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From the Pilot.
Emma: “Just because you believe something doesn’t make it true.”
Henry: “That’s exactly what makes it true.” (said the guy with the heart of the truest believer)
I find it interesting that all the Authors that August references (Plato, Walt Disney) seem to come from our world, A Land Without Magic. I have to believe this is important. Fairy tales have a way of keeping magic alive in our world. They keep us believing and offering us hope. It might also suggest that the only reason the Enchanted Forest, Wonderland, and Neverland exist at all is because people in A Land without Magic believe in them.
Now, did the succession of Authors write these stories from their own imaginations, or were they taken to other worlds to witness the stories and bring them back to A Land without Magic, so that these other magical worlds could be sustained by our belief? What came first, the chicken or the egg?
Either way, I think the Authors’ job is to keep people believing with the stories they record.
Obviously, the Author is appointed by the Sorcerer/Apprentice, so…
Imagine if you will, the “famous playwright” J.M. Barrie, who wrote Peter Pan, was once appointed as the Author, but was he appointed before or after he wrote his famous play. Did Neverland exist before he wrote it, or was he taken to Neverland, inspired by what he saw there, and returned to A Land without Magic to share what he experienced through a work of fiction?
Given the time line here, both Peter Pan and Rumple were alive hundreds of years before J.M. Barrie, so I’d guess that Neverland existed before Barrie’s story was written in our world.
If the current Author running loose in Storybrooke is also from our world, I’d venture to guess that his motivations in mannipulating/controlling people in the Enchanted Forest are simply to return to A Land Without Magic. We know the Sorcerer can travel between the worlds, so I think he pulled the current Author from A Land without Magic like he did all the others.
The Apprentice told the author that he had “abused his sacred duty.” To me, that means that the Author can control what the characters do, giving him the ability to throw a character’s free will out the window. So what’s in it for the Author? Why did he start changing these stories in the first place?
I think it could be as simple as he didn’t like his job, but he was stuck with it, trapped in the Enchanted Forest with no way to escape thanks to the Sorcerer or Apprentice. This would mean that the Author wanted to be trapped in the book, or at least maybe it was part of a plan.
This current Author played his cards right, and now he’s back in A Land Without Magic. His whole journey could have potentially made him a villain, so its likely that he’s not guaranteed his Happy Ending, which makes me think he will want to find Rumple and change the rules, so he can get back to the life stolen from him.
I tend to think that Rumple and the Author have met in the past. If this is true, there’s a good chance they’ve been working together since the beginning. Rumple would’ve been alive for hundreds of years before the current Author came into the job, so it’s possible Rumple tried to corrupt other Authors but was finally able to sway this one, offering to help him return to A land Without Magic, which is exactly where Rumple wanted to go to reunite with Baelfire.
Perhaps the only reason the Dark Curse even exists is because Rumple had the Author write it into existence. There’s no telling what Rumple promised the Author for helping him.
If any of this is true, I can’t be certain that the Sorcerer is all good. Lost Reference time: in some ways the Sorcerer is shaping up to be the Jacob of OUAT.
Thoughts? What do you think the Author’s motivations are?
[adrotate group="5"]What came first, the chicken or the egg? Either way, I think the Authors’ job is to keep people believing with the stories they record.
This is a really tough one to answer. With this Author storyline, they haven’t really explained yet how our world knows about these fairytales. Was there a crossing over of sorts before the Dark Curse? Is Walt Disney from the Enchanted Forest? Are all the writers’ we’ve known throughout history from the EF?
To me, that means that the Author can control what the characters do, giving him the ability to throw a character’s free will out the window. So what’s in it for the Author? Why did he start changing these stories in the first place?
My theory is that he didn’t get his happy ending the way he wanted, so he messes with other people’s stories, just because he can.
I tend to think that Rumple and the Author have met in the past. If this is true, there’s a good chance they’ve been working together since the beginning. Rumple would’ve been alive for hundreds of years before the current Author came into the job, so it’s possible Rumple tried to corrupt other Authors but was finally able to sway this one, offering to help him return to A land Without Magic, which is exactly where Rumple wanted to go to reunite with Baelfire. Perhaps the only reason the Dark Curse even exists is because Rumple had the Author write it into existence. There’s no telling what Rumple promised the Author for helping him.Quote
This is an interesting theory, I can actually see happening on the show. We know from spoilers The Author has some kind of past with Cruella, but we don’t know about Rumple. Depending if the Author is immortal or not like Rumple, he may have had a history with him. Rumple has a history with most every character we know, so why not the Author too?
If any of this is true, I can’t be certain that the Sorcerer is all good. Lost Reference time: in some ways the Sorcerer is shaping up to be the Jacob of OUAT. Thoughts? What do you think the Author’s motivations are?
I think this is a really interesting theory. Concerning the belief aspect, sounds very similar to Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. I wonder if it could be that recorded stories/fairytales are what “maintains” these realms as they are, as “stable”?
I agree that I don’t think we can yet come to any conclusions about where the Sorcerer and the Author fall on the morality spectrum. I like the idea of the Sorcerer being OUAT’s Jacob actually. Then who would be the Man in Black?
If any of this is true, I can’t be certain that the Sorcerer is all good. Lost Reference time: in some ways the Sorcerer is shaping up to be the Jacob of OUAT. Thoughts? What do you think the Author’s motivations are?
I think this is a really interesting theory. Concerning the belief aspect, sounds very similar to Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. I wonder if it could be that recorded stories/fairytales are what “maintains” these realms as they are, as “stable”? I agree that I don’t think we can yet come to any conclusions about where the Sorcerer and the Author fall on the morality spectrum. I like the idea of the Sorcerer being OUAT’s Jacob actually. Then who would be the Man in Black?
My guess the Man in Black equivalent would be Rumple. In this show, they just call him the Dark One.
Concerning the belief aspect, sounds very similar to Neil Gaiman’s American Gods.
I’ll respond more properly to the thread at large in a few minutes but until then I just need to *drool*
Easily one of the best books I’ve ever read in my life.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"It might also suggest that the only reason the Enchanted Forest, Wonderland, and Neverland exist at all is because people in A Land without Magic believe in them.
Interesting, though it’s a bit of a circular question: we believe in them because they were written about. So chicken v egg, which came first, the writing or the land. Did our collective gestalt somehow magic those lands into existence post hoc of the writing?
Did Barrie dream up Neverland and then write about it, instilling a belief in NL which in turn caused NL to spring into existence?
The answer to that is of course no because NL existed long before Bae fell into our world and met Wendy Darling.
Either way, I think the Authors’ job is to keep people believing with the stories they record.
Like any good prophet!
think it could be as simple as he didn’t like his job, but he was stuck with it, trapped in the Enchanted Forest with no way to escape thanks to the Sorcerer or Apprentice. This would mean that the Author wanted to be trapped in the book, or at least maybe it was part of a plan.
Possibly. Though I think he was pretty honest that it was because he thought what he wrote was a better story. That’s the thing about writers: they’re egomaniacs, and I mean that lovingly. They are zealously possessive of their works and their characters to the point where characters lead them down path the writer never intended because the writer realizes that it would be “better” than the original idea or plan. The writer might have had X in mind for Snowing–simply telling the tale of their life and love–but having met them or spied on them or even just read previous stories about them he realized that a better story would be Y. He was informed by his characters, like most writers.
I like the idea of the Sorcerer being OUAT’s Jacob actually. Then who would be the Man in Black?
That’s pretty much where I stand at the moment. I think the First Author would be the MIB, if we’re going to draw some really drastic parallels. We still don’t know anything about the Sorcerer and how long he’s been…Sorcerering. But if A and E are going to play up the God v Devil/ Light v Dark aspect here, then the First Author and the Sorcerer are older than time itself and there is a battle of wills being played out between then. The Sorcerer can appoint the Author to have control (almost wrote dominion…) over the earth and its inhabitants, but the Sorcerer can easily remove the Author at any time.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"I’m not really sure where this goes considering there’s like three different threads relating to the Author, but I stumbled across these questions on Once Upon a Time Fan podcast.
What would happen if the author didn’t manipulate the story?
Did the author take away their chance for a happy ending by creating a better story or did he only provide reasons for what they inevitably would become?
Are we all one decision away from becoming a villain and could a second chance alter the course of history for the better?
Same questions posted in Fate, Free Will, And The Author. But it relates to here too.
Thoughts? What do you think the Author’s motivations are?
What if the Author just got bored out of his mind? He was basically a glorified clerk whose sole task in life was to be a record-keeper. If he is a creative soul, as I suspect, then he simply decided to mix things up to keep things interesting for himself. He let his imagination run wild, and the result was that things we’ve come to expect (e.g. “good always wins”) no longer are dependable. The current Author reminds me of Puck in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in which his puckish behavior gets the characters into a ton of trouble. That is why I think it will be up to Henry, the truest believer, to become the next Author to course correct and set things back on track. However, I think the take-away message for Henry, who is the product of both light and dark magic, is that people are less black-and-white, and that everyone is capable of great evil or of great good.
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
Thoughts? What do you think the Author’s motivations are?
What if the Author just got bored out of his mind? He was basically a glorified clerk whose sole task in life was to be a record-keeper.
With this show though where almost every villain’s motivation is rooted in love? I would be shocked now if Adam and Eddy suddenly decided to deviate from that course and make it something else. I think the reason why he does what he does is related to love, one way or another. What kind of love though? We don’t know yet, but whatever it is, it’s going in my true love meta.
Concerning the belief aspect, sounds very similar to Neil Gaiman’s American Gods.
I’ll respond more properly to the thread at large in a few minutes but until then I just need to *drool* Easily one of the best books I’ve ever read in my life.
I second that wholeheartedly.
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