And you know what? It’s okay that each of us got a slightly different thing out of the story–just as it’s okay that we don’t all see exactly the same things in Once. We’re all bringing our own life experiences, knowledge, and personalities to the stories we imbibe; the act of reading or viewing is not passive transmission of ideas from one person to another, but an active creation in our minds of the story we’re encountering. With reading the effect is heightened, as we’re transforming words into images and action in our heads.
If it weren’t for the fact that stories ARE open for interpretation, there would be no such thing as literary criticism (which is about interpreting the text, not pointing out its flaws, for those who aren’t so into English studies).
So what we each found in the story can be equally valid even if it’s different, opposed, or reflects our privileged biases. (And that means that RG and I can both be right about the curtains…in a quantum kinda way.)
Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing