I have sooo many favorite Swanfire moments.  I gave this one a lot of thought, but I think my favorite is when Emma admits to him she had hoped he was dead, because it would be easier to get over his death than to confront what they had together.  

People CSers misinterpret that moment so badly.  Because this is Emma at her most vulnerable.  It’s her looking the man she loves in the eye and telling him she’s terrified.  She’s terrified of being near him again, terrified of what that will mean for her life.  This isn’t her wishing for his death, this is her removing her armor, telling Neal she loves him but she is scared, so scared.  And what is Neal’s response?

He doesn’t get mad.  He doesn’t act hurt or offended.  He doesn’t demand her attention, declare he’s going to “win her heart”, say that it was good that her heart was broken.  Not that I’m bitter. 

He just hugs her.

He hugs her fiercely, letting her know it’s okay, it’s all right.  That her vulnerability wasn’t for nothing.  That he was going to be there for her.  That she could be honest with him.  

That hug is what makes Swanfire magical.  It’s what makes it more developed, more mature, and more honest than CS will ever be.

More like reading it because I’ve been following the transcripts I found here, for whatever reason I’m really bad at following podcasts and audio-based stuff, not to mention English is not my first language, so yeah, I prefer to read it. Though I’m probably going to check out the audio eventually just to know the character voices and stuff, sure I’m missing out on those, oh well.

4) favourite character you’ve written

Probably either Belle or Isaac from Red Lights - I can’t choose between them!

9) what, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

Music is always a huge factor - if I get hooked on a song, it’s fairly likely I’ll have a fic in my head to go with it. 

10) write in silence or with background noise? with people or alone?

I don’t do well with absolute silence, although if I’m really in the zone I can go a while without noticing a lack of sound. Ideally I write to whatever playlist I’ve made for the story itself. I like writing in public spaces - ambient background noise can be good, although I tend to still add music. I absolutely cannot write with the TV on, or to any music where I’m too distracted by story/spoken words - the Hamilton soundtrack will always distract me from anything I’m trying to do. 

Hey sweet @kacymyth - I was your Rumbelle Secret Santa for the month of January! Strenght and forgiveness was a bit of a vague prompt for me, so I added the lyrics of “Little Talks” by Of Monsters and Men, hoping you’d like it a little more this way. ;-) 

It’s a songfic - not something I’m used to writing - but I do hope you’ll enjoy this new origin tale of Rumbelle in the Dark Castle. I’ll leave the ending up to your own imagination. ;-) 

After a freak accident, Belle French, 21st century librarian, finds herself in a medieval village! Taken in by Rumplestilskin the spinner and his son Baefire, Belle tries to find a way home.

OKAY SO NOW YOU HAFTA LISTEN TO THE ORIGINAL CAST EP SO YOU CAN HEAR THE OFF BROADWAY VERSION CUZ IT’S GREAT.  You’re gonna love Persephone’s sassiness in “Way Down Hadestown”.