Rumsy4

Speaking of Dark Curses, why did Rumple make Dark Curse 1 so complicated? Or was it all Regina's doing? Who decided that Dark Curse 1.0 would create a town that was a) Magic-less b) Frozen in time, and c) where everyone was magically roofied into false identities/memories, and d) a Failsafe Trigger? None of these clauses were associated with the Dark Curse 2.0 cast by Snowing/Regina. This means Curse 1.0 could have been cast the same way. All Rumple wanted to do was come to the Real World to find his son, and he had manipulated the situation enough by making Regina unable to harm Snow in the Enchanted Forest. There wouldn't even have been a need for losing his memories, or even for a savior. From what Rumple said in 3.10 or 3.11, Pan's Curse was supposed to have been tailored to suit his purposes, as Regina's had been tailored to her specifications. The problem is, I don't see Regina not wanting to bring Magic over the first time, had she known she could. Now, I know that I am thinking retroactively here--Adam and Eddy came up with the Original Dark Curse, and then have subsequently cheapened it (IMO) by making it less potent and letting multiple people cast it. No wonder there are some people now confused about the nature of the First Curse as well. Rumple needed a product of True Love to break the original Dark Curse he had made. Any True Love child (say Phillip and Aurora's baby) might have done the trick. However, he was able to simultaneously manipulate Regina, Snow, and Charming. He obtained the "DNA" of Snow and Charming so their child, who would be the product of True Love, could break his Curse. So he got the Curse Caster, and the parents of the Curse Breaker at the same time. Even if Rumple had got Zelena to cast the Dark Curse for him back then (provided she had found someone she loved more than Rumple to sacrifice), Rumple would have still waited until he had made his True Love potion, and the True Love baby was in the offing before he handed over the Dark Curse to Zelena to Cast.

Taking further discussion about the Curse to the All Season's Thread.

Well yes--Emma was the only one who could break Dark Curse 1. Rumple wrote her in as the savior. Dark Curse 2 did not need breaking. Regina's True Love's kiss only broke Zelena's Memory Curse.

Why do you think Zelena's Memory Curse was the same as Regina's Original Recipe Dark Curse? Why did Rumple bother writing-in a True Love clause to break it then?

Yeah--she is not the savior anymore--she was written in as the saviour for the First Curse, and she broke it. It makes no sense to keep calling her that. Now, she is a powerful magical being (a White Witch, if you will), who is developing her abilities.

As Regina could leave Storybrooke anytime she wanted, she would have made it her life's work to find Snow White and Emma, and kill them (would it break the Curse if Emma wasn't in Storybrooke when she died?) or at least make like hell for them. Don't tempt me, Frodo...

The casting departmenr for ONCE has generally been phenomenal, so I feel hopeful. The Kristoff actor looks soo adorable!!!

The only Curse that needed to broken the second time was Zelena's Memory Curse,so no savor was needed or required. As for their plan, short of hiring Emma to do a job in Storybrooke and hoping that they could restore her memory somehow by True Love's Kiss via Henry, I don't think Snowing or Regina had a plan (despite sitting around for months in the Enchanted Forest, apparently). Storybrooke 2.0 not only cheapened the concept of the Dark Curse, but also the sacrifice and heart-break at the end of Going Home. Not to mention the awful part of Emma's "I LOVE NEW YORK" arc.

Emma was the savior of the first curse--no one else could have broken it.

We need to remember that no one knew the specifics of the Dark Curse--which is why they were desperate to try and get Emma and Snow away through the Enchanted Wardrobe. Hindsight is 20/20. When people are in desperate situations--which all the Cursed people were because of Regina--they are forced to make difficult choices. If Emma had made it to Storybrooke as an infant, knowing that she was to be the savior, Regina would have kept her locked up in a sealed chamber, most likely under a Sleeping Curse, so she would never be able to break the Dark Curse. Even if, by some miracle, 28 years later, infant Emma had been kissed by Mary Margaret (David was in a coma) and had woken up, she still would have gone through three decades of imprisonment as a newborn, at the very least. I just don't see Regina letting infant Emma come to Storybrooke and just leaving her alone, when she well knew that Emma was the savior. She couldn't kill the infant (or the Curse would be broken), but she could make life hell for her.

Considering, Rumple himself was cursed and did not remember anything until he heard Emma's name, he could not have found a way to break the Curse. Besides, why would Snow and Charming have known about his intentions to find his son, or that he would help them? He was the reason the Curse was created, and Emma was made the savor. He even told Regina that the Charming's baby would break the Curse, spurring her on to try and kill newborn Emma. Also, we can't compare Curse 1 and Curse 2. For Curse 1, Emma was specifically written-in as the savior--no one else could have broken it. Regina's True Love's kiss of Henry in 3B only broke Zelena's Memory Curse.

I love the idea of Rumple being the hidden bad guy from now, but my favorite scenario is that, give her a couple of years to get used to this land, and Marian can run for Mayor. She is unrelated to Henry (no neopotism), has integrity, and in my head, will refuse to drink the victim-blamey kool-aid everyone else seems to have drunk.

If we are lucky, we'll get a 5 minute flasback explaining it in the Season 4 finale. :-p

Will check it out, Souris! I'm having the same problem with writing right now. I have so many ideas for two multi-chapter fics, but am having trouble putting them down. I finally got a beta, and that's been helpful. I too am sad about Secret of Drowning, and Bested Thrice, another abandoned WiP,

It seems the answer is just magic/fate though, considering it just appeared when needed.

There is a fantastic CS AU fic (Peace I leave With You) where Hook came over with the Curse and was given a Curse identity as an episcopal priest. The fic shows his struggle in dealing with the dichotomy of the two personas. However, Blue and the other fairies don't seem to have any "we are both" struggles with respect to their Storybrooke identity as nuns.

I feel like I'm spamming this thread today, but here's another fic rec: AU after the end of Going Home. Mainly a CS fic, but has Snowing and OQ as well. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10397656/1/I-Almost-Do

Regina's default attitude is that of someone put upon by other people. That speech she gave Emma in Pan's Cave that she had nobody (unlike Emma) is one big example, because she doesn't realize or acknowledge that a lot of it (not all) has been her own fault. She still blames Snow for not thinking about consequences, but refuses to consider her own. Despite their bonding over Cora's ghost, Regina continues to feel resentful that Snow had a better relationship with her mother (Eva) than Regina did with hers (Cora). She looks on herself as the victim of Emma's actions in bringing Marian back to the future with her, rather than understanding that Marian, Robin, and Roland are in fact, victims of her past acts. I am not saying that Regina is unredeemable or that she hasn't changed. However, I do think that she seems to have skipped-over some key steps in character growth, and she still has a long way to go.

Yeah the author of When Doves Cry is on a hiatus now. Muahaha... gosh, I love that fic! But the angst is killing me right now. BK is on a road trip, so no updates for that either. :-p I've added it to my favs, sharky! I look forward to reading it!

But Regina specifically said she does not regret any of the horrible things she did--she never said I don't regret the good that came of it. She does not regret her actions. She has also not expressed any remorse for casting the Curse, or murdering villagers, etc., even if we consider them to be separate things. Even now, at her core, she sees herself as a victim, and refuses to take responsibility for the "collateral damage" she inflicted on other people. Regina needs to truly realize how much she has wronged other people before I can buy her redemption.

And When Doves Cry, which may not get updated for a while... Lady Silverblood has started a Steampunk CS-AU. Can't wait to read it! https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10494984/1/The-Lightbearers

I have started a thread to discuss Marian here. First topic for discussion: did she do right by being willing to die protecting Snow White, and does that make her a bad mother? (Sorry for the lame thread title).

I agree Serena. I'll start one.

She is actually being a good person, which includes being a good mother, by refusing to give in to tyranny. As I see it, it's not an either/or choice between resisting evil authority or being a good mother.

She does have a soft spot for children--with gravy, not butter. Sorry! :-p