CS Spotlight: Heart of the Truest Believer

thisisevenharderthannamingablog:

It’s been a while since I did one of these!

Ah, Neverland. Still my favorite arc of the series so far, between my affection for the source material, my love for their version of Pan, and my enjoyment of the way the individual stories pull together thematically – not something the show has always been able to do.

Keep reading

I love this because I’m just doing the final touches on 3A’s “Once Upon a CS” fanvid and *spoiler alert* I included all of the scenes analyzed here in it 😉

“When you wake up, you’ll be the man you were. The man I love. The man who loves me.”

gentlesleaze:

killians-dimples:

FUCK ME UP.

#how sad is it that Emma’s lost love so many times #and loves Hook and how he LOVES her #so very much #that fear of losing love and losing him #was the way the darkness was finally able to win #LOVE HAS BEEN ALL TOO RARE IN HER LIFE (via @hellowherearemypeople)

tlynnsfandomwoes:

sailorkillian:

icantevenchooseafreakingname:

sailorkillian:

icantevenchooseafreakingname:

sailorkillian:

icantevenchooseafreakingname:

betsypaige22:

sailorkillian:

One year with Once Upon a Time: 163 | 366

Emma, where are you?

Bring back Emma Swan

I know I want her back as well 😦 hiatus sucks, i want her back on my screen. but thank god when ouat gets back we won’t see emotionally broken Emma who’s only wish was not to be alone anymore but instead happy Emma who finally found her place in the world and is surrounded by her loving family, friends, and boyfriend. isnt that right pal? 🙂

Not really.

well at least you can admit you hate Emma!

#bc only someone who hates her would want to see her miserable and alone

because she cant be happy with only her son and family, of course you cant be happy without a man, if you don’t have a man you’re alone

i have literally never said that once in my entire life lmao i said she was alone because she wouldn’t let anyone in and she wouldn’t trust anyone… i wasnt even talking about hook. at all… she made significant strides on her own without him. she literally wished to stop being alone on her birthday?? in s3 she said she still felt like she was an orphan?? youre ignoring canon to argue with me lmao.

x

Hey, look at that! It’s Emma Swan in “An Untold Story” giving words of wisdom to her son and being so proud of him.

The Emma from Season 1 is still very much the same woman that we see in each and every season. The difference now is that she has a boyfriend that she is madly in love with.

In Season 1 Emma pushed people away. The scene that the OP posted (with gorgeous gifs) is Emma being a good friend when her friend needed someone… the same way she was a good friend to Regina in the S5 finale.

x

Here she is listening to Regina talk about the way she feels. She’s listening, not judging … just being there for her. I must be missing something because I don’t see the difference in the kind of friend and good person that Emma Swan is over the last few years.

The difference I do see is that now she has someone that she can love without being afraid that he will hurt her or leave her. That they can face any obstacle that is thrown their way and they will overcome it … individually and together.

I’m getting really fed up with this fandom attitude that loving a man makes you weak. That fighting for love makes you weak. It concerns me that so many women seem determined to hate any female character that dares to show emotion, make mistakes, be vulnerable.

Imagine you have a friend who is a single mother, who has had a shitty life and had a shitty ex and a strained relationship with her parents and has had to fight through mile-high walls in letting people in and being vulnerable and open to love in all its forms. Imagine she starts by mending her relationship with her parents, and she starts having friends too and is more open but still guarded about romantic love.

Now imagine she has not only an amazing relationship with her son and her parents, but also healthy friendships, and she is happier than she was at the start but then she finds a man that helps her remove that last wall, that always encourages her, helps her, is by her side when she needs him and is also honest enough to tell her when she’s making mistakes, and she does the same for him; in other words they have a truly equal relationship. And slowly she falls in love with him and then you see her genuinely smile more often, bright, wide, genuine smiles, and it is in huge part because of him but also, you can tell, she is happy because she finally has so many meaningful relationships now, starting with her son, her parents and friends, and now a romantic partner.

Tell me: would you actually dare to tell her, to her face, that she shouldn’t “need” to have her boyfriend in her life? That her son and parents and friends should be enough for her? Would you call her weak and tell her you wish she would go back to be the guarded person she was 5 years ago just because you don’t like her boyfriend? If your answer is yes, well I’m sorry to tell you but you’re a crappy (and quite frankly abusive) friend.

This is just really not a difficult concept: just because you personally feel that you don’t need a boyfriend/romantic relationship to be happy doesn’t mean you get to dictate what other people’s happiness should look like, just because for you “friends and family should be enough” doesn’t mean every other woman in the planet should feel the same. What happened with one of the top feminist tenets of letting women live their lives the way they choose to do it? What gives you the right to judge anyone for wanting to have romantic love in their lives and a partner that makes their happiness complete? What gives you the right to call a woman weak for feeling strong emotions, for embracing those emotions and for fighting for what they want?

If Emma was involved romantically with your fave instead of with Killian and you were presented by this same argument from people who hate your fave you would understandably get angry and jump to Emma’s defense, so again: just admit you hate Killian’s guts and you hate CS because it’s the canon instead of your favored pairing that will only remain in fanon (or in the canon’s past), I assure you life would be so much easier for all of us in fandom that way.

captainswansource:

Even when Killian isn’t certain this will work, when he knows there is a chance he wont be going back with her, he takes every oppournity to learn more about Emma. What is going on in her head. How her heart works. What she is feeling. Everything. Even when Emma doesn’t quite have an answer for him, he thinks she is perfect in every way. Look how he just looks at her, every inch of her face. Every moment he gets with her is special, and will be cherished.

No matter how limited their time will be.

Why I Want CS to Do the Deed, a (Somewhat) Serious Thought

seethelovelyintheworld:

First off, I’m not claiming any moral superiority here: I want to see Emma and Killian in bed together for all the, um, primal reasons most of us do. They are beautiful humans, they are in love, and I would like to see two gorgeous people getting very physical… preferably with as little clothing as TV will possibly allow. There, I said it.

That cruder reason aside, I think it is important for this scene to get prominent attention from a character development point of view.

Since they lost their first loves, both Emma and Killian have obviously used sex in a very impersonal way: a dalliance, to “scratch an itch.” It’s a really big deal for both of them to be with someone in a vulnerable way, after the innocence of first love is gone and after all they have both been through. To take off the hook and the red leather jacket and give themselves over to each other completely, without holding anything back.

I also want the show to include this scene because the writers have been painstakingly showing us all the aspects of a real-life loving relationship. Yes, it’s still fictional television, but what has me obsessed with their love story is how honest and relatable it is. We’ve seen all the other important things: trust, honesty, courage, faith in each other, selflessness and sacrifice, kindness, humor, joy. I believe passion is important, too… and I think it important to both of them, too.

I have a daughter who is a little young for the show right now, but if a sex scene between Emma and Killian were done beautifully, I would rather she watch that (in a couple years) than all of the casual or harmful examples that are on other tv shows – drama and comedy alike.

I hope the Censor Crazies don’t crush this opportunity to show something meaningful to the story, to these characters individually, and to them as a couple truly in love.

I can hope, right?

ripplestitchskein:

Steffie’s Favorite Moments-Queen of Hearts

I went very traditional this episode but this scene is just so iconic and it’s the direct counterpart to Tallahassee so I absolutely love it.

Like Emma’s proving action revealing the intensity of her fledgling emotions in Tallahasse, Hook’s actions in this scene are exactly the same, with the same root cause, but the motivating factor is unique to his individual story.

“I can’t take the chance I’m wrong about you” becomes “This is a symbol, something that was once magical and full of hope, possibility….”

Not exactly the words you would use to describe someone you felt nothing for.

Emma’s motivation in leaving him was her fear of being hurt again, like Neal hurt her, her motivation in betraying him is maintaining her walls and keeping that emotional distance. Hook’s motivation is using revenge to mask his pain just like it has been over and over again, for the past several hundred years.

“Perhaps you should have considered that before you abandoned me on that beanstalk.”

I will never be over the repeated use of this word by both of them over the course of their relationship and how important this theme is for them and how closely it ties to their individual issues.

For Emma she abandons people to keep her walls up, to keep them away, by leaving people behind her walls remain intact. As she begins to accept more people into her life she stops abandoning them, she starts coming back for them, she starts staying. We see this over and over with each of her major relationships as each season progresses.

It is so important that abandonment for Hook is so closely tied to his main character conflict, his revenge, and is actually, I believe the source for it: because of his father abandoning them he carries vengeful feelings against the man for centuries culminating with him eventually murdering him, because of Liam’s death (a form of abandonment) he turns pirate and wants vengeance against a corrupt King, because of Milah’s death he seeks revenge for 300 years against Rumplestiltskin, because of Bae’s turning against him and refusing to accept him (another form of abandonment) he retaliates by giving the boy up to Pan.

He was either abandoned by or he abandons those he cares for to pursue these different types of vengeance (his manifestation of Emma’s walls) against those he feels have wronged him. It is only after he gives up his quest for revenge and stops seeking retribution that he too stops abandoning people, that he starts coming back, that he starts staying. When he becomes the Dark One and that need for vengeance resurfaces, so too do his walls and his penchant for pushing away and abandoning those he cares for.

The theme of abandoning abandonment, of coming back and putting down roots, is probably for me, the most critical element of both their relationship and their individual character’s journeys over the years.

This scene and the one in Tallahassee combined are what I consider Captain Swan Development Ground Zero as they lay the groundwork and foundation for what will eventually become a beautiful relationship built on healing the wounds each of these scenes bring to light.

All my favorite moments

CS S5 Retrospective: Siege Perilous

thisisevenharderthannamingablog:

Our heart-breaking appetizer before the main event a few episodes later.

He’s tried the kiss; it didn’t work. Hook has to conclude that Belle was right, that Emma doesn’t want her curse broken now. This scene starts with him trying to feel out a way forward despite that, to see if there is anything to salvage in their relationship and thinking from the outset that the answer is “no” – look at his face when he first sees her on the Jolly Roger. No wonder she tried a change of outfit. Throughout 5.03, he’s coming around to the hard necessity of thinking of her as an enemy.

Emma, meanwhile, is neck-deep in Dark One denial. To her credit, she did try another way (the dwarf axe), but if the only way to save Killian’s life means lies, manipulation, and emotionally eviscerating him? Onward! The whole scene is sort of the arc in miniature: she’s trying to unilaterally force things to be normal, he’s not having it, and she has an ulterior motive in everything she does.

That’s the thing about the curse. You will tell yourself anything, convince yourself your motives are noble, but they’re not. It’s selfish at the core, every damn time.

Rewatching this scene, I’m struck by how wary Hook is, if not outright scared. He holds perfectly still after she first appears (other than that twitchy jaw and a conspicuously deep breath), actually hardly moves at all through the entire scene except for the bit with the sword. He only makes one approach to her, and its a challenge. His eyes stay on hers almost the entire time. He’s done this before in a few of their conversations (the “it still works” one comes to mind), when he’s intent on trying to read her, but not in a long while. His guard is very much up.

Emma keeps looking away while they talk. She tries different tones – reassuring, flirty, serious – but they all have an air of being put on.

Later on Hook recovers a bit, has time to think about strategy, and he goes for a straightforward test: what’s behind that door? Her evasion, her defensive words about how she’s “better” with the curse tell him everything he doesn’t want to know.

I remember the fandom erupting for a couple of weeks over this scene, a good many people insisting that really loving someone means accepting their “darkness” – maybe it does, but it doesn’t mean accepting them using you. That’s a major part of this scene, and I think that’s why he gets angry while she’s talking, as it becomes clear that whatever she’s after, telling him the truth is not on her agenda.

Same lowered-head-tilt-frown mannerism Emma pulled out in 5.22 with Regina? I wonder if she’s going to keep some of those going forward.

It’s really funny to me that the only time anyone except Baelfire has said a good word about original-formula Rumplestiltskin, it turned out to be Killian Jones. If he’s a little upset right now, it’s because his girlfriend is showing every sign of also turning into “an evil, manipulative killer.” He’s dropped the wariness at the end, stopped trying to read her. “You want something, Dark One.” He’s got her figured out, he’s angry, and there’s more than a hint of grief there.

Emma does a very Dark One thing in response; she lies and misdirects and makes it all about her. “Do you love me? If you tell me you don’t love me, I will let you go.” Of course she has no intention of doing that; she keeps on with her plan despite his resorting to the past tense. He keeps his eyes locked on hers until after he says it, after he steps back – releasing her to make her decision, expecting nothing from her.

She’s got what she really wanted; the sword, and a reason to think that if only she can undo what she did, everything will be just like it was. Which is how the curse gets everyone, it seems.

brooke-to-broch:

phiralovesloki:

ripplestitchskein:

(Gif/Photo credit: @heart-knows-no-shame )

Steffie’s Favorite Moments- Tallahassee

Tallahassee was definitely a struggle for me to pick just one out of the bounty of glorious moments we were given. I have watched a lot of shows and shipped a lot of ships, but never have I seen an episode setup a television love story quite like Tallahassee.

Do I go traditional and talk about the iconic sexy hand bandaging scene? All that tension and erotic imagery? The fuckstruck looks?

Do I talk about their climb?

These two people hanging precariously hundreds of feet above the ground with nothing but hands and hook, who still manage to talk about what will eventually become some of the core themes of their relationship: abandonment, the nature of lost children, mutual perceptiveness, the scaling of Emma’s walls.

I mean, they start their journey climbing an actual wall for Pete’s sake, I’m not sure it gets any more thematic than that.

We could talk about “Maybe I was once” or “I think we make quite the team.”

We could definitely talk about ALL of these amazing, flashing lights and sirens (see: opening strains of the Captain Swan theme) that scream future relationship, but alas, I must pick only one.

So I went once again, with vulnerability.

I am a sucker for seeing the real Killian Jones, who he truly is, good or bad, and this moment, when he and Emma are staring her betrayal in the face, staring her personal fear in the face, is such a vital one for both of them.

This scene, at least in my opinion, is more important for Emma than it is for Killian. For Killian this is a setback, this is another obstacle, another example of heroism letting him down, another validation that his path of revenge is the right one. He doesn’t grow from this encounter, he regresses or at the very least stays the same.

Emma however, this is a big deal for her. She is feeling something, something that scares her A LOT, and the reason I love this scene so much is because it’s the proof of these feelings.

This moment is the cherry on top of a Shipper Sundae.

If Emma was indifferent to their time together, if she didn’t feel something she wouldn’t have made this choice. She would have continued on, letting him either tag along on their journey to Storybrooke, or leaving him there, no big deal. There would be no vacillation at all.

I love canon divergence from this point don’t get me wrong, the “What would happen if she hadn’t left him chained at the top of that beanstalk.” fics are some of my favorites, but when it comes to the actual story I don’t want this scene any other way.

The minute Emma clamped that cuff around his wrist she all but declared she felt something for him, something powerful enough to warrant this extreme measure. She essentially felt such a strong connection to this man after mere hours in his company she had to not only betray him but place a physical restraint between them.

I love how conflicted Emma is, her slight stutter, her inability to look directly at him, the strains of the CS theme just hinted at starting up in the background (seriously though, how are people missing this setup?!).

I also really, really love Killian’s reaction. He is desperate, yes, because he sees this avenue of his revenge slipping away from him, but he’s also very hurt and disbelieving. I love that he wasn’t just trying to recapture his opportunity, he is upset about this personally as well, she truly hurt him.

He asks her to look at him to know he hasn’t lied to her with all the sincerity in the world, he wants her to see that he is genuine and earnest and it breaks my heart. In this moment I don’t for a second believe he is just saying what he needs to in order to secure passage to this other realm, he is also asking her to not be one more person who abandons him.

I love this scene mostly because it shows that both of them were very deeply affected by everything that was setup in this episode, and it opens up the doors for everything that comes after.

All my favorite moments

Brilliant analysis. Absolutely agree.

I love when she stutters, when she’s unable to easily articulate why she’s leaving him behind.

I just get the feeling she WANTED him to respond differently, Like, react in such a way that she would know for sure that he wasn’t trust-worthy, that she’d made the right decision by chaining him up. Then she could go back down that beanstalk with no guilt and shame, knowing that her philosophy of never letting people in was working in her favor, protecting her from people who are just going to betray her.

And she was wrong, and I LOVE it.

This is what I point to when people go “How did you know there was something there that early on?” She has this superpower that she can trust to lead her true without any doubt…except when she has feelings for someone.

ripplestitchskein:

hooks-and-feathers:

Has anyone ever noticed this? How exactly the same the scenes are?

I mean seriously. As angry as this show makes me about a lot of things, and I can just sit here and start a very long and extensive scene, these are things I also love about it, when characters have mirror moments not with just the positioning, but also with the dialogue.

They did the same thing with the failed TLKs in 5×02, where the positions were flipped.

Beyond that, if something like this is not a clear indication that Emma and Killian are on the exact same journey, then I don’t know what is.

ELLIE. You beautiful starfish, do you understand how much I fucking love this?

I do like green apples better than the red ones though

ripplestitchskein:

hooks-and-feathers:

ripplestitchskein:

hooks-and-feathers:

ripplestitchskein:

hooks-and-feathers:

So there’s this wonderful edit this morning on my dash, and because the writers tend to drop stuff along the way in previous seasons, all my brain keeps yelling at me is “sleeping curse, SLEEPING CURSE.” Because we do know what apples mean on this show (not the green ones, obviously, but the imagery is there nonetheless).

And it’s a scene between Emma and Killian no less, all the way back in what? Episode 3×19?

And I don’t think for a second that I’m looking too much into this.

@ripplestitchskein, because I know this is your jam as much as it is mine 😉

Definitely my jam.

And I do think the fact that it’s a green apple and he is talking about Zelena’s arrival IS significant.

I have to imagine that anything related to Regina is going to involve her as well.

And the since the show has been setting Zelena up as the CS Evil Queen I’m completely convinced a sleeping curse would come from HER.

Since A&E have been talking about Snowing’s increased role Im wondering if the EQ will target them while Zelena focuses on CS.

Most of the major CS specific issues are not because of Regina at all, they are because of Zelena.

She curses his lips. She opens the time portal. She prevents Rumple from taking the heart potion. She helps Arthur get the sword. She reveals that Hook is the Dark One, etc.

Just some thoughts I’ve been kicking around.

Okay, no joke, but you’re totally speaking my language right now.

I completely agree that Zelena is the one who has been a torn in CS’s side from the start. I was thinking about this rivalry that exists between Emma and Zelena specifically, and wondering where they stand now that Zelena is supposed to be reformed. Zelena has pulled a lot of shit, and Emma wanted to kill her when she was the Dark One to save her, and Killian. She specifically targeted her above anyone else, the same way Zelena targeted Killian.

Not to mention that we just saw Zelena put Dorothy under the sleeping curse in 5×18. Zelena hates Dorothy, there’s no other way to put it.

Also, her reaction when Killian ran into Granny’s?

“What is the pirate doing here?”

That line was really not delivered in the nicest way at all. It was rude AF.

Not to mention their inter-realm teamwork is why she got the pages that helped with the death of her True Love.

We already know the Mills women have a tendency to blame shift and ignore their own culpability in these situations.

Let’s see if that pattern continues shall we?

Well the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

Too much? Let me find the door and see myself out.

I AM SO PISSED AT MYSELF FOR MISSING THAT LOW HANGING FRUIT.