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OnceUponSomeChaos

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  1. I am still dying to see momofthelemur's "The Secret of Drowning" updated. Last done in 2013.. (sigh) The sadness of old fics not being updated.. (and yes, I realize I can take 1-3 months sometimes to update but life gets in the way and I hate posting un-beta'd) It is frustrating as a writer to see crap get a million reviews just because they have a tumblr following and a lot of the fandom doesn't seem to care about grammar (or if it is smutty, semi-realistic sex), whereas you don't get near as much. It is hard to attract a following, and then much of that following will stay silent. I do say, put in your profile you welcome feedback and constructive criticism. Some authors only want flailing and if you say anything that isn't, the followers will jump on you (sigh).
  2. This was my favorite episode since the 3b finale. Did it have some continuity and some plot holes? Yes. But less so than some episodes. Did it have character development and move the story forward in an awesome way? YES. Disclaimer: I totally love Captain Swan and happily admit my view of the episode shows as much. I've read most of the posts so here are some issues pointed out that I think can be addressed. --I don't think it is proven that Hook sold his ship to Blackbeard: Hook could have easily learned Blackbeard was aboard the Jolly Roger at some point in the last six weeks from Emma, who would know because of Anna and Elsa and the fact that Blackbeard tried to kill Anna and Kristoff. I cannot see Blackbeard giving Hook a bean in trade for the Jolly Roger after Hook tried to kill him. I mean, at that point, Hook no longer had any of his crew to back him up. Blackbeard would have just taken the ship and killed Hook. #headcanon --I think those who mentioned that Hook's worry about losing his happy ending stems from three things: 1) Hook was one of the villains in this story, and 2) he felt very guilty for being one because this is the guy who is all "Good Form" and he broke his sworn oath to Ursula he wouldn't take her voice, then he did. 3) To me, Hook would view this as the WORST thing someone could ever do. Sure he can trade villain sides like crazy but he never swears allegiance to them, much less to someone quite innocent who gave him his first moment of peace in over a century. So I feel Hook views his history with Ursula as the most villainous act he's done. Returning the happy ending that he personally helped steal (not the author) isn't in the same ballpark as all other villains. Plus, he's feeling the dark villain part of him again and feels like he hasn't changed, that he doesn't deserve Emma, and then there is his past history on what happens to those he cares about (they all die). I don't think he believes the book dictates his happy ending, so much as using it as a way to vocalize how he is afraid he's going to lose her, and she is everything. (swoon) --Yes Elsa was obviously careless about trapping Ariel (hand waves logistics, the mushroom juice not affecting the bottle.. etc.. we all know those problems), but I can find a reason for Ariel to be there. I think she heard how Blackbeard was terrorizing Arandelle and felt guilty b/c she was the one who saved him to find Eric. So given how Ariel is, she'd go to help out and put Blackbeard in his place. Her timing was just conveniently inconvenient, much like the wishing star/stone was to save Anna and Kristoff just before they drowned. As it so often is on TV shows aka the "nick of time" trope.. "wrong place, wrong time" in Ariel's case. I can't really blame a show about fairy tales for using it. More to add later, but all-in-all, I thought it was strong. Though I would have killed to have Smee ask Poseidon.. "Are you a God?"
  3. Reread what you quoted again. I was talking about how Hook is the only one who uses "Swan" (last name) as an actual name (anyone else has used "Miss" before it) and therefore he's the only one who calls Emma by her last name like it's a first name. Because he does this, I can see how she would logically follow his example (in AU) to call him by his last name instead of his first, although not necessarily all the time. It could easily be a thing between them, and only them, even if she calls everyone else by their first names. Although technically.. everyone called Peter Pan "Pan".. which is kinda like his last name... :-)
  4. Well, Emma also isn't the type person to leave someone she's been working on a team with chained at the top of a beanstalk. The closest Emma has come to ever letting anyone die is almost allowing Regina to sacrifice herself at the end of season 2. She saved Regina from the wraith, she protected Rumple from Cora, she doesn't leave people behind. There there's Hook, who she almost left tied to a tree as ogre food and then chained at the top of the beanstalk (and she can't even articulate why when he asks.. b/c she's terrified of what he can make her feel in such a short time), then left in a basement in NY ("Not like I haven't done it before.." - aided by Colin's broken leg of course)... Then even though she should be far angrier at Regina or her parents or ANYONE, she takes all that anger out on Hook in 3B. She has history of pushing Hook away, and the impartial last name is another way to do it. Emma is the only one Hook uses the last name for, although he does occasionally use titles (your majesty, the prince, etc), and honestly, writing the name "Hook" into every fic when he doesn't have the hook is something I find more annoying. And you don't make his name "Killian Hook" because it is in fact "Jones". A lot of AU situations, it makes sense she'd use his last name. It can be common in college fics, roommate fics, partners, etc. It is interesting seeing what bothers others though. :-)
  5. I'm a little late to the party (holidays) but wanted to comment on some stuff mentioned above. I have Emma calling Killian "Jones" in my fic Missing Pieces (canon divergent fic where Pan's curse doesn't take him) because it involves Altered-Memory-Emma and when he introduces himself, he uses his real name and leaves out the moniker of "Hook". Staying in line with typical Emma, she uses his last name when talking to him for the most part for distancing reasons. I also have the peeves of characters cursing (at least out loud) in fics because the show is on ABC so they can't and it just sounds wrong. In their minds is another story... I can let it go a bit more in total AU, but if it's in their real universe.. just no. Ditto on the "Emma accidentally gets pregnant" trope. I'm sorry but she's been there, done that at 16 and is smart enough to make sure that never happens again. If/when Emma gets pregnant, it will be very intentional. And I never got into the The Daring and the Devious, mostly b/c I coudn't get past the horrible punctuation. It's shame too, because the story appeared to have merit but reading it just irritated me. I'll have to check out karmacanaries new fic. I usually like her and she finishes her stories.
  6. So I wrote a deleted scene because I have issues with the entire "Hook would never ever agree to whatever it takes with Rumple" plot line (because while he might make a deal, he's not stupid...). It still fits canon as of 4x06 but I'm sure the show will ruin it by tonight.. And yes, you can designate pairings on ff.net but it is limited to only two pairings per fic (and also has a limited number of characters you can tag), whereas A03 has an unlimited number of both.
  7. I've never had any bashing review problems on AO3 or FF.net (only on things posted to tumblr). I tend not to tag people on tumblr if the fic isn't "pro" them, but on fics on AO3, I will tag all the people in it, and I will also mark the pairings so it's obvious which ships are featured. I do have review approval set up on ff.net for spam/trolls but never had an issue that I can remember. I do ask for feedback. I think the "worst" I've gotten is the "Neal bashing"" in the Once Upon a Tweet fics or "More of this character, usually Rumple or Regina". I can see how your fic which actually addresses characters acknowledging the past actions of another character might rub some the wrong way, but it's your fic, your interpretation, and you can make her however you want...
  8. I've finally started updating my "Missing Pieces" fic the last week (two updates) after a three month hiatus. It's a continuation of my "Leaving Neverland" fic, but mostly follows canon until Pan's Curse hits, and addresses one of the major issues I had with that plot line. Totally, shamelessly Captain Swan. :-)
  9. Okay, to answer a few questions brought up above: 1. Regarding Wonderland and the curse: Jefferson came to Storybrooke in S1 from Neverland, so the first curse did in fact reach that far and thus why Regina wanted Cora taken care of. 2. Regarding justice in Storybrooke: Ever since magic arrived, the normal justice system has pretty much been out the window. You have super powerful Regina, Rumple, Cora, Zelena, etc etc and face it, the jail won't be able to hold those that really need it and they don't appear to have a prison or the like to house those who they can't let out (because in curse-world Storybrooke, each day was repetitive and you didn't need to) and they can't actually process and send anyone to prison because they can't cross the town line (in theory for curse #2, fact for curse #1). So they are left just dealing with things on a case-by-case basis and unless someone goes to far and really disrupts the peace, there isn't a lot they can do. No one has actually tried to press charges on anyone either since the curse broke, and frankly if they did, most of the main cast would be locked up for felonies like murder/manslaughter/assault/theft/ etc. In 4x02, it actually really bothered me how David went into Bo-Peeps shop. His actions were an abuse of power. Peep hadn't done anything (well, until she raised the cleaver), and David stole her shepard's crook because HE needed it, and he had no right to. Boom: sheriff (deputy?) broke the law. So really, they're just trying to keep anarchy from taking over and if people work it out among themselves, they let them b/c with only two jail cells, it would be really, really crowded. 3. King George: Maybe he's in a cell next to where Sydney is? The show seems to be using the mental asylum for long-term criminal care. 4. Rumple finding Bae: Rumple, from the moment he met the seer, always put 100% stock into it being true. Hearing how long it would take to find Bae and where, he took steps to make that happen and never thought to realize he could try something else because it was prophecy. I think he had to do this because otherwise he would've had to accept there would have been another way out of the initial one he would die if he fought, resulting in him self-crippling his leg and the fall out of the rest of his life. Rumple is sharp and cunning, but not when it comes to his personal life. 5. Emma leaving Will in jail: Will did destroy property, was caught in Robin's tent, and ran from capture, so really, there are a few things they could write him up on. I read Emma's "you ruined my date" excuse as just that, an excuse, because hopefully she can tell he's lying about something and has information. Plus he was obviously very intoxicated, and there was precedent from S1 of Grumpy being in the drunk tank. But really, Will is there so he can escape, because they still have beta-max for security in a place where magic can alter it, and no budget to actually have someone stay overnight (nor do they typically need to). 6. It's a show about fairy tales: Logic about how our world works or things like their education system (has Henry even been back to school? Who is teaching Mary Margaret's class because she hasn't in forever? Where do the food supplies come from? Can three people decide Snow is mayor without having an actual election? etc etc) are pretty much ignored. I know guest stars and cast members leaving often necessitate dropped plot (King George, who I would love to see again). I can hand wave a lot away as "curse did it" "magic did it" because you have to. It's when the character moments are dropped or forgotten that I dream of finding Adam & Eddie and the writers and going "Seriously? I can get Snow tolerating Regina, and Emma getting along b/c of the two mom's thing, but have they all forgotten that Regina is the reason they gave Emma up, that Regina tried to kill Emma as a newborn and nearly killed Charmz, and that she killed Graham and tried to poison Emma and nearly killed Henry in the process... etc. etc."
  10. Yeah, I pretty much agree with all of this. Having the same character do the same thing over and over--just no. If they make it brief, because well, Hook can be a bit emotional and reactive when it comes to Rumple (that whole plotting to kill him for 300 years can be hard to shake), so I can see him making a mistake. But he's a strategist who has survived more villains trying to kill him than most (and holds the record for number of people nearly ripping his heart out of his chest). I can accept he did the round-and-round blackmail loop with Rumple to see precisely what Rumple had planned so Hook could plan the perfect offense. All of which involve telling someone who is likely to trust him. If they even have him do the lying thing after Emma just told him the previous night "Of course I trust you!" I might have to stop watching and rewrite my own in character canon. Because remember, show, you established Hook as smart, the one person who saw through Rumple's lies. He'd know being the Dark One's minion even for a short while would only make things far worse. If Hook confesses, it will also become clear that he could have been lying about knowing Anna and Elsa and people might get some answers. And then if he brings up the altered video tape, SOMEONE should question if Zelena really killed herself. Because I love a good villain, but everyone constantly forgetting the bad stuff the villains have done and white washing their past drives me crazy. (Belle and everything Rumple, Henry with Regina who HE called evil in season 1, Emma swearing to bring Regina a happy ending and does she even get how Regina killed Graham? oh and the fact she was only an orphan because of Regina? Has she ever confronted Regina about that, like ever?). The reason I believe Hook's redemption is he wasn't a bad guy to start. He went from revenge as a motivation to learning it was empty and would do anything for Emma (or her family) now. He's motivated by love. Rumple also began as a decent man, but he was afraid. His love for Bae made him so afraid he sought out power, which corrupted him. Throughout most of the series, that was his motivation: Bae (who is dead). Now Bae is dead, his reason for putting everything in motion for the curse is gone, and he's married to Belle, but it's a relationship built on lies. Unless he feels the sorcerer's hat is a way to bring back Bae, I can't see how the character could continue justifying his actions at risk of harming his relationship with Belle (although she feels he can do no wrong, so there's that). And Hook and Rumple: they hate each other and I love to watch them play off one another. I'm convinced Rumple really did use magic to make Hook's hand act up (he would have wanted a guarantee so he could get payback for being blackmailed the first time), but it's a revenge much sweeter when Hook feels he himself was the cause. Just my opinion. I would happily welcome more perfect Snowing scenes like tonight's. Snow was beaming rainbows out of every orifice and actually put the baby down (poor Dave missed his chance) to take the Polaroid. We finally saw her caring about Emma, and David was perfect. The date stuff, the set up, the date, the dropping off, was fabulous. Henry playing Gold with his "I want to be closer to my dad" line was both brilliant (b/c someone played Gold) and sad, because out of all the characters, Henry isn't supposed to be like that.
  11. Okay, and I'm sorry.. but I have to mention the promo WTF moment. Why is there a shot from "Going Home" (3x11) of them running through Storybrooke? I mean, sure it has Belle, Granny, and the other main cast but it also has Neal.. who is dead.. And a pregnant-but-trying-not-to-show-it Snow... I mean, were there no other shots of the cast running through town that didn't contain dead characters? Did they really need to fluff the promo that much to add those three seconds that are from almost a year ago?
  12. Okay, my favorite things: "I don't pillage and plunder on the first day, just so you know." "That's because you haven't been out with me yet." I had an actual "awww" moment with Henry saying he wanted Emma to be happy. Snowing and everything to do with Emma's date was the most adorable thing in forever and the first time I haven't hated Snow in a while in regards to Emma SparkleDark! Rumple in the past.. then having him bested by Anna was a twist I didn't see coming. My issues I honestly don't believe Hook would be that stupid (in love idiot or not) to get into such a deal with Rumple. Sacrifice for plot, ugh. I also think he learned his lesson the last time he didn't tell Emma the truth. She says she trusts him, she'd believe him over Rumple, especially if he explained about the dagger thing. So either Hook could ask Emma to have Belle summon Rumple with the dagger (proving Hook is right about Rumple lying when it doesn't work), or Belle does and could force Rumple to tell the truth about everything. Boom. End of plot angst, and Hook would be smart enough to figure that out. Just.. UGH. Henry's duplicity with Rumple was interesting, but someone please teach the boy to sweep. Special effects issues, but those typically go without saying. Rumple is still a lying liar who lies and appears to have regressed completely, without any reason other than power, because he no longer has getting to Bae and having him forgive him as a goal, yet he has no issues of continued duplicity with the wife he supposedly loves? Um.. Not sure how I feel about the Apprentice stuff in the show. It suddenly appears, unprotected in a house that wasn't there before for Rumple's honeymoon, but the apprentice is still in town? Huh? Seems like a major plot hole to me.
  13. I don't suppose any of you fanfic readers are also grammar nazi beta-readers? My beta has a full schedule and now that summer is over and I can write without my children interrupting every five minutes, I'd really like to post some more (and loving season 4 so far, so that helps with inspiration). Message me if you'd be willing. I typically do not like AU fics at all (what's the point if you change the characters and their circumstances completely?), but Put Me in Coach was so well written, it would've been perfect even if it hadn't been fan fiction, and one of my favorite pieces. I have really enjoyed karmacanaries "These Dreams", and most things written by msgenevieve as well.
  14. So this episode had a lot of good and a lot of bad: most of which has been mentioned (though people fall into different camps on where they file each). The Good: - Captain Swan at the end (dear lord, that hug..the looks, the hand holding, the cuddling). It's so nice to see Emma with her walls down and - Captain Charming (I love having David and Hook work together and have sense Good Form), from the "intentions talk" to the end where I think David finally "sees" exactly how much Emma means to Hook - Very little Woegina (I love Lana, and Regina at times, but the premiere was everything I hate about Regina...), - Some witty dialogue that made me smile. - Dairy Queen (though freezing your shop seems counterproductive just to hit the audience over the head that "Yes! She has freezing powers too, in case you missed the cream freezing.. and she's evil! She put her finger IN the ice cream! Only a villain or a three year old would do that!"). This show has no idea what "subtle" means, but still, cool entrance (yes, intended pun... you just can't help it). -SnowSwan bonding (Emma has needed a girlfriend that wasn't Snow's first forever), - Bo Peep as a butcher (although her Enchanted Forest persona reminded me more of a madam of a whorehouse). Still, what has kept her from hacking up people that have pissed her off? Contaminating the meet? I wonder if Rumple keeps her in line.... The WTF: - A crow messenger when texting would suffice.. or an email. - Hook's accent (which sounded more like the Knave's/Will Scarlet) during the early scenes about "world's largest ice bucket". - Hook's sudden unexplained grasp of multiple technology things (I mean a simple line about "Guess having Henry teach you how to Google has paid off...."). - Knowing where Snowing's space heater was when David would have been far more likely to grab such a thing. - David's wig (I kept wanting him to start belting out Bon Jovi). - Snow's outfit (about as unflattering as it could possibly be). - Belle just accepting Rumple couldn't help (I know for plot reasons, but the Dark One IS capable of finesse). - I'm just going to fan wank that Mary Margaret didn't have a walkie-talkie and there was no cell signal by the back up generator, so while David frantically kept trying to tell MM that Emma was in danger, none of the calls went through but she's going to be like "David, why are there 13 voice mail messages from you?" when she pulls out her phone, b/c she still won't have noticed Emma shivering and cuddling with Hook. The Bad: - Snow fixing the power without any help. The town has to have someone to do such things (hello, wasn't that Grumpy?) and even if there wasn't, she shouldn't have been left alone to deal with it with a newborn. Postpartum is not a pleasant time, y'all. - If Snow is mayor, then she should live in the Mayor's house. Kick Regina's butt out and take the perks with the job. "MY curse, my house." - Snow's complete nonreaction to Emma in the apartment (she didn't even glance at Emma or ask how she was, or anything, continuing the Snow character assassination that began in season 2 but spiraled out of control in Neverland when one day she swore to spend the rest of her life making it up to Emma and then declared she'd stay in Neverland w/ DreamshadeDavid without even thinking about it (yeah, I'm still mad, and keep getting more so). While David has finally come up to snuff as her dad (they never had scenes prior), the show continues to be unable to have Emma have a good relationship with both parents at the same time. Mary Margaret in season 1 was more of a parent to Emma then then after the memories returned, although their scenes in the Enchanted Forest in season 2 were ok, before Storybrooke killed BanditSnow. Sorry for the rant on this, but Snow was my favorite, and now I usually cringe when she's onscreen (though her rant about lack of sleep and nursing was awesome, cuz I have been there, done that, and lost it so it was remarkably believable for a show that often screws up parenthood). - The special effects: Outside of flying monkeys and Pappy Troll, the special effects on this show are so... yeah. I wish they had a cable budget. And something that I haven't seen anyone mention yet: - The conundrum that if Charmz and Kristoff were supposedly such bffs, and Charms and his mother were going to his wedding, then since Anna left Arandelle the day of her wedding(or the day before.. I can't remember), that David and Ruth would NOT have been home when Anna arrived in the Enchanted Forest, she'd have found an empty farm because they would've been in or en-route to Arandelle. You can't be in two places at once, and say you'll be in two places at once, but then suddenly be clairvoyant that a wedding will be called off (I don't see Elsa sending crows a la Regina all across the land so everyone should have shown up as if the wedding was still one) so you can fill in random back story so Charming can know Anna and be able to talk Elsa into using her magic. I do have to say, I have not been a fan of Rumple or Regina this season (so I'm glad they weren't around this episode). People complain how the cast is large and they keep "wasting time with new villains". Yes, this is a show about fairytales so you need villains, but when you rehabilitate your previous ones that took that time in the earlier seasons, you have to replace it with something (the new ones) or keep Rumple and Regina evil (and you can't because well, they'd either get locked away, trapped, or killed, and A&E loves R&R far to much to do that. This is why the season 3 finale worked: it was like a season 1 revisit with all the favorite villains in their roles again, deliciously evil. It kinda makes me wish we'd spent the first half of the season back in time, because I would've watched the heck out of that show. There is also a part of me that wants magic to disappear from Storybrooke again. Needing to find a reason why Regina and Rumple can't save the day "I'll kill your girlfriend." "I'm moping." just makes the plot clunky with ridiculous excuses. I think I would enjoy them again if they lost their "all powerful" nature, with the added twist that Emma's magic CAN still work in Storybrooke (as she's been shown to have magic work outside of SB and thus not in magical land). I'm a bit worried that the promo has the DairyQueen all out and defeated in one episode... and King George and Bo Peep need to team up. Still, a good episode even w/ the plot holes, and entertaining to watch.
  15. I'm torn between the best and worst, because every season has definitely had a mixed bag. I have to rank most of 2B as "the worst" because I feel it had the most pointless plots, the absolute worst villains (who weren't even real villains but incompetent and boring minions of "The Home Office"), flip-flopping Woegine, and perhaps worst of all: that (to me) is when the show basically destroyed Snow/Mary Margaret's character, who had been the reason I started watching the show. Suddenly the strong person from the Enchanted Forest (who we saw glimmers of when she didn't even remember being Snow in season 1), became this passive person who showed more concern for Woegina then her own daughter. 3A nailed the final nail in Snow's coffin (IMO) when she went from one episode declaring to spend the rest of her life proving to Emma she was loved (I forget the actual line, but it was in Lost Girl), to instantly being willing to abandon Emma forever (again) to stay in Neverland with Charming. Not even a second thought from the woman who a season prior jumped into a portal after Emma. 3A did make David likeable again (and honestly, I never really liked David, though I loved Enchanted Forest Charming from season 1) and I admit to being a huge Captain Swan fan and also loved the Captain Charming bromance that began. I think the biggest issues of 3A were: A) the flashbacks were basically useless and unneeded, in a time I wanted to see Neverland flashbacks that actual... furthered the story) and B) they missed so much potential in plot in Neverland. We never saw Tink and Pan share screen time, the relationship between Hook and Bae was turned into a ridiculous and pointless love triangle after the amazing flashbacks in the season 2 finale, and the "dangers of Neverland" were almost nonexistent unless you actually attacked Pan or ran into a dreamshade bush. I don't know if they were afraid of ratings if it went "dark" but Pan turned into all talk and zero follow through while in Neverland and someone that psychotic should have done SOMETHING. Oh yeah, and the whole Panfather thing just made me roll my eyes... I still think 1A has some of my favorite episodes and one of the stronger arcs (thought it's hard to judge b/c season 1 and 2 were written in as three-parters versus two arcs). Hat Trick (season 1) is still one of my favorite episodes, but I did love the time traveling in the last two of season 3 (it could have been horrible, but it allowed us to see the characters back in the EF when many were at their best/worst, and having Emma actually show emotion with the Captain Swan feels). While I loved the end of 3B, I disliked most of Zelena's backstory and her episodes, however, because she just seemed... flat and pointless. I didn't like the "oh, surprise, you have a sister never even hinted at before" plot line because it lacked the originality that drew me to the series and instead was pretty much a straight cliche of every cliche that ever existed. And when you have a lacking villain (cough Greg cough Tamara cough cough) it's renders so much of those episodes useless. I have to say, I'm surprised that (so far) I don't mind the Frozen storyline of 4A. I'm aware we lost most of the premiere setting it up, and I'm hoping it doesn't continue to take much needed screen time away from the huge main cast and instead enhances them. I'm most concerned about the return of flip-flopping Woegina, who has gone from using white magic (yesterday) to enslaving Sydney in the mirror again (and supposedly having him locked up through not one but two curses....because they couldn't think of another creative reason for his absence??) and plotted time travel (hello, sacrifice of an innocent?, not to mention brain and heart stealing). Suddenly after four days (maybe a week tops) with Robin Hood, she's ready to lose it? Just ugh. I know Regina is the very epitome of self-centered, but it pretty much eliminates any character growth if she acts on it. And I'm sorry but the "Do you want to build a snowman?" scene w/ Emma and Regina, where Emma promises to bring back the happy endings... and every writer seems to have forgotten that Emma's life was so damn miserable because REGINA enacted a curse, tried to kill Emma as an infant, nearly killed Charming, and is the reason she spent her life as a Lost Girl? She can blame her parents, but not Regina, never Regina.. (sigh).. So I can't pick a favorite arc, though I loved 1A and watching Snowing develop in flashbacks, the battling between Regina and Emma, etc, because my favorite episodes are scattered throughout most of the half seasons, although 2B ranks the lowest overall for me.
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