Traveling the Realms of Legends

Traveling Realms 
by Amy Hood-- @Amylia403

Flashback to Season One.... As we recall, after a devastating separation from Baelfire, Rumple spent hundreds of years planning, plotting, scheming and manipulating just to find his son.  When Blue told him there were no magic beans left (the jury is still out in my mind as to the level of shadiness being The Blue Fairy), he searched everywhere, questioned everyone, devised an in-depth and calculated plan to finally get a Dark Curse cast (then broken) all so he could find his son. The time, heartbreak and tears put into finding Baelfire were legendary. Poor Rumple. Had he only known....

Fast forward to now….as we are about to begin Season 5 we are in a far different situation. Granted, perhaps that “dark curse, savior, break it and call in a favor” was the best option at the time for going from a Land With Magic to a Land Without To Find One’s Son. As we have seen now, realm jumping is almost as easy as hailing a taxi, or getting an Uber ride! What does the Oncer in the know do when needing to realm jump? Perhaps there is an app for it. “Siri, I’d like to travel to Neverland.” “Okay, you’d like me to send you to Neverland”. Poof! Just don’t forget your phone charger, or your coconut shell.

     Magic beans, sure, hard to come by. What with that whole pesky giant fiasco with Jack and James. How about enchanted wardrobes or even the dust from an enchanted wardrobe? If you are in the market for something more whimsical and lovely, how about a mermaid? They travel realms like they are going to the corner store for a soda! For those of us who don’t want to get our hair wet, and hey, maybe Rumple felt that way about his hair, how about a Rabbit? Swirly portals and a magic bunny. Sounds a little bit mushroom trippy, but whatever works. The landing on that one was a little hard, but fear not! There are still other ways to try out. Fancy a magic hat? The options in there were fabulous. All those gorgeous doors, peaking our interest, just waiting to be explored!

     
Some of the realm jumping items were a bit harder to get. Poor Bae had to make that colander like coconut-candle-mabob to catch the shadow, then dangle precariously during the whole trip home. Maleficent’s mirror, (stolen by Will Scarlet in OUATIW so that he and Ana could leave the Enchanted Forrest and go to Wonderland), was a risky grab. No one wants to get eaten by a dragon, or poofed by a powerful sorceress. In the end it all worked out and step on through they did. Speaking of Wonderland, how about that Rabbit Hole that Alice originally fell down in her youth? I imagine the free fall sensation would be fantastic for those thrill seekers in our Oncer community! 

     For the truly adventurous soul, there are Pegasus feathers. As Killian and his brother demonstrated, they make an excellent travel means. Highly decorative and functional, like your favorite coffee table. These beauties were surely coveted by ALL the nautical community. They were probably also coveted by the Pegasus they were taken from, but I digress… Wait….do Pegasus realm travel? Let’s just say they do and add them to our list. 

If you really want some glamour as you travel, you could opt for a pair of silver slippers. I’m sure Zelena much preferred them to that realm hopping tornado she first had to take to OZ. Poor Dorothy had to use that method once too. I do hope the tornado comes with a seat belt. I imagine that ride is rocky and whiplash inducing. Those slippers would have gone fantastically with Rumple’s leather vest and sparkling skin ensemble. Too bad he didn’t get a crack at using those! In the end Zelena even came up with a great little diddat that combined both realm jumping AND time travel. Brains, Heart, Courage, somebody’s baby….. piece of cake to pick up these ingredients! Make that shopping list and head to the corner store. Don't forget to pick up a coconut, just in case you need a back up plan. 

All in all, it turns out there are many ways to open a portal. Ride some magical beast, use a spell, a storm, a gorgeous pair of pumps, or even a coconut to recap a few. Would we have wanted Rumple to use these other, easier ways? Simply put, NO WAY. Rumple and his struggle are at the heart of what captured us and pulled us into this Once Upon A Family. We felt for his struggle, but loved watching as he weaved such an intricate web out of his desperate need to get back to his son. Sure, there were faster ways. I for one would not give up the story for anything… 


As for my own trip…. now where did I leave that rabbit?