CS Fic Rec Monday: "A Thousand Verses to Your Mouth" by: @unfolded73
This amazing one shot is set just after the showdown with Ursula and Poseidon in Gold's cabin in 4x15. I love that Emma and Killian do just absolutely steal some time for themselves where no one can disturb them and definitely make the most of it. If you enjoy some deeply feels-y and heartfelt smuff, then this fic is perfect for you. (And if you love Killian's devotion to his Swan and his flowery speech, then you'll only love this all the more! :) @unfolded73 wrote numerous incredible fics during the later seasons of OuaT's run, and this is just one example, but I rediscovered it recently, and just simply had to share it with all of you who might be reading this!
One of my favorite writers in the fandom is @welllpthisishappening , and while I can confidently rec all of her fics, today I am highlighting this one that was her entry in the Captain Swan Supernatural Summer event last year. This unique story gives an alternate version of the Enchanted Forest, the curse, and Dark Hook. It is really difficult to put this story into words, it is so good! As I was making a picset for this, I realized just how much she packed into this story. She features almost every character we know and love from Once, not just the ones I chose here. And like always, she writes the most beautiful found family in this story. Enjoy!
Author: @welllpthisishappening
Summary: Magic is dying.
Emma knows it. She can feel it, the emptiness rattling around in her, like it’s trying to make sure she disappears as well. What she doesn’t know is what to do about it, because, suddenly, there is a man in Storybrooke claiming she’s the Savior and a seeress certain a prophecy promises the same and the last thing she expects is for her minimal amount of lingering power to pull her away.
To New York City.
And another oddly familiar man with blue eyes and a smile that sinks under her skin and makes magic bloom in the air around her. Things are about to get interesting.
I hope you’re all staying safe and inside as much as physically possible! I said I was going to do this weeks ago, but I finally remembered to queue it all up! Here are some dang good multi-chapter fics you can curl up with! You’ve probably already read them if you’ve been around for awhile, but rereading is fun, too! Plus, I know these writers would get excited to see a new comment or two 😘
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As Real As You Want it To Be by @ive-always-been-a-pirate: Teaching at the same school as Killian Jones was both infuriating and distracting, but when he throws Emma under the bus for the final time, she devises a plan to get back at him. After all, nobody likes to go to a wedding alone. Time for some CS AU fake dating.
Warm Nights and Firelight by @oubliette14: When in the wake of a messy breakup Emma makes the impulsive decision to return home to her parent's ranch in the Rockies, she certainly doesn't expect to find a strange Irish guy living in what was once her apartment over the garage, and she definitely doesn't imagine that the home she couldn't wait to be rid of five long years ago would be the very place her heart begins to heal.
If Looks Could Kill by @wellhellotragic: Emma Swan is a dedicated FBI agent getting over a bad breakup. When she and her partner, Ruby Lucas, are forced to go undercover as contestants on a reality show, Emma is forced to try and win the affections of Killian Jones, a man she despises.Killian Jones is a lost boy. Having recently been nicknamed the ‘Bad Boy of Boston,’ he’s been living up to his moniker using women and rum to avoid dealing with his dark past. When he’s forced to take the lead in a reality show, he encounters a gorgeous blonde who turns his world upside down. Miss Congeniality meets The Bachelor.
The Reason by @xemmaloveskillianx: The three of them share a laugh before they all look to Emma. She has yet to comment on the new addition because she isn’t sure what to say. She usually doesn’t like change, they have a good thing going there, just the four of them. Plus, they all know him and she doesn’t, but she trusts their judgement, and she’s sure any brother of Liam can’t be all that bad.So, with a shrug and a smile she says, “Welcome to Storybrooke, Killian Jones.
The Wife by @ineffablecolors: No one knows all that Emma has been through and certainly no one knows all that Killian has been through and being husband and wife doesn’t make them any less unknown to each other. And really, how can you help someone heal when you don’t even know how hurt they are?
Beauty in the Aftermath by @high-seas-swan: Confronted with the sudden appearance of her birth parents, Emma, in a moment of panic, flees. She flees the diner, Storybrooke, the country. She finds herself a day later in the Dublin, Ireland Airport terminal wondering what the hell she has gotten herself into. With some fear, a little determination and a considerable amount of faking it along the way, she sets off on a trip she never planned on taking but needed more than she ever knew. She finds herself, she finds a Brit adrift on his own journey and finds out what home really means.
Playing the Part by @shireness-says: As a stage manager who's clawed her way up from the bottom, Emma Swan can handle just about anything thrown her way. But does that include handsome lead actor Killian Jones? A CS Broadway AU.
Love, Kindness, and Other Useless Things by @joneskillian: CS AU, set in 1815. Lord Killian Jones is haunted by the demons of his past which makes him nowhere near the man he once was, so he can't be the father he wants to be. And above all, he believes he is undeserving of love. Perhaps with Emma that is all about to change. But falling in love is never easy, that's just how it is.
Something Like You Love Me by @bemusedbicycle: Emma decides the best way to get Mary Margaret off her back about Walsh is to say she already has a boyfriend. Except she doesn’t. That’s where Killian comes in. Fake!Engagement fic.
a one time thing (and other untruths) by @weezlywrites: "She supposes the reason she tells him is the same reason she kept his phone number after all those weeks." Pregnancy has a way of throwing a wrench in one's plans.
Alone, until I get Home by @peglegsjones: In Boston, Henry Swan's six-year-old brother Ian finds a book titled "Once Upon a Time" hidden beneath the seat in their mom's old yellow bug. As soon as Henry touches it, he remembers.Season 3 Canon Divergence-Emma finds out she's pregnant a few weeks after she and Henry leave Storybrooke with new memories and new lives. Nearly seven years later, another Dark Curse puts her family in danger, and Emma must return to Storybrooke to help them.Who's powerful enough to cast the Dark Curse? And how the hell is she going to tell Hook they have a son together?
Knock, Knock by @charmingturkeysandwich: Emma Swan has made the best of her crappy apartment ever since she became best friends with her neighbor, Ruby. But when Ruby moves out and a loud Brit takes her place, the thin walls and lack of space are suddenly not so endearing. After a particularly stressful day, Emma decides to confront the nightmare next door, and entirely against her better judgment, she might just be making a friend.
These Nights Aren’t Made For Thinking by @nowforruin: AU. Emma Swan came to Portland, ME to start over. She's got a job she loves, but when a particular case gets under her skin, she finds herself visiting the Jolly Roger and its curious bartender, Mr. Killian Jones, more often than she thinks is wise. But some nights aren't made for thinking. Captain Swan.
On the Two by @lifeinahole27: He’s one bad trip from ending up in AA, and she’s one performance away from a solid job and moving closer to home. Their paths were unlikely to cross until Camp Hope brought them together. How and why they meet and intertwine is against the odds, and definitely against the rules, but will that really stand in their way? A Dirty Dancing inspired modern au.
Separate Lives by @lenfaz: Set after 3x20 "Kansas". After saving the town one more time, Emma decided to return to New York, leaving her past behind. Three years later, she realizes that might be not have been the best decision.
Natural Opposite by @searchingwardrobes: Dance is more than Emma Swan’s career; it’s practically saved her life on more than one occasion. But when it comes to reality TV shows, she’s always danced in the shadows of her twin brother David and her sister Elsa. Her first season as a pro on Dancing With the Stars was a disaster, and she enters her second season determined to prove herself. All she needs is a good partner. Hollywood bad boy and ladies’ man Killian Jones isn’t what she had in mind.
Walking in a Straight Line by @msgenevievee: It’s one of the oldest stories in the book. Two old friends have a few too many drinks, two old friends share a kiss. Happens all the time, right? But what happens when only one of them actually remembers it?
Out of the Frying Pan by @welllpthisishappening: Emma Swan is only doing this for one reason, well, make that two. To get her show's numbers back up and, maybe, impress her son. She doesn't like admitting to that second one though.Killian Jones is doing this for absolutely, positively, just one reason. To expand his restaurant. And maybe get Regina off his back. So that's kind of two reasons.Neither one of them is doing a year-long Food Network all-star competition because they're celebrity chefs and there's not really any other choice. Of course not. And neither one of them is enjoying it because they maybe, kind of, sort of enjoy each other. That would be insane.
A Cold Awakening by @swanderful1: Modern crime AU. Twenty years have gone by since Storybrooke was shaken to the core by a gruesome crime that went unsolved. Sheriff David Nolan and his partner, daughter Emma are forced to revisit the crime. At the same time, Killian Jones and his older brother Liam have been drawn back to the town they had longed to never see again, struggling to find their own answers. As taunting notes and clues show up they are taken on a journey to finally bring justice for the Jones family. And Emma Nolan finds herself caught in a situation more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.
Beyond the Horizon by @alexandralyman: AU: When Princess Emma's ship is captured by the Jolly Roger and Captain Killian Jones, she offers herself as a hostage for ransom if he will let the ship and the other passengers go. With Emma, Killian remembers the honour he once held dear, and Emma catches glimpses of the gentleman Killian had been. Against all odds, the pirate and the princess begin to fall for each other.
How Does Your Garden Grow by @theadventureofhistorygirl
A chance meeting with Mary Margaret Nolan in a juvenile detention floral design class sets Emma Swan on the path to being a florist. A rehabilitation program for disabled veterans gives Killian Jones his start in horticulture. Neither one ever imagined picking those paths, but they'll lead to each other. But can they keep the harder aspects of life from tearing them apart?
So yesterday I was thinking about the stories I love to reread. And there is the fic I've reread many times. It's raw emotion, it gets under your skin, it is about despair and hope, ...it's just brilliant!
This fic is at extremum terrae by @thisonesatellite
@distant-rose‘s Ouat OC, Beth Jones. A very, very problematic child, and daughter of Killian and Emma.
I’m finally getting in on fic rec monday and kicking it off with some fic fanart because I was drawing it anyways.
You should read about Beth in A Once and Future Thing and in Ro’s Little Pirates series.
There are some amazingly sweet moments throughout of CS trying to raise their kids but with all the trouble you would expect from their offspring. But, A Once and Future Thing gets a special shout out for using the back to the future trope to dig into some heart wrenching parallels and themes as a troubled Adult Beth traipses behind an unknowing Captain Swan in the past. Beth is a fascinating character in her own right and her own rogue partner in crime, Jim Hawkins, makes this adventure all the better.
In order to start the week on a little positivity, and to share the love, I propose to you a new event happening every Monday:
Fic Rec Mondays
Read a fic that you think deserves more love? That you like to read time and time again? That you’ve just discovered? Then share it with the community!
Nothing more simple: either reblog the original author’s post, or make one of your own, explaining what you love in this fic. Use the tag #csfrm, so that I can then gather all the recs on this Tumblr, tagging them by genre and length so other people can find what suits their mood.
Help spread some good vibes by making authors happy when they get more traffic, and by perhaps providing readers with a gem they hadn’t discovered before!
Uhm, so, i know i’m new, but it’s time i got in on @csficrecmonday. And just to clarify:
i know i don’t read enough. i know i don’t reblog enough. i know i don’t kudos and like and comment and whatever else enough.
You’re all wonderful and amazing and i just don’t have enough hours in the day to work and read and write – AND IT’S DRIVING ME CRAZY.
Anyway. i just wanted to tell you that if i haven’t reacted /commented /liked /recced, it’s only because you’re still on my reading list and i am doing my level best to get around to you. YES, YOU. (My reading list is now so long that i’m never going to die.)
But when i do get around to reading, i find all these lovely stories, and here are three which i love. These stories will shred you in the best possible way - and then put you back together at the end, better than you were before.
I’d Know You Anywhere - by @snowbellewells
This story, guys. It’s a witness protection fic that starts out with a bang, then rolls back slowly, gives you a moment to breathe and get to know the characters. And then it punches you in the face with violence and plot and danger, loss, misguided notions of chivalry, and finally redemption. AND a happy end. i love a spot of violence, and i love it even more when that violence is absolutely organic and makes perfect sense in the world of the story, and this does. There is nothing gratuitous about it at all, it is a perfect storytelling element. And i absolutely love lost souls finding solace in each other, and this has all of that, too! And i am SO HERE FOR IT. Absolutely epic.
If I Could See Your Face Once More - by @shireness-says
This is now my official headcanon for 5B. SO AWESOME. Pain and loss and heartbreak and true love and a happy end so achingly beautiful it just soothes your soul. i absolutely adore stories which break your heart over and over and yet leave you begging for more, and this does. It is beautifully written, it is an amazing take on S5, it is what should have happened, dammit, it will pull each of your heartstrings to the breaking point -- and then wrap an absolutely gorgeous conclusion around you like a blanket and everything will be all right with the world. Absolutely incredible.
Their Way by Moonlight - by @profdanglaisstuff
If you haven’t read her stuff, START RIGHT NOW. Her writing is like dark chocolate cake and music - rich, gorgeous, and sinfully delicious. i confess that i love everything of Saira’s i have read so far, but this story. THIS STORY. It’s a Cursed Storybrooke and an alternate take on 3B and it’s fantastic. i personally can’t write a description to save my life, and Saira will set a scene and put you INSIDE of it, until you hear the leather creak and and smell the rain. And then. Comes The Story. The characters are so real they burst from the page, the writing just sings, the smut is a vehicle for absolute love and the most beautiful and complete way two people can connect, the plot will wrap around you like a vine and not let go, and then there is an EPIC WITCH FIGHT.
i love this story with everything i have, and even though it’s a WIP - please go read it. It already has everything you could want and more, i promise.
Absolutely amazing.
