Reply To: Emma + Baelfire = Swanfire

[textbookone]

Ugh. Every word of this. Every. Word.

Why I Ship Swanfire…

So….. I got an ask from an anon a few weeks ago asking me why I shipped SF. Unfortunately, because it was the middle of the night and I was extremely tired, I was not able to come up with any good reasons. This post is going to be a redo of that, because I feel like I need to tell everyone WHY I wanted Neal and Emma to end up together on OUAT.

Ok. Let’s start from the start. The very start. It all started when we saw Neal Cassidy in Tallahassee. At that stage, I did not really ship those two together, because I had not seen Neal before, and I was under the impression that we would never see Henry’s father again on the show.

When I watched Tallahassee, the thing that really stood out for me was how many times Emma smiled. I mean, she smiled HEAPS in that episode, more than we had ever really seen her smile before, so I was quite ecstatic but confused at the same time when I saw this badass figure I had come to love, transform into a lovesick teenager.

After the episode, I was not mad at Neal. I understood his decision but I knew that Emma probably would not feel the same way as me. As the show went on, I kind of forgot about Neal to be honest. I never once thought that he would turn out to be a fairytale character until my cousins (who also watch ouat) pointed out that there were heaps of theories going around on the internet about Neal being Baelfire. I thought about it for a bit, and afterwards, I could not wait to see Neal appear on the show again.

When Manhattan came along, I was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by all the feels and all the angst. I was also overwhelmed by how much this episode affected me. I did plan on watching it over and over again, but for some reason, I did. During the next few episodes, I was confident that Neal and Emma would be endgame. I was sure it would happen, and I wasn’t surprised when Tamara turned out to be evil. I quite liked Tamara that way.

I began reading fanfiction. I began fast forwarding episodes until I reached the swanfire parts, and only then did I go back and watch the rest of the episode. I began making up scenarios in my head about things that could happen on the show, but I never transferred them onto my laptop because I was insecure about my writing abilities.

I came to love Neal Cassidy. I realised at the start of Season 3 that it was not reallyy swanfire that was the most important thing for me. It was Neal. It was Neal getting his happy ending, and swanfire could be a side dish to that.

Swanfire took over my life. I read fanfictions over and over and I loved rewatching old episodes. In Neverland, I loved how Neal knew pretty much everybody and I was waiting the moments where Emma and Neal would somehow rekindle their relationship. I knew they had a long way to go until everything was okay again, but I was sure that they could find the light at the end of the tunnel.

I used to wonder how I even survived watching season 1 with no Neal Cassidy in it, because in season 2 and 3, the only thing that kept me interested in the show was Neal. I was unaware of the bad writing and inconsistent plot arcs, so long as Neal was safe and happy and alive, I was fine.

But then Hook came along. I think the thing that annoyed me the most about Hook was how he just swapped mentalities. He seemed to completely forget about Milah and then he expected Emma to fall for him. He begged for kisses of gratitude and he bragged about it to Neal. And what surprised me the most was how Emma seemed to go along with it. Nobody called him out enough on his BS and now he is considered a hero. I will admit, he has changed. He is not as horrible as he used to be, but he is no saint either.

But, enough about Hook.

Why I really ship swanfire is because I believe in second chances. I believe in forgiveness and faith. I believe that people can change FOR REAL. I also believe that some people do not need to change at all, they are great in the first place.

I believe that good looks do not get you everything. I believe that beauty is from the inside and popularity should not get you the girl. I did not want Henry to have to live with his parent’s uncomfortable silences and awakward/angsty conversations for the rest of his life. I wanted Neal Cassidy, a man who has carried around so much guilt and regret and memories throughout his life to finally be granted a happy ending with the woman he loves. I wanted Baelfire, a brave boy who had suffered through more pain in fourteen years than most people experience in their whole lives, to have the happy ending that he deserved.

I wanted Emma and Henry and Neal to be a happy family, because, I know this is only my opinion, however, it breaks my heart (even in real life situations) to see families that are torn apart or where parents are divorced unhappily. I know there are heaps of situations in which divorce is the better option, but i honestly believe that in Emma and Neal’s case, they were better together.

Neal fell in love with the real Emma. Raw Emma. Non- saviour, partially-badass, not-yet mother, orphaned Emma. Emma fell in love with a thief.
Not ‘Bae’, not ‘Baelfire’, not the son of the Dark one. She fell in love with the lonely lost boy who doubled as a cheeky rogueish thief. They were lost souls who found eachother and i believe that they were destined to be together, and nobody can tell me otherwise.

http://the-lion-sleeps-2night.tumblr.com/post/88054707184/why-i-ship-swanfire