#the past has been written { cora's backstory }

[neroushalvaus]

I think I once said that if I made video essays I would like to make one that was called "The Confusing Criminal Justice Philosophy of Downton Abbey". But since I don't make video essays, here's a regular essay! Or well, a tumblr post, anyway.

Downton Abbey has a strange way to portray crime and people who've committed crimes. Some thoughts under the cut. Please keep in mind that even though I may be criticizing the way a character has been written, I have nothing against the characters themselves.

Content warning for talking about the deaths of Vera and Mr Green, so suicide and sexual assault will be vaguely alluded to.

I have been trying to figure out a way to phrase this post correctly and without sounding like I'm bashing any characters. Note that this is just my own opinion based on some observations I've made.

Downton Abbey deals with crime quite a lot. There are the prison plots of Bates and Anna, Thomas steals wine and a dog, both Bates and Baxter are revealed to have criminal pasts... Sergeant Willis constantly has to go to and fro the Downton servants' hall. And while it would seem like DA makes an effort to see things from the point of view of those who commit crimes (all of the characters mentioned above, except Thomas most of the time, are portrayed as sympathetic in the show's narrative), the show never truly commits to being on the side of people who have broken the law. The show seems to play with the idea of redemption arcs and good people battling with the legal system, but it never quite commits to showing people who commit crimes in a sympathetic light.

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The twists and untwists of Bates & Baxter

When looking at the cast of Downton Abbey, we seemingly have two characters who've done time in jail for theft and have since then turned their lives around: Bates and Baxter. They're introduced as good, sympathetic characters before we learn something about them: A twist! They both have stolen things in their past and they've both suffered in jail because of it. But wait! There's more to this that meets the eye! An untwist! Bates actually didn't steal anything and Baxter was merely an accomplice in the theft she was convicted for. So in a way, the show gets the drama points for having characters who've done jail time, without actually admitting that these sympathetic characters can commit crimes.

Baxter is a bit more responsible for her past than Bates is. Bates took the blame for his wife Vera's crime (an altruistic act), while Baxter actually stole jewels. But when she tells her story to Cora and Molesley, they both have the same reaction: That can't be the whole truth, there has to be something more. A person like Baxter would never do something like that, not left to herself. And they end up being right. Baxter was manipulated to steal by her ex boyfriend Peter Coyle. Baxter herself tries to argue that it was still her choice to steal, but the narrative does seem to see it as Molesley puts it: "To me that makes you innocent." In season six we also learn that Coyle is actually a master manipulator who has ruined the lives of several women, so it is very clear at this point that Baxter is, in the eyes of the narrative, a victim. And a perfect victim at that. She is not angry for the time she spent in prison, she doesn’t think she was treated unjustly by the system. She bows her head and accepts her fate, and the thing she regrets the most is that she never gave the stolen jewels back.

In my opinion these untwists make the backstories of Bates and Baxter a lot less effective than they could have been. They both get to keep their jobs because of the untwisting (since Bates was innocent and Baxter was a victim), but I can't help but wondering whether it would have made a better story to have the untwists not happen.

I think it would have been kind of romantic for Anna to prove the words she said to Bates, that any new information wouldn't alter her opinion of him. If Bates had confessed his past crimes to her and Anna simply stated that it didn't matter one bit who Bates was in the past, because she loves the man she sees in front of her now. Likewise I think it would make Cora seem a lot kinder if she simply decided that since Baxter has been a good worker, she sees no point in sacking her even after hearing her story. Or she could decide that serving three years in jail for theft is harsh and undeserved, so Baxter really doesn't need any more punishments. And for Molesley this could be a chance to have some character-development; he feels that stealing is wrong but he is falling in love with a person who has stolen in her past. Stolen, without being pushed to it by anyone else, without being at the risk of literally dying if she won’t steal. How does he deal with that? This would challenge Molesley’s somewhat conservative values that never get fully challenged in the series and would make him a more interesting character. It would also make him and Baxter a stronger romantic couple, just like Bates and Anna would be stronger off if their plots actually included not caring what the person you love has done in the past.

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The deaths of Vera Bates and Mr Green

I think we all dislike the prison plots of DA, but to me they are where the narrative twists stop being frustrating and start being infuriating.

Vera killing herself in order to frame Bates isn't good writing and I'm not going to discuss it any further, but to me it is notable that no one at any point expresses the thought that even if Bates wasn't innocent, maybe he wouldn't deserve death or life in jail. In general the British criminal justice system doesn't get much criticism at all. And you know, this was the time before the names of Timothy Evans and Derek Bentley became rallying cries, the system was bad. But that doesn't stop the more conservative characters from talking about how they have faith in the British justice system, despite it causing unnecessary trauma for two characters who are otherwise well liked by the rest of the cast.

The worse offender is the murder of Mr Green. I'm sorry for telling Julian Fellowes how his own show should have been written, but Bates should have been the murderer. I personally dislike rape-revenge plots, especially when the revenge is carried out by the survivor’s male partner, but I’ll still say that Bates being the killer would have been more compelling and it would have made more sense than whatever the story actually was. I mean, we know Bates has a short temper. Remember him ramming a footman half his age and size against the wall for asking out a girl he wasn't really interested in? Remember him almost hitting his wife with only slight provocation? Remember Anna saying "don't make an enemy by accident" and Bates making enemies kind of purposefully? Remember Anna not wanting to tell him about her trauma, not because she was ashamed but because she was scared Bates couldn't keep himself from killing Green? This is a well-established character flaw of his. This is a very interesting thing in his character that could have been explored in this story arc. Why didn't Bates kill Green?

And if the answer is "we don't want to see Bates in jail again, or killed", a wild idea here: He could just get away with it. People could find out and just decide not to report him to the police. We could have the moral consideration with actual stakes. If someone were to know about Bates killing Green, they could think of one of the following things:

1. They could think that Bates did nothing wrong and that Green had it coming.

2. They could think that Bates did a morally reprehensible thing and should be condemned, but they could think that Bates doesn't deserve to be possibly killed, so they end up saying nothing. (This would also serve as a good critique for the legal system at the time, since the harsh punishments sometimes made people unwilling to find anyone guilty.)

3. They could think Bates deserves to be jailed or killed, but that Anna doesn't deserve to go through that. (Would possibly bring the focus back to Anna, her trauma and her story.)

4. They could have other reasons for not giving Bates away, like Mary has in canon: Bates has been loyal to the family so the family has to be loyal to him.

But no, we can't have our sympathetic characters doing bad things and that's why Bates was going to kill Green but ended up not doing it, and the killer is a woman we never get to meet.

If Bates would have killed Green, I still wouldn't have called that excellent writing, but it would have opened up some interesting story options. Bates and Anna would have had internal conflict in their relationship since the exact thing Anna was scared of happening did actually happen. They would have to deal with that and have an honest conversation. I think it would make an interesting story for the two of them. Anna keeping secrets from Bates so she won’t upset or anger him is something that happens a lot in their relationship and it would be very cool if they would have explored and resolved that problem, and that’s something that could have been done with this storyline. The writing in Downton Abbey seems to be very hesitant to give Bates and Anna internal conflict since they are both sympathetic characters the viewer is supposed to like, but something like this would show that conflict can happen even between two good people who love each other very much.

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No motives among thieves

One thing that bugs me is that while we are encouraged to sympathise with the innocent who are accused of crimes, a little motive is given to those who actually commit them. Think of Bates and Vera or Baxter and Coyle. Do we know why Vera stole the regimental silver? Do we know anything about Coyle? No. Vera's motivation is probably “greed” since Bates calls her "a greedy woman", but no actual reason is given for most of her actions whatsoever.

And we could think that these are both side characters, Coyle not even being on screen ever, but even the main cast gets the same treatment. Thomas is a part of the main cast and he is at times even portrayed in a positive light. But do we know why Thomas stole the wine in season one? We can have guesses, but we don't know. When Bates was accused of the same crime, Carson questioned "why would Mr Bates steal the wine, to drink it?". But with Thomas all we get is "well we knew he was a thief". Did we? I didn't. What did he steal before he stole the wine? Why did Robert and Carson let him get away with it, if they knew? Why is he stealing? We don't know and we will never find out. All we have to know is that he's a thief. That’s the kind of person he is. "A thief” is a fundamental character trait, not something that needs to be explained or motivated. 

It's just very peculiar, that when the innocent are accused of crimes, many characters are questioning "why would they do it?". Molesley suspects that maybe Baxter needed the money to help someone in need; people won't even consider Bates stealing because it doesn't feel right. But why does no one question why Thomas stole the wine? Did he need money? Did he want the wine to drink it? Why did Vera steal the silver? Did she possibly want money separate from Bates for some reason? Did she want to help someone in need? Did she want to buy some extra luxuries? The motives don't have to be noble (a single shot of Thomas emptying a wine bottle on the floor of his room or Vera talking about how she just really wanted this one nice necklace but knew she had no money to buy it would do it for me) but they should exist. Explaining why characters do the things they do is basic writing and crimes are not magic acts people commit without a reason. “A thief” is not one type of character or one type of person. Anyone can steal or commit crimes, that’s not something only people labelled as “thieves” do.

I will admit that there are notable exceptions to the No Motives -policy. Carson steals some food because he is blackmailed (the blackmailer, Charles Grigg, who arguably commits the actual crime here, doesn't have a decent motive though; he is on the run but we don't know what his crime was or the reason for it), in the movie the royal lady's maid steals because she feels envy and thinks rich people owning so much stuff is unfair (honestly, an icon and a legend), Tom destroys property in Ireland because of his values (he is largely condemned for it and expresses guilt), Thomas steals a dog to get Robert to trust him... Hey, I didn't say the motives had to be good!

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How does class play into all of this?

One thing I dislike is how crime plots centre the people "downstairs" and how despite that things like property theft go so thoroughly unexplored. We spend this whole show watching people who have nothing live in the same house with people who have everything and then we're to treat stealing as a thing the "good" servants would never do?

There are two blackmailing plots, three if you count Edna's plan to marry Tom, where the blackmailer directly addresses the issue of class. Charles Grigg blackmailing Carson and Rita Bevan blackmailing Mary have almost the same exact resolution, and they both express anger because of the system that favours people like the Crawleys instead of the working class. Charles Grigg says: “Just because you’re a lord you think you can do what you like with me? -..- You’ll not always be in charge, you know. The day is coming when your lot will have to toe the line just like the rest of us.” Rita Bevan says: “Your lot’s finished. You’re going down and we’re coming up.” The justified working class anger and envy of those who live like the Crawleys is thus portrayed through them trying to take something from them. Property crimes are treated very seriously in this series and they seem to reflect the upper class anxiety of being envied and even eventually replaced. 

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These are thoughts that end up bothering me every time I rewatch DA or think about some of these storylines. The narrative seems to be understanding and forgiving of people who've made mistakes in their life but this view can't really survive a closer look. I would not say Downton is particularly harsh when depicting people who've committed crimes, but the narrative is, like I said before, confusing. I personally would find the plots mentioned above a lot more compelling if they encouraged us to think about morality and shades of gray. I would also think the characters would benefit from this kind of nuance. It is not so hard to empathize with characters who are flawed and messy. After all, we, the viewers, are flawed and messy as well.

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#if someone comments ''whatever thomas barrow stan'' i'll have deserved it #downton abbey #edit:// oh i accidentally published this already; i was going to add something but well i think this is fine as it is

[noxian-crybaby]

tag dump~!

he's beauty he's grace he'll trip and fall on his face { flower speaks } they call me crybaby { ic } baby of the du couteaus { visage } care for a bit of fun? { memes } out and about { open starter } knowledge of myself { headcanons } letters opened and read { asks } faceless friend (or foe) { anonymous } nervously accepted gifts { submission } you take things so hard but then you fall apart { musings } on the move { mobile } friends new and old { promos } please don’t mind me! { to be deleted } listen up everyone! { important psa } actually 5 kittens in a trench coat { crack } soft as a petal floating in the air { aesthetic } a treasure i shall cherish forever { save } talk of the town { dash commentary } a soldier must rest sometimes { queue } a fun little game { dash games } sing with me a song of silence and blood { music } hopes and dreams { wishlist } of silk and swords { closet } listen up everyone! { important psa } the past has been written { cora's backstory }

#he's beauty he's grace he'll trip and fall on his face { flower speaks } #they call me crybaby { ic } #baby of the du couteaus { visage } #care for a bit of fun? { memes } #out and about { open starter } #knowledge of myself { headcanons } #letters opened and read { asks } #faceless friend (or foe) { anonymous } #nervously accepted gifts { submission } #on the move { mobile } #friends new and old { promos } #please don’t mind me! { to be deleted } #listen up everyone! { important psa } #actually 5 kittens in a trench coat { crack } #soft as a petal floating in the air { aesthetic } #a treasure i shall cherish forever { save } #talk of the town { dash commentary } #a soldier must rest sometimes { queue } #a fun little game { dash games } #sing with me a song of silence and blood { music } #hopes and dreams { wishlist } #of silk and swords { closet } #noxiancrybaby #noxian-crybaby #the past has been written { cora's backstory } #you take things so hard but then you fall apart { musings }

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT Rewatch 4X15 - Poor Unfortunate Souls

I’ve always loved this episode, but I can’t help but wonder what kind of SOUL searching I’ll need to do as I watch this one again! XD

Eh, he got it.

Anyway, review’s under the cut!

Main Takeaways

Past

So, it goes without say, but Poseidon is the best god! He has a tough commanding voice, a method of carrying himself that commands respect, a solid character arc, and MINIONS! What god doesn’t have minions that dress in uniforms and follow his every order without lip?! Additionally, he’s egotistical, placing his need to have Ursula by his side over her desires to sing and awful in that sense that he’ll buy her love rather than earn it. Basically, this guy has the presence of a god. Characters like Nimue and Merlin would have this similar presence, but as for Hades and Zeus, the other actual gods, they really don’t.

I love the story development in this episode. I’ll get into this shortly, but what makes this episode work so well is that Killian is shown to, despite being a ruthless pirate, be someone who does have the capacity for good in his heart. He’s someone who has that potential to care for another person and to be willing to go to great lengths for them. 

It’s great how Killian doesn’t go full tilt against Ursula upon getting a possibility for his revenge, but he does still retreat to villainy somewhat. The trip to Glowerhaven is now a trip not fully made out of goodness and selflessness, but also for profit as Killian asks for the squid ink before he transports Ursula away.

But the way he does ultimately go evil is interesting too. It’s not about hurting Ursula, but about hurting Poseidon. And that makes it worse -- the action that harms Ursula wasn’t made to hurt her, but out of spite. Ursula is turned in that instance from a friend into a pawn. And it’s interesting how Ursula takes agency in her own story back from both Poseidon and Killian. She stands up to both men and even takes the former’s triton to become a goddess and a villain. It’s so tragic, but also kind of badass!

Present

Killian’s development in this episode is fantastic! I like how we see the difference between the hero clan and Killian. While their first thought, as David puts it, is to “save August,” Killian’s is to find the Dark One’s secrets. And I like how this isn’t a bad plan in comparison to theirs, but different. It’s an important part of dismantling Rumple’s schemes in the long run. I also like how the episode shows subtly how Killian’s mindframe about doing good changes within the scope of the episode. When he first announces how he’ll return Ursula’s happy ending, it’s done out of a need to get revenge on Rumple after he screwed them out of the dagger. Listen to how he talks about helping her: “Now’s the time to use it [his backstory with Ursula].” He also calls her a “creature” and a “monster,” and even when she stands up to him for the name calling, he doesn’t apologize.

And look at the way Killian talks about returning Ursula’s happy ending. Normally, a line like that is given lighter and more triumphant music to accompany it, but not here. That’s because it’s not about wanting to do right by Ursula, but that is the mindset he has to learn. He’s sort of on the right trail -- he even points out to Emma how he’s taking a page out of her book -- but because his mindset is botched, he’s not in the right mindset for when things go wrong. While Snow, David, or Emma would try to take a next step after the shell doesn’t originally work and assure Ursula that they’ll help her out, Killian doesn’t think of her wants and needs and just demands the information, endangering himself.

Ariel was both a weird choice and the BEST choice to help Killian along his trail to redemption. For one thing, it allows for the real Ariel to finally get some justice after what happened with Killian and Blackbeard and her in season 3. But most importantly, she highlights that getting a happy ending isn’t necessarily dependent on you alignment, but how you go about getting it. And this prompts Killian to ask for help. That asking for help s so important because of how it shifts Killian’s perspective from wanting to help Ursula for himself to wanting to help Ursula for her own good. That’s how a hero thinks. And it turns out that when he starts thinking that way, he’s not bad at doing good at all!

“If Gold did to me what he did to Hook, I’d want to shove that dagger through his heart too.” I kind of hate a lot of this show’s approaches to anger. Killian’s pissed -- and Emma’s pissed for him -- that Rumple took advantage of the growing trust between himself and Belle in order to reclaim his power, and now the entire town is in danger because of it. This line is treated as a way to foreshadow the possibility of Emma going dark, but honestly, it’s just anger. It’s a valid emotion and in from here until the end of the series, that anger tends to be framed as something that’s not allowed to happen, and the show is worse off for it. Is the agner a touch excessive? Arguably, but given how personal this crime was, I can get that it reached that extent. And Emma even elaborates on that point immediately afterwards.

All Encompassing

Out of all of the episodes where Killian screws things up in the past, but rights things in the present, this I feel is one of the best ones. Killian’s not heartless in either segment, his actions aren’t too bad that they can’t be made right by the events of the episode, and Killian’s approach has to change in regards to his own morality and motivations, which it does.

So, let’s talk about Ursula. On one hand, we never get to see or even hear about any of her villainy and that undermines a lot of her presence in the series. Despite all of the power that she supposedly has, it’s never used to any villainous effect. Because of that, to some extent, she’s less of a villain in a lot of way and more of a vessel for Killian and Rumple. And that’s not really fair. That said, I do think that her character development in this singular episode is quite substantial and in a way, redeems Ursula’s character. She’s given a clear and concise motivation for her villainy as well as a redemption that makes emotional sense. She’s tragic and unique in a lot of ways and her characteristics in both the past and present, despite that lack of villainy, make for a three dimensional character.

Stream of Consciousness

-I love the callback in the opening to both the source of Killian’s apprehension over mermaids from “The Heart of the Truest Believer” and to “The Little Mermaid.”

-I like the design for Ursula’s grotto. Sure, it’s probably like the show’s final Rumbelle scene where it was designed in a minimalist way by painting the set all black, but just as it was there, it’s pretty!

-I like the allusion as Ursula listens to classical music instead of torturing August and only begrudgingly joins Cruella at Cruella’s behest that Ursula is not all that interested in being a baddie.

-I love the clear BS’ing yet improvising skills that August puts on display here!

-”Well it wouldn’t be the first time he lied to my face.” Regina, get Elsa back here because Rumple gave August a BURN! XD

-I do appreciate that Emma points out how fucked up it was to steal a child! It’s not as far as this conflict should have gone, but it’s a good step.

-Between the magical eye drops, giving David half of her heart, Cora’s possession, all the breastfeeding she must be doing, and now this, Snow must be SO tired of sharing her body! XD

-I also appreciate how Regina’s first bit of dialogue was to tell Emma that Pinocchio was fine and what happened.

-”Who? Me?” This is some perfect comedy right here! I love the slow buildup and the way every character’s head is given its own individual moment to turn to Killian. It is a perfect punchline!

-”Even when I didn’t think he could deceive me any more, he found a way.” I feel so bad for Belle with this line. She’s so tired of being tricked by Rumple and now even trusting in those that she wants to is dangerous.

-”Then your name would’ve been written across it.” …”When you can see the future, there’s irony everywhere.”

-I LOVE this rendition of “Mysterious Fathoms Below.” It’s so soothing and beautiful. It feels both like a lullabye and what a group of sailors would want to hear after a long day, and that’s an interesting balance to hit.

-I love the costumes of Poseidon and his underlings. I like the beach-y things the cover the tops of their gold and their hats that look like conch shells!

-”It’s unwise to insult the size of a pirate’s ship.” Wouldn’t be OUAT without the occasional dick measuring contest.

-I actually totally forgot about that dream sequence Regina had. So, now that I remember again AND have the context of the Evil Queen arc, I think that arc either alluded to a fear of Regina’s evil impulses threatening to separate her from Robin or foreshadowing of jealousy from the Evil Queen and that’s Wish Robin that’s there.

-I love the absolute look of HORROR on August’s face as he’s turned back into a puppet.

-I’m starting to realize that anyone with a “code” in this series has a code that is weak as fuck!

-Thankfully, that nice swim will be UNDERcut by some FIN-terference, so he’ll SEA you later! XD

-Snow hitting Cruella over the head with a frying pan from back of the room was perfect! Not only is it so funny, but it was a great reminder of just how tactical Snow can be!

-Awww! That August and Emma reunion was soooo sweet! We really see that friendship they had come fully back and it’s honestly so heartwarming.

-I loved Poseidon’s apology to Ursula. There are no excuses and he really gets into how badly he screwed both her and himself over, and not in an egotistical way.

Favorite Dynamic

Ursula and Killian. I like the framing of their dynamic. Killian is very much a ruthless pirate and Ursula is clearly defined as someone who can break through that thanks to the peace her voice brings him. It’s an unconventional, but organic friendship. And I like how it’s not just Ursula providing Killian with things, but also Killian providing Ursula with emotional validation. Ursula doesn’t seem to have many friends (which makes sense given how she’s the daughter of a god), and that’s implied by just how much Killian’s words and promises impact her. You can see how badly she’s needed to hear that her way of honoring her mother hasn’t been wrong and that despite what Poseidon says, she’s doing the right thing. And in return, Ursula gives Killian peace and a chance at some level of redemption. Because of her voice and mercy, he’s able to see some good inside himself and offer her help. And until his revenge gets in the way, and he starts treating Ursula like a pawn, he holds himself to that.

Writer

Andrew Chambliss and Dana Horgan are in control today! And they did a good job! This is just a cohesive episode. Unlike “The Apprentice,” these guys knew exactly what they wanted to do with Killian’s character and did exactly that. They made his character consistent and kept his feelings throughout the episode clear. This is an enormous change from the Killian who didn’t even have a distinguished facial reaction to being forced to hold an old man hostage while he was sucked into a hat. And they still managed to put in nuanced discussions about what it means to think like and be a hero. Writing decisions like that make the kind of material that define a character and these guys brought their A-game to both segments.

Rating

Golden Apple. While I had my nitpicks, this was an amazing episode. Killian’s character development as he descends to and rises from villainy is really well done, the episode’s supporting characters are great, and Ursula is for the most part very three dimensional.

Flip My Ship - The Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness”

Captain Swan - “Don’t you know, Emma? It’s you.” I love these guys. I love how they value each other. I love how in this episode, Killian calls Emma his happy ending and the slow, meaningful reaction to that including the kiss. I love how Emma stands up to David when he even considers that Killian could be evil again. She really believes in him and trusts that he can do the right thing and get them the information they need.

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Thank you all for reading!!! Shout out to @watchingfairytales and @daensarah!!

Season 4 Total (131/230)

Writer Scores: Adam and Eddy: (34/60) Jane Espenson: (20/40) David Goodman and Jerome Schwartz: (38/50) Andrew Chambliss: (32/50) Dana Horgan: (16/30) Kalinda Vazquez: (22/40) Scott Nimerfro: (14/30) Tze Chun (8/20)

Operation Rewatch Archives

#ouat #once upon a time #watching fairytales #ouat 4x15 #ouat rewatch #jenna watches ouat

[nick-deligtisch-english-project]

Blog 6 (The North)

After finishing the novel “The Underground Railroad,” I have read the main theme of the story’s peak. The main theme of the story is Cora’s desire and drive for freedom as a citizen of the United States. She has been willing to do whatever it takes to obtain freedom. In all of the previous chapters, Cora has failed to obtain true freedom. After reading the last chapter, titled “The North,” Cora gets a ride from Ollie to the west, which ultimately leads to her finally achieving her goal of freedom.

The final chapter of the book is called “The North” because it deviates from all of the other chapters, signaling the concept of freedom in Cora’s life. In this book, the chapters are named based on her journey. The chapters about people’s backstories are their names: Ajarry, Ridgeway, Stevens, Ethel, Caesar and Mabel. All of the states that she enters are the self-titled chapters: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Indiana. The final chapter is titled differently. It isn’t named after a state or character - it’s simply called “The North.” In this chapter Cora escapes yet again from Ridgeway, hobbles through the Underground Railroad, and catches a ride west. When you think of slavery in America, you think of the North and the South, where the North is free and the South isn’t. Colson Whitehead naming this chapter “The North” makes the reader believe that Cora is finally going to obtain freedom before reading it. 

In this last trip on the Underground Railroad, Cora travels alone, for the first time in the novel. Her body is worn down, but she propels herself through the tunnel to obtain freedom. Cora moves towards “northness,” which means freedom (303). Once again in the novel, we see Cora do whatever it takes to be free. Even though she is by herself with her worn down body, she keeps traveling to the “northness” of the tunnel to be free. Just like Georgia, the darkness of the tunnel is a place where Cora relies on her determination to obtain freedom. Moving through it exhausts her in both the swamp and the tunnel, but she continues to do it. As she moves through the tunnel, Cora reflects on the other slaves who made the sacrifice to make the Underground Railroad. The slaves who built the Railroad cleared the way for her “deliverance” into freedom (303). In this moment, she remembers the previous slaves who sacrificed themselves to give these slaves a better chance to obtain freedom. She knows that she has to take advantage of this opportunity given to her. The former slaves are giving her “deliverance” by “rescuing” her from the slave owners and sending her to freedom. All in all, the last chapter of the novel is the climax of the theme of freedom. Cora has finally obtained freedom by doing whatever it takes to do so.

This novel has connected to my life. Obviously, my life has been much more pleasant, not being a slave. I am not trying to compare my life to hers in that instance. I am grateful that I have not been a slave and I have written other blogs about my sympathy for her situation. Her quest for freedom reminds me of my quest for being a starter in football. Before this season, I was never the star player. I was never anything special. I was just another player on the team. Before my senior season, there was a chance that I could be a starter, but I had to put in the work to do so. I wanted it so badly that I worked out and lifted weights six days a week. I worked so hard to finally be a starter, and I did it. I was a starter this past season only because of my desire to be one. If I didn’t put the work in, I wouldn’t have been able to start. In Cora’s story, she wasn’t given freedom. She had to persevere through many disappointments (South and North Carolina, Indiana). She had to dig deep and persevere to obtain her freedom, similar to my story in football. Obviously slavery is nothing like playing football, but I believe that our stories are somewhat similar in regards to the theme of the book, and persevering to obtain a goal.

[violetfaust]

Hey, what are your top 3 (or 5, if you’re up for it) plots/character dynamics that would’ve made OUAT more interesting but that the writers either didn’t do/tried to do but screwed up royally

Wow, Nonny, I think this might be the best ask I’ve ever gotten (or tied with the one about Regina sending all the random guests at the Captain Swine wedding home with their hearts in favor baggies) and I’ve had some great ones.

And I was going to mull it over as usual and give it the respect it deserves but if I do that it’s going in my drafts and won’t be answered for weeks if ever and will be six thousand words long. So I’m just gonna half-ass it. [Editorial note: it has now been more than a week since I wrote those words and I have been half-assing it in draft all that time. And it STILL got long as hell. This is why no one sends me asks. :-( Sorry, Anon.]

Top 5 characters/character dynamic missed opportunities:

-- First and foremost forever, everything having to do with Neal. Papafire, Fire Believer, Floof Family, Swanfire, Neal/Regina coparenting...every plot since would have been improved, more organic and more interesting by adding Neal. Neal and Emma going back in time and BOTH meeting their parents? Rumple’s Rampage with Neal around--and Neal being the one to banish him? The Dark Two costarring the Dark One’s son? Which wouldn’t have ended with Emma being upstaged in her own story by her Stu boyfriend, but given her the sacrificial moment she deserved.

-- Regina’s love life: With all due respect to OQ, that should have ended the moment Marian was brought back, and Regina’s next and permanent love interest should have been a villain for her to bring back to the light. Hook, if he was kept around after Neverland (the both of them rebounding after Swanfire and Robin/Marian reunited, but growing into something more); Maleficent (written to be a little more bitter/less reformed); Jafar coming off OUATIW (bringing in Aladdin and Jasmine a few seasons earlier, perhaps in place of the Frozen nonsense); even Facilier with the same backstory (which seems to be a fling while she was the Evil Queen, with possibly much stronger feelings on his part that she didn’t return because revenge). 

...OR. If the decision was made to ditch the original story of Swanfire, the only organic alternative would have been to go forward with a full-on love story for Swan Queen. (Which to be honest is one of the few things that I think would have prevented the show’s ratings decline and failure.)

-- Ruby should have stayed a main character, and her romance should have been onscreen. I enjoyed the setup for Frankenwolf in S2, but Kitsowitz have been promising a LGBT couple since S3, when all we got was sad, lonely Mulan in love with her straight best friend. (Cutting-edge wlw content, circa 1925.) Ruby and Mulan coulda/shoulda had a long-term, medium-burn romance like Alice and Robin are getting now. Ruby’s friendships with Snow and Belle could also have been respected (and poor Belle wouldn’t have been used to prop her and her family’s abusers). Even after the show had gone down the Stu hole, there was a period when they could have gotten Meghan back (before she became the queen of the Hallmark Channel) and could have gone on from there.

-- The Sheep Boys BroTP should never have been abandoned--especially so that Charming could play sidekick and patsy to a toxic misogynist pirate who never learned from him. Charming and Hook together were basically two frat boys glorifying traditional masculinity (with Hook being the darker, toxic side and again, never changing through learning anything from David). Rumple and Charming were incredibly different, but they had the commonality of putting their wives and families above everything else in the world. Exploring the different worldviews they came even with that common goal could have been fascinating, and expanded both characters.

-- And, of course, probably most of all: Rumbelle, and Belle’s other relationships. Like, I can’t even begin...there are SO many missed opportunities and lost chances with them--beginning even back in S2. What if they’d kept Lacey for more than two episodes and let her play a part in the main story? (I’ll never get over the hilarious visual of Lacey in Neverland.) But overall...just...not piling on stupid, needless, often OOC conflict without any payoff for three or four seasons. Not to say have them always be in perfect accord like Snowing, or a codependent mess like CY, in which Belle kept brushing off any of Rumple’s wrongdoings. But let them work out issues onscreen, let them fight together against outside threats like Hades, let them address their conflicts in ways that made sense in character rather than being excuses to prop a Stu or Sue. (Let’s not even discuss the constant teasing of the BatB TLK and the  ultimate utter pathetic anticlimax when it didn’t happen.) While I do think that canon Swan Queen is the only thing that could have definitely saved the ratings in later seasons, IMO a strong Rumbelle story that respected their characters and their story as Beauty and the Beast had a good chance of doing it as well. (Especially if Kitsowitz had had the brains to cash on on the live-action BatB hullablaoo.) But Kitsowitz were too small-minded and spiteful (and ABC too prejudiced and cowardly, I guess) to focus on their best romance.

(Honorary mentions to the Rumple/Regina frenemyship, which I cover below, and to poor Will Scarlet, who should have never been on the show if he wasn’t going to be more than a “soul-destroying” unneeded glitch in Rumbelle.)

Top 5 plot missed opportunities:

[OMG, Violet, you’re not done YET???]

-- The Anti-Magic Organization that Greg/Tamara supposedly worked for would have made a brilliant arc. Kitsowitz should have played that out before heading off to Neverland (it was obviously the plan because they didn’t expect the NL/PP perms situation to resolve so quickly).

-- My best crack theory: Hook found the author in Season 3B and had been using him to manipulate everyone ever since. Explaining Once Upon a Stu--and more important, getting out of it at the end of S4. https://violetfaust.tumblr.com/post/114245381966/what-if-someone-already-got-to-the-author

-- A S5b based on my second-best crack theory: https://violetfaust.tumblr.com/post/143427662086/things-that-absolutely-wont-happen-but-should Rumple and Belle try to get out of Hades’s clutches by working with Regina--who claims to be Rumple’s second-born child via Cora. We could have had so much juicy stuff exploring their past, what Rumple did to Regina, Rumple and Cora (it’s a travesty that they didn’t even have a passing encounter in the UW). It could have led into Emilie’s maternity leave when Hades discovered the truth and kidnapped Belle--which would have led to a 6A in which Rumple rescued Belle from some other dimension but found their child gone. And one of the plot points of 6A would have been Rumple working with the EQ not in some idiotic parody of a romance, but because she called in a favor.

-- BIG BAD FUCKING BLUE FAIRY. Enough said.

-- And then there’s the most destructive missed plot opportunity in the history of the show: Giving Rumple’s and Belle’s POVs in seasons 4 through 6. Given the reveals about the Dark Squad in S5, the most dramatic story this show ever had was Rumple’s battle against the Dark One (and his near-loss) in S4. A S4 that showed his POV of what was happening would have been epic--especially if it did not sideline Belle but allowed her to play a part in trying to save him at the end, culminating in their TLK that freed Rumple but unfortunately also let loose the Dark One, leading to it taking over Emma. Then S5 would have played out as it was advertised: the current Dark One vs. the only surviving former Dark One. Similarly, Belle’s actions in 6A caused nearly all the drama of 6B--and she wasn’t allowed to participate in it at all. 

Honorable mention to not including Belle in the Mulan/Ruby/Merida adventure in S5--a one-off that included three of her friends versus her enemy and could have really benefited from having, you know, a MEMBER OF THE MAIN CAST involved in the episode. 

#Anonymous #whew #tl;dr #rumbelle #belle french #rumplestiltskin #dark squad #neal cassidy #regina mills #ruby lucas #anti-kitsowitz #op

[death-rebirth-senshi]

i’m curious to know why you don’t feel sorry? not attacking or anything i’d just love to learn from your perspective.

Long post and disclaimer: this is mostly referring to season 4 and before, which is when I stopped watching the show although I caught some episodes after. Very Anti Regina but like...most of my issues with her aren't really there past season 4 it seems so I'll give her that.I mean when it comes to Once Upon a Time, specifically in the case of Regina, it's not about not feeling sorry for her so much as her tragedy doesn't outweigh or erase the things she does, and the plot and the characters like to act like it does. Mostly Regina is annoying to me because Emma, Snow, and Henry always end up coddling her no matter how shitty she is towards them. The whole author arc specifically was just really dumb and badly written. Regina out of nowhere decides she's not happy because an author said she was a villain...and everyone around her takes this seriously without evidence. I also don't like Regina for her expectation of instant happiness after doing like 2 good deeds when bad shit still happens to the main characters on the daily. Namely her problems with Robin Hood after it's revealed he's her soul mate. All of her problems with Robin Hood are because Robin Hood ain't shit, but she lashes out at Emma, Snow, essentially blames GOD that she can't have happiness despite having literally anything else she could ask for. Robin Hood makes a choice to go back to Maid Marian over her, to have sex with Regina and string her along while Marian is frozen, but she uncharacteristically never blames him. And this is more about how petty the drama got in...season 4? Whenever Elsa directly from the Disney movie strolled on stage. Marian getting frozen (twice) was a cheap tactic to throw a wrench that didn't need to exist in Regina's relationship, Robin and his code of honor was dumb as hell and a sign she needed to drop him, and she and Robin Hood have 0 chemistry it's all forced on the 'pixie dust said he's her soulmate!' But it still stands. Snow and Emma always try to help her and accept blame for things that aren't their fault, despite Regina blaming them for everything wrong in her life and treating them like shit. Even though Regina literally ruined Emma's life and did tons of bad shit to Snow, neither of them are ever allowed to be mad at Regina for this and instead are always nice and bending over backwards for her when Regina never shows that kind of consideration for them. Regina owes Snow her life several times over and she's never grateful for it but instead demands more like it's owed to her. Regina abused Henry, made him feel like he was crazy, and he never resents her for this either. Once she 'gets' Henry back, she pretty much ignores him to mope about Robin Hood and only talks to him again when she can use him. That's just more bad parenting but whatever. Regina has been given a lot considering all the evil shit she's pulled, but she never really has to face any consequences, undergoes 0 real introspection, and acts like the victim of her evil actions on others rather than as a bad person who needs to work on/redeem herself further. And she's still kinda mean to everyone. But she acts entitled to happiness, despite bad shit happening to the other heroes constantly. And you know, Snow and David didn't just get together easily, they were torn apart several times (By Regina herself!!) and had to fight for each other. Regina of all people should understand doing the right thing is not equal to being happy, that if you think your love is worth anything you have to actually fight for it rather than whine, but she seems to think saying she's a good person makes up for the shit ton of people she's killed and will drop happiness in her lap. I also hate how the show always tries to equalize Regina and Snow; at the end of s3 Snow really says "it's not that black and white, you know I was a bratty child." This is compared to Regina's many many murders seriously. Snow killing Cora - who was going to kill everybody - is treated as an evil act (dumb as hell) that puts her on the same level as Regina. Snow did everyone AND Regina a favor killing that woman and Regina guilt trips her for it whenever possible. Despite Regina literally killing Snow's father. It's just. Regina's backstory is sad. But cool motive still murder. She really tries to go to the author to rewrite her story so she can have instant happiness as if she's owed it, like this is really what happens and everyone goes along with it. That's my biggest problem with Regina. Tldr she's shitty to everyone and has a half assed redemption for really awful shit (rape, murder, kidnapping, the whole 9) but thinks she's entitled to happiness without trying, and is a jerk to people who try to help her who should hate her. All it would take for me to have been okay with Regina is of Emma or Snow were snaky with her back or called her out on her bullshit just once. That is it. As for other villains, real quick:Rumple is an asshole, a lying manipulating asshole and the only thing stopping him from being a hero like he dreams is himself. Keeps doing the same shit over and over. Sad story to be sure. Better done character than Regina generally, because he's aware he's a dick and doesn't beg for handouts and everyone is still iffy towards him. Still a dick.Zelena has like phenomenal cosmic power and itty bitty aspirations. She steals a baby. I don't care about her being abandoned, it fucking happens.Ursula's backstory was dumb as hell and her problem she wanted God to fix for her was resolved in two seconds when actual effort was put in. All that happened was her singing voice was taken. She decides to become evil. Somehow never gets enough power to restore it in the span of like 20 years I'm guesstimating. Okay.I didn't watch Cruella's backstory but she seemed to actually think this author concept was bullshit so I like her best. "Better than blaming gin and bad judgment." She's the only one to suggest that it isn't the author but herself that makes her unhappy. Maleficent unnecessarily kills people left and right so I really don't give a fuck that her child was taken from her, in the real world murderers don't get to raise their babies and that's the tea on that. Her daughter is annoying. The whole situation was so over the top dramatic and badly written I couldn't take it seriously anyway. But basically my problem with Once Upon a Time villains is the amount and effort gone in to making us and everyone in the show feel sorry for them instead of any villain just taking responsibility for their actions and working on their lives like a regular human being.

[toseehowthestoryends]

Popular Fic - Robin4 Edition

Tagged by the lovely @rufeepeach​!

What are your five most popular works by kudos? (in descending order)

1. Freeze on the Stones - OUAT - Kudos 890

One choice can change fate. Regina chooses love, Snow stays silent, and Cora casts the curse. Rumplestiltskin knows that trusting Cora with that much power is dangerous—but he has no choice if he wants to find his son. 28 years later, Gold and Regina awaken in Storybrooke and must work together to make the Savior believe.  Featuring Rumbelle, OutlawQueen, Snowing, past StableQueen, and eventual Swanfire.

I think that FOTS will always be the fanfic I’m most proud of, because it includes so many twists and turns, and it turned out to be the successful juggling of two timelines.  There were a lot of times when I didn’t think I could pull this story off, and I’m still amazed that it was so well-received. 

2. Ruins of Camelot - OUAT - Kudos 685

Alternate Season 5. Merlin is long dead, Camelot destroyed. Emma is the Dark One, without an easy answer. Rumplestiltskin becomes the Sorcerer, but magic alone cannot save her. An age-old war against darkness revives in Storybrooke, in which the fate of all the realms will be decided forever—and the final battle begins.  Rumbelle-centric ensemble fic, including OutlawQueen and eventual Swanfire (although it starts as CS)

I didn’t want to write this story in the beginning, yet it’ll probably always be the longest story I’ve ever written, clocking in at over 870,000 words.  The original concept for this story was overcome by the end of season 4 (although it turns out that by the end of 5A, I could have gone back to that, since Rumplestiltskin was the Dark One again), but in the end, I really enjoyed how ROC tied up a lot of loose ends that drive me crazy about OUAT canon.

3. Original Powers - OUAT - Kudos 328

Rumplestiltskin’s curse breaks when he stabs Pan, but when one darkness falls, another rises. Enter the Black Fairy as the power behind the Witch. This is the price to be paid—war in the Enchanted Forest that our heroes may not be able to win. Now Rumplestiltskin must play a more dangerous game than ever before. One where the rules keep changing...and nothing will ever be the same again.  AU post 3x11.  Rumbelle-centric ensemble with all my normal ships.

OP was my first posted OUAT fic, and I knew nothing about the fandom or anyone in it.  I had a blast writing this, and in some ways, it’s always going to own my heart.  I think my absolute favorite part was the bromance between Neal and David, which was as unexpected as it was fun to write.

4.  A Different Fate - OUAT - Kudos 249

Fiona learns that Rumplestiltskin is the Dark One shortly after Cora breaks his heart, and leaves the Dark Realm to find him. Slowly, they build the relationship they should have had - and Fiona grows determined to restore the destiny she cut away from her son. Years later, when Belle makes a deal to become the Dark One’s maid, she never expects to find his mother living with him, or to find Fiona encouraging her growing relationship with Rumplestiltskin.

I hate re-working my own stories, and redoing A Different Battle into this story was a huge leap for me.  But season 6 really put the nail in the plot of ADB, and Fiona as Rumplestiltskin’s mother left us with SO many possibilities, so I couldn’t resist.  As a bonus, this story includes pretty much every Beauty and the Beast reference I can put in (short of talking furniture; I can’t handle writing that!).

6.  This is No Game - OUAT - Kudos 221

Belle French volunteers to save her best friend from the 71st Hunger Games, and finds herself dragged into a terrifying world were even the victors are not winners. Her only companion is District Twelve’s pariah, the bitter and damaged Rumple Gold, who tries desperately to save her from the hell that comes after winning the Games.  A very dark story featuring the Once characters in the Hunger Games universe.

I really didn’t think anyone else would like this story, but it wouldn’t leave me alone, so I started posting it.  It’s probably the darkest thing I’ve ever posted (FOTS might be a close second, though), but it’s a really fun way to explore the characters, and I really like having a new way to let Rumbelle meet and fall in love.

A Different Battle would be #4, but I’m leaving it out since it’s been superceeded by A Different Fate.

What are your five least popular works by kudos? (in ascending order)

Here I’m sticking with fics that were posted on AO3 originally - stuff brought over from FFN long after their fandom was popular doesn’t get to play.

1.   Ruins of Innocence - OUAT - Kudos 19

Bae has to make a quick stop for a friend while on a trip to Boston. No big deal, right? The problem comes when his not-quite-girlfriend’s rather innocent father wants to tag along to a porn shop. Not that David knows what that is.  An outtake from around Chapter 94 of "Ruins of Camelot", but this crack makes just as much sense if you haven't read ROC.

This fic is crack and I am absolutely unashamed by it.  It was tons of fun to write - who doesn’t like a mortified Prince Charming in a porn shop?

2.  Ruins of Motherhood - OUAT - Kudos 27

Malcolm had always been a bit of a rake, but he shouldn't have been able to get a famous sorceress in his bed. Yet she wound up there all the same, only to find her arms full of a too-human child nine months later.  Or, the story of Rumplestiltskin's conception and how he ended up with his father. AU, fits in the Ruins & Battles universe.

This story is another one that got overcome by events once the Black Fairy became Rumplestiltskin’s mother, but it’s backstory for Ruins of Camelot.  Writing Malcolm wasn’t fun at all - I can see why lots of folks don’t want to read about him!  He’s a sleezeball.

3.  Just Another Fairytale - OUAT - Kudos 30

When their sick daughter can’t watch her favorite movie, she gets a Rumbelle story instead, with echoes of 'the Princess Bride'.

My Round 2 Submission from the 2015 Rumbelle Showdown.  I had a lot of fun writing this story, although the word limits always kill me! Shameless stealing of The Princess Bride hereabouts.

4.   Ruins of a Contract - OUAT - Kudos 31

Morgan le Fae may have abandoned her last son, but that doesn’t mean she could turn down the opportunity to help him when the chance presented itself. So, when a healer speaks of a contract he’s just gained for a second-born child, she acts.

I couldn’t resist putting that season 5 mess about the contract with Hades into the ROCverse, so here is its solution.  As a bonus, Morgan got to be a badass mommy long before she really meets her son.  Not my favorite, but it was fun to write.

5. Ruins of Memories - OUAT - Kudos 33

After their house is burned down, Belle and Rumplestiltskin try to heal one another's wounds.

Takes place after chapter 27 of Ruins of Camelot. Not really a standalone story, but fluffy.

This one is a straight outtake from ROC, one I wanted to put in the story proper but didn’t really fit for pacing reasons.  But I was desperate to write Rumbelle fluff (I’m pretty sure I wrote this during one of the many downturns for Rumbelle in season 5), so here it is.

And, yeah, I forgot the least favorite ones at first.  Oops. 

#fic by robin4 #rumbelle fic #swanfire fic #ruins of camelot #freeze on the stones #a different fate #original powers #this is no game

[nettlestonenell]

When OUAT Became Not Itself

There’s plenty of chatter (and has been for awhile) that OUAT was Not Quite Itself as it ended its sixth season, and made travel plans to time-leap into a season 7 without all its passengers aboard.

Actually, OUAT hasn’t been its original self since Season Two.

And here’s why (It’s probably not what you’re thinking of).

When OUAT debuted those years ago, it shook up the presently established concept that fairy tales were about Romantic True Love. [Mind you, fairy tales are about a lot of things, but by the twentieth century, and possibly shortly before, they’d been boiled down to be solely Romantic True Love narratives.]

On OUAT, fairy tales were shown to be about Parental Love, in all its shades: Grandparental Love, Step Parental Love, Adoptive Parental Love, Surrogate Parental Love, and so on.

Sometimes this love was shown to be healthy, and good. Other times, parental love was shown to be cruel and abusive, or, even, rooted in a narcissistic love of self (child as extension of self).

Just look at Season One and what anchors the overwhelming bulk of those episodes—it’s Parent-Child relationships: Pilot (Snowing and Baby Emma, Henry and Emma/Regina) The Thing You Love Most (Regina and her Dad) The Price of Gold – The story of Cinderella is re-cast in the present timeline as an unwed mother, desperate to keep her child. In fact, baby daddy only shows up when he discovers she’s missing, and then only finds her at the hospital post-birth, where the two are reunited by their child. That Still Small Voice – Jiminy Cricket’s story is re-cast as an abused child, the show’s first explicit victim of damaging parental love. The Shepherd – As in all these episodes, Emma/Regina/Henry is going on in the present time, but in the past, we’re shown Charming dealing with parents (biological and whatever you want to call King George) Desperate Souls – Rumple and Bae True North – Hansel, Gretl and Dad (re-uniting a broken family) 7:15am – Charming and King George, King George and Snow, the daughter-in-law he doesn’t want Fruit of the Poisonous Tree – Snow & King Leopold, Regina & Henry I Red-Handed – far more about Granny’s (parent’s) love and protection of Red than Red and her boyfriend’s tragic story Hat Trick – the driving force behind the stories in both realms is Jefferson and his daughter The Stable Boy – As with Red-Handed, more about Cora (parent’s) relationship with Regina than Regina’s with Daniel The Return – Rumple and Bae The Stranger – Pinocchio and Geppetto, Snowing wanting to save their child An Apple as Red as Blood – Regina (as Snow’s step-parent) and Snow

With the exception of perhaps five episodes of the twenty-two, and keeping in mind that the present-day plots are Emma/Regina/Henry-heavy, the basic plots of the season are overwhelmingly parent/child driven.

Sometimes the parenting is good parenting, sometimes it’s terrible. Sometimes it’s parenting that’s made a mistake and needs to make amends.

Other than Snowing (and to a far, far lesser degree in terms of on-screen time, Rumbelle), the show is explicitly NOT delving deeply into Romantic True Love.

Sure, Romantic Love exists in the show. We see people trying to find it, people who had it once and lost it (or had it torn from them), but it’s not what the show is most-interested in. It’s not what (again: exception Snowing, which has to happen for Emma’s Parental True Love story to exist) the show is over and over and over again meditating on.

Snowing has a Season One arc. Absolutely. But a spectrum of Romantic True Love is not on display in the show. Think of all the many variants of Parental love. Yet, Cinderella loves Prince Thomas, Ruby loves Peter, Abigail loves Frederick--Romantic True Love is written in a short of shorthand. It’s not unpacked and meditated upon, nor shown in its full array.

And, most importantly, the two main characters (Emma, Regina) HAVE no Romantic Loves. Yes, Regina and Grant might look Romantic from the outside, but there’s a heart in a box somewhere that proves what stands for their relationship is twisted and non-consensual.

And Emma and Grant share a kiss (before dying), and a growing friendship before that, but unless you’re swimming around in fanfiction (which you’re welcome to do), on the show, they haven’t even gone on a first date, much less entered into an established Romantic True Love relationship.

On the show, our protagonist’s journey is toward parental love on two fronts: toward Henry, who she’d given up; and accepting it from her parents, who’d given her up.

That was OUAT.

Not a show in anyway about ‘ships.

In Season Two we expected, following Cursebreak, for Emma and Snowing to get time to work on that parental bond. ‘We are Both’ had Regina with her mother, and then trying to mother in the present time.

“Lady of the Lake’ is about Snow meeting Charming’s mother, and Emma and her mom in present-day EF. ‘The Crocodile’ gives us the story of Milah, OUAT’s Bad Parent-who-never-actually-killed-anyone-but-is-The-Worst-even-still’

Significantly: Why is she the Worst? Because she walked away from being a parent. On this show, that makes you less forgivable than Cora, or Rumple. On this show, even being a terrible parent is preferable to severing your ties with your child. Because the show is about Parental Love.

The Doctor: The Frankenstein brothers and what inequal love from a parent among siblings might drive you to.

Child of the Moon – Red/Mother

Episode 36 of the series overall, but 14 of Season Two, we are given Manhattan, the heavily parental love-based episode. It has not only Emma – Henry, but Gold – Henry, Henry – Neal, Rumple – Bae. And it’s a perfect trainwreck in both present day and flashback plot to what parental love is and means and can be (good and bad). It is a literal hymn to Parental Love.

Much as Season One worked, though episodically, toward Cursebreak, from our learning Rumple created the Curse to locate his son, from our learning that Emma had no contact with Henry’s father, (that she owed Gold a favor, that she had stayed three years in Tallahassee, etc) the show had long been dropping breadcrumbs in advance of what would come to light in Manhattan.

The Queen is Dead, The Miller’s Daughter, which still deal with parental (and in-law parental) love, are followed by Pinocchio backstory that sees him de-aged for his own and Geppetto’s sake.

As the second season goes on, Gold frets and dreams about how to handle his behavior toward Henry, now shown to be his grandson; in the background, Neal attempts to show his love to Henry.

Regina continues to think of new ways to traumatize her step-daughter Snow in the flashbacks.

In the two episodes of the finale, Bae finds a new family/new parents/a new parental love situation in London, tries to accept Hook as a surrogate dad (without knowledge that he was Milah’s lover).

Gold falls ill, and Neal, though not reconciled with him, decides to return him to Storybrooke.

(Cue Neverland plot)

While the Neverland plot was, in point of fact, driven by themes of Parental Love (Pan’s lack of love for Rumple, Rumple’s love for Bae here shown through trying to save Henry, team Charming + Regina’s love for Henry, Neal’s love for Henry), the show begins shifting away from explicitly shown narratives of Parental Love, reducing it to more of a shorthand. Less time is spent focusing on it. And with the addition of Hook (childless, who goes many, many episodes with no narrative of his own parents--only a passing mention of a father), and Neal both of whom are single and in proximity to the protagonist, the show shifts itself into an awkward love triangle format, when all its protagonist wants/wanted is her son back and safe.

Hook’s motivation is revenge-based. Rumple killed Milah (another love triangle), therefore it’s a Romantic Love-based Revenge. Had Hook, instead, been cast as Milah’s father, and his revenge was a parental love-based revenge (such as Maurice has), well, that would perhaps have staved off the now-prevailing winds of Romantic True Love starting to steer the OUAT ship.

Had Hook been a parent, with child issues of his own, also a way to keep the Parental Love themes going strong.

Hook becomes literally the only recurring cast member without a parental relationship toward someone, nor with parents/parental figures of his own.

[This is not a Hook hate-post.]

He’s the addition that became the engine that turned the show into a Romantic Love direction.

In the wake of Hook we not only get Emma/Hook, we get Regina/Robin, Zelena/Hades, Henry/Violet, we start to see everyone pairing up, more and more stories being about people finding the other half of their matched pair. Snowing is no longer the only twosome who will always find each other. We get Romantic True Loves coming out of the woodwork, and the focus on Parental Love is dropped beyond the occasional line of lip-service.

So it shouldn’t be surprising in Season Six that Emma Swan moans a lot more about where her boyfriend is than where her son is, or what is happening to all the children in the Black Fairy’s realm, or what, even, was going on with Gideon: Belle and Gold’s son/Henry’s uncle.

It’s peculiar, really, because while the modern collective mind (independently of OUAT) seems to have reduced fairy tales to tales of people finding their true loves, they have always been stories about parents and children, and Parental Love for good or ill.

And long before OUAT they showed families in a variety of configurations: the three fairies/Aurora, Hansl and Gretl with a step-mother, orphans and foundlings, dads a widower, and so on.

OUAT’s focus changed following Season Two.

What do you think?

#once upon a time #ouat #ouat season 6 #fairy tale

[audreysl0ve]

Happy Valentine’s Day, Alexia!

Written for the Love, From OQ project!  @oqcelebration

 Happy Valentine’s Day to @the-notsoevil-queen!  I’ve had fun talking to you!

I know you are a sucker for this verse, so I wrote their first Valentine’s Day, with a little tailoring from your questions:

Angels (sweet) or demons (sexy) : demon (sexy)

Family friendly or hot and heavy? Hot and Heavy 

satin or lace?  satin

Pop (straightforward fun) vs indie rock (feelsy with a backstory): indie rock (feelsy)

Pick a friendship” HookedOutlawQueen or SnowOutlawQueen - HookOutlawQueen (lol) 

Pure Fluff or Angst with a payoff: pure fluff (I tried man, I tried)

They don't celebrate Valentine's Day.

Not usually, anyway.

Regina had never been much for any holiday that wasn't Christmas. Robin had slowly chipped away with that — first with Thanksgiving, then with Halloween, followed by the Fourth of July. Easter had been a hard sell, until a two year old Roland toddled on chubby legs around Mary Margaret's backyard, searching for eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny. She hadn't been able to resist his smile, and giggles, and absolute delight in the magic of the holiday. So he had won Easter.

But Valentine's Day comes with its own particular hard memories, and he realizes how it hits her and all her insecurities hard. As a child, her school would exchange Valentine's Day cards and gifts and candy. For a few years, her classmates would fill her desk and cubby with treats and valentines. But Regina could only offer them a card in exchange, if she had the time to make something homemade out of construction paper in time..

Because Cora did not allow candy in the house, and certainly didn't allow Regina to bring in such things for other children. There's nothing more ironic than a holiday that celebrates love filled with treats that only serve to wreck your figure and make you entirely unlovable. That Valentine's Day mantra was repeated often in the Mills household, grilled into her from a young age. Any candy Regina was gifted with on that day was sniffed out by Cora in some way or form, and all the delightful heart-shaped candies and chocolates covered in bright pink and red wrappers were dumped into the trash.

It didn't take long until her classmates stopped giving Regina a gift altogether. Now, when she thinks back on it, she knows it wasn't cruelty that had them skipping her. It's just that they had probably known she could never reciprocate, and possible knew she could never truly enjoy the gifts she was given (she was too afraid to even eat candy at school, for fear Cora would smell the chocolate on her breath). So perhaps the children skipped over her for her own good, not realizing that being left out just reminded her of how isolated, how lonely her life was.

There had been one year, in sixth grade, when a sweet little boy named Jeff gave her a homemade card. There were scraps of lace pasted together messily in some heart shaped form with the words "Will you be my Valentine, Regina?"

She had loved it had gleefully accepted his offer. They were attached at the hip for about a week, until her mother found the Valentine's Day card, hidden under her bed. She ripped it up in front of her before forbidding her to see the boy again.

"He's a vile boy, Regina." Cora had told her, "his parents are in and out of jail. I believe he's in foster care now. He's no one you should be talking to."

She ignored the holiday altogether after that, took a sick day from school if possible, could not look at homemade cards or valentine's day candies without feeling sick to her stomach, and her idiot mother had added fuel to the fire.

As she entered her teenage years, she continued to let her mother down on the holiday with her particular lack of suitors.

"When I was fifteen, I had seven boys ask me to the sweetheart dance," Cora had bemoaned. "And here you are, fifteen and no boys take an interest in you. I do wonder if you're a bit too bold and manish in your ways, men don't like that, you know.

And maybe she was right, except….her senior year in high school Daniel found her, and he was every bit as enchanted with her so-called manish and bold ways.

But Daniel's father had died on Valentine's Day, so while she dated him, they fueled each other's hatred of the holiday, resolute to never celebrate something so manufactured and idiotic.

After they broke up, she carried the hatred with her.

She's shared all of this with Robin, she's shared so much more lately. They started therapy immediately after New Years and it's amazing how much he still had to learn from her, and how much she still had to learn from him.

So he gets it. Understands why she hates the holiday.

But the thing is, Robin is a romantic. And the other thing is, they haven't even been back together for two months yet, and they are still very much in a honeymoon phase of sorts, and he has this persistent need to constantly dote on her. And hell, Valentine's Day is all about doting, isn't it?

And he really just wants to give her a good Valentine's Day. He can't give her everything she deserves in this world, but he can at least give her good memories to replace bad ones.

So when he approaches the subject he's unsurprised when she shoots it down immediately.

"Please," he begs, wrapping arms loosely around her waist as he nuzzles into her hair. It's a bit unfair of him, using these soft touches that she loves and still craves constantly after their separation, but he's never been much for playing fair.

"We've never celebrated Valentine's Day before," Regina points out, "why ruin a good thing? It's working for us so far."

"We didn't celebrate Valentine's Day last year, and it was miserable," Robin reminds.

He's got her there, if the look on her face is any indication.

But then she groans, an exasperated little thing. "It's such a sappy holiday, and the restaurants jack the price fix menus up to ridiculous levels, and..."

"And there will be pink champagne, no doubt, and pathetic little rose petals everywhere, and every woman will be in a red dress….including you, I hope…" He's never smiled as broadly as he has now, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. She shakes her head and lifts it up to look at him like this, shit-eating grin and all, and she releases a smile before she can try to hide it, tucking her chin back down into her neck, but still easing into his hand, which has moved to stroke her cheek.

"I want to do this." He says just above a whisper, rubbing little circles around her cheek with his thumb, "We were apart for a year and I just….I want to give you everything. I want something good to come out of that bad year. But it doesn't have to be this. I won't push you, Regina."

She hums gratefully and lays her head against his shoulder. "Let me think on it a bit."

When she picks Roland up from daycare on Friday, he's giggling excitedly about a Valentine's Day project for next week, and she feels her resolve crumble.

When Robin comes home, he finds his son and wife poured over a kitchen table filled with lace doilies, glitter, construction paper, glue sticks, markers and safety scissors..

He chuckles a bit, drawing her attention towards him. She meets his eyes and tries hard to keep her own laughter at bay, rolling her eyes in defeat.

"Daddy! We're making Valentine's Day cards for all my friends! Do you see? Momma showed me how to cut a perfect heart, you fold the paper like this, and then you…"

Roland is still giving him the Valentine's Day tutorial, but Robin can't help but look up to meet Regina's eyes.

She nods her head slowly, shrugging her shoulders. "Fine," she whispers. "You win."

"Do I?" He asks, sliding next to her, grabbing some cotton balls to add to a particular card Roland is making. This activity should keep him occupied all weekend what with the attention and time he gives to each card.

"Mmhm," Regina says, bumping her hips against his. "You may take me out to a cliche Valentine's evening full of manufactured romance and watered-down champagne. Assuming you can even find a place that takes reservations this late of notice."

"I might have made a reservation earlier," he smiles, "you know, just in case."

Continue on FF.net

#love from oq #right under the wire! #love you alexia! #so glad I got you!!

[sleepymarmot]

Andromeda liveblog: day one

Spoilers!

Eos/Tempest:

The Vault is beautiful! Even though the moving bridges, just like the floating rocks on Habitat 7, are blatantly copy-pasted from Trespasser.

Drack said the fight was fun. Of course it was -- that was the first time I used Annihilation/Charge/Nova!

Military or science -- how is that even a question? :D

Even back in the trial, I instantly became fond of the Tempest crew, in a way different from the Normandy. Not bound by the blood they spilled together -- but a team of nerds and people taking care of those nerds, pretty much. Feels more like the Enterprise!

What helps is that there's already a net of relationships between everyone -- I was thinking about it when Drack was revealed to be Kesh's father and talked about their problems with Tann and their relationship with Vetra. The Nexus backstory really gives depth to this game.

I didn't expect this, but I actually do like Peebee! Since her first trailer appearance, I've been annoyed with her -- obligatory asari LI, shitty design with a sexualized outfit and eyebrows, manic pixie dream girl-ish image -- but her personality won me over. She's a bit similar to my Ryder, and they clicked instantly -- two young, energetic explorers. And she doesn't seem too quirky so far, just a very extroverted nerd. And she has something nice to say about everyone on the ship!

You know, I've been wishing for a romance with a nerdy but genuinely nice person (unlike a certain elf...) and looks like I have not one but two -- and female! -- options here! :D 

The first flirt option with Peebee is good, the second is not.

Ah yes, a readheaded religious wlw written by the same person as Leliana... Look, Leliana is special to me, but this is just annoying. Maybe because Leliana is special.

Another convo with Vetra: "Someone had to know" "Did your father?" "I'm not sure" LOOK THE CONFIRMATIONS JUST KEEP ROLLING IN

Oh, here comes the flirt option I've seen on Youtube! I feel a bit awkward hitting on both of them repeatedly... Will I, on my seventh Bioware game, finally encounter a jealousy conversation?

Peebee has attractive personality, but Vetra's fashion style is obviously superior.

*looks at Liam's handsome face, sighs and stops herself from hitting the heart because that'd be a bit too much*

Nexus/Hyperion:

I love that Tann is the only real politician around, and everybody won't stop complaining about him, even though he's completely benign :D

It's a great feeling that doing sidequests is completely justified this time. In this game, it's literally my job to fly around and ensure random strangers' wellbeing! Oh look, someone on Reddit made a post appreciating this too.

"Your father is my problem. He's everyone's problem. We're all paying for Alec Ryder's ego. He preyed on Jien Garson's trusting nature and bulldozed us to this godforsaken place" !!! More evidence!! (Random angry woman on the Hyperion)

This is a great way to introduce flashbacks! And to reveal information gradually.

SAM is basically the third Ryder child, huh.

The camera angle and lighting in SAM's room is one of the most flattering in the game.

I'm glad we're actually giving spotlight to the transhumanism theme, unlike with Shepard...

Or maybe SAM is Ellen's reincarnation somehow? It's clear Alec somehow intended to save her with it, but how? I'm genuinely enjoying this mystery. Alec sure has a lot of character and presence, especially for a character with so little actual screentime... You can see his shadow over the entire story.

There's some nice animation at Scott's bedside!

"Is dad okay?" Shit. Shit. Now that's a choice...

(I mean, what she's saying will turn out to be true, hopefully...)

I didn't lie about Habitat 7, though. That's not as important.

Holy crap, that was an emotional scene.

I like Garson's Super Ethical VI Interview.

Professor Gerik in the lab on Nexus has a letter about us being invasive species and preserving local biodiversity! That's nice. (But on the other hand, we'd endanger it just as much if the Scourge hadn't done it first.)

Female Salarians look like male Salarians and sound like female humans. I should just learn to live with the fact that there'll be no real Salarian voices in this galaxy... Ugh.

Ahh Drack is visiting Kesh!!

Have I mentioned how fond I am of our new council/advisors? Kandros is a bit bland, but the other three are great.

30 minutes after I said that SAM is like another sibling to Ryder, he got infected with a virus. Give this family a break!

Of course the hackers were wrong etc, but the things hacked!Avina says are still absolutely correct...

BTW I chose to unfreeze merchants first -- to get the bigger inventory. Ugh, the lack of inventory was one of my favourite things about ME2 and ME3...

I had to read a walkthrough for "Station Sabotage"...

I like the design of Zara's face.

The Nexus sidequests are all about intrigue and investigation! Just like the main one about Alec, and the characters' backstories related to the uprising. Nice. I feel like a detective. It really gives the game a unique feel.

The saboteur has a good face too. And another sympathetic voice re: the uprising.

Tempest

Cora the gardener!

Damn, that speech about acceptance sure sounds like she's not talking about biotics... Why is she straight, Bioware?

Poor Cora. I can only continue to admire her ability to not hold grudges -- something that impressed me about her when Ryder became the Pathfinder.

It's so cute that the crew members have a group chat, have I mentioned? Really makes the ship look alive.

Vetra, Peebee, Gil and Liam are chatting like old friends! And the fact that they're playing poker reminds me of the Enterprise even more.

Eos

A timed mission to save colonists... with driving... I was so nervous!

FUCK I can't figure out this Fiend fight

I died like four times already what the fuck

Why can't I charge?! What do you mean "wrong target"?!

Also autosave glitches me through the floor every goddamn time!

Died about 8 times, I'm going to replace Peebee with Drack and turn down the difficulty

Oh thank fuck, this time it worked.

*can't find the evidence in the cave* *fast travel back to the start three or four times, get stuck on rocks*

Oh, here it is. Yeah, I enjoy playing detective, but I'd like less bugs!

I died and the game got stuck on reload

Alright, some sidequests are in the level 3 radiation zone which I don't know how to clear, and I can't find the bodies of the dead colonists. It got boring anyway. Back to the ship!

Tempest

Gil sends me an e-mail mentioning Jaal, whom I haven't even met...

Kallo's still arguing with Gil -- I'm pretty sure there's something going on he's not noticing... Nobody else has anything new to say. Let's advance the plot, then.

New solar system/Tempest/Nexus

Whoa, I didn't expect things to get so intense immediately!

Sooo, are you going to explain how the angara got the translators working within several minutes?

Are you trying to tell me the kett and the angara aren't related, despite having exactly the same faces?

Jaal's cape flapping is mesmerizing.

I don't understand, why is everyone being so weird and unprofessional?? Instead of opening normal diplomatic talks, they stand in a circle and say shit about Jaal in his presence. Why the hell are they being so entitled? If the angara help us, of course we need to offer something in return.

Liam, what movie night?! We're kind of busy!

Well, at least Jaal isn't going to let me exhaust all conversation topics in one go! :D

"I LIVE IN AN ESCAPE POD" :D

Stop! Prompting! Me! To! Flirt! With! Gil! Two different times in the same conversation -- what??

Okay, by this point I'm pretty sure that the poker mentions are not just a coincidence but a deliberate reference to TNG. 

When will I have enough materials for an asari sword? Maybe a quick trip to the Nexus will help. *immediately gets buried under sidequests*

What, you don't have laws for attempted murder? That has never happened in the entire history of Milky Way? Bioware sure likes to create a complex situation then make you decide between two extremes. I let the turian stay, but I'm not impressed.

What, and they didn't even tell the public what really happened? Ugh.

Pacified the protesters successfully.

Was prepared to go and realized I forgot one sidequest on the Nexus, went back... I need to stop doing this! It's ruining all momentum.

Havarl (not sure about the spelling)

Main plot again, here we go!

Oops, clicked on the wrong button and now my team still has Vetra instead of Peebee.

Nice scenery.

Okay, it's stupid to leave the planet just to swap squadmates, but it's even stupider to explore this planet without Peebee.

Oh right, there is a spot here for a forward station. (Don't the angara mind?)

There's an entire alien jungle, and nothing is scannable? Really?

@myself stop fucking dying... how am I supposed to fight enemies I don't see without any reasonable cover...

Oh, right, this is normal water, not the Deadly Electric Water. That's a relief, at least.

Oh look, normal cover, I can use my ranged powers like an adept/sentinel I intended to be instead of novaguarding.

Spent like half an hour trying to find a way towards the forward station mark on the east, gave up. This Pathfinder isn't very good at finding paths...

Let's find the gay turian Pathfinder!

What am I going to do with all this nickel? These aren't the materials I'm looking for, Bioware

And finally, after exploring everything else -- the Monolith!

This happened again: the profiles refuse to switch mid-fight. WTF???

"Follow the Remnant river?" You mean, what I've done an hour before? I sure hope the Remnant didn't respawn...

So the Remnant are Order and the Scourge is Chaos? I see we've arrived to witness an existential struggle of cosmic forces...

Why are my companions so useless during exploration? They don't give advice, they don't even have banter like in DA.

Oh GREAT, a jumping puzzle, and in the dark too.

I must say, the design is really beautiful, they nailed the intersection of "Alien", "Ancient" and "Powerful" here. Though I'm salty because it's just a sci-fi variation of the ancient elven design from DAI, which means DA4 won't be able to use it probably.

Nice view! @people with powerful PCs, please photograph these things for the rest of us!

Novaguarding+shotgun (only a Katana!) is so powerful I don't feel the need to do anything else...

We're nearly at the top and there's a health pack. I better save...

The plot thickens!

Oh. Is THIS the forward station I've been looking for? No wonder I didn't find it lmao. They should have just covered it in fog...

Why are shields so much harder to take down than armor? Ugh, that boss. At least on the second try I managed to kite him...

Yes, I climbed the column. Whatever. I got some Vanadium! Finally, I need it for my asari sword.

Oh, okay, THIS is the forward station from above. OK.

One of the enemies I had to defeat in a camp got stuck somewhere and I had to run around for 10 minutes before I found him, except I didn't even see him and he apparently died when I approached, but idk how it happened.

I met the reincarnated dude. And that's enough for today.

#mass effect #mea spoilers #blah blah blah

[noxiancrybaby]

Cora’s Family

Mother:

A beautiful dragon vastaya named Amelinda. Ionian. She fell in love with a human, and together they got married and had four children.

Has long white hair, red eyes, tall pointy ears, patches of white scales on her hands, legs, shoulders, and forehead, and small white wings.

Father:

A human named Wayland Ferron. Noxian. Fell in love with a vastayan when he visited Ionia for his blacksmithing.

Has dark brown hair, light blue eyes, and a scar on his cheek.

Siblings:

Three half-vastayan half-humans named Eliza, Hugo, and Luci. 

Eliza and Hugo are twins. Eldest. Eliza likes to cause trouble; Hugo is more quiet. Has black hair, light blue eyes, and small pointed ears.

Luci is the middle child. Likes to help Wayland with smithing. Has white hair, light blue eyes, and a small patch of white scales on her neck.

Cora is the youngest, with white hair, red eyes, and small pointed ears. Likes to follow Amelinda around like a little duck. Hates shoes.

#the past has been written { cora's backstory } #knowledge of myself { headcanons } #he's beauty he's grace he'll trip and fall on his face { flower speaks }

[mariniacipher]

A NEW CHAPTER! From Meet me in the Woods

So yeah, i finally finished it, who would’ve thought?

The ao3 link is the source, because Tumblr is terrible

Fandom: Gravity Falls

Relationships: Bill Cipher & Dipper Pines, Bill Cipher & Mabel Pines, Dipper Pines &Mabel Pines, Pacifica Northwest & Mabel Pines, Pacifica Northwest/Mabel Pines, Bill Cipher & Original Female Character (Plus all the familial stuff)

Characters: Bill Cipher, Dipper Pines, Mabel Pines, Pacifica Northwest, Grunkle Stan/ Stanley “Stanford” Pines, The Author/ Original Stanford Pines, Tad Strange, Axolotl (Gravity Falls), Jheselbraum the Unswerving, Original Female Character, Minor Characters

Additional Tags: Billdip bromance, Sometime in the future, Triangle Bill Cipher, Human Bill Cipher, but that comes later, muuuuch later, Bill Cipher Redemption, aromantic asexual Bill Cipher, aro ace Bill Cipher, Bill has problems, PTSD Dipper Pines, Poor Dipper, Pansexual Mabel Pines, Older Pines Twins, They're 15, summer 2015, Gravity Falls Is Weird, Post-Gravity Falls, Bill Cipher's Backstory, Powerless Bill Cipher, Axolotl is a jerk, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Past Abuse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

Category: Gen, F/F

Summary.

11th June 2015: A normal day in Gravity Falls (as far as that is even possible) is turned upside down as Dipper finds the dream demon they had defeated three years ago in the woods, powerless and angry. From there on, things only continue to go downhill, as the twins find themselves helping the demon/trying to get him out of their realm as fast as possible, to get back to their normally paranormal summer in Gravity Falls. But of course it couldn't be that easy, we are talking about the Pines here, so why should it be?

Chapter 2:

 Bill examined Pine Tree- the human had aged a bit- but still seemed like the pathetic sack of bones he had encountered… Before. He couldn’t be sure how much time had passed since then. But he saw that the meat sack had written his own journal –which was amusing, really. How he thought he could achieve anything in his small human lifespan before his flesh bag would cease functioning and leave him to rot.

-Bill felt how the cells in his body worked, it was foreign and weird and entirely too… alive for him. (Alive meant mortal, mortals die) -

 But he wasn’t mortal, he  couldn’t   be.

 He distinctively recognized the path Pine Tree went, had gone it with Sixer’s feet several times as the Brainiac was still as ignorant as a frog in a slowly heating pot. It was slightly bigger now, and he could see traces of feet all over it, but just ten minutes away from the Shack the kid stopped to put him on the ground again.

 He looked up as the flesh bag (damn the frilly sack of ruffles, wherever he was), who seemed uncomfortable as he looked around himself.      What’s wrong Pines, is your measly human brain failing you?     he thought drily. Like the sack of bones knew real      thought     or knowledge. “Okay, so, I gotta smuggle you up to the attic, but I obviously can’t do that with the cage-“he saw how the kid took in a breath, as if to gather courage. This would be amusing-“so I have to unlock you and hide you in my sweater” he rushed out, the words almost incomprehensible, but Bill understood it anyway and glared up at the flesh sack. The sole audacity… “Kid, do you know who I am? Do you know of the  countless dimensions  I conquered and the   endless knowledge  I’ve collected?” he asked, his voice deepening and gaining even more of an echo. At least      something     was still how it was supposed to be.

 The boy gulped, before crossing the arms before his chest and glaring at the demon defiantly. “And now you’re a powerless corn chip and we have an agreement. So, you don’t have much choice in the matter, do you? And believe me, man, I don’t want to do this either” Dipper answered, ignoring the death glare he got. Or trying to, no one needed to know how sweaty his hands got and how dry his throat went.

 He took the set for picking locks from his bag that he and Mabel had both gotten to their birthdays last year from Stan (along with some more personalized gifts) and made quick work of the trap. Bill gave him another glare before standing up and gracefully walking out of the trap, annoying the brunet with just how      slow     the demon moved. It was already late and he wanted to catch Mabel before she went out with one of her friends (the creepy triangle was      not     sleeping in his room).

 But after entirely too much time, he could close the trap again and put away his set to face the triangle demon that stared up at him with a bored expression, raising an eyebrow at him as he fiddled with is jacket and opened it. This would be awkward.

 “Ohm, yeah, could you like, climb on my hand so we can get this over with?” he asked and, yup, this was awkward as all hell. He regretted everything that had led him to this moment. But still, Bill gave him an annoyed look but complied, seemingly thinking this was too stupid for him to even comment on. Well,       that     was a new low in Dipper’s life.

 The triangular demon was lifted off the ground, his little fingers biting into Dipper’s flesh (did Bill have freaking      claws    ?) but the teenager tried to ignore it and arranged Bill underneath his jacket, uncomfortably close to his chest, but even after some rummaging it couldn’t be helped, so he just tried to get over it. (He didn’t)

 ~

 As Coralline, called Cora by everyone but her father, saw Dipper enter the gift shop, she immediately knew something was up. The brunet, whose ass she might or might not have stared at, if opportunity arose, was obviously even more awkward than usual and looked around himself as if someone was going to attack him every minute, standing there, half hunched in over himself. Cora didn’t know him too well, but she would consider him a friend, so she waved a hand at him after selling some old lady some overpriced merchandise.

 The brunet lit up like a traffic light and came over to her. She tried not to cringe at his awkwardness. He might even get the phone numbers of some of the people he flirted with -he was cute enough- if he weren’t so      painfully     awkward.

 “Mabel is leading a tour, she should be back in like, five minutes. Should I tell her that you need her?” she asked, knowing the twins well enough by now to see when they wanted or needed to talk to each other. The brunet nodded gratefully and shot her a small smile, but it didn’t manage to cover his nervousness “Yeah, thanks, tell her I’m at the attic, okay?” he asked, she gave him a thumbs up and one of her bright smiles. “Can do, Dip” she grinned, before facing another customer as Dipper hurried out of the shop and up to his room.

 ~

 Dipper sacked against the door, his body melting into a puddle as he let himself relax. He quickly opened the zipper to his jacket and let the demon out, to sit him on his desk, doing a quick once-over to see if there was anything the demon could use against him. But everything was safe, he judged carefully. He went over to the window, still suspicious at its form, although it had clear glass now, instead of a      literal effigy    of Bill fucking Cipher. He looked out, but the tour Mabel led wasn’t there yet.

     Patience, Dipper    . He brushed some hair out of his face, while trying to plan how he would explain all of this to Mabel. Part of him knew that he would probably forget everything he’d think of as soon as she would walk through the door, but at least it would help him sort his thoughts.

 So Bill Cipher was back- that was a nightmare he really didn’t want to face- but he had no powers, which was a relief, because Dipper quite liked his life and would prefer it if he wouldn’t face a premature end by the hands of the triangular demon.

 Still, they had to find a way to get him out of their dimension, and to do so as quickly as possible if you asked him. He wondered if there was a spell to banish Bill from humanity in general, even dreams, but doubted it. Even if, Bill would have destroyed such a thing long ago, if he knew anything about the demon.

 He considered asking Bill why he was here to begin with, but doubted that the triangle would give him any answers and he should probably wait with the interrogation until Mabel was here, she was better at that stuff anyways. He remembered with a shudder what she had done to some kid that had bullied them. He had never wanted to know that you could use sprinkles and a candy cane like that.

 But point remained, she would probably get more out of the demon, if only because he seemed to have liked her better. The thought made him cringe, as well as the memory it awoke, of falling asleep and waking up with ink stained fingers, just having been used as the demon’s puppet      again    . He had played it down in front of Mabel, who had been enraged that the demon would compare      her     to the likes of      him    , but he hadn’t slept for the next two days, and when he did fall asleep it was fitful and filled with nightmares. Even after the unicorn barrier had been set in place his brain had tortured him any minute he fell asleep, with images of what Bill could and would do if he ever chose to. Even as Ford had told him of his backstory of Bill he hadn’t dared to tell him about the incident with the ‘      Guide to Mystery and Non-Stop Fun’     pages.

 He shook his head, that was long over, and the demon was powerless now, there was no need to worry, they just had to get him back to his dimension as fast as possible.

 ~

 As Mabel got to the clearing before the Mystery Shack she stopped and just before the door she turned to the customers, a big grin plastered on her face, akin to one of a shark. “Well, this was the Tour of Terrors, ladies,  gentlemen and friends, I hope you enjoyed it and come back again, I was your Ms. Mystery today!      Pictures are charged case to case, we offer no refunds for mental or physical injuries and if your wallet mysteriously disappears we have definitely nothing to do with it    ” she tacked on out of the corner of her mouth, her grin definitely seeming to be like a shark’s now. She really was Stanley Pines grandniece, and he had trained her well in the art of scamming people the last few years.

 Last summer she had gotten to lead some tours with him and he had been enthusiastic at her charm and charisma, as she scammed people out of their money, but this summer she could do her tours alone for the first time.

 “Now, please follow me to the gift shop, we’re you’ll be able to buy the unique Mystery Shack Merchandise, which you’ll get nowhere else, except in the Online Shop, which we invite you to try out.      Shipping isn’t free and you’re not insured in case someone sells your data to the government or other as, or more, shady organisations    ” She told them, as the people already scattered to buy some of the junk on the shelves. Although Mabel had influenced the inventory in the last few years, even having some products of her own making on the shelves, that she all designed herself and whose winnings she and Stan split fifty/fifty (After a very long argument, that had cost Mabel a glue gun and Stan a stapler and Dipper a ton  of nerves).

 She went to Cora- before she would be overrun with customers Mabel wanted to chat with her. The girl was only a year older than her and Dipper and had quickly gotten herself into Mabel’s group of friends, although they weren’t as close as she was with Candy, Grenda or Wendy, and sure as hell not Paz. She quickly banished the girl from her thoughts, before she would start staring at nothing with a dreamy expression.

 “Hey Mabes, tour went good?” Cora asked, in her hands was some manga she read, and Mabel was inclined to ask about it, before she saw the cover, and chose not to. She wasn’t one to read too many horror stories, she left that to Dipper. “Tour went good, I think about changing the route so we can also see the Question Quails, and maybe the Exclamation Parakeets too. I just have to convince Stan” she told the cashier, who nodded along.

 Cora had grown up here, so she was used to the town’s weirdness, even liked it. “Yeah, I could help you with that, if you want to slowly get them used to humans. My mum in Portland works at that Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area-thing, so she would probably know whatever you’ll need to have the tourists see them and all.”

 “Oh, and your bro came in here like, ten minutes ago? He looked really anxious, I think you should go to him, before he faints or something” she told the brunette who seemed to be alerted as soon as she heard the word ‘anxious’. Mabel knew that Dipper had made tons of progress, but maybe something had caused a relapse? Well, whatever it was, she wouldn’t leave her bro-bro to fight alone!

 “Kay, thanks Cora! Can you man the shop while I’m upstairs? Thanks!” she rushed out, before making her way to the attic and bursting inside Dipper’s room. But what she saw was      not     what she had expected. “Dipper? What happened, why is  he   back? Why is he even here, I thought he was a mind demon? And we killed him! - We killed you three years ago, what the heck are you doing here?” she shouted.

 Of course Dipper would be anxious if Bill was back, in fact, it was a surprise he hadn’t had a panic attack yet. She looked at her brother, asking with a look if he was okay. The brunet gave her a reassuring look back and nodded, before he began to speak. “I found him in the woods, he doesn’t have any powers, so I brought him here, so we could get rid of him before the Stans notice” he explained. “Yeesh kid, don’t be so happy about it” the triangle muttered from his place on the desk. He sat on top of some papers and books that were littered all over his room. Well, it wasn’t like her room looked much better, just much brighter.

 She glared at the twelve inch small triangle, before turning to Dipper. “And what should we do? Is there some sort of ritual to get him back to wherever he came from?” she asked. She may not be as scarred as Dipper from what happened, but she was still scared. The triangle had hurt her brother and Grunkle Ford and she didn’t want either of them to be hurt again by the demon. Bill, meanwhile, rolled his eyes. Stupid flesh bags.

 “I don’t know Mabel. I thought we could both ask what happened and then we can try to figure it out?” Dipper suggested. Mabel nodded. “Kay, bro-bro” she answered.

 Bill’s eye twitched. They      did    know that he was right there? Or was their brain capacity so ridiculously small that they already forgot?

 “Okay, Bill, why are you here again instead of rotting in hell or whatever else you’ve been doing the last three years?” Mabel asked and Dipper gave her a shocked look, but decided not to do anything. He’d let Mabel do her thing, he thought, while taking his notebook and jotting down everything he had until now. Bill glared up at Mabel, while memories tried to resurface, but he stopped them before they could even get close. “Well, I don’t know Shooting Star, how about you tell me first why I should even talk to you?” he asked icily, fixing her with a glare.

 Mabel showed herself unshaken, crossing her arms. “You could talk to me because it’s      nice    , you know?” she snapped. Dipper gave her a deadpan look and Bill rose his eyebrow.

 “Yeah, right”

 “Have you ever met me, kid?”

 Both said simultaneously and Mabel looked at both of them. Bill looked seemed for a moment and Dipper didn’t look much better. Mabel had to hold back a giggle at their expressions. “You could answer so you can get away from us as fast as possible” she suggested, choosing to ignore the silent mortification they both went through. The triangle schooled his expression to one of deadpan and bored, before answering.

 “And you don’t think I could get myself back to where I ‘rot in hell’ if I wanted?” he asked, giving her an unimpressed look. Mabel blinked surprised, before catching herself. “So you want to get our help to what? Get you back in the Mindscape?” she asked. Dipper looked at the triangle with suspicion. “Not in the Mindscape, Shooting Star, the Nightmare Realm” Bill corrected arrogantly.

 “But you probably won’t do that, so I’d suggest you let me do my thing and we see each other again in your nightmares. Deal?”

 “No! I won’t make a deal with you, you’re an evil triangle monster!” “Flattery won’t get you anywhere, kid” “That was not a compliment” Mabel growled, before she had an idea. “Wait, what about this: We’ll help you get back your powers and in return you won’t conquer the world, or this whole universe, like, ever. Deal?” Mabel asked, trying not to show how unsure she was.

 Bill gave her a mildly surprised look, but before he could answer Dipper interrupted them. “Mabel, we can’t make a deal, he’ll just somehow twist it so he comes out on top!”

 “Well, do you have another idea? Cause the way I see it, that’s the only way to make sure he won’t destroy the world as soon as he gets his powers back, or tries to, anyway” Mabel replied.

 “She’s right Pine Tree” Bill smirked. “One of you should make a      deal    if you want your sweet small world to stay the boring way it is” he sing-songed, as he looked at his fingers (those were definitely claws). “Except you      want     a second Weirdmageddon? Which I’d be      more than glad     to make happen, although you probably wouldn’t live long enough to see it unfold” Bill grinned, enjoying the opportunity to gain the upper hand again.

 “We sure as fuck don’t! Listen you freaky triangle, I’ll make a deal with you and then we’ll get you back to wherever you came from and you let this whole freaking universe alone!” Mabel exclaimed. Dipper gave her a concerned look, before resigning to her choice. She was already too convinced of her plan to stop her, the only thing he could do was help her not to make a giant mistake.

 “Can you even make deals like that?” he asked, to make sure that they even      could     do this, silently begging whatever entity watched over them that he couldn’t. “I can… with some… help” the demon gritted out. He was able to destroy supernovas with a snap of his fingers, could watch millions and trillions of places at the same time, but now he needed help to just make a      deal    . The Axolotl would pay for that, he’d make sure of it.

 “But you can?”

 “What did I just say? Are you      that     stupid, Pine Tree?” Bill snapped, before Mabel interrupted them again.

 “Hey, guys, I know we all hate each other, but we gotta get this over with before we kill each other. So, Bill: I offer you that I and Dipper restore your power to the best of our ability, without any serious harm befalling anyone, no matter whom, if you will never attempt to conquer, destroy or otherwise harm this universe ever again, in your whole existence and whatever comes after. You agree?” she asked. Bill looked at her, scanning the deal for any loopholes he could use, but there were surprisingly few. The girl had learned from Fez, no doubt.

 He looked at her outstretched hand, he didn’t want to give this realm up, he had sacrificed a trillion of years to get it, but he      needed     his powers back and one small universe wasn’t that big a cost. And he could always just take another version of this universe, could even kill the Pines family of that version. So, in the end, it seemed like a good enough deal, he had to begrudgingly admit.

 “Deal, Shooting Star.”

#gravity falls #gf #bill cipher #dipper pines #Mabel and Dipper #trans dipper #dipper and bill #mabel and bill #mabel and pacifica #mabcifica #in later chapters #no billdip #billdip bromance #tad strange #canon compliant #kill me #i hate everything #why am i like this #please read

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 2X09 - Queen of Hearts

Ooh! After how great that last episode was, I’ve got my HEART set on this review!

And you can experience what I’ve got to say right under the cut!

Press Release Cora and Hook face off with Mary Margaret and Emma in a race to secure the compass, which will point its holder to the portal into Storybrooke. But back on the other side, Regina and Mr. Gold, desperate to keep Cora out, put a plan into action that would kill anyone entering the portal - placing Mary Margaret’s and Emma’s lives in danger as well. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale land that was, Captain Hook travels to Wonderland and meets up with a vengeful Queen of Hearts. General Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness Past I don’t really feel like there’s a lot to say about this segment. Apart from re-establishing personality traits of both Killian and Cora, this segment serves only the purpose of giving exposition for why Killian and Cora weren’t cursed and how they started working together. While it’s really well done exposition and it’s great to see Killian and Cora bounce off one another, exposition doesn’t leave a lot to discuss and what I do have to say is in other segments. Storybrooke The segment provides the ultimate test of Regina’s character thus far in the series: Rumple offers Regina a path of temptation and she has to choose whether or not to take it. This was fantastically done because not only has it been well built, but the conflict itself resonates with Regina’s character so well. Her biggest fears and dreams are pit against her, escalating the impact of the choice and making part of the fallout (Where she loses having Henry to herself) come off as effectively tragic and giving the resolution all the more bittersweet. Enchanted Forest I actually forgot that Emma had a story of her own in this episode as she deals with what being the Savior actually means. And I loved the direction they took with it. Emma’s intimidated by the prospect, as Emma would be, but she also is willing to accept the responsibility and that fear is channeled into the question of how much control she has over her destiny and what is to come of it now that her initial purpose (As far as she knows) is fulfilled. That’s a really good question to ask, and what makes this conflict so good is how Emma continues to give it her all, and it’s a combination of her history as the savior as well as her sacrifice for Snow that makes her heart unrippable and proving herself to be something unique: Magic. And her conversation with Rumple sums all of this up in a way that enforces Emma’s value and gives hints as to where her character will go next like a neat bow on top of a package. All Encompassing “Love is weakness.” There’s a contrast here between Emma and Cora. When the line was stated to Cora, it was from Regina who (As far as she knew) sacrificed her mother’s life for herself (For as justified as it was). As it’s being said to Emma, Emma sacrificed herself for her mother, and that selflessness between the later mother/daughter duo, partnered with her lineage, is what allows Emma to reject the notion for “love is strength.” Insights - Stream of Consciousness -Given his backstory, how much you want to bet that that “slave” comment from Faceless Guard 1 took Killian from competent fighter to competent fighter with a vengeance? XD -I just noticed, but Belle has a roomy as fuck cell. I mean look at that thing! My bedroom is smaller than this! Put a desk and a mini fridge in here, give me some WiFi, and make my bed not suck and I’d live here. -”A friend.” Not yet, Killian, but give it a few more seasons. -Killian can be the freakin’ best liar. Look a how well he delivers that fib to Belle! Like, if I wasn’t aware of what he was doing, I’d believe him. -”Do I look like I’m playing a game of chess?” Once again, not yet, Killian, but give it a few more seasons. -”Until.” I like how Rumple’s subtly comments on the change in Regina’s outlook on life, a subtle show of her redemption. -Emma’s reaction to Snow’s news about being told beforehand that she was going to be the Savior was so sad! Look at how shake up she is and just compare that to how she was when August told her as much in “The Stranger.” She now realizes that like it or not, this is her life and she needs to be the beacon for everyone. As someone who recently felt that pressure for all of two days, I can’t imagine how it must feel like to have to live with that mindset. -I know I’m supposed to be freaking out about Emma’s name being written so many times, but all I can think is “damn, Rumple has pretty penmanship.” -The Regal Believer development is just beautiful here. It blossomed so well from the last episode and now Henry’s showing more overt pride in Regina’s progress. It makes the fact that Regina’s lying to him so sad. -”No one mourn her [The dead fairy].” Rumple, dude, why would you say that? She was a nice fairy! Get your fairy vendetta out of your ass! -I feel like Regina has waaaaaay too much faith in Killian. Like, there are WAY too many holes in this plan, ranging fro Cora’s sheer power to the fact that someone can sneak through while Killian’s getting the job done. -So here’s my question: Why did Cora end up sticking with the Wonderland crazy aesthetic of masks and whatnot? I feel like that’s just not her style. -Look at Killian’s reaction when he discovers that the organ is missing! He can HEARTLY believe his eyes! XD -Yay! Aurora’s heart looks normal again! A touch too pale, but normal! -”Actually, no.” While I do like how the legitimacy of this line is retroactively made better later on in this episode, I feel like as it stood at the second it was said, it was rather weak. I love Killian, but up until this point, for as much as he’s talked about honor, we haven’t been shown it as much. While yes, in “Tallahassee” iself, Killian didn’t lie to Emma, that act was done more passively. What I want (And again, get later on in this episode) is a more active show of that honor, for not only did it poorly affect the present events of “Tallahassee,” but this scene in its entirety too, including the hurt that’s supposed to be behind Killian’s speech about the bean. -I love Emma and Snow’s discussion about Emma’s role as the savior. The way that it builds is fantastic and the tragedy of the circumstances that Emma brings up (That she doesn’t know of her work as the savior was finished when the curse was complete or not) as well as Jennifer Morrison’s acting is just fantastic. It sells her unsureness and frustration concerning the fact that her saviorhood was created not from who she was as a person, but as a product of her lineage and a prophecy. -Cora sure CORRODED that dirt away! XD -”Honor? For the pirate that snuck into my palace and attempted to assassinate me?” She’s got a point there, Killian. -Okay, so I want to give a rebuttal, if you will to what is considered a plot hole. In the flashback to “Dark Waters,” the events are implied to happen between the casting of the first curse and when Killian pretends to be a blacksmith. The plot hole that’s brought up is that that’s not possible because Cora froze them for the curse. My point of contention for this plot hole theory is that people in the shattered Enchanted forest are shown to be awake. Mulan notes that Killian’s been in their town for a month and that the town needed time to be constructed. Therefore, I pose that the time spell broke when Emma arrived and Cora’s words were more in reference to her interest in traveling between the realms and that it would come to pass after the curse was broken because that’s when Regina would have lost everything. -I really wish they’d still call Mary Margaret “Snow” when she came home. It’s so annoying to write her long ass name. -Snow is the ultimate archer! Like, what the fuck?! She’s so freakin’ good! Who can shoot a freakin’ compass like that?! -”Normally, I’d prefer to do other more enjoyable activities with a woman on her back…” I know this line gets a tough break (And I have something to say about Killian’s more...unavoidably shitty thing down below), but I genuinely don’t think this line means what many antis say it is. The line is about sex and as it comes right after Killian saves a woman’s heart and gives it back to someone who will ensure Aurora’s autonomy, the framing of that line as crossing a line just doesn’t add up to me. While these are my thoughts on the line, I just want to make it clear that I understand sensitivity, and if something like this line hit close to home for a situation for you, I neither could nor would ever want to tell you you’re wrong. Killian’s manner of speaking in Season 2 was definitely problematic and I’m glad that the writers decided to stop going so close to the edge of discomfort going forward. -”With my life on the line.” I don’t think this line was only talking about his own mortality. As we’ve seen (And will see in just a couple of episodes), Killian cares fuck all about his mortality. His “life?” His revenge. It’s so pathetic to see that that’s what Killian’s measuring his life as and it makes his redemption at the end of the season much more meaningful. -I love the actiony nature of the climax. -Rumple, was probably not a great idea to knock out Belle’s bestie like that. -Something to point out, when Regina’s holding Henry back, she’s physically holding him back, either consciously or subconsciously holding herself back from using magic like she promised (Also, Rumple is the one who has used magic throughout this set of present events. -*Totally choking up at the Snow Swan Believer hug* -”Just remember never to bet against you in the future.” Emma, make sure you do that because if not, he will forget HARD! -Rumple and Emma’s conversation towards the end of the episode sells Emma’s dilemma over her nature as the savior. Rumple says it best: He made the curse, but he didn’t make her. He took advantage of the person she was, the person she built for herself to accomplish what he wanted, but she as a person was the one who came through and accomplished things. -”Dinner at Granny’s? On me.” Ruby, did you steal Gold’s wallet or something after the assumed verbal thrashing you gave him following you waking up? Because otherwise, that’s gonna cost a ton! There are at least twelve people in this room and those dwarves eat a LOT! -The lighting for Hook’s ship is AMAZING, darkened by the clouds and fog, but unmistakably The Jolly Roger. Arcs - How are These Storylines Progressing? The Journey Home (May as well combine the Emma and Snow/Storybrooke stuff since they’re one and the same) - And here we come to the close of this arc. Overall, this story was so well done. It accomplished the task of opening and closing so many stories and arcs, all the while involving almost the entire main and supporting of the series. Additionally, it went on for as long as it needed, never feeling too long or short. Most every episode was satisfying and contributed to the solving of this duo-realm conundrum. Rumple’s Redemption - Rumple, of course, took a bit of a step back here, but I like it. Not only is he early in his redemption, but Cora’s a threat the likes of which he hasn’t been threatened to face since he started his attempts to better himself. It’s also given an added bout of weight due to the circumstances that Regina laid out in the last episode (Cora could hurt Belle) and that he brings up in this episode (The entire town as a whole is in danger). Regina’s Redemption - I misspoke last episode by calling it the culmination of Regina’s redemption arc in this partial season, because in hindsight, it’s more of a two-parter. While we got payoff the last time in regards to the improvement in hers and Henry’s relationship, this is the challenge portion. It’s one thing to work towards repairing relations with your son who you unashamedly love, but to help not only those who you hate, but to also risk a powerful and abusive enemy crossing your path in the process is something else entirely, and that was such an important distinction to make and present. Killian’s Redemption - *sighs* So I can’t help but feel like the missteps I pointed out in my “Tallahassee” review really did this particular arc dirty. Like, I feel like had the interactions between Emma and Kiilian been a little bit stronger in terms of setting up a dynamic where trust was being built but cut down just as it was on the precipice of really coming out, the moments here where Killian shows such vitriol over being betrayed would have been so much more powerful and to see them not work because of that is just so frustrating. HOWEVER, I feel I should say, that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing good to be said about Killian’s redemption here, because a VERY good decision was made that for my money, essentially revitalized Killian’s arc. I am so glad that it was Killian who caught Aurora’s heart. As I said before, that’s the kind of show of honor that reinforces that there is goodness in Killian and that said goodness can be worth growing. It helps to solidify Killian’s ability to be sympathetic in a half season that characterized his more villainous attributes well, but needed a touch more balancing when it came to the more heroic ones. This one action showed Killian as both the pirate with the snarky one liners as well as a man who can be saved, and that was imperative to see before we went back to Storybrooke. Favorite Dynamic Rumple and Regina - Rumple is one half of the fork in the road for Regina’s conflict throughout the episode, but what I really appreciate is that it’s not just left at that. Look at the following line: ”You won’t be able to be a better anything if Cora comes through.” Rumple knows Regina so well, acting as the devil on her shoulder, but also a guardian at the same time. He knows not only what Cora can do to him and the town, but Regina too, just on a personal level. While he doesn’t say this outright, choosing to focus on the more overt danger that Cora poses, the way that Robert Carlyle delivers that line and the history that Rumple and Regina have together convinces me that it’s true. In this episode, Rumple’s motivations are selfish, but not entirely, and I found that so nuanced that I couldn’t let it go unappreciated. Writer Adam and Eddy were in charge here, and of course they are: The run the ends of every major arc! And I think that’s what they do best. If and when they communicate correctly and are paying attention to what the other writers are doing, they’re good at providing finales that come full circle from where they started. This is very much one of those cases. I feel like Adam and Eddy were really paying attention to what their writers were going for and wrote this episode accordingly. Also, I genuinely like their writing. What they put into this episode works, with natural dialogue and a good use of story elements all around. In this episode especially, we get so many from Rumple’s stolen wand to the scroll in the jail cell to Jefferson’s hat and even the well! Darker Aspects (TW: Mentions of assault and abuse) Watching Killian smack Belle is incredibly uncomfortable to watch. I get that we needed a way to see Killian turn on Belle after she showed herself to be useless and magic’s not really his thing, but maybe he could’ve stolen some sleep powder. It would be more in character given that he’s a pirate and wouldn’t push a character who was designed with redeemability and sympathy in mind to a place that’s so screwed up. And I get that villains have done worse. Hell, this isn’t even Killian’s worst deed (Not by far), but modern sensibilities are what they are for a reason and something so personal as hitting a woman in such a real way simply strikes a lot harder of a note than a murder which for most audiences has a level of distance (Especially given the more fantastical methods of death in this show such as being gut by swords and having one’s heart ripped out and crushed), and this was the case when the episode aired too. Do I personally go on to like Killian after this? Yes, I think that’s pretty obvious from everything to my icon to my reblogs to the fact that I’m both participating in and creating a project partially dedicated to the guy, but just as with Regina and Graham, it’s a dark spot on a record that I refuse to forget, even as I move on from it. “I’m sorry, Mother. Without you, I’d never have become the person that I am now.” Given how abusive Cora was to Regina and how that abuse framed Regina’s mindset for such a long time, that line is so messed up, though better written for the fact that it was correctly framed for the complicated relationship that Cora and Regina have. Rating 9/10. What a fun episode! So much of the personalities of our mains come out as we close out the first major arc of the season! The entire episode was filled with great character moments and an earnest feeling of closure. It’s intense, heartwarming, romantic, and just a fun ride. I took points off for the uncomfortable moment as stated above in my “Darker Aspects” segment because that was honestly just disgusting to be portrayed in such a callous way and because of the disproportionate early payoff to the setup of the Emma and Killian dynamic. Flip My Ship - Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness” Hooked Queen - Regina’s hook pull was just sexy as hell. Going against someone as flirtatious as Killian with such an intimacy-inflicting maneuver just works so well! Captain Swan - Don’t think I don’t notice how the camera doesn’t point to Killian as Cora mentions how in 28 years, there will be a savior. Also, as this is a CS-centric segment in the scene with the infamous sword fight, I feel like I should weigh in on the immortal question: Did Killian throw the fight? My answer: Nah. There was this great post made a while ago and I don’t remember who wrote it, but they analyzed Killian’s sword fighting and concluded that he was trying to win, but not harm Emma in the process. Anyway, if you remember that post, please send it my way so I can link it! Finally, I found it to be such a good writing choice to have Emma be the one who heard why Killian saved Aurora’s heart because it was a good show of how he is someone redeemable. Swan Queen - Two things. First, Emma’s “thank you” is so amazingly sincere. It’s quiet, but energized, amazed and yet calmed. Second, the good-natured quips about Cora provides a very genuine moment of bonding for the two women for the first time really. Snowing - We get a great parallel here for the TLK that wakes Charming up. Not only is the dialogue given again, but the dwarves are there too and even the sheets are white just like in Snow’s coffin. It’s one of my favorite parallels of theirs, up there with some of the moments in “Snow Falls.” That’s because while there are these repeated elements, there are changes to make this a new scene and give it a different level of weight. It’s the first time we’ve seen a TLK in Storybrooke since the curse broke and new characters with new motivations are there for the ride. ()()()()()()()()() Season 2 has been utterly amazing thus far! Score wise, it’s doing better than Season 1, and even the disappointments have been relative improvements over the last Season’s. This is an especially great surprise because I had little recollection of Season 2 before I started this rewatch and I’m so happy that it’s been as good as it’s been and I hope that it stays this good going into the next arc!

Thank you all for reading and to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales! Putting this project together has really boosted my appreciation for the sophomore season of OUAT and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love the extra boost my channel has gotten since this has started and the people I’ve met by doing this!

Season 2 Tally (86/220) Writer Tally for Season 2: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis: (29/60) Jane Espenson (17/50) Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (20/50) David Goodman (10/30) Robert Hull (10/30) Christine Boylan (7/30) Kalinda Vazquez (10/30) Daniel Thomsen (10/20)

Operation Rewatch Archives

#ouat #once upon a time #watching fairytales #ouat rewatch #jenna watches ouat #tw: assault #tw: mentions of abuse #basically every character in this episode is discussed #ships mentioned #hooked queen #captain swan #swan queen #snowing #ouat 2x09

[teenwolfsuff]

Safe

Description; Y/N  is lost cora in the  woods, and  goes and finds derek to get him and his pack to help.

Backstory; Y/N  was turned by  deucalion , and then when he tried to kill the pack she was taken in by the hale pack and has come back to beacon hills with cora, although she isn’t captured by the alpha pack

Notes; okay so i was like i haven’t written anything for a while and so thought that i should get something down, i have been suffering with really bad writer's block and so haven’t been doing much, and i have been dealing with some really bad shit at home so i’m sorry for being so inactive i am trying to get up to date, also feel free to request anything, i have a prompt list and i will be updating it as well.

This might become a series, i’m not quite sure yet. Let me know what you guys think.

‘Oh come one Y/N  you’re slowing me down’  you look at cora   with a death glare and say ‘well if you didn’t run everywhere we wouldn’t be having this problem’ she looked at you and gave you the typical Hale eye roll, which made you chuckle slightly, ‘you know if you ran to it wouldn’t be a problem’ now it was your turn to roll your eyes ‘the last thing i need is to be running around the woods, when i’m trying to find the man that tried to kill me’

Cora took your hand in hers and said ‘i understand that, you know i do’ you looked at her and smiled slightly and squeezed her hand, ‘we should go back to the apartment, and look for them tomorrow or the alpha that’s apparently a Hale’ cora nodded and when you finished lightly punched your arm ‘i know there’s a Hale alpha out here, i just don’t know who’ you smiled and turned to walk back to your car and go to your apartment, when suddenly you heard a loud growl and claws dig into your back, you fall to the floor and see cora growling and then some kid you don’t know claw your stomach open, the pain is unbearable and as you pass out you hear cora scream.

When you woke up, you heard muffled voices, you didn’t know where you were, you were disorientated, you could feel cold metal on your arms, as you were trying to find out where you were, you remembered the attack, ‘Cora’ you said in a hoarse voice, you felt a hand on your shoulder and you opened your eyes, you saw a figure standing over you he was fussy but when he started to talk you knew who it was ‘Y/N you're okay , you're fine’ you recognized the voice to that of deaton, and when your eyes fixed you could see him, you sat up a little too fast making you slightly dizzy ‘Cora, where's Cora she was with me, then the pack they……’  

‘Cora what, what happened to Cora? What do you mean Cora?’ you looked at the door way where there seemed to be someone ‘she was with me, the pack they attacked us’ the person from the door came out, he looked older and had more stubble than the last time you saw him but you knew who he was ‘Derek?’ you questioned he looked at you and nodded ‘what do you know about Cora?’ you looked at him worry evident on his face, shock as well ‘you didn’t know she was alive did you? She told me laura knew…. Me and Cora have been living in Mexico, since the fire, she found out that there might be a Hale that was an alpha here and, then were heard rumours that the pack was coming here, and so we came, we were in the woods looking for the pack, to get an idea of numbers when we were jumped i got hit first, and hit the floor, and then blacked out, but i hung on long enough to hear her scream…..he has her’

‘I never knew she was alive, and yes probably, her has two members of my pack as well’ derek said ‘hang on your pack?’ derek nodded ‘yes i’m the Hale alpha’ ‘i was the Hale alpha first actually, but you know he killed me so..’ you turned around and saw peter and rolled your eyes ‘ Ah yes Peter and you're probably the wolf that killed laura so, you kinda deserved it.’ you replied dryly ‘still with the sarcasm and the knowledge aren’t we Y/N’ you ‘yup’

‘Who the hell is this ‘he’ and how do you know her?’ you looked over your shoulder to see a kid that had a stupid haircut and was clearly human ‘i used to be part of their pack and my name is Y/N, so if you care to use it i would be grateful and he is someone you need not know about’ you said bluntly

You jumped off of the cold table and and looked at derek and said ‘we have to work together to find those he has taken.’ he looked at you and said ‘i wanna work with me?’ ‘can’t we just put the past behind us, i mean i want to find  Cora and stop him, and the was clearly to do that is to work with you so..’ ‘what do you mean put the past behind you?’ the kid with the stupid haircut asked ‘doesn’t matter and who are you?’ you asked ‘my name’s stiles and yes it does matter’

You rolled your eyes and looked at derek who cleared his throat not wanting to answer stiles’ question either, peter sensing that neither of you were gonna answer said ‘when Derek last saw Y/N he said somethings that might be considered hurtful to a young girl -’ ‘Peter just shut up, we don’t need to go over the situation again, please’ you said you looked at derek who turned around and didn’t face you, you rolled your eyes ‘Derek i forgave you a while ago, i mean doubt now you have the same thoughts running through your head considering you clearly don’t hang out with your old friends anymore and plus if you still think like that, i’m sure that even though you’re an alpha i can still put you on your ass’ peter smirked slightly and derek looked at him with a death glare.

‘What, you know she’s right.’ he said in defence, derek rolled his eyes and looked at you and said ‘well then you better come with us, i’ve got a spare room you can use.’ ‘i still have my own apartment, but if you got anymore info then sure i’ll come, but first i need to get my car’ you said as you walked out with derek a few steps behind you.

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 2X06 - Tallahassee

Who’s ready for a vacay?! I’m thinking Florida!

...I was kind of hoping for Disney, but *shrugs* whatever. 

Anyway, under the cut for my thoughts on this OUAT vacation.

Press Release With the hopes of finding a magical compass that could help her and Mary Margaret get back to Storybrooke, Emma takes a journey with a not-too-trustworthy Captain Hook up a treacherous beanstalk in an attempt to steal the item from a murderous giant. Meanwhile, Emma’s past is revealed to be anything but magical when she meets up with a fellow thief who wants to make an honest woman out of her. General Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness Past This was a really well put together segment! What makes it work for me is the care they brought to Neal while constructing his backstory in regards to Emma. It’s actually been a while since I’ve watched an episode with Neal in it, and I forgot about a lot of his charm and dedication. At the same time, the episode doesn’t make Neal perfect at any point, showing him be a thief and getting angry, exasperated, and even a little stupid. That stuff makes the betrayal of Emma’s trust, for as saddening as it is, feel like something that could feasibly happen, especially as the audience can interpret to some extent (Until it’s explicitly laid out a few episodes later).

I have an unpopular opinion among my fellow Emma fans. That is, I feel like she’s a character that doesn’t necessarily need a ton of backstory. That’s because episodes like these are so impactful for the exact reason that they're rarities. when someone lets Emma down in just one flashback, we understand how important that moment was to Emma and how it shaped that one facet of her personality so specifically. well, I feel like had they had too many Emma flashbacks, they wouldn’t have been as effective because they would have been akin to laying on a bed of nails: An overabundance of sob stories just makes one feel exhausted more than sympathetic and so much more of Emma’s depth is revealed from the parts of her that are not spoonfed, such as her one off lines about the effects of her lonely upbringing. Present I’ll go over this soon, but trust is a big theme of this episode, and Emma’s trust for Killian in the present is framed to be at a contrast with her trust for Neal in the past. And to a degree and not a small one, that does come through. There are a lot of subtle moments that show growth (Killian being able to read Emma, Emma confessing that she was in love once, Emma’s concern for Killian’s wellbeing). However, I feel like for in order for Emma’s betrayal at the end to make more sense as a move that frustrates but is still understandable, they should’ve shown a bit more growth in Emma’s trust for Killian. As it stands, their interactions feel like they more or less reset at the start of every new scene between them. Emma makes her distrust for Killian clear, the two of them do something (Climbing, knocking out Anton, exploring Anton’s castle), one of them gets in physical danger or something is otherwise exposed, and 1% of trust is added. I really feel like there should’ve been a bit more warmth or more obvious progress because not only on its own, but especially when compared to Emma and Neal’s story, it’s not as effective when Emma locks him up because I can’t help but feel like that’s something she probably would’ve done at the end of “The Doctor” too. What changed and does she regret her choice? It doesn’t seem to be the case because there’s not much within the segment itself to compare the moment to.

On a more positive note, in addition to just Killian’s interactions with Emma, we get a lot of insight into his character on his own. For instance, Killian, despite working for Cora, doesn’t trust her, adding to the later-on emphasized concern for self preservation. We also see the first of Killian’s signature impatience. It’s weird. After over 100 years in Neverland, Killian has definitely shown how patient he can be, but as his revenge gets closer, practically insight, we see how that patience just drops to nothing. One could conceivably even call that a fault in his character, but I’d argue against that given how we've also seen later on instances where Killian has had no patience with his revenge right in front of him, so it does make sense. It's also very interesting parallel to Rumple, who in later episodes is shown to experience similar behavior. All Encompassing The issue and theme of trust (Or rather, destroyed trust) is prevalent through the two main segments. In the past, Neal betrayed Emma’s trust, and taking from that experience, Emma betrays Killian’s trust (And to a smaller extent, Snow’s trust through not telling her about her favor from Mulan). This episode also has a really nifty parallel to its own predecessors. Now, in a lot of episodes of season 2 thus far, we’ve see characters internalizing a bad lesson in the past, but  rejecting it (mostly) in the present (Rumple being more cooperative with Belle’s needs, Regina refusing to inflict the same pain on Henry that Cora inflicted on her, and Regina being able to let go of Daniel). However, for the first time this season, we see a character who internalized that lesson in the past (protect yourself because you don't know when someone will betray you, even if you trust them), but actually refused to move on from it in the present. Emma, despite seeing and even acknowledging that she does to a large extent trusts Killian, still leaves him cuffed atop the beanstalk (“I can’t take a chance that I’m wrong about you.” Insights - Stream of Consciousness -I love Killian in his robes! He just looks so snuggly, even more so than usual! -”Bad form” makes what I believe is its first appearance! -Killian, watch that! That’s your soon-to-be mother-in-law talking! -I like how the mythology of the giants factors into the present story. Keeping in tune with one of the secondary themes of the episode -- that things are never what they seem -- the giant’s were described as brutes (As per Killian’s story), they were (As we later learn) more like isolationists and he war of giants and men was flipped from the known storyline. Watching this episode with the knowledge from “Tiny” already in mind makes all the scenes where the giant’s history is described so gruesome. -Has anyone ever written a fic where Cora actually does accompany Killian up the beanstalk? -”Emma Swan. Good name.” Am I the only one to connect this to Rumple’s “Emma. What a lovely name” line? -I know Neal gets a lot of flack for the “women” line, but I’m not entirely convinced that that was what he was going for. Instead, I feel like he’s playing to the cop’s sexism. I feel this way both because of the really over-the-top-but-in-a-way-that-one-can-tell-it’s-fake weasel-y smile he gives the cop and the “we” he says regarding his and Emma’s escape once the cop goes away. -”You’re not gonna argue with me?” “Would it do you any good?” I like that subtle display of Emma and Snow’s growing bond! -”Well, you never forget your first.” Now I really want to know what Killian’s first beanstalk was like! -Does anyone know what an Apollo bar is? Like, I know that it’s a fake candy bar, but what’s inside? -Random dude in the shop: Just yell “He’s stealing!” And why did you guys not chase after them?! -”Are you sure? Is this...what you really want?” MY POOR EMMA!!!! She’s been let down so many times! -I just realized that after the events of “Awake,” everyone in town had nightmares for months! How much you want to bet there was an Insomnia Club that was formed afterwards? XD -I like how Aurora’s grown to trust Snow so much given their rocky start! (Sleeping Snow, anyone?) -”It’s where the Final Battle was.” I know A&E had absolutely no knowledge as to the Season 6 finale, but I can’t help but snicker anyway. -”It’s rum, and a bloody waste of it.” I feel like this line would’ve worked better with that deleted scene from when they were climbing the giant’s beanstalk. -”Maybe I was once.” I find that this is such a good acknowledgment of trust that Emma now has in Killian. -How strong is Killian that he can get such a loud sound out of that simple pounding with a bone? -I love Anton’s costume! It’s so cuddly! -”I’m the worst human around!” I wonder how much Killian truly believes that. Like don’t get me wrong, Killian’s a baddie and a bad baddie, but does he consider himself worse than Rumple or was that line just part of the ruse? Because it’s Killian, I could honestly buy either. -Jack is so fucking extra. Who puts their own name on their sword?! -Emma just has the most beautiful hair ever! -I love seeing how much Emma’s willing to fight for her happiness when she knows she has it. As soon as Neal tells her he can’t go to Tallahassee, but instead needs to go to Canada, Emma’s all ready to go! -I sometimes forget just how Neal and Baelfire are the same person. It’s not like it’s executed badly or anything, but it’s such a change. -”You know your rights?” I’m not a cop by ANY means, but I’m pretty sure the cop has to actually say the rights (Correct me if I’m wrong). -”We do it side-by-side and fast.” Another line that shows Emma’s increasing trust for Killian! -”You gotta promise that you’ll be there for me.” “I promise.” LIAR! -”Money’s not what she needs.” August, she has roughly ten years left before she can break the curse AND she’s an ex-con. She might need that extra money! August, I’m not liking you in this episode! -How did August send Neal a postcard in his wooden form? -*Bites Anton to get freed* Emma, I don’t know what your dental plan (Or lack thereof) is, but stick with it! Also, more characters should bite to solve their problems! XD -Emma’s gotten so comfortable with a sword! -”You’re wrong.” [About all humans being killers] Emma, saying that while waving the sword isn’t helping your case. -”Now go before I change my mind.” Anton, you precious bean! You can see him trying and failing to be a badass! -”A jump from a beanstalk.” You’re one hell of a daredevil, Emma! Arcs - How are These Storylines Progressing? Emma and Snow getting back to Storybrooke - We get both half a means of a return journey as well as a future means of communication between the realms. Favorite Dynamic Emma and Anton - I honestly stuck this here because I figure I have talked (And will talk) about the other main dynamics, so why not go a touch more obscure?! So, what I like about Emma and Anton’s connection is something that connects her to both Neal and Killian, but gets its due emphasis here: Emma and Anton believe themselves to be alone and have learned not to trust others. And Emma, after understanding Anton’s story, position, and his victimization at the hands of those who bastardized his history, she shows him understanding and compassion, and Anton returns that. Writer We’ve once again got one new writer (Christine Boylan) and one old writer (Jane Espenson). It’s a pretty decent premiere! The past segment especially was fantastic, painting a story about Emma and Neal that was simple, but it worked for that reason. The present segment, well I have a bit more issues with it.  I feel like there was this tug of war. they wanted to keep the characters consistent but also tell a story about trust and how Emma’s past ruined that growing trust, and while it’s possible to do that, the journey needed more room for more overt growth. Now, I like the more subtle shows of growing trust (As I said before, confessions of love from the past and concern for each other), but it also felt like those subtle bits didn’t really move Emma and Killian anywhere meaningful, making the climactic moment fall flat, and that’s frustrating because I can't help it feel like this was easily fixable. Why couldn’t Emma and Killian have a moment where they were talking a bit more comfortably, perhaps right before the scene before Anton re-enters the castle, and Killian says something that echoes something Neal said to her in the past segment (Think like when Felix called Calhoun a “dynamite gal” in Wreck It Ralph)? It would’ve contributed more to the crossroad that Emma found herself at the end of the episode and would make her decision (Again) more understandable for as frustrating as it is. Rating 7/10. I really hate giving this episode this score. It’s an okay score for an okay episode, but after the first five episodes of the season scored 10’s or Golden Apples, it feels worse than it actually is to have to put that number down. I loved this walk through of Emma’s experiences with trust. It paints this really vivid image of the types of disappointments that Emma has seen through her lifetime of abandonment, but gave a good deal of nuance and understanding to Neal, someone who ordinarily may have been just straight up villainized. I took points because I felt that there could’ve been just a bit stronger of a growing trust between Killian and Emma. I felt it, but to be a parallel to what Neal and Emma had, I just wish it was stronger because it really just feels like Emma did exactly what she would’ve done to Killian in the previous episode. I want to see her journey and previous experiences shape her actions and while I felt like it was done okay, it was still too weak to contribute to what should’ve been a more tragic payoff. Flip My Ship - Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness” Captain Swan - “Don’t think I’m taking my eyes off you for a second.” “I’d despair if you did.” Those two lines are just the best! Everything one would want from chemistry to animosity is there and it’s just fantastic! The same goes for the famous “I love a challenge line!” Also, in two weird CS/SF parallels, (1) Neal calls he and Emma a we, whereas Emma calls she and Killian “we,” and (2), Neal calls their escape “home” to Emma in the past and Emma does the same with Killian in the present. Also also, I just genuinely love the way Emma worries for Killian after the giant falls, shouting “Hook” as loud as she can. Also, also, also, “Everything we need is right in front of us.” Note how the two of them were looking at each other. Swan Fire - I like how in Emma and Neal’s first scene, Emma raises an impressed eyebrow to Neal as he’s lying to the cop. It’s such a sign that she’d found a kindred spirit! It’s also reinforced when Emma smiles at Neal’s second request for drinks. I like how Neal upgrades their lied about relationship from “girlfriend” to “wife,” subtly signifying how their relationship has truly grown. Also, “this little guy saved us!” I know that was totally not intended to be about Henry necesaarily, but fuck it, I’mma imagine it! Also, the kiss afterwards was adorable as all hell! As was the conversation in the hotel room, and it makes their tragic downfall all the more tragic! Also, there’s a Snowing parallel I just noticed! In the hotel scene in the flashback, Emma talks about how dreamcatchers (Which is kind of her thing with Neal) kept the bad dreams away. Meanwhile,  Charming used a candle (Fire = Balefire)  to ward the nightmares off from Snow. Also also, “what you want” seems to be a bit of a line between them, akin to “I will always find you” and “I’m a survivor,” said twice by Emma -- once to confirm and again to reaffirm her dedication to Neal! Finally, I just love how Neal initially stands up to August on Emma’s behalf when he says he’s her guardian angel. ()()()()()()()()() Thank you for reading! And to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales to putting this project together and helping me keep the lights on! 

Next time, let’s hang out with some moon kids! Season 2 Tally (57/220) Writer Tally for Season 2: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis: (20/60) Jane Espenson (17/50) Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (10/50) David Goodman (10/30) Robert Hull (10/30) Christine Boylan (7/30)

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