Advanced WLW Processing SwanQueen Style is Safe by SgtMac, a self-described “therapy fic” in which the town sheriff, Emma Swan, (prompted as always by Henry’s predictable intervention) helps former Evil Queen Regina Mills put her past behind her.
The story begins in typical Once Upon A Time fashion: someone makes a foolish and ridiculous choice that ultimately (somehow) works out in everyone’s favor. Henry has decided that the only way to save his adopted Mom from making an irreparable mistake is to have his birth mother kidnap her, get her out of Storybrooke to nullify her magic and convince her to give up her pursuit of retribution.
As implausible a premise as it is undeniably similar to existing canon, this is where the simplicity ends. Regina Mills is not a woman easily convinced to change her path, despite her love for her son, but Emma Swan doesn’t give up where Henry is concerned.
Set after the end of Season Two, this is less “slow burn” and more assemble-all-the-ingredients-before-turning-on-the-heat. Yet this is also the attraction of this story. Emma and Regina stitch together a truce between them that makes the fantastic seem real. The natural development of that truce into a friendship thaws the reader along with the Evil Queen, and though Emma and Regina fight the attraction between them, it is as inevitable as Henry’s persistence.
Pros
SgtMac writes brilliant characterizations. Safe’s dual point of view gives readers a crisp clear glimpse of each woman’s singular voice – Regina’s refined scathing wit and Emma’s equally intelligent but casual riposte – as well as a deeper understanding of what makes each of them both attractive and unique.
Another beautiful aspect of this story is the balance of exploration. Regina isn’t the only one who needs to work through issues from her past, and Emma quickly learns that she must give if she’s going to get.
Some readers may not enjoy the seemingly endless processing, but this story isn’t a procession of contrived anything-to-get-them-together scenes. Instead, it’s a thought-provoking and ultimately believable approach to Regina’s character growth including triumphs and setbacks. Emma’s insistence on treating Regina’s path like any other road to recovery is also what feeds her reluctance at anything romantic or sexual happening between them. When the romance eventually appears, the reasons they fight it are pragmatic – as are the reasons why they ultimately surrender.
Cons
While an exceptionally satisfying read, the length is hefty. Still, very little here is filler and every scene adds another aspect of the growing connection between Regina and Emma.
For those who can’t stand Neal, be forewarned that he makes a few appearances. He only exists, however, to clarify Emma’s feelings and Regina’s growing control over her magic.
The warnings in this story are not to be ignored. Regina’s harrowing past defines what transformed her into the Evil Queen, and while not exceedingly graphic, they’re also not ambiguous. Tread carefully.
Conclusion
In many ways, Emma Swan is a better foil for Regina Mills than Mary Margaret/Snow White. Though Snow is powerful in her own right, she doesn’t have the same love/hate relationship with magic that Regina does, nor has she experienced a comparable level of desolation. (This isn’t to say that Snow has had an easy life. Everyone on this damned show has been through the ringer.)
But Emma is perhaps singularly equipped to understand not only Regina’s pain but also the depth of her distrust and the profound ache of her isolation. She is also the only character who sees the entirety of Regina’s identity – not just the Evil Queen and her history. (This is also explored in the sequel, Real, which takes Emma and Regina back to Storybrooke and shows the aftermath of their communal isolation. Set six months later – and clocking in much shorter at around 40k words – Real, is more than a lengthy epilogue and should not be missed.)
This story is at its heart a character analysis and the depths it explores are extreme. Gut-wrenching yet beautiful, Safe may be set in the fantastic but it is also a realistic depiction of a developing relationship between these two powerful yet traumatized women.
Excerpt from Advanced WLW Processing SwanQueen Style
They drive for a few minutes, heading towards the town line, and then Henry asks softly sounding so very young and unsure, “Do you think this will work?”
Emma laughs. “It’s a bit late to be worried about that since we’ve already kidnapped her.” She grows immediately somber when she sees his serious expression, his eyes so wide and worried and perhaps even a little bit afraid. “I think that you and me, we’ll do whatever we need to do to make sure it works,” she assures him.
“Even if she gets angry and tries to hurt you?”
“I’m kind of expecting her to try,” Emma admits. “But I’m pretty tough.”
“You’re not nearly tough enough to deal with me, Miss Swan,” a voice rumbles from the backseat. It’s low and throaty, and it just about scares the living shit out of Emma. So much so that she almost jerks the wheel entirely to the side, which causes the car to skid. Thankfully, Henry reacts quickly and grabs the wheel to steady them (suddenly she’s very glad that she’s been allowing him to play so many games of Mario Kart).
“Jesus Christ, Regina,” Emma gasps, a hand over her rapidly pounding heart. She looks in the rearview mirror and is infinitely relieved to see the older woman trying to force her magic forward and failing thanks to the now brightly glittering handcuffs.
“What have you done to me?” the older woman growls out as her eyes snap from Emma to Henry and then back to Emma. “This is kidnapping.” She holds up her wrists and jangles the cuffs as if to punctuate her words.
“Exactly,” Emma says with a sharp nod of her head. “And one day, you’re going to thank me for it.”
And then, as if to punctuate her own defiant point, she drives the car right over the town line. There’s a shimmer of bright blue light as they cross over the border, and then Regina gasps as the magic inside of her is quite literally turned off.
“Mom?” Henry asks, reaching for her.
She meets his hopeful but scared eyes with her own wide pained ones. She mouths his name almost desperately, and then suddenly, her eyes are rolling and she’s pitching backwards onto the seat, unconsciousness dragging her down once more.
“Mom?” he says again, fear sharpening his tone. “Emma, I think…”
“No, hey, it’s all right, kid,” Emma assures him with a faint smile. “Don’t worry. I thought that this might happen. Your mom isn’t affected by the memory part of the curse, but there are some side effects to losing her magic, apparently. Blue told me to expect that if she was awake when we crossed the line that it might hit her kind of hard. It did.”
“But she’s okay, right?” Henry pleads.
Emma thinks for a moment, and then answers solemnly, her words a promise that she intends to keep no matter what it takes, “She will be.”
Bits And Bobs
Fandom: SwanQueen/Once Upon A Time
Length: 220,000
Author: SgtMac
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0
Rating: M
Rating Guide: G= General, T = Teen and up, M=Mature, E = explicit
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