Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Enigma:

Spinner:

Lawyer:

Detective:

Father:

Fashion Guru:

https://mrgoldsshopofhorrors.tumblr.com/post/133889533669/fashion-makeovers-from-rumplestiltskin

https://fuckyeahbelleandrumpelstiltskin.tumblr.com/post/150979902067/bellefrenchs-i-have-a-ball-to-attend-to-later

Lover:

Husband:

Hero/Saviour/the Guardian:

And if anything happens to his loved ones…

...your worst nightmare!

A man full of love - just look at the way he looks at Belle:

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Morraine - One of the few people in the Enchanted Forest who speaks highly about Rumplestiltskin:

Leroy - One of the only few real friends Belle had, and who helped out both Rumple and Belle in support of their relationship:

Graham - gone but never forgotten. An honourable man who deserved better and without whom Emma would never have been born:

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A True Love that exists across all realms and under any curse:

Honourable mentions:

The True Love ships that (for me) made Once Upon a Time:

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The Floof Family - Papafire and Bellefire

Honourable Mentions of ships we were denied further development:

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Storybrooke:

Granny's Diner:

Mr Gold Pawnbroker & Antiquities Dealer:

Storybrooke Public Library:

The Wishing Well:

Enchanted forest:

The Dark Castle:

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Light Magic:

True Love:

Tracking Spell:

Dark Magic:

Fireball:

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The scene that made me Laugh:

                                                                                                   https://sieben9.tumblr.com/post/177446981155/the-devils-due-impressions

Mr Gold: Miss Swan? There's someone I'd like you to meet. This is Milah, my ex-wife. And Hook's ex, also. She's also Baelfire's mother, of course. Emma knew him as Neal. They had a torrid affair, which resulted in a scandalous teenage pregnancy. In prison.

Emma: (Uncomfortable) Yeah, well...

Milah: (Shocked and stunned) So, you've been with my former lover... and my son? Is that right?

Emma: (Also looks stunned) Huh.

Mr Gold: I'm sure we're gonna laugh ourselves sick about all this one day. I suggest you follow me before this gets even more awkward.

The scene(s) that made me cry:

Happy cry: Rumbelle reunion 1x22

Belle: I was told you'd protect me.

Mr Gold: (embraces her, sobbing slightly) Oh, yes. Yes, I'll protect you.

Sad cry: Baelfire/Neal Cassidy death 3x15:

Emma: (sobbing) Just hang in there, please. You never even had a chance to see Henry. For him to remember you.

Neal: It's ok. (labored breathing) He doesn't need to. He just needs to know that, in the end, I was a good father. (Overhearing the conversation Mr. Gold turns around again and watches the scene. His son hands Emma a necklace.) I saved this for you to give to you again. Take it. Go find Tallahassee. Even, if it's without me.

Emma: (sobbing) Neal.

Neal: Hey, I'll be watching over you guys from somewhere. Promise me... (struggling to breath) just promise,... Promise me, you'll both be happy.

Emma: (sobbing) I promise. I promise. (hugs Neal.)

Mr. Gold: (kneeling down beside his son) No, no, no. I can fix this.

Neal: No, you can't. You can't. (labored breathing) Thank you, papa. For showing me, what it is to make a true sacrifice. It's about saving the ones that you love.

Mr. Gold: (sobs) No.

Neal: It's my turn, now.

Mr. Gold: No, I don't want to let you go.

Neal: I need you to. Please, let go.

Mr. Gold: I love you, son.

Neal: I love you, papa. 

(Neal breaths out one last time. Rigor mortis sets in. Mr. Gold raises Neal’s hand to his lips. Subsequently reaching out carefully Mr. Gold closes his son’s eyelids.)

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Milah as Captain Hook:

Regina revealed to be Rumple's daughter:

Imagine if Regina had turned out at the end of 2x16 to be Rumple's daughter (no Zelena), how would that have gone? After the initial shock & complications/tensions, would it have brought the family together without ostracizing/alienating Regina or Rumple in later seasons?

Up till then, Regina's only connection to this family was marrying Snow's father & adopting Henry. Being related by blood would’ve made Regina a permanent fixture in their lives. Plus it would’ve been interesting to see her interact more with Bae/Neal – her half-brother and Henry’s father.

As for Rumple, in addition to his internal conflict of finding out that the boy who would be his undoing is his own grandson, if he'd have known the truth about Regina, would he question whether he would have sacrificed his second born to darkness for his firstborn?

But then this revelation would have repaired/forged a relationship between these two old frenemies. As well as trying to deter her from her quest for vengeance in 2x17, Rumple’s letter to Cora, that he might’ve found in her things, would’ve been a nice father-daughter bonding moment: “stunning in every way.” And romantic Golden Queen would never have existed!

Zelena used Rumple to cast the Dark Curse... by crushing his son's heart:

While we were trying to work out who would die in 3B, this horrible thought came to me. It would've been perfect, cruel, poetic, wicked revenge for Rumple not choosing Zelena: having Rumple cast her curse by killing the reason he wanted the original curse cast. (You can see this play out in my 'Baelfire Lives' Series - don't worry! He does live!)

Belle becomes the Dark One:

Honourable Mentions:

Emma turns Neal into a Dark One:

So much of Emma's storylines that she shared with Hook were clear supposed to be for Swanfire, if Neal had lived. And Operation Firebird - need I say more?

Princess Abigail/Kathryn is the Snow Queen:

Elizabeth Mitchell was the perfect Snow Queen. But I believe there was a theory that Abigail was the Snow Queen because of the play on words parallel with Charming's love interests: Snow White/the Snow Queen.

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Bealfire is Neal Cassidy

The plot twist we all saw coming and were excited to see that bomb go off. The Lost Boy and the Lost Girl looking for home. The reason the curse was cast and the one who would break the curse. Together they created the Truest Believer. And oh my God, the ripples: "Gold's son is Henry's father?"/"So Rumplestiltskin is Henry’s grandfather?"

Honourable Mention: Peter Pan is Rumple's father

There were plenty of hints that made this reveal work, instead of coming out of nowhere, like Hook being a Dark One and Rumple becoming the Dark One (again), or for shock value like Marian was Zelena all along (an excuse to bring her back when she clearly died without a spark of magic in her):

Pan calling Rumple 'Laddie' suggesting he was older than him. Making him his favourite breakfast eggs in a basket. ‘Peter Pan destroyed my father’ because he destroyed the man he used to be. He told Rumple to go back to Belle and have another child, which gave away Shadow!Belle who, in the very next scene, tried to persuade Rumple to come home to her so they could start a family of their own.

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Regina and Hook (Hooked Queen)

1. Lost their True Love, watching them die in front of them: Cora crushes Daniel's heart. Rumple crushes Milah's heart

2. Became the Villain through loss and betrayal: Regina became the Evil Queen through Snow's betrayal leading to Daniel's death. Hook became a pirate through losing his brother because of the King of the Realm sent them to retrieve a poison that killed his brother.

3. Became obsessed with revenge and dedicated their life to kill the one who ruined their happiness, whist destroying the lives of everyone around them: Regina - Snow White. Hook - Rumplestiltskin.

4. They only cared about their own happiness.

5. They both played the victim and blamed others for their actions.

6. Both used Belle to hurt Rumple

7. Used an innocent to further their goals: Regina ripped out Belle's heart. Hook ripped out Aurora's heart - while she was sleeping!

8. Ripped families apart: Regina took Hansel and Gretel's father (tried to kidnap Owen). Hook took Bae's mother and killed Charming's father.

9. They offered both a home and when rejected they turned on them: Regina sent Hansel and Gretel to the Infinite Forest, and after letting Owen go murdered his father, Kurt. Hook handed Bae over to Pan.

10. Killed for petty reasons. Regina was having bad day (the anniversary of Daniel's death). Hook stabbed a man, Barnaby, for calling him "One Hand Jones" and drowned another, Edgar, for drinking his wine.

11. Regina collected victims hearts. Hook took the rings of the people he killed as trophies - and wore them.

12. Killed children: Regina murdered whole villages and sent children into the witch's cottage. Hook killed Rufio and maybe other Lost Boys.

13. Season 3 literally opened with a conversation between the two of them about wasting their lives being the Villains.

14. When things didn't work out for them at the end of S3A, instead of fighting like Neal, they threw in the towel: Hook left and became a pirate again and the only ship he was interested in was his own. Regina was going to bury her heart and put herself under a sleeping curse.

15. Both revelled in the misery of others, including their nemesis: Regina gloated over Snow White darkening her heart, how she will destroy her family and Henry will be Regina's. Hook mocks that Rumple can't fight back without charring his darkening heart, that he was about to get his happy ending and Rumple will never get his. And later Regina does exactly the same thing to Rumple in his shop before he collapses. And both pirate and queen are too short-sighted and self-absorbed to fully understand the gravity of Rumple's situation or the fatal consequences that will befall them all if Rumple dies and the Dark One is unleashed.

Regina and Hook were so similar it was ridiculous. And if they wanted to keep Hook on the show and give Regina a new love after Daniel (without shoving him to the front or ruining other characters/ships/the show in the process)

Zelena and Jafar (Zafar)

They weren't canon, but boy did they make more sense than Zades (Zelena and Hades). If anyone was the perfect match for Zelena it was Wonderland's Jafar:

1. Both were bastard children.

2. The only parent who ever loved them dies: Zelena's adoptive mother the Woodcutter's Wife. Jafar's mother Ulima

3. Their paternal parent tried to kill them: Cora left Zelena to die as a baby. The Sultan tried to drown Jafar

4. Their younger sibling was favoured by their parents: Zelena's half-sister Regina. Jafar's half-brother Mirza

5. Zelena was more skilled at magic than Regina. Jafar was more learned than Mirza

6. Zelena wanted everything Regina had. Jafar wanted his father's love.

7. Zelena tried to kill her half-sister Regina. Jafar killed his half-brother Mirza

8. Combined they broke the 3 Laws of Magic - Zelena changed the past. Jafar made his father love him and brought back the dead.

9. They turned on their mentors and controlled/enslaved them: Zelena enslaved Rumple. Jafar turned Amara into his snake staff.

10. Flying is their mode of transport: Zelena - broomstick. Jafar - magic carpet.

11. Jafar impersonated Alice's father Edwin and Zelena impersonated Marian.

Honourable Mentions: Mulan and Ruby (Mulan Rouge)/Ruby and Dr Whale (Red Whale)

It's like the writers didn't know what to do with Mulan. One minute was in love with Prince Phillip, having had many adventures with him to get him back to Aurora. Then next minute she's in love with Aurora (unless I'm confused with fan theories) and when she discovered they were expecting a baby decided to leave.

If the writer's really wanted to tick the LGBTQ box (seeing fit to ignore Swan Queen), then Ruby and Mulan would've been better. For one they spent more time together after Camelot, instead of Ruby falling in love with Dorothy after a day. Plus the ship name is too perfect: Mulan Rouge.

Red Whale was touched on very briefly in 2x12, but the man who created a monster and the woman who is a monster was a good starting point. And there were subtle hints of Whale liking Ruby under the curse.