#no idea how often that happened but unlike fairies stealing them that seems like it’s plausible

[byjove]

not only are wild boars dangerous but farmers still keep having fatal and almost fatal encounters with domestic piggies. I’m a pig enthusiast. nobody really thinks about how dangerous they are. they have a reputation for eating human bodies for a reason. 700 pound incredibly stubborn and smart omnivorous animals with remarkably sharp teeth. usually they’re friends but when they’re foes, they’re terrible foes.

[ichorai]

cellmates ; four ; j.wy

pairing ; jung wooyoung x reader

summary ; stuck in jail after stealing a necklace off the princess, what happens when your new cellmate with an impossible escape plan comes along?

words ; 5.2k

warnings / includes ; medieval fantasy au, blood and grime and death and everything in between, some curse words, future ateez cameos, future suggestive / mature content, cellmates to (future) lovers !!

a/n ; surprise !! here you go stop crying >:( kdjffj jk i hope yall enjoy !!! the plot thickens up quite a bit in this one 👀 ,,, there are also a couple surprises sprinkled here and there :DD to make up for what i did to yall last chapter lol

cellmates masterlist.

As a child, a popular tale you often heard was one depicting a man stranded on an island, throat dry with thirst and stomach void of nourishment. He passed out in exhaustion by the beach, just on the brink of death. But before his soul could fade away, the mermaids took pity on the man of skin-and-bones and brought him underwater, breathing life back into his lungs. He contentedly lived the rest of his life as a merperson.

Although stories like those always had happy endings, they could never really make you smile, unlike how all the other children reacted. What about the people the man cared about when he was on land? Had he just completely forgotten about them to selfishly live an easier life underwater?

The same thoughts ran through your pounding head repeatedly as you dully stared out into the gleaming ocean. From where you were, bound tightly against the main mast, you had a clear view of both the ship’s deck and the waters. You couldn’t really remember how long you’d been tied up… if you could recall correctly, they had only thrown Wooyoung overboard just last night. That felt like an eternity ago. 

All thoughts of mermaids and fairy tales and Wooyoung dissipated from your mind once a pirate stepped into your view. In the daylight, they were far less scary than when you had first encountered them. The pirate had bronzed skin verging on being sunburnt, and sharp eyes of molten gold. A red bandana held his hair out of his leering face, and you noticed a dark branding burn of a sword ran through a skull embedded on his chest, partially covered by his loose tunic.

The man tutted, grabbing your chin between two fingers. It was then that you realized just how tired you were; you hadn’t gotten any sleep, instead spending the night struggling against your bonds and crying after Wooyoung.

“Let me go.” Your voice was so hoarse that it didn’t sound like yours anymore.

The pirate merely grinned and shook his head.

You wracked your brain for a second before spitting out, “Isn’t it bad luck to have a woman onboard? Your ship will sink if you keep me here.”

“Why, you must have nothing but worms between your ears,” He cackled in a sinister manner. “That’s just a silly little myth, sweetheart. Women are more than welcome here.” With those words, he ran his eyes over your tense form. A predator surveying its prey.

Much to your relief, the pirate stepped down. That feeling didn’t last very long, however. Just as he slid back, more pirates filtered into your view, clearly just having woken up to start the day. There were so many eyes on you; some curious, some disinterested, and some boldly staring with unsavory expressions.

“I say we make her do the dirty work,” One with golden teeth chimed. “Scrub the decks, clean the chamber pots.”

“We should toss her overboard. We don’t need another mouth to feed.”

“Keep her tied up there! A pretty thing like her should be on display for everyone to see!”

“We can drop her off at the next port and sell her off as a slave. We could use the extra gold.”

“Awh, don’t you think we should keep her? Ain’t half bad to look at.”

Those were only just a few snippets you could make out in the midst of the tumultuous roaring of the pirates as they yelled their suggestions over each other. They grew progressively louder as more ideas came into mind on what they should do with you. Panic brewed within you, but your limbs were tired and your mind was numb. All you could do was stand and watch.

The pirates immediately quietened once a one-eyed man with a peg leg hobbled out of the navigation room. The soft clunk, clunk, clunk of the wooden leg against the planks was not unsimilar to the rapid thundering of your heartbeat.

This is the captain, you thought. It was obvious, what with the way the pirates shut their mouths tightly and bowed their heads down to their chests. Some even trembled on the spot. If Wooyoung were here, he’d laugh at them.

Oh, how you missed him. 

The captain had a voice of pure silk, a stark contrast to his ragged appearance. In a quietly powerful tone, he stated firmly, “We leave her here until we reach Aurecia. Then we sell her off.” After a tense pause, he sternly added on, “Nobody touches her until then. Aurecians pay well for unspoilt women, so if any of you lot come remotely close to her, I’ll have your heads.”

The diminutive consolation you received from the captain’s commands ebbed away slightly when you thought more about what he was saying. They were going to sell you off as a slave in Aurecia. And if you could recall the map correctly, Aurecia was the opposite direction of Virelis, where you were supposed to be going. To top it all off, Cerulea and Aurecia were trusted allies, and that could mean nothing good for you.

“No!” You suddenly interjected in a croaky voice, throat so dry it felt like you had sandpaper in your mouth. “Please, don’t take me there. I need to go to Virelis. Please, you can sell me there!”

Everybody stared at you in complete befuddlement. The captain gaped at you with one narrowed eye and spat out, “Virelis doesn’t take slaves. Don’t play games with me, girl.”

Out of desperation, pleading words frantically poured out of your mouth before you could stop and hesitate, “Then don’t sell me! I’m useful, I swear!”

“Forgive me if I have difficulty believing you,” The captain said in a bored tone, gesturing to your bleeding, tied up form. 

A frustrated huff escaped you as you hissed out, “I’m Y/N L/N! I was the one that stole the princess’ necklace! I’m a valuable asset and you’d be lucky to have me on your crew.”

A stunned silence washed over the pirates. Then, one by one, they started laughing. They snorted and chuckled and slapped their knees as if you had told them the funniest joke in the world. You half-heartedly attempted speaking again, but your voice was drowned out by their howling laughter.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP BEFORE I FEED YOUR SORRY ASSES TO THE SHARKS!” The captain bellowed, his velvety tone long gone. He had his arms crossed tightly over his chest, a scowl pulling at his lips. 

The lot of them snapped their mouths shut so quickly you could hear their teeth clacking against one other. 

“Y/N L/N is nothing but a legend,” The captain stepped closer to you, his one eye narrowed in suspicion. “I don’t know, nor do I care for why you’re lying, but it better not become a problem. I’ve already got one crew to deal with. I don’t need to add a raving lunatic onto the list.”

“Please!” You wiggled against your bonds slightly, wincing at how the coarse rope fibers scratched at your chafed skin. “Why would I lie?! You’ve got to believe me, I’m Y/N L/N, I’ve been in jail for a long time and I’ve only recently escaped with the man you tossed overboard. Please, we can go bring him back, he can tell you, I - !” 

The words lodged in your throat. It was pointless, trying to convince a haggle of savage pirates to go back for someone they tossed to the sharks. There was a sort of heavy pain deep down in your chest, and you brokenly blew out a sigh. The feeling churned at your insides uncomfortably. It might’ve been the sea sickness, but you knew it was a nasty combination of guilt and panic and regret.

The captain noticed your abrupt change in demeanor, but decided not to comment. Instead, he said stoically, “Y/N L/N is a wonderful character in a legend told to scare children and I would absolutely love to meet her. But unfortunately, I don’t think I’d ever get the pleasure to. She’s not real.” You stared into his one eye, tears welling up in your own. “And about the man we tossed over… he put up a real fight and he wasn’t worth the trouble. He’s probably long gone by now. It’d do you good to forget about him.”

Pirates behind the pair of you started snickering, but were quietened when the captain straightened and just about snarled out, “DON’T YOU HAVE WORK TO DO? GET ON WITH IT, YOU STINKY BASTARDS!” 

They scrambled in a panicked fashion, a few of them running into each other as they dashed in opposite directions, others clumsily slipping on the damp plank wood, and some merely ran like headless chickens with no definite direction in mind. 

“They’ll treat you well in Aurecia, girl,” The captain slipped back into his velvety tone once more. You supposed this was his way of apologizing… or, the closest thing to an apology you’d ever get from a pirate. “Just try to accept it and it won’t seem as bad. This lot here won’t hurt you in the meantime. I’ll make sure of that.” He gestured to the rest of the men who were settling back into their daily routines. You were surprised to see that they were already hard at work; manning the sails, scrubbing the decks, navigating the ship, so on so forth. The life of a pirate definitely wasn't an easy one. 

You said nothing in return, staring blankly at the glinting ocean. The hollow clunk, clunk, clunk of his peg leg fading away was a sure sign that the captain was gone. You couldn’t bring it in yourself to watch him go.

This was most probably the worst possible time to cry. At this point, you were surprised your sore eyes could still manage to produce tears, considering how dehydrated you were. It was obvious that some of the pirates were still watching you, pausing mid-job. You tried to ignore them and hung your head sullenly as dry sobs rumbled in your chest.

You were stuck floating in a gigantic cesspool of saltwater, and yet your body had the audacity to produce even more. It was this very water you were bobbing on that most probably filled Wooyoung’s lungs as he gave up his last breath. The thought did nothing but make you weep harder. 

Pirates really had no designated time to have luncheon and supper, but their stomachs all seemed to revolve around roughly the same hours. By the time the golden of the sun was grazing against the deep green waters and the sky was bleeding a strange shade of amaranthine, they were all shouting out complaints of hunger and trotting to the small kitchens below deck to have supper. 

You were hungry, but also sure that if you had even a morsel of bread, you would heave it right back out. The day was spent with you gazing at the rocking waters, bustling pirates, and the large, tattered flag that hung proudly way above you. On occasion, you tried pleading to the pirates who were passing by, but none of them so much as glanced towards you. It seemed as though they took their captain’s orders to heart. 

And so, after hours and hours of being neglected, imagine your surprise when one particular pirate sheepishly walked up to you, a little after all the others had disappeared below the deck to eat.

At first, you hadn’t noticed the quiet man because you had your stinging eyes shut, trying to block off the last and harshest glares of the sun as it sank under the edge of the world.

He cleared his throat once, and your eyes flew back open, startled.

“You must be starving,” He said. 

The first thing you noticed about him was the strangely soft shade of pink his hair was. It wasn’t unsimilar to the color of Yunho’s hair, and you found yourself wondering how the kind giant of a man would react knowing that you lost Wooyoung. 

“Oh,” He gestured to the brightly-hued strands on his forehead. “I’m half fairy. Everybody looks at me funny when they first see my hair.”

Snapping out of your thoughts, you observed the man in front of you suspiciously. You had little to say in reply to the strangely personal fact he told you, and so you bit down on your tongue and let silence further consume you.

He had an angular face and complementing sharp features, but he bore a timid expression in an unexpectedly stark contrast. What was this fairy-man doing on a pirate ship? He didn’t look at all like the rest of the crew. The others were sunburnt and filthy and rugged. He, however, was somewhat well kempt, skin void of burns and scars and dirt. A loose cream-hued tunic was hung over broad shoulders, barely slung over his hardened chest, a leather belt tightened around the small of his waist and tucked into black trousers. It was quite a dignifying outfit in comparison to the rest of the crew clad in dirty rags and stolen clothes that didn’t match in the slightest. But for that, you could understand. Seeing the pirates randomly throw on haphazard articles of clothing, you thought back to when you were on the run with Wooyoung, stealing clothes off of drying lines and changing into whatever would fit.

The only thing that pushed the strange pink-haired man more towards the ‘rugged pirate’ side was a silver lip ring glinting with the late sunlight from the side of his bottom lip. In his eyes you saw gentle kindness, but you knew better than to trust him just yet. 

“Are you hungry? I can sneak something up for you while everyone’s busy stuffing their face full.” He had a voice of honey and silk, tempting you to accept his generous offer. But you kept your mouth shut.

“I understand,” A sad, empathetic look crossed his face. “Sea sickness is the worst the first couple of days. From there, it’ll gradually get better once you get used to it. But please, drink some water.”

From out of nowhere, he brandished a pretty silver chalice and held it up to you, the metal stingingly cool against your lips. You would’ve been stupid to turn down the water, so you leaned forward slightly and slurped at the drink so quickly that some sloshed down your chin and dripped onto your chest. 

“I can get you some more later,” He said, pulling the cup away as you gasped for air. “But I have to tell you something important first. My name is San, by the way.”

He had a name that roughly translated to ‘mountain’ in Old Cerulean. You thought it was a rather pretty name… fitting for such a pretty man.

“I just wanted to say this while no one was around,” San sucked in a deep breath, steeling his quaking nerves. “I believe you.”

The water had certainly drowned away the scratchy burn in your throat, so you were free to painlessly stutter out, “W-What?”

“I believe you,” He repeated. “It’s like you said… why would you lie?”

“You believe that I’m Y/N?” Your voice raised an octave or two higher, to which San shot you a warning look and glanced behind him as a precaution. If anybody heard or saw either of you, the captain would have his head. “Why?”

Hope was a dangerous thing. It muddled your brain and clouded your consciousness, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. So you looked upon the pink-haired pirate dubiously, furrowing your eyebrows.

“I might be the most gullible man out there,” San snorted, raising a hand to rub against the back of his neck. “You kinda fit the description in all the stories and legends. And you don’t look like you’re lying… I don’t know… it must be the fairy blood in me. My mother always knew when I was lying or telling the truth. She used to tell me that good people only truly lie when they want to protect others. But… you don’t have anybody here to protect. Not anymore, anyways.” There was a guilty, remorseful sort of look that flooded his face. 

You were so relieved that you could’ve burst into tears right then and there. 

“And… that man the others threw overboard… he kept saying your name. You might’ve had reason to lie to us, but he didn’t. Especially not then.” San spoke gently in a low tone, as if he were speaking to a frightened child. Something painful twisted in your stomach at his words. “So… yes, Y/N, I believe you.”

Then he leaned forward and quickly swiped his cool thumb over your damp cheek. You only then realized that you were crying again, flinching away from his touch at first, before relaxing your tensed muscles. 

“Thank you,” was the only thing you could properly croak out. There were so many things you wanted to tell him. Help me. Let me out. Bring Wooyoung back. Take me away from here. Why are you helping me? What are you doing here?

Although none of your erratic thoughts were heard, you sagged in relief when he said, “I’ll try to talk to the captain about making a stop in Virelis.” As a tentative afterthought, he added, “I’m sorry about your friend.”

“I loved him,” You croaked out, surprising even yourself. “I didn’t know that I did.”

San flashed you a sad smile, “Some people never realize. You’re lucky that you did.” Then, he murmured after gesturing to your bloody hands and wrists, “I’m also sorry about them hurting you. I have a special coconut extract lotion that treats wounds and burns very well. I’ll try to sneak up something for you to eat, as well. We’ll have to wait until it’s completely dark, though.”

You had so much to tell him, so much to ask, so much to thank him for. The fairy-man rotated on the stub of his heel to walk away, and you whispered out, “San!” He glanced back at you with a curious expression, and you nodded your head, sincerely grateful, “Thank you.” The questions could wait, you supposed.

A smile so wide spread across his lips that his eyes almost disappeared. Around savage pirates practically all his life, he rarely ever heard those two strangely comforting words. He dipped his head politely and walked away, leaving you to your own overwhelming thoughts.

Sleep had taken you under its dark wing a little while after San left, however fitful and sporadic. Your head pounded as your swollen and aching eyes fluttered open, somewhat surprised to see that it was still dark. Where was San?

Then, as your consciousness shook away the foggy webs of sleep, your brain registered a faint singing voice. However, it wasn’t just any rotten pirates’ singing voice; it sounded as if a woman was wailing, but in the most beautiful way possible. The trembling vocal chords pierced through the night sky, high-pitched and ringing in your ears melodically. It was a song in a language you couldn’t understand, but the warbled words molded together sounded pure and whole, just about placing you under a trance. But of course, you were still quite dazed and confused from slumber, unable to clearly hear the singing voices. On top of that, the water seemed to be extra loud, splashes and waves thundering against the boat almost every five seconds.

Tired, you rolled your stiff neck. Strangely, you noticed that the deck in front of you was void of any pirates. Glancing to the side, there was not a single soul to be seen manning the navigational wheel. Your neck ached as you craned it to look upwards, squinting at the crows’ nest, just to see that it was equally empty. Where are they? you thought absent-mindedly.

The singing was getting louder, and you had to physically shake your head to get your mind out of the gutters. The ropes strained against the skin of your raw wrists even more when you shifted to look behind you.

The sight that you were met with had you reeling against the mast in panic. 

Sirens. Dozens of them, sitting on moldy rocky ledges jutting out of the ocean waters. They were beautiful creatures, smooth skins tainted a faint green and shimmery silver hair just long enough to drape wetly over their breasts. They bore seductive expressions and parted their full lips to croon out the mesmerizing song in unison.

And the splashing against the boat? With a choked gasp of horror, the undisputed mystery of where all the pirates had gone was answered. One by one, they were marching off the planks, plummeting into the salty ocean waters, swimming as if their life depended on it, closer and closer to the beckoning sirens. They all held entranced expressions, some with gaping mouths and others with fully blown pupils of adoration and lust.

The sirens were far enough where you weren’t fully under influence, but much too close to be clear of mind. You had to count yourself lucky for being female; it was known that sirens had stronger effects on men. But you didn’t have much time to spare.

You suddenly became short of breath in panic. Where was San? Had he already jumped off? Blowing out a shuddering sigh, your neck trembled with great effort as you angled yourself to look back again. It was easy to spot his brightly-colored mane, the pink starkly bright in the moonlight.

“SAN!” You screamed to the best of your abilities, voice scratchy from your previous slumber. For a second, the fairy-man seemed to twitch slightly into your direction. A particularly high-pitched note echoed across the waters, just about slicing through any hesitation San might’ve held. Just like that, he turned completely away from you with a stupefied look, before hopping off the ship and plunging into the ocean.

A scream of protest ripped through your throat. There was no time to think… you could already feel their lulling voices numb the corners of your mind…

No. No, I have to get out of this. 

With a quick glance back, a flare of hope ignited somewhere within your chest when you spotted a dagger just behind you, buried in the fraying wood of a grog barrel. Its handle was jutting out in your direction, the crooked blade void of rust and gleaming with reflected moonlight. Excruciating pain shot through your right arm as you twisted your wrist about, desperate to be freed of the knot. The hardest part was getting your hand through the tight loophole, groaning at the throbbing sensation.

After frantically yanking yourself upwards, you managed to wrench your right wrist free, covered with blood and scratches and blisters. Then, with no time to spare, you reached as far as you could behind you, towards the barrel. Your bones ached and cracked under the strain, but you pushed through with gritted teeth. Tears ran down your twisted features from the pain. With a final shriek, you lunged and wrapped your blood-slicken fingers around the hilt. The sick sound of your left shoulder popping had you screaming in pained misery, but there was no time to lament. You’d fix it up later.

It took little effort to extract the blade out of the rotting wood. You prayed not to drop the dagger as your hand trembled ruthlessly. Swallowing dryly, you raised the blade to your left wrist, and began hacking away at the ropes.

They were tough, coarse things, but gave way eventually, unraveling with each strand. You didn’t even have to cut through the whole thing until it was weak enough to break on its own. 

You were free. 

The sirens’ song grew louder and louder, and frantically, you wobbled away from the mast and to the side of the ship, steadying your shaking legs against the rail. Every fibre of your being screamed at you to stop and jump into the water, swim to the beautiful melody that came from just over there…

“No!” You managed to moan out. Your left arm was completely useless; you weren’t able to move the limb at all. The tearing of your shirt as you somehow managed to rip off the sleeve rang in your muddled head alongside the foreign words quavering through the air. You used the dagger to slice the cloth in half, and shoved each piece into your ears. It was disgusting and uncomfortable, but it would have to suffice. The sirens’ voices sounded little other than muffled hums, and though you had to stay cautious, you could already feel your mind clear tremendously.

The last of the pirates had just clambered off the side. You would’ve heard the large splash he made as he cannon-balled into the waters if it weren’t for your make-shift ear plugs.

You were tired. You were thirsty, aching, sleepy, and just about every other bad feeling one could possibly have. Unfortunately, the ship was still heading right towards the sirens, no doubt turned off-course by a crewmate heavily under their influence.

And so, you dragged your heavy limbs over to the navigational wheel, letting out a soft tormented wince when the small act of curling your quaking fingers around the wooden spokes were enough to send what felt like great electric shocks of pain up your spine. Then, you spun the wheel one-handed, over and over and over again until the massive beauty of a ship leaned away from the sirens (who were clearly enraged, hissing and baring their sharp teeth), silkily gliding over the waters. Warm ocean air billowed into your face and tousled your hair, and for the first time since you’ve gotten onto the ship, you didn’t feel like throwing up. 

A part of you felt bad for leaving San, the only pirate to show you even just a morsel of empathy. Who knows, maybe he’d survive. He was half fairy, after all. You muttered out a soft soft wish of good luck for the pink-haired man, though you doubted that would do much.

Your mind was quick to leap from the fate of San to a man who’s been in your life for much longer. Where would you be if it weren’t for him?

Wooyoung wasn’t one to just… give up like that. He couldn’t be dead. Perhaps you were being a fool for holding onto hope, but you would gladly welcome that title if there was even the slightest chance that he was still out there, alive and breathing.

And so, you steeled your nerves by drawing in a grand breath. Your lips settled in a firm, determined line.

You were going to go find Wooyoung.

Where were you to start?

Dozens and dozens of maps and scrolls were tossed about as you pillaged through the papers, in search of a chart that would actually be of use to you. Much to your dismay, there weren’t any maps whatsoever that held the directions to Virelis. There goes that plan down the drain. Where else was there to go?

The sling that held up your left arm was procured hastily from the medbay after you popped your dislocated shoulder back into its socket with a quailing shriek. The pain had faded into a dull ache, but at least now you could wiggle your fingers. That was a good sign, you supposed. Your stomach was full with what you could find in their kitchen pantries (which was mostly just stale biscuits and half-cooked fish), and to be honest, you felt better than you have in a long, long time, despite the circumstances.

There was still the problem of finding him, though. If you could recall correctly, you were only around a days’ sail away from where they had kicked Wooyoung off.

But that would mean turning back to Cerulea. And that… definitely didn’t sound smart. You rubbed your fingers against your throbbing temple, taking a long swig of refreshing water from a pitcher. Gentle light was filtering in through the small circular window, illuminating the yellowed maps in such a way to make them look golden. There was no time to appreciate the simple beauty of this, however, because a stupid, moronishly foolish, plan was forming in your head.

What if you went back to Cerulea? Would Wooyoung be waiting for you there? Maybe he was staying with Yunho while he got back on his feet. After all, it’s not like he could swim all the way to Virelis, especially with how injured he was. Cerulea was a much closer, safer plan. It was the only place he could go, right?

Unease twisted your stomach at the thought of going back to the country that locked you in a dark dungeon for moons upon moons upon moons. Deep down inside, you knew that no part of Wooyoung would ever willingly go back to Cerulea. Not after all he went through trying to get out. But what else were you to do? And even if he weren’t there, at least you’d be able to inform Yunho on what happened. Then the sweet giant of a man could help you find him.

You stood up, compasses and maps slipping off your lap, respectively clanging and fluttering towards the ground noisily. With large, determined strides, you exited the navigational room and to the main deck, where the steering wheel was situated. Warm, salty breeze whispered against your ears, calm and encouraging.

“I’ll find you, Wooyoung,” Your words were swiftly stolen by the wind. You hoped that gale would be kind enough to carry the message over to him, however impossible it was.

Halfway across the world, laid an unconscious dark-haired man, clad in nothing save for his smallclothes and bandages tightly wrapped around his skull. He was situated stiffly atop a narrow bed, scars and bruises still quite fresh and clearly visible against his paler-than-usual skin.

Wooyoung awoke with a startled choke of a gasp, sore eyes flying wide open. There was a searing pain in his abdomen as he sat up, wheezing and hissing in agony. He took in his surroundings with a panicked demeanor, gaze landing on the mildly surprised fair-headed figure with striking green eyes standing by the doorway, fresh bandages in his palms. He’s an elf, Wooyoung realized after a long moment of gaping, noticing the ever-so-slightly pointed ears poking out beneath silvery locks and the infamous nature-woven clothes only elves wore.

“Took you long enough,” He said in a thick Elvish accent, followed by a beguiling snort. “I thought you would stay asleep forever. I’m Yeosang.”

Wooyoung blinked sluggishly once, twice, and a third and fourth time for good measure. He knew very well that he should probably answer. After all, elves were widely known to be an easily offended kind. But for the love of everything he held dear, he just couldn’t seem to crack his lips open. 

The two stared at each other awkwardly for a second more. Then promptly, his eyes rolled into the back of his skull as his upper half crumpled onto the bed, instantaneously returning into the sweet relief of unconsciousness.

[the-alice-of-hearts]

Kids again Ch 1

AO3 Next>

Ch 1: She likes to drink her coffee black

Summary:

Soulmates come in twos; At least they usually did

98% of the world's population has a soulmate bond. Of those, 80% have platonic bonds. Only .2% of all soul bonds connected more than two people.

Having three soulmates is exactly the kind of cosmic joke the universe would play on a True Wielder of the Ladybug Miraculous. If it gives a boy who still had a lot of life to live a second chance, well that is still in Creation's domain, now isn't it?

Marinette loved the boy in her heart, and the other two links were twisted around each other in a way only romantic pairs could be. If only she could have loved him enough to save him /||\ Jason wanted, more than anything, to protect the girl who his heart belonged to; protect her from the harness of the world, and then from what he had become.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves here, let's start at the beginning.

Ch 1: She likes to drink her coffee black

The first time Jason looked into his Soulmate’s life she was happy. Whoever she was, she seemed happy. The first strong emotion that he got from her was pure bliss and a sense of major accomplishment. The first time he got to see through her eyes he was eight years old. She was rushing out the door waving goodbye to smiling parents, a thermos in one hand and a cute pink backpack in the other. He cherished this memory like no other. There were other strong emotions from the bond, most of them were similar. She was happy and seemed strong. After that, Jason tried not to let his emotions overwhelm him; he didn’t want the girl with the happy laugh and the pink backpack to see where he was.

He knew he didn’t do as good a job as he tried. The feeling of worry in his heart that he knew came from her told him so. He could feel when she worried about him not eating enough, so he tried not to go to bed hungry too often. He could feel when she would panic because she hadn’t felt anything from him for too long. He would go and listen to the musicians playing on the streets; trying desperately to feel as happy as he could for her.

When he had gotten stabbed defending another kid from a man with a knife, he wasn’t sure if his panic was his own or hers. He felt like he was watching someone die though, so he was pretty sure it was her panic feeding into his own pain. He made sure to take care of himself so that she didn’t think he had died.

This went on for a long time; him looking in and seeing small bits of her life and later try to send good things back as much as he could. He figured out she was from Paris when the Eiffel Tower was in so many of the small glimpses he saw. So, he stole an English to French dictionary. He then found a bookstore, he could steal from it pretty easily, that had a copy of a book filled with his favourite fairy tales in French. He learned French, then he took it as his language elective. Slowly, he started to understand what she was saying in his visions of her. She had a small number of friends, but they were pretty close. She still worried about him far too often, but he noticed that on days where she was worried she would go out of her way to be as happy as possible. It was like she was trying to make him warm from the inside. And on those days, when was cold and hungry and desperate for a safe place to sleep, he would hold on to her happiness and promise himself that he would be happy for her tomorrow.

When he became Robin he was worried about her finding out. What if Bruce made him stop being Robin? For this reason, he stayed quiet about his Soulmate. Most bonds were platonic anyways, so he just didn’t mention that his bond was romantic.

He hoped she would at least get to see happier emotions from him. He knew that she had to have seen some of where he grew up, but he wanted to believe that maybe she would now get to see these happier moments. Jason vowed to live every happy moment to its fullest.

He hoped she got to see Alfred teaching him to cook, and him learning how to bake all her favourite pastries. He hoped she saw Dick teaching him gymnastics, seeing all the times he fell but got back up. He wanted her to see him and Dick goofing off and the times they would go sneak off behind Bruce’s back when he told them not to skip patrol to do just that and get ice cream in the suits. He hoped she saw him and Bruce sitting in the library reading, the two of them watching movies together when he was too sick to patrol. He wanted her to see that he had a family that loved him now. He hoped that she wouldn’t worry about him so much anymore; that he wouldn’t be a burden on her anymore.

He thought he had hidden this from his new family, but somehow Alfred always knew everything. Jason almost panicked when Alfred broached the conversation while he was teaching Jason to make macarons

“Does your Soulmate have a favourite flavor, Master Jason?”

“I- uh,” he tried to come up with a way to deny it, but knew that he would never get something past Alfred. Still he tried, “What do you mean?”

Alfred smiled, not looking away from measuring the ingredients. “Growing up, my best friend had a Soulmate that grew up in a troubled home. He told me he knew when she was in a better place because she started pouring emotions into everything she did so that he could feel, as well as see, that she was safe.” Alfred turned back to the cabinet looking at their ingredients. “I just thought that you seemed to be doing something similar. I apologize if I misread the situation.”

Jason stood there thinking for a moment. He looked around and listened to make sure Bruce wasn’t about to walk into the kitchen. He moved closer to Alfred so he could whisper, ”Her name is Marinette. I heard one of her friends call her Netté, though.” When Alfred didn’t stop him from talking he kept going. “She likes matcha ones best, but she always tells her mom that she likes strawberry ones because they're less work.”

That was all that was said. They finished making the cookies and Alfred packaged them up for him to have in his room. Jason was pretty sure that Alfred knew he was hoarding food, but so long as no one stopped him and probably even if they did he would keep doing it. Living on the streets taught him that a next meal isn’t guaranteed, and even if it was unlikely he would ever go hungry under Alfred’s watchful eyes, he still wanted a back up plan if he needed to make a break for it.

The next time someone asked about her was about a year later on a stakeout in Blüdhaven with Dick. Bruce had gotten scared when Jason got hurt and wouldn’t let him patrol in Gotham until his injuries had completely healed. Jason got antsy and ran away to crash on Dick’s couch until Bruce let up on the restriction.

Dick had just sat down next to him on the building they were on. “Hey, Little Wing”

Jason turned to him. “Yeah?”

“Do you ever try to send your soulmate messages?”

Jason’s throat closed up in terror. Dick kept talking as though he hadn’t noticed Jason tensing up and planning an escape route. “It’s just, sometimes I see what he’s seeing and I don’t know how to tell him that I want to look out for him, ya know? And his dad is kinda distant, but his mom loves him a lot. I don’t know though, because sometimes I can feel dread coming from my soul link but without any glimpses into what he’s seeing. Alfred thought maybe I have a platonic soulmate that is experiencing dread. Lately I’ve only had happy and joyful feelings so I’m worried that if I do have a platonic soulmate that maybe something bad happened to them. I have no idea how I would be able to send a message to a platonic soulmate though, so I wondered if maybe you knew?”

Jason had slowly gotten more confused while listening to his brother. He hadn’t considered the possibility of having more than one soulmate. “Wait, you mean you can have more than one Soulmate? I thought Soulmates were pairs?”

Dick shrugged. “My parents explained it being more like pieces of the same picture. Most bonds are platonic and platonic bonds are more likely to be someone who you grew up near, so you would have similar experiences with similar emotional responses. That’s why people don’t always notice them, but when you have a romantic bond that you can actually see through each other's eyes, you notice, yeah?”

Jason nodded. “So you have a romantic Soulmate, but think you also have a platonic bond?”

Dick ran a hand through his hair staring out at the windows they were watching, “Yeah, I don’t know how to describe it though. Honestly, I’m pretty sure I have three soulmates. The third is a lot quieter though. My mom laughed once and told me maybe it wasn’t that I had three soulmates, but that my soulmates had another link to each other.”

“Does that happen?”

“I don’t think so, but the stories about that happening are more fairy tale than concrete evidence. I like to think I have three though. I hope that, whoever my platonic bond is, they have their own romantic bond they can lean on. I don’t know if there is anything I can do for them unless I figure out who they are.”

Jason scoffed and then went on the alert seeing movement in the room. “We’ve finally got company.”

Dick smiled and ran back a few steps. “Wanna see me do a flip into the window?”

“Ten bucks says you don’t break the glass and fall on the ground.”

He laughed at that. “Be ready to pay up, Little Wing. I’ll get the two gunmen, then you swing in and help me with the others.”

He took a running start and jumped off the roof they had been on, doing a flip to keep his momentum up. He crashed through the glass rolling into a handspring, kicking the guns out of the two goons' hands. Jason followed using his grappling hook to get across to the now-broken window.

A short fight later and they had the men all tied up. Dick called the police with the info and then they were grappling away from the scene.

“Hey, Dick?”

“Yeah?”

“Earlier you said that you wanted to figure out who your platonic soulmate was.”

Dick landed on top of the building his apartment was in, then looked at him. “Yeah. I just want to know if I can help them.”

Jason followed him down the fire escape, “I thought that soulmates knew when they found each other; you make it seem like that’s not how it works?”

Dick walked into his room to grab clothes. “When you only have one soulmate, there is a glow when you touch each other the first time. It’s your soul telling you it’s complete, but if you have more than one you only get that if you find all the pieces of your soul.”

“Oh.” He caught the pants Dick threw at him. “Thanks for talking to me about this. I guess there was a lot I didn’t know.”

They crashed on the couch to play video games and eat leftovers. The conversation hung heavy in the air, though. Jason felt like, if he talked first, he would tell Dick everything, but, if Dick had had a romantic Soulmate this whole time, then Bruce had to know about it.

He looked up at his brother from where he was laying with his legs over the side of the couch. “Does Bruce know you have a romantic Soulmate?”

Dick looked down at him from where he was perched on the back of the couch. “Yeah? Why?”

Jason shot Dick's character while he wasn’t paying attention, trying to make him stop looking at him like that. He mulled over the question while avoiding the looks Dick was still giving him during his respawn times. In a small voice he finally answered, “He didn’t make you stop being Robin?”

That made Dick pause the game. He dropped down to sit on the cushion of the couch, leaning his head over Jason to look him in the eyes. “Jason, Alfred would never let Bruce use one of us having a Soulmate as a reason to kick us out of the suit.”

Jason pushed him back so he could sit up. Turning to look at him, he took a deep breath. “He kicked me out of the suit for being hurt. He fired you and sent you here. Why would having a Soulmate be any different?”

Dick reached out and hugged Jason. He felt Dick’s shirt becoming wet from tears he hadn’t realized he was crying. “Oh, baby bird, no, that’s not gonna happen, and if Bruce tries it, then you have a place here. You did really good back there, I would love to have your help anytime.”

Jason sniffled and wrapped his arms around Dick. “What if he tries to make you send me back?”

Dick was still rubbing circles on his back, talking soothingly. “Bruce can’t make me do anything. My bank account has Alfred as my responsible party, and Clark is the name on the lease. If you want to stay here you can, and no one gets to take my brother away from me okay?” Jason nodded, still sniffling but getting his tears under control. “Now enough sad talk. How about I kick your ass in this game and tomorrow I’ll take you to the gym I use and help you with your flips.”

Jason laughed wholeheartedly at that. Sitting up and discreetly wiping his tears, he grabbed his controller again. “Don’t know why you keep trying. You’re not gonna win at this any more than I’m gonna be able to do a backhandspring tomorrow.”

And that was it.

Bruce either didn’t know about his romantic Soulmate, or he really didn’t care. Jason started keeping a journal of written notes about her. He wanted to be able to find her one day, so he needed to know everything he could.

An incomplete list of things I know about my soulmate

Her name is Marinette

Her friends also call her Netté or Mari

She drinks a lot of coffee, usually black. She grabs it on the way to class. Is that a french thing? I feel like I only ever see her with coffee? That can’t be right, maybe it’s from the all-nighters? Her friends have teased her about not sleeping before. Is that more often than I think?

She ignores her own needs to help her friends

She’s like a year younger than me I think.

Her nonna (grandmother?) calls her Marinetta or Little Fairy (could I call her Pixie?)

Lives in Paris

She has an Asian mother; Chinese?

She has an Asian name, but I don’t remember it. Her parents use it but not often enough for me to write it down

Her father is French-Italian

She is in gymnastics, but can be clumsy

Kim, Nino, and Alix are her friends.

Chloe used to be her friend. She doesn’t know what changed things

She likes to draw

She wants to be a clothing designer

She made me something? I couldn’t see what it was, but her mom was really proud of her accomplishment.

She is a really good baker

She likes matcha macarons best; but she never asks for them. She feels guilty about her parents making them just for her

She can lift a giant bag of sugar like it weighs nothing

She likes to help people

She likes pink

She is nice and good. At least I think so.

The list was in a small red notebook. It stayed with him all the time; that way whenever something happened, he could write down any details. He filled the other pages of the book with things he wanted to tell his Soulmate, small bits of his life that he wanted to share with her. He had a spot in his utility belt for it to be, and a pocket in his jacket that he kept it in. He had once shown Dick the list and the pages that he had written about him and Alfred. He smiled when Dick showed him his own similar notebook. Dick’s romantic Soulmate was also from Paris; they both wondered if their Soulmates knew each other.

Jason liked to think so

[mwolf0epsilon]

PROMPT TIME BABE. Give us some WereNorman being assisted by Sammy and Abby in escaping captivity in big wolf form. Who then takes them away to his pack to meet and get Sammy red as the wolf turns back to a hot man.

This took an unexpected turn, so it's not exactly what you asked. Still good I promise!

Summary: Sammy was pretty sure this was a fairytale in the making. He'd always dreamt of moving to the city and starting a career as a prestigious musician, adored by all for his magnificent compositions, far away from his father's cattle ranch and especially from the reach of his witch of a step-mother. Usually though, fairytales tended to send a fairy godmother to one's aid, not an intelligent and positively massive wolf...

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[[MORE]]

There was a part of Samuel Lawrence Jr that felt like he'd missed out on something very big. An opportunity to achieve more, rather than end up where he was now. Still living in the ranch he'd called a home since birth. Granted his little family had changed after his mother's passing, his father welcoming another woman into his life and both baring a little sister that Sammy often looked after himself.

It wasn't too bad of a life. He worked hard and got to reap the fruits of his labour without much hassle, but it felt... Incomplete. Like he could be more than another simple farmer.

He could have been great.

"I think you're bored of it all." Abigail once said, as both sat by this one big and very old tree that he'd play his banjo under, after escaping the scrutiny of his parents. His little sanctuary of sorts, in the form of a dried up husk home to god only knew what critters. "You're an adult now, and you've never really got to go farther than the town nearby."

"Not for a lack of trying..." he sighed. He'd wanted to leave many times, but there was always an excuse keeping him tied. His father's age, the need to keep the ranch in good condition, his step-mother's discouraging and downright abusive insults... He couldn't leave as he pleased. He was bound by duty.

"Maybe one day you'll get your lucky break." She offered one of her sweet little smiles, the ones that tried to offer him her unending optimism. "Maybe we both will... The ranch is beautiful and all, but I'd like to see the world and make friends."

They couldn't have imagined that their lucky break was indeed just over the horizon. Nearing with each nightfall and each changing phase of the moon. Until one night, it finally presented itself.

Sammy jolted out of bed when he heard gunshots. The moon was at its fullest and brightest, and he cursed as the light stung his eyes ever so slightly. He'd left his window open to let in the cool breeze, since his room often got stuffy.

Pulling on his coat and boots, the blond rushed downstairs and grabbed his gun, wondering if someone had come back to steal more chickens like in the last few months. His father had sworn he'd shoot dead whichever son of a bitch tried to mess with his coops again.

To Sammy's surprise the gunshots stopped as quickly as they began, and he found Samuel Sr barricading the barn from outside.

"What's going on?" He asked, noticing that Abigail had come to investigate the ruckus, while her mother watched from the window.

"A wolf. A whole mountain of a fucking beast was stealing the hens!" Their father hissed as he made sure the lock was in place. "Need my bigger gun. Fucker ain't leaving my farm with his life!"

He ran back inside, presumably to look for his bigger gun. The one he kept in a safe in his room for reasons Sammy never quite understood. His step-mother retreated from the window, closing the shutters with a slam. Leaving Sammy and Abby alone to look at each other.

"... We're not just letting dad kill a wolf, right?" The girl asked, looking mildly put off.

"I mean... It was stealing chickens." He shrugged. He was pretty sure it wasn't illegal to kill wolves, even if they were becoming a bit of a rare sight these days.

"It was probably just hungry! We can't punish an animal for doing what it has to survive!" Abigail pouted. "It's like if dad shot me for eating all the chocolate spread."

"It's not the same, and I knew you'd done it you little scamp!" He glared slightly in annoyance before shaking his head. "What do you propose? That we break a window in the back and just let it run free?"

"Yes! That's a great idea! Maybe it won't come back after such a fright." Abigail smiled brightly at him and Sammy had a feeling her optimism knew as much sanity as it knew an end. This was a crazy idea.

"Abby..."

"Please Sammy...?" She looked at him pleadingly. How could he resist that face?

So here he was, at the back of the barn pushing over a stack of hay that obscured one of the larger windows.

"This better be worth it and the mutt better have some sense and run off..." Not a minute after, something truly massive jumped out of the now open window and stared at both of them. It was a tremendously large black wolf, as black as tar, with coarse fur and a single yellow eye. Sammy's blood ran cold once he realized that from sheer size and muscle it could easily overpower the big old ornery bull his father used to breed his cows.

Instead of displaying any form of aggression however, the beast stared at them both, nodded its head in a rather human fashion, and offered them a paw (which Sammy noted looked disturbingly humanoid in its shape).

"I..."

"He's offering to shake...?" Abigail was just as confused by the creature's behaviour. "I think... I think it would be rude not to accept?"

"Well... I... Sure, this might as well happen." He took the offered paw. Next thing he knew, both he and Abigal were being carried away by a bipedal thing that looked like a wolf, but sure as hell didn't act like one.

Sammy was pretty sure this was a fairytale in the making. He'd always dreamt of moving to the city and starting a career as a prestigious musician, adored by all for his magnificent compositions, far away from his father's cattle ranch and especially from the reach of his witch of a step-mother. Usually though, fairytales tended to send a fairy godmother to one's aid, not an intelligent and positively massive wolf...

Said creature ran pretty quickly on its hind legs while carrying a young adult and a teenager. Both who were too stunned to even make a peep.

They weren't even sure where they were, since they'd never really ventured so far into the woods before.

After what seemed like an eternity, they stopped by a tree stump. The wolf set them down and stretched, before motioning for them to stay put and going towards a small pond to take a drink.

".... Abigail?"

"Yes?"

"I'm never relenting to any of your requests ever again..."

"That's fair."

The wolf returned, tail wagging like a pleased dog. It appeared to be gesturing strangely at them, which left both scratching their heads in confusion. Noticing their looks, the wolf smacked its own muzzle and then proceeded to write in the dirt with it's big dirty claws.

'Thank you kindly, you folks saved my hide.'

"Oh my god it can write..." Sammy put his face in his hands. The absurdity of it all was making him feel hysterical.

The wolf wrote once more.

'Of course I can write. You never seen a werewolf before?'

"A werewolf!" Abigail gawked "I thought those weren't real..."

"They're not. I probably just hit my head and am hallucinating all of this..." He yelled once she'd pinched him. The wolf was still there and staring at him with what appeared to be an unamused look on its face. "Or maybe not..."

'You done?' it wrote, sounding quite sassy without even needing to vocalize it. 'As I was saying, you folks saved my hide, so I'm in your debt.'

"Debt? What do you mean...? Like, a favour for a favour?" Abigail frowned "We were just doing what was right, even though you were kind of stealing from us."

'Which is why I'm in your debt. I wronged you, but you still chose to be merciful. As such I'm offering you both my services.' the wolf bowed, and the two noted the pale spot on its chest just below its neck that made it look like it was wearing some sort of cravat. 'If you graciously accept, I will consult with my pack so as to request some leave for a while until I repay you in kind.'

"Is any of this necessary?" Sammy gulped. Having an intelligent wolf working for them felt a little odd.

'Very. It's the proper etiquette for us wolves. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. Be it in the good or bad sense.' the wolf bowed again. 'I was raised properly, unlike some of the other brutes that call themselves real wolves... A bunch of fools is what they are. Getting shot at and giving us all a bad name.'

Ironic considering he'd been stealing from a ranch and got shot at himself.

"I think it'd be rude not to accept such an offer." Abby finally said.

"Abigail!"

"Sammy, this is what we've been waiting for! If he can help us get to the big city, we could really start our lives!" The girl insisted. "Don't you want to be happy?"

'The big city uh? I got a home in New York, I could definitely show you kind folk around.'

"How does a wolf get a house in New York City?!" Sammy was a little incredulous at the claim.

'I'm only a wolf once a month, that's how. The commute to these parts is hell with how traffic is like there. Takes about three days to get here, and I usually spend the end of the month with my pack.' the wolf huffed 'Which is why I'm consulting with them if you accept. Deal, or no deal?'

Abigail stared at her brother pleadingly, and even the wolf's gaze was glued to him. Sammy didn't see a way out of this, and then again did he really want to?

"Fine, but we need to pack up..."

"Great!"

'Excellent, sun will be up in a few. I'll take you back to your home and meet with you in the morning. Keep a look out for a Norman Polk.'

And so it was.

The wolf snuck them back to the ranch, where they packed up their things as their father searched frantically for the escaped wolf. Once they were done, Abigail snuck their bags to the big tree they hung out by, and both sought out their father, explaining the beast had fled and they'd tried to chase it to no avail.

In the morning they are breakfast as usual, got washed up and dressed, then waited.

Near sundown, a tall and rather handsome man with only one eye approached them.

"Norman Polk?" Sammy asked.

"In the human meatsuit." The man bowed, grinning rather wolfishly. "Yous ready to depart?"

"Yes." Both replied giddily.

"Great. Let's get goin', before your crazy pa comes out with that bigass gun o' his..."

This really was like a fairytale. Where they got their happy ending thanks to a kindly entity that respected the olden rules of equivalent exchange.

Except instead of a fairy godmother, Sammy and Abby ended up with a werewolf indebted to them. A new start seemed like fair enough of an arrangement to repay them fully.

[fairydust-stuff]

Wendy Darling Embodiment of Motherhood

Here’s the thing ,I have never been a big fan of Wendy Darling from JM Barrie’s classic novel Peter Pan. Not only is she a cocktail of every bad stereotype about Victorian women casually thrown into a blender to make the ultimate Grimm’s fairy tale heroines are more bad ass then you smoothie. But Wendy is just straight up the most boring character in Peter Pan. That being said she does play a very important role in Peter Pan. Also it’s gotten the point where I’m a bit tired of seeing this idea that the Never land ladies have nothing to offer. If we don’t change everything about them or let’s just leave them out entirely trend via Hollywood. Seriously when is the last time Tink got more than a cameo and I’m not talking about the sugary princess clone Disney created from her mutilated body. Anyway I want to take a look Wendy Darling how she works, how she doesn’t work what she embodies and how she’s been portrayed in various adaptations.

First let’s take a look at some themes. Peter pan is at its core a coming of age story about accepting the inevitability of growing up. However Wendy as a point of view character is kind of an odd choice for this theme. In the original novel Wendy brings a flower to her mother who declares “Why can’t you stay like this” Then the narrator proceeds to talk about how Wendy knew she must grow up. So we already have a character who accepts the fact she must grow up on page one. In fact Wendy doesn’t run away to Never land as much as take a holiday, and to be fair John and Michel suffer from the same problem. Honestly I think the closest thing we get to a character arch in the novel is George Darling who is a seriously underrated character in my opinion. So Wendy just never struggles with growing up. However another theme of Peter Pan is motherhood and oh boy does Wendy fit into that.

“She used to come to me in my and I’d say pretty mother, now she has come and I’ve shot her” Tootles laments after thinking he shot and killed Wendy. Even Hook want to take Wendy to be the mothers of himself and his crew in typical pirate fashion coveting what Peter Pan and the lost boys have Wendy becomes a treasure for them to steal. Smee when carrying Wendy even promises “I’ll save you if you promise to only be my Mother” Every boy and man child in Never land craves a mother and want Wendy to fill the position. Wendy taking on the role turns her into a kind of ideal in the eyes of everyone in Never land even her own brothers get in on the treating her as the perfect mom.

In fact Wendy only gets to be a little girl in the narrative when Hook offers his hand to her and she takes it and only because the narrative felt the need to defend her submission to her own capture. But looking back that may very well be the point when you look at Wendy and Peter’s relationship without the shipping googles it’s actually quite interesting. You’ve got two pre teen’s on two different wave lengths. Wendy states in the novel “Peter what are true feelings towards me?” and is displeased with Peter’s answer “That of a devoted son” this seems up their relationship perfectly. Wendy uses the role of mother to try to basically become Peter’s wife something which he is deeply uncomfortable with needing constant reassurance that playing an adult couple is “ Only make believe” now whether or not Peter is flat out not interested or scared of his own feelings is up for debate. I personally lean toward the former because Peter is constantly surrounded by busty topless mermaids who like to flirt with him. So if he hasn’t had his sexual awakening yet it’s not happening ever, but the point is Peter uses the reaffirmation of Wendy as Mother to keep her at a distance. When Wendy returns home Miss Darlings offers to adopt Peter which he refuses. This highlights the fact when given the chance to have an actual mother he doesn’t want one.

Wendy is a reflection of Peter’s warped relationship with motherhood. He confesses to Wendy that he did at one point did return to his mother only to find the window barred and “There was another little boy sleeping in my bed!”  It could be argued Peter’s desire to stay a little boy forever actually steam from the fear of abandonment and being replaced. This shapes Peter’s relationship with Wendy in sense he wants a mother he can actually control. One who never makes him feels too grown up or who challenges him or his choices in a meaningful way. This shows that motherhood is important and that without a proper mom boys will never truly grow into men.

Wendy plays a similar role to the lost boys only she actually ends up helping them. While the lost boys clearly already have mommy craving’s Wendy gives them a taste of what having a mom is actually like or at least what an ideal mom from a Victorian upper middle class family structure would be like. So when Wendy wants to go home the lost boys who getting a taste of what their missing decides to go with her. Where they get adopted into the Darling Family and grow into respectable members of society who all get boring office jobs in the prolog which completely contrast their colorful energetic personalities, moving on. Wendy acts as kind of encouraging benevolent guide for the lost boys and Peter her inevitable goal being to encourage to move beyond the superficial trappings of childhood and take a step forward into adulthood. Peter is the failure, deficient as the novel itself states but the lost boys are a triumph of the power of proper maternal nurturing.

Wendy Darling has appeared in various adaptations and Spin offs though I’m mostly going to focus on Movies and TV because most of the Peter Pan book retellings where Wendy plays a key role just do not fill me with any positive feelings. And I want to mostly focus on the good today with some casual snark thrown in.

So let’s start with Wendy from the 2003 Peter Pan Live Action adaptation. I love this version it makes changes from the novel while still paying homage by using actual lines from the book. Though I have very mixed feelings about 2003 Wendy.

The movie heavily leans into the annoying I’m not like other girls trope. Here Victorian lady Wendy turns fairy tales into gore fests, and has an interest in sword play and pirates. I’m not saying girls from that era can’t have those interests but it just feels like their Wendy is the product of listening to too many focus groups not to mention she learns to be an expert sword fighter who can go toe to toe with adults after five seconds with Peter. And what is with the sudden unexplained blood thirst? Where did that come from?

Though I do like how the film unlike the novel actually gave Wendy an arch. Wendy’s aunt is mortified at her niece’s interest in becoming a novelist who travels the world.  She insists Wendy’s parents separate Wendy from her brothers and allow her to tutor, Wendy to teach her how to be a proper lady.   They also have a school teacher shame Wendy for drawing a picture of Peter flying above her bed. This seems to be subtext for the Victorian shaming of sexual expression from girls as dirty and shameful. This actually makes Wendy feel like her life is changing way too fast and it scares her. Since she is twelve and her family is already talking about marriage prospects.  While the scene where Peter and her meet is pretty much played like in the novel. There’s the added moment of Peter whispering in Wendy’s ear “ Forget them Wendy Forget them all come with me and we’ll never ever have to think about grown up things again” which unlike the novel frames Wendy as running away from growing up.

Then she develops a crush on Peter Pan and this being Hollywood they go with the scared of his own feeling interpretation. I guess her whining and screaming his name for a day was just too sexy to resist.  Wendy contemplates joining Hook’s crew because when your crush rejects you validation by pirate man children is good salve for your wounds. But then realizes she can’t remember her mother and much like the novel becomes scared that her and her brothers have forgotten their parents. Then they all get kidnapped by the pirates and Hook and Peter have a show down which is way better than the novel because here Hook attacks Peter’s abandonment issues and actually brings him to his knees. But then Wendy kisses Peter and he gains the strength to defeat Hook. Basically the implication is Wendy realizes growing up is ok because romantic love is a thing. Hey, I didn’t say it was a great arch but it’s more than the novel gave her or anyone.  I’m not a huge fan of this Wendy depiction but I’ve got to take my hat off to the writers for at least giving Wendy a coming of age narrative.

Disney’s classic Peter Pan pulled a similar move taking the focus from Peter and putting it entirely on Wendy. The implications at the end imply that Wendy’s adventure was all a dream and that Tinker bell and Tiger Lilly were reflections of her own manifesting sexuality. Peter Pan her desire not to grow up and Hook I’m going to guess that he was her daddy issues.

I actually think Walt did Wendy a solid in her characterization. This is one of the few Wendy’s were her concern for her brothers and the lost boys don’t feel tacked on. Since most adaptations do very little to build Wendy’s dynamic with the other kids. Here it’s in every face wipe and tearful good bye and every “Do be careful” thrown over Wendy’s shoulder.

Also the Disney movie does a one eighty from everyone in Neverland worshiping her to Neverland treating her rather badly. It takes Wendy’s annoyance from called her squaw from the Novel and has the Indians bully her into fetching firewood instead of joining the celebrations. Also the mermaids not only try to drown her but Peter thinks is all a big joke. Disney’s Wendy constantly stands up for herself but often gets brushed off or forced to walk the plank. In this version you can one hundred percent understand why Wendy is so done with this place and ready to grow up. Here the reality of what it’s like to experience everyone acting like a self-centered child is here on full display.

Also Disney’s Wendy is not perfect she gets angry and loses her temper attacking mermaids or yelling at Indians. She gets jealous of Tiger Lilly being all over Peter and is sour towards him.  Wendy is dreamy eyed, and polite but this version of her also doesn’t take anyone’s crap and will let you know if you’ve crossed a line or if you’re flat out awful.   But she’s still pleads with Peter on her attempted murder’s behalf. Wendy also reminds Peter that Tiger Lilly is drowning when he gets caught up in celebrating his cleverness. She still makes sure she can say goodbye to her brothers and the lost boys before Hook kills her. Even on her worst day Disney’s Wendy is a kind person even when those around her are less so.

But my favorite portrayal of Wendy has got to be from the 90’s classic “Peter Pan and the Pirates” TV series which aired on Fox was about one season then got cancelled.  While it doesn’t really focus on Wendy a whole lot since its more concerned with the relationship between Peter Pan his lost boys and Hook’s crew. 

She still has a pretty important role.  Wendy often serves as a voice of reason to the group which doesn’t go against her original role in the novel since she takes a cake that’s been left out all night away from the lost boys. Which does present her as the one with the most common sense but the show lets Wendy tell Peter this is a bad idea way more often than the book and blow up at him after he does the stupid thing every one told him not to do. Also Wendy gets to be more of a moral center lecturing Peter for stealing the picture of Hook’s mother in the episode “Hooks mother” and encouraging him to return it and even getting Peter to take care of Hook after he’s injured. This is in a positive change in my opinion because it actually expands on Wendy’s role as a guide to adult hood. Here Wendy Darling encourages a kind of good behavior she helps build moral character in her boys. Wendy has strong ideals and this adaptation actually has her stand by her principals for better or worse. This not only gives her more of a central role in the story but also gives her more chances to be active. Yay character agency!

Also this version of Wendy was the first to have a bit of an interesting relationship with Hook. (Who is voiced by Tim curry and does an excellent job.)  While the writers got rid of the almost pedophilic undertones of Hook wanting to keep Wendy from the novel and the “My beauty” pet name.  Thank god for that even in the novel i thought it was too much.     There’s still a bit of a dynamic even if its way more innocent.

In the episode  In Peter on Trial Wendy not only lands on the ship unharmed but reminds Hook executing Peter without a trial would not be proper form at all. She then hits Hook in the ego by declaring “Surely you don’t doubt your powers of debate against that of a mere girl” And not only gets a trial but manages to win even when the trial is rigged against them. Hook even congratulates her before proceeding to find his own loophole and kill Peter Pan anyway. The point is this suggests this Wendy has a bit of an insight into Hook maybe more so then Peter. She knows he’s obsessed with good form and has an ego that prides its self on being the smartest person in the room.

This cuts both ways while Wendy is capable of manipulating Hook, he also consistently manipulates Wendy by offering his word as a gentlemen when he intends to break it as a pirate. This dynamic highlights Wendy’s flaw of trusting dangerous people and allowing them to hurt her friends. Hook has picked up that she trusts or wants to trust him. In this version Hook actually treats Wendy as opponent vs the usual she belongs to Peter and I want to steal her like in most adaptations. Also despite Hook being terrifying Wendy has no problem being all “There’s no need to get cranky Captain” and I kind of love how comfortable she is with the guy despite him being an enemy.

This proves Wendy doesn’t have to be a sword wielding “Who are you to call me girlie” action girl to be a good character. She can be flawed but still remain a good person and giving her a spine is always appreciated.

Wendy Darling is at her core a guide into adulthood with a strong moral character and a voice of reason who is used to shine a light on how important motherhood is since the result of mothers abandoning or neglecting their children shape the Peter’s of the world.  This makes her important to the overall story and themes of Peter Pan.

[sidespromptblog]

The Forest

Summary: Everyone knows not to go into the forest, it’s full of magic and creatures that haunt man’s worst nightmares. Unfortunately, it’s the only place left for him to go when circumstances become dire. 

He was rushing away from home, the only home that he had ever known in the entirety of his life. The marks burned on his face like the snapping embers of a blazing fire, as the blisters on the edges of his skin had already been rubbed raw, bleeding freely now as his bare feet stung with the scratches of the thorns and thistles along his path. No matter the pain however, he did not stop pushing himself to run faster and farther away, as he didn’t dare to look back, not even once. His freely bleeding burns were howling in an agony that was unlike any other he’d felt before, as his now blinded eye was seeping in the tears that drenched his face. Stinging it as his feet barely grazed the ground as he ran.

He could hear the shouting behind him, just as clear as he had heard the screaming of his name as his once family chased him down mere hours ago. They had been looking to end him as eagerly as a fox would end a rabbits life at the end of a long hunt. He ran and he ran, until he could no longer feel the bottom pads of his feet, the stinging nettles turning everything below his ankles completely and utterly numb. It was only until his knees had started quaking like that of a tree that had been struck down by a storm, did he finally seem to realize that not only was his body is wracked with exhaustion. But there was no way that he could go a single step more.

The process of stopping was leagues more painful than continuing would have been. Stopping meant staying on his raw bleeding feet, stopping meant letting his screaming muscles get the better of him.

Regardless however he still stops, and it’s only upon stopping does he notice just where he has landed himself. The fact that he’s in the forest that he had been warned so many times to stay out of, the forest that many servants and maids had warned the other children about, the forest that had so many nasty rumors about it..that it was impossible to not know about it. But it was far too late now, and it wasn’t like he had any reason to care anymore anyways. He was as good as dead if he tried to go back to them.

It was only upon glancing down did he notice just where he had come to a stop at.

His blistered, sore, and exhausted feet bleeding freely on the bright green grass. Standing right in the center of a fairy circle.

The shock and horror that consumed him held him in place for only a moment, but even so, it was a moment too long. Before he could even think about remedying such a grievous mistake, a mistake that would likely cost him his very life. The sensation of a pair of ice cold hands resting, as solid as steel, on his shoulders stopped him dead in his tracks before he could even take a single step away outside of the circle of mushrooms. He was dead, there was no other way around this, he was so very dead. The fae that held him in place would not so easily let him leave, especially not since he had just stepped into their territory. He was doomed, and fae that held him in his place knew it too, the tinkling of laughter filled the air behind him cutting through the stark silence that his fear had filled. His will, his pure stubbornness that had caused him to run for hours in this very forest, turned to jelly as those icy cold fingers moved to turn him around. To make him look at the deathly beauty that would steal him away from the human world.

Forever.

Then again...it wasn’t like he had much to live for anyway.

A scarred face, and a blind eye that nobody would ever find loveable. Let alone beautiful.  

The fae wouldn’t find him beautiful or even remotely interesting given just how his legs were trembling from the pure terror that was rushing through his veins, so perhaps..if they were being merciful today. They would do away with him quickly, giving him a painless death, ending the suffering that he had already been put through.

If he was lucky that’s how it would go.

So he turned with as much courage as he could muster up in his exhausted body, and the sharp silver eyes that stared back at him made his breath catch in his throat as if someone had just punched him in the chest. The fae truly were beautiful, so much so that he felt like nothing more than a pile of mud in compared to the wonder that floated before him, with sharp silver wings, like that of the dragonflies that had often occupied the rose garden back home.

“Such a poor little human, who’s stumbled upon my woods,” The fae’s voice sounded like the loveliest of wind chimes on a sweet summer day as those ice-cold fingers grazed the fresh burn that was scabbing over on marred his face. “What is your name little wounded one? Tell me, and I might give you something sweet to nibble on, you’re surely tired. Are you not? Wouldn’t you like to sleep awhile?” The red lips from which the sweet promises poured from like the dripping juice of an apple, twisted into such a lovely smile. It was such a promise and such a smile that it nearly had him pitching forward into the fae’s arms right then and there. Nearly spilling all of his tears, worries, sorrows, and all of his secrets from what had happened in the past day. The temptation tugged at his tongue.

The idea of sleeping and never waking up was one that seemed all too lovely.

He wanted to sleep, gods did he want to sleep and forget everything that had happened. The thought of resting within the fae’s arms, secure and safe was a tantalizing one, of never knowing fear again. It was..something that tugged at his heartstrings to the point where he could feel his cheek resting more and more in the palm of the fae as the other’s thumb brushed away the drying tears with a carefulness that he just wanted to soak in for all eternity. How long had it been since someone had touched him..held him in such a manner? Held him in such a loving manner with no hate or malice behind it?

Too long.

“I...” He swallowed thickly, as the fae’s eyes turned hungry for just a split second. It was a look that was split between greed and utter curiosity upon seeing the bitterly wounded human there among the forest. He wanted to speak, to spill every single thing that had hurt him. He wanted to so very badly, as exhaustion tugged at his weary bones, his knees begging to just sink down into the bed of grass. To relieve him of his consciousness, and to finally let the darkness consume him so that he wouldn’t have to worry about the waking world a second longer.

A tear dripped from his blinded eye, and the fae before him inched closer.

While the other’s fingers were as cold as ice, the tongue that drifted across his cheek was as warm as the stones before a winter fire. It was a warmth that made more tears spring to his eyes, as a sob tore through his lungs making an ugly gasping noise leave his lips.

Why was the fae stalling? Why wasn’t it just getting it over with? Why? Why? Why?

Those cold fingers drifted across his burned face once again as the other arm of the fae pulled him in closer. He couldn’t help but to sink into the other’s hold, to let his face rest against his collarbone as he wept and sobbed until the tears refused to come anymore. Until he was weeping without a single hint of wetness on his face, gasping and wheezing.

It was a while before the fae spoke again. “Your tears taste of the sadness of a lost one,” Those needle-like fingers ran through his hair, again and again, the repetition soothing him in a way that nothing else could, until his shuddering finally stopped and came to an end. “Speak to me your name, and I will end this sadness that consumes thee.”

He shook his head against the collar of the fae that held him, that had soothed his tears until there was nothing left.

“I…” It hurt to speak through his raw throat that was croaky from just about everything that he had gone through. “I don’t have a name anymore, s..so..” He swallowed thickly before eventually lifting his head up enough to look into those glinting silver eyes, that reminded him too much of the executioner's ax, that would be waiting for him if he ever decided to go home. “You can call me Deceit.”

Taglist:

@snakeboicouldbegayer

@roanoaks

@dailypattondoodle

@thedreamer240

@soijusthavetoask

@hell-or-high-waters

@appleflavoredkitkats

[caselottiscastle]

2. Pinocchio (1940)

A Little About the Film

After the great success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney decided to make another adaptation, Pinocchio, based on the children’s book The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. Walt recruited more famous voices for the characters in his second film, such as Cliff Edwards (Jiminy Cricket), Dickie Jones (Pinocchio), and Evelyn Venable (the Blue Fairy). Although it seemed that all factors pointed in the right direction, it took years before the film won popular approval, tanking at the box office but winning two Academy Awards for its music. The film benefited from a re-release in 1945 that saw more audiences coming out to see the picture. Today, it has a 100 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and it is still ever-present in Disney culture.

Plot Summary 

Like the first Disney picture Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the film begins on a shot of hands opening a storybook. (This is a direct homage to the fact that the following story is an adaptation, and it also sets you up for that child-like feeling of being enshrined in a book. Fun fact: the books surrounding the Pinocchio book are Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan!)

A cricket named Jiminy Cricket takes us into the story, and then takes himself into the quaint cottage of Geppetto, a woodcarver. Jiminy’s technically not supposed to be there, but he makes himself cozy in the house anyway. Geppetto lives with his cat, Figaro, and his goldfish, Cleo. They are happy together, but you can tell that Geppetto wants another companion– a child of his own. Geppetto is putting the finishing touches on his latest wooden creation, a puppet named Pinocchio when he remarks “wouldn’t it be nice if he were a real boy.” His cat and fish, in their adorably loyal jealousy, don’t seem to think so.

As Jiminy Cricket settles down in a cigar box, Geppetto and Figaro settle in for the night– and then a shooting star passes. Geppetto wishes for a real boy. He falls back asleep, and the Blue Fairy comes and gives Pinocchio sentience– (he is still a puppet outwardly, but he can walk and talk like a human). The Blue Fairy tells Pinocchio that in order to become a real boy, he must prove himself to be “brave, truthful, and unselfish.” She also tells him that he must learn to choose between right and wrong, and that his conscience will always help him do that. Jiminy Cricket, who we know by now eavesdrops on everyone’s business, basically volunteers himself to be Pinocchio’s conscience. Geppetto wakes up to Pinocchio and is shocked and delighted to be able to interact with him.

The next day, Geppetto sends Pinocchio to school. While Pinocchio is on his way, he is spotted by a fox named Honest John and his ditzy cat sidekick. Honest John, in search of cash, seeks to enter Pinocchio into Stromboli’s puppet show. He manipulates Pinocchio, telling him that he can show him the “easy road to success.” As Honest John steers Pinocchio away from the path to school, Jiminy Cricket awakes to the horror that he has slept in late. He rushes to find Pinocchio with Honest John, but cannot save him in time. When he cannot convince Pinocchio to go to school, he gets frustrated and leaves.

Pinocchio performs in Stromboli’s show to great success. But when he wants to go home, Stromboli locks him in a cage and Stromboli’s true colors are revealed (although it is pretty clear from first glance that he is bad news). Luckily, our not-so-perfect conscience Jiminy Cricket decides to check in on Pinocchio after sensing danger. He isn’t able to help him get out of the cage, but the Blue Fairy appears. She questions why he didn’t go to school, and Pinocchio lies. With each lie, his nose grows longer and longer. Panicked, Pinocchio promises that he won’t tell any more lies. The Blue Fairy warns him that she won’t be able to help him after this time, and helps him escape.

Honest John and his sidekick aren’t done scheming yet. They strike a deal with a coachman to find young “naughty” boys to bring to a place called Pleasure Island. Because this movie needs to get darker and darker, they run into Pinocchio again and decide to target him.

Again, Honest John is able to convince Pinocchio to listen to him. Pinocchio arrives at Pleasure Island, a place with an eerie carnival vibe and zero rules. Pinocchio and his new friend, a little punk named Lampwick, participate in smoking, drinking, vandalizing, and gambling. At this point in the story, Jiminy Cricket can do nothing but watch in distress.

Adult fun with zero adult supervision? To many of the kids, the place seems like heaven, although Pinocchio isn’t completely comfortable with it all. 

After a while, the island’s secret is revealed: the boys will be turned into donkeys and sold into slavery. Pinocchio witnesses Lampwick turn into a donkey and begins to transform as well. With the help of Jiminy, he escapes the island before becoming a full donkey.

When they return to the village, they find Geppetto’s cottage empty. They are informed that Geppetto sent out to save Pinocchio from Pleasure Island but was swallowed by a sperm whale in travelling there. Pinocchio and Jiminy swim in the sea and get swallowed by the sperm whale and find Geppetto  on a makeshift boat in the whale’s belly.

Source

(Side comment: the whole concept of this is so cool. It might be my favorite part of the movie. Geppetto’s boat is fully loaded with his daily essentials and kitchenware, which is so unrealistic but very cute. His pets Figaro and Cleo are with him on the boat too).

Geppetto and Pinocchio have a heartwarming reunion, and they plot to get out of the whale by making it sneeze. Their plan succeeds, but just when you think the ending is near, the whale decides to chase them. (This scene is just so hokey unnecessary in my opinion. There is no reason why they should survive, going up against a speeding sperm whale, but they do, and they make it to shore.)

On shore, Geppetto, Jiminy, Figaro, and Cleo are dismayed to find that Pinocchio is dead. (Apparently a wood puppet and the ocean don’t mix). But because the Blue Fairy thinks that Pinocchio proved himself to be a “real boy,” she brings him back to life in the form of a fully human child.

The Re-Watch

My first thoughts on the re-watch were “well, I guess I know why I didn’t watch this one too many times as a kid.”

Pinocchio is really dark and not just in the sense that bad things happen… there is an air of eeriness surrounding this entire movie. For me, it’s there the whole time, even during the happy parts. This could be for several reasons. Many of the characters look uncanny to me– Pinocchio, Geppetto, and especially Lampwick.

And aside from the many distressing points of the story, the most discomforting part of the whole story is the sense of enduring evil.

Unlike in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, where the loose ends are tied up and the Wicked Queen is defeated, there is not a sense of defeated evil in Pinocchio. None of the film’s villains are stopped; they all accomplish their goals in one way or another and get away unscathed. Stromboli, Honest John, and the Coachmen are free to keep doing whatever they please.

I think this is a really strong point of the story, and it is by far the most realistic. In the real world, people who do bad things go on living, often without ever getting caught or changing the error of their ways. If I remember correctly, this idea is also present in other classic Disney films such as Dumbo and Bambi, but way more subtly. In those films, the animals must put up with and try to overcome the deeds of humans, but there is no sense of total victory, only continuous struggle.

Now that I think about it, this idea might be one reason classic Disney films are known to be much darker. Nowadays, we see villains conquered or “enlightened” all the time (think Incredibles 2 or Moana), which is the far more cheerful, but way less realistic outcome.

This is all not to say that Pinocchio is the most nitty-gritty story. There is a lot of signature Disney fluff, beginning with the successful wishing upon a star in the opening of the film. (Fun fact: The song “When you Wish Upon a Star” debuted here.)

There is also a lot of rhetoric for the kids, whom this film is clearly targeted at– all the “don’t talk to strangers, don’t steal, don’t drink or smoke or vandalize or skip school, listen to your conscience, be truthful, and make sure to be optimistic” makes it clear that Walt Disney specifically wanted Pinocchio to be a cautionary tale to children–and a hit with the parents.

Pinocchio’s rhetoric follows in the trend of the children’s literature at this time of the 20th century, which looked to moralizing more often than it did actual storytelling. Given this, it is cool that Pinocchio seamlessly blends the two to give a pretty entertaining story.

Overall, Pinocchio is a very interesting follow-up to Snow White- interesting because of the different tone it takes on, going deeper and darker in its portrayal of evil while dosing out more rhetoric for the kiddies. A neat connection between the two stories is that both of the title characters share the same hamartia: gullibility. (Pinocchio’s other main flaw is lying, but we can see that his very first issue is being manipulated easily). I wonder how far we’ll see this hamartia in Disney films…just kidding, I already know it’ll happen a lot, haha.

Thank you for reading! Next up is a hybrid film of live-action and animation, Fantasia! See ya then

[srnokedmirrors]

* . day to night , dark to light     fall the  s a n d s  o f  t i m e .

                         { ross lynch, twenty-one, trans male, he/him } Have you seen ZELD CYELN “CIEL” NOHANSEN walking around?  Little do they know, they’re the child of LINK & PRINCESS ZELDA from THE LEGEND OF ZELDA, and they HAVE TWO SIBLINGS ( one older, one younger ) .  I guess that explains why they’re so CHARMING & ARTISTIC and GUARDED & INSECURE.  They are a STREAMER. — penned by eve.

FIRST THINGS FIRST.

Hello hello again , folks !! It’s EVE and if you thought I went completely feral about Resident Evil earlier you are . . . sorely mistaken because now we are in Zelda territory and Zelda encompasses literally every fiber of my being. This OC is my most beloved ( despite the fact he’s an absolute prick ) and I have been itching to write him as a next-gen of Zelink , so VOILA , but just a few things !!

I love The Legend of Zelda . . . a lot. That’s the first thing. And my friends call me the Zelda lorekeeper since I know pretty much everything about the games like that back of my hand.

Another - as it’s always been a fact about his character , Ciel here is diagnosed with Type II Bipolar. Now , I want to clarify that I also am the same , and he was originally written as a comfort character to sorta see myself in a character I wrote ( and he became his own dude over the years. ) It’s not something that’ll pop up often , but I just wanted to let y’all know since I’m not gonna erase my own rep , I write from experience since I’m the same. 

TWS AHEAD : Manipulation , mental illness

I. THE PAST - DO YOU REMEMBER ??

The second of The Hero & The Princess - Prince Zeld Cyeln Nohansen , carrying on the traditional naming conventions to keep the name Zelda in the family with obvious corruptions. Your older brother could not - and AS WELL , you are the only child in the family that possesses the holy powers of the royal bloodline that your mother carries , as shown by the brand of the Triforce on the back of your right hand. And immediately , expectations are thrust upon your shoulders before you can even walk.

It’s because of your power that you , instead of the eldest , are to succeed the throne as the next king of Hyrule once you become of age , and although your mother vows to not treat you the same as your father treat her , she often reminds you that the beautiful , sunlight-bathed kingdom will be yours. 

So you grow. You grow & you adapt to the life of royalty , the CROWN PRINCE , and your relationship with your parents is better than most. While you’re significantly closer to your mother than your father , spending your days in the library with her & learning how to paint her visage , you also follow your father out to scope the kingdom on horseback. You grow up kind & gentle , the intelligence of your mother but the softness of your father , and it is well-known throughout the kingdom that you are DESTINED for good things.

It’s when you’re fourteen years old that you meet a boy.

A boy your age , a boy who smiles at you and you get fairies fluttering in your stomach. A boy who tells you that you’re pretty and by Nayru are you getting your first crush ?? 

Hm.

But you can’t see through the lies - that even though you’re young , manipulation knows no age and you are heartbroken to find that this boy leads you to a group of bandits that go on the attack and aim to STEAL the raw power you carry. After you’re tricked into bringing magical artifacts to their clutches , that is , that your family has gathered over the years - the goddess harp , the ocarina of time , and the cursed , wicked Majora’s Mask.

Your father sweeps into rescue you , and although you feel guilty , you aren’t berated for your mistakes. He only wants to know what happened , and if you’re alright , and you’re a sobbing mess but you tell your parents everything and they recognize that the evil forces that plagued them are NOW targeting their offspring. 

You are only fourteen. But the betrayal turns you cold , and you close yourself off , now hesitant to trust. And you learn that there are DANGEROUS forces out there who want to hurt & use you in the same way , hence why you use your mother’s old study connected to her old bedroom ( now currently yours ) and you begin to research , research , research. You look back on the legends of old , and start practicing the magic of not only your bloodline , but the taboo power of shadow - such as that of the TWILI , a project aiming to recreate the mirror. You also use the mask , hoping to tap into the wicked power it carries to turn it around. You train with the Sheikah , as Sheikah blood runs in your veins as well , to master the art of using the shadows & the unseen to your advantage. You become a teenager devoted to your work - a mad scientist & magician , and the whispers of a ‘ mad alchemist prince ’ sweep throughout the kingdom due to the rumors you can stay awake for DAYS working on one thing , before crashing and moving onto the next. 

But there is still pain - a loneliness & a hurt which you try to bury deep down , but it’ll still consume you to the point where you don’t know how to think clearly. You try and mask yourself best you can , but there is still a little boy , deep down , who only wishes to be loved and cared for and cherished by people his own age. Your work is your comfort but you are also learning to sink yourself in it to the point where it’s becoming a hindrance. 

One day , maybe , you’ll get what you want - and everything will be okay. But the world is currently at your throat , so . . . how long will that be ??

Your sixteenth year changes everything. The Crown Prince goes missing , and he is lost without the comfort of his parents.

And he awakens in another day , as a new being , with only his wit & his charm to carry on.

II. PRESENT - WHO ARE YOU , YOURSELF ??

Okay so IN A NUTSHELL Ciel is the crown prince of Hyrule due to the fact he’s essentially the ‘Zelda’ of his generation - the only child that carries the sacred power of the goddess Hylia , and this kid is incredibly smart and artistic but due to being manipulated by dark forces when he was young , he’s EXTREMELY insecure and lacks trust , instead trying to become as powerful as possible by any means possible so he isn’t hurt again since now he’s a target like his parents were.

HIS CHARACTER . . . is incredibly complex. It doesn’t change much with or without memories because even though he hasn’t experienced that same shit , those trust issues & insecurities are still well-embedded into him. The main difference is that he’s still smart , but not because of excessive research on Hyrulean magic & history & technology.

ON THE SURFACE , Ciel appears to be honestly very exuberant , quick-talking , and , to some , annoying. He’s a bit of a loudmouth , he seems harmless in the aspect that he isn’t downright mean or anything , he’s just . . . a nuisance. Charming in the aspect that he knows how to talk his way out of any situation since he has a MOUTH on him , but he knows how to use it. He overshares , it seems , but in turn , he’s actually not revealing anything about himself of any importance. He’s just keeping his cards to his chest but he doesn’t anyone to see so , so he places counterfeit cards on the table.

Ciel is always one step ahead , and the best way to be is to convince everyone else that you’re far behind. 

NOW ON THE INSIDE . . . Ciel is extremely caring & gentle. He cares a lot about the people he loves , but he’s hesitant to open up or trust other people given the fact he doesn’t want to be hurt , and he doesn’t want to make mistakes. He’s very observant & again , incredibly intelligent , knowing well how to read the atmosphere and pick out things that most don’t notice. He is insecure in the fact that he constantly thinks horribly of himself , and although he’s great at hiding it , it’s easy to get his feelings hurt. He hates that he has to keep on a mask since it makes him easily unlikable , but he thinks it’s the only way to stave off the most damage. But he’s a good kid & has a heart of gold , it’s just that . . . his heart has a few booboos on it. He CRAVES love & validation & affection but he’s afraid to ask for it or to take it since he’s gone down worse roads before by opening up to the wrong people.

He’s an artist - very talented in drawing & painting !! His apartment is littered with sketches & drawings and supplies and he would’ve gone to art school but money is tight and he doesn’t know he’s a prince in his actual reality so . . . yeah.

But his day job is that he’s a VERY popular video game streamer named Alchemyst , mainly doing let’s plays of adventure games & stuff with friends to get a good laugh. He also has a tendency to go on hilarious rants in a lot of his videos , resulting in MANY fanmade compilations & memes. He’s got a dedicated fanbase that he openly adores , and streaming also sorta helps him since he is a bit afraid of going into the outside world slightly. 

It’s funny , because as a streamer , he isn’t at all obnoxious or annoying - it’s the closest he gets to acting like himself , even if he has to act a little more EXTROVERTED than he actually is. 

THAT’S THE BASIS again , much more of a show than tell character but . . . Love him. I love him.

I DON’T have much ideas for wanted connections at this point aside from like . . . friends , exes , crushes , enemies , fans of his stream , etc. When I get more of a braincell I’ll put specific stuff down , but if it HELPS his fake life is shrouded in mystery bc Ciel doesn’t like talking about it ( aka , his fake past was p bad so he just prefers to act like he came out of fucking nowhere. )

But that’s it !! I’ll b responding to starters & calls soooon ~ ! I am ALL for plotting if u guys want , so just hit me up on here or Discord n I’ll respond as soon as I can !!

[villainousshakespeare]

For the Price of a Book:  An (eventually) smutty Loki Fairy Tale: Chapter 3

Summary: In the days before the events of Thor I, Loki inadvertently comes upon a female servant being punished by a pair of guards. Her crime? Stealing a book from the rooms she was tasked to clean. Curiosity captured, he decides to break through the shy exterior by any means necessary.

Work in progress, multiple chapters

Pairing: Loki/OFC

Warnings/tags: Some allusions to attempted/prevented rape in the beginning. (not by Loki) Eventual Romance, Angst, Sex, Fluff, Eventual Smut, Pre-Thor (2011)Master/Servant, Loki (Marvel) Has Issues, Dom Loki (Marvel), Feels, Romance, Loki (Marvel) Angst 

AO3: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

Lysse lounged on the large green sofa, a soft smile on her lips and a small book lying on her stomach. There was something so bittersweet about finishing a novel. A sense of satisfaction, laced through with a hint of sorrow that one had to let go of the friends made on the journey. She also always experienced a silly fear that once the cover closed something unforeseen would happen to spoil the happily ever after she had just experienced with them.

“You are a ridiculous, fanciful girl, Lyssette,” She chided herself aloud. “You know very well that no such people exist!”

She often talked to herself out loud when she was alone. It was a habit begun in her youth that she had never managed to outgrow. Absurdly, she also tended to address herself with her full, formal name, a thing that only her grandfather had ever done. She missed him, with his gentle eyes and love of learning. Maybe that was why she spoke to herself in such a manner. 

In the week that Lysse had been in Loki’s employ, she had become more content than she had been since her world had come crashing down around her a year ago as she was tossed out of the university. The five rooms - living room, study, bath, her small chamber, and the large bedroom it attached to where Loki slept - were easy enough to keep clean. Unlike Fandrall, Loki seemed to like everything precisely in place, and took pains to keep it so. True to his prediction, he often made his own bed before leaving his sleeping quarters, and only once had he failed to toss his worn clothing in the basket provided for it. Some light dusting, a scouring of the bathroom, and a sweep and mop of the floors had been all the cleaning she was required to do. For the supposed God of Chaos, he was very orderly, she thought with a smile. From his environment to his appearance, everything was always neat and tidy.

Although, she had to amend as her mind wandered, the way he looked in the morning was different. The first day she had been sitting there, diligently polishing his silver tea service, when he stumbled out of his bedroom bleary eyed and hair mussed. His chest was bare, lean muscles rippling beneath pale skin. His lower half was clad only in soft green linen pants, bare feet making no noise as he padded into the room. It was hard to say which of them had been more surprised when Lysse looked up, saw him in his half naked glory, and dropped the creamer with a shriek. Loki, who had obviously in that moment forgotten her very existence, had let out a startled cry of his own before summoning a pair of knives from who knows where. By the time they each calmed down and Loki had vanished the daggers, Lysse was thoroughly embarrassed. It hadn't helped matters when, not wanting to meet his vaguely accusatory gaze, she had found her eyes following the light trail of hair on his hard, slender waist, down to where his green sleep pants were tenting in the most insistent way. Lysee was convinced that nothing in her life would ever embarrass her more, and yet she could not look away from the obvious sign of her Prince's morning arousal.

"Getting an eyeful, sparrow?" he asked, a smug tone in his voice as he ran his hand absently over his impressive bulge.

"Forgive me, my lord Prince," she managed to stammer out, face scarlet and eyes squeezing shut as there was no safe place to look.

"Best get used to it now," he murmured, seemingly as much to himself as to her, "it appears that I am to have no secrets from you."

"I will go fetch your breakfast," she blurted out, curtsying and bolting from the room to the sound of his amused chuckle.

She was in love with him already by then, of course, and even more so now. It was as inevitable as it was pathetically hopeless. He had saved both her body from rape and her soul from atrophy. To go from the despair of the servants quarters where thinking was as foreign as flying, to this tower of wonder where books abounded and mental tasks were completed (even if not by her) was like being reborn. It was a temple to knowledge, and Prince Loki was both her High Priest and her God. 

”Good lord, Lyssette, you sound like a tawdry novel!” She berated her brain, realizing she was blushing again just at the memory of that first morning. 

With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, she rose from her recumbent position. He would be coming back soon, and expecting tea and biscuits to be laid out, and she would rather die than disappoint him. Lighting the small burner beneath the teapot on the sideboard, Lysse opened the tin of baked goods she had stolen from the kitchen. Knowing her prince had a particular fondness for the chocolate and the spice treats, she laid three of each out onto the plate and set it on the table, chattering to herself as she did.

"You know that it is useless to hope for impossible things," she scolded herself. "Everyone has a place in this life. Much as we might not wish for the place we are given, it is our duty to accept it and make the most of it."

"I disagree," a low, musical voice said from behind her. Spinning and almost dropping the cup and saucer she was holding, Lysse saw Loki grinning in the doorway.

"You should wear a bell," she mumbled under her breath, before her shyness over took her and she dropped her eyes and bobbed a curtsey.

"What was that?" Loki, who evidently had remarkably good hearing along with everything else, asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing, Prince Loki," she hastened to assure him. "I simply didn't realize you were home. Forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive," he waved away her concern, crossing to pilfer a biscuit from the plate and pop in in his mouth. "Who were you talking to just now?"

"Myself, Sire," she admitted, shame faced.

"Ah," he sat down at the table, stretching out his impossibly long legs. "I do that sometimes myself. It is, after all, difficult to find anyone else worth conversing with, is it not?"

Lysse didn't answer, but she was fairly certain he didn't expect her to. Finding safety in the simple task of preparing his tea, she tried not to moon too openly at his handsome face or perfect form as she worked beside him. She sometimes wondered if he knew how she felt, but if he did he at least had grace enough not to show it. She would be forever grateful for that kindness.

"I have something for you, sparrow," he said suddenly. "A gift, of sorts."

"My Prince, you have given me more than enough already," she protested quietly.

"Nonsense. I have given you barely anything. And in any case, this is a necessity."

With a flourish of his hand a pile of green fabric appeared. Smiling ironically, Loki held out the stack to her with a grand gesture.

"Behold, the uniform of house Loki, Odinson," he proclaimed. Lysse did not know why, but a note of bitterness had entered his voice at the pronouncement. "Wear it with pride. Or as much as can be engendered by such."

"I... I am beyond honored to wear your colors, Prince Loki," she said honestly.

Reaching out hesitantly, Lysse accepted the pile of dresses from him. The dark green fabric was of a fine material, much nicer than any of the dull grey servant's uniforms she had worn since becoming employed here. It felt soft and expensive to her hand, and she had to resist the urge to rub it against her face.

"Well, don't keep me in suspense," he teased, raising his tea to toast her. "Go try it on. The tailors insist it should fit you perfectly."

With a bubbling excitement she did her best to hid from his knowing eyes, Lysse bobbed another courtesy and all but ran into her small room, anxious to try on her new dress. This made it official. She was tied to him now. She had a real place in his life, if not in the one she secretly craved. After giving up hope all those months ago of ever finding any kind of peace, of place in this world, he had claimed her. It was not what she wanted, it could and would never be that, but it would be enough. She would make it enough.

***

Loki grinned indulgently as he sipped his tea and nibbled on his third biscuit. She was so excited by just a few paltry dresses. And not even the type of beautiful ball gowns that the women of his acquaintance would gush over, but a stack of identical uniforms of his household. The very idea of him having a uniform, or a household for that matter, was absurd to him. Still, he had spent a great deal of time designing the dresses, and he hoped that she would be pleased with the results.

It was a bit of a shock to him how quickly he had adjusted to the girl being here. He had worried that first night, when he came back to his rooms to find her asleep on his plush green sofa, the hastily modified dress she had been wearing coming apart in her sleep and providing him yet again with a tantalizing glimpse of the curve of her breasts. He could not afford a distraction now, of all times. He had his project to accomplish, and if he was to succeed he needed to concentrate. He could not have some chattering female disturbing his peace.

He need not have worried. With the exception of the belatedly amusing incident their first morning when he had barged in on her half undressed and sporting a painfully obvious erection, it had all gone smoothly. He did feel a bit sorry for the fright he had given the girl. He was not sure if it was the daggers he had pulled out hiding or his equally hard cock jutting out at her that had startled her the most. From the way her big eyes and lovely mouth had gaped at the tenting in his trousers, he suspected the latter. He had done his best to ignore the insistent twitching along his length, even running his hand along it to try and still the urgent command from his lower region to use those wide open lips of hers to relieve the night's lust. She was not here for that, he reminded himself. He would not lower himself to the level of the reprobates who used their servants to slake their baser desires.

Still, it gave him a smug feeling of satisfaction the way her eyes followed him when she thought he was not looking. He could feel them on him much of the time, staring at his face from behind her own book when he was reading, skimming along his body when he walked into the room. He liked that she so obviously found him attractive. He knew he would never be the hulking mass of muscle his brother was, and that to most of Asgard Thor was the example of manly perfection. It had been a long time now since he had tried to fill out his form with bulk, but the memory of those years of striving to pack on layers of muscle still could rub raw if he let them. It was not as though he were a weakling, and he had mental and arcane powers that few others could boast of, but it still was a sop to his ego that his little sparrow approved of his looks.

She was very much like a small bird. She would chirp away happily when she thought herself alone, but then instantly turn all silent flight when he entered. He was doing his best to give her space, not to force her to confide in him, but it was becoming more and more difficult. He knew she had a secret, it was printed in bright bold letters in her clever eyes, and he was determined to find out what it was. It was the least he deserved as recompense after rescuing her.

Not that he wasn't enjoying having her in his employ. There was something decadently... well, prince-like in having her to fetch his breakfast, prepare his afternoon tea, and wait on him as he ate. She had even found things to clean, her nominal purpose for being here, in his rooms. The rest of the time they read in companionable silence. He had started tracking the books she took from his shelves, startled by how quickly she devoured them. Perhaps there was a clue to her mystery in what she chose to read, but he had yet to discover it. In the week she had been with him, she had read two novels, a treaty on inter-realm adoption, and a shockingly graphic text on sacrificial rites. That discovery had truly startled him.

"What is bothering you?" he had asked one night, as they sat in his living room. Loki had been pouring over a trade charter Odin had assigned him, and Lysse was engrossed in a musty looking scroll he couldn't quite place.

"Nothing, Sire," she responded, as he knew she would.

"Sparrow," he sighed, rubbing his eyes, "you are thinking so hard that I can hear your brain. What is it?"

"What is a veilin athame?" she asked at last, raising her eyes from the scroll.

"What?" he sputtered, sure he must have heard her wrong.

"A veilin athame?" she repeated, much to his horror.

"Why in the Nine are you... what are you reading?"

"The Maenad Codex," she replied, scrunching up her little nose. "I've heard of an athame, of course, but never a veilin athame."

"I should hope not," he said with a bark of laughter. "A veilin athame is a ritual knife, enchanted to keep the victim from being aware of it until the Maenad, having driven her victim mad and rampant with lust, strikes down and severs his organs."

"His... organs?" she squeaked. "You mean?"

"I do," he nodded, watching her squirm. 

"Oh," she said faintly, putting the book away.

"Why are you reading the Maenad Codex?" he asked, getting up and crossing to take it from her hands. "I trust you were not intending to act out their rituals on me?"

He knew it was unfair to speak the words, as he did, with his head at her ear, almost purring them to her. The maenad, while deadly in the end, were known for working their magic of sexual ecstasy on their pray, some even willingly going to their death for the chance to first experience the pleasure they offered.

Lysse made a noise that he supposed was a denial and pulled back from him as his breath ghosted against her neck.

"So why that scroll?" he asked again, sighing as she just shook her head.

As he had walked away, he could have sworn he heard her mutter "because it was there," under her breath. It was not the first or the last time he had caught her saying words she obviously meant to keep to herself. His hearing was remarkably good, a trait he had worked to develop as a young boy forever on the receiving end of bullying. It was another piece of her strange puzzle. She would make these quick, irreverent comments when she believed no one else would hear, but keep mum and meek when she feared an audience. Just this afternoon, he had sworn she grumbled something about getting him a bell to wear. As much as he craved quiet, Loki found himself wishing to bring out the saucy creature he sensed was hiding beneath the timid servant.

"My Lord Prince," he heard her breath now from  the other room, "it is beautiful! Truly, it is too nice for me to wear."

As Lysse walked into the room in her uniform, Loki was forced to agree with her. In the rough grey dress of the general servants, she had been pretty enough to draw the attention of Fandrall, one of the most discerning eyes for beauty in Asgard, and the opportunist guards at the gate, but still looked enough of a mouse to not draw the common eye. Green however, was apparently her color. The deep emerald color made her eyes sparkle and brought roses to her cheeks. The design Loki had been at such pains to devise stretched tight against her breasts, the gold embroidered snake twining across the bodice accentuating her curved body in ways that made his mouth go dry. She was a vision, and would never pass unnoticed in the halls again. The thought of all of the other men, warriors, lords, upper servants, ogling her as she walked down the hall or stood behind his chair in the banquet hall filled Loki with a stabbing irritation.

"Thank you so much, My Prince," she gushed, sinking to her knees next to where he sat and, blushing, raising his hand to kiss the back.

In the face of her happiness, Loki found the sharp command he was about to make for her to change back died on his lips. Swallowing the gall that threatened to choke him, Loki reached out and brushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

"You look lovely, Sparrow," he told her honestly. "You will bring honor to my house."

As she smiled at his shoes, Loki forced the misgiving away. She was just a servant, if a pretty, intelligent one. It was no concern of his if others admired her. He would be happy for her if she caught someone’s eye. He was the God of lies, after all.

[la-vita-in-arancione]

Killer Queen: Chapter 7 - Bohemian Rhapsody

Summary:  Arabella Ruth White is the fifth member of the Marauders. And life at Hogwarts certainly isn’t easy. Especially when you have alcohol, relationships, unhealthy music obsessions, a fake stage persona, weird ass friends with weird ass problems and actual school all thrown into the equation. (This story is also on Wattpad and AO3 of the same name. I will always update on Wattpad first.)

A/N: Sorry I didn’t post last week even though I said I would. Half term ended up being busier than planned. We are now up to date with the Watttpad version of this story so that’s something! Enjoy!

Warning(s): swearing, mention of babies because that might be triggering for some people

Word Count: 2.6k+

Taglist: @missqueeniewrites

Ask to be on my taglist!

I don't often receive owl mail. I just don't. No idea why. My darling bastards of siblings can never be bothered to write to me, claiming that if they send me loads of letters then we'll have nothing to talk about when I get home. Which is fair enough. Even if it does seem a bit rude. But oh well. What are you going to do?

The only good thing about it, however, was that when I did get owl mail, it was always about something important. Some of my favourite letters have been from Rhea telling me that she never intended to speak to Luke ever again, only for her to reverse this statement only one day later; one from Mum telling me that the lady who owned the chippy on the pier had had a baby; and one from Luke telling me that said baby had shat on the carpet of his bedroom and that he now had to share with Rhea.

So, going by this logic, every letter I will ever get while at Hogwarts is guaranteed to be either important, amusing or both. This means it's worth my time. I reminded myself of this when I acquired my first letter of the year on a misty Friday morning which just so happened to be Halloween. As it was a Friday, I was naturally exhausted after the long week we had had (our OWLs must have been catching up with me). This was why I felt the need to remind myself that I absolutely had to read this letter. It could remodel my entire life my life for all I knew. The untidy bordering on illegible handwriting on the envelope clearly told me it was from Mum. I ripped it open and not one but two things were inside: a short letter from Mum and a small parcel which was the unmistakable size and shape of a single vinyl record.

Hello Ruth,

I actually apparated to just outside the school gates to owl this to you as it couldn't wait any longer. This morning Queen released a new single and you'll find it enclosed in the envelope. It's called Bohemian Rhapsody and the B-side is called I'm In Love With My Car. God knows what inspires them to make these songs. Steve from the record shop down the road says both songs are superb and that you'll like them if not love them. No news as to when the album is coming yet.

I hope everything's been going alright at school. How is the "project" going? Please tell me you've started by now, it's not fair on Remus to keep him waiting for this long. Sorry for not owling you sooner but to be honest, nothing much has happened in the two months you've been gone. The only thing really worth noting is that someone tried to shoplift some things from the shop so I threw a bucket and spade at them. They haven't come back since.

Luke and Rhea send their love of course, not that they would ever admit it in the presence of the other. Trixie from next door also asked me to check up on you as she hadn't seen you much all summer. I can't wait for Christmas so you can come back, thankfully it's only less than a couple of months. I'm slowly losing my mind without anyone else here to have an intelligent conversation with.

Love you lots,

Mum xxx

Fuck yes, Mum.

She is an actual savage and I love that so much. Only she would get away with throwing kids toys at thieves. Sounds like he deserved it though. What kind of crackhead would assume they could steal from my mum and get away with it. I made a promise to myself to reply to her after lessons had ended for the day.

But on a more important note. Queen released a new single.

Two new songs.

Holy shitting fuckity fuck on a crumpet.

FINALLY NEW MATERIAL.

AFTER A FUCKING YEAR.

YES.

The gods must have been smiling at me that day for this was a glory that not even Clotho could have foreseen. I unwrapped the record, more carefully this time as to not scratch it, and, true to Steve's word, there was the vinyl: Bohemian Rhapsody. Whatever the fuck that meant. Sounded pretty epic though.

"Are you OK Ruth?" Remus asked, mock concern lacing his voice. He'd given up on trying to teach us how to stay alive years ago, now he merely observed and occasionally saved our lives. Honestly, bless that boy. However, it wasn't until he had asked this question that I realised this wasn't the first time the boys had tried to get my attention since I received the letter.

"I'm fan-fucking-tastic, darling. Never been better," I grinned.

"Now here's the thing, I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not," Peter chuckled, causing me to lightly whack him around the back of the head.

"No, you bloody wanker, I am genuinely joyful."

"Well that's new," Sirius muttered, earning him also a small smack. I would never properly hit any of my friends unless they had absolutely betrayed me. Which was unlikely.

"What's so good about this letter then?" James asked earnestly, just a tad confused.

I smirked at him, "If you come and bunk this lesson with me then you'll find out."

So that's how the boys and I ended up in the Room of Requirement, listening to Queen's latest song, instead of being in Divination.

At some point during my first year, I found out about the Room of Requirement when I overheard a conversation between some 7th years. Upon discovering this, I promptly went to the room's location, wishing for a space for music. A bit vague, I must admit, but at the time, I had merely been searching for a place to keep my record player and vinyls. The room itself was not as plain as I first visualized. Many wooden, modest-sized crates and boxes filled to the brim with my records were scattered around - more of an organised mess than you might expect. Each crate was dedicated to a certain artist who I loved: Queen, Elton John, David Bowie, The Beatles, etc. My scarlet, black and gold record player sat proudly on top of a dark oak cupboard that existed for purely decorative purposes. A grand piano stood on the other side of the spacious room next to a throne of sorts that I felt was necessary to have. A crimson, old-fashioned sofa was positioned at the back of the room with an identical ivory one opposite it. Fairy lights were tangled in just about everything in the room, adding to the general aesthetic rather than any form of assistance. If anything, it was more of a nuisance but I would never sacrifice the atmosphere it presented.

The boys plonked themselves on the leather sofas as I crouched down, carefully placed the record on the turntable and adjusted the speed from the usual 33 RPM to the 45 setting. I put the needle on the rim of the record and sat cross-legged on the floor next to the speakers. I loved to have them right next to my ears whenever I listened to a record for the first time. Especially when it came to Queen – it didn't escape my attention that the sound often went from one speaker to the other. I closed my eyes softly when I heard the familiar crackle that always made me grin like an idiot. There was something about focusing on just my hearing and giving my other senses break. That was how music was supposed to be – for your ears.

Is this the real life?

Is this just fantasy?

The strong harmonies rang throughout the room, almost echoing.

Caught in a landslide

No escape from reality

Open your eyes

Look up to the skies and see

The piano started to creep in, gradually getting louder as the song progressed.

I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy

Freddie's effortlessly recognisable voice sung alone for a moment, only for the harmonies to make a comeback.

Because I'm easy come, easy go

Little high, little low

The lyrics filled both of my ears, left then right. It was so stereotypically Queen; it was like their seal, their stamp, their trademark that said 'Yeah, we did that'.

Anyway, the wind blows

Doesn't really matter to me, to me

The repetitive notes of the piano and John's wonderful bass sound played alone for a couple of bars.

Mama, just killed a man

Put a gun against his head

Pulled my trigger, now he's dead

Somewhat taken aback by the dark turn the lyrics had taken, I felt goosebumps up and down my arms as a reaction to the melancholic feel of the song.

Mama, life had just begun

But now I've gone and thrown it all away

The song as a whole rose to a crescendo. I could hear the emotion and passion in Freddie's voice – it was almost ethereal.

Mama, ooh, ooh

Didn't mean to make you cry

If I'm not back again this time tomorrow

Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters

The volume suddenly decreased. Roger's drumming became more prominent in this verse.

Too late, my time has come

Sends shivers down my spine

Body's aching all the time

Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go

Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth

Mama, ooh (anyway the wind blows) I don't want to die

I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all

The lyrics got darker if that was even possible. The clear, sharp sound of Brian's guitar solo filled every inch of the room. After about half a minute of glorious guitar, all of the instruments were cut short by quiet, staccato piano chords.

I see a little silhouette of a man

Scaramouch, Scaramouch will you do the fandango

I wasn't exactly expecting a full-on choir that was truly just Freddie, Roger and Brian's voices on top of each other, over and over again. I dreaded to imagine how long that must have taken to record.

Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me

Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo,

Galileo Figaro magnifico

The 'Galileo's made me giggle: how the fuck could Roger sing higher than me? I understand that I'm an alto but he's a bloke!

But I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me

He's just a poor boy from a poor family

Spare him his life from this monstrosity

Easy come easy go will you let me go

Bismillah, no we will not let you go, let him go

Bismillah, we will not let you go, let him go

Bismillah, we will not let you go, let me go

A tiny smile crept its way onto my face at hearing 'Bismillah'. It was a word that I had heard Dorcas say on numerous occasions.

Will not let you go, let me go (never)

Never let you go, let me go

Never let me go, ooh

No, no, no, no, no, no, no

Oh mama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go

Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me

For me, for me

Roger's ridiculously high voice filled my ears once again, even higher-pitched this time around. Louder, more rock-orientated music blasted out of the speakers of the record player. I couldn't help but bang my head along to it. It was like being hypnotised; you couldn't control your movements.

So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye

So you think you can love me and leave me to die

Oh baby, can't do this to me baby

Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here

The song quietened down again, not unlike how it had been at the beginning.

Ooh yeah, ooh yeah nothing really matters

Anyone can see nothing really matters

Nothing really matters to me

Anyway, the wind blows

The last line was barely audible but fortunately, I could make out Freddie's voice from my spot next to the speakers. When I finally opened my eyes again, I could see the boys had been straining to hear it. A gong sounded throughout the room, marking the end of the song.

I glanced at the boys, wanting to observe their reactions to the near enough six-minute masterpiece we had just had the privilege of hearing.

"That was definitely worth missing Divination for," Remus chuckled and honestly, that was the best I could have ever hoped for. We spent the next 20 minutes gushing about the song and listening to it again about 2 or 3 times. Only after this did we realise that we hadn't yet listened to the B-side: I'm In Love With My Car. Unsurprisingly, it was written and sung by Roger and was indeed about him being in love with his car. Not quite sure what I was expecting if I'm honest. It turned out to actually be a brilliant song and the boys and I had a blast rocking out to it.

Suddenly I had an epiphany. That absolutely, completely, positively could not wait a moment longer.

So naturally, I had to tell the boys.

"Guys, guys, guys!" I exclaimed, everyone turning their heads to stare at me like they were a clan of meerkats, "Remember our Halloween prank tonight at dinner? Change of plan."

**********

The rest of the day was a fairly normal affair. I could hardly concentrate because my mind was buzzing with thoughts about Queen and our prank tonight. Nothing out of the ordinary then.

By the time dinner came around, the excitement was radiating off us in waves. Somehow, this was the first prank we had done all year, which was certainly saying something. Just as Dumbledore stood up from his seat to give one if his famed speeches, I tapped on the table to signify the start of the prank. Peter took his cue and murmured a charm, making all of the candles suddenly blow out and plunging the Great Hall into darkness. Hushed whispers from confused students were suddenly silenced by the sound of a microphone whistling. This meant Remus had executed his part of the plan, now it was time for James's. Being the best at Transfiguration out of all of us, his job was to transform the metal torches at the tops of the walls into various different instruments - guitars, basses, drums, pianos, gongs, wind chimes, etc. Now for my part. I charmed all of the floating pumpkins in the hall so they would sing. Which song you ask? Bohemian Rhapsody, of course, my dears. I smiled when the familiar voices of Queen echoed all around the Great Hall. Once the acapella part of the song was over, Sirius charmed the newly made instruments so they would play their respective parts when needed. I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing: even in the darkness, I could make out some facial expressions that could only be described as a mixture of confusion, annoyance, glee and defeat.

The song seemed to be over before it had even begun, which was a shame. Everyone applauded as we reversed the spells and Dumbledore actually congratulated us in his speech! McGonagall, however, reprimanded us and gave us detentions for disrupting the dinner or some bullshit like that. I personally believed she secretly loved the prank. Maybe the eye roll suggested this as she trooped back to the teacher's table. Or maybe I had imagined it.

Who even knows any more?

[rainbowserenity]

uuugh i can't choose can i request all 100 prompts?? 😂 But hey that request will take a long time so i'll go with no. 5 😅 I need more fluff

5. “I’m going to take care of you,okay?” 

(alternative title: Cinderfella, the sorta cracky, slightly fourth wall-breaking Cinderella AU that was supposed to be just a silly thing to make me feel better but exploded to 6500 words, why does this keep happening)

Onceupon a time, in a kingdom far away – or maybe it was close by, depending on your current location – there lived an orphan namedHope. His name was oddly fitting, since a bit of hope was all heseemed to have a firm grasp on in life.

Unfortunately,since it wasn’t anything tangible, he couldn’t survive on that aloneand ended up becoming an apprentice to the only scientist in town,just too keep a roof over his head. The man gave meaning to thephrase mad scientist anddidn’t treat Hope that well, often making him do menial chores thatwere more for busywork rather than for science.

Becauseof this, Hope often found himself daydreaming of what it would belike to escape – to do what he wanted on his own terms and make hisown decisions, not simply drift along because his parents were deadand he had no means of getting anywhere else. Unless he had it inhimself to steal his mentor’s meager fortune – which he would neverdo out of principal – Hope knew he would be stuck here for a longtime, scrubbing floors and dusting old glass beakers that hadn’t beengood for experiments since before he was born.

Theone reprieve he had was when he was sometimes sent into town to pickup supplies. Sure, he wasn’t allowed to make multiple trips so he’dhave to carry around all his bags and packages like some kind of packmule, but it was nice to get outside the dreary old lab’s walls andsee a bit more of the kingdom.

Andas silly as it may have been for a grown man like himself, he oftenfound himself staring at couples walking hand-in-hand or familieswith their children, wondering what it was like to have suchaffection solely for you.

Hopehad loved his mother and admired his father, but neither of themcould do much when they’d already passed on into their next lives andhe was stuck here in this one, where he was about to be run over by acarriage.

Wait…

“Watchout!” the coachman called in a nasty tone of voice. Hope gasped andjumped out of the way just as a regal-looking carriage hurried pasthim. He accidentally dropped some of his bags and they were trampledand stomped on. If he were a bit more poetic, he would’ve added thathis heart felt worn and trampled too, but as he was, he was justhopeful that everything in there wasn’t ruined.

“Areyou all right?”

Hopeglanced up, immediately locked onto piercing blue eyes that seemedslightly familiar, but it was hard to think logically when his heartwas suddenly pounding as loud as the horse’s hooves that’d nearly runhim over.

“Um- ” He cleared his throat, trying to act somewhat confident. “Yes.Thank you, miss.”

Shetitled her head, stray pieces of unusual pink hair falling into hereyes. “Right.” To his surprise, she helped gather up his fallenpackages and placed them back in his arms. “I think you’re good togo. Try not to get run over.”

“Uh,yeah. Yes. Of course.” Hope had no idea why he suddenly felt sotongue-twisted. The woman couldn’t seem to stop starting at himeither, though her expression gave away little. If he was honest, herclothes weren’t much to look at – she was dressed even more plainlythan he was, if that was possible – so her eyes stood out that muchmore. It was difficult to look away.

Wasit love at first sight? Perhaps. Lust was more likely, he knew, butstill…

“…I’llsee you around.” She smiled ever-so-slightly. “Watchout. Thoseroyal carriages usually don’t watch where they’re going.”

“Oh,uh. Yes. Right.” How didshe know it was a royal carriage that’d nearly plowed him over? Thenagain, it wasn’t like he left the lab often enough to tell thedifference. “I need to getthis stuff back to my mentor, anyway.”

“Allright…?”

“…Yes?”

Shegave him an unimpressed look. “This is the point where you tell meyour name.”

“Oh.”Hope was pretty sure he was blushing now. Or maybe he was one ofthose lucky people who didn’t turn completely red when their facefelt stupidly hot. “…My name is Hope.”

“Hope,”she repeated. She quirked the tiniest of smiles. “Be careful outthere.”

“Iwill.”

Beforehe could say anything else – or before the idea to maybe ask herfor her name occurredto him – the woman turned and disappeared into the crowd just asthe clock struck the hour. Hope shook himself out of his stupor andhurried back to the lab, daydreaming all the while.

–

Thoughhe didn’t get out much because of his mentor’s demands, Hope couldtell when there was something big happening in the kingdom. It wasthat unexplainable buzz in the air that captivated everyone andspread, not unlike a plague. Only in a good way.

Whyhe felt this way, he had no idea…until the invitation came.

Hedidn’t know what it was at first, despite the raised print on theenvelope addressed to All Occupants of The Lab andthe smooth, fancy paper. It was obvious this paper was important.

Hewas right.

“Theprincessis throwing a ball,” his mentor said after he’d read theinvitation. “They’re inviting everyone in the kingdom fornetworking purposes and to find the princess a suitor.” He tappedthe envelope with a wicked smirk. “Perfect. Maybe I can finally getsome decent supplies in here.”

Hopeglanced around, wanting to mention the hoards of unused equipmentthat he was forced to constantly clean, but bit his tongue. It hadnothing to do with his question, after all. “Um, sir?”

“Yes,what is it?”

“I…Idon’t have a suit. Do you think that maybe I could…?”

Hopetrailed off when his mentor glanced at him with an appalledexpression, eying him up and down. “Why on earth wouldyou need a suit, boy?”

“Well…Ijust….I noticed that the invitation was addressed to all theoccupants here,” Hope managed to say. He always had a hard timevoicing his thoughts around his mentor. “And seeing as how I livehere, I thought…”

“You?”The old man laughed, looking like he’d heard the most hilarious jokeever. Hope had not been joking. “Do you wantto go to the ball?”

“I…”

“Lookat yourself, boy.” His mentor made a strange sort of disgustedexpression, which would’ve offended Hope had he not seen it from theguy all the time. “You’re common. You’re nothing. You’re lucky I’vekept you in all these years, that I’m still willing to keep a roofover your head. Know your place and be satisfied with it, because theworld is cruel and this is the best you’ll ever have.”

Hopejust stood there, swallowing heavily as his mentor waltzed out of theroom, muttering something about getting his shoes shined and lookingfor all the world like he hadn’t just cracked his apprentice’s soulinto pieces.

Itwasn’t as though Hope was unaware thatthe world was cruel and there was little chance he would ever escapefrom this place. He wasbasically all alone in the world and had little to offer aside fromhis brilliant mind.

Tohear it spoken to him so plainly was the cruelest form ofconfirmation.

Wasit any wonder that he dreamed of escaping, of doing more, somethingbetter? Perhaps he could meet a beautiful woman who appreciated thesciences and he’d use his mind to better the kingdom with herencouragement and why did the hypothetical woman in this daydreamhave piercing blue eyes?

Hopesighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. Maybe he wasn’tallowed to go to the ball, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t imagineit.

–

Exceptimagination wasn’t enough, even if it was greater than science.

Whohad said that? He had no idea, since that quote was wronglyattributed all the time. Not that it mattered, not right now.

“Iwant the lab so clean I could eat from the slides and tables with norepercussions whatsoever.” His mentor adjusted his suit, agaudy-looking thing that had gone out of style a decade ago. “Doyou understand me?”

“Yes,sir.” Hope walked the man out to the carriage. Woooo, a night ofcleaning and dusting and not doing anything remotely good for hismental well-being. Story of his life.

“Good.Stay out of trouble.”

Hopewondered what the heck kind of trouble he could possibly get into,but said nothing as his mentor climbed into the carriage, not sparinga glance at his apprentice as the driver flicked the reins and theyclopped down the street, heading towards the palace in the center ofthe kingdom.

Allof a sudden, it was eerily silent. Hope assumed that everyone who wasable to get there was at the ball, undoubtedly the biggest, mostimportant event of the year. Yes, anyone who was anyone was dancingthe waltz and speaking to important people.

Toobad he wasn’t anyone – he was no one.

“Whatthe heck kind of attitude is that?”

Hopejumped with a shriek, covering his mouth with one hand when someone –that was a person,right? - materialized behind him without a sound. He noticed a secondlater that this person had managed to creep up on him because he wasfloating.

Floating.

“Whoare you?!” he managed to croak out.

Theperson – at a closer glance, they seemed to be male, albeit a verypretty one – floated towardsHope. “What, you don’t know how this story goes?”

“Story?What story?”

“Nevermind.” The guy shook out his luxurious brown hair. Glitter spilledfrom the strands and just kind of settled in the air around him,which might have been the weirdest thing of all. “I’m Noel. I’myour fairy godfather. I’mgonna take care of you, okay?”

“…Mywhat?!”

“Ohman, you really are a lost cause.” Noel sighed and floatedinto the lab, where Hope followed in a daze. Glitter was spillingaround Noel at an alarming rate. “Look, you want to get to theball, right?”

“Yes.”Hope was surprised at how easily the answer came, especially to acomplete stranger. “More than anything.”

“Thenguess what – it’s possible.”

“It’spossible?”

“Exactly.”Noel grinned and Hope blinked at him a couple of times, stillwondering at this guy floating in the lab and spewing glittereverywhere. Weirdly enough, the only thought that crept into his mindwas that Noel was probably floating because walking in the enormouspants he was wearing seemed impossible. “I’m gonna get you to theball, and it’s gonna be the best night of your life.”

“Waita sec.” Hope held up his hands. “How are you going to get me tothe ball? I don’t have a coach or horses or…or anything. I’m noone.”

“Howcan you be no one when you’re standing there like someone?”

“Huh?”

“Exactly,”Noel echoed. Hope wondered if Noel was actually trying to make senseor just actively confusing him. Maybe his mentor had slipped a littlesomething in the duster and cleaning supplies and now Hope washallucinating. That seemed logical.

Except…except…hewanted to believe.

“Everythingstarts with believing,” Noel added as though he’d read Hope’s mind.“So, like, do you believe I can turn a pumpkin into acarriage?”

“No.”

“No?!”

“Becausewe don’t have any pumpkins,” Hope pointed out. “We’re in a lab,not a quaint little home with a vegetable garden.”

“Goodpoint.” Noel glanced around and finally pointed at one of the oldbeakers that Hope had cleaned earlier. “What about that thing? Youbelieve I can turn that into a carriage?”

“I…guessso?”

Thatseemed to be all the incentive Noel needed. Ignoring Hope’s wideeyes, he made the beaker float outside and made some motions with hishands. Glitter swirled around the beaker, blinding it with light asit grew and stretched, the glass sounding like crackling ice as itformed a stunning carriage that made prisms with the rays of thesetting sun.

Hopestared. “How…”

“Don’task me how. Magic.” Noel grinned, looking over the carriagewith approval. “Man, these designs on it are a little weird,though. They look like…numbers, maybe?”

“That,uh…” Hope cleared his throat. “That doesn’t matter much to me,as long as it gets me there.”

Noelsnapped his fingers. “That’s what I need!” He floated back, onlyto return with a bunch of lab rats, their noses twitching excitedlyfrom being out of their mazes. “This’ll only take a sec.”

Withanother whoosh of his hand (and more glitter), some of the rats weretransformed into stunning horses with long, luxurious manes. Theothers became a driver and footman, who glanced around in confusion,probably wondering why they were so tall.

Hopestared some more. Asking how was useless, he knew, but…

“Ahem.”Noel gestured to the rats/coachmen, who scrambled to theirpositions. “What else...” he muttered.

Againsthis better judgment, Hope glanced down at himself. He was wearing adirty, ragged shirt, pants that were too short, and shoes with solesso worn that he may as well not have even bothered. His mentor didn’tbelieve in keeping his apprentice looking well. “I...”

“Sayno more.”

AfterNoel flicked his hand (more glitter), Hope spun around as thoughcompelled by some unseen force. He could feel the magicworking over his clothing and hair, transforming him into a differentperson entirely.

Andwhen the glitter faded, he may as well have been.

Thesuit Noel had magicked him into was of a style he’d never seen beforein any kingdom, yet conveyed all the taste and elegance of the mostelite. It was of varying shades of green, yellow, and white, whichshould have looked gaudy, but stood out perfectly with his hair andeyes. His shoes were shiny, his hair perfectly done, and his skin waseven so clean that he was sure anyone looking would actually be ableto see the light smattering of freckles across his nose that wereusually hidden by dust.

“This…”Hope held out his arms, looking himself up and down as best he couldwhile trying to keep his jaw off the floor. “Noel, I – how did -?”

“Youknow my answer.”

“Iguess I do.” Hope felt a little dazed. His arms flopped down, andit was only then that he noticed the yellow band tied around his leftwrist. “What’s this?”

“Plotdevice. Don’t worry about it.”

“...”

“Don’tlook at me like that! Look, time’s a-wasting, and trust me, that’s thelast thing you want to do. In you go.” He ushered Hope towards thebeaker-turned-carriage.

“Okay,okay.” Hope smiled despite himself, letting himself feel an ounceof excitement. He was going to the ball! It didn’t feel real, even ashe climbed into the carriage, almost wanting to sing out loud for it.His heart pounded in excitement.

Rightbefore it took off, Noel cried out, “Wait! Just one more thing!”

“Whatis it?”

“Getback here before midnight.”

“What?Why?”

“Themagic wears off at twelve,” Noel explained, trying to sound a bitominous, but all of the glitter cascading out of his hair ruinedthat effect. “Unless you can get home on an actual glass tube andsome rats, you’ll wanna head out before then.”

“Iprobably could,” Hope replied. “I am ascientist.”

“Yeah,well, don’t chance it, okay?” Noel patted the carriage. “Now goon! Have the time of your life and all that!”

“Iwill!”

Thecarriage started off and Noel disappeared in an explosion of glitter.Hope sat back against the cushions, watching the kingdom fly by,excitement building in his heart.

Perhapsthis really would be the best night of his life.

–

Thiswas the worst night of her life.

No,that wasn’t quite true – the worst waswhen Serah came home from a visit from the neighboring Villierskingdom with a ring on her finger and a fiance that followed heraround everywhere, making the pressure for Lightning to find ahusband and produce an heir heavier than ever.

Itwas stupid and medieval – everyone knew Serah would make a betterqueen. She already had a proposal from a neighboring prince, and notjust out of convenience, either – Snow genuinely did loveSerah. It was clear they could rule if they wanted to, thoughLighting personally wouldn’t trust Snow to put his shoes on byhimself.

Butnooo, just because there were all these laws andrules and she justhappened to be bornfirst, everyone was on her to find a husband, nobility or not, so shecould safely become queen – never mind that she’d been doing justfine ever since her parents died, thank you very much. A husbandwould only slow her down.

Allthe palace advisers didn’t seem to think so, however. They’d decidedshe needed to throw this ball and invite everyone in the kingdom inhopes that she could find someone to be with.

Sostupid.

Andyet…

Lightningbowed her head to the man that’d basically been thrown towards her todance with, letting him lead as the string quartet played a lazywaltz. He bowed deeply before sweeping her into the dance, notnoticing when he stepped on her foot and started yammering on aboutwaterfalls or something.

Hewasn’t the one. She knew that much.

PrincessLightning Farron wouldn’t have said she believed in magic or love atfirst sight, but there wasn’t much of an explanation for the way herheart had thrummed in herchest ever since her random meeting with that stranger, Hope.

Itwas so stupid – all she’d done was help pick up the packages he’ddropped, a delightfully mundane task that she normally never didsince she had servants waiting on her hand and foot. He hadn’t evenseemed to recognize her, maybe due to her disguise as a commoner,which was usually preferable but now she wondered if that was reallysuch a good thing when with every possible suitor that was presentedto her, all she could searched for were sea-green eyes and a mop ofsilver hair.

Sure,the guy could’ve been a terrible person. Maybe he had bad breath orpicked his nose when he thought people weren’t looking and all of herwondering was for nothing.

Buthow would she know unless she was given a chance?

Withevery new dance partner, however, her disappointment grew. EitherHope hadn’t come or he hadn’t gotten the invitation at all, despitethe fact that literally every person in the kingdom had been invited.Maybe he’d taken one look at the immensely crowded ballroom andturned away.

Sheglanced up when the doors suddenly creaked open, sounding incrediblyloud despite all the chatter and the music, and suddenly stopped,messing up the whole dance as she stared at the top of the stairs.

Ormaybe Hope would simply appear as though put there by magic.

–

WhenHope had been walking the long hallway to the ballroom, escorted by acouple of silent guards, he kept wondering if he should turn back andjust forget this whole thing. Just because he wanted togo to the ball didn’t mean he should.

He’dalmost expected Noel to sprinkle glitter over him and insist that hejust move, but nothing like that happened. Surprisingly, Hope wasgoing forward on his own confidence, something that didn’t happenvery often. It was difficult to feel confident when yourmentor/supposed father figure constantly looked down on you.

Maybeit was the outfit. It probably was, but at the same time, he knew itwasn’t merely the suit that was pushing him forward, giving him thethoughts that he could dothis, that he deserved to.Looking like a million gil definitely helped, but when all was saidand done, not even the world’s most comfortable shoes could move forhim.

Huh,maybe there’d been a little something extra in all of Noel’s glitter.

Allof the confidence came to a head when he stepped into the ballroom,staring down those long stairs and meeting an oddly familiar piercingblue gaze.

Everythingseemed to stop and time itself felt like it was in slow motion asHope walked down the stairs, every step bringing more whispers andstares from the crowds. Despite all that, they seemed to part for himnaturally as he approached the one person he hadn’t at all expectedto see.

Herbangs still fell into her eyes, though that did nothing to hide theirbeauty. Hope was so distracted by that simple fact that it took him afull minute of staring torealize that she was dressed in a glittering violet gown – a colorreserved for royalty – and had an elaborately designed tiara on herhead.

Oh.

Oh.

Hope’seyes widened a bit as he finally got his head on straight and bowed,an arm over his waist and one sweeping out to his side, as wasproper. Or so he’d heard. If it wasn’t, he might be beheaded andthat’d be okay at this point. Itwasn’t like luck was normally on his side, Noel excluded. “Goodevening, your highness.”

Therewas a slight pause before the unthinkable happened.

Shecurtsied back.

Heglanced up to see her smiling ever-so-slightly, which he returnedwithout thinking. And then, as though ordained by fate, theyimmediately fell close to each other, his hand on her waist and theother grasping hers, waltzing into a dance that felt as old as timeitself.

Huh,maybe he did have themakings of a poet.

Herdressed swooshed his legs as they whirled around the ballroom. It wasactually a pretty pleasant feeling, but of course only came second tothe way her hand fit perfectly in his and how easily they danced asthough meant to do it.

“Iwas hoping you’d come,” she finally said in a low voice once they’dmade their way around.

Thissurprised him and he nearly stumbled, but somehow managed to stayupright. Maybe those shoes Noel had given him were magic. “Youwere?”

“Yes.I only had your name to go by, after all.”

“Howdid you…” As his voice trailed off and those eyes stared intohis, it suddenly hit him where he’d seen that gaze before.

Hithim like a carriage, maybe.

“You’rethe woman from the marketplace,” he said in awe.

“Ilike to get out there sometimes,” she said with a little smirk.“It’s difficult to rule a kingdom unless I know about it.”

“Iwould imagine so, your highness.”

Theprincess. The princess hadknelt down in the dirt and helped him pick up his packages. He wasdancing with the princess. Ofthe entire kingdom. Thatthought came front and center and he glanced around a bit, unwillingto let his eyes wander too far.

“Whatis it?” she asked.

Hesmiled nervously. “Everyone’s staring at us.” Indeed, they werethe only ones dancing, while everyone else was clumped up in a hugecrowd, wondering about this mystery suitor who’d come and put a smileon the princess’s face out of nowhere.

“I’dhardly noticed,” she admitted, tugging him a bit closer, her thumbtoying over his wristband curiously. Hope wanted to burst into songor maybe a choreographed dance, but settled for smiling and squeezingprincess Lightning’s hand in his.

Inall of his joy, it didn’t really occur to Hope that his mentor wasprobably in the crowd somewhere and likely recognized him…at leastuntil it was some time later and Lightning was leading him to thegardens outside.

Hismentor was at the edge of the crowd, talking to someone who lookedincredibly bored. Hope ducked his head a bit, though he knew nothingwould hide his mop of silver hair.

Lightningnoticed this. “Is something wrong?”

“N-No,your highness,” he said, breathing an audible sigh of relief whenthey were suddenly alone in the garden. She raised an eyebrow.“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”

“MaybeI want to.” Now it was Hope’s turn to stare at her and she huffed alittle, her heels making low sounds on the pavement as they wandered.“I’ve always been…practical. Kept my eyes front. My goal hasalways been to lead a prosperous, happy kingdom. Nothing more,nothing less.”

“Yourhighness…?”

“Andthen I find someone who nearly gets run over by a carriage because hecan’t watch where he’s going.” Him. She was talking about him.Right? “And I can’t help but wonder if perhaps all the tales aretrue.”

Hope’shead was reeling. “What sort of tales?”

“Aprincess finding a suitor when it’s the last thing she wants. Theyhave a chance meeting and when they properly meet, it’s…”

“…It’samazing,” he finished in a whisper, his heart still thudding. Ithadn’t stopped from the moment he’d arrived to the ball, really.“Love at first sight always seemed illogical to me, but I can’t…Ican’t ignore what I feel when I look at you, when I dance with you,or even now, just talking to you like this.”

Lightninglooked at him, her expression a strange mix of wariness and hope.“And what is it that you feel?”

“Ifeel…” He had no idea if Noel really had givenhim a dose of confidence, because Hope was neverthis forward with anyone. He wasn’t meek, exactly, but he always madesure to stay in his place. His mentor insisted on as much, after all.“…I feel like I haven’t really lived at all until now. Idon’t even really know you, your highness - ”

“Callme Light.”

“…Light.”He smiled and took her hands, her fingers instantly curling aroundhis. “And you barely know me. But something about this just fits.Doesn’t it?”

“Yes.”She took a step, closing some of the space between them. “Maybethis night isn’t even real. Maybe we’ll both wake up disappointed.”

“Ifthis isn’t reality, I don’t care, as long as you’re there.”

Shelooked completely flabbergasted, and honestly, he felt the same.Dancing with someone he’d met by chance, only for them to be theprincess and they fell so hard after dancing? It was like a fairytale. Things like this just didn’t happen.

Butthen again, people also didn’t have fairy godfathers who magicallyturned beakers and lab rats into coaches and horses and clothed themin finery dotted with glitter.

Thethought gave him pause. Was any of this real? Her feelings – werethey brought on by the fancy clothes and fake confidence? When he wasback to being a dusty apprentice, would she still stare at him withan adoring gaze that he somehow knew was only reserved for him?

Ifthe tales were right, there was only one way to find out.

Lightningseemed to have the same idea, because she started leaning just as hedid. Up close, he could see the faint blush on her face, her longlashes that seemed to go on forever, especially as her eyes slowlyclosed and their lips were barely a breath apart…

BONG!BONG!

Hopegasped and immediately backed away. “I can’t stay.”

“What?”

Hedidn’t stick around to explain – how could heexplain any of this anyway? - and spun on his heel, immediatelydarting back into the crowd. He heard people murmuring and the soundof heels as Lightning chased after him, but he didn’t stop toapologize, not when every strike of the clock was like a deathsentence, just looming closer and closer.

“Hey,wait up!”

Atall blond man grabbed his arm, but Hope shook it off and continuedto run, dashing up the stairs and then bursting out of the ballroom.Vaguely, he felt something fall off his wrist and flutter away, butthere was no time to think about it. The lab rats turned coachmenwere frantically waving him over to the beaker carriage and Hope flewinside about a second before the horses ran off, galloping into thenight.

Maybeit was a reward for getting out of there before midnight – or justat it, anyway – because the magic lasted until they were but ablock away from the mentor’s house. Hope’s clothing faded away in aspray of glitter and he was left in his dirty shirt and pants. Thebeaker rolled onto its side and the rats scurried around, lookingconfused.

Hesighed heavily, scooping them up and letting them stay in hispockets. “I don’t blame you guys one bit,” he said as he walkedthe rest of the way back to the house. “I can’t remember the lasttime I panicked so much.”

Thehouse was still dark when he got back and he set the beaker aside,giving it a strangely fond look before putting the rats back in theircages. They seemed a lot happier to be back somewhere familiar andHope sighed again, finishing his thought to no one but himself.

“Butit was worth every second.”

–

Lightningstared at the piece of yellow fabric in her hand. It was slightlystretchy when she tugged on it, possibly an indication that it wasmeant to go around someone’s wrist.

Ifshe hadn’t been holding it, she would have believed that last nightwas simply a dream, or perhaps something out of a silly fairy tale,which was sounding more and more likely. This fabric in her hands wasclearly the plot device, which she used to scour the kingdom to findthe man who’d worn it…

Exceptthis was a wristband, not a shoe, which meant it could fit anybody.

Thenagain, she’d seen Hope’s face – twice now, in fact. Since shewasn’t a complete idiot, she could just gather all the youngsilver-haired men in the kingdom and pick them out from there.

“Soundslike a great idea, sis!”

Lightningfrowned and glanced to her side, where her sister Serah was beaming.“I didn’t realize I’d spoken out loud.”

“Youtend to do that.” Serah seemed to find this hilarious, but herexpression softened when she saw Lightning holding the wristband.“I’ve never seen you so happy as you were when you were with thatman. You must find him!”

“I…”It was here that she felt like a complete idiot. “I don’t where helives.”

Serahstared for a second before giggling. “Really?! Who dances withsomeone the whole night, nearly kisses them - ”

“Howdo you know about that?”

“- and doesn’t even know where theylive? This really must be love, Light, because you neverlose your head like that.” Serah patted her sister’s hand. “At least you know his name, right?”

“Yes.” Of course she did. What kind of idiot spent an entire night with someone without learning their name? Never mind that she hadn’t learned it at the ball, exactly…

“Allthe more reason to find him. Where should we start?”

“Thebeginning, I suppose.”

Unfortunatelyfor her predicament, her kingdom was absolutely enormous, stretchingfor miles and miles across many lands and roads. At first, it wasnothing to travel from the outskirts going in, asking if there wasanybody named Hope living there or if they knew of him. A few homesdid have a silver-haired man, but they were always the wrong person.

Strangerstill was that nobody seemed to know who Lightning was talking about.Those who had gone to the ball recalled her dancing with him, ofcourse, but they didn’t know who he was. Nobody seemed to recognizethe wristband, either.

“Infact, your highness, this is the oddest fabric I’ve ever seen in mylife,” a seamstress said, looking it over with a critical eye.“It’s not something I’ve ever worked with. Perhaps someone conjuredit into being by magic.”

Atthis point, she wouldn’t doubt that, even though everybody knew magicwasn’t real. Pffft. Instead, she simply thanked the seamstress with asigh, getting into the carriage and letting her drivers take her to adifferent part of town.

Itwasn’t a question of if she could find Hope or not – shewould. This she knew without a doubt.

Butwith every wrong man, wrong house, wrong Hope, her heart grew heavierand heavier and the doubt began to creep in.

Untilshe arrived at the lab.

–

WhenHope heard a carriage stop in front of the lab, he didn’t think muchof it. His mentor sometimes got visitors to tour the place or who hadingredients for experiments to deliver. Typically when this happened,his mentor would make Hope go into the other room and clean orprepare drinks for the guest, acting more like a butler than anapprentice.

Butthis time, his mentor took one look outside the window and glanced atHope, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. “Go into the kitchen.”

“I’msorry, sir?”

“Gointo the kitchen and sweep the ashes from the fireplace,” he barkedout.

“Y-Yes.”Hope wandered towards the kitchen in a daze. His head had been in theclouds since the ball, something which his mentor seemed to notice.The guy was even more cruel than usual, making Hope do every tinylittle task that had nothing to do with science. Sweeping ash wasnothing compared to scrubbing the lab rats’ cages.

Hismentor closed the kitchen door once Hope was in there and he sweptslowly, ignoring all the clouds of ash that dirtied his ankles. Itdidn’t matter when his mind was a million miles away, thinking of alovely night where he danced with the princess…

“No,no, there’s no one else here.”

Hopeglanced towards the door with a slight frown as he heard his mentor’svoice break through his daydreams. It wasn’t really uncommon that theguy denied he had an apprentice – Hope was too common, after all –but there was something high-pitched and nervous in his words thatmade the broom pause.

Outof the corner of his eye, Hope saw a burst of glitter before he heardan achingly familiar voice.

“Areyou certain of that?”

Light.

Hopedropped the broom and immediately raced to the door to burst throughit like a hero in a story, but it wouldn’t budge. He pushed himselfagainst it and jiggled the knob, but nothing happen and he slumpedagainst it, feeling the fight leave him.

Hismentor had locked him in the kitchen, which only meant one thing –he knew Hope had been to the ball.

Therewere a thousand things he could do – he could shout, he couldcontinue to break down the door, he could use a flame from thefireplace to burn the doorknob off…but Hope did none of that.

Instead,he simply stood there in shock, fear planting his feet and sole-lessshoes to the floor.

Fora moment, he wished Noel would come back and dress him in that fineryagain so the confidence would come back. Logically, he knew it wasn’tthe clothes doing it, but that night at the ball had made him feel sodifferent – more like himself, the way he really was,instead of a simple, common apprentice to a mentor that wantednothing of his mind.

Hewas simple. He was common. He was an orphan with nothing.

“Whatwas that noise?”

“Oh,ah – just my dogs, your highness. I didn’t want them to run outhere and disturb you.”

Apparentlyhe was a dog.

“Idon’t give a damn about any dogs. You’re sure there’s no one elsehere, or that you don’t know of a silver-haired man named Hope?”

Butaccording to the desperation in Light’s voice, he was more than adog, a commoner, a simple man. He was someone that was needed.

Andhe wanted to be found.

Knowingthat it was useless to try anything else with the door, Hopeimmediately turned towards the kitchen window and opened it. It wasjust barely enough for him to wiggle through, though he could’vesworn he saw another flash of glitter at the moment he believed hewas stuck.

Instead,he fell to the ground and hurriedly scrambled to his feet, hearingpoised footsteps walking towards the carriage parked in front of thelab. His mentor was coming out the walkway, babbling about somethingas the princess was helped to her seat, but Hope barely heard.Instead, he walked out towards the carriage just as it started off,getting in the way of the horses and just narrowly avoiding themrunning him over.

Fora long, long moment, he stared at those perfectly groomed, whitehorses, the surest sign of nobility. The carriage was ornate andedged in gold, a far cry from the beaker he’d arrived to the ball in.

Thecarriage stopped.

Theprincess came out.

Again,there was a long pause where the two of them just stared at eachother, she dressed in perfectly fitted silk gown and he in a dirtyshirt and too-short pants with soot on his ankles. There was probablydirt and dust on his face too, hiding his freckles.

Butboth of them were unmistakable to each other.

Lightningsmiled a bit as she slowly walked towards him, not seeming to mindthe dirt at all. “Watch out. Those royal carriages usually don’twatch where they’re going.”

Hopehad a flash to their first meeting, before he knew who she was –before he knew who he was – and smiled. “I can’t say I’veminded their interference.”

Hersmile widened ever-so-slightly and she held out a hand. One of herattendants scurried forward and placed a familiar-looking piece ofyellow fabric in her hand and Hope’s eyes widened.

“Howdid - ”

“It’show the story goes,” she murmured, tying the wristband on when heheld up his arm. “A princess finding a suitor when it’s the lastthing she wants. They have a chance meeting and when they properlymeet, it’s…”

“…Amazing,”Hope murmured, finishing the sentence he now knew by heart.

Lightningran her fingers over the wristband, glancing at it before her eyesmet Hope’s again. “They say it ends with the couple living happilyever after.”

“Iwouldn’t call this an ending,” he said, confidence he thought he’dlost surging through him as he leaned in to claim the kiss he shouldhave at the ball. “More like…a happy beginning.”

Strangely,he thought he could vaguely hear the sounds of his mentor shouting“NOOOO” as he and Lightning kissed, but Hope hardly cared. For solong, he’d been lost, wondering who he was and being told to be happywith his place.

Butwhile he may have been common and simple in the eyes of some, he wasamazing in the heart of another.

Ithad taken time and maybe the help of a fairy godfather, buthe knew now where he belonged.

Glitter and all.

[amandajoyce118]

2020 In Review

I used to end the year with blog posts highlighting 100 things, or 50 things if I wasn’t that ambitious, that I loved about the year. Usually, those things were pop culture things. 2020, however, is a special year, no? I mean, a pandemic, quarantines, political unrest, massive bread lines, natural disasters, refugees seeking better lives, stressful elections, etc. For most people, to make a blanket statement, this year sucked.

Most of the people following me know that I’m a freelance writer, but I have a full time day job as a fresh merchandiser for a food service distributor. That means I never “shut down” or worked from home or any of the other things people have been forced to do. I work a full day pretty much every day with customers who don’t understand why distribution has slowed, why I have “long term outs” of items like cases of hard boiled eggs or fresh ginger, why there are certain days of the week when they just can’t get chicken wings. I have people who refuse to wear masks, employees who forget to disinfect work stations, and a questionnaire I have to fill out before every shift as to whether or not I think I’ve been exposed to covid. And when I’m done there, I escape by writing.

As a result, I haven’t been doing much for fun. Outside of my day job, the media I consume is generally for freelance work, which has made this year really exhausting, no matter how much writing/stories is an escape for me. That’s why, instead of just things I loved this year, I’m going to give you a list of 10 pieces of media I’ve consumed - over and over and over again - that I’ve somehow not gotten sick of when writing listicles about the subjects. I feel like we all need to feel like we’re getting lost in a good story, or with characters we genuinely enjoy, even if, like me, we’re getting lost in those worlds with those characters to be able to write about them.

The Baby-Sitters Club

I was obsessed with the books, the ‘90s show, and the eventual movie as a kid, so it’s no surprise that I was counting down the days until the Netflix adaptation premiered - and I loved it. I’m not going to lie, I’ve watched this show from beginning to end four times this year. It’s such a quick watch and there’s something really great about watching these girls grow up.

Nancy Drew

Again, obsessed with Nancy Drew as a kid. More specifically, obsessed with the ‘80s case files as a kid. I read all of them I could get my hands on. The new television show is a little more Riverdale than the novels are, but it’s an interesting spin on the characters and stories we already know - and the representation of a diverse community on the show is fantastic.

Anne With An E

I’m still holding out hope for a movie to close out this show since there are something like seven books in the original series and the show basically only covered the first one? Where is the justice? But, this is another show I think I’ve watched three times from beginning to end because Anne Shirley Cuthbert is someone you want to be friends with, no matter how old you are. You also want her to come to her senses within about 30 seconds of being introduced to Gilbert Blythe, so you know, it’s a fun and angsty time.

Agents Of SHIELD

One of my favorite Marvel properties ended this year, and… I should probably be more sad about it? Like, I absolutely would have watched more episodes of this show if it had kept going, but I’m also incredibly satisfied with how the show concluded this year, which is rare for me. I’ve gone back and rewatched a handful of episodes for articles, and Agents Of SHIELD feels like a show that I’ll end up rewatching yearly because it’s one of the few shows where I’ve actively engaged in fandom for years and still genuinely love.

Timeless

Yes, I rewatched this gem this year while writing a handful of listicles, and I’m bitter that this didn’t get more seasons. The cast chemistry, the stories of those often overlooked by history, and the twist of a shady organization being closer than you think? It’s pretty perfect. I miss it. It’s a yearly rewatch already.

Pitch Perfect Trilogy

Every so often, I find myself in the mood to hear Anna Kendrick belt out a few songs. Pitch Perfect tends to win out over Into The Woods, and I can’t ever seem to stop at just the first movie. Pitch Perfect is cheesy and not as perfect as its title implies, but it always puts me in a good mood. I want more comedies about a capella groups, please.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

If I had to say where my love of serial storytelling, or my ability to engage in fandom, started, it was with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I had friends who would create their own team of Rangers when I was little, and we’d trade kicks on the playground (which got us in trouble), and yeah, as an adult watching a show made in 1993, this show is ridiculous. Full stop. But it’s also the kind of show that makes you remember that a whole generation was raised on the idea that even if the good guys don’t always win, they keep trying. They never give up. And that’s just as important today as it was then.

Teen Wolf

I recognize that this show is sometimes a mess and that continuity is not always its strong suit. Does that mean I love it any less? Nope. And neither does the rest of the internet since some of my articles still get heavy rotation even though the show has been off the air for years. It’s the kind of show that pulls me in, even when I already know what’s about to happen.

Leverage

Oh, Leverage. How do I possibly explain how excited I am that you’re getting a revival? I don’t think I can. Also, I don’t know why I’m talking to Leverage directly when I haven’t to anything else on this list. Leverage is about a group of criminals who steal from the corrupt to give back to their victims. I mean. It’s Robin Hood for the modern age. It’s a found family. There are love stories. There are redemption arcs. It’s just chock full of greatness. And Aldis Hodge as Alec Hardison.

RWBY

I only really got into RWBY last year, and it’s fast becoming one of my favorite anime, though admittedly, I don’t watch a ton of anime. I love the references to fairy tales, mythology, and history mixed into this crazy fantasy world. I love that the villains are as compelling as the heroes. I love that in such a large cast of characters, I want to know more about everyone. It’s a fascinating show and some of the episodes are only five minutes long. 

Sailor Moon

I grew up in the ‘90s era of television, so, of course, I watched Sailor Moon after school. The English dubs because I’m a heathen, what do you want from me? I’ve really enjoyed revisiting the ‘90s series after watching Sailor Moon Crystal because, obviously, the ‘90s anime is not exactly the story that was told in the manga. It has such a rich mythology and fascinating characters not to mention beautiful designs.

Naruto

I’m going to be honest, you guys. I never thought I would be into Naruto. But something about it just hooks you. I got into it because there were always listicle topics that editors created for the show on the sites I write for, and I was curious. Unlike manga purists, I actually really like the filler episodes. I think they add a lot to understanding the characters. Also, there is no anime character I love more than Shikamaru in Naruto Shippuden.

New Girl

Okay. New Girl has really been the saving grace of 2020. I know this show ended a few years ago. I know that people should be ready for other things. But here’s the truth: I’m not really a sitcom person. I was as a teenager, but as an adult, I like my serial storytelling to be completely unrealistic and dramatic, usually. But 2020 has been so heavy that I needed the lightness New Girl provides. 

And I love each and every resident of the loft - even the ones I would never be able to stand hanging out with in real life. I love how much they all grow up over the course of the show. I love the one-liners. I love the running jokes. I love the musical numbers. I love the Nick and Jess of it all. In 2020 alone I have watched the first five episodes of this show about ten times. I’ve watched the show from beginning to end twice in just the last three months of the year. I love it so much I’ve even considered writing fanfiction for it (though I really don’t have the time and haven’t even finished old works over the last year). When this pandemic is behind us all, I’d actually consider playing the (arguably dangerous and would likely give everyone alcohol poisoning) game of True American just to see if my friends and I could get through it. 2020 has been rough, but at least New Girl is still on Netflix.

There you have it, a baker’s dozen of the things that got me through this year - mostly in television format. There’s something I just love about serial storytelling, and when it looks like the world is falling apart, it’s nice to have the comfort of happy endings and stories you can plot out yourself. Here’s hoping 2021 is kinder to all of us, and has plenty more stories for us to get lost in.

[whitewolfofwinterfell]

Thoughts on OUaT?

OUAT is a show that had a lot of potential, but that unfortunately just fell flat for me. I have to admit I never really fell in love with OUAT and by looking at my blog you’d think I’m a much bigger fan of it than I actually am. In reality, I posted about it so much because it was an active fandom that made a lot of great edits which were always showing up on my dash and because I loved Emma.

I started watching it because I’m a fan of fantasy shows and grew up reading, watching and loving Disney and fairy tales, so I gave it a shot. I enjoyed season 1, but I remember thinking very quickly that it was getting repetitive and I mean, ridiculously repetitive. Every season seemed to follow the same pattern of some curse taking over Storybrooke resulting in everyone losing their memories and it got really tiresome. The plots were never particularly inventive or interesting and failed to keep my attention, so the characters are the only reason I carried on watching.

In the early seasons I lived for Rumple and Regina centric episodes because I found them both so appealing and interesting as villains, but unfortunately the writers aren’t the best at effectively portraying the conflict between light and dark. Even though I adore Regina and always have, the writers are guilty of white washing Regina’s evil tendencies and I’m not really a big fan of the idea that Regina and the Evil Queen are two separate identities, which the Jekyll and Hyde storyline really emphasised. I think that doing that it just erases canon and ignores the fact that Regina as a person does have naturally dark tendencies that she acted upon without restraint for a very long time. A person doesn’t just magically go from that to being wholly good over night, which was portrayed with Regina at times. As for Rumple, I just don’t think the writers had the same love or devotion to his character as they did Regina’s and they completely ruined his character. I think because unlike Regina, Rumple was truly irredeemable and a villain through to his core in a way Regina wasn’t, the writers just didn’t know what to do with him. They didn’t know how to write a villain that was just a villain. It’s almost like they had to try and redeem him, but that just wasn’t fitting with his character and so they’d always go back on it or it’d just feel incredibly forced. With Regina, Henry was very much the driving force for her fighting to be good and most of the time that was enough for her, but Rumple was always different. Although he loved Belle and his sons, neither of them were ever enough for him to give up the darkness for good because it was who he was.

The problem with this is that when a show is focused so heavily on the characters and a lot of the audience (such as myself) were watching specifically because they’re invested in the characters, you can’t afford to be writing them poorly. But unfortunately, this didn’t happen with just Rumple and Regina. My honest opinion is that the show had too many seasons (and why they’re bringing out a new season I have no idea, the show is dead and has been for a while) and so it got to a point where the writers had already taken the characters on their complete journey’s, but had to keep writing beyond that and so were just writing filler. This happened with Snow, Charming and Emma in season 6. For Snow and Charming, their development has always been well established. In the pilot they were established as the couple of the show - they’re Snow White and Prince Charming, they’re soulmates, in love, they’re heroes, they’re naturally good - and across the 6 seasons the writers never really strayed from that. Their main journey was to defeat the Evil Queen (which let’s face it, happened very early on since Regina essentially became one of them) and their other journey was one to find Emma and build a relationship with her, which again was probably achieved around season 3-4. With Emma, her journey was a lot more complex as she had to find her parents, build a bond with them, learn how to be a mother and establish a bond with Henry, embrace her role as saviour, battle her darkness and learn to let her walls drop and be more vulnerable. But once again, her journey was pretty much complete by the end of season 5 because she had found her family and built a strong bond with all of them, she’d conquered her darkness, was contented and comfortable with her role as the saviour and had allowed herself to be vulnerable in love with her family and Hook. So by the time we got to season 6 what was there left to tell of any of these characters?

Another issue with characters on OUAT is that there is just too many of them. I’ll never understand why the hell the writers thought it was appropriate or relevant to just drag every single fairytale character they could think of onto the show and give them some irrelevant sub-plot that spanned across a few episodes. What was the purpose of Jasmine and Aladdin in season 6? Does anybody know? Because I don’t. All it did was steal focus from characters we actually cared about. Ruby and Dorothy is another classic example. A cute episode, yes, but I can’t help but feel it was only thrown in so the writers could shout from the rooftops “LOOK AT US AND HOW MODERN WE ARE WITH OUR LGBTQ REPRESENTATION AND GAY FAIRYTALE COUPLE”. Of course it’s okay for characters to come and go, that happens on every show, but in my opinion, if they don’t have some impact upon the overall plot or a long-lasting affect on the main characters that drives their arc forwards, it’s a waste of time. Another example of this would be Elsa and Anna. What purpose did they achieve? When they went back home they were completely forgotten and didn’t have even a tiny influence over the course of the show.

However, for all the bad there is also good points of OUAT otherwise I wouldn’t have sat through 6 seasons of it. The main aspect I love about it is the emphasis on family, which is a theme I love on any show. The relationships with Emma, Charming, Snow and Henry are some of the best things to come out of the show and watching those relationships develop over time was beautiful (Emma breaking the curse at the end of season 1 with true love’s kiss is still to this day one of the most emotional and pivotal scenes across the entire show imo). Similarly, Regina’s relationship with Henry was beautiful and I will always respect the show for portraying an adoptive mother/son relationship that is so strong and loving and of equal importance to Henry’s relationship with Emma.

I also enjoyed the fantasy elements of the show, which as I said, is what drew me to it in the first place. I grew up reading fairytales over and over again, watching them on TV and as cliche and problematic most of them are, I personally see them as being part of a heritage and history. I love that OUAT took those stories and characters nearly all of us are familiar with and put their own modern twist on them - and honestly a lot of the time I preferred what they did. Take Snow and Charming for example. The original animated version was one of the most shallow and ridiculous love stories I’ve ever seen. Snow sings, Charming hears her, she runs away and then is somehow in love with him despite seeing him once and never having had a conversation with him. They never speak or meet again until she’s in a coma and he’s conveniently the love of her life and wakes her with true love’s kiss. Then he carries her off on his horse to his castle and they lived happily ever after. It’s probably one of the worst love stories I’ve ever seen. Yet, Snow and Charming on OUAT is one of the best love stories I’ve ever seen. They took two characters that were essentially bland, with no personality, characterisation or even a real relationship and created something amazing. Admittedly, they didn’t always get it right when they introduced new characters, but for the most part I enjoyed the modern twists they put on the different stories and characters.

And of course, as I said, though in some ways the characters were written poorly they are by far the best thing about the show. Emma Swan will always have a piece of my heart and I adore what they achieved with her character. I’ve watched a lot of shows and imo, Emma is probably the only female I’ve seen portrayed as being a strong, capable hero alongside Buffy. Sure, there are strong female leads in other shows, but none that quite fit that same role Emma and Buffy did of being “the chosen one”, if that makes sense. Emma is a complex and very real character that I relate to a lot, and although I don’t necessarily like the direction they took her character in at certain points I still love that the writers never held back with her. I often see posts about how female characters are always placed into a box and can only be one thing - pretty or ugly, strong or weak, good or evil etc. - but Emma was never written like that. She was independent but also admitted she needed others, she was a fantastic mother that didn’t choose or even want to be a mother (at the beginning), she was a skeptic that was full of hope, she was a hero that battled against darkness and an ex-convict that worked in law enforcement. There are so many contradictions to Emma’s character that it’s impossible to name all of them, but guess what? That’s exactly what makes her real and relatable. Similarly I loved all of the other main characters (Snow, Charming, Regina, Belle, Rumple, Henry) but most of them just didn’t get the same level of commitment and focus as Emma did which meant there was so much wasted potential with all of them. 

[edales-drabbles]

Snowflake

So a challenge(ish) appeared on my dashboard so I’m going to try to do as many as possible. Its a list of 24 prompts to do in Advent (though admittedly it says to take as long as you want. Either way, here’s my first little ficlet. 

1. Snowflake

Warning: Preslash, MxM, Character Death

“Watch out for the lady with eyes as white as snow and the ice that she brings. If she touches you, you will steal all the warmth from your soul.”

His Baba had warned him and his sister so many times about the Ice Queen. It had been her favourite tale to tell them growing up, usually with the fire burning brightly next to them and the smell of chestnuts roasting surrounding them. There were many stories about the Snow or Ice Queen, but the way his Baba spoke about the spirit made her sound very real. She hunted in snowstorms for pure-hearted souls to steal away, hoping to thaw her icy heart.

Zach wished someone would thaw his Baba’s heart. His sister, Esmeralda was fair and beautiful with long black locks and enjoyed wearing beautiful things. Her personality was pleasant and cordial, and never dared to anything that could be seen as uncouth around company. She was everything their Baba wanted her to be.

Honestly, despite having grown up together in the same house, Esmeralda felt hollow to Zack. She aimed to be too perfect and while people often got enamoured with the image and eventually it faded away when nothing failed to happen, leaving her lonely and confused as her suitors fell in love with other people. Baba would comfort her and promise her Prince Charming would come as long as she stayed pure-hearted and clean. Zack personally thought getting a personality would help.

As for Zack, he was everything his Baba disliked. He wasn’t interested in the old ways. He wore comfortable clothes as supposed to well-fitted and expensive ones. He was quiet and small, not big and loud like a boy should be. He detested sports and refused to touch the weighs his uncles had gotten him to toughen him up. 

He was supposed to a valiant prince who could save damsels. His sister was meant to be a damsel and only one of them appeared to be what they were supposed to be. 

There was a special kind of joy to discovering little miss perfect wasn’t as perfect as she seemed; even with the danger that they were in. The woman in front of them could be no one but the Ice Queen. She stood tall wearing old fashioned robes that made her look elegant and almost untouchable. There was almost a fragileness to how she looked, like touching her would shatter her like an illusion. She was gorgeous, far more beautiful than any mortal woman could hope to be.  

Ice grew from her feet, spreading with every step she took. She walked closer to them, a look of judging in her white eyes. She did not like what she saw in Esmeralda, that was for sure. 

“You are useless to me,” a melodic voice stated, her hand reaching out to gesture at Esmeralda in dismissal. Esmeralda went to speak but she turned to ice almost immediately. A look of indignation on her flawless her face. “Pretty though. Pretty enough to decorate some part of the castle I’m sure,” she breathed.

Zach gulped. This was the moment he was supposed to do something brave and valiant. Only he was a little confused as to how this had happened.

Winter had rolled in harshly like every year. Baba had asked them to go fetch something from the next town other. A storm had rolled in and they had gotten lost on the path. The snow had come down thick making it hard to move or see. Esmeralda had insisted they continued forward and looked for shelter. Staying still would be the death of them. It seemed they had stumbled on the path of something far more ancient and dangerous. The storm was still howling but around them was a bubble of calm. The Ice Queen’s magic, most likely. 

“As for you,” the Ice Queen murmured, turning to look at Zach again. “You may be useful to me.”

“I doubt that, Ma’am,” Zach breathed, not sure what to refer to the lady as. She might not actually be the Ice Queen and something else. It didn’t seem like a good idea to risk it. Best just to speak politely and hope his end would be fast.

She smiled softly and touched his chin. Surprisingly her touch was actually warm. He blinked surprised. “You aren’t quite pure-hearted, its been tainted by something but not your soul. Unlike your sister,”  she hummed sounding unimpressed. “I have a bit of a quandary, one which hopefully you can fix. I look for mistresses. Mortal maidens who are virgins to give to either my husband or my children as gifts. The people of this area have long given me sacrifices for this purpose.”

“Different to the tales but I’ll accept the premise. As you have already noted, I’m not a girl,” Zach said slowly, not sure whether he should be participating in this conversation or simply listening. 

“Tales get a bit distorted. I’m sure they are still determined my heart is broken into a million pieces and frozen in ice to protect it,” the Ice Queen scoffed. “No. My husband enjoys his pets and my children are not always able to sleep with their partners so easily. Mortals, provided they were pure the first time they sleep with a Maighdeann-deighe, are able to do so. You’re pure. And I have a son who prefers men,” she explained calmly. “You don’t have to come but know, your soul has already passed through the veil. It’s either this or whatever lies next for you.”

“We died,” Zach noted, looking back at the storm raging beyond the bubble. The skies were black and his eyes darted to two dark figures on the ground. That’s sad, he thought numbly. I was only 20.

The hand touched his shoulder, pulling his attention back to the woman in front of him. “I wouldn’t try to remember it,” She smiled sadly at him. “Tends to cause people pain.”

“What exactly do you mean by mistresses?” Zach asked trying to keep his voice polite and not panicky. He was under no illusions. He liked men. The Ice Queen had likely been able to tell by how he hadn’t swooned under her looks. Liking men was a one-way ticket to hell if his uncles were right, but then again, the stories had been wrong too and his uncles weren’t the brightest of men. It was still a risk, one that given the Ice Queen had turned out to real, he was reluctant to take.

“Pretty things normally. They have sex with their partner and look nice until their souls fade back into the ether to be reborn. Some have jobs. One of my husband’s longest mistresses is a weaver. She creates wonderful gowns for me. It is what they make it,” the Ice Queen said with a pleasant smile on her face. 

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Zach murmured, part of him confused as to why he was even considering this offer. He didn’t know what the Ice Queen was. Se could be fae, or demon or something else. This could be a trap. 

“It’s not,” the Ice Queen promised. “Will you come to meet my son?”

Zack really hoped she was fae because the wording in that sentence was important. It wasn’t, will you be my son’s mistress. It was, will you meet my son. She wasn’t expecting him to agree to sleep with a man he’d never meet. Zach looked at his sister’s icy statue. A sense of guilt in his chest at the idea of going with the Ice Queen. On the other hand, they were dead now. “What will happen to my sister?” he asked softly, almost scared to ask.

“Are you close to her?” The Ice Queen asked nonchalantly.

“No, not at all,” Zach admitted truthfully. He had no desire to really see her again at that moment. It was probably a bad thing and he should be ashamed of and yet, not. “Doesn’t mean I want her to suffer.”

“She isn’t suffering like this. Her soul will move on eventually as most mortal souls do. She isn’t even aware this has happened,” the Ice Queen reassured. “I’ll have her statue moved to the palace grounds with many others. When her soul moves on it will melt.” 

“She’s not suffering,” Zach repeated.

“No, my dear boy.”

Zach nodded slowly. “Then. I guess I will go with you to meet your son,” he said hesitantly. He was not the hero, but maybe he could have a fairy tale of his own spun. 

 “Excellent. I was worried my son would have to pick someone ugly in order to fulfil that annoying condition of being a virgin. You are handsome for a mortal,” the Ice Queen sniffed. Somehow it did not surprise Zach that the Queen demanded beautiful mortals be chosen for this role. “Come. Take my hand.”

[sweatcr-weather-a-blog]

POKEMON VERSE ー KANTO SAGA

General information

Trainer name: Sharon Won

Trainer ID: 816160

Home region: Kalos

Hometown: Laverre City

Backstory: Despite having grown up in the Kalos region, Sharon started her journey in Pallet Town after a long journey to Kanto. Her parents did not approve of her dreams to become a trainer after a traumatic accident which happened in her past. At the age of six, she had snuck out of the house late and night and got lured into the nearby forest by a wild Haunter playing tricks on her. The routes surrounding Laverre City are swampy and one wrong step can cause one to slip and fall into the murky water.

Once her parents noticed she had gone missing, they immediately rushed into the forest, eventually finding her drenched and unconscious next to one of the puddles. It was a miracle how she hadn’t drowned, but even after coming back to her senses, Sharon couldn’t seem to remember much about the event. All she could recall was that something had pushed her back out of the swamp.

After this tragedy, she barely ever left the city and would spend most of her time drawing instead. During her early teen years, she grew close to the city’s newly appointed gym leader, Valerie, who had recently moved in from the Johto region. She would often frequent the gym to care for or play with the various fairy type Pokemon.

It was Valerie who eventually suggested the idea of journeying to Kanto to embark on her own adventure, knowing that her parents wouldn’t be able to intervene as easily. Professor Oak is known across all of the world and he would surely be able to give her a fitting partner. 

At the age of sixteen, she finally worked up the courage to do so and together with Valerie, they arranged a trip to Lumiose, from where she would take the train to Goldenrod City. From there on, it would be a short trip to Olivine to make it on time to board a ship to Vermillion.

After a long and tiring trip, Sharon arrived safely in Pallet Town, where here real journey was yet to begin...

Pokemon

Eevee

Nickname: Soleil                          OT: Sharon

Gender: Female                           Nature: Naive

Ability: Adaptability                      Level: 75

Attacks: Headbutt, Dig, Shadow Ball, Glitzy Glow

Info: Sharon met Eevee upon arriving in Pallet Town, when she suddenly jumped out of the tall grass at the very beginning of route 1. It was clear from the start that Eevee felt attracted to the inexperienced trainer, jumping around her feet while pawing at her shoes. Professor Oak had just been on his way to Viridian City to pick up a parcel when he spotted the peculiar scene and walked up to the two of them.

He immediately sensed the connection and persuaded Sharon to try and catch the wild Eevee, which she eventually did. Back inside the lab, she was gifted the Eevee as her very first Pokemon. She was given the french name ‘Soleil’ as an hommage to her home region, Kalos.

They travelled together throughout the entire Kanto region, defeating gym by gym and developing a special bond. Unlike most Pokemon who remain in their Pokeball outside of battle, Soleil travels on Sharon’s head or shoulder at all times.

When it was time to take on the Elite Four and eventually the Champion, it only seemed fit to use Soleil in this final, grand battle and have her be the one to defeat the opponent’s last Pokemon, winning them both the title of Indigo League Champion.

Butterfree

Nickname: Twilight                         OT: Sharon

Gender: Female                              Nature: Timid

Ability: Compound Eyes                 Level: 72

Attacks: Quiver Dance, Bug Buzz, Air Slash, Mega Drain

Info: Caterpie was the second Pokemon Sharon ever caught, shortly after receiving Eevee and starting her journey. The two of them were trying to make their way through the natural maze known as Viridian Forest, hoping to reach Pewter City in before the night fell. 

A wild Caterpie suddenly fell down from one of the tree branches, landing in Sharon’s backpack which was partially open after she hadn’t closed it properly during their last trip to the Pokemart to stock up on Potions.

It wasn’t until they arrived at the Pokecenter in Pewter City that Sharon noticed the little critter. Upon opening her bag, she found her curled up, snoozing in between her Pokeballs and potions.

Sharon didn’t want to just throw her out and return her to the forest, so she decided to wait for the Caterpie to wake up and capture her. Dubbed ‘Twilight’, she quickly evolved into her next stage and eventually into a beautiful Butterfree.

Bug Pokemon are notorious for being ‘weak’ but Sharon has managed to keep Twilight on her team all the way through. She even managed to defeat almost all of Sabrina’s Pokemon on her own after setting up with Quiver dance.

Venusaur

Nickname: Basil                             OT: Sharon

Gender: Male                                 Nature: Naughty

Ability: Overgrow                           Level: 72

Attacks: Petal Dance, Toxic, Earthquake, Sludge Bomb

Info: After realizing that a Normal and a Bug/Flying type weren’t the ideal way to march into a Rock type gym, Sharon once again ventured into Viridian Forest in search of a Grass type. Bellsprout didn’t quite fancy her interest, but she eventually ran into a mischievous little Bulbasaur who had used its vines to sneakily steal some Razz berries from her backpack.

After a long battle against Soleil, the Bulbasaur had to admit defeat and got caught, receiving the name ‘Basil’. He was quite the difficult one, often going against her commands and acting on his own instead.

Sharon eventually proved herself as a proper trainer and gained Basil’s respect. He evolved into Ivysaur shortly after reaching Cerulean City and once more into Venusaur during their trip through Rock Tunnel.

Venusaur became the powerhouse of the team, being able to tank most hits and strike back both on the physical or the special side. He proved to be especially useful against the many rock and ground types in cave areas as well as against the myriad of water types on the water routes surrounding Cinnabar Island.

Clefable

Nickname: Pixie                             OT: Sharon

Gender: Female                              Nature: Quirky

Ability: Magic Guard                       Level: 73

Attacks: Moonblast, Calm Mind, Thunderbolt, Psychic

Info: Due to Sharon’s involvement with Valerie in her hometown, she has always had a soft spot for Fairy types. Unlike the Kalos region, Kanto does not have a big variety in Fairy types, so she was delighted to spot a nest of Clefairy in Mt. Moon and catch one for her team.

Clefairy are gentle but whimsical in nature, often spending time outside of her Pokeball to waddle behind Sharon as they explored the area. She also got along well with Soleil, playing in flower beds or searching for wild berries in the bushes.

During her trip in Mt. Moon, Sharon had made sure to pick up one of the famous Moon Stones laying around. However, rather than evolving Pixie right away, she waited till after obtaining her third gym badge to enjoy some time together while she was still just a cute, little Clefairy.

Once a Clefable, she was still adorable but a force to be reckoned with, hitting hard with special attacks. She proved to be extremely useful in the Elite Four matches, having a favorable match-up against both Bruno and Lance. Dragon types used to be feared, but they are no problem when you have a strong Fairy type on your team.

Rapidash

Nickname: Helios                           OT: Sharon

Gender: Male                                  Nature: Lonely

Ability: Flash Fire                            Level: 71

Attacks: Double Kick, Flamethrower, Drill Run, Poison Jab

Info: After catching Clefairy, Sharon went a long time without adding any new team members to the team. After settling the incident with Marowak’s spirit, she obtained the Pokeflute which successfully moved the slumbering Snorlax out of the way, granting her access to the famous Pokemon Route. This former bike path is a popular spot for trainers to go for a stroll with their partners, but also hosts a variety of wild species.

One of which is Ponyta, a fire type much needed on the team. When Sharon spotted a lone Ponyta eating some wild berries on her own, she immediately decided to try and befriend that one. After chasing around the thing for what felt like hours, Ponyta finally allowed himself to be captured.

He was given the name ‘Helios’ and evolved shortly after being caught while fighting off the Team Rocket Grunts who had taken over the Silph Company. Rapidash is not only a strong battler, but he also allowed Sharon and Soleil to ride on top of him to move through the routes or visit old places at a much quicker pace.

While a lot of the water areas and later gyms weren’t too kind to fire types, Rapidash learns a variety of other moves and also proved to be a great asset against the Elite Four member Lorelei.

Lapras

Nickname: Aurora                           OT: Unknown

Gender: Female                               Nature: Docile

Ability: Water Absorb                       Level: 73

Attacks: Surf, Dragon Pulse, Body Slam, Ice Beam

Story: Upon reaching Fuchia City, Sharon became aware that her team was in dire need of a water type. Unfortunately, she hadn’t exactly encountered a lot of water types up till now. Most of them reside in the water, but she didn’t have a way to go there just yet.

Near the former Safari Zone, she met a guy who could teach Soleil a surfing technique who could help them surf on the ocean or rivers. Alongside him, he had his trusted Lapras who would often help him cross the ocean as well. As they were talking, he brought up the story of another Lapras who had been abandoned by their trainer and now wandered around the seaside south of Fuchia.

Sharon naturally went to go check it out, offering the Lapras some berries to befriend it. Lapras soon decided to join her team and got the nickname ‘Aurora’. Despite being the latest addition to the team, she contributed a lot both in terms of helping them cross the ocean as well as against the final two gym battles against Blaine and Giovanni.