#look i have the fairest skin in all the land i will not have a sock tan line for the rest of the summer

[teepussilakana]

* covers every inch of exposed skin with sunscreen just to spend 5 minutes in the sun when walking to the bus stop and then walking from another bus stop to work *

[bluesylveon2]

To the Most Handsome of Them All (800 Follower Special ft the third years)

Again, this is late but thank you for 800 followers!!

Summary: The third years fight over an apple (not clickbait)

Note: platonic third years x Yuu/reader (there is a hint of romance, but you have to squint), crack, chaos, humor, some second years cameo, and the third years being ready to fight each other.

Warning: fem Yuu/reader, not beta read, some cursing, Ortho threatening Idia, and possible ooc characters

Word Count: 4.5k

Masterlist: here

Somewhere within Pomefiore's lab was a short, feminine-looking-

"Hey! I can hear ya!"

(Sorry. Ahem. Where was I?)

A lavender-haired boy wearing a lab coat and stirring a suspicious liquid in a pot. 

"Mwahaha, you will pay for all the trouble you give me, Vil Schoenheit." The boy pulled out his laddle with a shiny golden apple in it. He carefully picked up the apple with one hand and whispered a charm into its glossy skin. 

"Let's give NRC a taste of drama." The boy picked up a knife and smiled sinisterly. 

"MWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Trey and Cater rested in the courtyard under a tree, finally free from their classes. The area was quiet, and there were a few lingering students. Cater hummed a popular song as he scrolled through Magicam. Trey was coming up with the following experiment for the science club. 

"So I heard Vil's film about the sleeping princess was a hit. Everybody is talking about it!" Cater said, showing Trey the latest Magicam post. 

"Let's hope that Yuu uses her share of the profit on things she needs," Trey smiled, proud of his underclassman's hard work. 

"Like premium tuna cans?" Cater snickered before bursting out into laughter. "OW! What was that?" He exclaimed and held on to his sore head. 

"What do you mean?" Trey asked with concern, and then he saw it. From the corner of his eye, there was a golden apple lying not far from them. Trey picked it up to examine. "To the most handsome third year? What a weird thing to carve into an apple."

"Let me see that!" Cater swiped the apple and held it at eye level. "Hmm. Yep, that's what it says." His eyes lit up like a light, and he held the fruit close to his face. 

"Cater, what are you-" 

Snap

"Who is the handsomest of them all? #handsome #thirdyear #apple #golden #totallyme," Cater typed away on his phone until he hit send. 

Trey's eyes widen in alarm. "Cater, why are you posting that?"

Cater dramatically rolled his eyes. "C'mon, and think about it! Our class is filled with princes, models, heirs, you name it! Wouldn't you want to know who is the best-looking?"

Trey rubbed the back of his neck in confusion. "I guess? But that makes us look like chopped liver. We don't fit under that criteria."

"I wouldn't underestimate your looks, Chevalier of Rose. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, like the pomme in Monsieur Magicam's hands." A smooth voice chuckled. Cater and Trey looked up to find Rook sitting on a branch and smirking at them. The blonde swiftly jumped down and landed next to Trey. 

"I agree with Rook," The sound of heels alerted the trio of the newcomer. "Don't underestimate yourself, potatoes."

Cater sweatdropped. "I don't know if I should take that as a compliment."

Vil ignored the comment and walked up to Cater instead. "I saw your post, Cater, and I believe that apple belongs to me."

"What makes you say that?" a smug voice asked, causing Vil to roll his eyes. "Herbivore's post said it was for the most 'handsomest third year.' What makes you the one who deserves the apple?"

Vil smirked and crossed his arms. "I am the embodiment of being the fairest, and unlike you, Leona, I have many fans. Therefore, that apple belongs to me."

Leona put a hand on his hips. "Being fair has nothing to do with looks." He and Vil glared at each other like rivals, leaving the others to watch. 

"I feel like we are watching a drama show," Trey whispered to Cater. 

"Totally."

"Tres bien! Roi du Poison is so beautiful even when he is mad!"

"ORTHO PUT ME DOWN! I DO NOT WANT TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE NORMIES!" Idia's screams caused everyone to watch as Ortho carried his older brother like he was a wet cat. The humanoid's eyes sparkled as his eyes landed on the group of third-years. 

"There they are!" He flew to the group and dropped his brother on the ground. "Big Brother, you are going to prove to your friends that you are handsome, and you cannot return to Ignihyde until you prove yourself!" 

"B-B-B-BWAH?! Do you not see me compared to them?" He pointed at Leona and Vil. "I am literally an R card compared to the SSRs! I am not qualified for this! Can I go-" Ortho's glare caused Idia to stop rambling. The others didn't hold back their smirks as the younger Shroud placed a finger on Idia's chest. 

"You are going to stay here and spend time with your friends. Do I make myself clear?" For a cute and innocent-looking humanoid, Ortho was more than his looks.

"They aren't really my friends…" Idia mumbled and fiddled with his fingers.

"Big Brother."

"EEP!"

"Fufufufu. Don't worry, Ortho. I can help keep an eye on him," Lilia's mischievous voice sent chills down Idia's spine. The bat fae floated down from the sky and rested a hand on Ortho's shoulder. To Idia's horror, Ortho smiled with glee. 

"I assure you, younger Shroud. Your brother will participate in this contest," Malleus, the final third year of the ragtag group, said as he joined in and patted Ortho on his blue fire head. 

"Looks like it is time for me to go. Have fun with your friends, Big Brother!" Ortho flew off, leaving Idia to fend for himself.

"WAIT ORTHO! DON'T LEAVE ME!" Idia jumped up, only to be grabbed by the hoodie by Malleus. Idia blushed in embarrassment as Malleus held him up like a cat. 

"Honestly, it is like leaving a child in daycare," Vil sighed and turned to the group. "Alright, boys. How shall we settle this?"

"I propose we FIGHT TO THE DEATH!" Lilia exclaimed. Everyone's eyes widened except for Malleus, who was unfazed by it. 

"Not bad, Lilia. I can get behind that idea," Leona smirked, his eyes trained on Malleus as he spoke. 

"Oo la la! That would be a marvelous sight to see. A fight between Roi du Dragons and Roi du Leon would bless my eyes!"

"Lils' idea is cool and all, but can we not do something that can get us killed?" Cater popped in, and Idia eagerly nodded in agreement. 

"As much as I would like to see Leona and Malleus ruin each other's looks with bloodshed, someone who looks the most desirable deserves the apple." Vil picked up his magical pen and summoned a small jeweled box with a heart on it. He swished his pen. The apple floated out of Cater's hands and landed on the box's cushion. "This apple will remain here until a winner is determined."

"Can I be the judge of that?" Idia raised his hand. Lilia and Malleus looked at him, confused. "What? I'm not going to win anyway. Take me out of the running by making me the judge." 

Malleus sighed and dropped Idia to the ground. "Honestly, Shroud. You self-deprecate yourself, yet you are handsome already."

"Yeah, even the Ghost Bride thought so!" Lilia joined in.

Idia had never felt more embarrassed in his life. "That woman was delulu!"

"What we need-" Leona interrupted. "Is somebody besides Radish Sprout to judge this?"

Vil, watching the whole exchange, nodded in agreement. The staff would be a good idea, but they might confiscate the apple before he could get his hands on it. They needed somebody else. A lightbulb lit up in his head. Vil cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. 

"Gather around, potatoes. I have an idea."

"How kind of you to consult with me. My benevolence shall decide who deserves this apple."

"Cut the crap, Azul, and pick somebody," Jamil said with irritation. A vein began to pop out of his forehead. The poor vice housewarden could feel his stress building already. 

Vil's great plan led the group (along with a few second years) to Mostro Lounge. The group had managed to squeeze into one booth. On the other end of the table were the second years. The Octotrio didn't mind the company, Jamil looked pissed, and Kalim was just happy to be there. 

Floyd sat up straighter from his spot on the Lounge's leather sofa. "So let me get this straight. You guys want us to pick the most handsome to get an apple?"

Trey chuckled nervously. "As ridiculous as it sounds, yes." 

Floyd did not look convinced. "That's a dumb idea. Why should we be helping you out?"

Vil sighed. He did not need to sigh anymore, or he might get wrinkles. "You five are the only dorms without third years in this group. So, as neutral parties, you should decide who gets it."

Kalim's mouth opened in an o, "You know, I always wondered why that was…" 

"Fine, I'll start," Floyd rolled his eyes and pointed at the third years. eenie, meenie, minie, you-— His finger landed on Leona, causing the beastman to smirk at everyone. 

"A vote is a vote," Leona said, looking at Malleus, who was frowning. Meanwhile, Floyd unceremoniously flopped back down on the sofa. He closed his eyes, drowning out the incoming argument between the two princes. 

"That is not how it should be done, Kingscholar," Malleus said through gritted teeth. It surprised Lilia how his son was not blasting Leona into oblivion. Probably to not ruin his chances. "You were voted by chance."

"Oh yeah? And what are you going to do about it?"

"If I may," Jade interrupted and faced the third years. "I would like to cast my vote." The third years watched with curiosity as Jade's heterochromatic eyes scanned them. "Trey."

The lounge was quiet, minus the sounds of a clock ticking nearby. 

"WHAT" Everyone's eyes widen, and they turn to the man who looks as confused as they do. 

"Why are you confused, Trey? You're in the lead with Leona right now!" Cater exclaimed as he took selfies with Trey to post later. 

"I was expecting someone like Leona or Vil," Trey chuckled while ignoring glares from the two. 

Jade smiled. "Let me explain. According to a questionnaire from the East, most females prefer guys who fit Trey's description over others, hence my decision to pick him."

"Okay, so that's one point for Trey," Cater said while typing on his phone. "What about you, Azul?" 

Azul smirked and stood up. He let out a dramatic sigh. "Well, my decision is based on who would bring me the most money if I were to put them as the face of the Lounge." 

"Thank Sevens, that's not me," Idia muttered. He quietly tiptoed towards the door, only to be stopped by someone grabbing his hoodie.

"You're not leaving under my watch, Shroud," Malleus said sternly and dragged the poor boy back to his spot. His grip remained on the hoodie. 

Luckily for them, Azul did not seem to notice. "That leaves someone with beauty. Not someone rough and brutal." He glared at Leona before continuing. "Therefore, I would pick Vil."

Vil smirked and had an 'I told you so' look as he looked at the others. Leona felt the urge to wipe off the smug look on Vil's face. 

"And what about you?" He gestured to Jamil. "Let me also remind you who saved your ass from Radish Sprout over here." 

Idia rolled his eyes. "Yet the normies made it out alive in the end. Field trip with me was 7/10 tops." 

The overblot boys shuddered at the memory, unaware of the last member's internal crisis. 

Malleus leaned towards Lilia, a frown etched on his face. "The others got invited on a trip with Shroud? Why didn't I get one?"

Lilia smiled and patted Malleus on the back. "Soon, I promise you that. Now look, Jamil is going to make his choice."

The vice housewarden felt a headache coming on. After this monstrosity, a nap after tending Kalim was needed. "I would have to pick Cater. He is decent in my eyes." 

"Really?!" Cater's eyes went wide. "I knew I could always count on you!" He exclaimed and pulled Jamil in for a side to take a selfie. "This has to go on Magicam!"

Lilia wiped a pretend tear out of his eye. "Oh, poor me. What did a cute and young boy like me do to deserve this? Wah…” 

"I can think of many," Leona muttered.

Lilia ignored Leona's statement and turned to Kalim with puppy dog eyes. "Kalim, my dear friend, you must pick me to heal my fragile heart."

"What you need to see is a doctor before your back breaks too," Malleus added, but Lilia also ignored that. 

"Do I have to?" Kalim wailed. "This is too hard, and you are all my friends."

"Magnifique! What beautiful words!" Rook sighed and held his chest where his heart was.

"Asim thinks I'm his friend…" Malleus whispered to himself, a giddy feeling in his chest. 

"HECK NO! I refuse to befriend a cheerful guy like him! Not happening!" Idia exclaimed, causing Vil to elbow him out of irritation. 

"I know! I'll pick Malleus, Idia, Lilia, and Rook! That way, you all get a point," Kalim said cheerfully, his face bright like the sun. 

"That has to be the most wholesome thing I have ever heard," Rook wiped a tear from his eye. "Beaute!" 

The others did not share the same sentiment. Leona's ears perked up when he heard thunder booming at a distance. 

"Gentlemen," Azul stepped in casually or stupidly, depending on how Malleus will react. "It seems like you are going to need another person to seal the deal. Someone from a neutral party."

The thunder stopped, and Malleus turned to Azul with interest. "Oh? Do tell, Ashengrotto.”

Azul smirked. Oh, how his dear friend is in for a wonderful surprise. 

It was a peaceful day in Ramshakle, and Yuu spent it the best way she knew, ordering pizza and spending it with Grim. No ADeuce. No Sebek screaming her ear off. No Octotrio trying to scam her. 

(You get the picture)

Yuu was preparing the snacks just as the doorbell rang. 

"It's probably the pizza! I'll get it, Grim. You pick a show to watch," she yelled. Two tall figures were standing at the door. That looked different from the pizza delivery guy. Yuu opened the door to find the two Heartslabyul third years. 

"Hello, Yuu," Trey smiled. 

"Hey, bestie!" Cater grinned and pulled Yuu in for a hug. 

"Hey…" Her eyes wandered to their outfits. Both guys were not wearing their dorm or school uniform. Instead, Trey wore his Camp Vargas outfit, and Cater wore his Pop Music Club clothes. "Guys, is there an event going on?" 

"No, silly!" Cater said as he guided Yuu inside. "Though you have to agree that these fits just go with us, right?"

Yuu sweatdropped. She opened her mouth, but Grim's screeching stopped her. 

"YUU, I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE JUST US TODAY!"

Yuu stepped away and pulled Grim into a hug. "Oh, Grim. It will be once these two leave," she glared at Trey and Cater. This was supposed to be a relaxing day—not this.

"It will be very quick, and then you can get back to your show," Trey said, causing Yuu to relax a little. 

"Fine," Yuu sighed. "Spill."

Cater grinned. "If you had to pick who is the most Cammable, out of me or Trey, who would you pick?"

Yuu blinked and tilted her head. "Can you repeat that?"

"Which one of us looks the best," Trey sighed. 

Yuu looked at her friends in confusion. Sure, she had heard weirder things since coming to Twisted Wonderland, but this was something she did not expect to hear. "I mean, you both have your own type of charms. I guess I would pick-"

"Oi," a familiar voice said, widening Trey and Cater's eyes. You can't make the herbivore choose when it is in your favor." Leona smirked as he entered the dorm. He scanned the area like he was hunting prey. "I almost missed the show."

Yuu did not hear Cater and Trey curse under their breaths as she took in what Leona wore. Leona wore the outfit from the Fairy Gala instead of his usual school uniform. He even went all out, from the makeup on his face to flowers decorating his hair. "Is there a fashion show Dad did not tell me about?" Yuu mumbled to herself. Maybe Crewel was too busy handling the guys to tell her?

"Hey, what is with the fancy getup?" Grim's voice broke Yuu's thoughts. The cat monster jumped onto Yuu's arms and glared at the third years. "You are ruining my night."

Leona rolled his eyes. "Look, furball. Herbivore has to pick which one of us she likes, and then we will be out of your way." His eyes flickered up to Yuu's. "Remember who was kind enough to share a room with you"?

"HOLD IT!" Vil yelled, causing Yuu to turn her attention to the newcomers. He strutted into the room with Rook trailing behind. 

"Is there a fashion event going on because why are you guys dressed up?!" Yuu exclaimed. Sure, the Pomefiore guys dressed nicely, but Scalding Sands and Halloween vampire outfits Vil and Rook wore respectively were too much. 

Vil sighed. "I wish, Potato. Then I could show them who is truly the most good-looking of them all." He smirked in the direction of the other third years. 

"Beaute! But a vampire has an allure you cannot resist, no? They are very good-looking." Rook winked at Yuu, causing the others to glare at him. 

Yuu frowned and whispered to Grim. "Good looking? What do you think they are talking about?"

Grim shrugged. "These guys are always spouting nonsense. What's important is our movie night."

"NOO I DON'T WANT TO BE NEAR THOSE PEOPLE!" Idia's voice cried out. The others turned to see said boy being dragged into Ramshackle by Malleus.

"Tsuntarou? What are you doing here? And why are you dressed like you're going to the City of Flowers?" Yuu asked Malleus as he let go of Idia, causing the housewarden to fall with a small "oof." 

Malleus only smiled. "I came here to settle some personal matters. You are one of my most precious friends, Child of Man."

"Great, looks like the star of the show has arrived," Leona said in disdain. 

"Why do you have to be like this?" Vil shook his head disapprovingly.

"Don't forget about me!" Lilia said as he popped out from behind Malleus. Yuu only frowned in confusion. She was used to Ace or Deuce showing up randomly, but seven guys? Something was not adding up. 

"What's with the fancy outfit? Halloween is over." Grim asked Malleus and then turned to Lilia. "How did you get that outfit? I thought that was from the past."

Lilia chuckled and flexed his muscles under his armor. "I have my ways."

The others in the room looked at Grim, confused. 

"Long story," Lilia answered vaguely and turned to Yuu. "But can't you see how cool I look in this? Like a knight in shining armor!"

"No way!" Cater intervened. "Lils is cool, but that fit is so outdated. Yuu, can't you see that Trey and I look the best?"

Yuu glanced at Grim in confusion. "The best?"

Grim eyed the group wearily. "These guys are more koo koo than normal."

"Clearly, you potatoes do not get fashion. I have a very unique taste, no Yuu?" 

"Uhhh…"

"Roi du Poison has excellent taste! Look at how the fabric goes well with his skin," Rook gushed and turned to Trey. "Great fabric choice, Chevalier of Rose!"

Trey chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Let's not talk about me…"

Leona jumped into Yuu's view. "Forget that wannabe. Clearly, I am better than him." Yuu was mesmerized by the fairy dust that followed Leona's movements. Until she was pulled away by someone else. 

"Child of Man, are you alright?" Malleus gently held onto Yuu's arm. 

"I'm just confused about why you all barged in here."

"I understand." Malleus smiled. "Although, would you agree that this outfit suits me?"

Yuu looked over Malleus's outfit before responding, "It does. The other students at the other schools would not stop talking about how mysterious you looked, either. I wonder if Rollo felt the same?"

"Yeah, well, I would rather not see that guy ever again," Idia muttered to himself. Malleus and Yuu turned to him, causing him to look up in shock. "Oh no! I'm caught! I need to get away before I have to socialize with the extroverts."

"Idia."

"EEP!" Idia stopped moving. 

"Why are you wearing that suit? Eliza is not here anymore." 

The others stopped to watch as Idia's hair turned slightly pink, and he struggled to speak. 

"I-uhh…It's for a cosplay convention."

"Yeah, you would never wear that unless-" Grim gasped. "You are getting married!"

Idia's face fell in horror and his hair turned fully pink. "NO!"

"Ohoho. I remember those days."

Everyone turned to the Ramshackle ghosts, watching the group as if it were a drama.

"Yeah, I remember fighting other guys in favor of a girl's hand."

The others froze as Yuu began to connect the dots. Luck was not on their side as the smallest ghost began to speak. 

"I heard from one of the chefs that these boys were arguing about who was the most handsome of them all."

"And you needed a girl like me to pick someone." Yuu finished aloud. A dark aura came out of her, and a vein popped out of her forehead. 

It was at that moment the third years knew they fucked up.

"AND STAY OUT OF MY DORM UNTIL YOU SOLVE YOUR CHILDISH GAME WITHOUT ME!" 

The school could hear the local therapist yell as the third years landed on the ground one by one.

"Ow, that totally is going to bruise later!" Cater whined as he assessed the damages with his phone. 

Trey chuckled from next to the redhead. "At least she did not make us bleed,"

"Who knew the Child of Man could kick so hard?" Malleus said, stunned while gently hovering to the ground. 

"I thought I was back home for a second," Leona said as he rubbed his head. 

"There goes my cute face!" 

"Enough, Lilia." Vil groaned as the bat fae lay on top of him. His hair was definitely a mess now. "Rook, remind me to hire Yuu to do stunts for my next movie."

"Oui. Madame Trickster has good form."

Idia rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you normies let yourselves get kicked out by a girl. That was like an arcade game where you're spamming the A button." He huffed, causing Leona to glare at him. 

"Speak for yourself. You got kicked out as well, Radish Sprout." 

"Monsieurs," Rook stepped towards the group with a gentle smile on his face and his hands up. "We should not focus on how we hurt Madame Trickster. Think about each other. Maybe the important thing was the friendships we made along the way?"

….

…..

"Don't ever say that again, Rook." Trey chuckled awkwardly. 

Vil sighed and shook his head. "I feel like that was something Neige would say," the model felt as like he was going to vomit at the thought. 

"I think I puked inside," Idia visibly cringed.

"Guys, we have important things to worry about, such as Rook's cheesy lines," Cater said. "Who is going to get the apple?"

"Monsieur Magicam has a point, although I have a suggestion," Rook said as the third years watched expectantly. "No one should get the apple since Madame Trickster chose no one."

"I agree. I can feel wrinkles forming on my youthful face." Lilia cried as Vil took out the apple from its box. 

"How do we get rid of it?" Idia eyed the apple suspiciously. If only Ortho were here, then he could shoot it with a laser. 

"I have an idea," Malleus said. He grabbed the apple with one hand, and instantly, the fruit lit up in green flames. "There. All gone." He looked up to see the other third years, minus Lilia, watching with their jaws dropped. Malleus wiped the charred bits off his gloves and turned to the group. "Should we all prepare for later?"

Rollo stood tall and walked through Night Raven College, his student council members trailing behind. As the Noble Bell student council president, it was his job to remain diligent and make a good impression on NRC, even if he had opinions about the institution. A twinkle caught his eye as he made his way down the path to the gates of NRC.

"Where are you going, Rollo?" His vice president asked as Rollo stepped out of the path. 

"I'm just inspecting something. You can go ahead without me," Rollo said until he was in front of the item. There, lying on the ground, was a golden apple that did not have a speck of dirt despite being on the ground. Rollo picked up the apple and inspected it. "Disgusting," he said, sensing the magic embedded in it. Rollo turned the apple to find something written on it. "To the most handsome third year…" the boy muttered. Suddenly, the apple was plucked out of his grasp and was floating in the air. 

Wait a minute.

"Reveal yourself!" Rollo pointed his staff at the apple. 

"Ooo, you caught me~," a voice said with glee. Rollo held his stance as legs magically appeared, followed by a torso and a head. "Long time no see, Rollo."

Rollo clicked his tongue. "It has, Chenya. Now, hand me that apple so I can dispose of it properly."

"Heh, heh, this thing?" Chenya threw the apple in the air like it was a ball. "I think I'm gonna keep it for myself. You know what they say? Cats like shiny things," he said as he began to disappear again. 

"Why you!" Rollo yelled, and his staff glowed. "I'll take it by force then."

"WAIT!" A girlish voice yelled. Neige Leblanche ran into the scene, huffing and puffing. Rollo froze and put his magic away. Meanwhile, Chenya revealed his whole body. 

"Purrfect timing, Neige. I almost got burned to a crisp." Chenya cried in glee. Rollo rolled his eyes. Dramatic much?

Neige ran between the two. "Guys, let's all stop fighting and be friends! We should not create a commotion while visiting another school. Think about friendship and world peace!" 

Chenya and Rollo remained quiet as if processing Neige's speech. Neither reacted until Chenya's infamous Cheshire grin graced his face.

"Nah." His attention turned back to Rollo. "This apple is clearly made for me. Who cannot resist these purrfect looks."

Rollo scoffed and crossed his arms. "A fool, really. Now give me that apple. I need to dispose of it." He lunged forward, but Chenya moved too quickly. The beastman grinned mischivously. 

"You gotta catch me first!” Chenya stuck his tongue out and laughed as his body disappeared again, leaving a floating apple running across campus. 

Rollo gritted his teeth, and his face turned red. "Stop hiding, Chenya!" he yelled, losing all composure as he chased after the Cheshire cat. 

"Guys! Let’s talk about friendship!" Neige exclaimed as he followed Rollo, leaving the Noble Bell vice president, who came to check on Rollo, confused. 

Meanwhile, the NRC third years watched the goose chase pass by them while returning to their dorms. 

"Was Chenya holding the apple Malleus just incinerated?" Cater asked randomly. The others thought for moment before shaking their heads.

"Let's just keep moving," Vil responded. "Before Crowley sends out a search party for us."

Just a typical day at Night Raven College.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twisted Wonderland and its characters. Those belong to Aniplex, Walt Disney Japan, and Yana Toboso.

©: This story belongs to bluesylveon2 2020-24. DO NOT modify, republish, or plagiarize my work.

[am-i-interrupting]

Hide & Seek | Alastor & Child!Reader— OATSH

Summary: You and Alastor play a game of hide and seek on the way to his cabin in the woods.

For @obvitsclaire

You ran through the woods. Your footsteps and the cracking of the occasional branches were the only things that made noise outside the chitter of animals.

You could feel the mud as it squelched between your toes but it was a familiar feeling. This path was a familiar one. You’d walked it dozens of times before.

You threw a glance over your shoulder and could barely see your dad through the thick foliage. You darted behind a bush.

Your knees got covered in mud as you fell onto them. You placed your arms on the ground as well. Your hands wrapped around your head to further bring you down. You tried to keep yourself as compressed and small as you could.

It didn’t take long before you heard footsteps draw closer. You bit your lip when you heard a groan as someone dropped to the ground. He knew you were close.

“Uh-uh-ah,” your father’s voice said and it was followed by a wince. “Don’t try leaving so soon. I’m not done with you yet.”

You placed one hand over your lips to try and muffle a giggle when you heard your dad start humming to himself. An action he often did when he was preoccupied.

“Now, where did that little girl go?” he asked. His footsteps drew further away from you. “Well, she’s certainly not here.” Your breathing halted when you saw him, his back towards you. “But where could she have—“

He turned towards you. The two of you made eye contact. When his smile widened, you bolted up and tried to dash away, squealing as you did. He was too fast though. His long legs gave him an advantage your short ones didn’t give you.

He scooped you up and spun you around.

“Put me down!” you yelled, banging on his arms. “Daddy, put me down!”

“Oh no, I’ve found myself the fairest maiden in all the lands, I shan’t ever let her go!” he said as he came to a stop.

He brought you closer to his body until you rested on his hip. Your laughter slowly decreased as you placed your head on his shoulder and your hand clutched at the collar of his shirt. You were uncaring of the blood on him.

The two of you simply looked at his newest victim on the forest floor. He looked pathetic. He had already suffered a beating and his skin was beginning to bruise. His hands were all jagged, fingers crooked.

“What’d this one do?” you asked.

“He thought it would be appropriate to try to force himself onto Mrs. Betty,” your father said.

You looked up at him, scandalized. “Mrs. Betty who gives you the cookies?”

“The very same.”

“It’s not illegal,” the man choked out. “She’s my wife.”

“Mmm, yes, well, just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s right,” your dad said as he leaned closer to the man.

You did your best to wad up as much saliva in your mouth as you could and spit it at him. Your father laughed.

He kissed you on the forehead before he placed you back on the ground.

You wanted to kick the man but you’d learned the hard way that it wasn’t a good idea when you were bare foot. Instead you stepped on the man’s crooked fingers and he screamed as you jumped on them.

Your father just stood back and watched with a proud smile. When you were done, he placed a hand on your back and bent at the hips to get on your level.

“Why don’t you go ahead to the cabin, wash up, and wait for us then you can sit in on an anatomy lesson, hm?”

You nodded excited before you darted off towards the cabin.

“You’re a fucking psychopath, Alastor, a psychopath,” the man wheezed out as Alastor hoisted him up and started dragging him away.

[kittenfangirl20]

(Snow White Au)

Queen Lilith sat upon her throne, a beautiful woman with an ugly heart she ruled Eden with an iron fist. Her loyal servant Eve by her side, she gazed into the magic mirror.

Lilith: Mirror mirror, on the wall who is the fairest of them all?

Mirror: The fairest in the land? Tis not you, but a young Prince named Adam. With a heart of gold as his eyes.

Lilith: WHAT!?!

Eve flinched, this was not going to be a good day she could tell.

-

Adam hummed as he did his daily routine of tending to the palace garden. He loves it here it was better than the hard labor Queen Lilith had many others doing.

Although Adam was content with his life he was lonely. He wondered what it would be like to fall in love and have that love returned.

Maybe one day he could leave this place.

*Lilith stared out at the garden with the young man working in it, he was indeed quite attractive even with the rags that he had been forced to wear as a servant, he had eyes that were the same shade of gold as pair of new coins, his hair was the color of milk chocolate, his skin was lightly tanned, and he was quite tall at six and a half feet tall, Lilith hated him, she thought of pawning him off to some kingdom in a marriage alliance to a Prince who would abuse him, but that wasn’t enough for her now*

Lilith: I want him dead, kill him and carve out his heart so I may enjoy it for dinner.

Eve: Isn’t that going a bit too far? Maybe you could just banish him from the kingdom?

Lilith: He would still be the fairest, only his death can make me the fairest.

*Lilith shoved a dagger into the hands of a very unhappy Eve, the next day Adam was told that he was to gather flowers for the Queen and to dress nicely for the occasion, he put on an outfit that once belonged to his father and walked outside with Eve, even if she worked for the Queen she seemed very nice, Adam started picking flowers, but then he saw Eve’s shadow looming over him with a dagger, he quickly turned with a look of fear in his eyes, but Eve just dropped the dagger*

Eve: I can’t do it, you need to run now.

Adam: Thank you.

*Adam ran through the forest, everything looked so scary to him as tears stung his eyes, he knew Lilith hated him, but he never thought she would want him dead, he stumbled in shock when he saw a tall building, a hotel*

Adam: What is a hotel doing here?

*he went inside and everything looked quite quaint, he walked through the place, his favorite room was in reds and golds with little rubber ducks scattered around the place and whoever lived in that room really liked wearing a white suit like a circus ringmaster, Adam lay in the bed with silk sheets and cutely yawned before falling asleep*

@things-arent-what-they-seem66

[thelordofgifs]

the fairest stars: post v

The "Beren and Lúthien steal two Silmarils" bullet point AU is into its fifth post! Masterpost with links to all previous parts on tumblr (and on AO3, although that's lagging behind) here.

Part the twenty-sixth! The problem of Dorthonion.

Maedhros sends a letter to Beren.

I know you left Dorthonion long ago, he writes. But I fear Sauron may use his position there to attack Hithlum from the south. Have you any thoughts on how we can defend ourselves?

He includes his gracious thanks to Beren for returning the Silmaril to him, too, but Beren skims over these.

It was never about the Silmaril, really.

After he has read the letter twice over he sets it down with a troubled look and goes for an hours-long walk.

"Is Beren upset?" Túrin wants to know. "He said he'd play Dagor Bragollach with me."

Lúthien does not miss how tight the skin around Morwen's eyes go, hearing that.

"I don't know, dear," she says carefully. "He should be back soon. If not, I will play with you instead, one of the games we used to play when I was a girl before the Sun first rose."

Túrin seems to accept this as a compromise. He goes off to talk to old Sador while he waits.

Lúthien glances at Morwen, who is putting away the luncheon-dishes, having politely rebuffed Lúthien's offer of help. "He does not mean to make light of it," she says. "The battle, I mean. He is only a boy."

"I know that," Morwen says, rather sharply. Then she seems to regret her tone, for she takes a breath and says, more mildly, "So Maedhros Fëanorion is interested in Dorthonion, now?"

"It seems so," says Lúthien. "It would certainly be dreadful if a land which so many people love so well were to be turned into a stronghold of the enemy."

(The memory of Tol-in-Gaurhoth haunts her yet. Finrod loved that tower, once.)

"Well, yes," says Morwen. "But it already has been, has it not?"

Lúthien looks at her in surprise. "And so we must strive to retake it, surely," she says. "It is the land of your girlhood too! Do you not wish to see it restored?"

"Dorthonion is lost just as surely as my girlhood is," Morwen says firmly. "There is no use in mourning it."

"There is a use!" Lúthien protests. "If we do not fight, then – then Morgoth wins! It is all our duty to resist him, is it not?"

"Beren gave Dorthonion up," Morwen points out. "Even he could not hold it forever."

Lúthien lifts her chin. "Beren held Dorthonion far longer than anyone could have expected of him," she says. "And he was not wrong to do so."

Morwen just looks tired. "You say you were a girl before the Sun rose," she says. "Sometimes it seems to me you still are."

Lúthien thinks this rather unfair, but to her dismay Beren agrees with his cousin when he returns from his walk – at least insofar as Dorthonion is concerned.

"Let it go, Tinúviel," he says quietly. "Dorthonion is lost."

"And can it not be reclaimed?" Lúthien presses.

But the gaze her husband turns on her is filled with enough distress that she drops it.

"Maedhros does not want to restore Dorthonion," she points out. "Only be aware of its strengths, and how they might be turned against the Noldor."

"True," Beren says, with a sigh. "I can give him that."

He writes back to Maedhros, detailing the geography of his homeland as best he remembers it, the hidden pathways in which orcs might lurk, the high points of Ladros from which attackers can be seen for miles.

"What do you think?" Maedhros asks Fingon, making little marks on one of his maps with the new information.

Fingon is leaning over his shoulder, careful not to be seen touching him.

"We do not have the forces to launch an invasion," he says, with a frown.

"No," says Maedhros; "nor do I think it possible were we to have three times the people we do at present."

Fingon glances at him. "Dorthonion is not Angband," he says. "I do not think it unassailable, at some point in the future."

"Perhaps," says Maedhros, who sounds unwilling to argue. "All the same, Beren seems to think it would be easy enough for Sauron to assault Barad Eithel from the south, should he wish to do so. It would not be wise to leave those paths unguarded."

Fingon chews his lip thoughtfully.

The Noldor of Hithlum are diminished since the Dagor Bragollach, and they can expect little help from other quarters.

He does not want to divide his forces, when the main threat is still Angband in the north.

"The thing is," says Maedhros, "if I am right that Sauron dwells in Dorthonion – or Taur-nu-Fuin, to give it its true name—"

"Dorthonion is its true name," Fingon says.

Maedhros flashes him a smile and carries on. "If I am right"—and it is plain to see that he is sure he is—"then Sauron may not actually be in communication with Morgoth at present. But he will wish to regain the favour he has lost, I am sure. So we can expect attacks on both fronts: but not necessarily coordinated ones."

"That is not a very great advantage," says Fingon.

"But something!" says Maedhros. He looks cheerful. War-talk always brightens Maedhros: he likes to have a problem to turn over. "You might set up an outpost in the Fen of Serech. Our people know those paths better than the orcs do, and they will be able to give us advance warning when the attack comes." His mouth twists wryly. "That might have been enough to save us at Himring."

Fingon sighs. "It would not, as you well know," he says. "But that is good advice, Russo."

Maedhros puts a hand on his arm, a gesture as close to a caress as he dares in this crowded hall. "It is a problem," he says. "I will think on it, and see if I can come up with any better solution."

"Please do," says Fingon; "only, you might talk your ideas over with me, too. You need not solve all our problems alone."

"All right, my King," Maedhros says, with a smile, and his bright eyes follow Fingon as he heads off to begin his duties for the day.

Beren's was not the only letter that arrived at Barad Eithel today.

Do you think, Lúthien writes to Maglor, Morgoth's corruption can never be reversed? Must Dorthonion be nothing but a wasteland full of pestilence for ever more?

I might have thought so, after the Dagor Bragollach, Maglor writes in response, for it seemed to me then that our Doom, so long-delayed, might be catching up with us, and the Valar spoke truly when they said we could avail nothing against Morgoth's might. But you and Beren cut two Silmarils from his crown – so I think there is more hope in the world than we believed.

In that case, answers Lúthien, perhaps it is worth trying to cleanse the land: if not by strength of arms, then by Song, and courage, and hope.

She does not lay the suggestion out plainly, but Lúthien has never been very subtle, and Maglor understands her meaning well enough. You forget, he warns, that even Finrod fell under the Doom of the Noldor, and all his strength in Songs of Power availed him nothing against Sauron. And I his cousin am a Kinslayer. I do not think it is within me to drive Sauron from Dorthonion.

Not alone! is Lúthien's blithe reply. But you would not be alone. Did we not come to an accord: that fate need not bind you forever?

Perhaps that is going too far. Perhaps Morwen was right, and she is just a silly girl, and to hope is childish.

But when Maglor's reply arrives, he writes, I am growing to believe my Oath can be – if not broken, at least dissolved. If we shackled ourselves with words, surely we might un-shackle ourselves the same way. But I know not how, and meanwhile we still only have one Silmaril, and it cannot be held at bay forever.

I know not how either, answers Lúthien, but I think you are right, and moreover that you do have the strength to hold it at bay until we have found a solution. You did so in Menegroth, after all. Do not lose faith.

Maglor wants, very badly, to believe her.

"You write often to Lúthien," his brother observes, one afternoon.

"I think," says Maglor, "she might be a truer friend than either of us deserve."

Maedhros squeezes his wrist affectionately. "Not you," he says. And then, "What do you write to her about?"

"Different things," Maglor says. "Dorthonion. The Oath."

Maedhros looks at him swiftly.

"You cannot deny," says Maglor, "that it is a problem."

"No," says Maedhros, with a sigh. "No, I cannot deny that." He pauses. "What has Lúthien to say about it, then?"

"Only that she does not believe we are bound for ever," Maglor says thoughtfully.

"Káno," says Maedhros, and then he pauses. "I know – you said you did not wish to – but have you thought of asking her again? If she will speak to her father—"

"I have not asked her," says Maglor. Maedhros is standing tense and pensive beside his chair. Maglor leans his head against his brother's side and tries to explain. "Lúthien left her father's kingdom for a reason, Nelyo. I know not if Thingol will even listen to her. And besides—"

"Besides?" Maedhros prompts gently, after he is quiet for a while.

Maglor stares at his fingers. "It isn't the right answer," he says. "I don't know if I can explain why. Yes, that Silmaril does not belong to Thingol, and yet..." He looks up at Maedhros. "But I will ask her, if you command it."

Maedhros takes a sharp step back, and then another. "No. No!" His face is white. He takes a breath and smiles, with noticeable effort. "I am not your lord any more, Káno. Himring is fallen. You need not take command from me."

Maglor does not like the violence of his distress, and still less how swiftly he masked it.

"It was never about Himring, Nelyo," is all he says.

"Then what?" Maedhros asks, his voice low.

Instead of answering Maglor reaches out a hand, and after a moment Maedhros hesitantly comes close enough to touch again.

Maglor twines his fingers with Maedhros' and says, "I really do think there is a way out, Nelyo."

Maedhros manages another smile, and says nothing.

While all this letter-writing is going on we must turn our attention to a city that receives no letters at all (because nobody knows where it is).

Maeglin and his force of Gondolindrim are ready to depart.

"We do not know when the attack will come," Turgon says, "so do not reveal yourselves too hastily. Perhaps you will be able to return to Gondolin unheeded, if all goes well."

Maeglin hesitates. "Of course, uncle," he says smoothly.

He understands Turgon's caution, but he wants his glory! If Turgon will not be there to witness it, he wishes at least for tales of his exploits in battle to be carried home on many admiring tongues, to have all the city saying, Lord Maeglin – no, Prince Maeglin slew a dragon, and Prince Maeglin saved the High King's life, and Prince Maeglin's quickness of mind meant none had fewer losses than the Gondolindrim—

Perhaps Idril will smile to hear them, and favour him with an admiring look.

"I may be sending you forth too soon," Turgon says, troubled. "My brother fears an attack will come, but that does not mean—"

"Father," Idril says quickly, "think of how pointless it would be if the attack came before we were there, and Glorfindel, Rog and Maeglin ended up revealing our presence after everything was already lost. Better that they go now, by the secret ways in the mountains – there is no harm in their waiting there for a time, to see whence the Enemy will attack."

Turgon cannot deny the wisdom of this.

Maeglin can, and does, later. "You just want to get rid of me," he accuses, coming across Idril in the corridors of the King's House later that day.

"I see now why you are named for your powers of perception," Idril says, coolly; "they are mighty indeed."

"I might die," Maeglin says. "Shan't you be sorry then, Idril?"

"I have nothing to be sorry to you for," Idril says.

"You won't even let me leave you something to remember me by," Maeglin says. "I could make you a new foot—"

"We have been over this," Idril says. "I don't want a new foot, or anything else. Leave me alone, Maeglin."

Maeglin looks at her mithril prosthetic with disdain. "You are too sentimental," he says. "I could make you a far better one than that old thing."

"You're arrogant, certainly," says Idril, "but for all your confidence you are not yet the equal of Celebrimbor my cousin – either in the forge or in general agreeableness. If you do come back from all your heroic deeds, try to do so a kinder person. Or, better yet, don't come back at all."

Maeglin glares at her, but Idril walks away before he can respond.

The force sets out the next morning. Turgon sends them with his blessings, and with quiet, grave words of encouragement for the three commanders.

Maeglin and his House of the Mole have been working for some weeks, while the muster progressed, on making hidden tunnels through the Encircling Mountains, leading north from Tumladen to the Fen of Serech. They are not yet finished, but the army will hollow them out further as it journeys, and with all luck they will be able to return from the battle undetected.

It seems to Turgon, now, that he is sending his people – and his sister-son, Aredhel's only legacy! – into a gaping maw of darkness, and he knows not if they will ever return.

"I should be leading them," he tells his daughter, troubled.

Idril puts a hand on his arm, a gesture both stately and affectionate. "You are not doing wrong, Father," she says.

There is a little wobble in her voice. Alarmed, Turgon glances at her to see that there are tears in her eyes. "Itaril! What is the matter?"

Idril smiles and wipes at her eyes. "Nothing," she says quickly, "nothing."

"Are you worried for your cousin?" Turgon asks. "He is very young, I know, to command a whole force."

Idril chokes out a laugh. "Worried! No, I am not worried for Maeglin."

She looks down to where the force, arrayed in shining armour, is beginning to disappear into the tunnel.

Maeglin, slight and proud and dark-haired, is just visible at its head. He pauses to look back at her.

The sun gleaming bright off her golden hair, her chin lifted, her blue cloak whipping about her in the breeze: she is a promise, thinks Maeglin, or a challenge, or a guiding star.

Don't come back at all. Well, maybe he will not – or else he will come back worthy of her.

(to be continued)

[ariseur]

pleaseeee can we have one where we find lenny singing?? he never sings in the game but i think he’d have such a nice voice

“o mollie, o mollie— it’s for your sake alone ..” in the distance, you could hear sean’s drunken voice’s accompanied by the soft plucks of javier’s guitar, the melodic rhythm of the instrument blending in with the irishman’s voice. your footsteps concealed themselves as they hit the soft surface of grass beneath your feet as your head stayed turned towards the sight at the campfire.

squinting at the illuminated center of the area, you slipped behind the trees and took in the fresh air of camp. you looked out over the near edge, sinking in the sight of the trees that lay littered within the forests in the horizon.

trailing across the outskirts of camp, you frowned seeing the poor bastard tied up to a tree near the entrance, being terrorized by karen. you had to admit, as sweet as she could be, karen smith was a terrifying woman. although dutch referred to the man as an o’driscoll, you wondered how he felt right now whilst he was bounded to bark.

your ears had perked up, though, once you had heard the familiar twang of a voice you knew all too well.

your eyes fell on lenny, leaning on a barrel as he glanced around camp. the hearty yellow light of a lamp inside one of the tents reflected off of his skin, the warmth tinting his face as his lips fluidly moved with each syllable that was mumbled from his mouth in time with sean’s obnoxious voice— his irish brogue interrupted with a few drunken hic’s.

lenny hummed occasionally when he didn’t know the words, instead scatting to rhythm and slipping in and out of lyrics. once you had gotten close enough, you slowly approached him for behind, listening to how he muttered along with the song. “.. sweet mollie, the fairest in the land,” you heard once you had finally gotten close to him.

footsteps becoming more light and gentle as they graced the dirt, you listened out for more of lenny’s humming as you snuck up behind him.

his incoherent mumbling hit your ears as you heard the last part of the following verse, “..to enter her door,” accompanied with a quiet chuckle and an amused shake of his head.

“where’d you learn that from?” he jolted as you slipped around him and put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a sly grin in triumph as you had managed to scare him at least a little bit.

lenny’s shoulders slumped once he realized who’s voice it was, giving a meager laugh at your attempts. “ain’t it hard not to know a song that drunken fool sings every night?”

“which one?” you giggled, pointing at uncle and arthur singing along with sean, even getting javier to bop his head a little to the tune. lenny rolled his eyes amusedly, still giving a few hums to the music. you cocked your head at him, “why don’t you sing more often?” you asked.

he shrugged at your inquiry, “i’m not much of a singer.”

tsking at his response, you slipped in front of him and looked down at your feet— hands clasped behind your back. your head swayed with the distant song coming to its end, looking back at lenny with a small smile.

“well, you should stop by my tent sometime. maybe you can teach me some of them folk songs uncle and ‘em always sing.” you put a hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed, bidding him goodnight as you made your way to your space, leaving lenny with furrowed eyebrows as he watched you wave one last time before disappearing between the thin flaps of the canopy.

he chuckled once more. his head shook as he thumbed the spot where your hand had been on his arm— almost savoring the moment of what once was almost a real conversation. maybe lenny would actually get to talking with you one of these days. for now, the boy could only dream.

[shipcestuous]

Never really considered Elrond/Arwen as a ship, but that anon's message and your reply to it reminded that I HAD thought of them in hypothetical "this sounds like a love triangle" terms before.

So, here's a couple of details I hope you guys will appreciate!

In the movie, Elrond looks like a stern, mature, authoritative figure in contrast with Arwen's youthful beauty. In the book, however, they're both said to possess an ageless beauty, looking neither young nor old. Book!Elrond has the wise, venerable air of an old king but the vigor of a young hero, as well as a beautiful face and an appreciation for both merriment and pleasant things (good food, good music, comfortable rest, etc.) and quieter, more introspective moments. Book!Arwen, with her lustrous black hair, grey eyes glittering like stars, smooth and soft white skin, and stark resemblance to Luthien (Arwen's ancestor and possibly the fairest Elven maiden in Middle-earth's history, to whom Arwen is said to be so similar, she could pass for her reincarnation) actually looks so much like him that Frodo figures out they must be related in some way at first glance.

Elrond had a wife, Celebrian, who gave him three children: twins Elladan and Elohir, and then Arwen, the only daughter. Tragically, Celebrian was captured and tortured by orcs, and while her sons later rescued her and she recovered from the physical injuries, Elrond never managed to help her mind heal from the trauma. So, eventually, she sailed to the West, hoping to find peace in Valinor. I'm not sure how old Arwen would be by that point, but I could imagine her stepping in to take on her mother's duties as the lady of the house in some capacity, leading to potentially suggestive scenarios. I could also imagine her trying to console both her father and her brothers, telling them that what happened to Celebrian wasn't their fault and helping them face the sad truth that they simply couldn't have done more for her.

From The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen in LOTR's Appendices: "And [Arwen] stood then as still as a white tree, looking into the West, and at last she said: "I will cleave to you, [Aragorn], and turn from the Twilight. Yet there lies the land of my people and the long home of all my kin." She loved her father dearly." 'Nuff said. Beautiful juxtaposition whether you ship them or not.

Aragorn himself is both distantly related to them and was essentially raised (at least in part) by Elrond. For the former, as the last descendant of the kings of Numenor, his bloodline actually started with Elros, Elrond's twin brother who, when faced with the choice between Elves and Men due to his half-elven nature, chose mortality. For the latter, when Aragorn was only two years old, his father Arathorn was killed by orcs, so his mother Gilraen took him and went to Rivendell, where Elrond took care of Aragorn as if he were one of his sons and only revealed his true name and heritage to him when he was twenty. Unfortunately, what could have been a sweet foster/adoptive brosis romance was thwarted by... Arwen spending that whole time on a visit to her grandmother Galadriel (yup, she's Celebrian's mom!) and missing out on Aragorn growing up, only coming back when he was already a young adult. Still, Elrond is less opposed to Aragorn marrying Arwen in the book, worrying about her marrying a man of lower birth than her (Elrond's has a VERY illustrious family!) and a mortal at that but being more accepting of their love (after all, Luthien herself fell for the mortal Beren and never backed down on her decision in spite of a long strings of hardships, dangers, and deaths), so it couldn't be too far off to imagine him being at least somewhat moved by the idea of his "son" making his daughter happy.

So many great details, Anon. Thank you!

The love triangle vibes are so amusing. I love the idea of Arwen stepping in as a substitute mom. And yeah, the movie depicted Elrond in a certain way, but just because he's older than Arwen doesn't mean he's old. He's not even an especially old elf, compared to someone like Galadriel, right?

[sonxofxgondor]

@thegreatstrongbow asked: ❛it would be a shame to waste such a perfect opportunity.❜

Sexual Tension Prompts.

Cheeks dried from their tears, no longer wet from the sorrows spread, the comfort of Aragorn had done much to bring peace onto Boromir. Settled the troubles of his mind, his inner most spirit; thoughts and woes so awful that they dared not to be spoken aloud. Torments of fire and ash, dead all around, corpses rotted from the inside with hearts still bleeding, full of life and vigor. Good men and women of Gondor, who had sacrificed more than they should, for the sake of everyone who called the lands that surrounded the Fellowship home. From the Misty Mountains to the Shire, Lothlorien a realm that disguised its hurts beneath delicate song and silvered light. Beautiful and breathtaking - strange to Boromir but in the most pleasant of ways, as though he stepped into a world undiscovered before. Voices within his head had ceased for the time. Calmed in their words, deep within the curves and confusions, hope nurtured. Galadriel, kind and fairest lady, dressed in gold and white; Boromir found his smile again.

Disappearance of one friend given chance for the arrival of another, it was the seat beside Boromir that Beleg took, tree-base warmed by the body of Aragorn. Absorbed by the space shared between them, with joy did the two men converse together. About everything and anything, tales of simpler years and the adventures of family, feats of either Man or Elf. Beleg was honest and blunt. Cheerful as he told all stories - from the lips of one first born - the slow recollection of old memories. What had been forgotten but was no longer. What was still yet to be unearthed. Returned to Middle-Earth by the hands of Mandos; there was mention of Turin, beloved brother and friend, an incident of death. Boromir stopped not in his own reminiscence; described Faramir and Denethor, the loss of Finduilas, the gentle people of Minas Tirith, of all Gondor. It was only when his rambles rested, laughter spent on his lips, grin so wide, that it became known that they were pressed so close.

Twisted entire on the tree root that they sat upon, thick and sturdy, knees touching and the cloths of their tunics brushing. So close that Boromir could see the perfection of Beleg's skin; riddled not by the cruelty of the summer sun, smooth in look, tanned. Accompanied by darkened eyes - irises of invitation - memories of childhood, walks during autumn when leaves blew in the breeze. Flickered between brunette and umber, breath nearest his skin awoke a spark in Boromir, coaxed an unexpected shiver, the scent of Beleg. Centuries old but ageless to the touch; something to be yearned for, wholly desired, an invisible string that pulled Boromir ever closer. As though cheated by some spell, the question of a kiss danced in the airs, what was not drawn into Boromir's breathless lungs. Brave suggestion; Beleg stole the words from Boromir, quiet and almost missed themself.

"Yes. I do suppose it would be, Beleg." Boromir agreed, excitement lifted at the end, blush on his face, tongue dragged across his lips, a hunger in his belly.

"I would want nothing more than that - to have your kiss on my lips. But... it's been so long since I've shared in one. All my days have been dedicated to battle and glory; I remember little of what to do."

Boromir promised, moved to Beleg so that no gap laid between, as if their bodies could become one despite the layers on their skins, hands splayed on the tree bark below, a crutch. "And yet, I'd give anything to learn again with you. Beleg, can you not see that I find you beautiful? Not before you have I ever seen a more handsome man; none so brave as you nor as wise. Your kindness to me and our friends, it has only furthered the sentiment. It would be an honor to have your kiss, a pleasure. But take not my words lightly, Beleg. I would not allow our actions of eagerness to shame you or I. A kiss between us, as brothers in the fight we endure, as a soldier committed to his people, it means everything. It cannot be done for foolish sakes. Gods forgive me if we were spotted by our companions, the Lord and Lady! Kiss me now in this vow, or do not give me your taste at all."

"Beleg, let it not be a shame... a wasted opportunity..." Boromir whispered after silence passed, a plea from starved lips, desperate hands. "If it be of your will, as much as mine, let us do as we may. Kiss me, Beleg. Kiss me now; for I can't wait another moment!"

[yubellia]

Nobody needs a Snow White remake. Snow is already a strong protagonist

Yes. I just said that. And I mean it. You can��t believe how the actress that plays Snow White is getting on my nerves. „She won‘t be saved by a prince.“ ���it’s not about ‚one day my prince will come‘.“ and NO! This is not about her skin color! That discussion is so annoying anyway. This is about her talking nonsense! Nothing more!

Seriously, I know it sounds like I am looking down on that girl. Yes, girl. She is just 23. And I know she probably doesn’t have that much control over anything there. But all I see is a kid, that thinks she is super smart and smug because she has it figured out and isn’t realizing that she knows nothing.

Like, excuse me?! Did she even watch the original movie? Did the team behind this movie watch the original?!

Let’s take a look because if you do, you see that snow is not a damsel and indeed very strong in the context of her circumstances! Everything they claim Snow White lags, she already has. You just have to look and actually want to see it!

——————————————————

The first scene with snow is after the queen learns about her not being the fairest anymore. Snow is forced to work as a maid wearing rags pretty much. Is she complaining or whining? No. She puts on a smile and sings a song about how things will get better. She get to know the prince, the queen is jealous and orders the huntsman to kill her.

One of the things people complain about is that snow is too passive. Too nice. Sorry but that is her greatest strength.

It’s her kindness that made the huntsman spare her life. What made the dwarves take her in. After she runs away, she breaks down crying in the forest before the animals help her. She sings a song and NEVER cries again in the entire movie.

You have to understand that Snow White is a teenager. She just learned that her stepmother, the only family she had left, wants to kill her. She ran, has no food, no home for the night. She has nothing except the clothes that she wears. Breaking down crying in that moment isn’t weak. It’s VERY UNDERSTANDABLE AND ACCURATE!

Now, she finds the cottage and decides to clean up. That’s not Disney being anti feminist and Snow White being a weak woman. She realizes that she won‘t be able to stay for free. She notices that no one is doing household chores, which is what the queen forces her to do for years. So she thinks, I proof myself usefull to them and than, they might let me stay. She even said that outright!

She notices that there is a position that could give her an advantage and she uses that! She is very resourceful and uses what little she has! Not just that! She also proofs that she has leadership skills like a royal by splitting the chores up to the animals! „Snow white won‘t dream of love. She will dream of becoming a leader!“ pah! She already is! It’s small yes but that’s natural in her position! Where exactly is Snow White shown to be weak!? Or a damsel that needs to be saved?! She saves herself (with animals).

Later when she sends the dwarves to wash their hands, she takes on a strict but caring role. She shows leadership skills the entire time!

And yes, there is a little bit of romance. She does hope to see the prince again. But she NEVER waits for him to save her! She focused on what’s important and did it herself! What’s so damn wrong with dreaming of a loving relationship?! Can somebody explain that to me!?

At the end, Snow White is the story about a victim of abuse, she escapes, TAKES ON A JOB! And earns her place and food among the dwarves. She does beg them to let her stay but NEVER without offering her services. And even when she literally has the most powerful woman of the land against her, she tries to stay positive and put on a smile! A truly strong, independent woman who gets her happy ending with her prince! A great role model if you ask me.

Do you see now why I think that Rachel Zegler and Disney have no damn idea what they are talking about when they speak about the original movie!? You CAN watch the original Snow White and find a very positive feminist message on how to be strong AND kind despite the odds! But if you don‘t WANT to see it, we get a remake no one asked for! Yes Snow White is not this „in your face!“ feminist! But honestly, we don‘t need more girl boss movies. And I am saying that as a woman!

If they wanted to do something unique and expand on the original, why didn’t they use the real original story and combine it? Make the queen try to get rid of Snow White not twice but FOUR times in total. That way they could focus more on the characters, their bonds and make the queen even creepier.

——————————————————-

I hope i didn’t offend anyone too much here. But I think many people are already scared for this movie. But seriously, watch the original and remember this post. You will see it. I promise.

[tiredkershyff]

Birds of Feather

DC x TWST

Summary: Tim Drake is a trouble magnet, everyone knew it. Well, it was time for new problems!

on ao3 Chapter 1: I've been feeling lightheaded since I lost enough weight to fit back in my skin Chapter characters: Tim Drake, Grim the Greatest, Dire Crowley Warnings in tags

‎

Ah… My dear beloved,

my noble and beautiful flower of evil,

You are the fairest in the land.

──Mirror, mirror on the wall,

who is the most…

‎

Tim was a bit dizzy, thought tumbling one over each other, trying to make him come to senses. The words, those words were ringing in his head, and they were concerning. What in Snow White was this? Part of him wanted to point at the particular creep known as Ra’s Al Ghul. He would definitely call Tim ‘dearly beloved’. And ‘the flower of evil’? Another speech about ‘come to the dark side, we have cookies’? No, thank you. (God, he is really getting under my skin)

But put away such thoughts, he needed to deal with the situation on hand: WHERE THE HELL IS HE!?

Okay, he was incased in some type of box, the size is just enough to let him a little room to wiggle. It was not a wooden crate for sure, that was obvious from touching it. It was a solid hard material that definitely held some weight in it, smooth and cold to touch, so it was probably some polished stone. It was hard to say what exactly it was, Tim couldn’t see anything, but it might be marble or something similar. 

Tim pushed walls, to see which would move, and only the first one responded to his action. For now Tim decided to let it stay closed. He needed to assess the current situation, his state and equipment. It would be stupid to rush right away without giving it at least some thought, it looked like he might have some time for it. 

Although he better not to spend too much time. The front lid was heavy enough and didn’t allow any airflow if it was untouched, so the situation with oxygen was a bit difficult. Yeah, Tim could open the lid a little bit, but who knew if it would catch someone’s attention or not. So no sneaking some oxygen inside. So he had some time to think, but the time was not unlimited. 

The first question was, why was he here? The second one was where was he? And the third one when was he? His mind was so confused, so who knew for how long he was held there, plus the time-space shenanigans happen so it was always worth considering it.

So, the first one. Why? Tim could remember clatter of hooves, horses neighing, wheels creaking, rolling on the stony road. Those memories were blurry, but he was able to piece it all together. So, it was most likely some type of carriage. That was a bit of an archaic way to kidnap someone. They also keep him in a fancy box, judging by the material. Could it be the Court of Owls? Those assholes are pretentious enough to do this. But still, it was a questionable choice. 

Tim examined himself, to find more clues. The wig on his head, the heels on his feet, it already was a give-away that he was in a Caroline Hill disguise (unless they for some reason decided to dress him up like a girl). The texture of the wig was familiar enough to think it was Caroline’s, he spent a hefty amount of money on the new one, so it would look completely genuine and wouldn’t be itchy. Light touches on his face also confirmed the makeup on his face. Small prosthetic chest and hip padding were the final confirmation of his theory. (I’m glad I don’t have those big boobs like first time, those are much better)

That led him to some thoughts about other reasons on why he could be kidnapped. It was less likely that it was because he was TDW or RR. Were they targeting Caroline in particular? Or someone in the medical industry? Or were they targeting women in particular? Tim doubted someone would uncover his disguise and target him because of it. 

He also was wearing some type of long attire made out of some smooth material, cold to touch, reminding him of silk. That… led to interesting thoughts. It felt like those were some ceremony robes and he was going to be sacrificed by some cult. Probably just his paranoid mind whispering those ideas. But Tim hated how probable this scenario was. (Or maybe it’s some weird-ass ritual from Ra’s)

He didn’t have his utility belt, not like Caroline had it. He did, however, have some cards in his sleeves. Or, well, birdarang and batarangs. It was hard to actually pull them to properly touch them to understand which properties they had. He didn’t have space to put them back. So he slid just one down in his hand. It was an electric one. (Okay, that’s a good one. I wish I had my disks though)

By the look of it, he would need to adapt on the spot and use his surroundings after all. 

Now, to the where question. The probable kidnappers were: Ra’s, Owls, some weird cultists and a percentage for other people (who wanted to have fun, who targeted a specific group, who chose on random, to either kill, torture, sell and a lot of other fun activities). That was… A lot of variables to consider. 

Whatever it was, he would need to decide to be RR or CH in this situation. 

At least the assessment showed that he didn’t have a concussion or even bruises, which meant they were gentle with him. It excluded some minor options. Or, they beat him to near death and the small amount of Lazarus Waters he had kicked in. Though, it would heal only the immediate fatal injury if he was on a ley-line. And then it would have a cool-down, like it was some fucking game. So, they probably were gentle. 

His thoughts were interrupted by a commotion outside. Someone was trying to open the lid, and obviously struggled with it. So it wasn’t someone who kidnapped him, they would have a way to open it without any trouble. So it was someone unfamiliar with it, and, presumably, weak too. Did they want to help? Or cause harm? In any case, Tim gripped his birdarang a tid bit stronger.

He heard a high-pitched voice talking about people coming soon. So they were a third party. And they were talking about getting a uniform. So they presumably needed Tim’s attire. An interesting choice of voice for this cloak. 

Tim decided to open the lid. Judging by the information the person outside said, people were coming soon, and those are definitely his abductors they were talking about. Not good. But it meant right now was the prime chance for an escape, there was only one person outside currently. 

And as he did that, the person said that they were going to use their secret move. So when Tim peeked outside, he was met with a circle of blue fire. He hoped it was a trick that made it blue, because actual blue fire was the hottest. 

As Tim was readying to use his weapon, he saw who was causing all this ruckus. A cat. A goddamn flying cat. (Was it like Teekl?)

“Kyaaa! Why are you up?! And what a girl is doing here?!” It screeched, it looked scared. 

So this gives him some new information. Firstly, apparently he wasn’t supposed to be awake. If he was drugged, that meant his training helped. He wasn’t sure what made him wake up earlier if the cause was different. The second piece of information was the surprise of seeing a girl. So he was less likely to be kidnapped for appearing female. This place was not meant to be for women. If the cat needed a uniform, maybe to blend in or for other personal use in a non-female place, he could be male-presenting. 

While doing the mental gymnastics, Tim gave a quick look-over of this place, his theories about it being a cult resurfaced again. The room was dark, not fully lit. The first thing that he noticed were floating coffins with some ornaments and glowing round stones in the middle. The windows had metal ornaments in the best Gotham traditions. And the chandelier was made out of a clutter of chains with glowing purple stones. But what made his breath hitch and his body freeze was the fountain with a green liquid. It was more goo-y and paler in color, but… The place had an incredible Gotham atmosphere and they used to have some pits with Lazarus Waters. Who knew what could’ve happened with them in the shit-hole that Gotham was with her hazardous water. On top of the fountain was a floating mirror.

So it was a cult. It didn’t look like League, they would use different aesthetics. The placement of coffins indicated it was not the Court, they would do it differently. But Gotham had enough cults on its own. 

At least he knows the where question. Not fully, but even this was helpful. 

The cat was not happy with Tim ignoring Grim the Greatest. (Grim? Like Grim Reaper? Maybe he needs the uniform in hopes of getting into this cult?)

The cat also made a cute attempt to attack him, but Tim easily dodged it, ducking and making a quick escape to one of the exits he noted earlier. The creature was not fast enough to catch up to him, so Tim managed to outran him and discovered himself in the library. He perched on top of one of the bookshelves, the dark cloak worked perfectly with concealing himself in shadows. Plus, this place was poorly lit. 

“Uuugh, you, puny human! I will find you and you’re gonna regret crossing the Great Grim!” the cat exclaimed, getting all worked out. (suure)

Tim was spinning the birdarang in his hand, looking over the library, noting the path through the bookshelves and possible exits. The creature was going to set the place ablaze and Tim started thinking about giving him a mild shock, but was interrupted by the sound of a whip, hitting Grim. (Is it hypocritical of me calling it too much? I was going to electrocute him… Yeah, it’s hypocritical. Still going to call it too much and shame this guy at least in my head)

“This is not a mere rope, but the Whip of Love!” the man exclaimed. A man that looked like someone who could pass as one of the Gotham crazies. If he had a PhD then he would definitely count as their Rogue. Really, most of them had PhDs. Bruce forbade them from becoming Doctors so they wouldn’t become part of the Rouge gallery. Jokes on him, Tim already worked with Catwoman when he was a kid, and now was wanted by InterPol. Although, B didn’t appreciate Tim dropping out of the high school and refusing to go back citing the no PhD rule. 

Also. (Did he just call it the Whip of Love?! What in the name of BDSM is happening right now?!) 

“And you!” the Crow man exclaimed, looking directly at Tim, which made him instantly wary. This immediately placed this bird into a dangerous category for noticing him so easily. “Ah, one of the new students…” he said in a calmer tone.

A student. A fucking student. (THIS IS SCHOOL?!) he screamed in his mind. With that the second thought followed: (He uses this BDSM whip at school???)

So the cat meant school uniform… It was an all-boys school? There were no such schools that looked like that in Gotham. Although the cult theory still worked, some of them worked like that. People wouldn’t immediately realize it’s a cult, and they either realize it when it’s too late or they get brainwashed. Well, he will need to investigate it from the inside. The second time he did that. But… This place had a lot of floating stuff, the cat was obviously magical. And there was a big chance the school either abducted or lured people with magic, and Tim didn’t have an ounce of that. Meaning he would have to pass it on to Zatanna and would help with it in some other way.  

“I finally found you. You shouldn’t have left the Gate on your own!” the Crow furry exclaimed. The Gate… Did he mean those coffins? Why Gate though? (Gates to Hell, Gates to Heaven… Some cults love religious themes. Huh, they could actually use religious guilt and promise to ‘cure’ those kids, while binding them to their use) 

Again, those were just wild theories that always ran through his mind. Most of them were just theories passing by, with a very low chance of being true. But he was also proved multiple times that even those low probable theories were true. Also, Bernard just amplified this urge to make crazy theories at every moment. 

He will roll with the student role right now to learn as much as he could, until the matter of him having no magic will present itself. Then he would see how the situation would unfold to decide how he would have to leave.

Meanwhile the crow man started talking about his familiar breaking rules, how it was so rebellious… Nope, he’s not rolling with this one. Nuh-uh. 

This cat would ruin everything with his attitude alone. And, as Tim predicted, Grim immediately protested. Crow ignored him.

“Now, come out,” the man asked him. (I’m bi. Ah, wait, that’s not what he meant)

Tim gracefully landed in front of the staff member, removing the hood to see the reaction on him looking female-presenting. 

“A girl? What? Or..?” The Crow was confused. 

The ‘or’ indicated on him thinking Tim was trans. But what way? Did they think Tim was a trans guy who either didn’t transition yet or decided to look like that for another reason? That would be progressive. Or did he think Tim was a trans girl, but because he was AMAB he was here? That would be… No. But what about intersexes? Crossdressers? Enbys? Ah, so many questions. “We will deal with it after the ceremony,” Crow shook his head. God. No, it was a 100% cult, Tim will stop thinking otherwise. He didn’t need to hurt his brain even further worrying with thoughts if it was or was not a cult. 

Although, it was in a way helpful. Who knows how they would react to him having no magic. Maybe he would cite him being a girl to dip? Part of him wanted to do a Valley Girl accent, but instead decided on a British accent, the strong one like Alfred had. He lived with that man for a few years, he even adopted a few words. Although, it wasn’t like Bruce had it. Half of his vocabulary was British words and he often slipped to that accent when he was tired or didn’t care much. Dick had it to some degree and so did Jason. Though, when tired Dick would slide into a Romani accent and Jason into the Crime Alley talk. Tim, however, would descend into a French accent in most of the cases. When he was a kid he would even use French words from time to time, the result of being raised bilingual (though, there were Korean words from time to time, but not enough to make him trilingual). It was most noticeable when he was way too dizzy, hadn’t slept for days or was under a lot of anesthesia or a lot of pain meds. Fun times. 

“I doubt I am a student here, there must be a mistake,” he started. “I don’t even remember how I got here,” he made a bait for an answer. This time the furry guy actually listened to him!

“There’s no mistake! You got here through the Gate, after all. Although, you are quite eager, aren’t you? Leaving the gate before the ceremony… Ah, the ceremony! It probably is well under the way. Let’s head to the Mirror Chamber!” The man was so full of joy. Disgusting. Tim already didn’t like the guy. 

They went to the ‘Mirror chamber’, probably that place with coffins, seeing how it had a floating mirror there. 

“This little buddy blew the lid off. And I don’t remember going through any ‘Gate’”, Tim huffed. 

“Your familiar is your responsibility,” Crow man said and Tim scoffed at it. “And any student who wishes to attend this Academy must go through the Gate’s door,” answered the furry. “Normally the students wake up only after the door is opened with a special key…” he continued. Tim decided to interrupt it. 

“Well, then why wasn't mine closed? There was no key-hole too,” Tim noted. 

“That’s weird,” the crow man frowned and said it mostly to himself.

Tim’s bird brain immediately went to playing a meme in his head. (That’s weird. That’s suspicious)

“Anyway!” energetically said the staff member. “The open ceremony is about to end. Let’s haste!” ushered the crow.

“I don’t understand where I am, or who you even are!” Tim said in a bit demanding tone. Not a loud one, more on a scolding side. Though, British itself could sound like that no matter what you say if you want to. 

"Oh my, are you still dazed? It appears that teleportation magic has left you disoriented," the bird dude, the bird fella, the guy in a mask said.

(Magic. He said the magic 'magic' word. And so I was teleported here, huh)

"Well, it's alright. It happens pretty often!" The staff member explained.

(NO IT'S NOT ALRIGHT YOU MORON)

"I shall explain everything to you. Ahh, my kindness is boundless!" The bird serenaded to himself. (Oh god, he is a broken reflection of those people on Galas, who donate money and praise themselves for it endlessly)

As they went to the courtyard, the bird man continued: “And I am Dire Crowley, the Headmage appointed by the chairman to take care of this place.” (Crowley? Could’ve figured this much. And Dire? Well, that’s certainly the way. He would fit in Gotham so well), "This is Night Raven College, the most prestigious academy of Twisted Wonderland for those who are blessed with a rare aptitude for magic," and whoo bay was it a big can of worms to open.

So he was right about magic, and about them abducting people with it. Because, yeah, magic was still rare, but they made a school for it. That was a front for a cult and didn't even try to hide it. Although, the atmosphere could be mysterious on purpose, to appease kids. Plus, none of the magic users he knew mentioned something like that. And they would, seeing how it looked so Gotham, just to tease about their gothic brand. 

And, Twisted Wonderland? What in Lewis Carrol did he mean? 

"I don't–" Tim got his confirmation. So it's better to confront that man about Tim having no magic now, instead of in the middle of the ceremony. And of course he was interrupted.

"Only those who the Dark Mirror perceives as talented in magic are admitted to the Academy. Those are summoned by Gates which could appear anywhere," the crow man kept feeding him information without any thought.

So, it could appear anywhere. Such an easy way to kidnap. Could spin the story about them being so talented, that they were the 'chosen one' to study here. And why was he transported without his equipment then? Did it just drop right where he was standing before being abducted? That could be bad. 

"Anywhere? Then why–" started Tim, only to be interrupted again. A bit more and he was going to go full on Janet Drake on him.

“An Ebony Carriage carrying a Gate should have come meet you”

(Ebony? Ebony Dark'ness Dementia…Focus!)

“I don’t recall such thing,'' managed Tim to say something. 

“Huh? Seems like you had a bit of a bad reaction to the transportation…” murmured Crowley more to himself then to him. “Anyway! Let’s go to the entrance ceremony!” (god this man is awkward…)

Grim was trying to say something, but no one cared enough to listen to him. 

When they came closer to the ‘chamber’, they heard people talking about Headmage. Huh, looks like students weren’t thinking much about him as well.

But then all looks were on him, as Crowley asked him to go to the mirror. Tim tried to argue, but Crowley really wasn’t listening. That's bad.

“Wait, a girl?”

“What girl is doing here?”

“Maybe that’s…”

“State your name” said the ominous mirror, floating on top of /not/ Lazarus Waters. Tim tried to look as confident as he could. It really was time for Janet Drake.

“Caroline Hill” he said with some dominance in his tone.

“Your real name, boy” (Aw, there goes my cover)

––––

“Wait, what?”

“So… it’s a dude?”

“For real?”

“Since when is the mirror transphobic?”

“It wasn’t before…”

After some pause Tim tsked in the manner some socialists did. Or Damian. It was bad, because explaining later why TDW was here? But it looked like there was nothing he could do, not with all those people around, who all presumably had magic. Too many and he wasn't prepared enough.

“It’s Timothy Drake-Wayne, mirror,” he said, proud of his name.

“Hmm, the shape of your soul… is tarnished and unknown to me”

(Tarnished, you say…)

.

.

.

(sounds about right)

[astranne]

A WINTER'S KISS !genshin snippet

notes // finally my diluc piece for the winter writing even of the @yae-publishing-house hehe. Have some mondstadt simping and a writing style that is very new to me, but i thought it would fit. no gn!reader for this one, it's fem!reader. thank you @keqism for reading it hehe

tagging // @keqism , @pyroxeene

Diluc Ragnvindr, the uncrowned King of Mondstadt, the owner of the Dawn Winery, pyro vision holder and… no husband nor father. 

Given his age, many assume he should be looking for a wife, for someone to continue his blood line, yet there is nobody. 

This is why many of Mondstadt’s maidens fancy themselves with stories about themselves and Diluc, becoming the next Lady Ragnvindr, yet he never glances at them, busy with his massive workload, not only as Head of the Ragnvindr Clan, but also as the owner of a Winery business. There is no hope for them, many know, yet they can’t help it. 

They believe he would be a dutiful husband, a loving one, simply assuming because he is dashing and loving in their fantasies. So blinded they are, so blinded they can not see, see how someone is already by his side, just hidden away, hidden until the first snow graces the lands of Mondstadt. 

Always when the roofs of Mondstadt are painted white, when the blue sky goes gray and when cold winds sweep across the fields, always then a small smile graces the lips of Diluc Ragnvindr. When snowflakes decorate his fiery red hair, kiss his blushing cheeks, he gazes up in wonder, his heart filled with hope and love. 

Winter is the favorite season of many, and they can’t help but notice, it’s Diluc’s favorite season too. He doesn’t play in the snow like the children do, nor does he slide down the hills with a sled and still- when one watches him, the joy, the happiness and love on his face, when it snows heavily, they can be seen clearly. 

Yet when the stars glitter across the dark sky, when Mondstadt’s people return to their warm homes, he is outside, but not alone. 

A spirit accompanies him, giggling while twirling around him, creating snowflakes and letting them fall on his hot skin, where they melt into nothingness. She is as if made out of snow, white hair and white skin, with a white dress, while the air around her is ice cold. But when they meet, a simple touch of skin or hesitant touch of lips, he warms her and she cools him. 

Blind they are, the fair maidens of Mondstadt, because Diluc Ragnvindr has long given his heart to the fairest maiden of all. 

A spirit of winter. 

ASTRANNE 2022

[imsparky2002]

Mirrorverse Crossover - Marc

The Prince of Arendelle was not looking forward to meeting his alternate self, especially after seeing his boyfriend tormented by the Mad King. He figured as long as the villain kept a safe distance from him, everything would be fine.

The Poison King strode into the room, each step filled with confidence, his cloak billowing behind him. As he stopped in the center, he crossed his arms and began examining his counterpart, looking for any crack or flaw in his body. Thankfully he found none, and took note of MarcElsa’s trendy suit and cape, made out of ice.

“Well, even as a prince of Ice, at least I still have some fashion sense in this world.” The king noted, relieving some tension for MarcElsa, even if the compliment took him by surprise.

“Oh! T-thank you.” He muttered, as he noticed the villain’s beautiful golden crown. “So I take it that you’re royal as well?” The evil monarch eagerly accepted the opportunity to boast in front of the hero.

“Not just a royal, but a king! The fairest king of them all. There are none who can compare to my beauty” King Marc bragged, beaming as he gazed in the mirror at his reflection.

“Well, I feel as though beauty is subjective. There is no need for you to reject others looks to praise your own.” MarcElsa stated. The King looked away from the mirror and laughed haughtily at the statement.

“Just take a look at me, little ice prince. Am I not a thing of resplendent beauty? Skin free of imperfection, eyes like emeralds, hair like ebony silk. Tell me honestly, could there be another as fair as I? Do I not have a reason to be so proud? What harm is there in extolling one’s virtues when one only speaks truth?” The villain went on and on, waffling about himself as if he were God’s gift to Earth. Marcelsa was barely listening. He never thought he would hear such conceited and narcissistic language coming out of his own mouth, even if it was technically from a different person. He just waited for his counterpart to stop with the grandiose ass-kissing of himself.

Outside the room, the heroes and villains once again gave commentary on what they were witnessing.

“He’s just like all the royal blowhards I had to mingle with for my family.” Kagamerida remarked, groaning at just the memory of having to play nice to stuck up brats for the sake of an alliance.

“Yeah. Coming from someone as humble as Marc, this sort of arrogance is surreal.” AriOndine replied. Nath of Hearts scoffed at this, and stepped in to defend his darling Poison King. “It’s not arrogance, it’s the truth! My bandersnatch is the fairest in the land!” Nath of Hearts exclaimed.

“To each his own, I suppose” Sleeping Nath replied. “If you ask me, my Snow Angel is as gorgeous as the first frost sparkling in the sunlight! His gentle heart just adds to his beauty.” he gushed, causing the villains to laugh at his sappy language.

“You heroes are as sickeningly saccharine as can be.” Juleficent crowed. The dark fae smiled as she stroked her beloved Queen Rose.

“Yeah! I’m the Queen of Sugar Rush, and even I think this is too sweet!” Queen Rose Candy cackled. The mermaid raised her eyebrow. “I saw you lovebirds making out just a few minutes ago.” The girlfriends blushed, as the sea witch stuck out one of her tentacles at AriOndine.

“Oh, like you and your precious hero are any different?” Mylensula sneered, noting how the demigod had fallen asleep, resting his head on AriOndine’s lap.

“ENOUGH!” The Mad King roared. “My boyfriend is the fairest, and that is FINAL! Now, silence! All of you! So I can hear my precious bandersnatch speak!”

“How about we all agree that our partners are amazing. Can we hold a truce on that subject.?” Kagamerida asked. The heroes and villains nodded and quieted down, though there were still a few murmurs going around. At this moment, Aladdix got a idea. She turned to face Nath of Hearts.

“Hey, why don’t you have your Poison King ask his mirror to find out who’s the fairest in this world?” she smirked. The Mad King looked a little confused, as if the answer would be obvious. “Well it will still be Marc, even if he is a goody-good.” Nathaniel replied, before shrugging in acceptance. “Fair enough, I shall do just that.”

He tapped Fairy GodBro’s bubble, getting the attention of his darling. The evil king blushed as he looked at his precious Wild Card. “Yes, my love?” He cooed.

“Ask that icicle who’s the fairest in his land?” King Nath declared, which caused MarcElsa to rub his neck in anxiousess. “I don’t think I should answer that.” he responded, narrowing his eyes at the vain villain. King Marc frowned and pulled out his cellphone.

“Fine. I’ll just ask it myself.” He selected an app that would connect the phone to his Magic Mirror. “Magic Mirror, in my hand, who is the fairest in this land?” The king asked, smiling as he expected to hear his name.

“Your beauty is great, that much is true, but in this world, one surpasses you. A princess so kind, animals answer her call. In here, Mylene is the fairest of all.” The mirror replied. The boy’s eyes widened in shock and disgust. His pale face slowly turned a bright red as his hands began to tremble. MarcElsa could feel the rage brewing inside the king. “Are… you ok?” he asked.

“That… frumpy, simpering little excuse for a princess?! FAIRER THAN ME?!” he sputtered, before throwing his phone across the room.

“Well, technically she’s fairer than me,” MarcElsa tried to explain. “It never said you weren’t the fairest of your world.” The king let out a ferocious snarl.

“I AM THE FAIREST IN ALL WORLDS!” he roared, frothing at the mouth and looking rabid. Outside, King Nath just swooned at his love’s ferocity. MarcElsa tensed up at his counterpart’s reaction.

“Holy shit! He’s losing it!” Alix laughed, happy to see the Poison King acting so unrefined.

“BE QUIET, BLASTED STREET RAT!” Nath of Hearts screamed. “I WILL ERADICATE ANY CHALLENGE TO MY POISON KING! I’LL-” he stops when he sees the hulking shadow of QuasiIvan looming over him.

“I hope you misspoke just then.” QuasiIvan replied, cracking his knuckles. In a surprising show of fear, King Nathaniel shuts up and gets back in his seat.

“Please stop! It isn’t that big a deal!” MarcElsa pleaded.

“She’ll pay. SHE WILL PAY!” King Marc screamed, before pulling out his dagger, cackling like a lunatic.

“ENOUGH!” MarcElsa roared, freezing the villain’s legs to the floor as well as freezing his right hand, which held the knife. “You will NOT harm Mylene in any way, is that clear. I don’t like using my power to threaten people, but when YOU threaten my friends, that’s where I draw the line.”

The attack seemed to snap the villain out of his psychotic breakdown, as he began to conjure up an insidious idea. The Ice Prince decided to call for Fairy GodBro.

“Nino, I wish for you to remove the ice from his body.” The fairy nodded and did just that.

“Now, are we cool?” MarcElsa asked.

“Ha! ‘Cool’” MimRore shouted, chuckling at the unintentional pun. King Marc merely nodded in understanding.

He composed himself, and began smirking at the hero’s sudden show of bravery.

“Such tremendous power…and it’s in the hands of someone with such a weak will. Honestly, my dear boy, do you even realize what you could accomplish with magic like that! And yet, you squander it, lock it away, only using it to defend those who are hardly worth the effort.” he sneered. MarcElsa began to scowl, with a small blizzard forming behind him.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised though, someone as spineless and fretful as YOUR Nathaniel needs someone to match him. He’s NOTHING compared to my Mad King.” Nath of Hearts preened as he heard his boyfriend singing his praises. “My king has such a way with words!” he beamed. MarcElsa decided he had enough of this vile boy.

“SHUT. YOUR. MOUTH! You know NOTHING about my Rose Petal. He’s the furthest thing from a coward, he’s taken a sword for me, and nearly died doing so! He’s the kindest, most compassionate and understanding person I know and I will NOT let you insult him!” MarcElsa yelled, his anger causing jagged ice stalactites and stalagmites to pop out from the ground, barely missing the spot where the king was standing. Upon unleashing the fury of the Ice Prince, the villain laughed triumphantly.

“Yes! Use your anger! Finish me off and show your true power!” King Marc taunted. It was at this moment that Sleeping Nath burst through the door, causing MarcElsa’s heart to thaw as he grabbed his boyfriend’s hands. “Snowflake, it’s alright! Don’t let him win!” he pleaded. The boy began singing “Vuelle” to calm him down. After a little while, MarcElsa smiles and kisses Nath. “Thank you, my petal.” He whispered.

It was at this point when the Mad King barged in, grabbing his beloved’s hands and turning his nose up at the goody-goods.

“Honestly, my nightshade, it’s like these people have NO manners. Not even bothering to knock, and interrupting a lovely conversation!” he complained, nuzzling the Poison King’s neck.

“Which is something you did as well. Pretty hypocritical, no?” Sleeping Nath snarked. Nath of Hearts growled and was ready to give this imposter a piece of his mind. “Why you little-”

His beloved nightshade got in his way.

“Now, now, my Wild Card, we shouldn’t trouble ourselves with such weaklings.” King Marc said, giving a smug look of superiority as he stared at his counterpart.

“It really is a shame. You could be such a great ruler, lord over infinite kingdoms, unleash your anger on those who have wronged you. All you have to do is just... let it go.”

With that, the evil monarchs began laughing manically, not caring as MarcElsa calmly left the room, with his boyfriend worriedly following him. They found a private spot, with Nath texting his friends to let them know where they were.

“Snow Angel, are you…are you okay? That was…intense.” Nath asked. MarcElsa remained surprisingly calm as he responded.

“That was one of the worst experiences of my life... and I'm thankful for that.” It was at this point that Nath thought his Snowflake had lost it.

“Wh-what do you-? Okay, seriously, do you FEEL alright?” He moved to feel his boyfriend’s forehead. MarcElsa softly moved Nathaniel's hand out of the way “Oh I'm fine, don't worry. It just feels like a weight's been lifted off my shoulders.” He answered.

His boyfriend looked confused, but let Marc continue.

“For so long... I've been told I'm a monster. That all I bring is destruction and suffering. And for awhile… I was convinced. Even with Kiran, with all of your support, and meeting you... there was always a little bit of my mind telling me I was dangerous. Even if all the treatment, all the progress I made, I kept dreaming and dreading the day I'd harm you. But now... I realize I was wrong. I can’t be a monster."

Nathaniel was hesitant to respond, not sure where he was going with this.”You’re right,” Nath admitted. “Of course, and I’m glad you finally see that, but what made you…?

"That horrible creature wearing my face. It made me realize that it's not the powers I have, but what I choose to do that makes me a monster. I have never aimed to harm people, even when feeling caged or trapped. I still don't see the reason why I was given these abilities, but maybe it's neither a curse nor a blessing. Maybe it's merely a tool. And it's a tool I use to help those I love."

He tenderly grabbed Nath's hands, the cold touch making the boy feel a little drowsy.

“W-Well, I’m glad you…you…” Nath couldn’t finished his sentence, for he had fallen asleep against his boyfriend’s shoulder.

MarcElsa just giggled and stroked his face. “I love you, my Rose Petal.” he cooed. He tenderly kissed Nath's cheek, and took him to his room, so they could snuggle together.

With Nino allowing everyone to have a cool-down break, it gave the villainous kings some alone time.

The Poison King and Mad King of Hearts strode into their room, with Marc admiring himself in his Magic Mirror

What a pity. If only that boy listened to our advice.", King Marc said, giggling as he adjusted his crown. “Oh... what I would do with the power of frost…” The thought caused him to shiver with joy.

Nath gave a demented grin and clapped his hands. “Indeed. What a delight it would be to see those meddlesome heroes sealed away in a frigid prison, and to create such a thing with only a flick of one’s fingers. Tis’ a shame that so great a power fell into the hands of one so weak-willed. It’s hard to believe he’s YOUR counterpart, my dearest.”

The Poison King beckoned a finger for Nath to join him on the bed. The Mad King lept into their shared bed and began kissing his bandersnatch.  

“Well they are ‘heroes’. King Marc said with utter revulsion. “It should be expected. But fear not, my Wild Card. We may not have enough strength now, but in time.. they will be nothing but ants to us.

Nath made a cutting motion to his throat with his fingers. “Off with their heads….”

Marc nodded lovingly. He covered Nath in his cloak as they began to snuggle. “Long live the Fairest. Now come, let me bask in your beauty. They began to giggle as they admired each other.

It’s finally finished! This took forever to make and I wouldn’t have done it without the AMAZING help of @msweebyness. They’re up next with Chloe, and it’s gonna be intense, I’ll just say that. After that it’s @artzychic27 with Kagami. Then we’ll be having our first filler short! This has been a blast and we’re a long way from the party being over. As always, make sure to reply, reblog, ask and post to let us know your thoughts. @artzychic27 @msweebyness 

[enchantedchocolatebars]

One Of Us (A story about my friend @princessrainbowpastel's geek goddess oc Persephone meeting the Disney princesses)

As the Disney princesses dolled themselves up in their dressing room, their door begun to open.

They immediately look to see a woman with light pink skin, wavy hair, and a purple chiton step inside.

Their attention is quickly piqued by her physical appearance.

She was beautiful.

Upon seeing the princesses, the woman yelps, her chubby cheeks tinting in embarrassment.

This wasn't Hade's dressing room.

"S-Sorry!" She quickly apologizes, giving a small bow.

As the woman attempted to leave...

"Princess, wait! Don't go!" The princesses would say in unison.

The woman was brought to a halt by those words as she turned to the royals.

"Princess?" The woman would question as she is quick to correct the girls. "Oh, no, no, no, I'm not a princess."

This woman was Persephone, the Greek goddess of spring.

"You're not?" The princesses all gasped in shock.

Persephone shakes her head.

"Oh, surely you must be a princess," Cinderella spoke, her voice tender and kind as she looked to Persephone. "Do you have dreams? Any aspirations?"

"I do," the goddess politely replied. She desired to be free, which she now is.

"Do you like animals?" Snow White asked, her forest friends gathering around her.

Persephone thought the animals looked so cute!

She gives the fairest of them all a nod.

Belle begins to bring out a brown book titled 'Beauty and the Beast' in gold letters.

As she presents the cover to Persephone, she opens the book and displays a page that shows her and the Beast happy together. "Do you know not to judge a book by its cover?"

"I do," Persephone told her. That was a lesson she learned as she spent more time with Hades.

"Are you shy?" Aurora would quietly ask, being a shy princess.

"Very," Persephone whispered back at the blonde as the two shared a giggle.

"Did you have an overprotective parent?" Ariel chuckled, thinking back to how her father was in the beginning.

"Still do," Persephone laughed, thinking about her mother, Demeter.

"Are you caring?" Jasmine asked in a genial voice.

"I am!" Persephone beamed. She cared a lot about her creations, as well as her family, other gods and goddesses, and Hades.

"Do you love your homeland?" Pocahontas inquired. She loved hers.

"Mm-hm," Persephone hummed. Earth was the land that she called home, and she had a strong attachment to it.

"Are you courageous?" Mulan asked.

"Sometimes," Persephone would admit with a small giggle. It did take a lot of courage to start standing up for herself.

Tiana pulled out a plate of her famous beignets. "Do you enjoy sweets?" The frog princess would offer with a sweet smile.

Violet eyes start to sparkle at the fried doughy goodness.

"I do!" She happily says, taking a beignet from the plate. Biting into it, she hums in delight at the taste. With a swallow, she smiles.

"Thank you!" she tells Tiana, finishing the rest of the square donut dessert.

The frog princess would continue to smile at Persephone. "You're welcome."

"Oh, oh, oh! I have a question for her!" Anna excitedly pulls out Olaf from behind her back and holds him up for Persephone to see.

"Do you have a friend?" The Arendelle princess would ask.

Olaf gives Persephone a cheerful wave.

"Aww, he's cute!" Persephone would comment as she waved back at the little snowman. "But to answer your question, I do have a friend." Her friend was Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.

"What about powers?" Elsa would ask next, summoning a small snow cloud above her hand.

"I do!" Persephone demonstrates by summoning a potted plant.

The princesses 'OOOH' in amazement at her ability. When she makes the potted plant disappear, they 'AHHH' at this achievement.

"Are you a fan of flowers?" Moana asked, handing her the reddish orange hibiscus from her hair.

"You have no idea!" Persephone lights up, taking the tropical plant.

She loved flowers.

A sincere smile spread on the lips of the Polynesian princess. "You're welcome."

Taking a sniff of it, she smiled.

It smelt stunning.

"Thank you!"

Merida figured it was her turn to question Persephone. "Are you Disney or Pixar?" The Pixar princess would ask, breaking the fourth wall.

"Uh..." Persephone had no idea. "I'm not quite sure, but, I guess I'll go with... Disney?"

Merida and the other princesses remained silent for a moment before agreeing in a harmonious manner.

She definitely seemed like the Disney type.

"Final question!" Rapunzel exuberates. "Do you believe in the power of..." She paused, expecting Persephone to know the answer.

"... Love?" Persephone would finish, her tone uncertain.

"Well, yes," Rapunzel replies, "But also, the power of..." She looked at her fellow princesses, who had the same eagerness in their eyes.

"PINK!🍨🌸🌷💗🧁💟" They'd all exclaim together. The princesses understood the power the color held.

It conveyed love, femininity, and, most importantly, cotton candy.

This answer surprises Persephone.

"Oh! Well, I do believe in the power of love. I'm not entirely too sure what the 'power of pink' is, but I do really like the color pink. Does that count?"

"Yes!" They all shout, lifting Persephone up in the air as they cheered.

She passed the princess test with flying colors.

"ONE OF US, ONE OF US, ONE OF US!" They chant.

Persephone giggled lightly at the praise.

Although she wasn't a princess, she's thankful that these ladies seemed to really like her.

Maybe they could all be friends.

She'd like that.

[belladoesmakeup]

Hey guys,

Last year I barely shopped Fenty Beauty products and this year I feel like I can’t stop! If you live in the uk you might know that Fenty Beauty is now available in Selfridges which is a big deal. To celebrate the launch of the brand landing in Selfridges they have started with a limited edition summer collection you can only get there. So naturally I had to browse the collection and let’s face it, I never leave empty handed do I!

In Fenty Beauty's new summer collection they have launched 2 new formulas we have seen before which includes Baked Blushers and Gloss Bomb Lip Oils! As you can imagine I was so excited to see the new formulas in person and they did not disappoint.

The first product I picked up (and was the reason I went in) was the Hot Cheeks Baked Blush £24.00 in the shade Fresh Peach. Personally I have only used cream blushes from Fenty so I was beyond excited their formula was extending to baked blushers. I'm a big fan of this formula because it is the perfect mix of blush and highlighter giving your skin a pigmented glow and flush of colour. This blush comes in 3 shades but I decided to play it safe and go for the fairest shade which is sheer pink shade. The formula blends like a dream especially paired with the Fenty Beauty foundation.

The second new product I picked up was the Gloss Bomb Lip Oil , £21.00 in the shade Frosted Bunz. We have seen so many versions of the Gloss Bombs over the years but never a Lip Oil so I was really excited to try it out. Frosted Bunz is described as a Amber Gold shade which looks stunning on the lips! This new formula is described as a slick, shimmer gloss that is a non-stick formula to give your lips the ultimate shine. What makes this formula more unique than others is that it is a gel-oil texture with a coconut-vanilla scent. I'm also a huge fan of the new applicator because the shade makes gliding on the lips even easier.

Overall a very successful shop, if you are looking to shop these products don't leave it too long as they are limited edition. Like Rihanna's other summer collections, once they are gone that's it so don't miss out! As always all products mentioned are linked above.

Lot's of love,

Bella x x

[laneynoir]

Part Two of Changes

Legolas x reader

You wake in an amazingly soft bed, light streams through windows causing you to squint. The first thing you notice is that you no longer hear the blood puming through your veins at a rate that makes you sick. The second is that you had said that aloud.

The third is that Thranduil is in the same room, and happens to be... Laughing? "Uh hi?"

His hand is on you forhead moments later, and you feel the horrid pressure lessening. "Good morning, it is a pleasure to see you awake."

You blink twice. "Oh. How long have I been out?" His reply of three days leaves you nodding. "That explains why I feel like I've had the best sleep in my life." You pause, but decide not to dance around the issue. 

"I'm terrably sorry, but I must ask, have I been healed so you can kill me by testing out a torture device?"

The Elvenking blinks slowly, mouth lifting elegantly at the corner. "Have I made such an impression that you would think such?"

You shrug, and oh what a gloriously simple movement- free of pain you could liken it to the ripple of water over a rock in a cool, clear creek. "Forgive me, I'm suspicious by nature and life with dwarves tends to cultivate that, rather than remove it." You grin. "And you haven't exactly given me the best experience, I've spent the last who knows how long stuck in a doungon with the worst pain I have ever faced. And that's counting periods."

"I supose I can see where you may have garnered your mistrust."

You take the proffered glass, relishing in the delightfully clear taste, fresh spring water. "I'm still not fixed, I hear to well, and I can taste the minerals in this water, even though by rights they should be far to subtle."

The Elvenking look as if he is repressing a smile. "You wish to know what was 'wrong' with you I assume?" You nod. "Your body was going through a change, I assume it had much to do with your impromptu relocation from your 'Earth' it seems the Valar saw more than meer mortal exsistance for you.

"The heightened awareness, aversion to sleep, sensitivity... All of these were outward signs of this change. I placed you under a deep sleep so that I could better access your mind, having prodded a few things I managed to push the transformation into speed, the discomfort of this transformation passed during your slumber."

You bite you lip, confusion being the most prominent of the swirling emotions in your head, you inquire; "You keep mentioning this change, what about me has changed? Am I now a goblin?"

This time Thranduil does not contain his smirk. "That my dear is where the humor of this most interesting situation arrives."

"Oh, 'cause that's not cryptic" at the ache in your neck's insistence, you may back on the pillow. "Come now, the suspense is killing me, what foul beast am I changed to?"

"Let us say that I have no confidance in your dwarrow accepting you."

"What's that-" the implications set in halfway through your sentance. "...oh dear."

"Hm, I'm afraid you have a better chance with my son. However yes, you are now an elf." He looks entirely too pleased by this, and you shoot him a disgruntled look.

"That explains the ear pain. But I can't be an elf, I barely manahed to keep a flimsy mortal life together! Elves are suposed to be the fairest and wisest, I followed a butterfly because it looked neat, then ended up falling down a hole and landing buck ass nude in a Dwarven sheep pasture!"

"My condolences."

You sit up. "Has anyone ever told you, you're an ass?"

He sighs, and in that moment you can see through the mystical glow that seems to cling to his pale skin, you see the centuries of life reflected in his eyes. "What has happned to you is unheard of, no tale has ever even hinted at the possibility of a mortal experiencing such change. Therefore no one expects you to adapt seamlessly.

"Not all elves are always wise fair and kind, as I am sure you will have gathered. Indeed my peoples have long suffered life in a forest riddled with sickness, fighting a never ending battle from two fronts, excluding the dangers of our own home.

"Such we have been labeled warlike and less wise by our distant kin, tell me; is that fair?" He shakes his head. "No, our kind may be immortal, but still we have much to learn."

His words give you much to think about, so you stay quiet a moment. "So... What happens to me?"

"If your dwarves forsake you-"

"They would never!"

He holds a hand up. "Do you know this, truly?" At your silence he says, "No we can know nothing for certain. If your dwarves forsake you, the woodland tell is an open sanctuary to you." His mouth tilts upward again. "Indeed, I think my son should be much displeasured by any other offer. He is most fond of you"

You feel the blood rise to your face. "I'm sure he was mearly fascinated by the shriveled hooman turing into an elf." The smirk on Thranduil's face is a might too knowing for your taste so you ask instead, "Where is Legolas?"

The King sighs. "He and Tauriel raced off after the Drarrow band." He glares when you stiffle a laugh.

"Sorry" you say, batting your eyes to let him know that you are not, indeed, sorry.

Days have passed, and when you are at last allowed from the halls of healing you nearly sing with joy.

Instead you take a walk through the gardens, as much if a walk as you can any way, as you now mist get used to weighing about twenty pounds but having the strength of fifty athletes.

The two elves whispering to eachother while pointing 'discreetly' in your direction kill the peacfull mood.

It is almost a relief when the King tells you of the March on Erabor.

You agree quickly to come, Thranduil wishes no more bloodshed than he can prevent. And as you are kin, he points out, you have a better chance at convincing the dwarves to assist Laketown.

~

You knock back the mug of ale that Legolas hands you, though the taste is not so great as that of Thranduil's wine, not having to watch the Elvenking flirt with Bard king of Dale is a definite win.

Besides, you think with little shame, your current company is quite adequate.

Reclined on the grass and staring at the stars you trace the shapes of dwarven constellations.

"You are troubled."

The clear musical sounding voice does not phrase this as a question, bit as an invitation to seek comfort. After a mental debate you concede.

"Yes. They -the dwarves- are my family. Or were. The betrayal of their faces this morning... Hurts quite frankly. I dont know what or how they will react when they see... Me." You sit up, no longer focoused on the stars and wrap yourself in your cloak.

Legolas tentivly reaches a hand to your shoulder, smiling when you lean into the touch. "Dwarrow are suspicious in the best of times, to an elf, much less and entire army of elves at the door of a mad king? They, or at least your king, will suspect trickery. It is not you they bear grudge against."

The shift closer to the prince and grin. "I'm not sure I wish their wrath upon you my prince." You smirk. "Unless you have put some spell of trickery onto me."

Legolas traces the line of your jaw. "Do you feel tricked? Or under a spell? Tell me, what spell do you feel?"

His fingers brush your ear as they push hair back from your face, the touch sending and involuntary shiver through you.

Before you vould do something rediculouse, such as kissing the Ellon, you hear footsteps approaching. Moments later the owner appears, bowing quickly. "Prince Legolas, the king wishes to see you," he turns another bow in your direction. "You as well"

As you make your way tword the tent where they await, Legolas whispers, "I harbour no ill will unto Lord Bard, however I do hope that he may be absent from this meet. However much I may approve, my father is not so subtle as he think. That or he does this on purpose."

You stiffle a laugh before entering, and though Bard is presant, your attention is stuck on a curly haired Hobbit instead. "Bilbo!"

Though he looks unnaturally pale, Bilbo's face brightens. "Ah it is good to see you again! I- my goodness what has happened to your ears?"

On instinct, you reach up to touch the offending subject (causing all three elves to reden, though Tauriel's smirk is quite obvious). "I'd near forgotten, turns out I'm an elf now" you grin self consciously while doing halfhearted jazz hands.

Bilbo blinks very rapidly before He shakes his head and smiles. "Okay, alright."

"Wait- Bilbo why are you here? Shouldn't you be in the mountain?"

Bilbo then tells of how he took the arkenstone as his part of the share, explaining his plan. After the two kings and wizard acknowledge this course of action, Bilbo bows and leaves the tent.

"That was quite a brave thing to do Master Boggins."

Bilbo lets out a distracted humming sound. "It wasn't suposed to be you know, I meant what I said; I don't wish to see war."

You follow the line of his sight to the mountain of Erabor. "You also wish to save the life of your love." At his blushing and stammering you grin. "I may now have the eyes of elves, Bilbo, but that does not mean I was blind during our journy."

Cheeks as red as his prize-winning tomatoes, the hobbit huffs. "Now really! And even if I were -which I most certainly am not- you would have no room to speak of such. I'll remind you of a particular elven Prince, one who stayed beside your cell in silent comfort, and did everything he couldn't make your pain less?"

"Bilbo Bag-"

"You should have geard the argument he gave his father too, it was quite moving."

"Bimbo Boggins I love you, but I am two seconds from tieing to to a pillar and putting shoes on you." Your threat is rewarded by a scandalized gasp.

"You wouldnt-"

You grin, letting him know that you most certainly would. But the expression falls almost immediately. "I hope this works. I may not be accepted on the other side of this, but the company is closer to me than any blood relative I've ever had."

Bilbo ponders your words for a second. "It will." He says finaly. "It will."

You get the feeling he's more trying to convince himself than anything else.

"Gandalf doesn't wish for me to return to the Mountain."

"But you need to." At his signing admittance you stand. "Alright then, come on."

As you casually walk -with no alternative plan whatsoever, no escaping hobbits here- Bilbo, ever curious asks after you adaption to the new species.

"It's alright I suppose," you say after a shrug. "My main problem is forgeting that I only weigh twenty pounds max, but have the strength of three trolls. Fist time I rose from bed I accidentally launched myself into the air and hit my head on the ceiling."

Bilbo laughs, a merry sound, that convays a feeling of hope into you.

~

That hope dissapates quickly the next morning, as you watch in horror as your hobbit is held over the edge of the parpet.

You sigh in relief as Gandalf intervenes, though you shift in your armour. Rather niceb admittedly, and fits well, though not perfectly. The swords on your back provide a familiar comfort, and you are grateful for their return.

And then Lord Dain arives and you must refrain from snorting at his typical dwarven lack of diplomacy.

The Elven king is not so cold a being as he allows outsiders to think, his people remain loyal out of love. You are reminded of this when he pulls you into his steed during the battle, and instantly a calming influence spreads over you, the painfully loud roaring in your ears is suddenly able to focous.

Thus you continue until he elegantly rolls off, deciding to fight on foot to free his movement.

And again you are reminded of change, as the Thranduil pleads for you to go to his son.

Not that you had any intentions of doing otherwise. Ori and Bilbo are quite grateful for the ride to Ravenhill after you spot them both sprawled on the ground. (You kater learn that the hobbit had stumbled into the scribe whilst invisable.)

Bilbo's message is conveyed in time for Dwalin and Thorin, but this offers little comfort. Kili and Fili have walked into a trap.

~

In the midst of their concealed panic you tell them to go, and cross the water to search for the princes. 

Silently you pad through the tunnels, runing into Kili, you want him and have a heated argument in an attempt not to allow him to follow in search of his brother.

It is nearly comical the way he freezes suddenly, gaping at your ears.

"I'll tell you later, now go. Tauriel is searching for you, do you wish her to come to harm?"  This is am admitedly underhanded tactic, bit you find no shame In using both the elven warrior and his uncle against him.

After a panicked internal debate Kili's face settles into a determined expression, his hand shoots to your arm. The grip is tight enough to bruise, but the pressure is inconsequential against the severity of his gaze. "I trust you, you must know this. Help my brother. I trust you." You jerk your head, but his back is already turned and he strides quietly away.

Twitching your ear you hear comotion from down another tunnel and quickly dart down.

~

The aftermath of the battle is brutal, losses numbering high, but not so devastating as they may have been without the assistance of Radagast and his band of reinforcements.

Fili is the least injured of the Royal family, escaping with only broken ribs and a few nasty cuts. Kili's leg was shattered, and Oin says that it will never heal compleatly, the Wolf prince woukd bear a limp for all of his days.

Thorin has not yet awoken, the only reason for his life being a very outraged Bilbo Baggins (and supposedly the elk had something of a hand in the matter) 

Upon your entrance to the tent Kili is only patient awake, Oin hovers next to an unhappy looking Thranduil, who stands over a deathly pale Thorin.

When you take Kili's side he pushes his forgead against yours, a reliving alternative to the panicked moment that you misinterpreted his intent. "Thank you." He whispers.

He'd seen, having made it to the open ice just as Azog was wraping his monolouging up. In the end that was what had saved Fili from the pale orc.

You'd crept from behind, mind racing. Tackling Azog wasn't an option, as your new weight would have the same effect as a dodge ball against the large frame. So you'd settled for throwing another orc at the great white boy. He'd topped from the edge, nearly taking Fili with him.

A throat is cleared off to your left, and Kili releases you with a smirk. "Worry not oh elf prince, you've as much danger of me stealing y/n from you as inhave of you snatching Tauriel." To you he says, "You're physical change matters nothing to the company, always will you be welcomed in our home, Namad."

~

Legolas is as always a comforting presance, and rescues you when Oin begins poking at your injuries.

Walking through encampment you shiver. "The days are growing colder."

Instantaneously legolas becomes protective. "Do you wish to find a fire to rest beside?" You laugh.

"'S not that bad Leggy my dear," noticing that somthing seems off with him you bump agaisnt him. What is bad is your mood, what's wrong?"

He does not answer at first, but at your insistent glare he relents. "What was it that Prince Kili called you?"

You start. "Huh?"

"In the healing tent."

You smile and loop your arm through his, remembering to late that this may be more forward than youd intended, but as he says nought, nor moves away you leave it there. "Namad, it means sister. A great honour."

Legolas seems calmer and the two of you continue your stroll, speaking of anything that comes to mind. Later a disgruntled looking gaurd arives to escort Legolas to his father, unthinking, you press a kiss againstvhis cheek and turn to leave making it four steps befire your action register.

You seize up in horror, waiting for Legolas to say somthing in disgusts, but when you look at his face he just gives you his unfairly beutiful smile and walks away with the gaurd.

~

Legolas sighs when at last he is free from his fathers tent, why he was needed when all the king of Dale and Thranduil did was flirt the whole time...

The Prince's train of through is interrupted by the words of two elves close to the fire.

"-isnt even a real elf. Dont know why they let it so close to the prince."

"Must be offering other services, has the look of one of them." This is greated by laughtwr from his companion.

Legolas draws close, just as the reply comes; "Do you supose the king uses it as well? I don't think I'd mind seeing what's under that-"

“Don’t ever say anything like that ever again”

Both jolt, nearly falling over -clearly intoxicated.

Heavaly intoxicated.

"You cannot be ernest!"

They have fought in war today, and habe probably lost friends is not family. They cannot be in clear mindfulness. All this Legolas aknowlages, yet he still is angered. “yes, I’m being serious! That was way out of line.”

The secomd elf lowers his head once recognizing his prince. "Of course, my apologies my prince. I belive I've had more than enough of this drink."

"As he says, I don't quite know what's come over me..."

Legolas crosses his arms at the excuses. "Rumors of Y/n are not to be encouraged. If you hear of any, you will put a stop to them. Is this clear?" Both nod. "Very well, rest well."

The twoscamper of as Legolas hears a manic chuckle. He spins to see you perched on a beam. "That was rather nice of you."

"I will hear no ill against you."

You land in front of him and peer into his eyes. "You really shouldn't speak so my prince" at his risen brow you continue. "You'll have me taking Bilbo's advice."

Legolas breath is warm agaisnt your lips as he quips. "Master Baggins usually has good advice, prehaps you should do so anyway?"

You smile. "I think I may." You tilt up and press your lips against his.

Change is alright really.

This fix ended up over 6k words so *jazz hands*

[moonyasnow]

Apple Skin: pulchritudomania route ideas - Chris

His route is one of the 3 available from the start

Nonverbal autistic, misses social cues, gullible, doesn't understand when he's being mocked, very honest in showing affection though does so in a way sometimes perceived as weird

Just wants to help out and be included.

He's often given the job to run errands in town, such as at the local medicine shop for things Carmine needs for his work but can't grow at home, produce like milk, eggs, vegetables and meat, some books for Damion at the bookstore, and other such things. Carmine gave him this job because he's very good at following precise instructions.

When nothing needs to be bought, he helps Smith in the mine by operating the mine carts and sorting the gemstones by size and color.

He has an older syster named Lydia

Ok so, Chris— Since he's non-verbal (and I want to stick to that— I don't want him to speak a singular word throughout the whole game) he's gonna need to speak through his body language and gestures he makes. So I was thinking that some of his sprites could be doing some of those gestures (I definitely want one that means 'I love you' for obvious reasons) but that means he's gonna have a lot more sprites than the others huh I thought of drawing it because just writing down the things he does every single time would get a little stale I think. And I want the player to also be able to learn what his gestures mean, since the point of his route is that he needs to find someone who can understand not only what he's trying to say but also show an interest in his inner world He's honest to a fault and always keeps his word, even when one or both of those traits lead him or someone else into trouble. If he knew someone was doing something bad, he'd want to tell someone, but if they said they're friends and asked him not to, he wouldn't say anything. He'd be confused, caught between not wanting to lie and not wanting to break his word.

At one point Chris went along to help at Jazz' place of work, and had been asked to look after the dog of the tavern owner in the village to make sure it didn't try to eat the food the owner was preparing and was told to 'give him something to chew on' if the dog started barking. Chris saw a bone in the chicken club on a plates on the table and thought 'dogs chew on bones' and used a knife to carve it out, then threw it outside to the dog, doing his best to scrape off as much of the meat as possible and put it back on the plate, but in doing so leaving nothing but scraps of meat on the plate. But then the owner got mad at him! He said 'This was an order from a customer! How am I s'pposed to serve this now, huh?! When I said something to chew on I meant something like a stick!' But how was Chris supposed to know that? Especially when he'd been told the dog could open the kitchen door so he needed to stay inside so he'd notice the dog trying to get in! This could be on the second day Snow accompanies him into town. The first could be them walking around buying things

He and Snow start cleaning together, and he finds that he absolutely loves organizing things back in the places they should be.

He asks Carmine for help learning to dance once he hears about the dance coming up since he wants to dance with Snow. When Snow discovers this, Carmine has to physically stop Chris from revealing that he's going to ask Snow to dance, and when Chris asks why he did so Carmine says that it should be a surprise. Schwartz ends up seeing Snow and Chris dancing at the dance festival. He then starts to become suspicious that the Queen is lying to him about Snow. He doesn't want to believe that train of thought because he wants to trust Kriemhild. He's loyal to her! But one day he goes up to her mirror in secret and asks: Sch - 'Mirror, mirror on the wall, tell me: who in this land is the fairest one of all?' Mi - 'You, my Prince, are fair, despite that no finery you wear. However young Snowdrop living beyond the seven mountains, free, is many times more fair than thee.' He feels something in his mind break. He becomes hellbent on getting Snow back, making up some excuse as to why Kriemhild can't have lied to him.

At one point Chris starts giving Snow tiny pieces of gemstones he finds while helping Smith in the mine, because he thinks they're pretty and so he wants to give them to her because he likes her. When Carmine finds out about this he becomes upset at Chris, telling him he can't just do that. Chris is sad and confused, conveying that he thought that it was fine since he's seen Smith take much bigger pieces multiple times, and the pieces Chris took were much smaller. He has unknowingly just revealed that Smith has been stealing from the de Lucius mine. When Smith gets in trouble for it, Chris feels guilty. He didn't think there was anything wrong with it since no one had directly stated they couldn't. His sister Lydia hears about this and comes straight there, to scold Chris about stealing. He tells her he really didn't know, but Lydia says 'it's so obvious it shouldn't need to be said; of course you can't just take the property of the people you're working for!'

Schwartz finds Snow. He's planning on asking her to go back to the castle with him. But when he sees Chris kiss Snow's cheek, and sees the expression that forms on her face after the fact, all bashfully blushing and tenderly holding her fingers up to the cheek he kissed, something in him starts to boil with jealousy so potent you can almost imagine the air around him start to sizzle and boil with poison. Schwartz finds out about Chris' sister Lydia, and Lydia has also recently found out just who Snow is, and wants to keep her little brother away from Snow. Schwartz approaches her. Sch - 'You. You're the pink one's sister.' Ly - ''The pink one'? He has a name, for your information; Christoph—' Sch - 'I don't care. What I do care about is Snow! You want Snow to stay away from him, and I want to take Snow back to the castle.' Ly - 'Our interests align…' Sch - 'Do we have a deal?' Ly - 'Wh- huh? What do mean 'do we have a deal'— who even are you? Sure, I want her away from my baby brother, but it's not like I'll trust the first guy who comes along with an offer to help!' Sch - 'I'm a dear…friend…of hers.' His teeth clench and grind against each other when he says the word 'friend' Sch - 'Yes…a very dear friend. I want to take her back home, where she belongs. I need to protect her!'

But their plan doesn't work, and Lydia comes around to Snow eventually.

Chris and Snow have been running errands in town together, and with a small nudge from Snow, the villagers have finally started trying to learn what he wants to say rather than just looking at him weirdly when he starts gesturing. And seeing that the world isn't quite as cruel as Lydia thinks, and that people could actually learn to understand her baby brother— and most importantly seeing how animated he becomes around Snow, and that Snow seems to like it— she lets up on trying to separate the two of them, and cries and hugs Chris, apologizing for being so harsh and overprotective. She can't quite figure out what Chris means when he starts gesturing, and Snow says Chris says he forgives her, and he knows she was just trying to look out for him. Seeing that Snow understands Chris better than even she does is the thing that finally wins Lydia over. Ly - 'So, when's the wedding?' Snow's face goes red Sn - 'A-ah, um, eh-' Chris starts wildly gesticulating and shaking his head, then gets Lydia's attention and points to his lips, where upon he mouths 'Suh-puh-ra-i-s' Lydia is confused for a second Ly - 'Separize…?' Then her eyes go wide Ly - '…Oh, you mean sur—' Chris puts a finger over his mouth and hushes her. Ly - 'Oh. Ooooooh.' Lydia looks at him with a mischievous, teasing expression Ly - 'Since when did you become such a sneak, huh?' Chris takes it literally and starts shaking his head. Lydia giggles at this. Ly - 'Relax; I'm just kidding.' She ruffles his hair. Ly - 'But be sure to invite me, yeah? I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world.'

Then she gets teary eyed again. She hugs both Chris and Snow. Ly - 'I used to be so worried about what'd happen to Chris if I wasn't there to help. But if he's got people like you in his life, guess I don't need to worry anymore. …Well, I am still gonna worry. I'll just try not to act on that worry as much.' And I think that, after this, Schwartz will show up and try to take Snow for himself. In secret, Schwartz had stolen a ribbon Kriemhild once planned to use to kill another beautiful person. He goes to the house where Snow lives, and it's close to dusk. She was at home alone that day doing some chores. She tries one last time to convince him to leave the castle. Sn - 'I know that I'm important to you…and you've always been important to me, too! You were my only human friend growing up, and you're still important to me!' She holds her hand out to him. Sn - 'Schwartz, please… Come with me. We could do all of those things we talked about wanting to do, like seeing the ocean, or stuffing ourselves full with pastries and staying up all night…' Sch - 'I… I want that too, Snow, but we both know Her Majesty wouldn't allow it…' She holds onto his hands. Sn - 'Then don't return to the castle! I know how much it hurts to think she might not be what you believe she is…I know that pain very well. But I've left, so then you can, too. You can stay here, if you want to!

He ends up pulling the ribbon around her neck to strangle her with it. There was a sleeping curse on the ribbon— which didn't affect Schwartz because he wears gloves— and she falls asleep. Chris was waiting nearby, but gets a bad feeling, and runs up to see Snow asleep in Schwartz' arms. He ends up throwing a rock right in Schwartz' face, leading to his forehead bleeding. Then Lydia comes after him— he'd suddenly started running and she struggled to keep up. Lydia doesn't have a problem with Schwartz. That is UNTIL he says he's going to kill Chris. Then her protective older sister side kicks into full gear and she's hell-bent on teaching him a lesson; messing with Chris means messing with her. And since Snow is so close to Chris, she's also like family at this point. Lydia manages to wrench Snow away from him. Then he points his sword at Lydia instead. Sch - 'He's brainwashed her somehow, I just know it! He's tricked her! I won't let him take my Snow away from me!' Schwartz starts crying. Sch - 'I-I-I'm— going to be the one to kiss her awake… B-because the Prince— always saves the Princess, and they live happily ever after…!' His face twists into an expression of pure despair. Sch - 'I'm not going to let it be anyone else!' At the same time, Damion, Smith, Carmine, Arlie, Jazz and Amber also show up. They ask what happened. Lydia says Schwartz tried to kill Snow, and she's passed out. C - 'I-i-is she bre-breathing?!' Ly - 'She is. He probably got her with that sleeping curse somehow!' Lydia turns to Chris. Ly - 'Chris! Take Snow!' Sch - 'NO!' Schwartz tries to lunge at Lydia, but Smith and Jazz try to lunge at him, causing him to need to go on the defensive. He then starts trying to retreat back to the castle. They all— sans Snow, Chris, Lydia and Damion— follow after him. Damion and Lydia choose to stay behind to help. Damion asks if Chris has any ideas about how to wake her Ly - 'Schwartz mentioned something about 'kissing her awake'.' Ch - [internal narration] Then that's just what I'll try! He places her head on his shirt on the ground with a look of determination on his face and leans over her.

Pre-kiss CG He presses two fingers to his lips, hovers them just over her own, then nods, and cocks his head to the side in a silent question. Ch - [internal narration] She can't respond if can't see me ask, and she can't see me if she's asleep. But I don't want to do it without her saying yes… Wait, but if I don't, she can never say yes! Hmmmm— what do I— He sighs. Ch - [internal narration] I guess I have no other choice I know could work. Sorry, Snow! With just the slightest moment of hesitation, he cups her cheeks and tightly closes his eyes before leaning down to kiss her. Kiss CG Ly - 'Chris! You can't just—' D - 'No, look.' Snow's eyelids flutter a bit. When she opens them and sees Chris and feels him kissing her, her cheeks go red and her voice squeals slightly. Chris' eyes fly open and he pulls back slightly. He blinks for a few seconds, then smiles incredibly widely and pulls her into a giant hug. After he kisses Snow to wake her up, he tells her about what he did and he apologizes for not asking her for her consent first. Well, he did try actually, but she didn't respond. But he was told that was the only way to wake her up. Then he confesses to her, telling her that he loves her, and that he understands if she doesn't feel the same. She interrupts him. Sn - 'Chris, the name of the antidote is…T-True Love's Kiss…' He nods. Sn - 'So then…the only person who could kiss me awake would be…' He thinks for a moment. You can see his brain ticking away until his eyes snap open and he goes even closer to her, with a look of wonder and excitement in his eyes. He clasps his hands together and puts his hands in a heart shape to his chest, then cocks his head to the side. Snow nods, her face flushed. She then points to herself, places her hands in a heart on her chest, then points to him. His face lights up in a giant smile and he basically tackles her, pressing lots of tiny kisses all over her face. She wraps her arms around him and giggles, then kisses his lips gently.

When the others get back— in the end, Schwartz died in a rockfall('rocks fall, you die' energy)— they ask how they managed to wake up Snow. Damion is the one to speak up first. D - 'True Love's Kiss.' C - 'Pardon?' D - 'That was the antidote.' He closes his eyes with a soft exhale. His shoulders droop a bit. (This is to foreshadow that Damion just realizes he's never going to be able to wake his mother, and that all his life's work has basically been for nothing.) Jazz places a hand on Damion's shoulder. The narration doesn't describe it, but Jazz' sprite will be wearing a somewhat sad smile. Snow asks what happened to Schwartz, and they explain. She starts to cry. She laments feeling guilty about leaving Schwartz behind. Chris takes her hand. He shakes his head. He takes up a small rock that's black and gestures referring to a horse, and that horse running away, then looks down at the rock before shaking his head. Sn - [internal narration] Schwartz could have chosen to flee, too…but he refused. Sn - 'I even asked him to come live here with us…

In the good ending, Chris and Snow end up moving out to live in their own little house in the village. Damion also moves out, and Jazz goes with him. But Carmine and Arlie make them promise to come visit sometime.