will add special effects to it to make it also look…idk, more organic? Some sort of vines or lights or alien unusualness.??? There’s a bluescreen at the top, but the top edges are NOT finished and have no detail, especially not like the detailed organic shapes of the railing, which looks sloppy to me and will probably be fixed in post production. Which means to me, again, special effects. Also, there’s no place for anyone to stand near that bluescreen, so it’s just background. Maybe just the two suns, but maybe more. 

TBH, I don’t understand how any of you get Bellarke out of that. 

it’s a BUILDING. It’s worldbuilding, not character arcs. I wouldn’t use this to figure out an emotional narrative. I feel like this fandom wants to make everything about a clue to ships and that isn’t what everything IS. Sometimes a building is about…the setting. It gives us some aesthetic. Some background. Maybe history, mood. Relationships are details that exist WITHIN the world they build, but the background doesn’t tell us about relationships.

To me, with the late timing of that, this to me says alien society, or the hidden part of the Eligius society. Otherwise we would have seen this early on in the filming. But no, this isn’t part of the peaceful society we’ve heard about?? Or it’s a new part of it. I think it will be the strange part of it.

I’m still on the aliens thing. This is what we’ve been told would be happening. Whether that is alien world or alien planet. Eligius has been there about 200 years, and this building seems to have been there a while, right? Or I’m assuming it’s an established place, but it doesn’t look like something a technologically advanced culture post earth apocalypse would build, style wise. It’s slightly organic/gothic…. oh, maybe we’re going SOLARPUNK.

IDK. People’s frame of reference seems to be “prom,” or maybe Cinderella, but I have questions and thoughts about this all.

If it’s a ball or prom that they need a choreographer for, although unless it’s highly stylized group dancing (and why hire a choreographer who does contemporary/broadway numbers instead of a folk dancer or something?) then why hire only FOUR dancers for it?

Four dancers + choreographer makes me think more along the lines of performance, meeting, presentation of characters who are utilizing the dance to tell part of the story.

The choreographer and many of the dancers seem to have a strange element to their work. The choreographer has a straight up WEIRD alien like dance number on her website, one of the dancers dances off the ground. One of them DOES have a ball number in OUAT though. Yes I googled the dancers and choreographer.

Why is dance part of the story when it never has been before? That makes it strange to this kind of storytelling, which fits, as we’re on an alien planet.

Why is it introduced so late in the season? Again it is another unusual thing that our heroes haven’t seen yet. That makes it, to me, part of a revelation of story. Not actually about Bellarke, but about the planet, the alienness, the mystery of what happened to eligius 4, and the main plot and possible big bad.

This set is also introduced late in the season at the same time as choreographer, so the dancing and set seem to be connected. 

Perhaps there is a fairy tale element, or a dream element. They HAVE brought in fairy tales before, as early as the linctavia beauty and the beast storyline. BUT JR has referenced all movies and books that have an element of unreality, altered perception/time/reality, possible hallucination, dream or vision, so I find that just as likely as a ball. More likely. Do fairy tales have to be about princesses and balls? No. They don’t. Often they are about the deep dark woods, mystery, danger and magic. Even Disney does that. Fairy tale =/= romance.

What is with that weird orange color? At first I thought it was a sheet of plastic, but upon close viewing, there is a lot of textural and tonal detail IN the orange. However, the orange makes it look fake. Therefore I think it is one layer of what eventually will be some sort of digital effect. Maybe it’s like layers in a painting. Maybe that orange color is supposed to give the impression that the castle is GLOWING. ohhh. that would make sense.

Ok. The orange part of the castle kind of centers on that pretty organic archway with the kind of half mandala in it, that looks like a stained glass window, but it is not a perfect mandala or circle and the center of it is DEFINITELY organic like a tree root or octopus. AND the stone around it kind of warps like it is wrinkled or there is something growing under it. That shape is echoed in the bannister. Top edge of the castle also shows this wrinkle/warping, which is maybe why I thought it was a sheet of plastic at first. It’s not. It was designed to look like something organic, but in stone. where we can SEE the stone building blocks.

The castle is human sized. The steps are human sized so are the doors. This is a building for humanoids. However there are super tall archways that are NOT human sized. Why build an archway that tall when the others are human height?

A thing growing through a stone castle is not humanoid. 

A thing growing through a stone castle and then echoed in the architecture of said castle is not an enemy, but something that is honored or worshipped or followed. 

You know how Avatar (the movie with blue people) had that mother tree that was, like, the center of life and spirit?

Binch. If the alien on this planet is THE ACTUAL PLANET someone needs to come over here and do an exorcism to get Jason Rothenberg out of my head because I wrote this in a novel 12 years ago, which was ALSO about cryo sleep, which was part of how they got to the new planet to colonize it, which just so y’all know, I suggested as a way to be saved from praimfaya before season 4 started. BEFORE. In january. Also, my current series based on the same universe as that space colony one is called The Mandala Series. The first one was The Mythos Series. That thing in the center looks like a mandala. 

If the alien beings on this planet are actually part of the planet, or a non human entity, AND we get choreography that is weird and dancers that can dance while hanging in space off of poles or ropes or vines or tentacles, then I suggest that there is a hybrid human/alien element, and the dancers will represent that new hybrid. Again, another idea from my novel. I might just be too deep into my novel to separate, and am reading into it, but that is how I came up with cryo theory and it turns out I was right. 

JR is in my head. 

Honestly, I don’t know how you guy come up with Bellarke and commence freaking out. I come up with living alien planets and hybrid alien/humans and commence freaking out. No offense, but my idea is more interesting than a ball. I mean. Maybe it’s a ball. That would be…. fun. 

[the-roanoke-society]

now presenting: more aus for the ship tags i’d love to see.

explore below the cut. ... because i’ve watched a lot of ouat today.

butterfly knife: cinderella au. it’s not often that a lowly, local tailor missing an eye snags entry into a local ball, courtesy of his fairy godmother complete with hazel eyes and a drawl. but he does know how often he’s seen in the princess in passing. he knows how much he loves her. and now is his chance to see what could happen, maybe, if he can convince her to just one dance...

body shots: lady & the tramp au. he was a scoundrel. she was... well, could at least pass for a lady. but the real plot twist was them finding out how much they had in common--and how much the other seemed like a breath of fresh air.

lies & lessons: sleeping beauty au. maleficent expected a lot of things out of the southern prince. she expected a sword. a shield. righteous anger. and while the rage showed up, something else did too, something that took her by surprise--a lasso.

anchored hearts: the rescuers au. because we really, really need to talk about joseph--big, huge, massive joseph--as the meek and mild janitorial staff member of the rescue aid society, following the optimistic, fearless louise to the bayou, to save a woman who is not all that she seems (i’ll give you a hint, her handle comes from a particularly cursed doll).

magic & mischief: the black cauldron au. kieran had a humble upbringing that got very, very complicated very, very quickly. and it got even more complicated when he found a woman in a tower: “i’m princess alessia!” sort of an inconvenient time to meet the love of your life.

rumcake: who framed roger rabbit au. toons and waking--well, our reality, enmeshed. a detective still mourning his brother in the shape of a bottle, much to the grief of the fiery redheaded bartender who loves him. and now--roger. “you crazy rabbit! i'm out there risking my neck for you, and what are you doing? singing and dancing!” “but I'm a toon. toons are supposed to make people laugh!”

starry eyes: the little mermaid au. his tail glittered like metal--like stars. two things she was very familiar with. and as she gasped back air, her heart jittering back into a normal rhythm--she blinked. the sun was behind his head, blinding her, as she laid on the sand, still sputtering water--but those eyes. those eyes she’d recognize anywhere.

on the rocks: the emperor’s new groove au. she was a queen who’d been turned into a llama. you abso-fucking-lutely read that right. and they were just a simple shepherd trying to carve out a peaceful existence in the hills. but... she needed their help. and thus began a very bizarre quest to take back the throne, and her humanity.

sleight of heart: atlantis: the lost empire au. no one had believed in him. not for years. and he was still young, by the academic standards. but whitman had given him his father’s journals for a reason. and that reason--well. his dad might’ve said something about research, knowledge. but every time he looked at the princess... well. he secretly hoped the reason was shaped more like her.

puppy love: lilo & stitch au. “eggsy--eggsy, babe, that’s not a dog!” “well, look, i couldn’t just leave him there at the shelter, all the other dogs were scared of him! and look, look, jb likes him, don’t you jb?” meanwhile jb had backed himself behind a bookshelf, staring at his new brother, who looked a bit blue for his taste, if he could speak.

from the ashes: treasure planet au. ... look i just really, really want to see a more romantic cut of the scene with silver and jim sailing next to/inside of the shooting star featuring arizona and phoenix and to be honest who can blame me? please consider a grizzled, german ship cook saddled with this poor young woman who was just--at the wrong place at the wrong place time.

devil bois: howl’s moving castle au. the real question is who’s sophie and who’s howl, because either way, this is probably one of the better ideas of i’ve had in like three days. 

holy hell: up au. the king of hell never thought, for once, in all his years, that he would lose his wife. his andrea. but... he did. however, unlike the pixar film we know and love, this au, to me, takes a hard left turn: it becomes a journey of a man, his earnest helper, and a dog, all on a journey to find the one sacred relic that can reunite him with his love. yeah, there’s also a weird bird.

out to sea: ponyo au. i know this is essentially the little mermaid but can we please just stop and think about younger!raziel carrying an even younger!nereus around in a goddamned plastic bucket and feeding him lunch meat.

ancient cares: a christmas carol au. i know this is a bit out of season considering i’m posting this in october, but... sentinel, crochety and made bitter by the loss of his true love, is visited by three spirits (all of whom sound strangely--southern). and while it culminates in a changed heart, and a renewed sense of generosity, good things happen to those who do good. and he is not quite prepared when a certain someone crashes back into his life, to the tune of church bells ringing out yuletide hymns.

safety nets: tangled au. he’d been locked in a tower for basically his entire life. granted, he sort of... didn’t always have the best use of his legs. metallic or otherwise. but when a pretty young thief breaks into his tower--well he naturally had to slam a rolling pin into her head, how else was he supposed to react?

grace & choice: strange magic au. she was just trying to rescue her sister. that was it. if she’d known--if she’d known how gentle, how kind, how patient, the bog queen could be, behind her thick walls of malice, violence and dark magic? ... well. if she was honest with herself, she knew damn well she would have gone anyway.

secret gardens: snow white au. “karen? ... karen. it’s okay. don’t cry. you have all seven of us to help you. it’s going to be okay. we’ll help you find the prince in the glass coffin. just--just bring the shears. something tells me there’s uh. gonna be a lot of thorns. the queen’s sense of humor is funny like that.”

royals & robots: big hero 6 au. featuring tilde’s deceased older sister that didn’t exist in canon. although, now that i think about it... some of these lines may actually be a part of their actual canon as a ship tag. “on a scale of one to ten, how would your rank your pain?” “zero!” because tilde got hurt. and she was so used to hiding it from humans, she didn’t understand that she’d failed to hide it from an entity like pru.

hymns & holograms: beauty and the beast au. once upon a time in scotland--a man let his temper get the best of him. before he knew better, before he was given a chance to grow. and one day, a young woman--a scholar, with a bag of mystical tomes slung over her shoulder--blows in through the snow. not completely understanding the curse. not completely knowing what the price is of the magic at hand. “my name is morgan. i’m here to help you.”

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 2X12 - In the Name of the Brother

Brother (Or sister, or any other sibling, real or metaphorical), can you spare the time...to read my latest review?

Great! Head below the cut!

Press Release Dr. Whale is tasked with mending Hook’s wounds and performing surgery on the stranger whose car crashed upon entering Storybrooke. But some of the townspeople fear that the stranger may have seen magic – which could expose their true identities to the world – and think that leaving him to die would be the best solution. Meanwhile, as Mr. Gold tries to reunite with a despondent Belle, Cora attempts to reunite with daughter Regina; and in the land that was, Victor desperately wants to prove to his disapproving father that he can, indeed, bring back the dead. General Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness Past This is one of the most visually appealing segments in the entire series. The World of Black and White is such a crazy concept, but it absolutely rocks. The style and the use of color make it so hard to forget and it really makes for a world that feels like none other, something that the other realms aren’t always able to do. And when Rumple appears, it’s such a contrast. Like, had this not been done so carefully, the mix of a technicolor Rumple in a world like this would’ve looked sloppy, but instead, it’s as every bit as magical as one could imagine or want it to be. I also like how the acknowledgment of this distinction is never too much of a distraction for the characters. Rumple (And his gold) definitely pops out from the rest of the crowd, but they never stop to think about that in terms of the schematics of their world. I’m glad about this because it doesn’t invite a feeling of distraction away from the story. Finally, let’s talk about music because the music here definitely delivers on the dark gothic atmosphere of the world, and it starts to blend with our world as Rumple shows up. As for the story itself, it’s pretty basic -- good, but basic. It’s essentially a darker “Aladdin” and a gentler Frankenstein story mixed in to one. And it’s cool! Really, it is! The unique take on Frankenstein is cool and having Rumple be what amounts to a jerk genie in it gives a fun spin. However, there’s not that much that’s worth touching upon apart from the style. Present So, the present segment finds itself pretty divided among our main cast and as mixed as the plotlines get, so are my impressions of them.

Emma and co don’t really have much of a story, per se, but act as passive reactants to everything else at play, and to be fair, that’s the most that could be expected of them in this scenario. I found that the debate over whether to let Greg live or not compelling enough, but thankfully not made to be such a big deal, especially when the main players generally don’t harm innocents. Still, it was nice to have Grumpy and Gold to list off the problems that Greg’s existence could present as something to think about (And to be fair, I guess it was something to do before the crazed Plot Hole Police arrived to badger A&E over for years, if they hadn’t already at this point).

Watching Regina and Cora interact is the most uncomfortable thing in the world, and I mean that in the best way possible. Cora, whether true in her love for Regina or not, still manages to squirm her way into Regina’s heart where she knows she’s unwelcome. It’s honestly sinister seeing her apologize for things that we know she doesn’t mean (Making Regina marry Leopold and framing her for Archie’s “death”), but eventually convince Regina regardless. And to Regina’s credit, Cora only gets him by plucking the nerve of her most recent dilemma: Earning Henry’s trust back. Seeing Regina cradling in Cora’s neck is so awful, like seeing a spider ensnare her prey.

Finally, what the hell brought on Whale’s bout into depression? I guess it was seeing the watch which reminded him of his brother, but he was clearly drinking before he got the watch, so what gives? Was is because he couldn’t get sent back to his realms a few episodes ago because that wasn’t even in the “Previously On” section? Like, I’m sorry, but we see Whale on the verge of committing suicide. That’s a serious topic to show, especially for the very real way that Whale attempts it. There needs to either be more of a focus on Whale’s present situation to get to that point. I will say, there is a redemption here by Ruby because her speech at least connects more to the past segment in how Whale can’t change the past, but can change the future.   Insights - Stream of Consciousness -As a victim of a car crash, seeing that again wasn’t traumatic at all! *nervous shudder* -Killian, this is the exact worst time to be an instigator! What the hell?! -This is also the filming spot for my OTHER favorite blooper. I’ll give you a hint: Anyone down for some crushed nuts? -Credit to Emma and David for knowing exactly how to tame Rumple! Small moments like these give a nice amount of payoff for the respective dynamics! -”From the outside?” I feel like if this had happened during the last episode, I probably would’ve put that Peter Griffin meme here about matching the titles in the dialogue. -I love the opening title card here! I normally love them all, but the distinction of color is just magnificent here! -Whale, don’t drink on the job! -”That’s your cross to bear, I suppose.” Victor, making puns is my schtick! -”He’ll cool off.” Gerhardt, your dad wasn’t even mad. I’d say Victor was madder. -Emma’s coming into Killian’s hospital room all confident and I am so here for this! And looks like Killian agrees! -Killian sees he’s chained. “You’re really into this, aren’t you?” Killian is just getting the best lines here and I am also here for this! XD -”If I had to pick dead guy of the year? I’d pick you.” Give it a couple more seasons, Emma. -I love how Ruby knew there were 10,000 combos right off the top of her head! She’s so smart! -”A LinkedIn account.” Not only is this dude a loser, BUT he’s now spamming the few people that can stand him with invitations to certify that he knows PowerPoint! He’s a MONSTER, I tell you! -”And he tweets pictures of his food.” Greg, torturing Regina aside (Which is also pretty fucking horrendous), you are just the WORST person! -Leroy’s apparently a movie buff. Who knew? -”We need to tell Regina’s she’s been framed.” Yesss! Thank you, Snow! I’m not mad at anyone for not immediately thinking of her given the crisis, but I am happy that someone did (Actually, some two because of Snow and Ruby!). Also, it enriches their dynamics going forward! Also, credit to her for understanding the internal danger Cora poses to Regina! I’m seriously loving Snow this season! -”You better hope he dies.” I like the strength of the writing in this line. It’s the driving force for the morality that Emma and co are tasked with thinking about, however inactively, throughout the segment. -”It’s not murder if we let him succumb to his injuries.” “I’m pretty sure it is.” It totally is! Look, for all the moral conflict of this episode, it’s totally murder and I’m glad that the character framed as the one closer to the audience is the one aware of that. -Gee, did Disney buy Star Wars at around this time? I’ve no idea! -”Rumple Von Stiltskin.” Imagine if that’s actually how his name was structured! XD -”Are you a philanthropist?” “Well, I’ve been called worse.” Rumple’s also gotten great quips! -*Rumple sees box* ...August? “Hello, Rumple.” Ah! Cora! What a fakeout! -”The Crocodile snaps at the little bird.” I guess Killian’s vernacular grew on Cora throughout their time together. Now though, I want to know what animal Killian is. What animal is everyone?! -A moment of silence for the deleted Jello scene that never made it to air. A-woman. -Cora, do not smell Regina’s clothes! That is fucking creepy! -Disguising yourself as Henry? Cora, that is a new low! And your former low already bonked Hades’ blue head! -Cora, go away! You’ve been in Regina’s sights for all of a quarter of a second and you’ve already given Regina a panic attack! -I feel like the only reason Rumple held up that magnifying glass was so that the effects team could show off just how well they did his eyes. -Regina’s hiding spot is so beautiful! She has a gorgeous albino apple tree, christmas lights, jewels all around, and gorgeous wallpaper! Fuck the monarchy! Go into interior design! -”Determination.” Cora, shut up, you are not an Undertale character. ...Actually, you totally could pass as Chara. -”Emma and Henry and the two idiots.” I love how small, but still funny that line was. -Okay, so I totally want Ruby to just run on her own in my “Wacky Races” dream fic because holy shit! She’s fast! -I’m not sure if Gerhardt beating the crap out of his father for verbally assaulting Victor is the most disturbing thing I’ve ever seen or the most heartwarming. -”It seems that science does too [have a price].” Bro, do you even physics?! -I’m not going to write down Ruby’s entire speech, but I do like the concept of looking at bright sides to Regina’s curse. It’s definitely not an admission that it was a good deed nor should it be, but in this isolated incident, it’s interesting to see Ruby and Whale commiserate over things. -Also, serious props to Ruby for cutting Whale’s self-hate monologue to get to the situation at hand. XD -”These carriages are strange.” I wonder if Cora was actually serious when she says this! XD I mean, cars are probably intimidating to those not familiar with them. -”It’s one of my most treasured possessions.” Awww! -It’s so freaky seeing Gerhardt moving around in his undead state. He’s like a gorilla in the way he moves his arms and legs and the way he cowers and sits. What a cool take on Frankenstein’s monster! Like that, more than anything would make me interested in a follow-up Frankenstein flashback. -I feel so bad for Snow as she’s being let down about not going into Greg’s room, but I can’t help but laugh. Like Snow, the fuck, bro? -”It’s a cup.” Am I the only one getting a sense of deja vu from “A Bug’s Life” here? XD -Greg, you sly dog! You, Killian, and Cora could bag Best Acting Awards until you die! -”I was texting.” ...While not my exact situation, this was too fucking real… -I love that globe and wish we saw more of it! On topic, everyone in Storybrooke should keep a private sampling of blood just for safekeeping at this point for identity purposes. -Awww! Poor Emma! Henry, just let her sleep! And then Gold comes in! The poor woman! -”If any harm comes to Belle while I’m gone, I’m killing all of you.” ...Was anyone in that room trying to hurt Belle? For the wham line it was supposed to be, it doesn’t come back in a meaningful way and it’s so oddly aimed. I guess this was written before Colin got hurt and maybe Killian was supposed to go after her again? Arcs - How are These Storylines Progressing? Rumple’s Redemption - As much as my inner sense of empathy is judging Rumple, his decision to essentially say “fuck off” to the request to help Greg is pretty in-character. Not only is he dealing with the anger over losing Belle and essentially letting Killian get away with it without killing him (Which is in itself a pretty great stride that holds through from his decision in the previous episode), but yeah, for as much as I like Rumple and think that the writing does an excellent job of painting him as not a complete fucking monster, I put the word ‘complete’ in there for a reason. Rumple still has a long way to go until he reaches a point where he can care for someone whose outside of his tiny circle of love, and for whatever can be said about his relations to Emma and David, they’re not at a point where they’re strong enough where he’d give them that much concern. Regina’s Redemption - “I have to let you know. I had nothing to do with Archie.” I almost feel like I can leave it there, but nah. You deserve more! So, just as much as Regina wants Henry to be by her side regardless as for as much as her attempted redemption had hurt her thus far, Regina’s still committed to doing right by Henry, and that’s amazing! Furthermore, Regina shows that even if she didn’t accept her treatment when the accusations came around over Archie’s death, she does accept that given the circumstances, it was a reasonable assumption to make. Honestly, the entirity of Regina’s scenes with Cora speak of how far she’s come, as she stands against Cora’s points over why she framed Regina. Obviously, part of what made Regina go as evil as she did was Cora’s influence, and seeing her work so hard to not let Cora control her again was just so impressive! Hell, even gives Cora an understanding of what she wants if she’s to trust Cora again. Greg Mendell - We get our first (Okay, second) piece of Greg in this episode. Definitely a good actor and I like how there was this subversion of expectations in this episode (until the ending, of course) while still raising all of the needed points about him and his existence here for later in the season where they would apply. Favorite Dynamic Rumple and Cora - I like how we get to see that Cora’s menace doesn’t just stretch to Regina, but how exactly it stretches to Rumple. Rumple and Cora are on equal footing in a way that Rumple and Regina only came to be during the final two seasons of the show, and that comes across so clearly in just how he acts around her in their one scene together. She’s able to push him a bit and even prompts a deal where he has to hesitantly accept it, and that’s so rarely done, especially by an enemy. Just look at the worry in Rumple’s eye and that bit of trepidation, but he still manages to keep most of his cool. That is how Rumple responds to a real threat. It’s almost karmic retribution for not bothering with Greg (Or trying so hard to keep Cora out of Stroybrooke that she’d let Emma and Snow die), but I don’t know if I would go so far as to say that for certain. Still, their one scene both establishes so much of their dynamic and sets up the board for later. Writer Jane Espenson is back, and she did a decent job here. I like how she balanced the screentime of so much of our main and supporting cast. No one ever feels like they got the shaft and what they were given to do fits their story so well. In addition, I feel like the writing is done very well, particularly with Regina and Cora. The way Regina speaks is a great reflection of the work she’s done as she deflects Cora’s points hit by hit and only succumbs to a situation that was well set up. Jane is really good when it comes to writing Regina, as “We Are Both” was also hers and the depictions of both her past and present character were marvelous! Also, as a side note, she wrote Emma and Killian much better here. There’s clearly animosity, but a level of concern and even flirting off of Emma’s side that is actually allowed to show up for a hot second. Rating 8/10. Style is the name of the game here. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the aesthetics weren’t impressive enough to bring the whole episode up a level. As for the other segments, they ranged in quality, but were more good than bad, though since Whale was the main segment, the shortcomings of that story stood out more. But thankfully, it wasn’t the only portion between the interesting broad strokes of the OUAT rendition of Frankenstein, the true horror story of seeing Cora take over Regina’s life again, and the small inner workings of Emma and co in the background as they react to all of this. Flip My Ship - Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness” Rumbelle - I noticed that just as the episode started, Rumple was calling Belle “Beautiful Belle” as the authorities were coming for her. That’s small, but pretty cute! And you just gotta feel for Rumple as he tries so desperately to make Belle remember him. While I’m not really sure if I like or dislike the failed TLK, the cup scene absolutely accomplishes what it sets out to do. Also, “do you have any spells to return memories?” Just look at Rumple here. He looks so nervous as he’s asking, as fragile as a young schoolboy! And he does that in front of CORA! That is adorable for Rumbelle! Captain Swan - Killian just gets hit by a freakin’ CAR and the first thing he says is, “Hey beautiful.” Killian, never change! ...Actually, yeah. You need to change a lot, but fortunately, you do! Hell, even Emma gives into the flirting a bit after a bit! Also, “everything else is still intact.” KIllian, could you be any more obvious?! Also also, Emma’s pretty keen on keeping an eye on Killian despite the fact that he’s handcuffed. Finally, Emma’s reaction to Rumple’s threat to kill Hook at the end of the episode...looks like she does care. Golden Heart - ”I’ve no reason to cheat you.” “Anymore.” Looks like we’ve got some angry exes! XD Also, notice how Rumple’s lingering juuuuuust a bit during that kiss! You dog! ()()()()()()()()() Finally! Another really good episode to talk about and get pumped over!! Thank you so much for reading and to the awesomesauce fine folks at @watchingfairytales for making like Frankenstein and bringing my creations to life! Bwahahahahha!

Any guesses on what will happen next time? I’ll give you a tiiiiiiiiny hint: It’s one of my favorites. See you then! Season 2 Tally (104/220) Writer Tally for Season 2: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis: (29/60) Jane Espenson (25/50) Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (24/50) David Goodman (16/30) Robert Hull (16/30) Christine Boylan (7/30) Kalinda Vazquez (10/30) Daniel Thomsen (10/20)

Operation Rewatch Archives

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

WIP Name Game

Rules: I post the names of all the files in my WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and interests you and I’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it!

I was tagged by @snowbellewells.  Sorry it took me so long to get to this, Marta!  My problem is that technically speaking, I have no current WIPs, but I do have several fics I’m mulling over.  The first several listed here are my plans for the remainder of Fluffy Fridays (which will most likely come to an end late in March or so.  I can’t believe this mammoth fic collection is actually coming to an end!).  The others are MCs that I’m considering writing.  Because none of these fics actually have names yet, I left a bit of a description, but by all means send me asks about them if you have questions (or suggestions, lol).

Captain Swan family Christmas fic (Fluffy Fridays)

Toddler Hope brings the Elf on the Shelf to life.  Shenanigans ensue.

  CS season 2 canon divergent New Year’s fic (Fluffy Fridays)

During the second half of season 2, Emma and Hook get trapped together on the roof where they will get married several seasons later on New Year’s Eve.

  Killian’s move-in day (Fluffy Fridays)

Lol, basically just what it sounds like.  Following Emma asking Killian to move-in, he brings his chest of belongings, and CS look through them together (kind of a parallel to the scene in season 4 where Emma shares her beginnings with Killian).

(The rest under a cut because, long)

Canon divergence during Neverland or just after (Fluffy Fridays)

Yeah, I have no idea what this is going to be about yet.  I just love the Neverland arc, and I want one more Neverland fic in Fluffy Fridays.

  Deleted Scene from the night before the wedding (Fluffy Fridays)

Emma calls Killian on the night before the wedding because she misses him.

  Valentines Day canon divergence/ (Fluffy Fridays)

I don’t know what this one will be about yet, but it’s Storybrooke, so it’s quite possible it involves Cupid creating mischief.

  Deleted scene during Emma’s pregnancy (Fluffy Fridays)

Emma’s nesting instincts are in overdrive as her pregnancy with Hope draws near its end, and she wants everything to be perfect before her baby is born

St. Patrick’s Day (Fluffy Fridays)

 Again, I don’t know exactly what this one is going to be about, but it will probably involve leprechauns.

  CS future fic (Fluffy Fridays)

Same.  I’m accepting suggestions if anyone has any prompts (roughly canon compliant) involving Captain Swan in the future.  

  Storybrooke during season 7 MC

I’m still mulling this one over (i.e. there’s not much plot yet), but I wanted to write a fic that shows what was happening in Storybrooke while the events of season 7 were happening in the alternate EF and in Hyperion Heights.  It will contain plenty of domestic CS goodness (finding out they’re pregnant and the pregnancy and Hope’s birth), but it will be set within the context of some new “villain” in Storybrooke.  (I put “villain” in parentheses, because at the end of season 6, the Storybrooke folks got their Happily Ever After, so whatever the menace, it won’t be terrible.  This will be a primarily fluffy MC)

  Season 8 MC

I have no real plot to this yet, but the “title” is kind of self explanatory.  I want to write a fic about what season 8 would have been like if there’d been a season 8.  (I wouldn’t hold my breath for this one, though, because I feel like season 7 left us with a lot of timeline issues that I’d need to find a way to resolve before I could proceed with another season.  Lol, I have a headache just thinking about it.)

  Once Upon a Time Book

Not sure it’s quite accurate to even call this a fanfic, per se, but one thing I plan to do is to write OUAT in story form.  Basically, I’ll take the scripts along with as much detail as I can record about what people are wearing, tone of voice, facial expressions, etc, and use that to write the episodes as a fic.  Each episode would be a chapter and each half season would be a fic (season 1 would probably be a fic by itself, because there isn’t really a half season format there).  My attempt would be to be as non-biased as possible here, but I mean, I’m a CSer and a Hook and Emma fan, so that will probably come out.

  Season 3 au/crossover with Manifest

I want to write a fic from just after the Neverland arc that’s inspired by Josh Dallas’s new show, Manifest.  (Loosely inspired, at least).  This fic would be a canon divergent from around 3x10 or so.  The gang stops Pan from casting the curse, so everyone but Emma and Henry don’t get sent back to the EF.  At some point Emma, Hook and Henry leave Storybrooke for some reason, and when they come back (what feels like a few hours later), they find that 5 years have passed and there’s a new curse or something going on.  (This one I actually have more of an idea what to do with than some of my other fic ideas, so most likely, it will be my next MC).

  CS au based on Jane Austen’s Persuasion

One of my favorite underrated Jane Austen books, and I think it would make a good CS au...only I think I might reverse the rolls.  Killian broke up with Emma for some reason (although it wouldn’t be because his family convinced him she wasn’t a good enough match for him), and Emma’s the one who has trouble trusting him again when they meet up several years later (even though she never stopped loving him).  This one would probably be angsty, but with a happy ending eventually.

  CS au based on the movie Kate and Leopold

Man from a few centuries past timetravels to the present and ends up hanging out with (and falling in love with) a kind of jaded present woman?  If that doesn’t scream CS I don’t know what does!

  CS Enchanted au

Again, this movie just about screams CS au to me--although like with Persuasion, I’d probably reverse the roles.  Killian would be the storybook character that was sent via curse to our world and Emma would be the cynical single parent who comes to his rescue.

[onceuponaprincessworld]

CaptainSwan One-Two-Three Shots FF Rec p.7

Hello Beautiful Fandom, in anticipation of tonight’s episode with hopefully lots of CaptainSwan moments I made a new list.  So, I present to you the second list with one-two-three/forth shots but also the seventh list of  one-shots in total. Tell me what you think! Hope you enjoy.

If you liked it you can also check the first part of one-two-three shots here, and my other lists here.

P.S I try to tag the authors by their tumblr url but I haven’t found some, if you know it, let me know!

ONE SHOTS

The Rise and Fall of the Storybrooke Book Club, @phiralovesloki

Killian Jones is sure, beyond a reasonable doubt, that joining Belle's book club is a huge mistake and a waste of time. But he should know better than to judge a book (club) by its cover.

Waterfalling in Love, @acaptainswaneternity

Emma Swan goes on a trip with her friends but she finds out she has to share the room with the guy she likes.

Handy Helpers, @the-captains-ayebrows

Emma Swan's building has gone co-op and now she's forced to fix up her apartment on a tiny budget, but with the Handy Helpers, she may just get more than she bargained for. Otherwise known as: Captain Charming as handymen. A CS Modern AU with a side of Snowing and Ruby being Ruby.

all the ways that matter,  @captainnagata

“I made an appointment with Planned Parenthood,” she tells him, making sure to end her sentence on a high note so it sounds like she doesn’t really ended her sentence. As with most things, Killian gets it. “You want me to come with you?”

Hail to the Chief, @allrightfine

It does turn out, however, that helping that politician often comes with free pizza and that sleeping in the campaign office — whether or not it's because you don't have anywhere else to go — is the mark of a dedicated volunteer. (presidential campaign AU, with speechwriter-Killian and volunteer-Emma!)

What If?, @dassala

Killian Jones comes to the rescue with rocky road and comfort during Emma's latest breakup.

I've Had Worse, @nowforruin

Another birthday, another trip to the ER. It's all fairly routine when it comes to life for Emma Swan, but there is nothing routine about Dr. Killian Jones.

A Pirate Comes to Pemberley,  @mryddinwilt

Years ago Miss Emma Nolan of Pemberley was left heartbroken by the unfaithful Neal Cassidy. Now an older and wiser young woman a chance meeting with the scandalous Captain Killian Jones leaves her determined to not make the same mistake. A OUAT AU fused with Pride & Prejudice where David and Snow are Lizzy and Darcy and Emma is Georgiana. A long one shot!

The Message, @kat2609

Emma Swan thought she was right to stop this thing with Killian Jones going too far - anything to keep their friendship intact for her and her son Henry. But when it looks as though he may have moved on, she is no longer sure she made the right decision... (This was previously in my Whenever, Wherever group but I decided to give it its own story.

There's No Place Like Home, @everlastingcaptainswan

When Emma Swan's relationship ends badly she lands on her brother's doorstep. Only to find that their friend Killian Jones has moved in with David and Mary Margaret. Will close proximity with Killian bring up feelings Emma buried long ago or will she keep denying any feelings she has for him?

Fake Your Death, @literatiruinedme

Hospital attendings au

TWO SHOTS

Two Minutes for Hooking, @always-a-slut-for-pirates

Emma Swan, a member of the newly formed professional women's hockey league, has a chance meeting with hockey all-star Killian Jones after an aggravating loss.

Chasing Thursdays, @nowforruin

Elsa has no desire to follow in her politician mother’s footsteps and Emma wants to quit working at Granny’s. They decide to open Frozen and take advantage of the summer tourist season, but Emma doesn’t count on their neighbor, tattoo artist Killian Jones, showing up every single Thursday for more than just ice cream.

Quick Prompt (½) &(2/2), @blessed-but-distressed

Friends to Lovers in a Small Town

Untitled & p.2, @distant-rose

High School AU

The Not So Neighborly Noise, @optomisticgirl

After an exhausting day, one which started with her annoying neighbor waking her up with his singing, all Emma Swan wanted to do was sleep. Little did she know when she crawled into bed that night that everything she thought she knew was going to shift dramatically. Can a closed off woman give a man a chance to prove her wrong?

OUAB99 & OUAB99 (pt.2), @thesschesthair

Captain swan in Brooklyn 99 scenes.

Inbox (1), @captainnagata

She knows him, more or less, the way she knows all her mutual followers – the online equivalent of nodding at each other in the hallways – and so knows he particularly likes to reblog seaside landscapes and history posts. So when she sees the post – nothing but a “charleia, reblog if you agree” that has 8 notes – and sees that it’s coming from him, she can barely hide her surprise. Because, really, what are the odds that some random guy on Tumblr would read the exact same book at the exact same time, only to share her feelings about some obscure couple? The odds aren’t that good, and yet…

THREE/FOURTH SHOTS

But Darling, @herfairy

AU: Breaking and entering is a crime, no matter the intentions, but Emma knew she would freeze to death if she didn't do something.

Never Hurts, @laschatzi

based on the following prompt: “we’re co workers who hate each other but you had too much to drink at the staff christmas party and admitted your love for me I don’t know how to act around you now”

Hit me with your best shot,  StrawberryFields4ever

AU Three-Shot. Emma is a tough, sarcastic bartender who replaces love with hard work and is perfectly fine with that lifestyle. Until she meets the cocky singer hired to play in the pub she works in.

Remember This Moment With Me, @cutieodonoghue

The one where Emma's in prison but Killian's waiting for her when she gets out.