Author: Aurifer

Prompts: 3 am talks. Robbery. “You’re stuck with me.”

Group: A

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out of hows and whys not whens

"Wait!"

The stagecoach slowed its rattling pace across the inn's courtyard and Belle put in a sprint, her feet slipping precariously on the rain-wet cobblestones.

"Wrong coach, Miss," the coachman called when she caught up. "This one's bought out."

Don't I wish…

"I've got a seat," Belle told him, brandishing the slip of paper. "It's all cleared with the proprietor." She didn't wait for a reply, opening the door for herself and climbing inside, heedless of the driver's protests. The solitary passenger glanced up when Belle dropped into the opposite row of seats.

"This a private coach, dearie," he said drily.

Belle froze at the sound of his voice. Not him. Nobody could be this unlucky.

Now what indeed? It’s raining this evening, and so I’m settling in to read the showdown fics, and this is the first one. 

To Watch the Stoic Squirm

Greetings, @itschippedcup 'tis I, your Secret RumBelle Gift Writer! There will be smut in chapter two - which will be posted no later than Sunday night. I hope you enjoy my interpretation of your prompt.

Prompt: To watch the Stoic Squirm

Summary: For six months, the taciturn Evander Gold has been able to successfully dodge the intelligent and gorgeous new librarian, Miss Belle French. However, as the All Hallows' Eve Masquerade approaches, fate - in the form of his adorably meddling grandson - has other plans.

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Autumn in Storybrooke was a time of magic, of wistful whimsy, and good natured mischief. The air was crisp, leaves skittered across the ground as the wind howled gently through bare tree branches, and one could almost believe the veil between the material and spiritual was at its thinnest. Naturally, Halloween brought out all of the spooks, ghosts, ghouls, goblins, and monsters - the most frightening of which was Mr. Evander Gold, pawnbroker, antiques dealer, and landlord to eighty percent of Storybrooke. His Queen Anne style Victorian house did not need the additives of fake spiderwebs and fog machines to instill fear in the local trick-or-treaters as there were enough terrifying tales from the adults to turn their offspring's’ blood cold. Only his young grandson Henry was brave enough to ring his bell and ask for treats - something for which all of the neighborhood children greatly admired the lad.

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I cannot wait to get off work so I can read this and give it all the love and attention it so deserves!!

ceasunriseperson :It’s almost a wrap for  northofnormalmovie and I’m so grateful for everything… the dedicated, talented actors who portray my onscreen family, myself, and other characters from my life… #carlystone ‘s amazing directorial vision, @alex_kelley_weir ‘s beautiful script, all the crew and behind-the-scenes people who helped make this happen and especially @jkylemanners , who saw something special in my book and made it all happen. I can’t wait to see it all done. And thank you, everyone, for caring about the story of a girl who never could have dreamed it would be worthy of telling one day ❤️ #northofnormalmovie #northofnormal #robertcarlyle

Rumbelle Gift Swap Schedule

June 19th through 26th – Sign up by submitting prompts and other info (details to follow) to rumbellegiftswap@gmail.com. 

June 27th – Assignments will be emailed to all participants. 

June 30th – Please initiate contact with your recipient by this date. 

June 27th through August 4th – Creation period, and also for continued communication with your recipient. Don’t forget to respond to the person making your gift!

August 5th through 8th – Gifts will be posted. Everyone’s specific posting date will be assigned near the end of the creation period. 

Rumbelle Showdown 2021?

I’m officially throwing the question out to the fandom… should we have a Showdown this year? Are there still enough people active in the fandom to make it work? 

Please keep in mind that in order to have a good Showdown, we need enough writers to make a decent sized starting bracket. Equally as important, we need participation from the rest of the fandom throughout. Without Rumbellers to read, comment, and vote on the fics in each round, the Showdown falls flat.  

I’m willing to serve as mod again, if there’s interest. So reblog this post and add your comments, or send an ask to the Showdown blog. Send a message via sand dollar or magic mushroom, or send an owl. (Whoops. Wrong fandom.) If you want a Showdown this year, pick a delivery method and make your voice heard!

If you haven’t spread the word, spread it like butter on toast!

If you haven’t confirmed your participation, go jump on that messaging system of your choice!

Without participants, this show won’t go on.

We can’t leave our OTP hanging!

Author:  Bingo Balls

Prompt:  Deep inside the forest

Group: A

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The Price 

When she used the excuse of taking a walk that morning to avoid having breakfast with her betrothed, Belle had never intended to stumble upon a hungry man making a deal with the fabled Dark One deep inside the forest. Any person of sound mind would have turned around, pretended to not have heard the Dark One barter magic seeds in exchange for a lifetime of servitude, but Belle could not live with the guilt of walking away when she knew she could help.

“Do the brave thing,” she mumbled to herself, as she burst onto the scene, catching the man and Dark One off guard. Without a moment of hesitation, she unfastened her jeweled necklace, holding it out to the desperate soul.

“Take it, please,” she begged.  “It has no value to me truly. It was an unwanted gift. It will feed your family for years. You don’t have to make this deal.”

The man’s bewildered gaze darted from a stunned Dark One back to her offering, his hand slowly reaching out to take the necklace.

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I want this to be canon so bad!

My sister looked on amazon for Easter baskets and most things won't ship till the end of April now so she was telling me that she told my niece that animals also have to stay home during this time and that the bunny will come later. She said my niece was cool about it.

Golden Cuffs 42: The Orders

Cover art by @paradigmparadoxical​

Rumbelle Dark Castle BDSM AU

Rumple and Belle enjoy the present while it lasts

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They walked together to the dining room, taking the same route they had taken with Jefferson and Leona only the night before. Then, Rumple had lead and Belle had trailed behind, uncertain of what would happen or how it would affect her. But now the two of them were in step with each other, their arms linked, their purposes united. Belle had finally gathered up the courage to ask for what she really wanted, and Rumpelstiltskin had agreed to give it to her. 

They were going to have an honest conversation.

Belle’s skirts swished around her bare legs as she walked. The blue dress Rumple had made for her ended well above her ankles. If it had been any longer, she might have gotten tangled in it. She hadn’t worn a proper skirt since the first night she had spent in this castle, not since Rumpelstiltskin had stripped her of her golden engagement gown. Wearing a dress now–after so many months of being practically naked all the time–was strangely unsettling. It was so different from anything she had come to think of as normal.

When they got to the dining room. Rumple took his place at the table. The extra chairs that had appeared for Jefferson and Leona’s visit were nowhere in sight. 

“Would you bring me a cup of tea?” he asked.

Belle noticed his choice of words, Would you? He was asking now, not ordering. Not even saying You may, the way he did when he allowed her to move without the cuffs dragging her around. Why was he asking her to do things? Why was he so timid about using the power she had long ago agreed was his?

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I have to say this was just a needed distraction with everything going on in real life at the moment. I can’t believe Rumple did that at the end! I was all, look at him making progress, and then BAM! I did not see that coming. What is he thinking?

Demon

Author’s Note: My Rumbelle Secret Santa gift for @itschippedcup! Your prompt made me think of Dark Castle Rumbelle, so I decided to continue the tradition of adding to The Gingerbread Verse for RSS and RCIJ. You don’t need to read any of the other stories to understand this one, but it is out there if you are interested in the backstory!

Prompt: Demons song by Imagine Dragons

Summary: Belle doesn’t know why Rumplestiltskin has been avoiding her lately.

Words: 5405      Rating: Explicit       Read On AO3

Belle lay in the dark, staring at the stone ceiling. The room was comfortable and warm, the bed soft and luxurious. Decadent pillows of eider down, covered in the finest pale blue and yellow silk, were stacked high behind her. Golden thread, embroidered in an elaborate pattern of interwoven roses and thorns, decorated the plush down coverlet that kept her cozy and snug, and yet sleep eluded her, as it had for so many nights of late. 

Rumplestiltskin hadn’t come to bed with her in weeks. Oh, she woke up beside him every morning without fail, but every time she yawned and stretched and hauled herself from her fireside chair to go upstairs to their rooms, Rumplestiltskin would shake her off with gentle words proclaiming how much work he had yet to do. He would press chaste lips to her forehead and send her off to bed, promising to join her soon before climbing the narrow stone stairs to his workroom, disappearing from her sight with a heavy tread. All the sprightly lightness had gone from him, and she feared she was the cause.

She worried about the work he got up to there, in his turret refuge, magic and deals that wore down his very soul and racked up ever increasing debt to the darkness that lived inside him. All magic comes with a price, dearie. How many times had he admonished favor-seekers and supplicants, only to have them later rail and gnash their teeth at the price they’d all too readily agreed to when their desires were assured? She knew it gnawed at him, his reputation as the evil Dark One, greedy dealmaker, and thief of that which was most precious, and yet he persisted, and she didn’t truly understand why.

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OMG! When I saw this morning that you were my santa, and this was going to be part of the gingerbread verse, I cannot tell you how delighted I was and am. Oh I loved this new addition to the story. Poor pregnant Belle thinking he doesn’t want her cause of her changing body, and Rumple’s turmoil thinking he has to choose between two children.

Yay for clever Belle saving the day! Thank you so so much. This is the best gift!

Promised, chapter 4: The Foyer

Thank you for everything, @mareyshelley​

Chapters: One | Two | Three | Four

Belle encounters a true threat to her life.

[AO3]

Three days passed without Belle seeing so much as a glimpse of Mr. Gold. Various servants saw to her needs, and she woke each morning with fresh clothing. It unnerved her to think about how and where the clothing came to be for her use, yet she had little choice but to accept. She longed for her own things, especially so the mementos of her mother for the comfort they gave her, but knew sending a servant to fetch them would expose her whereabouts and risk her life.

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finally had some time today, to catch up on this story, and I am loving it!!