#oh yes and also the witch from snow white.

[lavendergalactic]

LAVEN DO U KNOW ABT LACEY GAMES

I DO! although i got horrified while watching a playthrough and stopped after seeing a creepy face since i'm really bad with horror (roblox doors is my limit, and that still scares the shit out of me)

[fantasies-fairytales-n-fics]

Thranduil and Josie Pt. 166- Mouse Trap

Summary: Dr. Legolas Greenleaf is in the house. An impaired Josie remembers and reveals important info. Bash and Charles enter Dorwinion city. Upsetting info comes to Charles' attention and then more comes to light as a group unites. Cat and mouse anyone?

*Chapter Warnings* language, angst, graphic depictions, mild violence, mentions of rape

Chapter characters: Josie, Legolas, Merlin, Bash, Charles, Delphine, Nun, Haldir, Rumil, Rahl

Chapter word count: 5,216

Stories Stories Stories Masterlist:

After an hour long session of your palm being stitched up by an elf who's only skills of proficiency were archery, swordsmanship and flinging himself from tree to tree, you were well under the influence of Dorwinion's wicked whiskey to kill the pain.

"I am finished my lady." Legolas exhaled in relief as he bandaged your hand, which you could have sworn he did not breathe the entire time.

"Now, Josie...do you want to tell me how this deep cut really occurred? This is not the markings of being cut by glass, which the healing water would have cured, but Lola told me it burned you."

"Oh sweet Leggy...you're too smart for your own britches...or should I say stitches??" you giggled with a snort, which brought Legolas' brow to an astounded arch.

A soft amused grin finally formed on his thin lips. "And you my lady, have had enough of the golden giggle juice."

His jestful remark had you snorting again. "And you're funny too."

"Well, there's nothing funny about this wound or finding you unconscious on the castle floor....or your spiteful words earlier this night."

"Well..." you frowned, pouting out your bottom lip. "That's all Stephy's fault..kind of...ok not really...it's the poison in my blood that his wicked twin put there by his beastly claws!"

Now Legolas' brow arched again as the other one furrowed. "Alright, maybe you should just rest for now and..."

"What? You do not believe me?? Tell me Leggo...did you or my Kingly King of all Kings know that Narcisse, well, actually Rahl, can turn onto a giant fucking cat?? Oh wait...BOTH of them can...one white as snow, one black as charcoal, but Stephy, he's the good witch and Rahl, he's the wicked witch of the west, only he's not a girl and definitely not green and ugly like her. Anywhooo, he freaking cut my hand when he shifted. I was standing too close."

"Josie...you have been seeing things that are not there. This happened tonight on the patio. You said Narcisse was there, but he was on the shoreline remember? And..I also found you talking to a wall."

"Ohhh, yes! There..there was a little girl...Rosie! I'm supposed to find her daddy. But noooo, that was not Narcisse, that was Rahlllll. He was a huuuuge raptor and flew down from the moon, morphing into a man wearing the devil's blood red robe with Stephane's face, minus the horns and pitchfork, and he walked right through me!! Come on Lego..las! I know what you and Thranduil can change into. The white hart. I saw you in Rivendell remember?? And I saw Thranduil in the forest only weeks ago, although that was just his ghost... so stop acting like it's impossible and that I am just drunk and delusional! And you yourself just said this cut did not happen on glass! Why do you think Mirkwood's water burns it?"

Legolas realized you were actually right as he sighed, and then his mind drifted to his father, knowing that was not a ghost that you saw whatsoever.

"I..I believe you. All things are possible with magic. As far as Narcisse, or this Rahl? I am not aware of it...but, possibly my father knew. What didn't he know?"

"That is true....but Rahl..he was brought back by Jareth. He's not even real. He's something Stephane's mind created long ago to protect himself from a terrible trauma inflicted by his father. Surely you knew him?? Didn't Thranduil trade with him as well when the Dorwinion King was alive?"

"Yes. He was quite wicked, just like the whiskey you have devoured."

"I fought Rahl tonight. Blade to blade. He was taking advantage of Claude. I saw her before I got to his chambers and she told me what he tried to do. You said that Lola saw Stephane kissing her, but that was not him Legolas."

"You fought Narcisse with a sword???"

"No! Rahl! but...I..I don't remember what happened after that...I woke up here...and...oh my god, my dream! There was a magic elf statue. It was Thranduil! and the bottom, it said...."

Legolas swiftly stood with gaping moonstones peering down at you.

"Gúl -o Aran Thranduil. Ech- a ithil sarn iest no i clair de lune." Legolas whispered.

You sat right up, also with gaping eyes as you too, whispered.

"Magic King Thranduil. Make a moonstone wish under the moonlight. Legolas?? You mean it is real???"

He slowly sat back down with a stiffened stance. "It is. My grandmother carved it and as she did so, her magic was carved into it. It was lost years ago during my grandfather's reign. You..you dreamt of this..where did you see it??"

"Peter's cabin. I...I was there again..and...I can't believe this. How could I have forgotten?? It..it was Christmas and Peter brought me this box of mostly junk, claiming he got the stuff at a thrift shop in Northern New Zealand. He said some gypsy like lady said it granted wishes and gave it to him for free, that the price was in the wishes. But then the asshole took it from me when I...oh my god, that came true!!"

"What came true??"

"I..I wished out loud in anger, right in front of Peter, for him to be devoured by a giant spider in the forest and that happened Legolas, in Mordor!! And then, he got angry and wished to come back from the dead and haunt me and...now he has by Jareth's doing. I just know he's out there! I saw him...a vision of him at my birthday party during a palm reading and he told me he was coming for me!!"

You began to hyperventilate as you sobbed and Legolas quickly pulled you into his arms.

"Never. Never will I let him harm you. Do not cry. Josie...I am sorry I was not here for your birthday. I am so sorry I left you. I will get you a proper gift someday soon."

You sniffled and hiccupped into hair, breathing in his calming tree leaf scent.

"No, I am the one who's sorry. I said horrible things to you tonight. You are the gift Legolas, wrapped beautifully with your giant big bow."

The Prince softly smiled at your double meaning as he tightened his embrace with closed eyes. "Happy birthday my lady."

"LEGOLAS!!" you shouted and pushed out of his arms, accidentally waking Leean.

"I know where the amethyst pendant is!!! I dreamt of it too."

"One of the six needed? Where is it?"

"Yes! At the cabin. I..it...it was Sarah's, hidden among some of her things I kept...but..I don't understand why she would have it? I...I've even dreamt of it before. Her mother, Jocelyn, told me to find Sarah and then put it on me and then I was sucked into some kind of portal. Leggy, we have to go there!"

You jumped out of bed and frantically began rummaging through your clothes to change as Legolas picked Leean up and tried to talk some sense into you.

"We cannot go there tonight or any night, for many reasons Josie. Most importantly, Harker is out there and the dead too. Also, that cabin would take days upon days of travel from where we are. We would be lucky to arrive before the solstice."

"Well we have to do something Legolas, especially while my mind is clear. I don't know what's happening to me with all these hallucinations and the way I have been acting. Look how I treated you and what I said about Lola...Lola? Where...where is she?? I need to speak to her about...something."

That something being about Rahl being her father.

"Out for a walk. I too...said some unpleasant, but warranted things to her."

"What??"

"Lola is of no matter at this time. You are. Your mind is not clear as you said. We must find a way to heal you, but first, you must sleep. We can discuss this further come the morning."

The morning that Legolas dreaded, for it was the deadline that his father had given him to begin the journey back to his halls with you and Leeanduil or Thranduil was going to come and reclaim you both himself, bringing his elven army with him that would incite a war. The Prince would have to decide the wiser option, for both scenarios could carry deadly consequences, the latter being of the higher risk and either would be a very heartbreaking outcome for you to see your King who wasn't your King at all. Should he just tell you the truth and let you decide? That was an immediate hard no for Legolas considering your state of mind.

"Oh god...Bash. Yes, I forgot...he told me there's a witch doctor in the city who can do so and I saw him leave tonight with Charles to go find her. Ok, let me think."

Still tipsy, you paced about as Leean quietly watched you from her brother's arms.

"If only Garrett were here. He could go and get it in only a few hours time...or even my crow..if I even knew where either of them were, but then again, Garrett is off with Kate somewhere probably getting it on. That jerk has my moonstone that I told him to hide. We need that now too. OR...I could try and summon the eagles!!!"

"Alright, slow down. The vampire Kate that my father beheaded?"

"Yep! I saw them, in the mirror, there in the trash. Garrett told me himself he had chosen to be with her again...but...it can't be true, it just can't be."

"Maybe it was another hallucination?" Legolas suggested as his eyes wandered to the trash to view the pulverized mirror.

"No. This happened before I was scratched. It...it must be real then. Why? Why would he do this to me?"

You turned to conceal your eyes that burned of tears over the vampire you secretly and deeply loved and then the room began to spin.

"I...I feel sick." you muttered and ran to the bathroom to rid of the wicked whiskey in your stomach.

Legolas laid his sister back down and kissed her tiny fingers, then he came to you, holding your hair back as your other beloved elves, Haldir and Thranduil, had done.

Once you were finished, you began to teeter from side to side.

"I've got you."

Legolas swooped you back up in his arms and carried you once more to tuck you in for the night and within seconds of Legolas patting your forehead again with the medicinal cloth, you were out.

As he then made his way to feed Leean, Legolas' ears twitched at the scratching and patting noise coming from the door. One of his white knives were swiftly drawn as he moved with great stealth towards the sound.

"Speak your identity!" he firmly commanded.

"Mrrrrow." sounded at the base of the door, drawing Legolas' astonished eyes downward with furrowed brows.

Upon swinging the door open, in strutted Merlin with his bushy tail straight in the air and greeted the elf with a single figure eight sway around and through his legs, then the purring Maine Coon of long lustrous black and gray fur, leaped upon the bed and curled up beside you.

Legolas offered the Kingly feline a soft grin as he closed and locked the door.

"Alright. I suppose you can stay...as if my approval is needed for that of an entitled cat."

Merlin's round cerulean eyes twinkled of magic, stunning the Prince where he stood and then the giant royal beauty lowered his lids to slits and went to sleep.

Bash and Charles disembarked the ferry to Dorwinion city while the small squad of warlock guards that tagged along for extra safety measures held back to not alarm the locals. To begin their search for the infamous lady witch doctor, they chose the nearest tavern for a brief rest and a much needed drink, not so much out of thirst on the bitterly cold winter's night created by the Elvenking's earthly wrath, but out of anxiety.

"Bash, I have been thinking on the way here. Is this really the only option? You know as well as anyone that black magic is not to be toyed with and Delphine is notorious for such acts. Look what happened to my mother and sister for tempting fate. Taking anything from a devil or a witch most always comes with a price. Can she even be trusted?" Charles asked, sipping his wicked ale as his nerves were now getting the better of him.

"Your mother was already evil and deserved her fate which was torture too kind if you ask me. Without the help of your father, this is the only known option and yes, I trust Delphine. This is what she does."

"But Josie is not evil. She is good and kind."

"She won't be for long if she is not cleansed of Rahl's venom. Any repercussions of the healing far outweighs what she will become....wicked like Rahl himself. Drink up, but carefully. We must keep our wits about us."

"So...Is it true?" the young warlock asked of his confused uncle after a moment of silence.

"Is what true?"

"The King of Mirkwood. He lives and caused the destruction this night?"

"No dear nephew. That was the Elvenking."

In that eerie moment of truth, a city guard approached the duo with discerning eyes.

"Sebastian Narcisse. What brings you and the young Prince to the city on a cold, dark and dangerous night? Surely it's not solely for our Lord's crafted ale that is quite plentiful in his kingdom. Is this in relation to the evening's earthly event?"

"It is one reason yes, to ensure our people are well and to assess the damage. Are there any wounded or fatalities?"

"No deaths reported, but there have been some minor injuries from shaken structures. Is all well at the castle? I would have expected Lord Narcisse to have accompanied you."

"My brother is tending to matters there, so we have come in his place. We are also looking for others. Have you happened to cross paths with Haldir of Lorien? Two men and a dwarf had come here as well in their own search for him."

"Ahh yes. The elven Marchwarden. I saw him not long ago on the docks with his brothers and the others you speak of, the Ranger, the Bowman and the dwarf. They were ready to depart when the violent rumble occurred. I am not sure of their whereabouts now, for the waters were too treacherous for the ferry to transport at the time."

"There is one other we seek. One all here know of."

Bash moved in closer and whispered to not be heard by others. "Delphine."

The man immediately stiffened up. "Why on earth would you seek the wicked??"

"She is not wicked, only perceived to be. There is one who desperately needs her help."

"A perception well deserved. Her help will be costly. You know this, for your brother does not permit black magic of any kind. It is considered a crime as you also know which is why she hides. I am sure you recall the village near here. The boy she healed of the black plague became blind and the farm animals fell ill with disease solely from her presence."

"His blindness was caused by the disease. The animals suffered from it too."

"Witches leave a trail of evil. Birds fall from the sky when they are near." the man argued as Bash recalled the pile of dead blackbirds on his terrace.

"Not all witches. Only wicked ones. I would not seek her if I believed her wicked. What happened to her was not her fault. Much more wicked this way comes. She is the least of anyone's worries. Now, do you know of her whereabouts?"

"Harker was indeed her fault. No one gives something to a warlock of evil without a price. It is my understanding that the witch is in God's hands now. From what we have been informed of here, Harker is in the area and has killed some of your men. He is no different from her. She probably assisted him."

"He is and has done as you heard. But as far as Delphine, you know not what you speak of. What she gave was not freely given and she would not aid him in any manner. I thank you for the information. We must be on our way now. Charles, come!"

Bash and Charles left and headed down the long winding docks that encased the colossal city that never sleeps, in hopes of finding Haldir and the others to bring them and the Marchwarden back to the castle, going against Narcisse's banishment of the elf. Bash knew they would be needed for the impending winter war and he knew you needed Haldir. He also had figured out where Delphine was.

"Bash...what did Delphine give Harker??" Charles soon asked with a curious brow.

As Bash continued his hefty strides, he glanced at Charles.

"Lola."

Charles halted his steps as Bash carried on around the corner.

"What?? Wait! Where are we going??"

"Guards!" Bash called to them as they stood at the boarding port. "Follow me."

"My lord. We were informed by the boatman that another ferry had taken Haldir and the others across the bay just before we arrived."

"Then we must hurry. Let's go!!"

"Bash!" Charles angrily shouted. "WHERE are we going??

"The nunnery." he huffed as his fast strides turned into a gallop.

Charles' brows scrunched in confusion over his crinkled nose.

"Church?? We are going to...church???"

"Please. No more. I beg of you. You said you would help me." Delphine pleaded as the elder prioress neared her with a glowing red hot iron bar from the fireplace.

"I am helping you child by ridding Satan of your soul."

The weakened, perspiring witch knelt on the dirt ground, her hands bound tightly behind her back by coarse roping that scoured her wrists like sandpaper, rendered helpless to fight back, for she had been stripped of her power by the previous iron branding of a cross upon her bare chest. It wouldn't have mattered what symbol was burned into her flesh. Iron was iron to a witch, whether good or bad, except for the immunity you had formerly acquired to the power draining magnet.

"You tricked me. I came to you for refuge of the evil one but it seems you are the real evil here."

"Hush your wicked lips now. This is the 7th marking. The final one. If you are not evil like you claim, you will be healed."

"I will be dead!! I cannot take anymore. Please!"

"Back away from her!!" Bash shouted as he kicked the door in with his guards following and immediately cut the feeble witch's ropes free.

"What are you doing?? She needs cleansed of the devil!"

"It is you that needs cleansed, you fool!" Bash snapped at the nun as he swooped up the debilitated Delphine in his arms and swiftly departed.

Once embarked on the ferry, Bash covered her with a wool blanket as she laid barely conscious upon a wooden bench.

"Bash, what good is she to Josie in this state??" Charles whispered.

"A long bath in the healing waters will aid her recovery and use of her power."

"Why does it not help Josie? You said it burns her wound?"

"It's like pouring water on hot grease when it reacts with Rahl's venom."

"Then let me ask you this. Once the Queen is healed... how do we stop Rahl without killing my father???"

"I don't know." Bash replied with great worry.

"Rahl? He's...back too?" Delphine muttered as she opened her chocolate eyes and then became quite agitated as she sat up. "No..no, Bash, you cannot take me back there!"

Bash sat beside her and took her trembling hands into his.

"I will protect you. We have others that will protect you as well. Someone dear to us needs your healing, for she has been tainted with his venom and Lola...she's believed you dead all this time. She needs her mother...she needs you Jocelyn."

Delphine's hand swiftly covered his mouth as her eyes gaped wide with fear and Charles' jaw dropped open.

"Don't ever say my name out loud! They both will hear you! I have been hiding from Harker for so long and I know he is near. Those farm animals did not die because of me...and that boy...it's Harker's curse upon me that made him go blind. I..I cannot heal your friend without cost and if I go there and attempt to, Rahl will surely punish me or even kill me this time. I can not attempt to take what he has marked for himself...not even our daughter."

"WHAT????" Charles roared. "Lola...she is my sister?????"

"Charles, calm down and let me explai..."

"Do not patronize me!! Why was I never told this??? Does my father know??? Does Lola even know??? My god, I...I had a cru...I can't even say it aloud. I feel ill..."

Charles rushed to the front of the ferry and leaned his head over the rail in hopes that the chilled wind would hold his vomit down.

"Charles. Please listen." Bash sympathetically said as he walked up behind him. "Your father does not know. There are some things he cannot remember. Possibly from the trauma of what Rahl did while consuming his body and Lola, she was too young. Neither Delphine nor Rahl told her."

The mad warlock spun around. "Then how do YOU know??!!"

"Because Rahl made sure I knew all those years ago."

"And you never told my father??!"

"Charles...I..I couldn't. Delphine swore me to secrecy because...Rahl..he..used his magic to force her in his bed. She was ashamed and never wanted Lola to know either and I...I could not tell Stephane what he had done. It would have destroyed him. Our father made him do similar things when he was a young boy like you and that is what made Rahl exist in the first place..."

"I can hear no more of this! I have been lied to about everything from the day I was born and now this. Leave me alone!"

The ferry docked and Charles was the first one to disembark, immediately heading straight to his horse as Bash followed with Delphine in his arms once more.

"Wait! Someone is out there!" Delphine warned before Bash could place her up on his horse.

The warlock spun his head around to the forest as he continued to shield her body, protecting her like he promised he would do, when Haldir and company appeared from the darkness.

"Sebastian. Charles. We recognized your horses so we waited for your return."

"Haldir. We have been searching for you to bring you back. All of you. Terrible things are happening back at the castle."

"I have been banished by your brother. More terrible things will most likely occur if I return."

"There are things you do not know."

"Do not feel left out Haldir. It's something my family likes to do. Keep secrets." Charles retorted as he walked off to relieve himself.

After the Marchwarden watched the boy walk away with a raised brow, he turned back to Bash.

"If you are referring to the earthly disturbance this evening, we are well aware of it's cause."

"Well, no, I was not speaking of that, but yes. If my suspicions are correct, it was King Thranduil. He is alive?"

Rumil's Silvan eyes jolted to Haldir as Haldir's moved to Delphine, consumed with caution.

"I know who you are. Your reputation precedes you. I sense evil upon you. You are marked with it. Why is she here?"

"Haldir. It was placed upon her long ago by Harker by no fault of hers. Josie needs her help, for she too has been marked by evil."

Haldir's sapphire eyes dilated and bolted back to Bash as Delphine's eyes widened.

"What has happened to Jo?? Is she alright???" Haldir barked as he stepped forward.

"The woman's name is...Josie?? and called Jo?? Red...hair???" Delphine cut in, highly astonished.

Bash peered down at the woman of long brown locks like Lola's. "You...know her?"

"I...I...." she fearfully stuttered. "I cannot speak of this here."

Haldir's eyes fixated on hers and they began to narrow.

"You can and you will, for I can make you speak the truth witch."

"Haldir, time is of the essence. We must get back and heal Delphine so she can help Josie. She will tell you what you need to know on the way."

"No..no I won't. You don't understand. None of you do."

Haldir moved before her with intense intimidation plastered all over his sullen face as his jaw clenched.

"Then you will make me understand, for you will not go within eyesight of her without my approval. Now speak before I force your tongue."

"I...I...well she...she was...best friend's with my daughter long ago. In the civilian world. Please...I am not supposed to speak of Josie to anyone."

"You are...Sarah's mother, Jocelyn?" Haldir asked as he tilted his head.

"Well this just gets better and better." Charles piped with a smug grin. "Did you know she's also Lola's mother??"

"Shhhh!!!" she whispered to both the elf and the warlock in a panic and then continued to Haldir in a barely audible tone. "For all intents and purposes, yes. But please...H..Haldir. If it is true about the goblin King bringing forth the dead...Caroline will most certainly be one of them and...she will come for me. I...I told you Bash...I cannot go back there!!! I won't!"

A crackling of twigs came from the forest behind them and Delphine gasped in fright, then unsteadily bolted off into the trees.

"Delphine!" Bash shouted and ran off after her with all of the others quickly following.

"Halt!" Haldir commanded, causing everyone, including Delphine to freeze in their tracks.

Haldir's chin lifted for him to smell the air, his nostrils boldly flaring as he sucked it in.

"Narcisse is here. Or shall I say Darken Rahl?" Haldir snarled as his keen nose could pick up both the peppermint and pepper scent of the conjoined entities.

Swords, bows and and axe were all raised and shimmered in light of the waxing moon and then out of the darkness appeared the wicked warlock lord, caped, hooded and holding a charged up ball of golden electricity in his palms as he glowered at them.

"Well if it isn't Haldir of Lorien and his pointy eared sisters. Long time no see girls. Are you ready to dance?"

Rahl pursed his lips tight and raised his hand, chucking the lightning ball at lightning speed into the center of the group, knocking each of the nine to their backs with the blinding explosion.

He then turned on the guards and gave them the same dose of medicine.

"You are MY army. Are...we...clear??! Or shall I start singing a good old Christmas carol for you? Warlocks roasting on an open fire." he sang. "Lord Rahl nipping off your toes."

All but the guards flung to their feet with great agility and resumed their fighting stance with weapons raised, but not Charles. He became enraged at ran at the man with his father's face, wielding his sword.

"Give me back my father!!!!"

As Charles brought the razor sharp blade to the imposter's throat, Rahl bellowed in cackling laughter as he knocked the blade from his hand and the stunned boy to the ground, then held his blade to his chest in return.

"Let us see if you are all as simple minded as this young witch! My blade rests only centimeters from his heart."

"Rahl! Leave him alone. It is I you want yes?? Here I am." Bash shouted, panting desperately.

"If there's one thing I despise, it is a martyr...and a traitor!" Rahl snapped back at Bash.

"You're the traitor!" Charles fearlessly riposted. "Would you really kill your own son???"

"You, my foolish boy, are NOT my son, just as I am not your father, which you so hypocritically just displayed as you rushed me with your sword! You cannot kill me and if you could, you kill daddy dearest!"

"I was not trying to kill you, only slow you down."

Charles swung his hand up and hurled a magical fast ball of his own at Rahl's chest, whipping the dark lord's shoulder back, but not taking him to the ground.

A sinister grin formed on Rahl's lips as he brought his shoulder back with a snap, then he advanced on Charles.

"Weak just like your father. I have had enough of you."

"NO!" Bash shouted and dived over Charles, whipping his body to the side just before Rahl's sword pierced the ground where he had lied.

"AND you!" Rahl continued and raised the blade again.

"Stephane!! STOP!!! I'm your brother! Charles is your son!! I know you're in there!!! Fight him!!! You are the stronger one!!! You are the REAL one!!!"

Rahl's hand that held the sword began to shake and in anger, he grabbed his wrist with the other hand to steady it. As he desperately tried to swing the weapon down at the huddled pair, his hand slingshot the sword through the air and then his eyes burned a blinding yellow light as his head arched back as a peppermint breeze stormed through his hair.

With a heavy exhale, Rahl's head lowered as his the glow of his eyes faded to a soft white shimmer, then became their normal icy blue hues.

"Ch...Charles? B..Bash? Where...where am I?"

"Father???!!" Charles whimpered as he and Bash slowly stood up.

"NO!" Delphine screamed. "It's not him! He still is in Rahl's form!"

"Oh Jocelyn, you always too smart for your own good. Run witch run, all of you run while you still can. I'm hungry and ready to hunt! I love cat and mouse games!"

Before their very eyes, Aragorn's, Bard's, Gimli's, Haldir's, Rumil's, Orophin's, Bash's, Charles, Delphine's and the guards', Rahl shapeshifted into the big black beast with eyes that lit up like there was sun in the dark of night as it's tantalizing tongue slurped over it's cold wet nose.

And then a low malevolent growling purr rolled up it's broad neck and steamed out into the brisk air.

"RUN!!" Delphine cried as she wasted no time in sprinting off.

The jet black panther then ferociously pounced directly at Bash.

@redeemer46

How wickedly purrfect and true!

[post-uwuifier]

According to all known laws of aviation,there is no way a bee should be able to fly.Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground.The bee, of course, flies anywaybecause bees don't care what humans think is impossible.ANumber2Pencil, Dec 7, 2016#1dinocerosDonatorMessages:7,482Likes Received:29,999Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black.Ooh, black and yellow! Let's shake it up a little.Barry! Breakfast is ready!Ooming!Hang on a second.Hello?- Barry?

to make one decision in life.But, Adam, how could they never have told us that?Why would you question anything? We're bees

No one's listening to me!Wait till you see the sticks I have.I could say anything right now.

Hi my name is Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way and I have long ebony black hair (that's how I got my name) with purple streaks and red tips that reaches my mid-back and icy blue eyes like limpid tears and a lot of people tell me I look like Amy Lee (AN: if u don't know who she is get da hell out of here!). I'm not related to Gerard Way but I wish I was because he's a major fucking hottie. I'm a vampire but my teeth are straight and white. I have pale white skin. I'm also a witch, and I go to a magic school called Hogwarts in England where I'm in the seventh year (I'm seventeen). I'm a goth (in case you couldn't tell) and I wear mostly black. I love Hot Topic and I buy all my clothes from there. For example today I was wearing a black corset with matching lace around it and a black leather miniskirt, pink fishnets and black combat boots. I was wearing black lipstick, white foundation, black eyeliner and red eye shadow. I was walking outside Hogwarts. It was snowing and raining so there was no sun, which I was very happy about. A lot of preps stared at me. I put up my middle finger at them.

"Hey Ebony!" shouted a voice. I looked up. It was… Draco Malfoy!

"What's up Draco?" I asked.

"Nothing." he said shyly.

But then, I heard my friends call me and I had to go away.

I'm gonna get an ant tattoo!Let's open some honey and celebrate!Maybe I'll pierce my thorax. Shave my antennae.Shack up with a grasshopper. Get a gold tooth and call everybody "dawg"!I'm so proud.- We're starting work today!

Today's the day.Oome on! All the good jobs will be gone.Yeah, right.Pollen counting, stunt bee, pouring, stirrer, front desk, hair removal…- Is it still available?

Hang on. Two left!One of them's yours! Oongratulations! Step to the side.- What'd you get?

Picking crud out. Stellar!Wow!Oouple of newbies?Yes, sir! Our first day! We are ready!Make your choice.- You want to goetting the Krelman?

Sure, you're on.I'm sorry, the Krelman just closed out.Wax monkey's always open.The Krelman opened up again.What happened?A bee died. Makes an opening. See? He's dead. Another dead one.Deady. Deadified. Two more dead.Dead from the neck up. Dead from the neck down. That's life!Oh, this is so hard!Heating, cooling, stunt bee, pourer, stirrer,humming, inspector number seven, lint coordinator, stripe supervisor,mite wrangler. Barry, what do you think I should… Barry?Barry!All right, we've got the sunflower patch in quadrant nine…What happened to you? Where are you?- I'm going out.

Out? Out where?- Out there.

Oh, no!I have to, before I go to work for the rest of my life.You're gonna die! You're crazy! Hello?Another call coming in.If anyone's feeling brave, there's a Korean deli on 83rdthat gets their roses today.Hey, guys.- Look at that.

Isn't that the kid we saw yesterday?Hold it, son, flight deck's restricted.It's OK, Lou. We're gonna take him up.Really? Feeling lucky, are you?Sign here, here. Just initial that.- Thank you.

OK.You got a rain advisory today,and as you all know, bees cannot fly in rain.So be careful. As always, watch your brot thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word. They drive crazy.- Do they try and kill you, like on TV?

Some of them. But some of them don't.- How'd you get back?

im back UwUcifer, can i enter my own contest?

ah, stwuck again by wengthy ask anon! Mad wespect, yes yoo may UwU

[akumastrife]

'I didn't wish for snow (but it's better with you)' // Les Mis - Snowed In

Rating: Teen (language) Pairing: E/R, BahorelFeuilly, Courferre, Eponine/Cosette/Marius, Montparnasse/Jehan, Joly/Bossuet/Musichetta Fandom: Les Mis Word Count: 4k It was Sunday. Sundays were for meeting with L'ABC for the cause of the season. This Sunday was thwarted by approximately two feet of cold, white bullshit. {ALSO ON AO3} (Yes, this was something I started Dec 2022 for my Holiday Fic Advent Challenge. Yes, it could've easily been 40k. But I'm practicing restraint and trying to be more realistic with my abilities, and hey! better late than never.)

Grantaire glanced up from pouring himself another cup of mulled wine, and smiled softly despite himself. “E, darling,” he teased, “I don’t think they’re going to make it.”

“We always meet on Sundays,” Enjolras muttered. He crossed his arms, shifting, and didn’t move from the window.  A golden sentinel. Grantaire let himself look while Enjolras sulked. Just for another moment or two.

Grantaire sighed, but humored him by coming over to stand beside him.

Outside, the world was a blur of fast falling snow, drifts building high on the sidewalks and encroaching on the streets. “We’re supposed to get another ten inches at least.”

And then snorted, a joke primed on his lips—

—let it pass at the withering look Enjolras shot him, pressing his smile into a thin seam and shaking his head, eyes wide in faux innocence.

“I think everyone’s snowed in. Or out, depending on where they are. Face it, Étoile, just you and me today. Probably tomorrow. As long as it takes to be shoveled out.”

“Horrors,” Enjolras mused, but the corner of his mouth flickered and betrayed him. He sighed, long and tortured, and took the mug from Grantaire’s hand, sipping it with a pleased hum. “This is the best batch so far.”

“More orange,” Grantaire agreed. He took Enjolras’ elbow and tugged lightly. “Come on, away from the window. Let’s watch a trashy, disgustingly heterosexual hallmark movie, and you can tell me everything wrong with it.”

“I do enjoy that. Be better if Courfeyrac was here, though.”

“Everything’s better with Courf,” Grantaire agreed indulgently. “Maybe we should invite him into the bedroom next time.”

Enjolras hummed in general agreement, because he wasn’t listening, already texting Courfeyrac.

Grantaire laughed to himself and turned on the tv, pulling Enjolras down by his belt loops.   

Across town, the door to the cafe blew open on a gust of wind, a swirl of snow, and what appeared to be an honest-to-god Yeti.

And then, upon a second and much longer look, it was only some fool caked in snow from trying to carry out a normal day in this very-abnormal Sunday Blizzard.

“Look like you could use something to warm up with,” Feuilly called across the lobby. He abandoned his broom to slip back behind the counter and tighten his apron strings. At least if he was stuck here for capitalism’s ever-grinding-machine, he’d get a tip out of it.

“Witch’s Tits, it’s a mess out there,” the yeti grunted.

Oh.

Oh, that was his fool.

“What on earth are you doing out in the storm!” Feuilly snapped, putting down the paper cup and coming out into the lobby once again. This time with a dishtowel for Bahorel’s… snowy everything.

Bahorel, the idiot, just smiled at him, shaking himself off like a dog and beat his snow crusted hat on the back of a chair. “Coming to pick you up.”

“My shift doesn’t end for another two hours,” Feuilly reminded him, much less frightening that he’d intended. It was a sweet, if stupid, gesture. He tossed the towel at him so he could properly fold his arms and pretend not be exasperatedly charmed. “It’s messy out there, you said so yourself.”

“Whole city’s shutting down.” Something muffled under the towel. And then Bahorel reappeared with a grin. “Figured even your bosses would have to comply.”

“You figured wrong.”

Bahorel’s glee melted away with the snow in his locs.

Feuilly frowned, but sighed anyway and reached to rub warmth into Bahorel’s cheeks. “But I suppose it’s sweet you came anyway. How was campus?”

“Oh, same as same. Showed my face at the study group, passed out some of Enj’s fliers since I was already there. Tried to duck out early but none of the buses are running with everything.”

Feuilly nodded as he listened, drifting back behind the counter to make Bahorel something warm to drink. Habit and comfort, hands working mechanically as he made something off menu, listening to Bahorel’s animated story-telling just like when they were at home. Only the empty cafe and its softly humming appliances were their captive audience, instead of all his plants and their cat.

“Sorry, wait,” he interrupted, “did you just say you taught a class? Who’s class? What class runs on a Sunday? Aren’t there, I don’t know, laws about that?”

Bahorel sat at a stool, crossing his arms on the counter. “Well, you see, as I was saying, I was trying to leave campus but I came across a classroom in which there was no teacher and a dozen students talking about the fifteen-minute rule.”

“Baz…”

“So, I thought, what the hell, I’m already here, might as well do something. Marched in, said they’d sent a Sub, and got to teaching.”

Feuilly pressed a hand to his mouth, choking back laughter. “You? You barely go to classes, and now you’re teaching them? What was it?”

“Ancient Roman Law.”

“There’s a historical law class… on Sundays?” Feuilly slid a mug across the counter to him, leaning on it himself.

“Oh, don’t know what class it was, but that’s what I taught.”

Feuilly sputtered, coughed, and then couldn’t help the peal of genuine laughter. “You’re terrible. Those poor undergrads are going to think it’ll be on the test!” He leaned to hit Bahorel’s shoulder hard.

Bahorel only flinched so much as to protect him mug from tipping, and grinned, cheeks flushed with cold and joy, eyes twinkling. “Ah, it’ll be good for them. If they thought I was a real teacher, that’s on them.”

“Wait, if the buses aren’t running, how’d you get here?”

“I walked,” Bahorel said, eyebrows raised in the pointed obviously.

Feuilly hit him again. “Then how did you think you were going to ‘pick me up’ with no transportation?”

“I admit, I hadn’t thought that far. It was more about the gesture, really.”

“Here’s a gesture for you,” Feuilly said, and flipped him off. “What if we’re stuck here all night?”

“Could be romantic.”

Feuilly rolled his eyes. “That’d break so many food service regulations. Absolutely not.”

“You’re no fun.”

“Well then I suppose it’s good you’re fun enough for the both of us,” Feuilly sighed, and gave into that cheeky grin by leaning across the counter for a kiss.

“Looks like that’s the last of everyone,” Cosette said, wiping her hands down her powder blue apron and looking around. The food drive had been busy, but not like years previous, and she was dismayed to realize it was because how much snow was falling and more than likely no one not at the shelter itself could get there.

“We should start cleaning up and get out of here,” Eponine said, handing her a rag, “before we get stuck here too. R’s been texting, he and his golden candlestick are stuck at the apartment. Proper lovebirds,” with an insincere sneer.

Cosette giggled.

Gavroche wriggled between a wall and the trash cans, breathing hard and face flushed with cold.

“What’s wrong with you?” Eponine asked, as Cosette brushed snow from his hat, face, and shirt collar.

“Marius’ car’s stuck,” he said, muffled behind Cosette’s hands. “He went off to get help.”

“Oh dear.”

“He’ll be dead in a ditch before dawn,” Eponine said.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Cosette said, but even she couldn’t sound as optimistic as she’d like. “We’ll clean up and see if anyone needs anything else, and maybe by the time we’re ready to leave, it won’t be on homemade snowshoes.”

It didn’t take too long, all in all. The cooks and kitchen helpers mostly had everything wrapped up and ready for deliveries (that likely wouldn’t happen with the weather) while Gavroche flitted around throwing more festive decorations up on any ledge or wall that seemed too depressing.

Eponine changed over laundry and passed out more blankets, and smiled too fond when she found Cosette sat on the floor with a little girl, hand-mending her doll’s dress.

“This is very pretty,” Cosette praised. “I love this color of green. And it’ll hide my stitches beautifully.”

“Did you do that?” the girl asked, pointing and poking at the sprig of forget-me-nots embroidered on her apron strap.

“I did, would your doll like some too?”

The little girl nodded and Eponine smoothed a hand over Cosette’s hair, sitting down beside her to rest her feet for the first time all day.

Cosette had embroidered not only flowers but a tiny bird on the girl’s own sleeve by the time her phone chimed in her pocket.

“Grab that, love?” she asked, hands busy and thread caught in her mouth as she finished.

Eponine slid out her phone and snorted at the ID, before answering it, getting to her feet and looking towards the door. “Is this the man who’s kidnapped my boyfriend? We don’t have any money for ransom, you know.”

Marius’ breath hitched down the line in surprise before laughing softly. He sounded winded, and a little giddy, but mostly probably all right. “Car’s stuck in the snow, I’m sorry, and the buses aren’t running, but I’ve come with a chariot for the ladies none the less.”

“So gallant,” she drawled, glancing down at Cosette’s curious expression, and rolling her eyes in answer. She reached down to help her up. “We’ll be right out, it better be warm, Pontmercy.”

“I’ve done my best.”

She gathered their bags, her little brother, and her girlfriend’s porcelain hand, taking all of it out front of the shelter.

“You’ve got to be shitting me.”

“Oh my,” Cosette echoed, entirely charmed and fluttery because she was actually a Victorian Lady born in the wrong year.

“That’s so cool!” Gavroche exclaimed, and bounded through the snow to clamber up into the sleigh next to Marius. “The horses are real?”

“Yes,” Marius laughed, looking hopefully to the girls. “Called in a favor at the country club. We’ve got them until midnight.”

“They’re beautiful,” Cosette sighed, struggling through the snow to come up beside the pair of chestnut brown horses, patting their necks and down their harnesses, all lined in shining bells. The sleigh was massive, varnished wood, and utterly unbelievable.

“You rich fuck,” Eponine said. “We’re taking this and delivering the rest of the meals to everyone who couldn’t make it.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” Marius said. He leaned out of the sleigh for their bags, and set them in the deep back end. “Plenty of room, go get the baskets.”

Cosette climbed into the sleigh and grabbed his face in her mittened hands, kissing him soundly and laughing bright like the sleigh’s bells. “You’re a dream. Absolutely wonderful.”

“I’d hoped you’d like it,” he admitted, spreading a fur blanket over her. Glanced to Eponine. “Both of you. The roads are mostly empty, we’ll finish the rounds in no time.”

“Unbelievable,” Eponine said, but she couldn’t help smiling after all.

Courfeyrac pouted and slid lower in his chair.

All of it was so commonplace, Combeferre didn’t even bother to look up.

“E and R are having a movie night,” Courfeyrac said, thrusting his phone across the table for Combeferre’s perusal. “You said the weather was going to cancel the meeting.”

“Hence, they’re not having a meeting,” Combeferre said, flipping a page in his book.

“Ferre, I don’t think I can study anymore. Every time I read something it just spills out of my ears like spaghetti. I would like to watch movies.”

Combeferre sighed, but pushed his current book back a little and checked the time. Used Courfeyrac’s phone because it was still under his nose, and then took it rather abruptly.

It was… much later than he expected. He’d planned on getting there early, cramming as much as inhumanly possible, and then beat it out of the library before the storm hit in earnest and they were forced to make a bed and campfire from books (only the damaged ones, of course, headed for the bin anyway.)

Instead, he’d spent the whole day at this tiny table in a cramped corner, surrounded by too many empty coffee cups, and Courfeyrac. The very sweet Courfeyrac who hadn’t complained once while sitting with him for six hours.

“Is that really the time? Gracious, Courf, I’m so sorry,” as he jumped up and began organizing his papers and books in earnest.

Courfeyrac’s fluttering fingers appeared under his nose, slowing his hands physically and helping. “Ferre, settle, it’s alright. Really. I needed it too. And I’m only mildly wasting away from starvation, really, easy enough to fix.”

Combeferre frowned, but when he looked up Courfeyrac was smiling at him, not a hint of malice, just fond exhaustion. He was owed that, Combeferre supposed.

“I’ll make it up to you.”

Courfeyrac smiled wider and winked at him, standing to gather his own possessions.

Predictably, Combeferre blushed, but that wasn’t new, either. “I just have to return these to the reference desk, and then we can go.”

“Excellent.”

There wasn’t anyone at the reference desk, so they just stacked their various tomes behind the lip on the counter.

There wasn’t… anyone anywhere, really. The halls were quiet, the computers all idly bouncing around the city logo screen-savers.

Descending the main, winding staircase found no one else. Not a giggle or shriek from the children’s area, not any sulking teens in the lounge, not even late afternoon stragglers in line at the coffee cart.

“Ferre…”

Combeferre knew. It hit him all at once with a creeping sort of icy dread that matched the horror on his face reflected in a frost-coated window.

He pulled on the main doors. Once. Twice.

Several more times in quick, panicked succession.

“They’ve locked us in,” he whispered.

“We’re going to die in here,” Courfeyrac whimpered. “What are we supposed to do? Ferre? I don’t have any cash for the vending machines. Do we break a window—”

“No!”

“-call the fire department? Go upstairs and see if they have any vintage porn on VHS?”

Combeferre yanked on one of his curls quickly. “All your ideas are terrible.”

“I don’t hear you coming up with any. This is your natural habitat.”

“Let me think.”

Courfeyrac quieted obediently, even if he pressed his face to the doors and whimpered to the outside world at large.

Even they did manage to get the doors unlocked, or find a particularly forgotten and unsecured window, the snow was already thigh high with no signs of stopping. They’d be lost in a winter wasteland before they made it to the main road.

“Well, I think there’s really only one thing for it.”

“Hmm?”

“We have to call the Mayor.”

Courfeyrac squawked. 

Snow continued to fall thick and heavy outside the wall of foggy windows. Jehan stood on the warm side of it, and watched the activity of an unfamiliar airport. An unfamiliar city.

They picked up their carry-on bags and moved against the stream of people up to one of the service desks.

“This isn’t my city,” they blurted before the attendant was able to even to fully focus on them. “I don’t know where this is, but I’m not supposed to be here.”

It was a fraught several minutes of back and forth, arguing with the attendant that yes, they understood how unusual this was; yes, this should’ve never been able to happen; yes, it was possibly up to them to cover the cost of their appropriate return home, if there were even any seats available, which there weren’t; yes—

A well-manicured hand studded in rings appeared on the counter next to them, distracting both into silence.

“I don’t mean to eavesdrop,” a smooth and melodious voice said. And then what followed was the most beautiful, possibly vampiric, gentleman Jehan had ever seen. “But you seem to be in a spot of distress.”

“I am,” Jehan said immediately, eyes only for this… this… specimen.

They were being ridiculous, like some damsel on a romance novel cover.

But they were also a million miles from home (give or take a few), stranded, and being smiled at by a gorgeous model of sharp gothic refinement.

The airlines attendant said something, but it was lost in the muffled background.

Montparnasse, as he introduced himself, was there on business. What business, he was coyly avoiding mentioning, and every time Jehan tried to circle back around to it, there was another bit of pretty flattery to distract them, another kind question about their travels, and their desire to just go home.

“I’ve always wanted to visit,” Montparnasse said, like it was nothing. Like the concept of changing a plane ticket when there were none to be had, was only a matter of whimsy.

A man all in black edged into their field of vision. Montparnasse glanced over lazily, quirked a smile, and waved him away.

“Do you know him?”

“Friend of a friend. Now, let’s see about if anyone’s wanting to switch flights.”

Jehan couldn’t fathom that being possible at all. The airport was packed, the weather was getting nastier, flights were being canceled left and right. Everyone just wanted to get home. What could Montparnasse possibly have to convince anyone like that?

“You’re so sweet,” Musichetta crooned, gently mopping up the bloody cut at Bossuet’s temple. “A sweet fool.”

“Your fool, at least,” Bossuet said dreamily, beaming up at her. “Sorry I got hurt.”

“Ah, ah,” she said, “what did I say about sorrys?”

“Don’t apologize for what you didn’t do,” Joly said, smiling tight as he focused on the open box of medical supplies. “That’s another quarter for the jar. Why were you trying to shovel? The way it’s coming down, by the time you finished, you’d be right back at the start.”

“I didn’t want you slipping on the ice,” Bossuet said. His smile faltered only until his eyes were able to focus long enough to slip to Joly. Enough to catch Joly wrestling back a fond sigh.

“Ah, so you decided to slip for me.”

“Happy to. I would slip every day so you wouldn’t.”

“Idiot,” Joly sighed, threading a needle. “We should take you to the clinic. Clearly you’ve hit your head too hard, talking like that.”

“Can’t, in this weather,” Musichetta mused. She kissed Bossuet’s head softly, cradling him close to her chest. “You’ll have to do, doc.”

“Only a student,” Joly reminded her, as he always did. “This will sting,” he warned.

“M’used to it.” Bossuet closed his eyes, relaxing into Musichetta and humming at the lovely way she rubbed his head and his chest, fingernails drawing light designs.

Bossuet simmered in it, drifting in the warmth of touch and care, the comforting sting of antiseptic, the soft chatter of his two favorite people, the jingle of bells—

Bells?

“Do I have a concussion?”

“Likely,” Joly said. He still picked up a flashlight to flash in Bossuet’s eyes.

“Do I hear bells? Am I dying? Why are there bells?”

“Bells, what do you—Oh, oh my, there’s bells?”

She stood in a flurry of skirts and hair and Bossuet nearly fell back on his head at the sudden shock of cold at his back.

“It’s Eponine and her boys,” Musichetta said in delight, throwing the front door open wider. “They have a sleigh.”

“Like Santa?” Bossuet asked.

Joly laughed.

“We’re here to pick you up!” Cosette called from the street.

Bossuet couldn’t wait for his ears to stop ringing so he could say hi to Marius.

“Good,” Musichetta said, “we can stop by the clinic on the way.”

“Bossuet?” Cosette asked.

“Isss allll about me,” Bossuet sang cheerfully.

Joly’s cool fingers tugged the end of the suture knot, playing carefully over the perfect little line of stitches. “Hmm, you’ll live.”

“Nice. Can I have a kiss?”

“Hmm.”

“Chetta always kisses me better.”

“That’s because she has healing kisses,” Joly said gravely. He finished wiping Bossuet’s cut and finally leaned back for his cane to push himself up. “You sit there a moment, get yourself settled. Chetta and I will get our stuff for the evening.”

“Bring the heated blanket. We might get stuck there.”

Joly leaned down to kiss Bossuet’s head after all. “So foolish, and yet so smart. I’ll get it. And some painkillers.”

Enjolras had only just gotten his perfect hand into Grantaire’s pants when there was a great and sudden clatter on their little apartment porch.

“The door—”

“Probably buglers,” Grantaire mumbled, tugging Enjolras back into another kiss. “They’ll find their own way in.”

Enjolras pushed away and up, and was across the room before Grantaire could think of anything fun and interesting to keep him. He groaned and flopped back against the back of the couch, limbs akimbo and feeling very pathetic.

“Have we missed it?” Combeferre asked, over several voices all exclaiming at once.

“Did you get the baskets?”

“Oh, here’s more blankets.”

“Do you think we should just stay here? Surely everything will be closed tomorrow.”

“Did you—oh thank fuck, here’s all the leftovers from Feuilly’s.”

It made Grantaire smile, eyes closed, at the ceiling despite himself. Their friends. All here after all. Against all odds.

“How’s the weather out there?” he called.

“Fucking atrocious,” Bahorel said, alongside the sounds of beating snow off his gloves. Possibly against someone’s shoulder, by the following squawk. “We’d been here earlier but Freckles insisted on finishing his shift, and then we helped pull out… I don’t know how many cars.”

“With what?” And then wheezed with a curse, all of Gavroche’s not-insubstantial weight body-slammed into his stomach.

“Marius got us a sleigh! With horses and everything!” Gavroche said.

“Great,” Grantaire croaked. “Your knee is eviscerating me.”

Gavroche giggled and scrambled down, darting off to assault someone else.

Grantaire didn’t care as long as he could breathe.

“You look like a bad morning after,” Eponine said, sliding her fingers through his hair, tugging a few snags out. “Slut.”

“Was trying. No thanks to you. There’s mulled wine in the kitchen. Suppose I should make more, if the Brady Bunch is here.”

“I have to go find a place to, uh, park the horses?” Marius said, and ducked back outside.

“I didn’t know if you’d make it,” Enjolras was saying, voice bright and deeply awed. When Grantaire looked, he was holding Combeferre by the shoulders, gazing into his eyes like they were on a TV special.

“Of course we did,” Combeferre said. “It’s Sunday. The Revolution waits for no one, and certainly not snow.”

“We’ve done our good deeds for the day,” Courfeyrac said, pushing bodily between them and taking Enjolras’ face in his hands. “I heard you were watching movies. I want to watch bad hallmark movies and drink about them. Please, E, I’ve been studying all day and then being good all the way here. Please,” he whined.

“Oh, this is a good cheese.”

Grantaire popped up out of the couch and over it towards the kitchen. “Stay away from my fancy cheese! I was supposed to be wooing Enj before you all crashed.”

Feuilly slanted a flat look at him. Pointedly put the cheese back in the fridge and took out a box of leftover pizza instead. “I will return the coffee I brought you, then.”

“Wait—no, no, wait—”

“Oh, Grantaire,” Cosette admonished sweetly, hand on his arm as she floated by. “It would be such a lovely spread. Let me and Feuilly throw something together, and I’ll buy you even better cheese next week.” She held out her pinky finger, smiling as sweet as any angel he didn’t believe in.

Who was Grantaire to deny a pinky promise? Who was Grantaire to deny Cosette?

The door hit the wall and Jehan, standing square in the opening, flinched. “Sorry! Wind’s picking up. But we made it!”

“Jehan!” Joly called from the armchair. Looked like he would’ve gotten up if he wasn’t weighed down by several people.

“I thought you were stranded?” Musichetta asked. “How did you make it home?”

“Terrible spot of bad luck,” Bossuet sympathized.

“We?” Enjolras set about counting heads, but no—

 “You,” Eponine breathed, frozen in the hall, a mug in each hand.

The man behind Jehan ducked into the small entryway, brushing snow from his black hair with his black leather gloves. “Thank you for allowing me to crash your evening plans.”

“Everyone, this is M—”

“Jehan!” Eponine screeched, her pallor of surprise flooding with purpling anger. “You brought the mafia home with you!”

“Huh?” Jehan turned, peering up at his companion. “Don’t be ridiculous, ‘Ponine, he’s not…”

Montparnasse smiled, somehow smoothly confident and sheepish at once. “I didn’t think it was first date appropriate.”

“Was-was this a date?”

Grantaire swore, dragging both hands down his face. “Might as well. Why not. Baz, get out more wine, it’s going to be a weird holiday.”

[henriiiii-1001old]

tmc fairy tale au!!!

SO this is actually a concept i had a few months ago that i never rly expanded upon.

first, let me explain the basics:

i assigned different tmc characters to different fairy tales, but they all exist in the same universe.

Adam - Rapunzel Evelin - Snow White/Flynn Rider Jonah - Little Mermaid Sarah - Gretel/Daughter from The Juniper Tree Mark - Hansel/Stepson from The Juniper Tree Cesar - Frog Prince Thatcher - Lumberjack guy from Red Riding Hood Ruth - Red Riding Hood Dave - Father from The Juniper Tree Six - Gothel Gabriel - Stepmother from The Juniper Tree Preacher - The Sea Witch Stanley - The Candy Witch Alt!Thatch - Big Bad Wolf

next, some art i made for the au!!!

and now, huge lore dump! >:)c its gonna be long so buckle your seatbelts LMAO

so, the main plot of this au is basically that adam has been stuck in a tower in the middle of nowhere for almost 21 years. he had been raised by six, who is actually a witch set on taking over the kingdoms that surround the nearby areas (aka the counties). one day, six it out doing stuff, and while he's gone prince evelin (yes she's a prince bc fuck it) ends up finding the tower. she decides to climb it out of curiosity.

she ends up in a standoff against adam, but to try to deescalate things, they introduce themselves to each other. all of a sudden before they could talk more, adam hears six coming back and hides evelin in a nearby closet. evelin sees adam and six get into a fight abt adam wanting to go out into the world for once, but six is all "you're not ready" and it just gets really bad. all until six lovebombs adam and leaves again to get something for adam's upcoming 21st birthday.

evelin had exited the closet as six left, and she's like "you let him do that to you?" adam is like "uh yeah? he always does? i dont see them problem" and evie starts making adam question everything. she promises to take adam into the world but return him by night in case six came back. they'd also stay near the tower just in case as well.

cut to jonah's pov! he's a simple merman wanting to be a part of the human world! he sees evie and adam having a lot of fun and wishes he could join them. his dad (yes, if jonah is the little mermaid, the fucking mervin marshall is the king by proxy DCFVGBHNJ) is all like "nuh uh too dangerous, especially with most of the witches residing on land anyway" and jonah is like "FUCKING BET!"

he goes to the sea witch, preacher, and asks for legs and talks about seeing adam and evie hanging out! and preacher is like "im sorry WHO????" bc she knows that adam shouldnt be out and about. she makes jonah promise that as part of the deal, he must return adam to six in three days time, otherwise he'll turn back into a merman. he quickly agrees, and the whole deal is made. preacher does go tell six about this, and while he freaks out at first, preacher is like "it's ok dude i got this. i got a client to promise to return him home as part of our deal. you're fine m'dude."

jonah ends up on land and tries teaching himself how to talk while finding a cloth to barely dress himself with. adam and evie do eventually see him and they're like "yo who tf are you?" and while jonah cant talk, they do find a way to write to each other and they become friends!!!!

they do also eventually meet sarah at some point, and oh b o y does she have a backstory.

SO, in order to explain her backstory, let me explain the story of "the juniper tree" (copy pasted from discord LMAO)

"so a mother is peeling apples under a juniper tree and accidentally cuts her finger. the blood drips onto the snow on the ground, and that (somehow) grants the woman's wish to have a child as white as snow and as red as blood. she dies after giving birth to her perfect child, and the father soon remarries, having a daughter of her own.

she loved her daughter but hated her stepson and abused him every day and is all "i want my daughter to inherit your father's money." she then leads her children to a chest of apples one day. she lets her daughter pick an apple from the chest, but when her stepson came to pick one, she slammed the chest on his head and decapitated him.

she then set it up to where the same thing would happen again but the daughter would be there to witness it all, and her mother would gaslight her into thinking that she murdered her own brother. she then literally turned her stepson into soup and fed him to her husband. the daughter was so grossed out and distraught the entire time, but she couldn't rat her mother out. she ended up burying her brother's bones under the juniper tree.

then, he reincarnated as a bird and sung a song to some townspeople to convince them to help him get revenge on his stepmother. he gathered a golden chain for his father, red shoes for his sister, and a millstone to crush his stepmother. he reveals himself to his family and they live happily ever after."

here's the changes i made to the original story:

instead of just the mother dying, both of mark and sarah's prents die, and now they are in the sole custody of dave

instead of having the caretaker marry someone, dave asks his friend "o'brien" to help raise mark and sarah

instead of the stepmother dying, it is revealed that o'brien was actually the great mage gabriel trying to steal something important to their plans that dave just so happens to have

and thats it CFVGBHNJM. gabriel does try and come back every once in a while to coax gabe into either letting them come back or trying to make dave give himself up for sarah's sake.

cesar's story is also p cool imo! he is the prince of bythorne and evelin's cousin! they got along great when evelin was younger, but that stopped once cesar disappeared.

this was caused by him saving mark and sarah from the candy witch, stanley, who had lured them in to specifically kill mark. cesar saw what was going on and saved the two of them before it was too late.

later that night, stanley decided to be a petty bitch and curse cesar into being a frog so he wouldn't be able to save anyone else from her or her sisters' (in which six is her like. brother but i'll explain why later LMAO) plans. cesar hid in the shadows of mandela kingdom's palace for years since then.

since cesar's disappearance, evelin had wanted to take the role of prince to honor him. she also used it as a way to not have to be trapped inside the palace walls and coddled. she ended up still feeling stuck anyway, which led to her sneaking out to travel through the woods, which ofc led her one day to find adam's tower.

at some point (if anything this would be after evie and adam meet and stuff), evelin finds cesar in his frog form on the windowsill of the guest room he would regularly stay in whenever he would come to mandela to visit. he finds that she isnt revolted by his new appearance and is actually willing to help him out!

he explains that he learned that most curses can be cured by "true love's kiss", which in storybooks was always seen as romantic. he had always viewed evelin like a little sister, so he felt that he was hopeless.

that was until evelin thought of a loophole, since the stories never explicitly said that it was romantic, she would try to break the curse purely through the love she has for him as her cousin. she kisses the top of cesar's head, and cesar has returned to his human form!!!

...well, somewhat. the curse had altered his human form due to it not being broken for years on end, so cesar came back deformed. his limbs were too long and half of his face was always covered by a dark shadow. cesar did freak out about this, but evelin assured him that he'll always be her cesar, no matter what he looked like.

evelin and cesar explained the situation and cesar was finally returned to bythorne. he did write a letter a bit after wards telling her that he has resigned from his princely duties to become a princess! maybe it would help him not have to struggle with the expectations of needing to be brave and bold, and it would be a thank you to evelin for taking his role as a prince!!!

speaking of evelin, let's go back to her for a minute. so, i had also put her as snow white, but we haven't really seen her fulfill that role yet. weeelllll...

at some point in the story, six finds evelin alone in the forest and offers her to take a bite of an apple in exchange for knowledge about adam and his past. the thing is, evelin HATES fruit so she's like "ewww do i have tooo" and six is like "if you really wanna know, then you gotta."

evelin agrees and bites into the apple. it tastes so fucking gross, but she feels like she was to swallow it to finish her end of the deal. once she swallows, the pieces suddenly cling onto her throat, choking her in the process. as she struggles to breathe, six begins to tell her who adam truly is.

adam is a regular boy who six took as part of a deal made by his parents. lynn had been getting pregnancy cravings and wanting the rapunzel frm the neighbor's garden. she made jude retrieve them for her, but it wasn't enough. eventually, jude got caught by six and agreed to give up their firstborn child in exchange to continue taking the flowers.

once adam was born, lynn and jude were killed by six, and he took adam away to raise him as his prodigy. as a catalyst for the witches' plans.

as six is explaining all of this to evelin, she is trying her hardest to take him down with her. fuck the info he's giving her, he tricked her, and now he has to pay. she swings with all her might but falls in vain. her vision goes black as six walks away from her dying body...

there's probably a "mother knows best reprise" moment here and six is all like "oh you might wanna go save your friend if you care about her so much" and adam freaks tf out. she's desperately trying to think of something to help evelin.

eventually, the group remember's cesar's story with "true love's kiss" and they're like "fuck it let's try that". adam, while literally sobbing, plants a small kiss on her forehead and prays for her to wake up.

while this is all happening, evelin ets visited by mark's spirit. he basically hypes her up and is like "you got this girlie!!!" and she wakes up after adam plants his kiss on her. she starts to choke again, but adam helps her with it and heimlichs the apple out of her throat. she's finally able to breathe, and the group celebrates.

however, the happy moment doesn't last for too long. jonah does eventually return adam to six behind evelin and sarah's backs, but afterward he feels so guilty for it. they literally sacrificed one of the first human friends he's ever made for legs. how stupid is that? they eventually go to sarah and evelin and they quickly figured out what happened. while evelin goes to the tower to save adam (with help from a certain spirit), sarah and jonah confront preacher.

there is gonna be a plot abt preacher almost taking over the seas, but jonah and sarah do eventually take her down and retrieve jonah's voice. and yes, sarah gets to see that jonah is a merman and she's actually like "YO WAIT YOU GUYS ARE REAL???" and jonah is like "UH YEAH?????"

and yes, adam does eventually escape as well, but i dont have those details either so ye :')

that's the main plot at least! i do have a subplot for thatcher's pov tho! more copy paste from discord

"thatcher and ruth are friends and live nearby each other. ruth usually helps out w raising mark and sarah, though mark by this point is dead so dave DEFINITELY needs help. he and sarah havent been taking his death well, especially since dave literally ate mark’s remains without knowing. and sarah feels guilty enough for being gaslit into believing that she killed mark.

so ruth is about to go to dave’s place and has to walk through the forest to get there. she eventually meets what seems to be a very friendly wolf. she is a little weirded out by it, but she eventually tells it how dave lost mark and that she’s helping out! and the wolf is like “oh thats cool! i wish you luck on your journey. though i must say, these flowers smell beautiful! maybe you should pick some and take them to your dear friend!” and as ruth collects flowers as the wolf suggested, it found thatcher nearby and took his appearance to take a visit to a particular dave lee." ...

"she gets to dave's place who has been escorted out by the wolf/alt thatcher, right? so he's like "dear friend, why don't you rest! you've spent all day walking here, and you should be able to rest" aaaaand he tries to turn her into a werewolf but then thatcher comes in and is like "AYO TF YOU DOING TO MY BESTIE????" and he and the wolf fight. thatcher ends up getting bitten but is able to ward him off with his axe that was laced with silver just in case. so ruth is saved, but overtime thatcher feels more pain surge throughout his body and just kinda. turns one night.

unfortunately, he ends up killing ruth. alt thatcher tries to take this as an opportunity to maybe make him join the witches, but thatcher ofc refuses and makes a break towards dave's house. thatcher ends up telling dave what happened, and dave is okay with helping him hide it as well as hiding his newfound lycanthropy

sarah overhears this convo and becomes EXTREMELY angry at thatcher bc ruth was helping dave raise her after mark died. she was basically the mother figure sarah had always wanted, and thatcher took that away from her."

that's it for plot!!! now for some witch shenanigans >:)

so the witches are basically all the alts who usually practice shapeshifting magic to like. deceive others and all that jazz. ive made it a running joke that six is technically the only guy there FVGBHNJ

like, stanley is fem, preacher is female, alt!thatcher is copying thatcher who is transfem in this au, and gabriel dresses fem. six (and by proxy adam) is literally the only guy there DCFVGBHNJ

i am. running out of energy but i think that's everything for rn. hope you enjoy this au though!!!! ive put a lot into it <33333

[duothelingo]

-- Junu ootin' stars break the mold It's a cool place and they say it gets colder You're bundled up now but wait till you get older But t he meteor men beg to differ Judging by the hole in the satellite picture The ice we skate is gettin' pretty thin The water's getting warm so you might as well swim My world's on fire How 'bout yours That's the way I like it and I'll never get bored Hey, now, you're an all-star {Shouting} Get your game on, go play Hey, now You're a rock star Get the show on, get paid And all that glitters is gold Only shootin' stars break the mold {Belches} Go! Go! {Record Scratching} Go. Go.Go. Hey, now, you're an all-star Get your game on, go play Hey, now You're a rock star Get the show on, get paid And all that glitters is gold Only shootin' stars break the mold -Think it's in there? -All right. Let's get it! -Whoa. Hold on. Do you know what that thing can do to you? -Yeah, ! I'm an orge! You know. "Grab your torch and pitchforks." Doesn't that bother you? -Nope. -Really? -Really, really. -Oh. -Man, I like you. What's you name? -Uh, Shrek. -Shrek? Well, you know what I like about you, Shrek? You got that kind of I-uttons. -All right then. Who's hiding them? -Okay, I'll tell you. Do you know the muffin man? -The muffin man? -The muffin man. -Yes, I know the muffin man, who lives on Drury Lane? -Well, she's married to the muffin man. -The muffin man? -The muffin man! -She's married to the muffin man. {Door opens} -My lord! We found it. -Then what are you waiting for? Bring it in. {Man grunting} {Gasping} -Oh! -Magic mirror - - -Don't tell him a \ adas And getting caught in the rain -Princess Fiona. If you're not into yoga -She's perfect. All I have to do is just find someone who can go - - -But I probably should mention the little thing that happens at night. -I'll do it. -Yes, but after sunset - - -Silence! I will make this Princess Fiona my queen, and DuLoc will finally have the perfect king! Captain, assemble your finest men. We're going to have a tournament. -But that's it. That's it right there. That's DuLoc. I told ya I'd find it. -So, that must be Lord Farquaad's castle. -Uh-huh. \

Hi my name is Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way and I have long ebony black hair (that's how I got my name) with purple streaks and red tips that reaches my mid-back and icy blue eyes like limpid tears and a lot of people tell me I look like Amy Lee (AN: if u don't know who she is get da hell out of here!). I'm not related to Gerard Way but I wish I was because he's a major fucking hottie. I'm a vampire but my teeth are straight and white. I have pale white skin. I'm also a witch, and I go to a magic school called Hogwarts in England where I'm in the seventh year (I'm seventeen). I'm a goth (in case you couldn't tell) and I wear mostly black. I love Hot Topic and I buy all my clothes from there. For example today I was wearing a black corset with matching lace around it and a black leather miniskirt, pink fishnets and black combat boots. I was wearing black lipstick, white foundation, black eyeliner and red eye shadow. I was walking outside Hogwarts. It was snowing and raining so there was no sun, which I was very happy about. A lot of preps stared at me. I put up my middle finger at them.

"Hey Ebony!" shouted a voice. I looked up. It was... Draco Malfoy!

"What's up Draco?" I asked.

"Nothing." he said shyly.

But then, I heard my friends call me and I had to go away.

次の日、私は寝室で目覚めました。雪が降ってまた雨が降ってきました。私は棺の扉を開け、持っていた瓶から血を飲みました。私の棺は黒い黒檀で、中には端に黒いレースが付いたホットピンクのベルベットがありました。私は棺から出て、パジャマとして使っていた巨大なMCR Tシャツを脱ぎました。代わりに、私は黒い革のドレスを着て、五芒星のネックレス、コンバットブーツ、そして黒い網タイツを着ました。ピアスを4つつけ、髪をボサボサお団子のような形にまとめました。

私の友人のウィロー (AN: レイヴンはあなたです!) が目を覚まし、私に笑いました。彼女は腰まで届く長い漆黒の黒髪をピンクの縞模様で翻し、森のような緑色の目を開いた。彼女はマリリン・マンソンのTシャツを着て、黒のミニパンツを着て、網タイツを履いて、とがったハイヒールのブーツを履いていた。私たちは化粧をします（黒の口紅、白のファンデーション、黒のアイライナー）。

「OMFG、昨日あなたがドラコ・マルフォイと話しているのを見ました！」彼女は興奮して言いました。

「ええ？ それで？」私は顔を赤らめながら言いました。

「ドラコは好きですか？」私たちがスリザリンの談話室を出て大広間に入るとき、彼女は尋ねました。

fun fact i got a strike on my twitch for reading this during a stream. i got to chapter 20 something and i like to think that a member of twitch staff had to suffer through it.

[fairestmusesofthemall]

Respond to the following prompts out of character, then tag others you'd like to get to know a little bit better.

K...! :D Roleplayer Name: Fiery. Or Jamie. Some friends in high school used to call me Cheese. Also Queso. You have FOUR choices there.

Pronouns: I refer to myself as she/her but I'll respond to any pronouns so don't worry if you go "Oh god what's Fiery's pronouns again?" Yeah you're fine.

Muse Name(s): Okay so let's start with the solo blogs. We got Doc at @leaderintitleonly, we got the Blue Fairy at @wxshxngstxr, we got (sadly inactive rn) Ursula at @saintlyseavvitch, and soon to pop out of seasonal isolation @mrtxnbxlcw with Snow Miser. Characters on this blog right here? Well buckle up, buckaroo! I have mostly Disney muses! I play Charlotte La Bouff. That's Lottie to her friends. I play Pinocchio. I play Pleakley. I play Sneezy. I play Yzma. I play Merryweather. I play Judge Doom. I also sometimes very rarely, but by request, do play Snow White. I have some muses from video games! I have the one, the only, Rambley the Raccoon and he likes trains. I have Miles Edgeworth and he has the updated autopsy report. I have Ashe from a very niche game called Witch's Heart and he's a LITTLE stabby. I have Leshy from Inscryption and yeah I have to specify because there's a lot of Leshy (Leshies? Leshys?) running around from a lot of different games these days. I also play very rarely but please do ask, King of All Cosmos from Katamari Damacy. And then there's my other canon muses which don't fit into anything else. That's Big Bird and Sassapis. I've also got OCs. Ehhh. Need to know basis.

Preferred Communication: DMs. Chat. I am...very slow. I am usually dealing with my symptoms so don't think that me disappearing has anything to do with you. I'm just VERY sick and usually dealing with some kind of drama at the same time. I do give out my Discord but... Listen. I got stalked. As a child. I don't really give out personal ways to contact me unless you ask so I can limit that info going out.

Experience: Oooh through AIM and Neopets. And GaiaOnline. Shout out to that one Snow White rp where we had the Doc-character just collecting stray orphans. I was Dopey in that one. :)

Preferred Roleplay Type: Everything. Give me everything. I like crack and sniping at each other but I equally love whump, romance, and just everything. And plotted events are fun, too.

Pet Peeves/Dealbreakers: I had about three paragraphs here but the tl;dr is don't be weird about villains. Please don't be weird. It's so uncomfortable. It puts me off from writing villains. I will put them all away and hide them forever because people get so weird about them. I just wanna do bad things and have complex feelings. And you know, not be told really weird stuff.

Best Time to Write: It's evening but hey, sometimes I wake up early and you'll see me on. So don't set a clock around me if you're trying to catch me.

Are you like your muse?: Too many muses to think about here and if I'm like them. I can be very nice and sweet but then I go to rabid, screaming Jersey accent in five seconds. Just ask my fiancé. So uh no, not so far. I guess I'll have to run a poll on which character I'm most like at some point. But if we franken character a bit from everyone, I'd say yes. Also if only I was able to be that good of a DM like Leshy. Without the camera thing, booooo you don't make friends that way.

Tagged by: @lcafman (GOSH ELLIE YOU CAN'T JUST TAG PEOPLE /bad mean girls joke doesn't work did it anyway) Tagging: Everyone's...been tagged. At least that I've been able to see since I've been sick and inactive. So um. I'm tagging you, person who reads this. You do it. And tag me back. :D

[bp-zb1fics]

Disney princess + prince ver. headcanons / mini fics? part 1

Ik I said there were no ships but @seok02 is very convincing lol. Here's more headcanons that no one asked for starring the ZB1 members in Disney princess movies. Please don't take any of this seriously.

-> Beast Jiwoong + Haobelle (Beauty & the Beast)

Woong invites Hao to crash his house because there's a storm and even though Hao kinda getting red flags from this Beast's appearance, still seems like a nice dude so ayt

Hao ends up in Jiwoong's garden because one of the Yuehuaz kids (probably Ollie) wanted a rose like why so random, why can't you ask for something normal like chocolate idk

Woong catches him and Hao's like oop I can pay for it, one of my kids is young and rich

Woong's like no stress, no need to pay but do you mind like staying for another few days, been awhile since I've seen new ppl

Hao's worried abt his kids but he hasn't had a vacation in so long so he's like ayt, it's free and he's got his violin w him and there's a massive af library of books that he's been wanting to get at

Him and Jiwoong kinda awkward around each other, but Hao's not scared bc have you tried raising 7 grown kids? now that's scary yo

Eventually he discovers Jiwoong's tru self and he's like ayt, idk why you're into the furry thing but u do u

Hao never ends up going back to his kids because they come looking for him first and end up moving into Woong's house too

-> Prince Haoric + Taeriel (The Little Mermaid)

Taerae likes listening to Hao play

Also that violin thing he's got looks kinda similar to the instrument taerae found in a shipwreck this one time

Taerae also likes to ad lib to Hao's violin

Hao doesn't know who's that having a jam session w him but he'd like to find out

Taerae goes to sea witches Seowon and Woongki and is like i want to go on land and learn how to play this thing (the guitar)

And they're like ayt but magic means u need to give up one thing so we can get u some legs and Woongki is like can I borrow your voice for my annual sea witch drag show pls and thanks

Taerae's a lil hesitant but he also really wants to know how to play this instrument

Scares the crap out of Hao when he washes up on the shore

Finds out Hao is a prince with a shit ton of lil brothers who harass him which is why he goes to the beach to play his violin in peace

Taerae learns how to play the guitar and Woongki gives him back his voice and by the power of music he can now like shift between mer and human

He and Hao have regular jam sessions on the beach and sometimes Hao's kids brothers join in

-> Prince Hanbin + Jiwoongrella (Cinderella)

Jiwoong wants to go to the ball but he's also gotta work, work, work,work,work,work

Man's booked and busy

Seowon and Woongki fairy god mothers to the rescue!

They get him all dolled up and everything

But he gotta be back by midnight because he got another schedule

Like I said booked and busy

Jiwoong goes to the ball and has a ball

Gets friendly with Hanbin

But he's gotta go

And oh no, he forgot his shoe

Hanbin wants to return the shoe bc it be looking expensive but Jiwoong also forgot to leave his number bc he was in a hurry

Hanbin tracks him down because boi knows everybody

Gives his shoe back and they become besties and Hanbin introduces him to Matthew and teaches Woong aegyo

-> Princess Rickmine + Mattheddin (Aladdin)

Matt asks Keita genie to give him a cooler image because everyone just finds him cute

Keita gives him the drip and he tries to rizz up Ricky because Ricky is the coolest

For like street cred idk

Ricky is not impressed like bro wtf

Chen Kuanjui as the magic carpet literally just judging them both

Someone make up a better story for this, I"m running out of juice

-> Prince Taerae + Yujinie (Snow White)

Yes as I said before Yujin's chilling by the well, looking at himself, singing about water and a monami pencil when he gets jumpscared by Taerae and his guitar

But ok this hyung is kinda cool

Yujin taking Taerae home to meet his seven hyungs

Said seven hyungs are not impressed by this newcomers who's trying to steal their maknae

Taerae charms them by the power of his voice and guitar

They agree on regular visitation rights because their house is full and Yujin isn't going anywhere

Now Yujin has eight hyungs

Part 2 coming soon when I have brain cells again!

[mirikitakato]

[Translation] Halloween 2023 - A capricious love for an endless night.

[Flashback]

Snow: Oh my, this’s paradise.

White: Yes, my dearest. This, is paradise.

Snow and White: Paradise, paradise.

Snow: This feeling...the mountain village is lively today too, isn't it? It's as if there's a banquet going on.

White: If you cross that mountain, you'll be in the Western Country. That land’s spirits frolic and make a racket every night.

Snow: Mur from the Western Country told me the same thing. He's a shady man, but according to him, that land is full of fresh, fierce, and exciting days. As if a dreamlike indulgence continues whether you sleep or wake up.

White: ...Is that so.

Snow: Oh. You don’t think so?

White: Of course I think the same as you. I also like exciting things. A vivid daily life is attractive, which is enough to change one’s heart. But if possible...

[Presence]

Akira: Phew, I'm full. We came there for the first time but the food was delicious!

Cain: Yes! The thick bacon was especially satisfying.

Lennox: The cheese on top was also rich...We were lucky to come here just after lunchtime, the restaurant was empty."

On a certain afternoon.

We, who had finished our meal on the way to our shopping, were strolling through the bustling street stalls to digest our food.

Cain: How is that, Akira? Has it cheered you up a bit?

Akira: Yes. Thanks for your concern. The recent inspection by Mr. Vincent was quite eventful...

Some time has passed since the Central Country's Magic Manor was brought up as a topic at the Five Nations Peace Conference held the other day.

Taking that into account, Mr. Vincent himself visited the Magic Manor to inspect the state of the wizards and me.

Akira: (Last time, all the wizards turned into witches, but this time, they all welcome me in the form of children...)

Lennox: I'm sorry... I thought it was just a prank, so I went along with Lord Snow and Lord White’s suggestion.

Cain: “Everyone, turn into children and entertain the important guests today!”, they said. I heard the date and thought, “wait, isn’t that…” and it was really the date when the inspection group come…

Akira: No, don’t worry! I think it was a surprise worthy of wizards.

When I opened the door to the grand hall, I was surprised, but everyone looked so cute.

Especially the Western wizards, even when they were acting like their usual selves as chirdren, it didn't feel too out of place.

Cain: Shylock was even sexy as a child...When he was smoking his pipe, I thought wow, he should be like this. Mur was just his usual self too, but he tried to sit on Lord Vincent's lap while holding a scholarly book. I thought my heart would jump out right there.

Lennox: Chloe seemed to have a hard time. Rustica was composing a song about chaos right next to him, and they were all singing along at the end.

Cain: That was a really good song though.

Akira: When sung in a child's voice, it was cute and dangerous at the same time that it made me a little nervous. The second verse was provocative... Out of the Eastern wizards, Shino was the tallest child, right? Was that his own request?

Cain: Apparently so. He was happy that the view was different from usual. Heath was cute even as a child.

Akira: I know, right...Usually Heath is taller than Shino, so he looks uneasy and fidgety when Shino was taller.

Lennox: Shino was carrying him around, saying that he couldn't stop finding Heath cute. He even proudly showed off Heath to me. Faust, who told them to behave themselves, was also cute. Nero didn't show his face much, but it seems he was cooking using a step stool.

Cain: Bradley went in there for a snack. I guess Owen and Mithra were hungry too so they also gathered in the kitchen. When they were fighting in that form, I didn't feel as much of a sense of crisis as usual...Well, it was a disaster in the end.

Akira: Snow and White become adults to step in, it was a mess...

Cain: Well, I guess those guys are always the same, one way or another. The Southern wizards were grazing in the courtyard, right?

Lennox: Ah, yes. When I became smaller, the sheep flock became hard for me to handle. Rutile helped me out too, but... It was heartwarming to see Rutile having fun and being turned into a baby, while Mitile took care of him.

Cain: Rutile's cheeks were so soft and squishy! He might have been the youngest in the Magic Manor that day.

Akira: His arms were soft too! Like a baby's, like mochi bread... Mitile was carrying him around, and everyone else wanted to hold him too. He was very popular. I even got to hold him.

Lennox: I heard Dr. Figaro say, “Maybe I should become a bit younger too?” when he saw that. But it seems he didn't like being looked down on by Lord Vincent, so it doesn't seem like he would go for a baby form.

Cain: I got scolded by Riquet, you know, because I told him he wouldn't need to turn into a kid like everyone else. He just pouted and got angry...

Akira: Hahaha, that's a heartwarming story too. It was cute to see Riquet and Arthur, who were about the same age, pulling Oz's hand and going to greet Lord Vincent. Cain, you were cute giving your sword to Mr. Drummond.

Cain: What, you saw that? The sword was too big for a child to carry around. It’d have been dangerous to hold it like that.

Lennox: We could talk about this forever, couldn't we?

Akira: Yes, I know I should be more serious, but I couldn't help but laugh a few times...Now I can understand a little why you guys would want to tease Mr. Drummond. I just wish Lord Vincent would be a bit more friendly...

Cain: But Lord Vincent doesn't seem to be interested in understanding us from the start. He's also harsh with his words, looks down on us, and makes decisions without listening to us. I guess he really hates wizards. It's hard to make any progress like this.

Lennox: But we've gone through a lot of inspections now. Let's work together to make the next one go smoothly.

Akira: Thank you! Your words make me feel more confident…

???: Cain? Cain, is that you?

Suddenly, a cheerful voice comes from the lively townscape.

When they turn to look in the direction of the voice, they see a man waving at Cain from among the rows of stalls.

Cain: Ah, it's the liquor store owner! It's been a while. Akira, this is a store I know. Mind if we stop by for a bit?

Akira: Yes, of course! Let's go and greet him.

Following Cain, who skillfully avoids the crowds, they arrive at a stall lined with various bottles of liquor.

The owner of the store takes Cain's hand, which he naturally reaches out, and smiles warmly.

Liquor Store Owner: How have you been? Welcome to you too, my friends!

Akira and Lennox: Hello.

Cain: I'm doing fine. I'm here today with the Sage to do some shopping.

Liquor Store Owner: That's great! How about this? I just got my hands on a rare liquor the other day. Have you ever heard of this? The aged liquor made from the water of the spring in The Village of Endless Night - a paradise that will make you feel like you're in heaven!

Lennox: The Village of Endless Night…?

Listening to the owner's story, Lennox widened his eyes a little. He rubbed his chin as if the name reminded him of something.

Akira: Lennox, do you know about it?

Lennox: Yes...It's a hidden land known only to a few. I hear there's a mysterious spring there. They say that drinking the water from there will grant you eternal life, cure diseases and injuries...There are all sorts of legends about it...

Cain: Immortality and healing the body!?

Akira: It's like a panacea! Sounds like a spring that comes out of a game...

Liquor Store Owner: Oh! Brother, you know a lot about it.

Lennox: I used to travel too, a long time ago. I heard rumors about it then. It's said to be a phantom village somewhere in the Northern country...

Liquor Store Owner: Correct. The rumor is said to be passed down among travelers who were lucky enough to find their way there and somehow made it back alive. I managed to get ahold of this wine somehow. A relative of a brother of a neighbor of an acquaintance of a merchant I know...

Cain: That's a pretty distant relative...Is it okay to sell such precious wine?

Liquor Store Owner: No, I'm just sharing it with my regulars, little by little. It would be a waste to sell it to one person or keep it all to myself. So, Cain and the others, take a sip!

Cain: If you say so...I guess I'll gratefully accept it.

Lennox: Then I'll have one glass too...

Akira: I can't drink alcohol, but I'll enjoy the smell!

I takes the small glass that is handed to me and smells it lightly. A soft and fragrant aroma tickles my nose.

Akira: A gentle scent of flowers and fruits...But it's colorless, isn't it?

Cain: It seems to be different from wine or whiskey. Let’s try it… ..…gulp. Wow, so good! It's easy to drink like water.

Lennox: The mouthfeel is smooth too. The subtle aroma of the wine is pleasant.

Akira: I guess it's thanks to the water from the spring. I've heard that good water makes good wine.

Liquor Store Owner: Indeed, the ingredients are top-notch. But...originally, that spring was said to be a poisonous spring where a scary monster lived, you know? If you just inhale the mist that rises, it's said that an ordinary human won't stand a chance... It's a deadly spring that dissolves and sinks everything.

Snow: Indeed...In addition, the whole area is always filled with a strange power, and it is always dimly lit and shrouded in darkness like night.

White: The spring that lurks in the darkness was feared as the entrance to the underworld.

Liquor Store Owner: Oh, yes! But then one day, a wizard appeared in the land with great flair. They purified the spring and calmed the monster. The people around them greatly admired the wizard.

White: And as they sought the wizard’s protection, a settlement grew up around the spring...

Snow: And eventually, it became a village!

Akira, Cain, and Lennox: .....!?

Akira: Snow and White!

Cain: When did you guys join the conversation!?

Liquor Store Owner: Hahaha! Did you read it in a picture book or something? You kids know a lot about it.

Snow: Well, of course we know.

White: Because the saviors of that village were...

Snow and White: Us!

Combining their voices and backs, the twins raise their arms sharply, as if striking a pose. The shopkeeper, watching the children play heroes, clapped his hands with a smile on his face.

Liquor Store Owner: You can even tell jokes to pigeons*! You're smart and hilarious. What good kids. Here, have some candy!

Snow: Yay, thank you!

White: Although it’s not a joke!

They received matching candy and laughed innocently.

They may look young and cute, but they are Northern wizards who have lived for thousands of years.

Akira: Is it true? A village that was formed under the protection of you two...

Snow: We have watched over many settlements. The Village of Endless Night is one of them.

White: That said, it's an old story. We haven't been back in a while.

The Northern country, where the threat of the wild nature is still strong, is said to be quite harsh for humans to live in without the protection of wizards. The twins have lived in the Northern land, whimsically protecting the people who gather around them, moving from one place to another.

Akira: (I guess there are still villages that the twins once claimed as their territory...)

After leaving the stall, the twins happily walked one step ahead of us while licking the candy they had received.

Cain: But what a coincidence. You two had business in this town too?

White: Just a date. Snow and I were here playing when we saw you.

Snow: We were reminiscing, so we just joined in. Are you guys shopping?

Lennox: Yes, we were just expressing our gratitude to Sir Sage. They went through a lot during the recent inspection, so...

Snow: Ah, the thing about teasing that king's younger brother?

White: Every time we did something, he would stand out with his veins bulging. It was a good reaction.

Snow: I also wanted to see everyone's cute faces. Sage, you had fun too, right?

Akira: Well, yes. I was able to see things that I can't usually see...In a way, it was a precious opportunity…

Snow & White: Right!

Cain: But the land that the twin teachers were so fond of...It was said to be a phantom village, but it actually exists?

Snow: Of course it does. The wine we had earlier was not from the village, though.

Akira, Cain, & Lennox: ……..Eh?

White: Wine made in a village on the border of Northern country would hardly ever be found in the Central market.

Snow: However, the aroma of flowers and fruits from it is indeed the same as the village wine. So, something must have gone wrong somewhere. It seems that he was not trying to make a profit from it, so I kept quiet.

Cain: Well, now that you mention it, I guess that's true...It was a pretty good wine too.

Lennox: There are probably only a handful of travelers who are lucky enough to make it there.

Snow: However, the village truly exists. It's located in a secluded place, but the climate is relatively mild, and there are rumors that it's our territory.

White: That's why other wizards don't meddle with it much. It seems that various legends about the spring's properties came about because we purified and protected it.

Akira: I see...So that's how the village can be maintained even in the harsh North.

Index | Episode 2

[mrhyde-mrseek]

I have SO MANY story ideas that I want to write all at once, but for various reasons can’t, and I have a feeling that my fellow writers understand very well.

So writers—reblog this and tell me the plots of stories you’re longing to start but haven’t. I’ll go first:

An unsuccessful author and former college burnout inherits her grandfather’s manor after his mysterious death, then finds out she inherited the power to bring book characters to life from him. Oh, and also there’s a magic circus hunting for her.

A Sleepy Hollow adaptation where Ichabod is a seer, Brom and his gang are witches, and the Headless Horseman needs their help to save him from a deal he made with the Devil.

A Journey to the West adaptation where—flash forward to modern times—someone steals the Peaches of Immortality from Heaven and frames Sun Wukong, and while he and his friends are searching for the true thief, they run into the reincarnation of Red Boy who doesn’t know who he really is.

The trans son of Loki, his crush, the son of Hermes, Hermes himself, Loki, and Apollo all have to work together to save Loki from a bet he made with Anansi and get his magic back. Big PJO + Magnus Chase + American Gods vibes.

The White Rabbit decides she doesn’t want to wait for Alice and be a side character anymore, pulls a Raven Queen, and runs off to change her story and become Alice herself. Yes, this does lead to disaster. Also the narrator interacts with the characters. (I came up with this while watching Ever After High.)

A Medusa rewrite that explores her relationships with Athena, her gorgon sisters, Perseus, and Poseidon, with themes of loyalty, familial relationships, struggles with religious devotion, the Greek words for love, trauma, r*pe culture, and bodily autonomy. (I’m hesitant to write this one because I’m not sure if I’m the right person to tell her story.)

An adaptation of The Nutcracker where there’s a war going on between the rats and the fairies, Clara is the heir to the fairy throne, and the winter world she goes to is inside her favorite snow globe. Oh, and the nutcracker is a girl and she and Clara are gay for each other.

This one was based on a dream, so not much makes sense just yet—basically a man meets the Sandman, they fall in love, and there’s a bigger threat coming to destroy the dream spirits.

A Greek mythology trilogy where Kronos trapped Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades in artifacts and sent a servant to hide their weapons, and our as-of-yet unnamed heroine has to free them, help them find their weapons, then defeat Kronos.

Another Wonderland story, this time about how the Jabberwock is terrorizing Wonderland and Alice has to find her before the knight who wants to cut off her head does.

[candysweetposts]

Hello, I just saw the post in which you present Kiyoko and I am very interested in knowing more about the 12 lords and about her 🫶🏻 excuse my bad english

Hi! BEHOLD! HERE THEY ARE!

I actually feel very good that I drew them. Now I have a clear image. These 12 lords are part of a union, something like the EU. They all have their own kingdoms but also are subjects to the one and only king who, to be honest, they don't like him. This is not because he's a bad king but because he seems immature (he's short and looks like a teen).

Between them, it's supposed to be harmony and collaboration, which is most of the time but some of these people are power-hungry and very selfish.

Here's a bit about each of them:

Ophyntan(dragon)- respected and loved by everyone; a tall lady and very strong

Kiyoko(kitsune)- is sort of a loner; people think that she and Ophy are dating secretly

Felicia(fairy)- the nicest fairy of them all; has a very high-pitched voice that could break glass

Marlevaur(elf)- a soft man, but very strong nevertheless and has very nice moves; gay?

Athenna(mermaid)- cool and lively; rarely leaves the sea and spends most of the time looking for corals.

Vlad(vampire)- the so-called "daughter killer", has a strange museum in his mansion and a superiority complex

Lauren(centaur)- hates intruders and won't hesitate to kill; the forest is a sacred place for her

Estelle (witch)- so-called "the scarlet witch", people thought she was dead but she's not... ?; Alice's grandmother

Freed(werewolf)- he and Lucifer are competing for who had the most illegitimate children, but he's far behind; cool dude nevertheless

Alize(unicorn)- is the most beautiful of all, even Snow White is jealous of her; very straightforward most of the time

Clovir(cyclops)- a tall dude with a big heart, wholesome but doesn't like to participate in official meetings

Raye(phoenix)- anger issues and can't keep a man, but very strong and delicate

Most of them took human forms because they think that humans are the most interesting and beautiful creatures since they're favored by God.

There are other lords out there but isn't much known about them or they refused to enter this "EU of magical creatures" for different reasons. This Union was formed after The Great War, when a large number of demons came to each kingdom and attacked everyone and since everyone was by themselves at the time it caused mass destruction. They barely won, so the queen at the time summoned all the lords and asked them to collaborate.

For context, the then-queen was mostly in charge of establishing and maintaining peace between humans and magical creatures and also was a door between everyone and Heaven. Yes, angels are also a door between everyone and heaven but they barely interact with anyone personally (I would like to make an introduction to them in the future).

So after that meeting, the ones who accepted were promised protection from demons and others who would harm any of their kingdoms and some other stuff. Oh, and they were asked to stop fighting each other (because yes, they were fighting a lot) because they were allies now. After that, some closed kingdoms opened their doors to people.

That was the beginning. It took a lot to build a connection between them, to allow marriages between people of different species, different species living in other kingdoms other than their own, etc.

... and that's what I could think for now. If you're interested in someone or something specifically, just ask.

I hope this helps!

Yeah, I used a lot of eldarya stuff.

[unsleepingtales]

Neverafter FINALE reactions! Strap in this is a long one.

I AM in fact looking for the Calvin and Hobbes comic books.

Death is hungry for everyone but Timothy 😢

Also can we think about how in AP Brennan said that there’s like one more level of fucked up Tim can get. Can we think about that please.

I love Tim and Baba Yaga interactions

We can still be married and about to be divorced and be friends. Cmon guys.

YLFA

I don’t know what your journey has been!

Mr steal ur girl

Shenanigans? Spare shenanigans sir?

Are you a scorpion or are you a cat? Keep it simpleeee

PREPPED ANIMATED BOOK MINIS Rick ily

Pinocchio wielding faerie magic is so wild

Flat William????? He needs lore.

Oh yeah tossing a cat a firework and saying Get up to something! Cannot possibly go wrong right? Right.

Everyone’s laughing at Pinocchio but he wants an older sister SO much.

Brennan is having so much fun as the baba yaga and it’s great to watch. PUT YOU IN THE SOUP.

INK HAND INK HAND INK HAND

This shit deals necrotic???? I wonder if it did necrotic before Snow White got involved…

Brennan’s face. You want the bird to fire the rocket? [cricket fired a rocket] Cricket was Brilliant. [the bird can speak]

Starts playing the fucking bird. Named beaky. Brennan let me get coffee with you I am begging.

Having a normal one here at dimension20

If you ask me for a stealth roll, you will find out.

You fucked around? You will find out.

Go ahead and roll your stealth roll *sweating buckets*

Also quick shoutout to Brennan for beating the only owning one shirt allegations that white henley fits Nicely.

The faerie is DEAD?

Jesus h christ

Ok shenanigans was fun back to what the fuck.

Never mind I guess we’re writing our own fables yall remember the famous story about the scorpionshark and the rabbit

It really wants to make Aesop proud???

I need to understand Cinderella’s mind

Strong con from my pond hopping princess 💚

Elody marry me please

Don’t look away from me. You see what happens?

Pretty reasonable compared to pibs turn right.

Scheherazade ily

Ngl forgot flat william existed oops

Horrifying! Horrifying.

I love dnd set design. I need to intern for the d20 design team next summer or something.

Turquina actually loves Pinocchio

Baba yaga flirting with Aesop?????

OCD BOYFRIEND ADD GIRLFRIEND TO DESCRIBE BABA YAGA X AESOP TOP FIVE MOST INSANE THINGS SIOBHAN THOMPSON HAS EVER SAID

Gerard just flat out defeating people is what he deserves. Fucked up Murph character my goddamn beloved.

WHAT

OKAY

Minerva’s here everyone!

Fuck your ass - and then beaky dies. Rip to a legend.

Elody looking out for Gerard <3

Zac is fully dead

I’m gonna leave if she does this. Murph is gonna leave his wife.

INSANE

ON AN ORANGE D8

WHAT

LEAVE YOUR TOP HAT

WHAT THE FUCK

Against the laws of god and man. In defiance of destiny. You get a cool orange hat.

Siobhan quietly going “shut the fuck up” to Ally

I feel insane.

Hat. On the mini. Zac quit but at least Death has a cool orange hat. We’ve gone full goofy movie but y’know. Death’s soul is gonna have a hat on when it’s violently ripped from her body.

Jesus christ Siobhan.

STEPMOTHER TOOK THE FUCKING BABA YAGA

What the fuck

Disadvantage for the rest of the fight?????

ZAC

ZAAAAC

INSANE INSANE I AM INSANE A CAT IS KILLING A GOD

Ok so when you hurt the hand. Ink goes places.

Alexa play everything ends from a very potter senior year

Shark! With me!

This feels like animal cruelty

TIM

Red ily so much you’re so cool

Rip flat William you were a real one

GERARD NO

Gerard. My love.

Spell time spell time spell time oh god oh fuck

GANDER MINI OH SHIT

Gem time?

Oh god oh fuck

Seven chances to roll

Oh my god.

YES ON THE FOURTH ROLL oh my GOD

The little hat label

RICK SIGHTING

Oh my god. Oh my god.

You’re christ, Tim!

Brennan has so much fun with his little effects board

Baba Yaga and Pib aaaaaaaaaaa a witch and a cat

ZAC

Baba yaga and Pib duo I never knew I needed

SEE YOU IN THE STORIES BRENNAN?

Cmon gerard 😢

DEATH HAS A LITTLE ORANGE HAT

ROSAMUND AND THE LITTLE GIRL LEFT AFTER DEATH MOVES PAST HER

Cinderella and Rosamund protecting Little Red. Elody and Gerard loving each other and accepting death.

Minerva and Pinocchio weirdly soft moment? Ok? Sure? Love that for them!

Village of Hapley. Crying.

Rosamund learning how to spin wool is actually so good

Brennan being visibly legitimately moved by their character choices!

Gander redemption <3

Oh my god. A real 21 year old boy has no right to make me emotional??

The meta in ‘I could have sounded like this the whole time’

I love Zac and Zac’s choices. The trickster prince!

Gerard my fucking beloved. Gerard of greenleigh I love you and I need you to be okay.

Snow White being okay!

Emily desperately wanted ylfa to be friends with baba yaga and she got it!!

Murph on the edge of the frame just Losing It

YLFA CRUSH ON PINOCCHIO

They play gin rummy together. They’re 21. They’ve saved the world together. The god of death approves. They live happily. Oh my god.

Emily sliding that in in the last ninety seconds of the season. Incredible.

Death with an orange hat and a rucksack walking on two feet into the sunset. Oh my god.

That’s all, folks! Incredible season <3

I really and truly don’t know how to sum up what this story meant to me. Thank you to our storytellers.

[cryptid-killjoy]

Koda: Being around his father's side inspired Koda to dress up as James Proudstar this year, Warpath from X-men. He's going to think Elsa is amazingly sexy for the ball. That's not child's crayon or fire truck red. That's dark seductress deep sensual red. So hot. It's something you want to move towards not away from.

Savanne Family: Ray and Raya are going to be dressed as the sub that went down in the ocean and they're going to strap a game controller toJetson's arm who was wearing a gamer tee that said "Nintendo" and a Captain's hat. Then Chip would be dressed as Waluigi because he's tallest. Praline and Ranger would be mushrooms.

Pippin would be Donkey Kong. Jenna and Ziya were Mario and Luigi. All of these guys were the standard overalls and hats with the lovely staches which Scout was so excited to help with. Pippin's uncle will dress as Diddy Kong with a shirt and matching hat.

Delta: For the ball Delta will be wearing a Lolita dress with vampire teeth (the good stage ones not the cheap plastic choppers) complete with top hat. For Halloween will be wearing Shinigami mask and a Snow White dress. She will be carrying a real basket of poison apples stewed up from her mother's grimoire and mini-death note replica. Learning all the tales behind the powers her mother had stolen was a big journey for her. It was rather like reading The Never Ending Story to her. She felt pulled into the book. So, a lot of it's on her mind often. Call it her way of expressing her feelings about it all considering she's impressed and angry all at the same time. She'll adore Frank's choice.

Diablo has been given permission to mingle as a human at the ball for once. He won't be costume, just done up in his proper best. For Halloween he will stay in crow form, very important for him to stay that way all things considering with his skill sets, and the veil being so thin.

Babyface: When Babyface and Ellie get into town there will be two outfits. For the ball he's going as a cop because it's a uniform. He thinks that counts as dressing up since it has slacks and a tie. It makes sense in his head. Also note, in my head with all the times they visited the prison he has stolen this uniform right out of a cop's car and it's now his prize possession. But, for actual Halloween Night he's dressing up as Ellie and Scout will give him the wig. Oh yeah. That's happening.

Friar Tuck and the Minstrel: Oh yes. Marge's sisters. It's also happening. It was Alan's idea because he heard Lil' John mention it once when he was in the stoner's circle and they were all trying to name anyone with hair semi-comparable to Delta's. So in it's weird way it is an ode to Lil' John's bizarre excessive admiration for Delta and her hair.

Zero and Victor: It's a little on the nose, but Zero came up with the idea to be the operation game. The doctor would be the patient for once Zero got to be the doctor. He had fun getting in Victor's clothes.

Silas: As Twisty the Clown. Silas will show face at Delta's ball. His return from shadow is imminent.

Parrish: He was invited to Feral to the ball for Willem. Skeletal make up. He will bring an "synthetic" plus one.

Barrel and Spade: Back to the classics. Birds of a feather. There's no Lock. There's no Shock. But, Barrel and Spade exist. They've pulled out the old trunk from the old tree house. Birds of a feather once again? Barrel will wear his classic design with the skeletal PJ's and the mask. Spade will take on Shock's pointy witch hat and green emotionless mask. The Devil mask she'll strap to the back of her head so she's sort of like the two-faced mayor. No matter which side she's approached on dark blackness peers back at people. She'll even create a pitch fork on the end of her broomstick. If she has to be everyone, she will.

CJ: He'll be Bad Santa. At least he'll start off that way. He's a little chaotic and often changes how he presents according to mood, so who knows by the end of the night. But, he'll have a sack full of naughty presents to give Trick or Treaters.

Atticus: In an attempt to stay a stereotypical human he stuck with the classics. He wore a hocky mask, went for Jason with a proper weapon at his side for his Halloween night look.

Black Arts and Nebby: They will come as a Prince Charming and a Princess. They'd have had these outfits from their show and spiced them up with extra bling since they have so many stage costumes. She would offer Ellie an open door to her closet if she wanted to get fancy for the ball not knowing if she was going to go in costume mode or dressy mode. But, she was welcoming to help jazz it up either way.

Dale: Dale got a Ken Box and wore A CROP TOP because reasons. LMAO. Oh yeah, he went there. Not only that, in marker he wrote Crop Top before the Ken so it'd say Crop Top Ken to make sure anyone who wanted to buy his doll knew his job was Crop Top. And yes, he would wear this to the ball. PS. His top wouldn't be stained. LOL.

Thaddeus: He'll be back in New Zealand attending era themed parties with Del Rey and dressed the part for such frivolities. He'll still be up to his usual antics in his archery outfit looking all hooded all cloaked but that's not technically a costume. He does that when he goes into his own stealth mode.

-----

((This leaves Bastien and maybe a couple other cameos who I'm assuming is gearing towards Pebbles from the last reply. I already did separate ones for Scout/Willem/Flotsam/Val- I might be missing Scout's ball outfit and Bastien's too for that matter. I can do that in the ball thread or after next reply to be sure.))

[navysealt4t]

blue blue blue, tell me all about your show i wanna hear it all!!! (obviously if you don't want to you don't have to but ya know... <3)

YESSSSSS ID LOVE TO :))))

god the whole show was so much fucking fun :) i’ve complained quite a bit about my munchkin coroner costume because that skirt PERSONALLY hated me, but once i got a tighter clip on the waste it works great :) it’s so much fun to twirl in in poofs out like 4 times my width it’s amazing.

the show was just so so much fun. in the poppies scene (where the wicked witch curses the poppies and dorothy falls asleep but then glinda comes and saves everyone) goddddd i love the poppies scene it looks amazing… the poppies has these HUGE red paper flowers that looked amazing and they were attracted to our hands. the poison were dancers and had big clothes they threw over dorothy and lion and tin man. the snowflakes!!! we’re in lil white leotards and tutus and had buckets of white glitter they threw as snow!!! and all the snowmen had white tuxedos ! that song is the closing of act 1 and almost everyone is one stage it is the best i swear!!!!! i’m a poppy and i had so much fun :)

one day one of the snowflakes was too sick to come and I COULD HAVE BEEN A SNOWFLAKE I WOULD HAVE ABSOLUTELY FUCKING LOVED IT SOOOS O MUCH :( but my friend who is the other snowflake didn’t ask me </3

OH MY GOD!!!! in the dressing room girls always played music to hype us up and just to make noise lol! and and one day they played anastasia the musical…. that was the show they did last year and it was what convinced me to go to this school :) the entire dressing room was singing along and bc i listened to the album for like 3 months on repeat after watching the show i knew all the lyrics!!! it was fun :)

ALSO OHG MY GDO. so. closing night. everyone was sobbing right. lots of tears and hugs and being nice :( i hugged so many ppl last night even ppl i never talked to. and fucking!!! the senior who plays scarecrow came up to me! and and he’s rlly cool he’s so fucking cool and he was saying he loved my solo soo much and that during the rehearsals he would also dance along with me on the sidelines ! and when he was doing his change in the dressing room he’d be like “yes sing it blue!” AND FUXKING. bro told me i have an amazing voice and to keep doing theatre and singing and i just :(((((( aAAHAGSGGHGHH. yknow. when i get a genuine compliment about something i rlly care about…. i go insane.

sorry i’m kinda mentally i’ll i cried so much last night and today :( i’m gonna cry so much through out the week it’s gonna be so weird going home and not going to the theater on wednesday….

ALSO. god i have so many stories. a senior and sophomore (who plays toto!!) drove me home after a show when my dad couldn’t and we all sand theater songs together and :) i got home at midnight but it was so so much fun :) i got to duet with the senior on ‘seventeen’ from heathers bc she always sings tenor and male parts it was so much fucking fun :)

sorry lmao i’m going crazy if u wanna hear more i have sooo much lmao

[lilacmoon83]

Clarity

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 62: Higher Ground

Walsh practically had stars in his eyes, as he read the comments feeds on his various social media accounts. The Internet was an inferno of response to their production. As usual, the Internet was a mixed bag of belief, disbelief, immediate claims of fakery and hoaxes, praise, and hate.

"Well…it's been a few hours. What is the response to my invitation to the ball?" Aleister asked.

"Overwhelmingly positive. It seems many want to come here to see it for themselves and many more are interested in the live stream you've planned," Walsh said.

"People are quite fascinated it seems with the Prince and his real life Snow White," he added.

"Hmmm…perhaps it's time to give them another taste of Prince Charming's heroics," Aleister said.

"What do you have in mind?" Walsh asked. Aleister smirked.

"All in due time," he answered cryptically and both were unaware that Kurt had overheard them. He carefully made his way out through the back to warn the others, missing

what happened next.

"Let me go!" Tia cried, as the hired brutes pushed her and Tony along into the new Bolt mansion that Aleister had just created with his magic.

"Ah…just in time for tea," Aleister said, as he was served by his staff and Greg smirked, as he joined him.

"We don't want your tea and didn't come here by choice," Tony hissed.

"You were right about those black cuffs. They worked even on these two. No more powers for them," Greg said.

"Yes…I hire only the best scientists," Aleister replied.

"What do you want with us?" Tia asked. Aleister smirked.

"An excellent question," he said, as he rose from his seat.

"Soon…the world will come to Storybrooke and be enamored by this magical place and its people. But we know, from the book, that there are many more realms full of fantastical places. After all, the curse only brought Misthaven here," Aleister said. Tony and Tia's blood ran cold.

"That's where you two come in," he said.

"We'll never show you how Witch Mountain works," Tony refuted.

"Yes…you will," Aleister said, as one of his brutes grabbed Tia and held a gun to her head.

"I only need one of you to tell me…" he warned.

"Don't Tony…" she cried, as the gun was cocked.

"Fine…we'll tell you," Tony replied.

"Excellent…until the time is right, show our guests to their new accommodations," he said.

"In the cellar," he added.

"You can't keep us against our will!?" Tony cried, as they were led away.

"Oh now I think you know there is nothing I cannot do. I will realize the dream of capturing the power of Witch Mountain that my father wanted so badly and you two are the

key. Once the world knows they can leave this world for another, at my discretion, of course, there will be no one more powerful than I," he announced.

Tony and Tia were locked in a cell and Tony angrily kicked the stone wall.

"How long do you think it will take for someone to come looking for us?" he asked. She saw a little bluebird on the small barred window above them.

"Not long at all. Give me a boost," she said, as he did so and she looked at the bird.

"Find Snow White…tell her that Tony and Tia are in trouble and we're locked in Bolt's cellar," she requested. The little bird chirped and flew away.

"You think that will work?" he asked.

"Yes…you know that animals will never let us down and neither will Emma's parents," she replied.

~*~

"And if you're just joining us, we are discussing the video that has gone mega viral today," the newscaster said, as a clip from the video was shown.

"People have long debated on whether or not aliens and bigfoot are real, but those still remain a mystery. Instead, we have now been presented evidence that fairy tales are, in fact, real," the newscaster continued. The disdain could be heard in his voice.

"The footage easily looks as though it could be a movie or embellished with CGI, but experts have confirmed that the video is real and there are no digital altercations. The video comes to us from global billionaire and philanthropist Aleister Bolt," the newscaster continued.

"The Bolt family is well known for their fascination with rare items, unusual phenomena and the occult. Mr. Bolt has made such fantastic claims that there is very much reason to doubt, but he has invited the world to this little town of fairy tales, aptly named, Storybrooke, for all to see for themselves. He claims it's a town sequestered away in the deep woods of Maine and is nothing short of magical," the newscaster said.

"Apparently, everything ties to this book that the billionaire cited in an interview," he added, as they cut to a clip of the interview.

"This book tells the whole story and I plan to share it with the world, as one of my publishing companies is already mass producing copies as we speak. But don't just read the book. Come see for yourself. I promise even the most staunch skeptics will be convinced," Bolt promised.

"Mr. Bolt is throwing, of all things, a grand fairy tale-esque ball and this station plans to attend to see if his claims are valid. In the video, he claims the people are Snow White and Prince Charming, in which the latter slays what appears to be a vicious Werewolf. The video has enthralled the Internet and we expect the town to soon be flooded with anyone able to make the trip,"

The newscaster droned on, but Emma turned it off, before turning to her parents.

"So…it's the nightmare we thought it would be," she fretted.

"Maybe it won't be so bad? I mean, how interested in us could they be? We're just people," David reasoned.

"Dad…you just killed a Werewolf. You're not just anything," Emma said.

"Storybrooke is not normal, even without magic. I knew that, even before I believed. The people here are different…and the thought of sharing it with possibly the worst scum of this world makes my skin crawl. Especially sharing you guys," she said.

"Why us?" Snow asked.

"Because you're my parents," Emma answered, which touched Snow and David more than she would ever know.

"I just got you guys…I'm not sharing," she added. They smiled.

"And you don't have to. That's why we need a plan," David said.

"How good of an actor are you?" Neal asked.

"With his lack of tact? Not great," Rumple answered. David rolled his eyes.

"Yeah…when he's right he's right though," he agreed.

"You're a straight shooter…it was a compliment," Rumple assured him.

"But if you and Snow could stomach it, maybe you could warm up to him and convince him that you've decided to bask in your new celebrity," Neal suggested.

"I think my stomach just churned," Snow said in disgust.

"I know Mom…but he might be right. Getting close to that wand is only going to happen if you let him make a spectacle of you guys at this stupid ball. I hate it…but I'll endure it too if it means we get that wand and fix this," Emma replied. David sighed.

"I guess it's a good plan. If I get close enough, taking on any guards he has around him shouldn't be too tough. We've taken on legions of black Knights before so a few thugs shouldn't be too bad," David said.

"Thugs with guns, Dad," she reminded him. David smirked.

"Dragon Slayer, daughter," he joked and she smiled at him.

"Touche," she agreed, as there was a knock at the door. David answered it and Kurt ducked in.

"Were you followed?" he asked.

"No…I made sure, just like you taught me," he promised.

"I overheard a conversation between Aleister and Walsh. I'm not sure what exactly he's going to do, but the response to the video is so overwhelmingly good that he plans to do something that will give the people another show," Kurt said.

"You mean another monster my husband has to fight and risk his life to defeat?" Snow asked. He nodded regrettably.

"I'm sorry…he's a psychopath and it's all a game to him. My son is the same…I can't get through to him. He idolizes Aleister," Kurt lamented.

"He's brainwashed…I just don't know how to get through to him," he added.

"We may not be able to," Emma said bluntly. Kurt looked horrified.

"I'm sorry…I know that's harsh. But getting rid of Aleister may only make him angrier. We're going to have to arrest him once we do, but at least then, he'll be a captive audience," she added. Kurt sighed, knowing she was right.

"Emma's right…and it might take years to undo the brainwashing, but it is possible," Snow said.

"I hope you're right," Kurt said, as she saw a bluebird land on the windowsill.

"Hello…" she said, as she held her hand out and the bird landed on her hand. It was something that still amazed Emma and she was sure it always would. She watched her mother's features change to a frown though, before she grabbed a pinch of birdseed she kept by the window and rewarded the tiny creature, before it flew off.

"We have a problem," she said.

"What did he say?" David asked.

"It's Aleister…he's locked Tony and Tia in his cellar," Snow answered.

"Witch Mountain…that's his next step. A portal to all the realms," Rumple deduced. David grabbed his holster and put it on, before grabbing his jack, while Emma did the same.

"I'm coming with you," Snow said.

"Me too…he has half of our new Police force," Neal agreed.

"You need to lay low. The bird may have told us about Tony and Tia, but we don't want them to suspect anything," David said. Kurt nodded and followed them out, as did Rumple, who was coming along as well.

~*~

August finished helping Marco with the latest repair and the older man smiled.

"It's perfect…just like old times. You haven't lost the skills I taught you," he said. August tried to smile, but it was very stiff and he missed his flesh more than he could put into words.

"Thanks Papa…it's good to spend time with you again," he replied.

"We will find a way to make you into a real boy again," Marco promised.

"Except that I'm a man now, Papa…one with a lot of issues," August admitted.

"Now that you're home…things will be better again, just like the old times," Marco insisted. August sighed.

"Except they will never be the way they were, Papa. That's what I'm trying to tell you. I know you were trying to protect me, but you have no idea what it was like out there. I was homeless for half of my life and I had to steal to feed myself sometimes," August lamented.

"I know…it wasn't supposed to be like this. Why didn't you stay with Emma like I told you to?" Marco asked. If August had been able to muster the expression, he would have blanched.

"Papa…I was seven and had no idea what to do. This world was so different and scary. It's not like Storybrooke out there. Emma was right…no one can be selfless, brave, and true all of the time!" August snapped, as he got up and started to stumble out of the shop.

"Where…where are you going!?" Marco called.

"Anywhere but here," August answered, as he started walking toward Main Street. A van pulled up alongside him and a couple of men got out of the sliding door. August tried to stumble away, but he was grabbed by them and tossed into the van.

"Hey Pinocchio…Mr. Bolt is very interested in meeting you for a featured video. You'll be a nice spectacle for the people to poke and ridicule," Greg said smugly.

"You know the public…they love plot twists. In this version, Pinocchio is a liar and a thief, so the real boy turned back into wood. Tamara told me all about your little meeting in Hong Kong. Aleister found it fascinating," he added.

"I may be a liar and thief, but at least I wasn't brainwashed by a cult," August spat in return.

"Shut up…let's go," he ordered, as the driver sped off.

~*~

The others flanked David and Emma, as they strode confidently toward the newly magicked mansion of the Bolt family and naturally found guards in their way. Emma flashed her badge, but that didn't seem to move them.

"Sheriff's Department…we need to see Aleister Bolt," she said.

"That's not happening…you need an appointment to see Mr. Bolt," one of the guard's said.

"Then I'm making an appointment now," David said, as the two guards moved in on him to intimidate him. David responded by sweeping one's legs out from under and drawing his sword faster than anyone could see and leveling it at the throat of the other.

"I'll…I'll take you to see Mr. Bolt right away," the guard said, as he led the group inside the spacious atrium.

"Ah…what a pleasant surprise. Welcome Charmings to my lovely new home," Aleister said grandly.

"We're here on Police business," Emma said, holding up her badge.

"Of course…what can I do for you and your heroic Deputy, Sheriff?" he asked.

"A little bird mentioned to us that you've abducted our newest deputies and we're here to demand you release Tony and Tia or you're under arrest," David said. Aleister cackled at that.

"You don't really think you can arrest me, do you, Your Highness?" Aleister questioned smugly, as he waved his wand, releasing a spark of magic. David flicked his wrist and swept his blade, deflecting the spark harmlessly to the ceiling, surprising the man.

"How exciting…you are a true warrior Prince," he said gleefully.

"How about a challenge?" he asked.

"No…no games or challenges," David growled, as he began his search of the property. But Aleister waved his wand and their scenery changed, at least for him, Snow, and Emma. Snow cried out, as they were suddenly surrounded by rocky outcroppings, floating in a river of lava. She screamed, as she came face to face with what looked like a half burnt, decaying corpse, which screeched in her face. David swiped at the creature and it turned to ash once his blade touched it. He pulled Snow close and she buried her face in his chest, as he folded her into his arms.

"What the hell…" Emma cried, as David inched her closer as well. Aleister could be heard cackling above them, high up, from what appeared to be a floating throne made of bones.

"I'm nothing if not a showman," he said smugly.

"The world was enthralled by your battle with the Werewolf, so I decided to really give them something to watch this time," he added, as more corpses arose before them.

"What are they!?" Emma cried, as the site was alarming.

"Hell furies if I have to venture a guess," David answered.

"You know your creatures, Your Highness," Aleister called.

"What do you want!?" Snow cried. He smirked, as she and Emma disappeared too. David looked around in alarm and soon saw them above with Aleister.

"Defeat the hell furies and you can have them back…and your friends," he said, as he saw the floating outcroppings slowly led up to him. He watched, burning with loathing, as Aleister caressed his wife's face and she cringed away.

"She really is the fairest of them all," he said, as he waved his wand and they disappeared and reappeared on a platform above him with Tony and Tia. He saw that the outcroppings led up to them. He growled and leapt to the next platform, after which, columns of fire shot up around him. The hell furies descended upon him and exploded to ash when they met his blade, but the amount of them soon became overwhelming.

"Charming!" Snow cried in fear. She saw him jump out from the swarm of them and to the next platform, where he rolled and steadied himself, as more furies tried to devour him. He fought his way through the hordes of furies, platform by platform, until he was finally close and that's when they began to swarm him again. He looked up at the worried faces of his crying wife and daughter and with determination, he fought through the furies, even as their claws tried to rip him to shreds. He fought his way to the final platform, as Tony and Emma put their hands down to help him. He prepared to jump to them, but a furry swiped at his back. He cried out in pain, as it completely shredded his shirt and wounded him with lacerations on his back.

"Charming!" Snow cried. He turned and kicked the furry away, before jumping to them. Tony and Emma helped him up and everything around them disappeared again.

They all fell to their knees, as they were now back in Aleister's atrium, reunited with Neal and Rumple.

"What the hell?" Neal asked, as he helped Emma up.

"David…" Snow cried, as she looked at his wounds and more tears fell.

"I'm okay…I promise it's worse than it looks," he said, as he pulled her into his arms. She knew Aleister was still recording everything, but she couldn't help herself and kissed him passionately. He pressed his forehead against hers for a moment, as they simply relished their closeness. When her tear filled emerald eyes opened again though, they filled with fury and she started to launch herself at the monster before that seemed amused by everything.

"You foul, evil, vindictive monster! You tried to kill my husband!" she cried, as he gently pulled her back.

"Oh come now, Princess…you knew that your heroic Prince would slay the beasts and rescue you as he always does and what an incredible, adrenaline filled adventure it was for our audience," he said.

"You sick bastard…this isn't a game for us. My father is injured, because of your sick, twisted need for some show!" Emma cried, as she looked at Walsh and approached him and his cameraman.

"You want the real story?" she asked, speaking to the camera and thus the spectators that would watch this.

"Aleister Bolt is a monster and a cult leader. Yeah, magic and fairy tales…it's all real, but we're people! We're not circus performers for your entertainment and what you just saw wasn't some movie. It was real and my father's wounds are real. The trauma is real and if you have any shred of humanity, you'll condemn this man and stop watching his Hunger Games rip-offs!" she cried.

"She's beautiful, isn't she, folks?" Walsh asked smugly.

"Daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, but she's more like you than you think. She lived among us for most of her life, as you'll soon read. Mr. Bolt wants you to know the wonder of this and every world, while they would rather hide away and keep their secrets, while the rest of us remain ignorant. It begs the question on what you're trying to hide, Ms. Swan," he said.

"I'm not trying to hide anything. We just don't want our lives exposed to everyone and put in life endangering situations to entertain the masses!" she cried.

"Sorry Ms. Swan…but the public is enthralled by all of this and do make sure you and your wonderful parents attend my ball tomorrow night. It will be the event of the century and you will attend. Come willingly, because I'd hate to imply force," Aleister said.

"We'll be there," David said simply, as they left with Tony and Tia.

"We need to get that wand…tomorrow night," Rumple said.

"Yeah…or he'll make us show him the secret to Witch Mountain. Then no one is safe. If he gets access…others, including Governments of the world will as well," Tia replied.

"Then tomorrow night, we'll make our own show," David said.

"And we'll fix this," she replied.

[daybreak-academy-fanfic]

Someone to Watch Out for You: Chapter 20

Nothing’s Like Before, But Has it Really Changed?

Summary: In which the worlds return to normal, a certain witch watches as Ven reflects on his home, Sabrina returns to Wasteland, and Minnie fears for what comes next. Word Count: 2,682 First | Previous | Thank you for reading! ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆

And so, Sora sealed the keyhole at Hollow Bastion and went on to confront Ansem. The Princesses of Heart, Ventus, and Sabrina waited in fearful anticipation for a sign that the worlds were whole once more. 

It was Sabrina who became that signal. Without warning, in the middle of a discussion with Aurora, Sabrina’s whole body lurched forward. The sudden motion certainly surprised the sleeping beauty and quickly earned the attention of the others.

“Sabrina!” Ven immediately reacted as he went to her side. The other Princesses also huddled around in worry.

Not that they needed to. Despite the faintest trace of a tear rolling down her face, Sabrina’s expression was determined.

“The worlds…” Sabrina told them, “The worlds are returning.”

Not long after her saying this, the Princesses started to be enveloped in a sparkling light. They marveled at this for a moment,- they knew what had to be done now.

“Oh my,” Alice mused first, “How curiously wonderful. I do hope my sister wasn’t too worried about my absence.”

“It would be nice to see all our loved ones again.” Cinderella agreed.

The two Princesses of Heart held their hands over their respective hearts. A moment after and their bodies burst into bright sparkles that disappeared just as quickly. They were followed not long after by Aurora, Jasmine, and Belle. Belle, in particular, smiling up at the Beast as they left together.

“Ventus,” Snow White said, moving close to him despite her inner light being a bit too strong. She was holding it back for a little longer so they could properly part. “Don’t be such a stranger next time, alright? You’re welcome in our world any time. You have my blessing.”

“Thanks.” Ven grinned.

“And…” Snow White then whispered, “Your hearts are at their brightest when you’re together. Having a heart that purposely holds back its light is a strong one indeed, but has much to lose in the process. Do make sure she is able to shine- in her own time, of course.”

Ven gave a small jump in surprise before turning to Sabrina. He looked back at Snow White with a face quite more flushed than before.

“I will.” he promised. “I always will.”

Snow White gave him one last smile before she too returned to her homeworld. That soon left just him and Sabrina alone in the chapel. Every step he took now was in a haunted echo as he went to her side.

“I bet Oswald will be glad to have you back home.” he mused, giving her a little bump with his elbow.

“He won’t be the only one.” she huffed in return. “I can already see at least one parade in our future.”

Ven laughed at the idea. However, not long after his smile soon fell as he thought of a different type of homecoming.

"Can we make a small detour before going home?" he asked. “There’s someplace I want to check first.”

Sabrina raised an eyebrow, but certainly didn't oppose the idea. Her only question was a simple, "Where?"

. . .

He didn't know why he expected the world to change. Maybe even after all this time, he was still as naive as the day he left.

“So this is the world you came from?” Sabrina inquired as she looked over the castle. She wouldn’t dare say much more than that at the moment- she of all people knew what it was like to come from a broken world.

“No." Ven said. He then immediately shook his head to amend with, "Well, yes, but in a different way.”

He didn't have to look to know Sabrina was giving him a rather unimpressed stare.

"My friend changed this world when a series of terrible events put it in jeopardy." Ven explained to her, although he was sure he had told her this before. “I thought -hoped- that, once the worlds were back in order, the Land of Departure would be too. But I guess Aqua is the only one with that power.”

He then gave a rather disheartened laugh.

"Now that you're here with me, I want to show you where we used to train. I want to bring you into my room for once. But I can't. There's nothing to show because it simply isn't here anymore. Every step forward is like a phantom memory into the past. I know where things should be, but they just don’t exist anymore.”

"Which means?" Sabrina asked- meaning to be more curious than rude for once.

“It’s a place I used to call home.”

“And now?”

Ven looked at her. They were still in their Keyblade armor, having not intended to stay around for long to begin with. Moreover, Sabrina's presence seemed to quell the same thoughts he had last time he was here. His heart now understood what it truly wanted.

"I have a new home." he said. "With you, and Minnie, and everyone in our twin worlds. And it's time to return to them. Come on, I'll race you to the Gummi Ship!"

Grinning, Ven gave himself a head start without waiting for Sabrina's response. She would have immediately followed him had it not been for a certain feeling, bringing her attention back to Castle Oblivion. It took a moment more for Ven to realize she wasn't following.

“Sabrina?”

At first, she didn’t respond.

“I thought I could feel…” she murmured to herself. She then shook her head. “Never mind. You’re not the only one who gets phantom memories here, apparently.”

Ven gave her a curious tilt of his head. Before he was able to press further, Sabrina bounded on past him.

"I thought you said this was a race?" she called from over her shoulder. "Hurry up already!"

It took him a moment, but a wide grin soon etched itself onto Ven's lips. He raced on after her without a second thought.

Meanwhile, from her room in Castle Oblivion, a young woman with shoulder length blonde hair and a simple white dress was just finishing her last drawing. It was a rather simple one- the exterior of Castle Oblivion well established as the focal point, and toward the main door were two figures in splendid armor. The figure on the left was colored almost exclusively with copper green and bluish greys. The one on the right had been given pastel blues and desaturated purples.

“It’s okay,” Namine said through a pained smile, “I wouldn’t believe I was here either.”

She held her drawing up so the light caught it a bit better. She continued to smile as a single tear traced down her cheek.

. . .

Sabrina let out a sigh of absolute relief once her feet touched Wasteland soil again. Her whole body relaxing in such a way, Ven thought he'd have to steady her. He let her have this moment of peace. If the Land of Departure had been fixed, he likely would have done the same thing not ten minutes before.

"Glad to be home?" he teased, giving her a little bump with his elbow.

"Shut up." she immediately shot back. "Let me have my peace. This time tomorrow it'll be back to impromptu bunny children dog piles and supervising gremlin experiments. I'm more exhausted thinking about that than the fact we helped bring the worlds back to order. Sorta."

Attempting to hold back a certain tell, Sabrina bit her lower lip before turning to Ven. In a voice that tried to be as neutral as possible, she said to him, "Can you take me back to Dark Beauty?"

"Of course." Ven agreed with a nod. "It would be a knight's honor in escorting the fair princess back to her quarters."

Sabrina immediately scoffed in disgust. All it did was lead Ven into a light laughter at her expense.

The journey to Dark Beauty was spent in silence. Sabrina did not stray far from him, however, and experience had taught Ven that she had far more on her mind than what she wanted to admit. It would come eventually. Every step they took to her bedroom grew smaller in stride the closer they got. Sabrina hesitated as she reached for the door handle.

"Guess I can't convince you to spend the night?" she quietly asked, turning toward him. "Been awhile since we've spent a day alone in a single room..."

"You know I want to. Really." Ven admitted. “But what I have to do next, I have to do alone.”

“And what if you don’t come back?” she finally demanded- almost attempting to hold back the more accusatory tone. “What if this is the last time I'm able to stare you down just to find crude ways to say-”

He didn’t give her the chance to finish. He brought his hand up to her face and pulled them into a gentle, longing kiss. She mumbled a protest at first, out of habit, but soon pulled on his clothes just to bring them closer. The light shared between them almost rivaled that to a Princess of Heart.

. . .

‘A year. I’ll give myself a year.’

Ventus looked around his humble room at Disney Castle and sighed. The kiss with Sabrina still lingered on his lips. It had been a promise. A confirmation. At the same time, it really did feel like he’d never see her again. It felt like he wouldn’t be seeing any of this again. But he had to go. He had to go on this mission. There was no telling what damage could be happening if he waited too long on this.

“Are you leaving again? You’ve only just gotten back.” Minnie’s voice, small but still gentle, inquired from his door. Ven’s heart sank when he realized he was leaving one other person out of the loop on this. “I was going to have the baker make you a cake as a thank you for saving the worlds.”

“Well, I guess he’d be saving those ingredients for later, because I wasn’t the one who even did that.” Ven replied with a light snort. “That was all Sora. If anything, the adventure I went on was a resounding failure. But Sora? He sacrificed himself for a friend, and he’s ready to do it again for the other.”

Ventus looked over at Queen Minnie. Her face was somber and her fingers were tightly knit within each other. She was worried, it wasn’t that hard to figure out. It was then that the knight considered he should have asked for her permission before deciding to take off again. Or, at the very least, warned her before now.

“Queen Minnie,” he then said, using a tone of voice he reserved for the most formal of occasions, “I must embark on a personal journey. Back in Hollow Bastion, in order to free Kairi’s heart, Sora also released Vanitas. I have to find him. I won't let someone disrupt the balance of light when the worlds are starting to return to normal. Especially when that someone was an extension of myself to begin with.”

Minnie stepped a bit closer.

“And you’re sure about this?” she asked.

“I know that I have to go.”

“That’s not what I’m asking.”

Ven looked down.

“I have to go alone,” he insisted. “Wasteland needs Sabrina. Disney Castle needs you. Vanitas is the shadow I cast, and it can only be me that goes to confront him.”

Minnie also averted her gaze down. She brought her hands up to her chest in small prayer.

“I see…” she softly agreed. When she looked up at him again, her smile was a little less brighter than usual. “If I can not change your mind, then would you mind if I helped you prepare?”

The request made his heart jolt.

“Of course not!” he said. “I would love to have your guidance! It would be nice to leave home with an actual plan for once. Have the proper material to survive and all that. Can you believe I followed Terra without a munny to my name? I got here and couldn’t buy a single thing! The food smelled so good too…”

Minnie had to laugh a bit. However frustrating it must have been then, it was a good thing that it ended up working out.

“To think,” Minnie mused, “This all started because you helped Huey, Dewey, and Louie with their ice cream machine.”

“No.” Ven lightly disagreed with a shake of his head. “This all started when I decided to stay here. Well, Pluto helped a bit with that, but I still could have left once I got my Wayfinder back.”

Minnie gave a light smile as she went through Ven’s clothes. If he was going away for awhile, he needed to pack the better ones- as to make sure they wouldn’t fall apart a week after departure. Perhaps a few of the slightly oversized clothes as well, just in case. Perhaps she could slip in a potion or two in the pockets? Surely they would organize what rations he should take along too. And ether. The boy didn’t use magic often as his primary attack, but it would never hurt to throw a few bottles of ether in there.

“The castle is going to feel so empty now.” she thought out loud, almost in a saddened sigh. “Donald and Goofy are still with Sora, Mickey in the Realm of Darkness with that poor Riku child. Even the nephews were talking about the next shop they’d open. It will just be me and Daisy- and Pluto if he feels like coming around again.”

The queen didn’t have enough time to realize she was crying. Several small tears dripped onto the shirt she was trying to fold. Ven immediately picked up on this. He placed a hand over hers in comfort.

“Your Majesty, please don’t cry.” Ven tried to soothe. “You know I would stay if I could. Honest.”

“I know, I know…” Minnie agreed as she tried to wipe away her tears. “I’m just… so worried, for all of you. At the same time, I’m so, so proud. I just…”

Ven crouched down so he was at better height with the queen. He then wrapped his arms around her and held on tightly.

“You’ll be in my heart- now and always.” he promised in a soft voice.

Despite weeping harder still, Minnie was able to smile.

. . .

As Ven walked out to the castle greens where the Gummi Ship hangar was secretly hidden, he already knew he’d leave his ship behind. Despite his personal preferences on power sparks, they still lost their juice at some point. He couldn’t take the risk of one giving out during something important. Using solely the Keyblade glider would, admittedly, limit what he could and could not carry on him. 

But at least he knew Queen Minnie would always be there to help him if he needed to come back to the castle. Everyone in Wasteland would too, come to think of it. Even Sabrina wouldn’t get that mad if he didn’t look too beaten and bruised. Miffed that he wouldn’t be staying, sure, but when Vanitas was done for, they could have all the time in the world to see no one but each other for weeks on end.

Ventus could find himself a bit of solace in that. If he was walking into another failure, then at least he knew what people kept watch over him. Even now he could almost believe that Terra and Aqua were still out there, looking for him and cheering him on.

Once he got to the Lanes Between, Ven took one last look at the world he called home for the past decade. He pulled out his Wayfinder and angled it just so the light of the world shone through the glass in the charm. He could hear all his friends encourage him. There was no turning back now.

“You better hope you have someone to watch out for you, Vanitas,” Ventus vowed, “Because I won't let you get away again.”