Neal explaining his family tree (probably):

Yeah well there’s my evil grandfather, Peter Pan… also my evil grandmother, the black fairy… then there’s my dad, the Dark One… oh yeah, my brother, the savior slayer…

…Belle’s okay, though. (Shrug)

i will never not get emotional watching the season 2 finale of ouat. like just watching killian's face fall when he finds out neal is dead. the realization the emma may have lit the spark of his redemption, but his love for baelfire is what fanned that spark into a flame

the direct parallel of the scene in the past of killian telling bae that he could change for him and bae saying he would never change bc all he cares about is himself

AND THEN WHEN HE TURNS AROUND AND COMES BACK EMMA SAYS SHE DIDN'T THINK HE CARED ABOUT ANYONE BUT HIMSELF AND KILLIAN JUST SAYS HE NEEDED REMINDING THAT HE COULD ASJDHHDJSK

and that reminder came after emma's speech in the diner. after she told him that he could be a part of something. he still didn't give her back the bean. he gave her an empty pouch and dipped. he had nothing to lose by leaving storybrooke to be destroyed, but he came back.

without anyone there with him to say just the right things and encourage him to make the right choice. emma already did that, but that wasn't enough. he still betrayed her

but he sat there with his own thoughts. with the knowledge bae was dead. and looking at the carving he made to teach this boy he once loved how to sail. AND HE TURNED BACK

BECAUSE HE BLAMES HIMSELF FOR TEARING APART BAE'S FAMILY. AND ONE OF HIS BIGGEST REGRETS WAS SELLING BAE OUT TO PAN. BUT HE'LL BE DAMNED IF HE DOESN'T TRY TO MAKE IT RIGHT. SO HE TURNS BACK TO SAVE BAE'S SON. BECAUSE HE MAY HAVE TAKEN BAE'S MOTHER AWAY FROM HIM ONCE AND PLANNED TO MURDER HIS FATHER, BUT HE WON'T LET HIS SON SUFFER THE SAME THING. HE WANTS TO BREAK THE CYCLE AND TRY TO MAKE IT UP TO THE BOY HE ONCE LOVED AS HIS OWN

and then he finds out that storybrooke's safe, but henry's been kidnapped, and he doesn't even hesitate to volunteer to help get him back, even when he finds out he has to work with the man who murdered the woman he loves and who cut off his hand. HIS LOVE FOR BAELFIRE OUTWEIGHED HIS HATRED FOR RUMPLE, JUST LIKE HE SAID IT WOULD WAY BACK WHEN HE TOLD BAE HE COULD CHANGE FOR HIM. HE MADE GOOD ON THAT PROMISE

and he finds out that henry's been taken to neverland, a place killian DESPISES, and he still doesn't back out. bc he may have sold bae into pan's hands, but he will save his son from suffering the same fate.

and everyone believes he's on neverland solely for emma, and he lets them believe that. bc he knows why he's there and it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. he may be falling in love with emma. she may inspire him to become better. but she was never the reason

and i can't stop crying

It’ll always be such a shame that Neal died. Like there’s the obvious reasons; death sad, no endgame yk

But also Emma and Neal were such a funny ship when they wanted to be like “Oh no I taught her that” will never fail to make me laugh. Also the exacerbated sigh Neal lets out in that moment, he’s like “omg god wtf is she up to 🙄.” Then with Henry being a mini them in training is just the cherry on top. They truly deserved to be one of those couples with endless “…being chaotic for 5 five minutes straight” compilations on YT

And the humor out of the co-parenting relationship with Regina we were robbed of would’ve been epic too, you can’t tell me Regina and Neal wouldn’t have the best sibling-like banter. I can just see her try to be intimidating and he’d have these snarky remarks like my father was the dark one you don’t scare me 😑

It’s just a shame that so much of his/their story is overshadowed by the sad stuff

In case you had forgotten about it: The ultimate funny-but-also-fricking-sad meme.

(I have no idea who originally made this, if you tell me i'll credit them)

Rumpelstiltskin's first wife, Milah, was an emotionally abusive asshole. Like he fucking crippled himself so that he could be there for his kid and that's a bad thing? Fuck that noise, he deserves a fucking prize.

Baelfire was an incredible character, with compelling motives and great potential, but his character was doomed the moment they revealed he was Henry's father, not only because they'd already painted Henry's dad in such a negative light, but also because this pitted him directly against Killian Jones, whom the writers claimed to have wanted to end up with Emma "since the beginning."

This is nothing against Killian; Killian Jones is my favorite character, Captain Swan is my OTP, and I'm certainly not bothered in the slightest that Emma ended up with Killian.

However, I was also such a huge fan of Baelfire for the first season or two. He was an artist, he never gave up, he made lots of pasta, he was clever and resourceful, and he always saw the good in people. I would've loved to see him grow and develop as a character.

He always wanted a family, but he kept losing them. His mom left. His dad let him go. He sacrificed himself for the Darlings. He left Killian's crew. He didn't even become one of the lost boys- he spent centuries without hope of a family and never got one.

He also always wanted to be a hero, but he lost all chance of that when they made him Henry's father and set him up to fail.

It's hard to put it all into proper words- I'm not a huge fan of Neal Cassidy, but man, did I love Baelfire.

‘Heart thudding, he turned….and there he was. His boy, in the same jeans and jacket he’d been wearing when he died. His brown eyes crinkled as he held out his hands in a ‘well?’ gesture. And Rumple didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He chose laughter, chuckling in a way that he hadn’t in ages. He loved the life he had now. He loved Belle, and Gideon, and if asked he would say that he couldn’t possibly want anything else… except the man in front of him now, alive and whole and a part of their happy little family.

They fell into each other’s arms, still laughing uncontrollably, and damn if Bae didn’t feel real in his arms. He even smelled like the adult Bae that he’d come to know in Storybrooke, which told him that the son he embraced right now was not simply a figment of his other son’s dream, for Gideon had no way of knowing how his older brother smelled. This was, somehow and unbelievably, Bae.’

- Beyond the Door by @jackabelle73

had the honour to be asked to make fanart for this lovely fic. if you haven’t already go check it out! it certainly made me tear up.

Neal: wait... you like my dad the way my mom likes my dad?

Belle:

Belle: your mum likes your dad?

Emma + Baelfire: Soulmates. Fate. Destiny. True Love. Poetry.

"There's something in the static,

I think I've been having revelations..."

some quality hilarious content was missed out on when in once upon a time, regina and neal/baelfire met and she tries to throw her weight around as "im the evil queen" and he's like I don't even know you. genuinely what are you talking about. what evil queen. you're a girlboss in a power suit who is perpetually stressed out about a child. queen of what exactly. because he was fucking about running around neverland when regina was being a menace in her realm and he has no clue who this lady this and regina is so mad about that

you know who else in funny? Neal. I cannot get over how much of a loser he is. And the fact that he thought he ever stood a chance when it came between him and Hook??? Guy Liner McPuppy Eyes? Emma walks into his his line of sight and his world is instantly rocked. Killian Jones would NEVER get engaged to a random woman on the street because he was too scared to face Emma. Also Neal has zero drip. Man is wearing a dirty t-shirt and sweatpants 100% of the time. Hook is in dashing black pirate attire. He’s got a detachable hook for a hand and has alluded to having ~other~ attachments for it as well. Baelfire calls his dad “papa” despite being a grown man. “When I win your heart, Emma, and I will win it. It will not be because of any trickery. It will be because you want me.” Neal baby i’m so sorry but you could nevvvverrrrrrr

Ouattober 2023 Day 4 - Betrayal

Rumple and Bae - OUAT S01E08 (Desperate Souls)