Once Upon A Time Ships

CaptainSwan

Okay. Where do I start with this ship?

CAPTAINSWAN IS MY OTP!!!! And not just for this fandom, but for all fandoms! CaptainSwan is the pairing of Hook and Emma. I will start by explaining how I came to ship them.

The first time I shipped them was on the beanstalk in "Tallahassee." From the start, I knew Hook would probably be flirtatious with her, and he was, but I guess it first hit me when he was tying the scarf around the wound on her hand. And what's funny is that I think that's when it first hit Emma too. I also loved the full body embrace Emma gave him to save him from the tripwire. That was the best. I didn't understand why I shipped them; I just did. Normally, I look for reasons why I ship characters; I look for how they make each other up, but couldn't find much. I later figured out that what I was attracted to was their chemistry. It was EXPLODING. Seriously.

But all my hopes were shattered when Emma chained him to the beanstalk and I realized this ship probably won't sail, so I forgot about it. At least, I tried to. I think a part of me was hoping they would get together, but I knew they never would. Especially because Neal was in the picture later.

But really something was budding in their relationship. I'm writing this fanfiction that outlines Emma's relationship with Hook in Emma's point of view by rewriting CaptainSwan scenes, and I've figured out quite a bit of their relationship by analyzing it. Emma first found Hook attractive when he tied the cloth around her hand, but she didn't understand why she felt like this. She found him very annoying at times, but yet he understood her better than anyone else ever has before, without even knowing her that well! And although she obviously didn't love him, and he didn't love her, she felt this attraction she constantly wanted to push away. In Season 2, they were definitely frenemies.

But in season 3, everything changed. In Neverland, Emma got to know the real Hook, not the one with layers of sarcasm and dry humor and charm, and Hook learned the same of Emma. I realized through this ship that ships aren't always complete opposites. Hook and Emma are kindred spirits; they were built to be together, partially because they have so much in common. That's why they connect so much. They've undergoed similar circumstances with losing loved ones and closing themselves off because of it. But knowing they understand each other, it's easier to be around the other. Emma quickly finds Hook as her rock, someone who will always be there for her as a friend and someone who knows how she thinks without her having to communicate it.

It was their first kiss in Neverland when I lost it and became a die-hard CaptainSwan fan. Seriously, it possessed me. I watched the kiss constantly and shipped them so much, even when I didn't understand their relationship as well as I do now. I feel like Emma kissed him because of how attracted she felt to him in that moment and Hook said just the right thing to make her do it. "Perhaps you're the one who couldn't handle it." Another thing about their relationship that I like is that they challenge each other and always keep each other on our toes.

You can tell after the kiss that, although Emma enjoyed it, she regrets it severely because she'd been trying to deny her feelings for so long since she doesn't want to open herself up to someone again. Although, she doesn't have to try so hard to open herself up with Hook because he can already read her like an open book. Anyway, then in the Cave of Echoes where Neal is alive, Hook basically implicitly says he loves Emma. My heart exploded. But the problem was Neal. I can't express how scared I was that Emma and Neal would end up together when I really didn't want them to because I really didn't ship them together anymore, and I was terrified that Hook would be the third wheel in the love triangle and the only light he found in his life, Emma, would be taken from him. Worse, I was afraid he would hit it off with Tinker Bell! And I would have been so mad because I realized he and Emma belonged together. I mean, it was so obvious!