#i know it is probably annoying to read the conversation of the ogre with himself

[valle-de-sombra-de-muerte]

Homestuck Reread: Act 4, Part 2/4 (p. 1523-1668)

Read the previous post here. Read the next post here.

Time to finish the first half of Act 4. I can't believe how long this is compared to the previous ones, and the upcoming Acts will only get more expansive from here on.

Rose has to be doing this on purpose. Using big words she knows John won't understand. She's stroking her own ego by acting intellectually superior to someone who might genuinely be mentally impaired.

Rose is still seething about Dave. John clearly has no idea what's going on between them and thinks she's perturbed by Dave being able to watch her constantly. But yeah nah, she's still bitter about how she barely survived entering the game (and jealous that Dave is schmoozing with Jade).

In Terezi's first appearance, she has nothing but animosity toward the humans. She even goes as far to say that she'll be pissed at them even when the rest of the trolls warm up to them. Uh huh. Strange how that part of her personality gets quickly swept off to the side.

Terezi used to be such a nasty, annoying edgelord and I kind of miss that about her. Her character progression is honestly all over the place, which I'll get into deeper as we move along.

Rose drinking the martini is framed as her making an "important decision [...] without supervision." There's something to be said about how one of the first things she decides to do as an independent person is try to emulate her mother. As the only adult presence in her life, Mom is her only frame of reference for how adults behave.

PM's brief encounter with Jack is fun. Jack is no-nonsense and knows his job inside and out. He's also determined to pursue every opportunity to avoid actually doing said job.

So much suspense is being built around this package. It's so important that PM is willing to betray her own kingdom for it. Of course, this all amounts to probably one of the worst reveals in the whole comic. There's no satisfaction upon learning what's in the box and as soon as the reveal happens, it's swiftly forgotten about. Yet there's so much narrative weight being assigned to it that I cannot even begin to fathom what Hussie's thought process was when writing this.

Dave and Jade spend several pages combining the alchemiter with the other Sburb devices. This is to condense everything into one space so the characters don't have to scurry from the different devices to craft items. But we haven't been seeing much scurrying lately since Hussie has been skipping over the crafting process anyway, probably because it's lengthy and repetitive. It may be convenient "in-universe" but I don't see what use this has from a storytelling perspective.

There's a reason "John do what I say" is a bit of a meme. Because he will follow commands no matter who's issuing them. Even if it's someone as unpleasant as Terezi.

Terezi is transparent in her motives. She is uninterested with what the rest of the trolls are doing and just wants to spread chaos in the kids' session, basically fucking around and finding out. John still decides to follow her directions because ????????

I might as well screencap the entire conversation between Dave and Rose here because it's great stuff. Rose puts on a sanctimonious act about killing the ogre she had just mercilessly thrashed, all to annoy Dave. This is the kind of back and forth I love to read.

Also note the metaphors Dave uses at the beginning. "whipping that ogre like a rented mule"? "sailing that ogre down the mississippi with a runaway slave"? Again, not to bring race discourse here, but I don't think he'd say that kind of stuff to Rose if she was black. If anything, he'd probably be more tasteless about the metaphors he's using. You know how teenagers can be.

Did he just call himself Rose's pimp? 😳

Hmm I wonder what might motivate Dave to give Kanaya bogus advice about winning over Rose. Between this and his earlier log where he turns the tables on Tavros, I do think it's interesting how Dave is shown to consistently out-troll the trolls. The key must be to not give a shit.

Dave calls Kanaya "bro" twice in this log and seems to mistake her as a man here. John will repeat this mistake later on. Kinda odd that the troll the fandom depicts as sultry and feminine is actually super stoic and awkward to the point where multiple characters think she is male.

I love how Rose is making passive-aggressive remarks about Dave to a total stranger. And calling him "that guy" as if he isn't living rent-free in her head.

Rose is getting a lot of joy out of using Tavros as a proxy to annoy Dave. She even offers to help him out in writing disses (because of course she'll jump at any opportunity to write).

I really love the ending of this log too.

Kanaya is a total dork in case it isn't clear already.

Tavros puts so much effort in his diss rhyme against Dave, but Dave's completely ignoring him to draw more SBaHJ. Tavros never attempts to troll Dave after this which, again, is a fucking disgrace.

Where is the version of Homestuck where Tavros is Dave's bumbling pupil in the slam poetry arts, constantly brushed off until Dave eventually (and reluctantly) decides to take him under his wing, if only to stop him from embarrassing himself? It would be a good role-reversal where Dave inherits Bro's position of the master instead of the student, and maybe get some perspective for why Bro was so dismissive and distant from him all the time.

I guess this kind of obvious character growth is too much of an advanced writing technique for Hussie to implement, so he didn't.

I like how Karkat starts off being a jerk but stops in his tracks because he too is a fan of cheesy movies. Also, I liked Serendipity. It's not great, but it might as well be a masterpiece compared to a lot of the garbage John likes.

Terezi's reaction makes it seem like she really wants to see Karkat's "bone lump." I can't imagine Karkat being outwardly flirty at all, so the idea that he may have expressed any kind of fondness for her must be something she has to read herself.

As a sprite, Jaspers' personality is like a cat voicing thoughts relating to his natural instincts. He focuses mostly on food and expressing affection toward Rose. Anything else he says, like information about the game, is stuff he says without any comprehension of what it means. It's like the game placed that knowledge in his mind and he just thoughtlessly repeats it. I do like that.

The closure Rose expected from Jaspers is about what one would expect (or at least, until her dream self awakens). I wonder what she really expected from asking a cat what it meant by meowing at her.

It only took over 1300 pages, but John has finally responded to one of Dave's messages. He does this in a very detached, oblivious manner, not mentioning the previous messages Dave sent him that he missed. He wants to skip all that time when Dave was in distress and ask only about the recent happenings upon his entry.

I feel bad for Dave, considering his "best friend" is pretty much a plank of wood. And not the fun kind of plank like in Ed, Edd n Eddy.

In what might be the most poignant page of the comic in my honest opinion, Dave and Rose have been trapped in this doomed timeline for four months. Dave is keen to stop wasting any further time and to go back to the past to reverse the actions that led to John's death, but Rose seems very reluctant to let him go. Her words are chosen to imply Dave might be too hasty and to suggest that he should stick around a little while longer "to gather information."

But that isn't the real aim of why Rose wants Dave to stay. She knows that as soon as he leaves, she will die. Trapped in a universe where she's the sole surviving human, it's a cold and lonely death she'll experience. Dave seems to know this too, but tries to assuage her worries by telling her not to think about her impending doom. Perhaps he also doesn't want to think about it, and that's why he wants to leave quickly so as not to dwell on how he's essentially condemning her to death.

But really, four months alone together as the last two humans in existence? That's a lot of off-screen time we aren't shown. And yet it's treated as this brief afterthought, a scene only used as a means to bring Davesprite into existence. I wish we could've seen more of this doomed timeline, more of Dave and Rose realizing their hopeless situation and the harrowing choice they ultimately need to make to set things right.

Yes, it's only a brief page that never gets brought up again, but it's one that sticks in my mind and refuses to leave.

John is being unreasonably (and uncharacteristically) obstinate here. Normally he has no problem following orders unless they place him in direct harm. Why does he trust Terezi so much over his supposed best friend? He ends the log suggesting that he'll listen to Dave, but the next page shows him blasting off anyway. What a prick.

People want to portray Terezi as some master strategist, but she really isn't. She's very single-minded and only ever considers outside information if it aligns with her set goal.

Remember when Terezi said she intended to stay pissed at all the kids forever? That didn't last long. And now through the power of memes, Davesprite has turned Terezi into a good guy now.

Considering how weak most of Homestuck's villains are, it's a real shame we lost out on one who was genuinely effective, engaging, and menacing so soon.

Oh, so I guess the Frog Temple really was "planted" when the meteor first hit Earth ages ago. I'm not sure how satisfied I am with this explanation.

[S] Jack: Ascend not only serves as a big flash to mark the midpoint for Act 4, but it also celebrates the fact that Homestuck turned one year old at this point.

Anyway, Jack's "Joker moment" is when the Queen force-femmed him. Just thought everyone should know that.

So if John's big "awakening" moment was about learning that his dad isn't really a clown, Rose's moment was triggered by being left all alone in a dead timeline and just waiting for the universe to extinguish her life. These are very comparable events! The fact that Rose's future dream self is shown to merge with her present self means that she likely remembers the events of the doomed timeline as well. What a nice load of trauma to be shouldered with!

Here we get the only time the box's contents have any real use: when it turns the Black Queen into soot and blood. Good to know that this MacGuffin only ever serves the villain in a meaningful capacity.

This part of the comic had some good moments, but I'm conflicted. When I revisit these "high points" in the story, I'm reminded of how Hussie never expands upon them and how they just end up as wasted potential. I fear this will set the mood for the remainder of this reread, which kinda sucks honestly. I'd much rather talk about more positive stuff and things I like, but they're few and far between with all the negativity surrounding them.

[the-firebird69]

This guy next door is a huge impetuous swine. The lesson right now. Losing his army he won't have access to Antarctica and he won't have any computers and he does not have Dave's if he did it's with Tommy F is too stupid to figure it out.

- It says he took it back from him so he's all set we say so people can go after him.

- We have a couple things to announce and one of them is John Rebelard is pursuing Stan and it's because of the impending court case and he found out today it's real he had no clue even though people handed him the report he doesn't know how to read we think. He is going into a sullen state and all this other **** then he is quickest hell and yeah speed kills.

- There are other facts going on right now john Reillard is attacking mac proper as he probably should but usually they lose very badly and overtax overt attacks versus their master and they are losing very badly just as everyone predicted and they suck in combat in this attitude is not correct and it seems like he has AI that's worth something so people aren't going after him here. Doesn't pay to be a big

- There's other things happening he's constantly annoying our son between every posting of every sentence he is trying to annoy him because he thinks he's gonna win something and he thinks that people think he's doing the job and it's not true they want him off him and they're going after their people so they're having him do it as an excuse and he won't stop and they're all gonna be dead. He tells the idiot on TV and she repeats it back to him it's not really a complicated complex this idiot is a stupid person and he's sacrificing you

- John Remelard is gearing up to attack Stan this evening in three locations we know about we know about more but we're going to announce three. Washington state Oregon State is one area northern New England all of it and it stands bunkers in the upper Midwest he wants the information and stuff and the doodads that's when he calls them because he's a condescending bitch

- There's other things happening this guy stand is not doing any work here granted it is almost impossible with Tamia for overhead and Jansen is an obstruction sometimes in John Remelard is a major obstruction but he still doesn't like doing things that helps our son because he is a stingy **** and actually presently fired our son from 2 jobs that he was personally **** up. We hear that he doesn't want to fix the septic at all or fix it from being clogged and he is going to sit there and do nothing but this time our son can't unclog it and he's going to call him daily to have him fix it or call Sherry and he will begin court proceedings if he doesn't fix it and John Remelard is helping out with a conversation and our son detected it and that's not his job either you guys are lazy if anything but you still have a fight on your hands these people are getting real small and are getting real honoury and annoying beyond everything we thought so we understand it and he's gonna have to wait like what a week for for a regular toilet use. Which is really the violation of human rights. I knew people treated him like an animal all day long so what Stan Gonna do he can't do anything he can hardly take care of himself and that's the problem here so we don't know what to say we can't stand any of you you guys can't stand on your own feet these people are treating our son very badly and they're dying rapidly and they're so delusional that they think they're winning something by dying is a horrific state of mind to be near we don't want them around him at all there's not a great answer here yet people can't do what they want these losers are ogres and overbearing morons and they're breaking their own back they're breaking their own bank they're crushing their own skulls and it's disgusting they're subhuman losers we're coming in here and take care of business.

Thor Freya

Olympus

[aditublog]

my writing - dota - fictober day 9

“Sounds like a you problem.” Small eyes kept staring ahead, not bothering to switch focus.

“If it is my problem, it is yours as well.”

An amused snort. “That's what you say.”

“Fucking shit, we share a body! How can anything be a me problem?” A growl that had no effect, though it rumbled menacingly.

“It's a you problem when I say it is.” “And when I say it is our problem?”

“You are wrong.”

Before the discussion could continue, they were interrupted. “If you don't stop arguing, I will be your problem.” The Troll Warlord couldn't stand the constant bickering. It was making him crazy because it never stopped. The Ogre Magi with his two heads was never quiet and the two heads were rarely in agreement.

While the Troll was trying to concentrate, the two voices were like a spear through his head.

The first head directed the words at the second. “Sounds like a you problem as well, because I didn't start this discussion.”  

“I'm sure the Troll Warlord makes sure it is our problem.” The second head was more intelligent than the first or simply more perceptive. In any case, they were both annoying. Because they still didn't stop.

For a second, the Troll Warlord debated if he should truly shut the Ogre up. But they were allies, he couldn't kill him and short of killing, nothing would stop the two heads. He lengthened his strides but though the Ogre Magi was clumsy he was tall enough to keep up. Running away didn't work either, it seemed.

Instead, the two heads were arguing again, their voices painfully loud.

No killing, no running away, no threatening, nothing worked. It was time for more desperate measures, preferably something that didn't involve the Troll having to kill himself. While walking, the Troll Warlord searched for the right place. He was becoming more and more desperate. He just wanted the voices to stop. He wanted some quiet. There, finally, his nerves on edge, he found what he had been looking for.

It was a nest, from some kind of bird, but it was huge. It was up in the trees, high enough not to be in the direct line of sight but low enough that the Troll Warlord could reach it with a jump and a bit of climbing. He had to be fast, this could as well go wrong.

“Ogre Magi, look over there, I think I saw movement.” The Troll pointed in the opposite direction of the nest and as soon as the Ogre turned, he slipped behind the tree with the nest.

“Movement? I see nothing.” “That's because you are stupid.”

The Troll Warlord put his axes into his belt, then he jumped and grabbed the lowest branch with both hands.

“Stupidity doesn't make anyone blind, does it?” “You are the living proof that it does.”

The Troll Warlord swung up and onto the branch. The Ogre was still staring into the woods.

“Do you see something?” “No.”

“Then you are stupid, too.” “Maybe there was nothing.”

The Troll Warlord climbed higher.

“But the Troll said there was something.” “His eyes are probably better than yours.”

The Troll Warlord scrambled into the nest and curled together, making himself as small as possible so he wouldn't be visible from the ground.

“Hey, Troll, you sure you...” The Ogre Magi had obviously turned to where the Troll had been standing a few moments before.

“He is gone.” “I can see that.”

“I wasn't so sure, since you seem to be too stupid to see.”

The Troll Warlord closed his eyes and wished that the Ogre would stop talking finally.

At least the head didn't react to the further insult. “Where did he go?” “How should I know?”

“Of course you don't know. We have to find him.” “Yes. We do.”

And then, after what seemed like an eternity, the voices of the Ogre Magi died away. Still the Troll Warlord waited, to be sure. Then he carefully peeped over the edge of the nest. The Ogre was gone. The forest around him was blissfully quiet.

Not caring about how daft it was to hide in a tree to escape an annoying ally, the Troll Warlord hurried in the opposite direction from where the Ogre had gone. He wanted to be as far away from him as possible. And he had absolutely no bad conscience that he had left him alone in this forest. The only emotion he felt at the moment was relief that the voices had stopped.

[yukiyovelle]

Main Trio With A S/O That Loves Reading - A Little Too Much

★Warnings: None ★Characters: Bakugo, Midoriya, and Todoroki ★Reader: Gender Neutral ★Synopsis: just read the title heh

Not happy.

At all.

I’m sorry.

But he’s not.

Having your face being sucked into a book 24/7 doesn’t let you leave with much attention for him.

He’s attention deprived put down the dang book and hug him.

Another reason that fuels his hatred for your love of books is because your behavior reminds him of Deku - like, a lot.

If he wasn’t deeply in love with you he would have tossed you into a garbage can, but he’s Bakugo so he’ll probably do that anyway.

But if it really mattered that much to you, he’d respect it.

And probably take his anger out on Midoriya instead.

I doubt he’ll surprise you with books as gifts, considering the fact that you have every known book in the universe written by every author ever.

But if you ever see a book you like, he’ll buy it for you, even if you already do have twenty different copies of the same book with different covers.

And no, he won’t let you pay for it yourself.

If you even try, he’ll start yelling and angrily threaten to murder the cashier’s entire family if they accept your payment instead of his.

“SHUT UP, I DON’T CARE IF ITS ILLEGAL, IF HE DOESN’T TAKE MY MONEY I’M TAKING HIS GODDAMN LIFE.”

He’ll hardly ever openly show his respect or liking for your hobby ever.

Which makes him the biggest effing hypocrite on the planet Earth.

BROSKI GOES TO BED EVERYDAY AT 8PM.

AND IS SUPER UPER DUPER ACADEMICALLY AND BATTLE SMART.

YOU CANNOT TELL ME THAT THIS MAN DOESN’T READ BOOKS FOR THE SAKE OF KNOWLEDGE.

AND DOESN’T ENJOY IT.

most of the time, at least.

OH YOU POOR POOR SOUL

Yes, dating Midoriya is great and all.

But Bakugo is about to make your life a living hell.

As if one nerd was bad enough for him, now theres two.

And the second one is arguably more annoying than the first.

At least Midoriya can hold a conversation - with your nose in a book at all times, its surprising that you’re in a relationship at all.

Midoriya doesn’t seem like the type to mind at all though.

You are to books, as he is to training.

He fully relates to your obsession with books, he’s obsessed too, just not as much as you are. You >>>> Training >>>>> Books

If you’re into writing as well, and you’re thinking of publishing, he’ll be right there by your side helping you. 

How are ogres different from trolls? He’ll research. When were bees domesticated? He knows. What is the weight and size of the average fictional fairy? research again

“Okay but does it really matter if you’ve been using the wrong tense over a couple chapters? Just tweak it a bit an-HEY NO DON’T DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN I’LL HELP YOU FIX IT.”

With him by your side, you’ll never make any stupid spelling mistakes.

But if you start reading too much and disregarding your studies, he takes it upon himself AS HIS DUTY AS YOUR BOYFRIEND TO KINDLY DRAG YOU AWAY FROM YOUR BOOKCASE

He appreciates your interests, but won’t let you fail school.

So don’t even think about it.

uh

I seriously doubt he sees the root of your interests at first.

He’s understand right away if it were textbooks for school - cause its educational.

But fantasy books and the like? I doubt he’d get it immediately.

Whether you like books or not he’d treat you the same either way.

He’s a mix of Bakugo and Todoroki.

He would never let you fail school.

And at the same time, buys you all the books you want.

With the money he took from Endeavor’s wallet.

“Huh? Oh don’t worry about the cost. Its not my money anyway.”

You’ll never need to worry about paying for your books again.

Besides, if his dad does find about him stealing the money he’ll emotionally guilt trip him into giving him allowance.

Its a win/win anyway!

You get a book and he gets to annoy his dad.

He loves seeing your eyes light up as you glimpse at your new book and watching your grin getting progressively wider.

His house is huge too, so I bet they have a library or at least a ridiculously large bookcase. Either way, he’d take you to his house and while he works on his homework, you skim through the books.

He loves those moments near you - even if you aren’t talking or touching, you’re just there, and thats all he needs.

Hiiiiii :> This is my first post on this blog, although I have been active on my other blog, which is a total train wreck of multiple fandoms. Heh.

Please feel free to interact about anything and send requests too :)) I’d really appreciate that. Have a lovely day or night, wherever you are <3

[rhysismydaddy]

The Librarian Ch.1 (Nessian fic)

Wowzers, it’s been a while since I posted! I’ve been writing though! I just have a problem where I start writing shit and never finish it haha.

I finished this one, and it’s 4 parts, they’re all written, and they’ll be becoming out this week!

Synopsis: Cassian Nezara is the King of Campus. He’s the star quarterback for the winning football team, he’s got a great personality, and he’s pretty good looking, too. But when he’s forced to volunteer at the campus library because of a fight, he meets Nesta Archeron, the mysterious and sarcastic librarian. Finding out her secret changes how he views his status on campus forever. 

| Masterlist | Part 2 | Part 3 |

________________________________________________________________

~Cassian~

Cassian barreled through the sea of freshman in front of him, almost knocking one into the bookshelf next to her. 

“Sorry,” he muttered, not slowing down. 

Coach would kill him if he was late. 

He practically ran up to the little desk in the corner of the first-floor lobby. “Hi, um excuse me,” he said to the woman sitting behind the desk. She had her back turned, feet propped on the desk in front of her without a care in the world. “Do you work here?”

She didn’t turn around. Maybe she didn’t work here. The back of her head looked a little young to be a librarian, anyway. 

“Excuse me,” he said again to her back. 

She still didn’t turn around. Cassian managed to put his temper on a tight leash before slamming his hand into the little bell on top of the desk. 

With a heavy sigh, the woman snapped her book shut, whirling around. 

Cassian froze. And stared. 

He’d been right about the young part. She was probably his age, maybe a little younger. And fucking gorgeous. Crystal blue eyes, high cheekbones, lips that begged to be kissed. She was in an oversize sweatshirt and jeans, but he could tell she had a small figure that’d fit perfectly in his arms. 

Why the hell was she in this dusty place? 

“Books are organized by topic and last name, reference numbers are posted at the end of the columns,” she said drily, then made to turn back around. 

He reached out and grabbed the edge of her chair. 

“I’m not looking for a book.”

She glared at the hand clamped on her chair until he released it. “It’s a library. Surely even you noticed that.”

Jesus, what was this chick’s problem? Weren’t librarians supposed to be sweet old ladies with cats and a kink for romance novels?

“Yeah, I noticed,” he replied, equally as terse. 

She just raised an eyebrow.

“I’m Cassian Nezara. I’m... a volunteer.” 

The librarian looked him up and down. “Blood drive’s next week.”

“I’m not here for the blood drive. Coach Hampton should’ve sent an email-”

She’d been terse before, but her tone shifted even more toward something like hatred. “Coach Hampton.”

Cassian nodded, confused as hell. Everyone loved Coach. 

I mean, he’d led the school to victory in the National Championship for eight years in a row. Football was practically a religion around here, and Ron Hampton was the god. 

He supposed that made him and his teammates angels. He didn’t exactly hate the idea. It sure as hell matched with how the population of the school treated him. 

Ever since his first game when he’d been subbed for the starting quarterback, he’d been revered on campus. And had started. Everyone around him loved football. Loved coach. 

But the woman in front of him rose to her feet, jabbed a finger into his chest, and practically shoved him backwards, growling, “You tell Coach Hampton to find somewhere else to stick his delinquent players.”

His eyebrows shot to his hairline, and he would’ve retorted, asked why, but the look in her eyes told him not to. Plus, it’s not like he wanted to be stuck volunteering in the library every day. 

So Cassian just shrugged, grabbed his phone as he walked out of the building, and called coach. 

“What the hell did you do now,” the old bastard gruffed as soon as the line went through. 

He huffed a laugh. “Actually, I think it might have been you this time. The receptionist, librarian, whatever she is told me to tell you to ‘find somewhere else to stick your delinquent players.’”

Coach paused at that. Then, “Who was it?”

“Didn’t get a name.”

He could tell coach was pinching the brim of his nose as he said, “In your twenty-two years of life, when have you ever not gotten a girl’s name?”

“Listen,” he explained, “This chick is seriously pissed off at the world. And possibly deranged.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” 

The line went dead.

Cassian groaned, resisting the urge to chuck his phone into a nearby fountain. The fact that he was being punished in the first place as stupid to him. But it was stupider that coach seemed it fit to make him suffer in a library of all places. 

Plus, he was being punished for “fighting,” if you could even call it that. Cassian had landed one punch to the bastard’s face before his teammates pulled him back. 

Plus, the idiot had deserved it. Captain of the rival football team and an all-around prick, Tamlin O’Connor had practically goaded him into a fight. And Cassian had been stupid enough to let him. 

So stupid. 

Coach usually didn’t care if they fought, but the prick was threatening to sue if the school didn’t “discipline” him. So library duty it was, apparently. 

Coach’s car pulled up, and the stout man hopped out, already looking pissed off. 

“Okay, you bonehead, I’m here. This has to work out, Cassian,” he scolded, that signature scowl of his deepening. “The library is the only place on campus you don’t have to have a record of working. Labs, working as a TA, the gym... they all record it. So if it goes in the system, it’s official, and I’ll have to bench you.”

Cassian rolled his eyes in annoyance, following coach back inside. 

He pointed over to the desk where the receptionist sat, facing them this time, but still holding a book. 

“Excuse me. I need to talk to someone about one of my player’s volunteering here,” Coach’s usually raspy voice was nicer, softer. 

The woman sitting in front of them just looked up at Cassian as if to say, Ran to daddy? 

Then flattened her gaze on coach. Waiting. 

“The dean has ordered Mr. Nezara here,” he flung a hand in Cassian’s face, “to volunteer somewhere on campus as punishment for something, and we think the library would be a good fit.”

“Interesting. I don’t.” 

She looked back down at her book. 

Coach gritted his teeth. “Can I speak to your boss, young lady?”

Blue eyes flashed up at him, and a cruel smile twisted her mouth. “I don’t have a boss, old man.”

If Cassian had been anyone else, he’d have pulled up a chair and grabbed some popcorn. Coach was used to being listened to. Feared, even. And yet the woman lounging before them, looking at them as if they were filth... she didn’t seem the type to listen to anyone. 

“Listen here-”

“No, you listen. I’m not one of your little preening ogres in a leotard you can boss around. I run this library. So I know about you’re little scheme.” She whispered the last part conspiratorially, “The one where one of your players does something stupid and you tell the dean he’ll “volunteer” somewhere, then let him nap in the library for an hour every day.”

Coach opened his mouth, but she held up a hand. 

If he wasn’t being insulted every two seconds, he’d swear he was in love with her for that gesture alone. 

“Mr. Nezara,” she spat, “will not be serving his sentence here. People who volunteer here want to volunteer.” She looked up at him. “And usually know how to read.”

With that, she simply opened her book again. Conversation over. 

Cassian turned to leave, both annoyed and impressed, but Coach asked, “What will it take? For you to let him volunteer, and I mean actually volunteer, here?”

The librarian closed her book with a deep sigh. “Five percent of the annual earnings from football gets donated to my department,” she said as if she’d been waiting for the question.

Holy shit. That was insane. Coach would never-

“Two. Pre-season only.”

“Three. Regular season, no playoffs.”

“Deal,” Coach practically growled at the woman, turning to stomp out of the building. “He starts tomorrow.”

Casaian followed coach outside, and managed to contain his laughter at the man practically spitting fumes. 

“You realize that if you don’t win the championship this year and make the money back, I’ll kick your ass, right?”

“Why the hell did you do that?” he asked instead. “Three percent of our regular season is still a good chunk of change.”

Coach shrugged, jaw tightening. “When I was your age, I made a similar mistake. And it went on my record and hurt my chances of going pro. I still made it happen, but it was harder. A lot harder. The school will still make millions from the season, and the majority of the cash comes from the playoffs anyway.”

Cassian usually didn’t run out of things to say, but he found himself struck dumb. Coach was a mean old bastard, but he cared about his players and would do just about anything for them. “Thank you.”

Coach spat on the ground. “Get your punkass to the stadium. And, for the love of God, don’t piss that woman off even more.”

~Nesta~

A cheap, cheap woman. That’s that Nesta was. 

She’d sold herself out to the football team. For a chunk of money. Granted, it would probably be the biggest income for the library in years, but still. The thought of what she’d done made Nesta queasy. 

And to Ron fucking Hampton out of all people. Her hatred for him and his entire team of stupid, muscled toddlers pretending to be good guys ran deep. And she’d agreed to spend an hour with one. Every day. 

A cheap, cheap woman indeed. 

Two years ago, she’d promised herself she would never again lay her fate in the hands of someone like Hampton. And yet, she’d just done exactly what he’d wanted her to do. 

Granted, she didn’t roll over and take it like a good little young lady, but she ended up giving him what he wanted. Exactly like everyone else. 

But, no. She wouldn’t let it be that easy. She’d punish Hampton the only way she could: through “Mr. Nezara.” 

As Nesta walked into her apartment, locked all three deadbolts on her door, and took a steadying breath, she vowed to make her new volunteer’s life hell. 

And smiled.

~Cassian~

Cassian hustled into the library once again the next day, sliding to a stop in front of the reception desk. He checked his watch, then smiled. A whole thirty seconds early.

The woman from yesterday just closed her book and jerked her chin to him. “Follow me.”

She walked through aisles of books, hips swaying in a way Cassian couldn’t help but watch. He’d thought about it after he’d left yesterday, but still had no idea why someone so young and beautiful would work in a boring, dead-end job like this. Or how she’d come to run the place, despite being the youngest librarian he’d ever seen. 

He shook his head, continuing to follow her her down a set of stairs, a narrow hallway, and into the room at the end. 

She strode on through, but Cassian paused in the doorway. The room was covered in dirt and dust and cobwebs, stacked floor to ceiling with boxes overflowing with books. Empty shelves stood along the walls, the middle space being taken up by the mountain of boxes.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

She ignored him. “Books go on the shelves. Cleaning closet is across the hall.”

“What the hell’s the point? They obviously haven’t been touched in years.” The thought of going through all of them made him growl. 

“They’re books that have been taken out of circulation. We don’t throw them away.”

Cassian muttered, “Pack rats.”

The librarian rolled her eyes, striding for the door and gesturing for him to move.

He shook his head. “What’s your name?”

“Move.”

“Nope.” He had no idea why he wanted to know, but calling her the librarian was getting old. 

A flash of something in her eyes. It looked like panic, but it was too quick to read properly. “My name is Nesta. Now move.”

He just stuck out his hand, smiling. “So good to meet you, Nes-”

The vile woman grabbed his hand, twisted it so hard he almost fell to his knees, and pulled him out of the doorway. “Asshole,” she muttered, smacking the back of his head for emphasis as she strode by him. 

By the time his breathing returned to normal and the ache in his now-sore wrist dulled, she was gone. 

It seemed as if little miss Nesta was trying to make him miserable. Probably so he’d quit and she didn’t have to deal with him anymore. 

He grinned, eyeing the monstrous stack of dusty books once more. You’re going to have to try a lot harder than that, Nesta, baby.

~Nesta~

Nesta smiled as she headed down to the basement fifty minutes later. She made her footsteps quiet, hoping to catch him sitting on his ass. If she was being honest, she couldn’t wait to see how miserable he was. 

It made her a terrible person, but she didn’t fight it. 

Nesta peered around the corner. 

And lost every thought of malice in her head. 

The room was pristine. And that was putting it lightly. The shelves were shining, filled with clean books, the floors still wet from being mopped. Hell, even the ceiling looked like it had been scrubbed down. 

Cassian stood in the corner, the last box of books on his shoulder, and said to her, “You guys invest in way too many books on the Civil War.”

Nesta forced herself to sound unimpressed, bored even. “They’re the most requested. But new ones come out every year with different information, so we have to replace them.”

He hummed, turning around to face her, that stupid little smile on his lips.

Apparently done with the box, he took it between two hands and crushed it, the motion making the muscles in his arms bunch together. 

She looked around the room again, and his smile widened proudly. So Nesta just sighed and said, “Put the boxes out back in recycling, and you’re free to go.”

He managed to only look a little disappointed as he grabbed the rest of the boxes, then walked in front of her up the stairs. She sat behind her desk as he went outside, taking a sip of her smoothie. 

Which she almost spit everywhere as a smooth voice said from behind her ear, “That, by the way, is how you sneak up on someone. See you tomorrow, baby.”

She swirled around to strangle him, but he was already walking away, hands in the hair in mock surrender. 

Oh, she was going to kill him. Or at least make his life miserable. Let the games begin, baby. 

________________________________________________________________

PART 2 will be out Thursday :) I promise it gets a lot more interesting. Let me know in my asks if you want to be tagged! 

@bamchickawowow

[katebacks]

Under The Mat  (M) - 1

— pairing | Jeon Jungkook /Reader

— word c | 5.600

— genre | Ceo!Jungkook, angst , Smut, series.

— summary |  He was your boss and you hated him, but he knew that wasn't exactly what you felt.

— warnings/tags | Adult content, oral (female receiving), eventual smut, low slang words, cheating, mentions of alcohol use.

| 1 | 2 |

This is wrong. This is fucking wrong. You have to stop it. You have to put an end to it now, (Y/N). Yes, this is what you will do now. You will enter this room, you will tell him that you don’t want to do this anymore, and if he tries to persuade you, you will tell him to fuck off. You're strong enough to do that, (Y/N). I believe you. These were the words you repeated to yourself in your mind as you stood in front of your boss's office door.

You squeezed the paper between your fingers, distressed by what you were about to do. You worked in that company at Jeon Jungkook's command for almost two years as his secretary, but you literally couldn't take it anymore. He was the most stupid and rude man you had ever met on earth. He was smug, cocky, and made you as a maid. He would send you to pick up his clothes from the washing-house, distribute coffee to his partners at meetings, he would call you late at night, drunk, ordering you to pick him up wherever he was.

And because of all that, your relationship with your boyfriend was worn out. You were always tired, never had time for him or to take care of you. You were tired of Jeon's ironical answers and the insults you were force to listen. You deserved more than that.

It was almost the end of your shift when you finally got up the courage to talk to him. You took a deep breath, knocked on the door announcing your presence, and entered the room. Jungkook was sitting in his chair, his back to that big window that showed the city. He was focused on something on the computer, and didn't seem to mind your presence, which you were used to. And as much as he was an asshole, you would never deny that he was one of the most handsome men you had ever seen in your life.

All the women in that company dreamed of working as close to him as you were, but none could do what you do, he had said it himself, and that had been the only compliment he had given you since you began working for him. He was tall, with black hair and dark eyes. He was literally the only man on the planet who looked great wearing anything from a suit to a sweatshirt. He was smart, spoke three different languages, never needed a calculator to do the math, was good at video games, and won every game he played. He had a great taste for music, clothes, cars and places to travel. And his smile could charm anyone, even those with the hardest heart. If he wasn't an ogre, he would be the man of your dreams.  

"Mister Jeon." You said, making him nod his head without taking his eyes off the computer.

"What?" He asked in a dull voice.

“I came to bring you this.” You said walking toward his desk and placing the envelope next to your computer screen, and taking a few steps back. And he didn't even move his eyes to know what it was. You waited for two or three minutes, and when you realized that he had no interest in looking at the paper you had put on the table, you decided to talk, after all, he didn't seem to care. “It's my resignation letter.”

And like a lightning, his eyes left the computer screen and went toward you.  Now it looked like you had his attention. He stared at you for a few moments, watching you with raised eyebrows, trying to figure out if this was a joke. You hated it when he looked at you like that, it was like he could read your mind and judge you for what you were thinking.

And when he realized it wasn't a joke, he looked down at the envelope, took it but didn't open it.

"Why are you quitting?" He asked looking at the envelope in his hands. Because you are a selfish, heartless pig. You thought about saying, but preferred to avoid disagreement.

"Personal reasons." You said it and he immediately looked back at you, this time with a confused expression, as if he didn't know you had a life outside that building. "I will work until the end of the contract and …"

"No." He said gruffly, interrupting you. "If you want to leave, leave. If you really want to resign, you can get your things and leave, you don't have to go back to work the last days of the contract." You were left with nothing to say, even though you spent so much time taking bad answers, you were still surprised at how rude he could be. So there was nothing more you could say to him, you just nodded and turned your heels out of the room.

You were shaking inside. You took all your stuff on that table and entered the elevator, and as soon as the doors closed, you couldn't help but smile, with relief taking over your body, thinking that you would no longer have to accept Jeon's ignorance. You were free.

A week had passed since you had resigned, and even though you were happy that you no longer had to wake up at 3 am with your boss calling you to pick him up from some brothel, you felt strange, as if you were missing something.

You were in a nightclub with some of your friends and your boyfriend, one of your friends had just been promoted and you were celebrating.

"That guy's looking this way since we got here." Irina said, getting you out of your thoughts and looking in the direction she was looking at, only to be startled to see who it was, Jeon Jungkook in flesh and blood. He was sitting on the other side of the club in the VIP area. He was all in black, and he was alone, holding a glass of drink in his hand. And he was stunning, as always. "He looks like an angel." She said, amazed at his beauty, as everyone always were. He was really looking in your direction. Maybe he were drunk and thought he knew you, or were just thinking of a thousand and one ways to kill you because you resigned. You didn't know what to think about him staring at you, but you knew your heart pounded when you saw him after a week without looking at that beautiful face. If he wasn't so bad, he would be so good to you…

“Yeah, he looks like an angel, walk like an angel, talk like an angel, but be wise, he's the devil in disguise.” You said with a hint of irritation, taking your alcoholic drink in one gulp.

"Did you just quote Elvis Presley? And why do you say that? Do you know him?” She asked curiously and you peeked at him, seeing that he was still looking at you before you looked back at her.

"He's my former boss." Irina widened her eyes and looked alternately between you and Jungkook.

“He is the famous Jeon fucking Jungkook?” You shook your head nodding and she started laughing like crazy, making you arch your eyebrows.  "Fuck (Y/N), I thought he was handsome, but not that much. He looks like a Greek god."

"Yes, he is Hades, and he made my life his hell." You responded, looking at the others at the table who were talking to each other and were entertained. You glanced at Hoseok, your boyfriend, who was laughing at some joke one of the guys had told you before turning to Irina again. "Do you remember Hobi's birthday that I couldn't go because I was in a meeting?" She nodded. "I had told Jungkook that I would have to leave early to go celebrate my boyfriend's birthday, but then he went there and set up a meeting at the same time as the party, and I had a bad fight that day."

"I think he wanted you just for him." Irina laughed and you laughed scornfully.

“No, he was just bored and seeing my suffering was his entertainment.”

"But damn, he's so hot. I need to have sex with him." She said biting her lip and getting up from the chair.. You just shrugged, not caring with what she was going to do, deciding to join your friends' conversation.

It was not long before she returned, totally upset.

"He dumped me." She said loudly, catching the attention of everyone at the table.

"He who?" Rosie asked, completely confused.

"(Y/N)'s former boss. He dumped me, said he doesn't have ballad girls." She said annoyed. Hoseok's arm around your waist tensed and you looked at him as he began to look around, probably looking for Jeon. If there was one person who hated Jungkook more than you, that was Hoseok. He hated the fact that Jeon always had a way of interfering with your dates and appointments, ruining special dates and making you leave him to go to your boss. He had been so relieved that you had resigned that he almost exploded with joy to know that you were all his again.

"What is this son of a bitch doing here?" He asked threatening to get up, but you grabbed his arm, making him stay in place.

"Let's not ruin our night because of him, please." You asked. Hoseok sighed and nodded, he did not want to fight because of your former boss.

…

A short time later, everyone had forgotten what had happened and returned to drink. Everyone at the table except you was drunk, laughing at the walls. You excused yourself and walked toward the ladies' room. The music wasn't so loud inside and your ears thanked for it. As you entered the cabin and closed the door, you heard the bathroom door open, the loud music burst into the room, but as soon as the door closed, everything was quiet again, you could hear only the footsteps of someone approaching the cabin where you were.

When you opened the cabin, you let out a startled scream when you saw Jungkook standing in front of you, arms folded.

"Jeon ... I mean, Mr. Jeon, what are you doing here?" You asked wide-eyed, feeling that your heart was almost out of your mouth.

"You spent the whole night ignoring me, you didn't come to me to greet me, so I came to you."

"In the ladies' room?" You asked with a frown and he just shrugged, giving you room to get out of the cabin and go to the sink, wash your hands. "Couldn't you have gone to my table?”

"That little shit you call boyfriend is there, I don't like him."

"Don't talk about him like that, he's got a name, it's Hoseok, and he's not a shit." Unlike you, you thought about talking. Jungkook laughed and leaned against the sink beside you, looking at you. Shit, he was again with that look of who was reading your mind.

"Already working elsewhere?"

"No, I want to get some rest before I start working again." You said taking the paper towel to dry your hands, you wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

"Fine. Rest for another two weeks and return to the company on February 1st."

"I will not go back to work for you, Jungkook." You said calmly and firmly, without even waiting for his reaction, you walked toward the door, but before reaching it, he grasped your arm, turning you to him. “What...”

"That's not how things work. We need to talk." He said angry, his eyebrows drooping and his jaw clenched. On another occasion you would bow your head and accept his demand, but at that moment no, he no longer ran you. You gripped his wrist, pushed his hand away from your arm and lifted your head.

"You're not my boss anymore. You don't rule me. Have a good night, Jungkook."

And so you left, leaving him completely baffled inside the ladies room. As you walked away, you felt you could breathe again and paused at the bar for a drink before returning to the table and joining your friends who were already wondering why you were taking so long. Shortly thereafter you were paying the bill to leave. Being the one who drank the least, you drove Hoseok's car, driving Irina and Rosie home before heading toward the house of your boyfriend who was completely drunk in the passenger seat, almost fainting.

You locked the car and let Hoseok lean on your shoulders, laughing and trying to dodge his hands as you made your way to the porch. As soon as you laid him on the bed, you helped him take off his clothes, leaving only his underwear and he fell asleep. You laughed as you took off your boots, knowing that the next day he would wake up with a terrible headache.

Your cell phone beeped in your pocket and you picked it up, seeing that Jungkook had texted.

Asshole: I'm outside the house waiting for you, we need to talk.

You rolled your eyes, with no patience to argue.

Me: I'm not home.

And seconds later he answered

Asshole: I know. I'm in front of your boyfriend's house.

Unable to believe it, you ran toward the window, seeing the black Jaguar parked behind Hoseok's car. He really was there. How did he know where Hobi lived? You left the room closing the door behind you, not bothering to put on a slipper, and marched out of the house.

“What are you doing here?” You asked leaning over the passenger window, seeing him inside with his cell phone in one hand and the other at the wheel. You almost lost focus when you saw those big venous hands.

"I told you, we need to talk." He said in a boring voice. "Get in the car."

"No, I can't leave. Hoseok drank too much, he may need me. Just leave, really, I don't think we have anything to talk about. I already said I'm not going back to work for you, and there's nothing that you can do to change my mind. "

Jungkook stared straight ahead for a few seconds, his clenched jaw showing that he was even angrier than before. He bit his lip before dropping the phone, pulling the parking brake, turning off the car and getting out of it, making you stand up in confusion.

"Fine. If you don't want to get in the car, I'll get in the house." He said and started walking toward the house, stuffing his car key in his pocket, leaving you wide-eyed, static, watching him enter Hoseok's house. You blinked and then ran back into the house, seeing your former boss looking around the room in disgust. "This asshole has a bad taste for decoration." He said and so looked at you, standing in the living room door. "Everything here is as boring and bland as he is."

"Jungkook, what do you want? Really, I don't understand why you're insisting so much today on talking to me."

"I just don't understand why you don't want to go back to work for me, (Y/N)." He said raising his voice, making you run towards him and use your hand to cover his mouth, afraid that Hoseok would wake up. And as you stared up at the ceiling, trying to hear some noise from upstairs, Jungkook stared at you, analyzing you, as he always did. It was the first time you were so close like that and he was loving it. He then held your wrist away from his mouth, and made you look back at him, realizing that he was really close. That feeling of attraction was no stranger to you, because even though he had been a jerk all this time, Jeon Jungkook was the definition of sexy.

You shook your head, sending those thoughts away and sighed, waving toward the kitchen door. He followed you and watched you grab a glass of water and drink it, a drop escaped from your mouth and down your throat, falling between your breasts, and Jungkook saw it, and that caused something that was already inside him to spread like fire on a dry straw.

"It was because of him that you quit?" He asked, this time in a lower voice, making you duck your head and face the empty glass. "Was he the one who told you to resign? Was he jealous of our relationship?"

"Relationship?" You turned indignant at him. "What relationship, Jungkook? You were my boss and I was your employee. There was never a relationship between us, what the hell are you talking about?”

"Oh please. Are you telling me you never felt this sexual tension between us?" He asked confused and angry at the same time, pointing to the space between you two, making you perplexed. "Are you telling me that in those two years you never realized that I always act different around you?"

"Different how? More asshole than usual? Because that's all you did, Jungkook, you've always been an asshole with me. Always." You said, this time you were raising your voice. And for the first time in the time you knew him, he was silent, so you continued. "Want to know why I resigned? Because you made these two years the worst of my life. You made my life a hell. Your ironies, your insults, your lack of empathy with me hurt me. And all I wanted was to be far away from you, the only thing that made me feel good was to know that at the end of the day I would come home, rest in the arms of the man who loves me, but then you would call me, drunk, out of my shift to pick you up at some bar as if I were your fucking private driver.” You said holding to not scream. Jungkook just remained silent, listening to you, not daring to interrupt. You took a deep breath, trying to calm down before you spoke again.

"You have no idea how much I hate you, Jungkook. God. I hate you so much. And I screamed with joy when I woke up the day after I resigned to see that I would no longer have to endure your arrogance. That I wouldn't have to be your little toy anymore. But, you know what? I pity you. Because you're going to be alone and bitter for the rest of your life, surrounded by fake people who want you for your money, because no one can love a rubbish person like you. Spoiled, cocky, arrogant and spiteful. What's the point of being beautiful on the outside but being so horrible on the inside?”

And then you shut up again, staring at the ceiling, taking a deep breath, almost as if your lungs were bouncing from your chest. It's been a long time since you wanted to say all that. And when you looked at Jungkook, you realized that it was a bad idea to say that to him. He was standing, staring at his feet, his hands in his back pockets and his shoulders slumped. You put your hand over your mouth, realizing that everything you said had been too cruel and that you had probably hurt him.

"Oh my god, Jungkook, I'm sorry. I ... I'm so sorry."

"It's all right." He said softly, lifting his head, making your heart clench at the sight of his watery eyes. He smiled at you before turning around and leaving the kitchen. You sighed sadly that you were the reason for that and when you finally went after him, he was already getting in the car and leaving.

Yes, he had made you suffer for a long time, but you never wanted to make him went through the same.  You scratched your head, having nothing else to do, then walked into the house, leaning against the living room door, staring at the empty room and hearing only the crickets singing. You closed your eyes in regret and locked your jaw. You hated to be the reason for the sadness of others, so surely you couldn't sleep that night.

You sat in the living room chair until daybreak. As soon as Hoseok woke up already complaining about the headache, you told him that you need to go to your apartment because your friend was waiting there and then took a cab.

After taking your shower, you decided that you would talk to Jungkook, apologize once again for what you had told him. You put on a black skirt, white blouse and boots, something you would never wear during your work hours.

As soon as you arrived at the company, just over eight in the morning, everyone who worked there greeted you, happy to see you there again.

"Good to see you here, came to visit us?" The receptionist said as soon as you approached.

"I actually came to talk to Jeon. Has he arrived?"

"Not yet. If you want you can wait upstairs."

"Don't you have to tell his secretary first?" The woman laughed.

"He hasn't hired another secretary yet. I think he's still hoping for you to come back."

You thanked her and got in the elevator. When you stepped on the floor of his office, you felt nostalgic to see your old empty table. You now remembered some things you had forgotten, like every time you got stuck in papers and couldn't go out to lunch, Jungkook brought your food. And when you stayed up late in meetings, he would take you to dinner. You remembered the one-week trip to Cancun that he gave you as a birthday gift.  And that he was always by your side when you needed him, like the day your younger brother went to the hospital and he took you there, and didn't leave your side, even though he had been quiet the whole time. Yes, he had been a bad person to you sometimes, but yes, he was different with you in some ways.

"Something happened?" Jungkook's voice made you jump and turn back, seeing that he was standing in front of the elevator door. He was a mess. His hair was messy, his tie was untied and he was carrying his jacket in one hand. What you said to him should have really destabilized him, because that was the first time you saw the great Jeon Jungkook all messy.

"No, I just wanted to talk to you." You said biting your lower lip, getting ready to get an ironic answer, but to your surprise, he just nodded and pointed toward his office. As soon as you walked in, he closed the door behind him and walked toward his desk, tossing his jacket on the small leather sofa beside him. Before he sat down, he started fixing his tie, but you knew he wasn't very good at it, so you approached."Can I help you with this?" You asked and he nodded, letting his hands fall to his sides and letting you fix it. You both kept quiet, Jungkook was trying not to look at you and then looked at the bathroom behind you. The door was open and the sink mirror was reflecting you bare legs, which made him swallow hard and try to look at another place, getting restless.

When you were done, you took a few steps away and he thanked you.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I want to apologize to you, about yesterday." You started as soon as he sat in his chair. You kept standing in front of him.

"No need to apologize, I deserved it."

"Deserving it or not, I shouldn't have said that. I'm not a bad person and I would never say anything of that kind with the intention of hurting anyone, not even you.”

"So you didn't want to say that to me?" He asked, lifting his head a little to look at you and for some reason, you felt like laughing and ended up smiling.

"I wanted to, but I shouldn't have said." You said it and he laughed shaking his head. "Seriously, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I understand."And then you both fell silent and stared at each other.  This was the first time you two talked like two normal people. And you liked that.

“But I'm still curious about one thing.”

“And what is it?”

“Why do you do so much matter that I may go to work for you again?”

"Because of all the people I've worked with, all the people I've met, you're the only one who didn't care to stand by me, to flatter me. And I like that about you." He said with a shrug. "You do your job and that's it, you don't ask me anything anymore, you don't ask me anything else. Actually, I was the one who demanded too much of you, (Y/N). And you always remained so professional, even if sometimes I blatantly flirted with you, you were still there, not giving a damn about me. And it fascinates me. You fascinates me.”

You blushed when you heard that. Did he flirt with you? How did you never notice?

"What, were you surprised that there is a woman in this world who is not attracted to you?" You asked, trying to look cool. Jungkook gave a low, ironical laugh, as he used to do when he wanted to mock something.

"Oh, you were attracted to me, but you never realized that because you were too busy hating me."

And without restraint, you shyly bit your lower lip and looked elsewhere as you felt your face burn.  Well, maybe he was right, and if he really was, you'd be fucked, so you understood that this was the time to get the hell out of that room.

"Well ..." You rubbed the back of your neck, bewildered.  "I'm glad we're okay ... hm ... I better go." You said turning your back and walking towards the door, but Jungkook was faster, running towards the door and resting his hand on it, not letting you open it, standing behind you, who froze to feel his breath near your ear. Your heart started beating fast against your chest, and you almost thought it would jump out. That was weird. Jungkook was acting weird. Why did he look so different now?

"Wait (Y/N), don’t you think I deserve to speak too?" He whispered and that made your whole body tingle. You swallowed and turned to face him, taking a few steps back and knocking your back on the door. You fell silent so he could talk. “I won't apologize for the way I've acted with you in the last two years, because no excuse will change what has already happened, but god, you have no idea how hard it was for me to spend all this time looking at you walking around in that tight skirt, and do nothing. I'm not saying you were trying to tease me or anything, after all that was your uniform, but that didn't stop me from imagining you naked. ”

“Jungkook...”

"Shh, babe, let me finish, hm?" He asked placing his index finger over your lips. “I just wish I could get you on all fours on that couch. I just wish I could come every day and kiss you, I just wish I had you for me, if only for a day.”He whispered moving his face close to yours, giving you a peck.

"Jungkook… I have Hoseok." You said, almost begging him to walk away.

“I know, honey.” He whispered giving you one more peck. "It's fine." And one more. "I won't tell him, I promise." And he kissed your neck, leaving wet red marks, making you automatically put your hands on his shoulders. “It'll be all under the mat until the day you're ready to be mine for the rest of your life.” And so he grabbed the back of your neck and pulled you into a kiss you didn't refuse to give.

Wasting no time, you dropped your hands to his waist, tugging at his shirt and pulling it out of his pants, unbuttoning as he walked backward until his thighs hit the edge of the table. Jungkook broke the kiss and pulled you, spinning and putting you onto the table, pushing the papers, pens, and even the computer to the floor just to make room for you to lie there.

He pulled your skirt up, and pulled your waist, fitting between your legs, leaning over you, kissing your neck again, kissing down to your breasts. His big hands massaging your thighs as you arched you back and moaned beneath him, gripping his hair and pulling. The telephone, which had been the only object on the table that had not been thrown to the ground, rang. Jungkook let out an angry growl and had no intention of answering.

"It could be important." You said and he chuckled, taking his mouth off your breast and looking at you.

"The only thing that matters to me now is to eat out your pussy, honey." He said shoving his hand under your skirt and pulling your panties down. Jungkook rested one knee on the floor and put his face between your legs, letting his lips touch with almost desperate delicacy the soggy spot between your legs. making you sit with your hands resting on the table and head thrown back, moaning. His tongue is hot, and when he moves it from the bottom up, slowly makes you feel him stimulate every tiny point of pleasure there, the sound that drips from his lips is pure desire. And when Jungkook finally reaches your clit, the way he sucks that point makes you lie down on the table, letting your head hang on the other side as he puts your thighs over his shoulders and reaches your hands on the table, lacing your fingers.

That was too wonderful. His touch made it sound like this was the first time anyone was giving you an oral, as if all the other times you'd received was nothing like it like it was nothing like Jungkook. The phone starts ringing again and you try to use one hand to answer it, but Jungkook squeezes your fingers, signaling that he wouldn't let you do any of that.

"Let it ring." He whispers against your pussy before using his tongue on it again. Your body shudders with the horniness, looking like you're electrified. He brings one of your hands up to his hair, letting you hold the black strands between your fingers, letting you take control, pulling him closer. The feeling intensifies each time his lips run through it, and with every second you feel the climax get stronger and you can't think of anything but cum in his tongue.

"I ... Oh ..." You could barely speak as he increased the speed of his tongue, and when you realize it, your body feels like free-falling, the adrenaline rush, your whole body shudders in uncoordinated spasms, and you can not help yourself and moan as loud as you had done in life.

Jungkook is pleased to see you so vulnerable like that. He stands and holds your arms, making you sit up. He holds your face and kisses you warmly, letting you hold his waist as he reaches down to your shoulders, caressing your skin. It was so soft, so smooth, you were so inviting, and he could hardly believe he was finally having you there, just for him.

"Mr. Jeon-oh my god." The voice of a third person made Jungkook look over his shoulder at once, seeing the receptionist standing wide-eyed at the office's door. He hugs your body protectively, standing in front of you and preventing her from seeing you in the state you were in.

"Close it." He growled, glaring at the standing woman.

"I'm so sorry…"

"Fucking close it. Get out." He shouted angrily, causing the girl to jump and leave the room, slamming the door.  Jungkook breathed for a second and moved away from you a few inches, analyzing you. "You okay?" He asked and those words made you break out of a trance and finally start thinking about what had just happened. Your former boss had given you an oral in his office on his desk, you were almost caught and the worst, you had cheated on Hoseok.

“Oh no.” You put your hands on your face, feeling ashamed of yourself, not believing you had been able to do something like that.

Jungkook realized that you didn't look happy like a few seconds ago and took your hands away from your face, looking at your red face. And before he could say anything, you jumped off the table, moving away from him.

"That shouldn’t have happened." You said with tears in your eyes, walking backwards towards the door, making Jungkook frown. "Please forget that this happened." You asked before lightning out of the room, leaving a disheveled, confused and frustrated man standing in the middle of the office. You didn't even want to use the elevator, using the emergency stairs to leave, running out of the building without even looking back.

Jungkook sat on the table and sighed, running his hands through his messy hair as he growled in rage and confusion. He had come so close to finally getting what he wanted. He was definitely going to fire that woman because she had gotten in his way.

And so looking at the floor, his eyes fell on a piece of black lace near his feet. Your panties. He smirked and bent down to pick it up.

Something was telling him that it was not over yet.

[carterhaughs]

vir lath sa’vunin

The end of the Fifth Blight heralds a new dawn for Ferelden and her peoples, but consolidating support for the young new king will not be easy, and rebuilding would be an arduous task even without the threat of residual darkspawn and fresh new horrors lingering in the wake of the Archdemon. Aelinor Surana and Alistair Theirin will need all the strength, savvy, cunning, and knowledge they can muster if they are to heal their country's hurts. With help from friends new and old and their love for each other, they will face down adversity as they always have: together.

Read @ Ao3

Note: "Vir Lath Sa'vunin" is a line from Leliana's Song - the one she sings to the warden after Zathrian and/or the Lady of the Forest die during the Nature of the Beast quest line. It is an old elven song that Keeper Lanaya may share with you in the form of a codex entry. The line means "we love one more day."

Relevant to this chapter: I recorded myself singing the song I wrote for Leliana here.

Chapter 4: Song and Dance

“The golden eyes I knew so well

Turned far their gaze from me

Foresworn was I to break the spell

But adamant was she

By dark of night she stole away

Far-flung her path did range

O’er heart and soul she still held sway

Folk found me passing strange

For in the depths of moonless night

I sought that spark of gold

Without her flame to keep it bright

I found my heart grew cold.”

Leliana finished up her song at the head of the dais to a smattering of applause. When she took her seat above the salt, she thought it would have set off more indignation among the nobles, but most of that seemed to be reserved for the two elven women she seated herself near: Aelinor Surana, hero of Ferelden and the new royal chamberlain, and Shianni, the new hahren of the Denerim Alienage. She’d taken her place at Aelinor’s right hand and stuck out slightly less there because they were both elves, but her manner of dress certainly drew the eye–simple linen and brocade but finely stitched in the manner practiced in many elven alienages.

“That was a beautiful ballad, Leliana,” said Aelinor. Her coppery hair seemed to shift from red to gold and back at once in the warmth of the torchlight, and Leliana was proud of her for wearing it down. It had taken some coaxing to get her to grow it out as she had kept it short ever since she could remember for practical reasons.

“Thank you. I thought I might try something new and not obviously Orlesian for my first day in court here. But ultimately I think it may not have mattered because all eyes were on the two of you.”

“For better or worse,” scoffed Shianni. But she grinned. “But surprisingly mostly for better, I think.”

“Indeed.” Leliana surveyed the room and noted that most of those seated at the table were preoccupied with their food now. “You’ve both conducted yourself with enough finesse that their attention has been successfully diverted by the cheese platter. They don’t find you as threatening as they expected.”

“Because they’re starting to accept us? Or because they think us token members of the king’s court?” asked Shianni, idly stirring her stew.

“From what I was able to gather, a bit of both, and neither. Some of them think you, pardon my phrasing, the king’s pet project because he has a certain...inclination towards elven women. Which is something I’m sure will always be bandied about court so long as he remains unmarried and works with the elven community. I think that would be true even if you weren’t his chamberlain, Aelinor. But your reputation as the savior of Fereldan is not without weight, and a fair few powerful nobles were open in their support of you, especially the younger set who finds the stuffiness of a staid and complacent royal court suffocating. You are their breath of fresh air, and Seranni with you. Keep your sharp tongue at the ready, Seranni, for it will mostly serve to remind them that you speak with authority under the king’s protection now. Aelinor must play the diplomat, but you can remain a firebrand.”

Shianni blinked, slightly dazzled. “Your friend is as savvy as you said, Aeli. I’m impressed.” Aelinor, however, appeared somewhat anxious as she craned her neck to get a better view of the room beyond the taller human guests at the table.

“And what of Anora, Leliana? How did the court find my handling of her insinuation?”

Leliana nodded in the direction of the dais, where Anora was in conversation with the king himself. “I think you must have handled it well, or she would not so readily admit defeat by speaking with the king himself in front of all the court. That looks too much like begging for her taste, even if it matters comparatively little to her peers. She is prideful, and not unlike her father in that way.” Alistair looked vaguely annoyed, one eyebrow raised in irritation, but other than that their conversation seemed peaceable. Aelinor breathed a sigh of relief.

“I know that won’t be the last time I’m confronted in such a way but I am glad to know you think I’ve successfully deflected her best efforts this time. But what is it that you think she intends?”

Leliana narrowed her eyes and watched Anora on the dais, the way she held herself ramrod straight and clasped her hands at the base of her spine, behind her back.

“My guess is that she is looking for a way to divide the two of you. To lessen your importance or presence here so other matters more to her liking will take priority. She has no hatred for the elves, but I doubt she wants the country’s resources spent on them more than she thinks necessary. She wants to control the political direction of the country, even without her throne.” Leliana turned to Aelinor and smiled. “I think she will find that difficult. Like everyone else here, I think she has found your bond with Alistair to be much stronger than they could have imagined–you are a formidable political force and you’ve presented them with a united front. So far, your reconstruction of the country has proceeded in a straightforward, efficient fashion they have found to be as fair as it is effective and you make a romantic pair, given your heroism. You give them hope, as you once gave me.”

Aelinor smiled in that slow tentative way she had, the way of all people Leliana knew who had little reason to smile for much of their life and were afraid of assuming it would last. She put a hand on her shoulder. “That is good to know. I will have to tell him so, later. I know he’s probably more worried than even I am, he’s just better at hiding it.”

“The two of you are the talk of the alienage,” added Shianni. “And that’s no small feat considering how little love we bear for humans. We won’t forget how you saved your own, and how you fought for us when the Blight was at your door. They sing songs in the street of how you and the witch summoned a storm to rend the heavens and struck down the ogre the moment it breached the barricade.” Morrigan. Leliana felt something cold and hard in the back of her throat, and swallowed it down.

Aelinor smiled, a distant look in her eyes as she thought back on their adventures. “One of my better efforts. I couldn’t have done it without her. I’m overjoyed to have a place in your songs and stories. I spent little enough of my life in the Lothering Alienage before I was taken to Kinloch Hold, but I tried to remember all of the songs and stories I could. I’ve had to grow up far away from the traditions of our people, and to be a part of that now...I can’t think of a higher honor.”

The reedy sound of pipes being tuned drifted across the room from the end of the hall, and Shianni’s ears perked up. “Speaking of our people...” She lobbed a thumb toward the growing ensemble of elven musicians opposite the trestle table. “They’ll be needing me on the lyre.”

Aelinor grinned in delight. “I didn’t know you were musical, Shianni! Or that you would be playing for us tonight!”

“It was the king’s idea; I assumed he told you. Perhaps he meant it to be a surprise.” She and Leliana exchanged knowing looks and Leliana could tell Aelinor was fighting back the urge to look in Alistair’s direction, staring fixedly at the spoon in her hand, eyes half-lidded with longing. Instead, she turned to Leliana.

“Now that it’s just the two of us...” she spoke in hushed tones. “I know you sang for her tonight."

Leliana looked into the middle distance at nothing in particular, restlessly shucking her spoon between her knuckles. She’d often perform tricks with silverware to make Aelinor laugh and to attempt to outdo Zevran’s sleight of hand, honed with far deadlier tools in his line of work. But tonight she did so only to give her hands something to touch, lacking what they used to hold.

"How are you faring? As soon as I can get away, I still plan on searching for Morrigan. Will you wait with me, until the time is right?”

She nodded. “I could never desert you while the kingdom still dances on the edge of a knife. Ferelden is not so big as Morrigan thinks. We will find her.” Aelinor did not ask what she would do if they did find her, and for that Leliana was grateful, because she had no answer.

The music started up–a high, keen, silver-noted tune the likes of which Leliana had rarely heard. It was a shame the elves kept so much to themselves, even in the cities. There was so much hidden beauty in their understanding of the world. Of course, that is a choice that was made for them, she reminded herself. It was something she hadn’t really thought on until she and Aelinor had grown close and she had explained on many an occasion that city elves did not relish their lot but made the best of it and protected what they could of what remained to them with as much ferocity as the Dalish.

Slowly but surely, most of the assembled nobles drifted towards the dance floor. Leliana looked for Alistair, expecting him to dance with some female dignitary or other out of politeness as she had told him he ought, but found he was headed directly for their side of the trestle table. She leaned over to whisper into Aelinor’s ear.

“His Majesty is feeling bold tonight, but after all that has transpired, I think you should too.” Aelinor continued to stare determinedly at her spoon. “He will ask you to dance, and I believe you should say yes. There will be no stemming the rumors, so you should give them something to talk about that you can control. The king will dance with his greatest champion tonight, and there will be no question as to who rules this country. Give them the certainty they require.”

Aelinor smoothed the pale blue linen of her dress beneath her as she stood and turned to meet his eyes as he approached. Leliana recognized the fear in her, the slight crease between her brows and the stiff, still way she held herself. She curtsied carefully and with painstaking precision, slow enough to gather her courage. Alistair, for his part, appeared perfectly at ease with his choice to bind himself to her so publicly. He gently tugged her up and out of her show of obeisance and took her hand in his. She was so small beside him, and over Aelinor’s shoulder, Leliana could see he looked on her with a clear-eyed intensity that asked nothing even as it offered everything.

“Lady Surana, may I have this dance?”

“With your leave, Your Majesty, you may. But I may be a poor partner, as I do not know the steps.” He chuckled softly, his eyes bright.

“It’s a good thing Shianni taught me, then, isn’t it?” Aelinor looked between him and the company of musicians at the end of the hall, and her reply caught in her throat even as her eyes glimmered faintly with what could only be tears. “I’ll take the lead for once.” And he led her hand in hand to the middle of the floor, which cleared immediately at his approach.

Alistair wasted no time, his hand sliding to her waist as he lifted the other to lead her through the steps, a series of quick and intricate movements so unlike the stately, measured court dances typical of Ferelden nobility. Aelinor caught on quickly, as it was not too unlike the movement required of her in combat as an arcane warrior, finessing the sure, swift movements of melee combat with the preternatural awareness of the resonance of her steps in realms beyond this one. Leliana wondered then if elves had danced over and through the Veil many centuries past, when they had reigned immortal. Alistair had chosen this dance with the intention of showing how much her culture meant to him, no doubt, but he was also giving the court an opportunity to understand what he saw in her and her people. It was an effective political maneuver, intentional or no.

Anora watched from the fringes of the crowd, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. It was time for Leliana to put her own gambit into motion. She made her way towards her, and curtsied. Anora nodded in acknowledgement and Leliana rose up to meet her steely gaze.

“And you are...? A bard, or something more sinister?”

“I am merely an adventurer and former Chantry sister, traveling companion to the hero of Ferelden.”

“Ah, yes. Leliana.” Anora narrowed her eyes. “And what would you ask of me?”

“Why, only your hand, Lady Anora. I have made a quick study of this new court dance and know you to be a talented partner, or so it is said.”

Anora rolled her eyes. “I had not heard as such. But knowing your sort, the exact opposite would be said of me were I to refuse you. Very well. Lead on...Sister Leliana.”

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 2X14 - Manhattan

I don’t have a pun for this time, but I wanted to say that this is probably one of the episodes that I was the most excited to cover for this rewatch for a few reasons. First, I haven’t watched it since my initial watch of the series so apart from the broad strokes of the story, I’ve forgotten a great deal of it. Second, it’s one of the biggest and best received episodes of the season from a General Audiences standpoint from what I understand. Third, I’ve never had a real opinion on Neal because I binged Seasons 2 and 3, so this episode will provide me the opportunity to do just that! Finally, it takes place in New York and who doesn’t love New York!

...Don’t answer that! Anyway, I hope you’ll read my review of this episode which is just under the cut, so I’ll CUT to the chase. Ha! Turns out I did have a pun in me! Okay! Let’s get started!

Press Release While Mr. Gold, Emma and Henry go in search of Gold’s son Bae in New York, Cora, Regina and Hook attempt to track down one of Rumplestiltskin’s most treasured possessions. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was, Rumplestiltskin realizes his destiny while fighting in the Ogres War. General Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness Past We gotta talk about the forking Seer and how she relates to Rumple. First, on a strictly aesthetic level, look at the way that the Seer moves her hands as she asks for water! It looks a bit like how Rumple moves his hands when he gets the Seer’s powers. Also, even her voice is sing-songy in the scene as per the captions, matching Rumple’s. Second, on a more narrative level, it’s really interesting to examine just how much of the Seer ended up becoming part of Rumple. When we see Rumple first become the Dark One, while manipulative at times, because said manipulation happens with Bae as a child, it’s played as more of manipulation that any authority figure could conceivably do cranked up to 11. And when he’s not with Bae and he’s dealing with others, he’s blunter, not as cunning as he grows to be later. But the Seer, like him in later flashbacks, picks upon more vulnerable parts of Rumple’s psyche, like how she brings up Milah and Rumple’s fears of his past and cowardice.

So I know that there are some complaints about Rumple’s discussed reasoning for turning back from the Ogres Wars was changed to being about Bae to about Rumple’s cowardice, and I actually couldn’t disagree more. This entire flashback’s setup isn’t about Rumple’s excitement to be a father, but about how he is more scared than he realizes of fighting and dying in the war. That’s how, as I mentioned before, the Seer initially gets him: by mentioning his father’s cowardice and his desire to stray away from that path. In the next flashback scene, Rumple shows much more explicit fear at those harmed in the war and one of the most poignant lines from that scene is about praying for a quick death and the final words he says to what he thinks is the Seer is “and I’m gonna die.” I honestly feel like this was a revelation that was always supposed to come out. It doesn’t lessen Rumple’s love for Bae or that that loves is any less powerful, for he wants to live for Bae, but from a story perspective, the main throttle of Rumple’s decision to harm himself does lean more towards cowardice. Hell, even Milah hits the ball on the head: “You left because you were AFRAID.”

“It will require a curse -- a curse powerful enough to rip everyone from this land.” Note that the Seer says this as Rumple’s asking for the truth about him finding his son to be revealed. I feel like people forget about this line and how it pertains to Rumple’s journey back to Bae. Many in the fandom (Myself included) mock Rumple for needing a curse to traverse realms while there are many other ways to travel them as revealed over the course of the series. Now, I get that yeah, to an extent, that’s true. New magical MacGuffins are introduced so that new characters can be introduced and so that we can see our current cast battle the fairytale elements with their modern mindsets and emotional problems (I personally find it more annoying when it’s mocked to the point where it’s used as an actual story critique, forking Cinema Sins and the mentality they’ve introduced for many who criticise films over minute details rather than how the work functions as a story -- this is why you will never see me take a point off for a plot hole). But back on topic, Rumple was told by both the Blue Fairy and now the Seer that he’d need a curse to get back to Bae, and so he kept that in mind. Present I know that a major point of contention is Emma not telling Neal about Henry when he brought up the idea of something good coming of their relationship, and I think it’s more of a complicated situation, one akin to both her initial lie to Henry in “True North” and her decisions in “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree,” where to say that something is objectively right or wrong is missing the point. Yes, Emma shouldn’t have lied and the episode is very explicit with how that was the wrong decision. However, look at what she’s dealing with. A vulnerable time in her life is now being further bastardized with the knowledge that it was all a conspiracy and while I like Neal, he didn’t exactly broach the subject with tactful bedside manner, instead trying to rationalize something so personal and painful to her. Also, I want to point out how Emma on some level knows this. That’s why she calls Mary Margaret in the very next present scene. But she doesn’t do the right thing. Look, this isn’t the easiest episode to be an Emma fan during, and I know that well. And I swear, I’m doing my best to keep my fan goggles off, but I’m not going to pretend that it’s not a nuanced situation when it is. And finally, Emma is chewed out for her decision. Henry gives her a “Reason You Suck Speech,” calling her just as bad as Regina, a line that hurts but is justified and given with an appropriate level of painfulness from an eleven year old. And even her initial apology isn’t enough.

So, that first confrontation between Rumple and Neal. Wow. What I like about Neal as he pertains to Rumple is that he immediately gives Rumple no leniency. I talked about this briefly during my review of “The Return,” but this is such an important distinction to Rumple’s other biggest loved one, Belle, who has somewhat looser parameters. From the second Neal sees Rumple again, he’s blunt about his intentions and exactly what he thinks about what Rumple’s capable of. I don’t want to say that there’s no love there, but it is pushed back in terms of Neal’s priorities, buried under decades of bitterness. And at the same time, while full of love, Rumple is still using his old tricks to get Neal to talk to him. He leverages his deal with Emma for more time to talk to him and while it works, it only serves to get more ire out of Neal. Rumple’s apology is likewise undeniably sincere, but the manner in which it is both gotten and attempted to be implemented completely miss the point that the anger produced can’t be healed so easily. I mean, just look at Neal’s face when he says that there’s magic in Storybrooke. Every benefit of every doubt is abandoned like the Stiltskin boys across portals. That having been said, with three minutes of time for an apology, I feel like we almost got more out of Rumple’s apology to August in “The Return” than we did here. Where are the tears? Why isn’t Rumple saying as much as he possibly can? It’s not enough to take points off or anything, but this meeting is partially what the first season and a half were building towards, and I kind of wanted more umph to it. That also having been said, I get that because Neal is a different person from August’s rendition of him entirely, of course the reactions are going to be different, and Neal’s speech after he’s done talking blows the conversation away. Credit to Michael Raymond James because in this scene, he completely kept up with Robert Carlyle, and that’s not always an easy feat, especially in such an emotionally charged scene. Insights - Stream of Consciousness -It is so bizarre to see Rumple and Milah happy. It’s a great contrast to how bad things got between them and is a great show of how Rumple’s cowardice really affected Milah, turning her from someone who looked so content into the miserable woman from the flashback in “The Crocodile.” All throughout the scene, they’re so dopey-eyed and in-sync towards the end. I honestly would love to read a fic where they managed to come to terms with their past and maybe be able to forgive each other, and I know I’m alone in this, but there is a story there. -”My weaving days are over.” *thinks about how in roughly 250 years, he goes by Weaver* Suuuuuure, Rumple. -Okay, seeing an adorably excited non-Dark One non-present timeline Rumple is just the best. Robert Caryle really shows Rumple’s youth here, excited, bouncy, full of music and light. It’s an honest job and plays against the cowardly spinster we see in “Desperate Souls,” the blunter Mr. Gold and the silly, but frightening Dark One version of Rumple, it makes for such a unique contrast! -Milah also gets such a unique contrast in another respect, being the more cautious half of the relationship compared to how she is after Rumple arrives home. -”But to the world?” So, when in the series finale, the idea of “the Rumplestiltskin the world will remember” came up and kept being echoed like it was this important thing, I felt that it kind of came out of nowhere because I hadn’t ever seen Rumple concerned with his legacy beyond the more isolated well being of his children, grand and great-grandchildren, and wife. However, as I hear this line, it makes a bit more sense to me, especially because this is the same episode that discussed the Henry prophecy, which was also touched upon in the series finale. -So, Rumple does that bug-eyed thing that I complained about in the last episode, but here, because the confrontation between Rumple and Bae is impending and is isolated as the main reason for his concern, it works sooo well! -Killian, thank you for breaking up that horrible mother/daughter moment! -”Names are what I traffic in, but sadly, no.” This line cracked me up! XD -”I’m not answering anything until you tell me the truth.” That’s a pretty solid rule of thumb, Emma. Neal’s definitely no villain, but just going forward, that’s a good mindset to have! -”I am the only one allowed to be angry here!” She’s got a point, Neal. You’re not really explaining yourself in a way that you’d be justified in being angry. -I love spotting bloopers as they’re happening. It’s like the OUAT version of finding Hidden Mickeys! -”My son’s been running away for a long time now.” When?! He ran away ONCE and he wasn’t even trying to run from you. He was trying to take you with him, in fact! Did you forget that?! -Henry and Rumple get a great scene! -I know you’re Baelfire.” Fun fact, last year at NJ con, I got this question wrong in the true/false game. But now I know the truth, and I’m coming for you again, Jersey! -Gotta give all the credit in the world to Jennifer Morrison here. There’s so much pain in her voice as Neal’s revealing the truth to Emma and Jen just captures how Emma’s barely holding her shirt together because now even more of her life has been shown to be a lie, and this time, a more vulnerable memory has been made even worse because of this new knowledge. -”To remind myself never to trust someone again.” That is such a tragic line. Even as Storybrooke has done a major job of changing Emma’s mindset in that regard, you do still see bits of that distrust in her personality. That’s why I like the concept of Emma’s walls being a constant in the series. -”You’ll never have to see me again.” Neal, you do know that your father is clearly still chasing you, right? You think he’s gonna give up so soon? -I like how as Rumple agreeing to watch the Seer, you can already see that his face has fallen and that he’s grown more haggard, showing some of that fear already striking him now that some of the initial adrenaline has worn off and the reality of the war is settling in. -”Who are you?” Jeez Belle, why not say “hi” like a decent person? -Regina, you know, instead of playing The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, it could be easier to, you know, look in her bag instead. -David, Thanksgiving with your family would be the best thing EVER! -Apparently, Bae learned to be a locksmith from Rumple. Neat! -Another great use of the weather from OUAT! The snow really helps to accentuate the dire straits of the war and is just adds a nice bit of texture to the scene so that it’s not just dirt against a night sky. -On the opposite end, Rumple hurting himself, especially as someone who is overcoming some serious orthopedic issues right now, is so uncomfortable to watch. Rumple’s screams actually gave me shudders. -As if I didn’t have enough reasons to praise the living daylights out of Robert Carlyle, just look at the moments when he enters Neal’s apartment. It’s the first glimpse that he gets of everything his son went through as a result of his actions and it’s subtly heartbreaking. -To add to this Robert Carlyle acting chain, his eyes as he screams “tell me” is forking hysterical! -Rumple’s splint makes me so uncomfortable. Go see a better doctor! -”A strong name!” Rumple straight up indignation as he says that cracks me the fork up! -I like Milah’s buildup of frustration as Rumple arrives home. At first, she’s almost smiling as she tells Rumple Bae’s name, but as she quickly confronts him and learns the facts, she gets angrier until we see the beginnings of the misery that sets off “The Crocodile.” I also want to note that Milah’s anger is for Bae’s sake, not for her own like in “The Crocodile,” and I think that is such an important distinction. A lot of people condemn Milah for her choice to leave Bae and my degree of agreement with that statement varies if you’re asking me to view it in terms of her choice as an individual vs comparisons with other characters, but I think it’s important to show that love for Bae. -forking hell. Die, Cora! -I think I do enough of a job complimenting the effects team to be able to laugh at the New York backdrop during Emma and Henry’s conversation. -I ADORE the design of the Seer, by the way. The stitched up face and the eyeballs on her hands is just so cool! -It’s interesting to note that the last scene of the flashback happens after the events of “The Crocodile’s” flashback, as Rumple states that his wife ran away, and not “died.” -Rumple, to quote a magnificent show of great quality, “If you could gaze into the future, you’d think that life would be a breeze, seeing trouble from a distance, but it’s not that easy. I try to save the situation, then I end up misbehaving. Oh-oh-o-o-o-oh!” (I’ll write a ficlet for the first person to tell me what I’m referencing). -”Okay. I get it. We’re all messed up.” *Takes a deep breath* Ookay, Neal. You sent Emma to jail, and while it may have helped break the curse, it also put her through some serious shirt. You don’t get to make light of that. -”In time, you will work it all out.” Yeah, about 250 years, but he does get there, and it’s pretty freakin’ awesome when he does! Arcs - How are These Storylines Progressing? Rumple finding his son - I probably should’ve listed this as an arc long ago, but I forgot. In any case, Rumple finally found him! The journey from the start of the series here was a fantastically well done one! I feel like it never dragged or took any longer or shorter than the season and a half that it ended up lasting. And now, it kind of gets a second life. Rumple is now physically with his son, but emotionally couldn’t be further from him, and we get to see Rumple trying to bridge that gap. I don’t remember liking this part of it, but on concept alone, it’s so fascinating to see that next step. Emma lying to Henry - I like that Emma gets to have a flawed moment with Henry and that Henry actually reacts to it so negatively. For a season and a half now, Emma’s been Henry’s hero so of course when she not only lies, but to such an extent, he’s going to have a bad reaction because he’s put her on a pedestal. Not only is it an interesting character moment for Henry, but as I mentioned before, it’s a good job on the narrative’s part in punishing Emma for her lie. Favorite Dynamic Rumple and Henry. To be honest, Neal and Rumple should absolutely go here, but their entire conversation is more story based, and I talked about them ad nauseum up in that category, so why not highlight another dynamic? Rumple and Henry are so supportive and kind to each other here, and it feels like both good foreshadowing of their familial relationship, a show of the progress both characters had made thus far when it comes to how they treat their loved ones, and a tragic setup for not only the let down they both get from their respective loved ones, but also of the prophecy. For the latter one, for most of he episode, it felt a little weird seeing Rumple talk to Henry so softly despite knowing the prophecy. It felt a bit like him raising a pig for slaughter. However, the end of the episode makes it clear that Rumple was just now remembering the prophecy as he watched Neal and Henry bond, and it works well enough for me. Their time together in the episode is just so gentle and in an episode that’s more or less full of harsh moments (those gentle moments included in hindsight), the break that Henry and Rumple give is desperately needed. Writer Adam and Eddy are really good at writing intricate storylines. When you look at their other episode like the “Pilot,” “A Land Without Magic,” and “The Queen of Hearts,” you notice that the situation the characters are put into are never so simple. Just like someone can’t or shouldn’t be expected to straight-up hate Regina in the “Pilot,” one can’t or shouldn’t be expected to hate Emma, Neal, Henry, or Rumple here (Except Cora. We can hate Cora allllll we want), no matter who you’re a fan of. That’s because they’re careful with their framing and character work as to never let one forget their full picture. And I think that holds especially true in “Manhattan.” Culture In my intro, I said I was excited to finally get an impression of Neal for myself. When you’re in a certain shipping camp like I am (Captain Swan), Neal tends to be thrown through the ringer. Hell, even my best friend in the fandom hates him. However, when you’re as anti-salt as I am, you tend to take a lot of the shirt thrown at him with a grain of...well, salt. This is part of the reason why this rewatch appealed to me so much. I always found Neal to be pretty average in my book. I remember liking him, but not having much of a reaction to either his actions or his death in Season 3 (I also feel like I should disclose the fact that I wasn’t in either of the shipping camps throughout Neal’s entire present existence on the show), and I feel like I’d be remiss not to talk about him a bit now, especially as this is his debut present episode and affords him the most perspective.

So here goes.

I like Neal. I don’t love him. If you asked me to line up every character in the show, he’d probably end up near August, and I like August too, though not as much as major characters like Rumple, Regina, and Emma.

What’s appealing to me about Neal is his non-exaggerated blunt personality. The way he curb stomps Rumple’s apology is so in-your-face, as if to scream to an audience that already finds sympathy for Rumple that his pain matters too and it will be paid attention to. This works by keeping him a sympathetic character, but also giving him a compelling dynamic. As for Emma, that bluntness also helps, but in a way that makes Emma more sympathetic. I mentioned before that Neal’s exposition about his part in the conspiracy of sending Emma to jail was less than ideal, and it’s part of what contributes to her decision to lie about finding him. Neal is a bit of a jerk, obviously not devoid of either the heroism or love of his former selves, but it’s a character quality all the same and a good one, especially because to my memory, it stays around and is pretty organic. It paints the trauma that he’s had at the hands of the world since his abandonment as it’s such a stark contrast to his Enchanted Forest self.

Rating Golden Apple. What a great episode! It goes in with the promise of payoff for quite a few major story elements and does exactly that. It’s unwaveringly harsh in many respects, but that’s why it works as well as it does. Neal’s addition to the main cast shakes things up and provides new opportunities for characters, for as harsh as it is to watch, seeing Emma lie about Neal and be punished for it was a good narrative choice, and the flashback was utterly fantastic in its storytelling! Flip My Ship - Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness” Swan Fire - Listen to that vulnerability as Emma says Neal’s name and that happiness that Neal just can’t keep out of his voice as he says Emma’s! That’s just fantastic! Also, he keeps the dreamcatcher! Also also, that “leave her alone” was romantic as all hell! Captain Floor - I’m very pissed at myself for not mentioning the best ship ever at any point before this. Like, Killian and the Floor just belong together, and to not acknowledge that was a callous mistake on my part! My sincerest apologies to my reader base, and I beg for you not to think I’m at all an anti! ()()()()()()()()() It feels so good to give this season a high grade again!!!! Woohoo!! Thank you for reading and to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales for putting this project together!

Next time...someone DIES!!!

...I’m saying that like we all don’t know who it is that dies… ...Please come back…I’m so lonely...

Season 2 Tally (124/220) Writer Tally for Season 2: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis: (39/60) Jane Espenson (25/50) Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (24/50) David Goodman (16/30) Robert Hull (16/30) Christine Boylan (17/30) Kalinda Vazquez (20/30) Daniel Thomsen (10/20)

Operation Rewatch Archives

[prissyhalliwell]

Summary: Mr. Gold has been working for the dinner theatre company “The Enchanted Forest” for years, performing the same boring show every weekend. Nothing has ever changed, until Belle French joins the cast to play its princess.

~ Winner of Best Mr. Gold in the 2016 TEA Awards ~  Read on AO3

Chapter One I Chapter Two I Chapter Three I Chapter Four I Chapter Five I Chapter Six I Chapter Seven I Chapter Eight I Chapter Nine I Chapter Ten I  

Chapter Summary: An emergency during the show forces Belle and Gold to put their improvisation skills to the test. 

Chapter Eleven

The kissing was driving him nuts.

Gold glared as Jefferson and Belle exchanged a kiss onstage, receiving cheers and whistles from the crowd.

It was a quick kiss, barely a peck on the lips. But that didn’t stop Gold from wanting to rip the other man’s head off.

The kiss wasn’t anything new. It had always been part of the show. As someone who had been acting for a long time, he knew it was just part of the scene. It didn’t necessarily mean anything.

Of course, Regina had met Robin that way, but that was an outlier. Just because Belle was smiling didn’t mean she had personally enjoyed that kiss anymore than all the others she’d exchanged with every other good-looking man in the cast.

Or at least, that’s what he reminded himself for the dozenth time, as he continued to glare daggers at Jefferson’s back.

It had only been the last couple weeks that it had started to bother him that Belle regularly kissed some of his coworkers. As the villain of the show, Gold knew he would never be on the receiving end of one of those kisses.

In fact, it was his death that led to the kiss each evening. After defeating him on the battlefield, the triumphant knight would meet the princess onstage, telling her of his success and proclaiming that it had all been done out of love for his kingdom and his princess.

The king would appear afterwards, congratulating the knight on his victory and giving his blessing for the two to marry. The princess and knight would exchange a kiss and the show would end, the cast gathering onstage a few minutes later for their curtain call.

It was all fairy straightforward, even if the timing leading up to it was a bit tricky. Once Gold’s character was defeated on the arena floor, the lights would drop and he, the knight, and the knight’s squire, Henry, would quickly exit through a tunnel that led backstage. While he and Henry would take the horses back to the stables, the knight would dash up the backstage stairs in order to make his appearance on the stage moments later.

The stable hands were waiting at the end of the tunnel, so Gold was always back by the time the kiss took place. In the past, he’d always taken those few minutes to relax before curtain call. But for some reason, he’d begun watching the end of the show recently, for reasons he didn’t want to examine too closely.

He pushed away the annoying voice in his head that told him exactly why he was upset. It also reminded him that if he wasn’t so stubborn, he could easily be kissing Belle offstage any time he wanted.

Gold grit his teeth and turned away from the stage. He knew he was being irrational, but it was getting harder and harder to listen to logic these days.

The truth was he wanted Belle. He wanted her so much it drove him half mad some days.

She had brought new energy into the theatre, breathing fresh life into his world. Her presence had made the same old routine exciting and fresh again. Playing opposite her was exhilarating.

Even offstage, he liked nothing better than her company. She was witty and clever and beautiful and…young. While he’d been aware of the age gap between them, it had taken seeing her yearbook photograph for it to truly sink in.

And sink in it had. It had lodged itself deep in his brain, wedged in among all the other insecurities he’d had for decades.

Despite what Belle and probably half the cast believed, he wasn’t ignorant of her interest in him. However, he also knew that any feelings she might have for him were based off an idealized version of himself that he could never measure up to.

He wasn’t young or adventurous. He tripped over his words more times than he could count, especially around Belle. The man she actually liked was the charismatic chancellor who had inspired her to act. He was just…Gold.

If they did get together, she’d see that soon enough. Milah had certainly wasted no time in moving on to greener pastures once she’d realized he wasn’t what she’d wanted. While he had no fear that Belle would cheat on him as Milah had, the eventual outcome would be no different. Belle would realize her mistake and she would leave him. If that happened, he knew he wouldn’t have the courage to continue working with her every day, knowing he hadn’t been enough for her.

No, it was better to keep things as they were. Belle’s infatuation would eventually wain and she’d find someone more worth her while.

As long as it wasn’t Jefferson, he thought grumpily. Gold could endure a lot, but even he had his limits.

“Speaking of,” he thought moodily as he saw Regina walking towards him, a familiar gleam in her eyes that set alarm bells off in his head.

He held his hands up. “Whatever it is you’ve come to taunt me about, I’m not in the mood.”

Regina pretended to look offended. “When have I ever…” She trailed off, unable to suppress a grin. “Oh alright, guilty as charged. But you can hardly blame me for trying to have a little fun.” She gestured to her very large belly. “There’s only so much trouble I can get up to right now.”

“Counting down the days?” Gold asked.

She groaned. “Feels more like years, but yes.” She nodded towards the stage. “Are they almost done?”

“Just a few more minutes,” he said, his attention once again drawn back to Belle.

Regina followed his gaze. Noticing her interest, Gold quickly dropped his eyes.

Seeing the smile on her face, he realized he hadn’t been fast enough.

“So, what’s going on with you and the princess these days?”

He cleared his throat. “Nothing. We’re just friends, as you well know.”

Regina let out a bark of laughter. “For a smart man, you can be incredibly stupid sometimes. If it was any more obvious how you feel about her, it would be tattooed on your forehead.” She pointed towards Belle. “And you’d have to be blind to miss the way she looks at you.”

He frowned. “Looks at me?”

“Oh come now, Gold. Even you’re not that dense.” Regina caught his eye and her smirk fell. “Oh god, you’re really that dense, aren’t you?”

He shook his head. “Sometimes I wish I were.”

She frowned, and Gold sighed, realizing he’d have to explain.

“You’ve know the type of person I am, Regina.” He gestured helplessly at himself.  “How could I possibly be enough for her?”

Regina raised her eyebrows. “Gold, that girl worships you like the sun shines out your ass!”

He made an inarticulate growl. “That’s just it! She thinks I’m some sort of dashing knight who always sweeps in and saves the day.”

Regina snorted. “I don’t think she’s that delusional.” Her expression softened a moment later. “I don’t think Belle is under any illusions about you, Gold. She likes the real you, bumbling idiot that you are.” She gave his arm a quick squeeze. “Now you just have to see if you can accept yourself or not.”

He cleared his throat, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the entire conversation. “When did you get so wise?”

“Apparently it comes with being a mother.” Regina placed a protective hand on her stomach. “Or at least, I hope it does.”

“You’ll do great,” he said, his voice a bit thick. “You’ve always taken care of me, after all.”

Regina waved off his comment, but he could see how much it pleased her. “Well, you’re just an overgrown baby, so it’s not - “ She paused, clutching her stomach and wincing. “Speaking of babies…”

Gold’s eyes grew wide. “Is it coming? What should I do?” He racked his brain for any memory of what people in the movies did in this kind of situation. “Boiling water and towels, right?”

Regina just stared at him. “I’m fine, moron. I’m not due for another two weeks.” She gave him a level look. “But seriously, if I do go into labor, will you do me a favor?”

Gold nodded. “Anything.”

“Run in the opposite direction.”  

The cue for the curtain call played, and he was saved from having to reply. He gratefully ran off, leaving Regina to berate his intelligence to herself.

The next few hours flew by, letting Gold push his conversation with Regina to the back of his mind. With two shows on Sundays, there was very little time between when the matinee’s audience left and the evening crowd arrived.

There was always the danger of running through the second show on autopilot, but Gold always tried to give it his best.

Even so, he was glad to be finished with the fight that night. As experienced as he was with the routine, it was still physically challenging to go through twice in one day.

He, Henry, and Robin had just stepped offstage and into the tunnel with the horses when their stage manager, Isaac, ran up to them in a panic.

“Regina’s in labor!” he hissed, careful to keep his voice down that close to the stands. “Her water broke backstage!”

Robin stood in shock for a moment before leaping into action. He tossed his sword to Henry and took off down the tunnel, going the opposite direction of the stage where he was due to appear at any moment.

“Wait!” Isaac cried helplessly, taking off after Robin, no doubt hoping to convince him to finish the final scene before going to his wife’s side.  

Gold and Henry turned to stare at one other.

“How do you feel about playing a knight?” Gold asked.

Henry paled slightly, clutching the reins of Robin’s horse, Arrow. “I think I’d rather stick to the horses, if that’s alright.”

Gold sighed. He couldn’t really blame the kid. There wasn’t time to come up with any kind of plan. In less than a minute, Belle would be stuck on stage talking to herself.

He handed Ogre’s reins to Henry. “Looks like I’m about to make a miraculous recovery.”

Without waiting for a response, he raced down the tunnel and towards the stairs that would take him up to the stage.

He had some improvisation to do.

Reaching the entrance, he took a few deep breaths, not wanting to rush onstage out of breath. He still wasn’t exactly sure how they were going to pull this off, but he hoped Belle would be up for the challenge.

After all, wasn’t this what they had been asking for a chance to do?

In a moment of inspiration, he grabbed a cane off the wall and stumbled onto the stage, favoring one leg heavily as he dragged the other behind him, leaning on the cane for support.

Belle’s mouth fell open at the sight of him. After a moment’s pause, she rushed forward. “You’re alive?”

“Of course!” He looked out at the crowd, giving them a toothy grin. “It was only a flesh wound.”

That got a laugh out of the audience, as he had predicted. If he could keep them laughing, perhaps they wouldn’t notice or care that the end of the show made no sense whatsoever.

“Where is my brave knight?” Belle asked, still looking at him like he was completely insane.

“You mean, him?” Gold waved his hand dismissively at the field below. “He beat me in our sword fight, but I persevered in the end. My hidden dagger made quick work of him.”

“Your hidden dagger?”

“Yes, it is extremely efficient at getting the job done,” Gold said proudly. “And uh, very pointy.”

Belle’s mouth trembled, but she managed to keep a straight face. Her gaze flicked down to his trousers. “It’s amazing that you manage to conceal it so well.”

Before he could reply, she turned away. “However, that does not excuse your conduct here today. You have betrayed our kingdom. What possible excuse could you have for doing something so vile?”

He hesitated. What possible motivation could the chancellor have – apart from the obvious need for power – that the audience would believe? They needed to wrap up the scene so they could finish the show, but they couldn’t do that without giving the crowd some kind of resolution, perhaps even a happy ending, if possible.

At this point though, he wasn’t picky. He’d settle for any ending, as long as it worked.

He cleared his throat, letting his real anxiety show for the audience. “I didn’t do it for love of my kingdom, princess.”

She snorted. “That much is obvious.”

“But I did do it for love.”

Belle spun to look at him, actual surprise on her face. She didn’t know where he was going with this scene, not that he really knew too well either. He only hoped she’d catch on soon.

Otherwise, they were in real trouble.

“I did it for love of my princess.” He took a couple steps closer, drawing on his real feelings for her as he spoke.

Belle looked stunned. “For – for me?”

He nodded, walking up to her until they were only inches apart. “I couldn’t stand to see one of those worthless knights win your heart. I thought if I could offer you an empire to rule over, you might find me worthy enough.”

Belle’s smile was so brilliant, he almost couldn’t believe it was fake. “Silly chancellor. Don’t you know you’ve always been enough for me?”

“I - I have?” he stuttered.

She laughed softly, putting her hand in his and squeezing gently. “Yes. There’s never been anyone but - ”

Leopold burst onto the stage, brandishing his sword. “Stop right there, ruffian!’

Gold clutched at Belle’s hand, barely stopping himself from groaning at the interruption. They were so close to finishing the scene. If Leopold messed this up, he was going to kill him.

“Father,” Belle scolded, “put that thing away before you put someone’s eye out. Especially your own.” She smirked, no doubt remembering the practice where Leopold had nearly done just that.

“But daughter, this man is a traitor! He just attacked one of our knights.”

“Killed,” Gold corrected. “I killed one of your knights.”

Leopold gestured at him helplessly. “See?”

Belle rolled her eyes. Gold couldn’t tell if it was an act or if she was just as impatient as he was to finish the scene.

“Father, the Chancellor has united all of our enemies against us. He’s defeated our best knight and now has control of the city. I think a marriage between him and myself would be most prudent at this moment, don’t you?”

When Leopold looked at her in confusion, Belle hissed, “Give us your blessing!”

The audience laughed, prompting Leopold into action. He gave them the standard blessing he recited every show and held their joined hands up in the air for the crowd’s approval.

The crowd leapt to its feet, cheering and clapping louder than Gold could ever remember hearing. In all his years at the theatre, he didn’t think he’d ever seen such enthusiasm from the audience.

It wasn’t until the lights went down a short time later that he finally let himself relax, taking in a deep breath.

Belle sagged against him and they exchanged relieved looks.

“That was crazy,” she mouthed silently.

He smiled. “I know.’

Belle smiled tiredly before resting her head on his shoulder. He held her close, laying his head against hers.

Whatever fallout would come from their little performance, they would face it together, knowing they had tried their best.

The rest of the cast joined them onstage. As the lights came up, the audience began to shout and clap again, their excitement energizing Gold all over again. He looked at Belle who returned his smile with equal delight.

Perhaps they hadn’t done so bad, after all.

Author's Note: Shout out to @rumple-belle for suggesting dagger innuendos late last night when my brain broke.