Awwww *hugs you* you are so welcome! You were the best giftee I think it’s possible to have. You certainly made RSS the most enjoyable gift exchange I’ve ever done. I’m so glad you enjoyed the verse 🙂
Belle: We … haven’t really discussed it. I don’t know if Evan wants to do it all over again.
Gold: Me sweetheart? What about what you want?
Belle: Well you have Neal, and Henry is ten and …
Gold: None of that has anything to do with what you want. You’re afraid we don’t want the same thing aren’t you? I like to think that we can always talk …
Belle: We can! I just … I never really thought that much about kids. I only ever wanted them with the right man and before you, I had sort of given up hope on finding him.
Gold: Oh Belle.
Belle: I do want a child Evan but only if that’s what you want. If it’s not then I’m happy just being the two of us. I want you, and what we have, more than some dream family.
Gold: I can think of nothing I’d like more than to have a child with you. I’m not so old that it would be unfair to them. You’ll make a wonderful mother.
Belle: You’re already an amazing father *kisses him* *slaps him lightly on the shoulder* and you’re not old.
Gold: *laughs and kisses her again* if you say so sweetheart.
Belle: Given how … against our relationship Neal and Emma were, I wasn’t expecting acceptance any time soon. However, I spoke with Emma when we were at the cabin and …
Gold: *groans* did you get the ‘talk’ as well? I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I’ve been that embarrassed.
Belle: The talk? Neal asked you about children?
Gold: He said it was clear that we were in love …
Belle: Yes Emma said the same.
Gold: He thought it was something we should discuss before we got married. *looks pained* apparently he’s just waiting on the date before arranging the bachelor party. He’s enjoying this way too much.
Belle: *sniggers* Sorry darling. You know strippers are often a feature of bachelor parties and hen nights. How about you tell Neal and I’ll tell Ruby that we’re arranging a private show of our own? That should put a stop to any of their more wilder ideas.
Gold: Excellent idea sweetheart. How about we … practice right now?
Belle: I’m thrown, honestly I don’t know what to say. Evan would never do that but I understand that we’re talking hypothetically. So in an alternate universe where Evan wasn’t Evan, and would do such a thing, would I say yes? *bites lip* I don’t think I would. I’m trying to imagine a circumstance where I would say yes, I would have to be both really desperate and acting on principle. I’ve done a lot of stupid things out of the ‘principle of the matter’.
Gold: For example leaving the marina rather than pay the rent.
Belle: Yes I suppose and that’s another point, I would always have that option. I guess the keyword is ‘everyone’ and acting to defend my friends … I might have said yes.
Gold: Really sweetheart? *he’s very skeptical*
Belle: It would have to be extreme circumstances but *bites lip again* Evan …?
Gold: Yes?
Belle: I love you as my loving, considerate boyfriend but perhaps for one night only we could … pretend? Your relentless glowering landlord act can be very sexy.
Gold: *coughs* Well Miss French, I’ve heard you wish to make a deal.
Evan’s pajamas are all solid dark colors – with buttons! I swear I am going to buy him a t-shirt one day. Anyway, I think that there are a lot of sweet things that Evan does which would shock the town, they don’t seem to believe he’s capable of being nice. For example, if it’s going to be cold in the morning, he always remembers to put my shoes and coat by the radiator so they are toasty warm. Little gestures like that mean the world, they mean he cares.
That wasn’t what you asked though, you asked what he did that was really cute. To be honest I can’t think of anything like the example you gave. All that comes to mind are things which just show him to be a loving and caring man. For instance he still has all of Neal’s teddy bears from when he was little, and you know about how he cut his hair to make Henry feel better?
I suppose, the town would be shocked at how affectionate Evan is. He’s very much a cuddler, not that I mind, there’s nothing more comforting than being wrapped in his arms and snuggling against him.
Synopsis: When Mr. Gold buys Storybrooke marina, one of the marina’s few permanent residents, Belle French, swears he won’t get away with it. She sets sail and anchors in a remote cove and that night Belle witnesses a murder. At first light she returns to the marina to report it … but nobody believes her. Gold’s purchase of the marina now takes on even more sinister implications, and her growing attraction towards him only complicates matters. Vowing to investigate herself, if the sheriffs won’t, Belle soon starts to unravel a town-wide conspiracy.
Prompt: Conspiracy
Theory/Secret Society AU
Note: Banner by the lovely @rowofstars – thank you so much, you are awesome! 🙂
Anyway, I tried to include, or at least reference, all the things you said you liked e.g. Drova, Red Cricket, Granny, your smut preferences etc. I’m not so good at the pining, but there’s bed sharing and a tiny bit of fake relationship going on. I also got a small amount of inspiration from this prompt aesthetic as well.
Your gift comes in several parts and it’s all on AO3 because it came to just over a combined 31k words. I called the verse ‘Love at the Marina’ and the verse contains:
– Conspiracy Afloat (Seven Chapters, Main fic)
– Trouble Sleeping (Oneshot, nsfw)
– Unending Conspiracy (Oneshot, prompt and ficlet collection)
I really hope you like it! It’s been fantastic chatting with you these past weeks, thank you for being so friendly and nice. This fic was a bit of a departure from my normal style because the main fic was told entirely from Belle’s POV. Usually I swap between characters like mad, but I realized once I hit chapter three that I hadn’t switched, so figured I should leave it that way. Due to the single POV, there is a couple of extra oneshots, from Gold’s POV. I would have done more but I ran out of time.
Thank you again for being the best giftee ever!
“We could just share; we are both adults after all.”
Heh, heh, yeah, we know how that’s gonna turn out. Even putting a rolled up blanket down the middle of the bed didn’t stop Belle from draping herself half over Gold while she slept and having a very interesting awakening. Awkward boners ftw!
The story started off pretty slow, as most long fics do, and I was about to decide it wasn’t for me until I reached the last couple of sentences of the first chapter. Then I couldn’t have stopped for the world. I needed to know what had happened, and why! This was a very tense thriller, and I never had any idea who to trust. I gave Belle credit for not jumping to the conclusion that Killian was involved just because she saw his boat, but then I wondered if maybe that was a red herring and he was involved after all. And then Graham, Graham is usually a good guy in fics, but he wasn’t trying to do anything to investigate her claims. I suspected Gold at first. And at that one point where Belle went to look for Leroy and didn’t see him immediately, I was prepared for her to find him murdered as well! Since I had no idea why Billy had been killed, who knew who was in danger? I was thankful when Gold stopped being a scary potential killer, and turned rapidly into an ally. One of the hottest things I’ve ever read was when Belle realised that he’d stripped off his own undershirt so that she could have a t-shirt to wear. I LOVED THAT. As I did the happy fluffy ending with Neal and Emma and Henry visiting. (And yes, Belle needs to buy him a t-shirt or two. Since she’s the captain of her boat, she should get him one that reads “First Mate”. *snickers*)
Nice smutty interlude – I wondered if Gold had really been asleep or not – and I liked the explanation for his short hair! So sweet.
Heh the bedsharing trope never gets old 🙂 Thank you so much for this amazing review! Your reaction was exactly what I was hoping people would feel. To be honest I don’t think Graham is so much a bad guy, but like in canon he’s been compromised so he doesn’t have much of a choice. It’s one of those slippery slopes things. Oh yeah Gold taking off his own shirt and Belle sniffing it and it was still warm 🙂 I am so happy that you liked it, thank you so very much!
You know, I realised that you never said exactly what Cora’s criminal activities were or why Billy got killed. *Looks stern* Fill in this hole, please. (Money laundering? Nice and vague. Was Billy involved in whatever was going on and idk, try to steal something extra for himself? Or did he stumble on something and threaten to tell David?)
Yeah I know I didn’t have time to go into the detail I would have liked. This story could easily have been 50k+ as I had subplot ideas which I started to hint at and then had to drop because of the deadline. I have a lot of backstory which didn’t get used.
I’m afraid the answer to Cora’s criminal activities isn’t very exciting. With Cora it’s mostly corruption. She runs a construction company, so she uses the Queen of Hearts to compromise people in power, such as council men, who can then award her contracts or get land approved for development. That is something that there has long been rumors about. The corruption goes further though, cheaper substandard materials and billing for higher price ones, lots of regulations ignored.
Basically anywhere she can cut corners and make more money she does it. In addition there is money laundering going on, tax evasion and ‘creative accounting’ and basically a lot of white collar fraud. Billy wasn’t involved, but he overheard something he shouldn’t have. He drove somebody when Killian should have done it, which is why Killian ‘took care’ of him because it was his mistake. Billy had no intention of going to the cops, he’d seen Sheriff Graham in the club enough to know he couldn’t trust him. He was attempting to flee town when Killian found him.
Of course not, such a thing would be highly inappropriate …
I suppose occasionally my mind might have wandered. If it wasn’t near rent day, then time does sometimes pass intolerably slowly at the shop. I might have wondered what it would be like if Belle came into browse. The collection is quite eclectic, I thought that might appeal to the traveler in her. I imagined offering her a cup of tea, so that we might chat for a short time. I never really dared imagine much more than that, it seemed so impossible.
As for more *cough* intimate fantasies, quite frankly dearie that is none of your business. Besides, I don’t really think I can be held accountable for whatever my mind conjured up whilst sleeping.
Belle: *sidles in the room eyes alight with mischief* So what did your mind conjure up while you were sleeping hmm? Did the dream come to a satisfying conclusion or did you have to take yourself in hand?
Gold: *nervously* I don’t think our questioner needs to know all the details sweetheart.
Belle: Then I suppose we’ll have to take this interview somewhere private …
(OOC: Gold’s hair grew back, in other words the gif searcher was frustrating me and short hair gifs are thin on the ground)
Gold: I’m sorry what was that dearie? Cora? No need for concern there. She fancied herself very clever getting away with it all. Revenge would just have attracted unwanted attention for her.
Belle: *rolls eyes* You’re lucky I find you being smug so attractive.
Gold: *smirks* I suppose our friend is correct, Cora did get rather desperate. I refused to buy any of her properties and consequently Mills Construction headed for bankruptcy. Coming after either of us would have been counter-productive. I did rather enjoy her begging me to reconsider after everything she put you through.
Belle: She’s in jail now though. She got so desperate she made a mistake and then finally the law caught up with her. Justice was finally served.
Gold: And I acquired Mills Construction for a song when it was sold off to cover the debts. Happy endings all round.
Up until the poor unfortunate death of Mr Gusman, Belle I never crossed paths – to talk anyway. I would see Belle every time she docked in town, spreading her warm smiles everywhere she went. I’m slightly ashamed to admit that I altered my routine slightly, changing when I went to Granny’s on mornings I knew she would be there.
In retrospect in slightly more unfavorable terms, it could be considered stalking. Fortunately Belle looks kindly on the months I ‘pined’ for her – her words, not mine. What did I think of her? She was a bright light in an otherwise grey world. She even occasionally had a smile for the town monster, despite what I’m sure young Miss Lucas told her about me.
Synopsis: When Mr. Gold buys Storybrooke marina, one of the marina’s few permanent residents, Belle French, swears he won’t get away with it. She sets sail and anchors in a remote cove and that night Belle witnesses a murder. At first light she returns to the marina to report it … but nobody believes her. Gold’s purchase of the marina now takes on even more sinister implications, and her growing attraction towards him only complicates matters. Vowing to investigate herself, if the sheriffs won’t, Belle soon starts to unravel a town-wide conspiracy.
Prompt: Conspiracy
Theory/Secret Society AU
Note: Banner by the lovely @rowofstars – thank you so much, you are awesome! 🙂
Anyway, I tried to include, or at least reference, all the things you said you liked e.g. Drova, Red Cricket, Granny, your smut preferences etc. I’m not so good at the pining, but there’s bed sharing and a tiny bit of fake relationship going on. I also got a small amount of inspiration from this prompt aesthetic as well.
Your gift comes in several parts and it’s all on AO3 because it came to just over a combined 31k words. I called the verse ‘Love at the Marina’ and the verse contains:
– Conspiracy Afloat (Seven Chapters, Main fic)
– Trouble Sleeping (Oneshot, nsfw)
– Unending Conspiracy (Oneshot, prompt and ficlet collection)
I really hope you like it! It’s been fantastic chatting with you these past weeks, thank you for being so friendly and nice. This fic was a bit of a departure from my normal style because the main fic was told entirely from Belle’s POV. Usually I swap between characters like mad, but I realized once I hit chapter three that I hadn’t switched, so figured I should leave it that way. Due to the single POV, there is a couple of extra oneshots, from Gold’s POV. I would have done more but I ran out of time.
Thank you again for being the best giftee ever!
I just finished all of my gifts!!!!!!!! WORDS I HAVE NO WORDS!!!!! THIS IS BEYOND AMAZING!!!! EVERYTHING ABOUT IT PERFECT AND WONDERFUL AND I WANT TO FIND A WAY TO SNUGGLE IT AND YOU FOR BEING SUCH AN FANTASTIC SANTA AND FOR WRITING ME THIS SHEER AMAZINGNESS!!!
I’m literally blown away by this fic and how you manged to include so many of the things I love!!!!!!!!!!!! BED SHARING, LACEY, SECRETLY WOOBIE GOLD AND SO SO SO MUCH MORE!!!! THIS FIC HAS EVERYTHING AND I KNOW I’LL BE REREADING IT A LOT!!!!
Okay, I’m going to try to control the caps now! XD You were a truly amazing Santa and I loved chatting with you! Your messages kept me sane after I broke my leg and needed to rest and talking to you was a blast! Thank you for being so friendly and nice to me!!!
I can’t get over how perfect this fic is! And I didn’t just get one! I got 3!!! (4 if you count Gold’s POV chapters as two separate fics!!!!) I’m trying to order my thoughts but it’s so awesome that I’m having trouble not just slamming my hands on the keyboard! You’re characterization of everyone was perfect! Belle and Gold especially! The way you set up conspiracy/secret society was fantastic, it was believable and not heavy handed, and it made total sense! I love that Belle was suspicious of Gold at first but saw the real person he was on the inside!!! Everyone thinks he’s a beast, even Belle at first, but then she sees him for him, the soft adorable woobie wrapped in a sexy suit!
Speaking of sexy, the bed sharing was awesome and the smut was amazing! It really feels like the culmination of their short (but so so wonderful) courtship! The way Belle knew it wasn’t just a one time thing, but the beginning of something warmed my heart! And that being proven in the epilogue when Belle knows she’s going to be apart of Gold’s life and family made me feel extra warm and fluffy inside!
There is just so much I want to talk about! The town, the conspiracy, poor Graham being corrupt but I think I have to end this reblog here before I write a whole essay of garbled fangirling!!! So again THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH!!! I can’t over state the amount of love I have for this verse!!!!
I’m utterly thrilled that you loved it so much. Now excuse me while I go cry over this wonderful comment. Seriously, I don’t know what to say. I want to respond but I’m just overwhelmed. Thank you so much! I really am so happy that you liked it. You’re an author so you know we take it as a compliment when people just want to slam their hands into the keyboard 🙂
Heh well you said you wanted innocent!Belle flailing around, and Gold being off-limits/a bit suspicious and I did my best. In the initial draft I had Belle have a secret crush on Gold, so they really had been secretly pining for each other for a while. It didn’t quite work when I wrote the whole thing, because like you said Belle was challenging her preconceptions about him. Haha yeah exceptionally fluffy endings are my thing. I always try and bring an element of realism, so life isn’t perfect, but they definitely have a “happy for now” going on as that makes me all warm inside too.
Thank you!!! You have been a fantastic giftee, and if you ever want to chat (even though it’s not RSS anymore) then you know where I am. My askbox/chat thingy is always open 🙂
This was so lovely and amazing. I loved how you really fleshed out this plot and made it so so interesting. So many of the characters made their way into this story both in little and big ways. It was wonderful the way you wove this story 😀
Gold and Belle slowly making their way together was amazing too. AND we got three good fanfic tropes out of it. Share a cabin, share a bed (twice!), and fake-dating (that turned real ;)). I loved it!!
The ending seemed like such a story book happy ending too, with them all around the table eating and getting along like one big happy family. It was great 🙂
Awwww thank you so much!
Yeah there were a few bit players woven in. I couldn’t resist the slight hint about Mulan and Merida – BraveWarrior 🙂 and then of course we have to give Leroy and Astrid a happy ending in fanon as canon has forgotten them. Heh yeah I like my syrupy happy endings, trying to give a snapshot of the future and plus I also couldn’t resist the slight Swanfire. I’m really happy you liked it! Thank you so much for the wonderful comment 🙂
