Detective Rogers being chaotic good is one of my absolutely favorite things.
No, seriously. As much as I love to make fun of him for how he probably goes to bed after the 9 o’clock news while doing the New York Times crossword in pen over a cup of chamomile tea after ironing his underpants, he’s still underneath it all chaotic good Killian Jones.
We do love us some Cakegate Rogers or Dadtective Rogers, but consider Fuck-Your-Stinkin’-Rules Rogers. Featuring...
So, yes, he probably organizes his shelves alphabetically and has a very organized tupperware cabinet, but he’s got a side of him that will do what’s right, even if it’s not technically lawful.
Just like last year, it’s a celebration of all things Wish Hook.
The rules are the same... meaning, there are no rules!
Whether it’s fanfic, picsets, fanart, gifs, metas- if you want to get creative or just feel like posting a sentence and a pic- however you want to join in is completely up to you! If you want to join in every day or just feel like doing the one day, it’s your choice.
We’re starting on a saturday and ending the party on a friday night this year, and the day to day themes are as follows:
DAY 1: WHOMST - Who is Wish Hook to you? What’s your first thought when you think of him? Share how you see him and what you like/appreciate about him as a character. First impressions ETC.
DAY 2: THE F WORD - Family. Friends. Fanfic fantasy fornications- we’re celebrating all of his relationships. Familial, friendships, bromances and romances. Let’s celebrate this guy’s loved ones til our hearts are content!
DAY 3: 9 TO 5 - Perk up your Monday blues with our favourite hard working detective Rogers. It’s his day today! Join him in Hyperion Heights!
DAY 4: SENIOR DISCOUNT - Where would we be without Old Hook? He’s livening up our Tuesday with his charm and theatrics.
DAY 5: ACTION! - Time to flail about your favourite scene, episode, line, moment- you get the picture. Whatever moment springs to mind or is special to you, let us know about it!
DAY 6: ADVENTAAARR! - Let’s talk newly youthful Hook with new friends and a new beginning. We’re in the enchanted forest and joining him on whatever adventures help him find a cure for his heart. Or just talking about it... or looking at him... WHATEVER GOES- IT’S ALL GOOD!
DAY 7: ROUND THE TWIST - Modern AU, canon divergence, white elephant AU, ALL THE AU’S!!! It’s a free for all day to do whatever you want, however you want. Go nuts, get wild, get creative, but most importantly.... HAVE FUN!
If you have any questions, queries, worries or just want to message, please feel free!
This was a complicated one to choose. Originally, I was going to use Killian’s line from 7X07 about having something more important than revenge to attend to, but then it ended up becoming my favorite Enchanted Forest scene.
So, I ended up choosing another, one that, once again, struck me in a cool way.
“Alice...is it really you?”
Now, this line is an odd choice. I’ll be the first to admit it.
For me, it touches upon two things, one obvious and one a bit more subtle.
Let’s get the obvious one out of the way: Killian ‘Papa’ Jones is straight up fucking elated! He hasn’t seen his darling Alice is years! And here she is! She’s smiling and standing tall and is FREE OF THAT FUCKING TOWER! It’s a damn dream come true!
The second thing this line tackles is something I’ve never seen mentioned before, and that’s wariness.
Killian’s been deceived by appearances before. The last time he was greeted by what he thought was a friendly face...well, she was an itch of a bitch of a witch, to say the least. And if Gothel felt the need to be meddlesome and separate them once, she’d definitely do it again if given the chance.
Going even further back, we have Zelena who disguised herself as both Marian and - more personally to him - Ariel as well Rumple at the start of their rivalry when he was disguised as an old geezer.
Seeing Alice again, and out in the open and with the slightest bit of a smile...it’s almost too good to be true.
More than anything in the world, Killian wants to believe that this is the real deal and that this is his daughter standing in front of him...but he just wants to be sure before he fully opens her heart.
Thankfully, all Alice needs to do is to say yes for her Papa to she the truth. He knows his baby girl. He knows her voice, her smile, her face.
The delight on Killian’s face afterwards is just so beautiful! Papa Killian is so fucking heartwarming I could probably cook a frozen pizza on my chest!
For him, it’s the ultimate form of catharsis, and while it only takes a brief moment, so much is said in it.
It had been so long since he’d truly heard that word, really listened to it, and understood what it meant. He’d known it well once, in the singing of his mother, the playful teasing of his brother, even the hope of a new one in the years with Milah and the months with Baelfire.
Family.
It was a word he’d believed to be lost to him. Sure, his crew had been something close to it, and he’d admitted to himself that sacrifices had to be made for this life he’d chosen, the primary one being any hope of a new family.
That had ended with a cry. She’d been pink and fussy and wrinkled, but in every jerky newborn motion and every squeal, he’d started to sense that word again. The old feeling of it came back as he lifted her into his arms for the first time, like he’d dusted off cobwebs from an heirloom he’d thought he’d lost to the depths of a forgotten attic. Yet, here it was, more easily retrievable than he’d thought possible, all because of a soft, gurgling lump he’d fallen in love with at first sight.
For nearly eleven often-difficult but always-rewarding years, she kept that word safe for him. His family, his Alice.
Then, as it always had, ill-fortune reared its ugly head—or, rather, her ugly head, braids and all—and took that formerly dusty word and tossed it out the window.
He’d believed it shattered, and spent years trying desperately to find and pick-up the pieces that just kept slipping through his fingers, though not before they seemed to tear at him like glass.
The loss of it now felt so much worse than it had with any other loss. He could still hear her yells for him and still felt each horrible pain that had flared each time he’d tried to climb back into the tower. After years of hunting for a way to get that word back, he found himself shoving it further into the recesses of his mind, dulling the ache with alcohol and self-exile.
Until another word he’d thought lost to him had bobbed up from the surface of the water from his grotto home, a smile on her face and a large conch shell in her hand. She’d provided an ear to listen and alternated between comforting words and harsh realities, but always was willing to provide help in any way she could. Gods, when was the last time he’d known that? Smee, he realized. His crew, he supposed.
A friend.
More years passed, and good intentions mixed with bad ideas, but as time wore on the first began to outweigh the latter. New travels meant new people. People who, to his unending surprise, also seemed willing to help him in his search. Suddenly the shards of his life didn’t feel so distant and sharp. Though still difficult and scattered, they at least felt attainable again.
It had been so long since he’d trusted people, really trusted them, and understood they meant no harm. This time, he vowed to allow himself to appreciate it and to accept it. To let this ever-increasing band of strangers, of budding bonds, to remind him of who he had been. Who he could be. To remind him that what was past was past, but he could have something else to look forward to.
So, I’m probably going to post a few of these a bit late for Wish Hook Week, but I’d like to talk a bit about what Wish Hook means to me.
When he was first introduced in season 6 I, like many others, thought he was humorous on he surface but a problem for the character of Killian underneath. After all, he seemed to make no sense: why would a version of Killian Jones have allowed himself to age and become a drunken farce of himself when his goal for centuries had been to rid the world of Rumple—and act he clearly had not done—and he’d always been an able-minded, adaptable, intelligent man. Love him or hate him, he was arguably always portrayed as someone who understood countless subjects and could pick up on things quickly.
Then, for me, 7x07 happened. Sure, there was that hopeful glimmer of “I’m trying to find my daughter” in 7x02, though to me the writing in that episode for the sake of a reveal was a debacle. Then there was 7x03-7x06, where he was shown to be a more bashful version of his Storybrooke counterpart whose cursed persona was an upstanding, compassionate man. More on Rogers another day...
7x07 was the start of my absolute adoration of this version of him, and it only snowballed from there. From giving up his life as he knew it for an infant he hadn’t expected in a thousand years, to the clear influence he had on Alice as he was her only source of human contact for seventeen years, to his friendships with others and his selfless loyalty he showed to them throughout their time together in the Enchanted Forest.
So, after 7x07, who is Wish Hook to me?
He’s a version of the character that I’d hoped he always could be, and a perfectly created transformation of the Captain Hook persona to a George Darling-like person. He takes what we could have gotten with Baelfire and shows that, indeed, given the right circumstances, he’s absolutely the type of person that always will sacrifice his life and his possessions for those he loves.
To be honest, he’s a reminder that there are people out there that will love unconditionally, that will always strive to be a better version of themselves even if they may sometimes falter, and that even when life gets hard and sometimes you fail, you can pick yourself back up again.
You can be that good person.
You can succeed even if you may have failed before.
You are worthy of friends and family.
This version, like basically all versions, of Killian Jones are made to suffer time and time again through familial loss, romantic loss, poor luck, his own demons, etc. Still, through it all, he always comes through in the end and ensures others do, as well.
For whoever might still be interested, it’s all ready to go! i’ll be working on setting it up tonight hopefully. Just thinking of a date to start it on.
It’s been a hellish January!!!
Until then, if anyone has any ideas or hopes, expectations- anything you’d like to have as a theme or just generally want to ask or suggest, don’t feel shy, send me a message!
It’s a week for everyone to celebrate wish hook so please feel free to let me know how and what you’d like to see.
“Please Don’t Throw It” (Knight Rook) Wish Hook Week - Day 5 - Knight Rook Day
Summary: Killian’s trying to expose his lovely toddler to new foods, but when he’s had enough of Alice throwing mashed peas into his face, he tries something new.
You’ve waited patiently for it, and it’s finally here! KNIGHT ROOK DAY!!!!!
Putting this together was so much fun and after the week we’ve all had, I think we could all use a bit of fluff!
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“Icky!”
Alice’s words hit Killian just as the mashed peas did.
Killian opened his eyes. His eyelids were weighed down, and he was quite certain of the culprit for that.
“Icky,” indeed.
Across the table they shared, Alice was having a wonderful time, flailing her arms around triumphantly.
And why shouldn’t she?
Her aim had become flawless.
Killian took the cloth by his side to clean his face.
This was the third time that he had done so, and no better was that reflected than on the surface of the very cloth he sought out. He had to use the other side just to cleanse himself of the mushy, paste-like vegetable because the side he’d been using up to this point was now completely sullied with the green substance.
Once the cloth was put back on the table, Killian massaged his eyes with his thumb and index finger.
“Alice,” he whined. “Why won’t you eat?”
It was terribly unfair. Alice had put up a fight for the past now five meals as Killian tried to coax her to eat her peas. He’d eventually been able to get some food into her in the moments before she lost herself to sleep, but Killian had only been able to get her to swallow a fraction of what he had initially prepared.
Always one to take the path of most resistance, Killian tried again with a fresh scoop of peas.
Killian hummed as he eased the spoon closer and closer to Alice.
“This looks so good,” he said, gentle encouragement in his voice. “Try some.”
…
The spoon thudded against his face and Killian was once more caked with what should have been inside his daughter’s belly.
Another cleaning, courtesy of the now hopelessly spot-filled cloth beside him took place.
Well, that was it for that. Looks like I’m on my last try until I can next do laundry.
So peas weren’t her favorite food. Big deal.
It’s not like she didn’t eat her vegetables at all. Alice had liked her mashed carrots fine enough, and she liked mashed beets too.
But they weren’t in stock, and Killian wanted to at least try and offer her some variety.
If she couldn’t explore the physical world, then Killian could ensure that she’d explore the culinary one.
Now if only Alice could play along.
The market he went to would be closing within the hour. There was no way he’d make there in time.
That left the both of them stuck until tomorrow.
And Alice remained stagnant in her position towards her dinner.
Killian looked around at the other things he had bought.
There was meat, though that was more for his benefit. Climbing a tower took a lot of energy and if there was anything that meat supplied, it was energy. Despite his every attempt, he couldn’t think of a way to make the meat into something Alice could eat. There was too little left to make a broth, and this meat was too hard for Alice’s teeth to bear.
There were some vegetables left, but Alice had shown a contempt for them too in the past. Killian however, as he did with the meat, kept them for himself.
Worrisome, Killian allowed for his bottom teeth to scratch his lower lip.
Am I truly about to have my child go hungry tonight?
One final look in some of the far back cabinets thankfully put that fear to bed.
There, in the furthest reaches of the cabinet, a shimmer of the setting sun exposed a jar of marmalade.
It was another new food that Killian had bought for Alice, though it had taken a backseat when she showed a love for her mashed carrots.
Killian looked at the substance in the jar. It was bright and goopy - more of a dessert food, really. Right now, Killian didn’t care. Just getting her to eat is paramount. He could worry about the state of her nutrients later.
Carefully, Killian scooped some of the orange preservative and took out and chunks or bits that looked to be too challenging for Alice’s few and feeble baby teeth. When he finally prepared enough to fill a small bowl, Killian took Alice’s feeding spoon, now devoid of all manner of peas, and pushed it towards his daughter’s face.
As his hand inched closer and closer, one thought - one prayer - repeated itself like a mantra.
Please don’t throw it.
Alice looked curiously at the marmalade as it jiggled on the spoon. Her mouth was noticeably closed.
“Open up Alice,” Killian cooed.
Please don’t throw it.
Killian noticed Alice’s nostril twitch outward. Was she breathing in its scent? It appeared so.
Please don’t throw it.
Finally, Alice mouth opened up - whether to inhale the marmalade or exhale her latest exclamation of disgust, Killian had no clue. He closed his eyes, awaiting her judgment.
Please, please, please don’t throw it.
The end of Killian’s misery came when Alice said a word that he’d not heard in days.
“Yum!”
Killian opened his eyes.
Complementing Alice’s praise was an open smile on her face. Even better, her hands waved towards her, begging for the marmalade to get pushed the rest of the way into her mouth.
Not a second was wasted.
The spoon touched her lips and Alice immediately engulfed it all.
“Yum!” she cried again.
Killian swore that there were tears in his eyes. He hasn’t been this proud since she started speaking.
Another spoon was filled up only to be emptied by a now apparently famished Alice. This continued until the bowl was completely emptied.
When the meal was finally complete, Killian cleaned off Alice before picking her up and holding her close to him. From in his arms, she stared up at him.
“Yum!” she hollered, now for the third time.
“You sure like that marmalade, huh?”
A giggle from Alice was the response that he got.
Killian smiled. This was perfect. The jar he had was enough to last for weeks. Not only that, buying more of it would be not only simple, but affordable too!
Looks like from now on, the only place Alice will be throwing her food is into her mouth.
Damn, this season has left us with plenty of characters to choose from for this entry!
...But dammit, I’m a sucker for my FoeTP!
Get over here, you glorious bastards!
Something that I don’t think we got in the six seasons was Rumple and Killian honest to God working together. I mean, we saw it...but not really. They worked together tangentially, which - don’t get me wrong - was fine.
The thing is, there was so much potential seeing these two bitter rivals working together. Killian and Rumple complement each other in a very unique ways, and that’s what I adore about them and their dynamic as a whole. Killian’s charming and likable. He’s the kind of guy who makes someone want to open up by choice and he’s strong enough to be a threat without magic. Rumple, on the other hand, while not popular in the public eye by any means, is willing to do what he needs to to get things done, and has the abilities (Read: magic) required to fulfill his own needs. He’ll push someone to the brink and manipulate them and forge all kinds of crazy and sleazy alliances to ensure that he gets what he wants. What happens when these two are on the same side and more over, have to rely on one another?
Well, we got that this season, and it’s been glorious!!!!
Killian and Rumple’s cursed personalities, Rogers and Weaver, working together, more than any other spoiler that we got for Season 7, had me squeeing like a fangirl whose OTP just got made canon. And not only were they going to be coworker, but they were going to be cops - a job that requires the qualities that make Rumple and Killian so interesting to begin with? Fuck...I was ready.
Look, I’m a Golden Hook shipper above most others. This season was always going to be my fucking Christmas, and wow boy - it’s delivered in spades.
“A Pirate’s Life” was a dream come true episode for me, and not just for the CS stuff (Though that did help). The Rogers and Weaver content was through the roof. Nearly every scene the two had were with each other in the forefront and were all character-driven, and the scenes they didn’t share had each other present through their stunning characterizations.
Weaver presented Rogers with his first real conflict of the season: Whether or not to betray Henry. Now, while I’m pretty sure we all knew that Rogers wasn’t about to lose his job because of spoilers for upcoming episodes, what it meant for his partnership with Weaver was uncertain and thus, put on the line. It certainly wasn’t helped knowing that Wish Killian was only just starting his redemption in the flashback.
Things had already ended badly during Henry’s test in the premiere…
How would it go for Rogers?
Well, Rogers was indeed successful morally, choosing to maintain his integrity over cowering to Belfrey’s whims for more opportunities concerning his missing girl case.
But what was to happen between him and Weaver?
This scene was a gem and really set the tone for their partnership. Rogers was left guessing just about everything about his new partner, but showed that he remained on equal footing to Weaver by its conclusion. And Weaver was left as mysterious, but not at all without nobility. You can see that inkling of Rogers sneaking into Weaver too, as directly presented in the next scene with Weaver and Belfrey. There’s trust between the two of them, as tenuous as it is. Rogers clearly does revere Weaver as a cop, and Weaver is impressed by Rogers’ code and persistence. There are definitely bumps too, as to be expected of two personalities such as theirs, regardless of the state of their memories.
Speaking of...
I really wish that we had gotten more of Weaver before he woke up. His character felt so distinct from Rumple’s and seeing a relationship between the two of them deprived of a good chunk of their animosity was intriguing. Not to mention, for as similar as Rumple and Weaver are, I wanted to know more about Weaver’s end goal. Why did he want Rogers’ moral code? How did Tilly fit in to all of this? How would Weaver have played into The Power Trio of Regina, Henry, and Killian and the resolution of the Eloise Gardener case?
But ah well. The past is the past, and our present with them is pretty sweet.
Robert Carlyle expertly communicates the shift in his feelings towards their partnership. You see that slight bit of venom when he first wakes up when he yells at Rogers.
But surprisingly, that’s not all.
There’s also compassion, as demonstrated by the scene in the evidence room, one I dissected on day one of Wish Hook Week, which I’ll put here if you want to read it.
We see it again, now in The Enchanted Forest, with The White Elephant in “The Eight Witch.” “All magic comes with a price.” That’s been Rumple’s motto since the fourth episode of the series! But do you notice something during that scene?
There is no price. Rumple just hands Killian the White Elephant, an item with literally no negative consequences apart from its scarcity.
At this point, it’s unclear whether or not this show of kindness is for Killian’s benefit or Alice’s. Now, I’m sure it’s for Alice. In fact, I think she’s the very reason he ended up scaly again. Alice - and later, Tilly - are undeniably their common ground.
But one can’t help but believe that there’s a modicum of concern for Killian too. For me, it’s the “protect you from your bloody self” line from a few episodes prior that sells it. Perhaps it comes from a respect for Killian as a fellow parent, or perhaps even a genuine, yet I emphasize low and unorthodox, camaraderie that formed over the eight-year time skip concerning Alice’s well being.
Whatever the case, something far from hatred has formed between the two of them, and it culminates in Rumple trusting Rogers with his motives in “One Little Tear.” I think that this is so important, especially for Rumple. Over the past six seasons, Rumple has never been one to ask for help if he could at all help it. But here, after being screwed over by Tremaine and bearing witness to Rogers - a good, yet in many way, naive cop - practically begging to be let in, Rumple decides to change his tune. He puts forth the effort to let someone help him, and, as well as he can given the circumstances, tells Rogers of his desire to be reunited with his wife.
And Rogers - as unbelievable as that story is to him - does indeed believe Weaver. That’s really saying something considering the bulk of Rogers time this episode was spent investigating Weaver and the findings were overall pretty rough on Weaver’s credibility. But Rogers can tell when Weaver’s being vulnerable and putting himself out there, and chooses to put his faith in his partner.
From there, the two now continue their investigations together - this time with a new level of respect and a stronger level of trust between the two of them. In addition, Rumple has regained at least some aspect of Tilly’s trust back through Rogers and Rogers, through Weaver, is finally getting some of the answers he’s spent the season looking for. This is what I mean about their qualities complementing each others and blending together, and I sincerely hope we get to see more of them.
For me, this relationship is the best mix of old and new. Rogers and Weaver are not friends, and that doesn’t change when Rumple comes back into the mix. There’s still harshness between them and snips and snaps galore. But there’s something new here too, and it’s something that keeps their dynamic fresh. And it all plays out with the chemistry between Robert Carlyle and Colin O’Donoghue. Their performances make you feel and see the meaning behind their every expression they convey and word they say, and when you mix them together, sparks fly like a firework show in Disney World.
I don’t know what these final episodes hold for the two of these characters - what role Rogers/Killian will play in Rumple’s death, how Alice brought them and continues to bring them together out of the ashes of their rivalry, or what their partnership will mean for the Coven of Eight. But whatever it is, as long as they’re together, it will be something that nobody - especially not me - will want to miss.
