#the ballad of old red

[lavendarneverlands]

put 5 songs you listen to, post it, then send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers <333

Thank you so much lovely🫶🫶🫶

Oh goodness this is a hard question because I like way too many songs😂 though I am a huge Swiftie & since I’ve on my TOG binge have been listening to a lot of fan playlists so let’s let my history decide🤣 these have been in a heavy rotation:

“Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” by Taylor Swift

“Red Wine Supernova” by Chappell Roan

“Please Please Please” by Sabrina Carpenter

“Blonde” by Maisie Peters

“Can’t Catch Me Now” by Olivia Rodrigo

@impossibelle @iwantavaldezinator @idfendyr @shadowhunters77 @archerons-elain @cheap-spirits @maevecrom @endlessdaydream @somethingsomewhereanywhere @korepio

p.s. as always, no pressure tags :-) 💕

(Heads up for some tags: this is my main account, the side-blog ur probably used to seeing (as I’m more active) is @acourtofquestions I have a terrible habit of mixing up pages/conversations; so if ur going “who tagged me?” it’s just me lol)

[katey76762]

So I was inspired by a post by @kingmakerpod about a timeline for audio drama podcasts. Now this is not every single podcast, but this is as many as I know about. Please let me know if there are more to add to this timeline

[starry-eyed-psychopomp]

As is explained in the book, Covey names are made up of the name of a folk ballad and a color. The origins of a few of these names are explicitly stated in the book, but not all of them, so I want to try to lay out some potential origins for all of the Covey characters’ names!

Lucy Gray-Lucy Gray, poem by William Wordsworth (canon)

Barb Azure-Barbara Allen, famous folk song and child ballad 84 (canon)

Maude Ivory-Maude Clare, poem by Christina Rossetti (canon)

Clerk Carmine-Clerk Saunders, English folk song and child ballad 69

Tam Amber-Tam Lin, Scottish folktale and child ballad 39

Billy Taupe-Billy Boy, famous American folk song (likely, though Willy is a very common name in folk songs and child ballads)

Furthermore, I also want to argue that each of their names (much like Lucy Gray's) has some element of foreshadowing or relevance to their character or story!

Lucy Gray: as we know, she shares her story with the Wordsworth character: to go missing in the woods and have her true fate be forever a mystery

Barb Azure: she's a bit trickier. Barbara Allen is a soft, quiet tragedy about a “hard-hearted” girl whose lover dies, and she dies soon after so she can be buried with him. Barb Azure doesn't have much in the way of tragic romance (she and her gf seem to be the only non-toxic romance in the Covey), so I view her tragic love as not romantic, but familial. Barb seems to be the mom friend of the Covey, quiet and reserved but caring, and I think her heart broke when Lucy Gray and Billy Taupe died, one after the other. I should note that Barbara Allen's lover is named William (I told y'all it's a really common name). We don't know what happens to Barb Azure after she loses half her family and their music, but I can't imagine she ever fully recovered.

Maude Ivory: ALSO tricky. Maude Clare is about a love triangle, in which a couple is getting married and Maude, the groom's ex, stirs some shit with the bride, Nell. The groom is very inconsequential (Rossetti was a lesbian *cough cough*), so it's mainly about what the two women are fighting over. Maude proudly hands over the groom, but showcases how much he preferred her to his wife in the process. Nell professes that she has the legitimacy of marriage, and is willing to wait until he loves her back. It's unclear who really wins. I think this could be indicative of a bit of a silent "feud" (with no hatred of course) with Lucy Gray over which will become the lead singer in the Covey. Lucy Gray effectively hands it over to Maude Ivory at the end, but it's not much of a victory, as music is soon banned in District 12. But to Maude's credit, if the theory that she's Katniss's grandmother is true, she is willing to work to spread her music in secret over the coming years.

Clerk Carmine: Clerk Saunders is betrayed by his lover’s brothers after he wrongs her, eventually being killed by her youngest brother. Clerk Carmine's brother, Billy Taupe, betrays Lucy Gray by sleeping with Mayfair, and eventually the rest of the Covey reject him, including, most personally, Clerk Carmine.

Tam Amber: Tam Lin was a mysterious fae man, and Tam Amber was a mysterious baby found on the side of the road (I'm sorry but we know like nothing about this boy)

Billy Taupe: Billy Boy is a nursery rhyme about a boy who is courting a girl who is too young to leave her mother's side, much like Billy Taupe is courting Mayfair, whose father won't leave her alone. Though the nursery rhyme itself is light and fun, it has been linked to the English murder ballad "Lord Randall," in which a jealous woman poisons her husband, much like Mayfair's jealousy leads to both hers and Billy's deaths.

Tell me what y’all think! Clerk and Billy could really be a few things, but these seemed most likely. I also might’ve missed something (I wasn’t really looking for this stuff while reading) so I welcome any new info!

[vivacious-viridian]

this drawing is like a year and a half old at this point (and this version of this character no longer exists) but for the sake of posting things in a chronological order I'm kicking this blog off with this drawing that I never posted on my main

[the-blathermouth]

"Why be left with no family and no friends?"

[wine-porn]

I Love Grenache

This is a really pretty wine if you don’t look at it too hard, but with asterisks for those delving deeper. I was hesitant to try because of the “Old-Vine Garnacha” on the incredible linen front label, plus the winery-applied JS91 sticker is something I avoid like the plague. Beautiful deep purple-ruby with a thin line of amber at the far rim, a nose at first sharply old-world but a glowing thick…

[bluetimeombre]

: ̗̀➛ Call it what you want to

You're an up-coming star, staring in some hit movies like Hunger games Ballad of songbirds and snakes and now Wonka, along the Timothee Chalamet.

[i'm obsessed with my man and just need to ignore the fact he's dating someone that isn't me. anyway, you're an up-coming actress who stared in the new hunger games movie and now you're also staring in wonka, the people love you and maybe, so does a co-star of yours] not proof read. this was very fun to write so maybe i'll do more, if anyone likes it. or just for me

_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

liked by... tayrussell, joshandresrivera, tomblyth, sadiesink_, tchalamet & others

yourusername: wonka press tour starts now!

809k likes. 304k comments

user: wait, you're in wonka?!

user: I LOVE YOU!!

user: mother giving us content, as always

tchalamet: now you've posted can you come up and help me

yourusername: no

tchalamet: pls!!!

user: omg she really said no to timothee chalamet, who does she thin she is?

user: slayyyy

user: isn't wonka supposed to suck

tomblyth: from one press tour to another, i see

yourusername: girls got to earn a living

tomblyth: she doesn't let the grass grow

user: say hi to timothee for me!!!!

user: omg how is she getting all the hottest guys in hollywood rn? gurl leave some for us

wonkamovie: 😍😍

balladofsongbirdsandsnakes: 😍😍😍

_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

you were flicking through comments by your friends when your phone started to ring, the familiar picture of your co-star flicking up on your phone. quickly, you dimissed yourself from your assistant and took the call. 'yes?'

'I need your help.'

'Timothee, you're old enough to zip up your own jacket,' you tease, leaning on the wall.

'I don't know what jumper to wear, what are you wearing? we'll coordinate.'

you'd opted for something of your own style. a jumper with pinks and blues and a white flowering skirt with a ring almost on every finger. this was only your second big press tour and sitting next to timothee chalamet every day for it was enough to make you nervous. so nervous you woke every morning wondering if you'd throw up. it didn't help you were also surrounded by others you'd looked up to, like olivia coleman and hugh grant. how were you supposed to keep your cool for months. even if now you were considered just as big a star.

'don't you have a stylist for this?' you ask, looking at the crew around, ready to go but waiting for him.

'there's three options and i don't know which one to go for. can't you just come up.'

you could, sure. go to timothee's hotel room and see him probably shirtless. once you'd have dreamt of it, but things were different, now you just didn't have a silly celebrity crush. now he was your co-star and very off limits.

'option two now come on, please.' quickly, you end the call and pick up your coffee, heading to the room where you'd be sat for the next eight hours answering questions with timothee.

you were there first, shaking hands with the interviewer and introducing yourself to her. you took your seat, making little chatter before timothee chalamet walked in, calm, cool and collected. completely different to your flushed and smiling expression.

you watched as he quickly said hello to everyone in the room and greeted the lady who'd be conducting the interview.

timothee turned to you, arms out wide and waiting. laughing, you put your coffee down and stood up, giving him a hug. you shared small pleasantries before he took his seat next to you, shuffling around and settling in. only then did you realise how much your jumpers looked the same, both smudges of similar colours. you blushed more as timothee watched, silently wondering what could make you so red. as if he had no idea what he did to you just by sitting down next to him.

'I have had scrub scrub stuck in my head since seeing the movie,' she- charline, said as you and timothee laugh. 'do you guys have a favourite song you got to perform?'

'I mean, pure imagination was quite a surreal experience. you know, getting to sing something that was so ... iconic, it was-it was a lot of fun. and a lot of pressure, but, in a good way,' said timothee.

'you killed it,' you assure, casually.

'thank you,' he smiled.

'i really enjoyed you've never had chocolate like this number. that was just so fun, the dancing and all,' you say, timothee nodding and agreeing.

'for a moment was fun to, i guess,' added timothee. 'we got to dance.'

you grin at the memory. 'we did.' you remembered the a million takes, timothee singing practically to you while prancing around. it was your favourite scene to shoot because it was such an easy and happy scene. you didn't have to think about it, just held timmy's hand as he twirled you around the place.

'and i know we're here to talk about wonka but i just have to say-' she gestured to you, 'congratulations on hunger games, biggest movie in the world.'

you wave her off, thanking her as timmy claps for you. 'thank you, thank you.'

'i was wondering what was your favourite song to film there on that set and how does it compare to singing on this one.'

ranting about yourself or your achievements was always hard for you. your stardom and come so quickly with hunger games and wonka, so much so you felt like you didn't deserve half of it.

'i mean, for hunger games it was all live. i sang them there and then so that's daunting in itself, um. i loved filming pure as the driven snow, just because i got to- essentially- sing it to tom. it was just him and me and the crew, like for those shots there was no extra's so that was great fun. a special moment. and singing it to him made it a whole lot easier. whereas on this movie, luckily it was all like pre-recorded so, not so daunting. didn't have to sing in front of timothee chalamet,' you say.

he listened carefully to you, seeing your smile at mentioning tom blyth, your co-star from the hunger games. he'd never met the guy, he was probably lovely- from the amount you talked about him. 'you've got a great singing voice.'

'thanks man.'

'this cast is just so insane and obviously you two got close during filming,' says charline, gesturing to the two of you.

timothee nudged you with his head, like he'd done a thousand times before knowing how much you secretly loved it. just like a horse, as had been quoted.

'who's more british, olivia or hugh?'

'hugh, easily,' you say. you loved all of hugh's movies, but you'd never say that to his face.

'you know, i'm gonna go and say you,' says timothee, turning to you.

you drop you jaw, pointing to yourself. yes, you were british, but more so than than the hugh grant seemed impossible. 'me?'

'yea, i mean, hugh grant is like a walking union jack- and i mean that in the best way possible, but you seem so much more like british. you know, wicked sense of humor and the charm and- you love london,' he pointed out.

'i do love london,' you agreed.

'did you have fun filming in england, timothee?' she asked.

they want on and on to talk about filming the movie, answering questions in depth and it was sure the two of you had great answers, listening intently together and everyone could tell. your chemistry was there, your smiles and answers together were almost so perfect it was like it was practiced and the fans ate it up!

_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

liked by... zendaya, mtv, kyliejenner, yourusername, wbpictures & others

tchamalmet: WONKA!!! coming soon

tagged: yourusername

1.1m likes, 609k comments

user: he posted! he posted!

user: we are getting FED

user: i just know this is all yourusername influence

user: not kylie liking...

user: statistics! statistics!

liked by yourusername

yourusername: bring back little timmy tim!

yourusername: out of all the pictures you chose that one

user: anyone else think her and timmy are getting too close

user: like fr she stealin my man

user: i love them!!!

user: i swear something is going on with her and tom blyth

user: she's just like us!

user: LOVE!!!!!

user: her and timmy >>> him and kylie

user: plssss, i love kylie

user: is wonka a musical

user: TIMMY I WANT TO HAVE YOUR CHILDREN!!!

user: fave bob dylan song?

_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

liked by... tomblyth, rachelzeglar, tchalamet, hunterschafer, zendaya & others

yourusername: ballad of song birds and snakes is number one movie? more like i'm the number one most grateful person out there for this chance and being trusted with my girl lucy-grey!!! thank you, thank you, thank you!!

tagged: tomblyth

1m likes 477k comments

tomblyth: lots of love my dear !

user: pls the second picture was so unncesary she just wanted to post it

user: MOTHER

user: parents are parenting

user: I LOVED THIS FILM

user: tom blyth is honestly so hot like wtf

rachelzeglar: my luv &lt;3

yourusername: omg my gf everybody!!!!

joshandresrivera: funny how you don't post a picture of me

yourusername: it's funny because i don't like you

joshandresrivera: tomblyth you gonna let her talk to me like that??

tomblyth: she's the boss

user: how is she so amazing in everything

user: wonder how she got this job? she's literally as plain as a plank

user: hi!

user: the film was insane, i'm obsessed

user: i need this film injected into my veins

user: she's so good at singing, get her on broadway!!!

tchalamet: very proud

yourusername liked tchalamet's comment

user: why would you post the second pic unless they're clearly dating

_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

user: pls why do i ship them so hard!!

user: lol it looks like he's just refusing to answer questions without her

user: is nobody gonna talk about how they were basically wearing the same jumpers?

user: no because i thought the exact same thing

user: someone pointed it out in an interview and timothee said it was 100% planned, they're so cute

user: doesn't he have a girlfriend?

user: isn't she with tom blyth? they look like they're together?

user: they haven't confirmed it

user: they don't need to did you see her post on instagram?! it was all just him

user: no but the way she's just constantly blushing around him

user: so would you if you were sat next to the timothee chalamet

[afterglowsainz]

the girl is mine | charles leclerc, alexandra saint mleux

pairing: charles leclerc x actress!reader x alexandra saint mleux

summary: when your new movie comes out, your boyfriend and girlfriend get jealous of fans shipping you with your costar, even though your relationship is still a secret to the public

fc: rachel zegler

request: here and here

a/n: and he wins in austinnnn! (with alex because apparently now i cannot write about charles without also writing about alex)

—

liked by alexandrasaintmleux, oliviarodrigo and others

yourusername only a few days left until you get to see this incredible story on the big screen 👀🐍

view all comments

username can’t wait!

username so excited for this movie🙏🏽

username you’re exactly the way i imagine lucy gray would look like i’m so happy

username gotta love this era of y/n

username pretty girls love lucy gray baird! (liked by yourusername)

username mesmerized by the first picture alone

username ohhh the 12 year old girl in me who hiperfixated on the hunger games can’t wait for this 😩

alexandrasaintmleux’s instagram stories

[caption 1: 👀🐍] [caption 2: ❤️]

liked by yourusername, charles_leclerc and others

voguemagazine y/n y/l/n and tom blyth stunned in the red carpet premiere of the hunger games: the ballad of songbirds & snakes

view all comments

username is everyone thinking what i’m thinking…

username nahhh i ship them so bad

username they have so much chemistry i love them

username so cute 🥰

username new parents unlocked

username they’re so hot

username cause how can you look at that second picture and not immediately ship them?

username i don’t care if i sound delusional but they make a really good couple

liked by tomblyth, francisca.cgomes and others

yourusername a little behind the scenes and people i can’t get enough of! ✨🐍💗

view all comments

username i’m shipping even harder alright

username “people i can’t get enough of” please just confirm the rumors 😭

username no but that face card is insaaaane

username the movie was amazing!

tomblyth work it!

yourusername earn it!

username ahhh the dating confirmation when

username no but imagine if they were actually together how iconic would that be

username they look so cute together i’m- 🥺

alexandrasaintmleux 💚

yourusername 💗

liked by yourusername, alexandrasaintmleux and others

charles_leclerc congratulations, my lucy gray, you’re the most talented person i know 💚 nous t'aimons avec notre âme, mon coeur <3 (we love you with our soul, my love)

tagged yourusername, alexandrasaintmleux

view all comments

username wait what

username rue… when was this

username no way they are dating THE y/n y/l/n

username i really expected anything but this 😭

username no but wait … they look good 👀

username what do you do when the hottest people you know reveal they’re dating each other on a random tuesday afternoon?

username they really saw the shipping with tom and said not on my watch

username i’m still processing this

yourusername love you 🥺🥺🥺

yourusername although i know the real reason you’re posting this 😑 but i’ll let it slide cause i like you

charles_leclerc nothing wrong with wanting to show off my girlfriend 😅

alexandrasaintmleux our*

alexandrasaintmleux i love you y/n you’re the most talented and the prettiest and kindest and ours🥰🥰🥰

yourusername love you too alex 😭

[fandom]

Movies

Hi, Barbie.

Barbie

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Goncharov

Nimona

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Red, White, and Royal Blue

Lord of the Rings -3

Black Panther +24

The Addams Family

The Super Mario Bros. Movie -4

Knives Out

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish

Oppenheimer

The Hunger Games

Avatar: The Way of Water

Guardians of the Galaxy

Shrek

The Little Mermaid +15

Scream -1

Top Gun: Maverick -1

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Everything Everywhere All At Once +7

Saw +14

Twilight -13

Wendell & Wild

Howl's Moving Castle -6

The Hobbit -3

Five Nights at Freddy's

Enola Holmes

My Policeman

Deadpool -8

How to Train Your Dragon +12

Beauty and the Beast +16

Avatar

Scream VI

Bottoms

Mean Girls +6

Megamind -4

Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar

Spirited Away -10

The Batman -38

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Venom -34

Les Misérables

Encanto -44

Iron Lung

Coraline

The Thing

John Wick

Strange Way of Life

Blue Beetle

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Legally Blonde

Frozen -14

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Ghosted

American Psycho -7

Princess Mononoke

Dune -49

The Princess Bride

Teen Wolf: The Movie

Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith -21

Pacific Rim

Renfield

Shrek 2

Saw X

The Old Guard -29

Nope -47

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse

Night at the Museum

Soul -26

The Mummy

The Nightmare Before Christmas

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

Hellraiser

The Lost Boys

The Marvels

Emesis Blue

The Shape of Water

The Menu

My Neighbor Totoro

Shazam -40

Sonic the Hedgehog -66

Pirates of the Caribbean -48

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Elemental

Lilo & Stitch

Fight Club

The Dark Knight

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

The Princess Diaries

The Incredibles

Halloween Ends

The Lorax

10 Things I Hate About You

Heathers

Kung Fu Panda

The Devil Wears Prada

Rise of the Guardians

Birds of Prey

The number in italics indicates how many spots a title moved up or down from the previous year. Bolded titles weren’t on the list last year.

[berzahoes]

manifestation, baby! | tom blyth

summary: fans find out tom’s girlfriend has an old youtube channel where she reviewed the ballad of songbirds and snakes (and she definitely manifested her life)

an: the way i thought about this idea and quickly wrote it down so i didn’t forget it. i used to have an app that made those fake tweets but i’m just tired to make fake profiles 😭 maybe i’ll change it later idk

for the purpose of this imagine, let’s pretend tbosas book was published between 2017-2019

liked by zeglerslove, 444_bri and 35,377 others

tomblythxsnow apparently tom’s girlfriend has an old youtube channel where she reviews books and she reviewed the ballad of songbirds and snakes and she literally manifested her future 😭

lucymygf WHATTT WHATS HER CHANNEL NAME

tomblythxsnow it’s yn’s book corner. she hasn’t posted since 2019 ngl i need her to review a little life because that book destroyed me

nat76_ omg i used to watch her videos!! i’m still subscribed to her 😭 i remember only buying and reading the books she liked because i wanted to be her so bad

j4ckaszlol “if someone ever makes a movie adaptation of this book and casts someone attractive to play snow then i am sorry for the person i become” REALLLLL

graybairdsmockingjay dude the part where she said “i’m calling it now whoever plays young snow will be my boyfriend. movie studios always cast someone attractive as the younger version of a character!” MY JAW DROPPED SHE NEEDS TO TELL ME HER WAYS

“guess what rachel just sent me.” you heard tom say when he arrived to your shared apartment.

“wedding invitations?!” you gasped as you almost stood up from the sofa since you were watching reruns of criminal minds, but tom stopped you.

“no, it’s better!” tom sat beside you and showed you his phone. “why didn’t you tell me you had a youtube channel?” on his phone screen was your review of the ballad of songbirds and snakes, which had become a very popular video over the past couple of days.

you hid your face with a pillow and groaned. “don’t remind me. i just wanted to talk about my books and my family didn’t care. don’t watch it! it’s embarrassing!”

“i think it’s cute. aw look, your dog made a cameo!” he pointed at your old dog you used to have that walked into the frame.

“indi! no, come sit right here. oh . . . and she’s walking away. okay, anyways.” your younger self said in the video

“indi? why Indi?” tom asked you even though you were still hiding from embarrassment.

“after indiana jones. my dad and i loved those movies and he gifted me indi as a birthday present.” you confessed.

“love, don’t be embarrassed. i think it’s cute that you manifested your life according to the comments on instagram,” tom paused the video then cuddled up to you. “i won’t watch it if you don’t want me to.”

“it’s fine, i just didn’t think anyone would find it. we can watch it together.” you uncovered yourself and sat down properly to watch the video with tom. before he pressed the play button and together you watch your younger self review the book.

“i’ve read all the hunger games books at least four times and this one did not disappoint. but i do hope whoever ends up being cast as young snow is someone hot. i’m sorry it’s the rules! and they will be my boyfriend, i’m calling dibs.”

tom smirked at you. “if only younger you could see you now.”

“she would definitely think ‘wow, how did we pull this beautiful man?’ then be confused as to why the hunger games and fnaf is trending in 2023.”

liked by tomblyth, rachelzegler and 1,377,389 others

ynlovesbooks told ya. love you tomblyth ❤️

rachelzegler she is THAT girl

ynlovesbooks no u

everdeenx12 bestie he’s EVIL

ynlovesbooks he’s a walking red flag but my favorite color is red 😍

chamaletproblems pls tell me how you did this

ynlovesbooks i figured out who they were casting and kept him hostage until he agreed to be my bf

tomblyth true

[pmamtraveller]

PIETER VAN DER OUDERAA - THE KING OF THULE, 1896

This portrait painting depicts the character from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's ballad "Der König in Thule" ("The King in Thule"), portraying a king in the European kingdom of Thule who, on his deathbed, recalls his lost love and tosses a golden cup into the sea in her honor.

The old monarch is seated by a window in a spacious chair within a cramped room. A table covered with cloth is located behind the king's chair, holding a gold wine decanter on a silver platter. It is likely that the decanter has been used to fill the king's large gold goblet, which he is holding near his chest with his right hand.

The old ruler is adorned in his crown, a gold signet ring, and livery collar, along with a long, heavy silk robe decorated with flowers and a red fur cloak to shield his weak elderly body from the cold. The king wears a sombre, sorrowful expression, with tears visible on his face, lost in contemplation of distant memories.

Ouderaa was deeply moved by the emotional story, inspiring him to depict the king's somber contemplation in his art, highlighting the emotions of isolation and remorse linked to getting older and nostalgia. The work is seen as a literary masterpiece, and various composers, such as Franz Schubert, have created ballads and musical scores based on the piece.

[katey76762]

I have made some edits and new additions to the timeline thanks to the suggestions by people in the notes. I’d like to thank @dihalectics, @chemicallywrit, @224bbaker, @roguemaker, @measureyourlifeincake  @geminicollisionworks, @monstrousagonies, @sinkholepodcast, and once again @kingmakerpod for inspiring the idea.

Feel free to let me know others to add on to the timeline, I’m really enjoying making this and learning about other podcasts!

[cogentranting]

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes also works as a subversion of those kind of "captivity to romance" stories.

A girl is taken prisoner by the evil Capitol and a boy is assigned to make sure she puts on a good show before she dies. But he's not quite like the others because secretly he's poor and an orphan and traumatized by the war. And she reminds him of his mother who was sweet and kind. So he does some shady things, and maybe they're not exactly right, but they're for her. To save her. And he does save her and then is thrown out of the Capitol and follows her to her town where they start to fall in love. When there starts to be conflict between rebels and the Capitol he has to make some more tough choices-- questionable choices-- to protect her and then eventually they run away together.

Does that not sound like a typical (kinda questionable) YA romance?

Except here, you don't forget that he's on the side of her captors, and there's a distinct emphasis on the possessiveness he feels.. And we see the underside of those choices he makes, and they might look like they're for her but actually they're all self-serving. And those questionable choices don't stop right at the line of what we'll excuse, they keep getting worse as he justifies each one and lets himself do worse and worse things. And she doesn't change him so that he can see the beauty of her world, he sticks with his prejudices and hates her world, only tolerating it as long as he wants her. And in the end he doesn't give it all up for her. He betrays her and goes right back to his old world.

And where normally a subversion like that would have to sort of pull the rug out from under readers in order to make the story work, here the framing of the novel as a prequel about a character we KNOW to be a villain lets them play the romance fairly straight without pulling the wool over readers' eyes, so there's no breach of trust. Instead that knowledge of who Coriolanus becomes let's you see the relationship without the rose-tinted romance glasses, and the red flags stand out for what they are.

[toodelusionalforreality]

Azriel x OC | Chapter 2

Sanctuary

Both his brothers are mated. Both his brothers are happily in love. But after five centuries of rejection, Azriel doesn’t hope for such luxury in his life. When he meets the bar owner who is too mysterious even for the spymaster to decipher, his intrigue turns into more. Lines between mystery and secret blur. The closer he gets to her, the more his instincts warn him to stay away.

Previous Chapter: Rare

Word count: ~5.2k Warning: None [minimal editing/proofreading/formatting]

A/N: This is an experimental piece of work. I'm testing a writing style, so feedback is welcome. It's 5 in the morning and I'm sleep deprived. I've tried my best to edit it.

Three weeks later, Azriel stood in front of the red-bricked building again. Alone. He returned home from his latest mission, bruised and battered, and patched to perfection only a few hours ago. Madja had seen him off with an instruction—a thinly veiled order, to be precise—to take two days’ complete rest. Despite the vial of sleeping tonic he emptied in front of her strict eyes, Azriel was restless in his bed. And for some unearthly reason, he went to the one place he never thought of after that night.

The hag looked up at him with eyes so sullen and dead that for a moment, Azriel believed she had forgotten him. Then her lips stretched thinly and her eyes turned bright with excitement. Without a falter in his steps, he took a gold out of his pocket, dropped it on her desk, and reached for the doorknob. Ignoring her smug gratitude, he pushed the door open. 

The room looked exactly as he remembered. With its dim lighting and almost empty tables, it appeared bigger, darker, and hauntingly beautiful. Azriel went to the same corner he and his family had occupied only days ago. A familiar blend of metal and spices welcomed him. 

The sequence of events was reminiscent of that night. The same server tended to him with a relaxed smile. Quiet chatter and waves of laughter filled the room. The band played music, calm and lulling, unlike the upbeat one they played that first night. For each of his emptied glasses, a filled one took its stead. 

Sitting alone in a corner, to have come in secrecy, Azriel felt filthy. He was exhausted. He needed a drink. It was a bar. All perfect reasons for someone visiting that place late into the night. And yet, a sense of wrong gnawed at his chest. By the time he was done, the soothing effect of the tonic and countless drinks had settled in.

The week Rita’s opened its doors, with its eerie elegance and overflowing liquor, Pharus couldn’t lure the crowds again. Even his friends would never set foot in a place like this now since they had their favourite pub back, where the lights were too bright and the music was too loud. Leaving it all the more enticing to Azriel. 

Time slowed down within those dark red-stoned walls. Hush fell over the room whenever the band paused between their ballads. Wines were more generous and sweeter each time he visited. Night after night, only regulars remained bearing their loyalty. The servers and bartender greeted them like an old friend with light banters.

Azriel frequented the bar in between his missions—more often than he dared to admit. Every time, he walked into the hall before he had the chance to doubt himself, went to the same table which by now had his claim on it, and Uri, his usual server, kept his glasses full while making polite conversations. 

Pharus offered him refuge from his family, from his job, and from the world. Whenever he needed to recuperate in the quiet, he chose the hidden bar over the comfort of his warm bed. 

His shadows embraced his new ritual with much ease. During his early visits, they ventured out to study the layout of the building, learning the nooks and crannies, and familiarising themselves with the place sooner than he had expected. They gave him company and scared away anyone who approached him, except Uri who had grown immune to seeing them since the first night. Most days they stayed close to him, shifting on his shoulders like a cool wrap of darkness. And when curious eyes caught his presence, they curled around him until he became one with the dark corner.

But once in a while, they swarmed his shoulders, whispering nothing coherent, and wove around his hands until they drew his attention. But they had nothing to say or sensed no threat. Azriel believed it to be the effects of the drinks he had and noted which ones to steer away from. 

His missions kept him away from Velaris often. He was almost glad of this little hindrance, for he wouldn’t want his family to find out about his trysts. Over months, the routine only forged deeper into his muscles, becoming one with his mind. After every mission, before every mission, and sometimes in between, he returned to the bar. Again and again. 

He was stealthy about it, sneaking out after his family retired for the night. If they knew their shadowsinger, quiet and reserved, visited a bar often, he would lose the one place he enjoyed other than his home sooner than he blinked. 

Pharus was his dirty, heavenly secret.

Uri gravitated towards Azriel more than to his other customers. But he also always had stories to tell. And Azriel’s innate curiosity allowed the server to dish out gossip after gossip. The most interesting ones were of their owner. Nothing made sense about her, and yet Uri spoke of her life like it was a finished book—all chapters done and closed, with loose ends tied, pieced in perfect order.

Azriel never voiced it though, he rarely said a word. He preferred observing from the shadows, and so he did. Listened to every story Uri gave him, noticed the way the patrons perked up when Ayla worked at the bar, and counted her footsteps on the other side of the door. 

‘She is not here tonight,’ said Uri as he poured him another drink. Azriel looked up from surveying the room. The server set the bottle down and slumped in one of the chairs at the table, clearly meant for more than one. ‘That’s why it’s packed. The moment she is out of Velaris, they come flocking in until she’s back.’

Azriel lifted a brow. How much did these people hate or fear her if they went to such great lengths?

‘They feel powerful. It’s their version of rebellion,’ Uri continued, not realising the spymaster had gleaned that much already. His eyes burned with hatred as he watched a man threaten Raya, the bartender with a creepy smile. ‘To step in here after she humiliated them. But they don’t have the balls to do much else.’

‘Aren’t you afraid they might hurt you?’ Azriel usually limited his questions to one or none. But sometimes, his curiosity was a wretched curse. 

Uri shrugged, but his lips pulled into a smirk. ‘They know she’ll hunt them down.’

Like he promised, the crowd thinned to the regulars again, the peaceful ones. After each of her trips, Ayla tended to the bar—a sign of her return, a warning to the lurkers to crawl back to their pits.

‘Where’s she?’ Azriel had asked the server once when the office remained locked for weeks. Even his shadows were alert to know the answer.

Uri frowned. For the first time, he hesitated. ‘To get supplies, I guess. We get tired of asking and keeping up with it. One time it’s for the bar, the other it’s for the shop, and then, there are personal reasons. And those are even harder to pry from her.’ 

’Shop?’

Uri toyed with the cork of a wine bottle between his fingers, eyes scanning for signs of a call from other patrons, out of habit rather than necessity. ‘Yeah, one along the banks. She has this blade business. Better than this one, really.’ 

Sensing Azriel's blank stare, he continued with a breathy laugh, ‘You don’t really think we get any money from this place, do you?’

‘I don’t know. Seems like a good place.’

Azriel swept a glance across the room—the elegant fissures, ambient lighting, plush seats and chairs, and beautiful shelves filled with bottles and bottles of liquor. Some would agree it had a certain charm to it.

Not to Uri. They lost a lot of their customers because of Ayla's rules. Many were kicked out, some with warnings, some with broken bones until the ones looking for trouble weeded out—the reason Rita’s still thrived a decade after Pharus opened, which was an ideal choice for the vain faerie folk.

What Uri called a misfortune was a blessing for Azriel, for he wouldn’t visit if not for the dwindling clientele.

Uri laughed. ‘You are the only good tipper we have. We barely make anything to keep the bar afloat. Ayla pays us with her own money. From that shop. She wanted to have something simple, but Raya,’ he waved his hand in the general vicinity, ‘wanted all this, convinced her it would be good for business. Ayla didn’t even complain. She put everything together and made a deal. We run the place while she takes care of the expenses.’

He grew quiet, his thoughts distant and his voice troubled. ‘Sometimes I don’t think she even likes it here. She prefers the quiet, you know. A bar is the last place someone like her goes looking, forget running. And here she is, taking care of one.’ After a brief breath, he added with a smile, ‘And us, too.’

Azriel had questions, but he kept them to himself. He always had other means to find out. If he wanted to.

Even when his missions weren’t as gruesome as the one that tempted him to find a sanctuary for himself, when they were as mundane as a daily chore, Azriel returned. His own paradise to soothe his soul whenever the darkness began to slick in his veins.

A longing lingered in his chest—unknown and melancholic—a sort of emptiness that never truly faded away. A desperate call to be heard and acknowledged in the lonesome of the night.

Ripping the cool sheets off his body, Azriel got out of his bed again. Sometimes he wondered if his visits had developed into an obsession of sorts, an addiction, as he readied himself for flight on a stormy night.

Cold seeped into the walls as he tucked himself away into the familiar corner. The golden lights from the overhead lanterns glowed warmer, but dimmer. The same scent of spices suffocated the room, sharp and intense in the thick, humid air, and yet it felt right. The patter of rain against the windows muted other sounds in the room, cocooned him in his own world, shielding him away in the solitude he had known all his life.

Uri sat on a stool at the bar, talking with Raya and the other server whose name Azriel never learnt. Their laughter was the only merry sound in the room. Uri split away long enough to offer Azriel his drink and returned to his friends. They seemed happy and content in their own world too. 

Loners, much like him, scattered across the space, keeping a distance from one another—the storm outside rousing a storm within their hearts and souls. Slowly, some made their exit after a few drinks, none too keen to linger for long. Raya eyed the ones still at the tables, eager to close soon.

Azriel didn’t intend to stay either. 

His shadows flitted along the edges of his wings, around his talons. They descended from his shoulders down his arms caressing, their coldness more acute than that of the weather. Azriel opened his hands and set them on the table. The darkness wreathed around his wrists, slithered to his palms, and danced at his fingertips. His eyes drifted up, just a glance, and found the door locked. 

The liquor burned his throat. Azriel closed his eyes and drained the last of his drink. A fresh wave of scent hit his face—something strange yet familiar. The band fiddled for a moment before they began their next song, quiet and low. A voice, sweet and silky, sang along to the music. The one he had heard only once, and yet weaved into his dreams on some nights. He took a long breath and let the voice lure him—his eyes, his senses, his being.

Ayla stood on the small dias, in the middle, among the musicians. Her weight swayed between her feet with the rhythm and the overhead lantern seemed to move with her voice, light shifting around her. An aura enveloped her lithe body with a radiance, turning her into a being of starlight and amber. With her eyes closed, she didn’t care if anyone listened to her song. Wisps of her dark hair stuck to her wet lips that moved deliciously as she sang.

Everything faded away—the band, the patrons, the bar—except for her croon, gentler than midnight’s whispers. Even the rains lowered their cries to a murmur, letting her melody echo in the bliss of the night.

Her song told a story of love and yearning—a proclamation to her lover. Her voice held an emotion so pure and true that if he closed his eyes, if he let himself, Azriel could believe he was the one she sang to. He mused if the others noticed the nuances of her breaths, the slight hum in between verses, the lilt at the words whenever a smile tugged at her lips. 

Emotions stirred in his chest, ones he hadn’t felt in his long immortal life, ones he hadn’t known existed. Ache crept away as an ease settled in his heart, a comfort carried to him by her song. When a soft tremor shook through her voice, Azriel wondered how her throat would throb under his marred skin.

His eyes snapped open, and he sucked in a breath. He brought the glass to his lips, his hand trembling. Completely empty. He needed a drink. But he didn’t dare look up. 

His shadows swayed, their movements as light as hers. They whispered in his ears singing with her, weaving themselves through the silences left by her breaths.

When the music ended, a quiet fell over. The sound of rain hitting the windows thrummed through the room. Slowly, with each step she took towards her office, the world emerged out of her trance.

A piece of him craved her attention. Look at me, it said, demanded, pleaded. His shadows stilled. She offered a smile to her friends at the bar before she disappeared behind that damned door. 

Azriel sat there long after Ayla was gone. Long after her voice was nothing but a phantom ringing in his ears. Listening to her footfalls above, as quiet as her breathing. Knowing he was closer to her than he had ever been watching her behind her desk.

Every secret revealed itself one way or another. In Azriel’s case, it was because of his wretched luck as a person or dumb arrogance as a spymaster. As his family voiced their plans for the night at Rita’s, he shot down their pleas and left for Pharus after dinner, earlier than usual. Instead of finding his table empty and reserved, he was thrust back in time to that first night. 

Mor’s bold red dress, Cass already with a filled glass in his hand, Feyre and Rhys in each other’s arms, Elaine’s open smile, and Nesta’s piercing gaze on her mate. Except for minor seating arrangements, the scene was uncannily the same. Every pair of eyes at the table stared at him expecting sudden news. Finally, realisation morphed into shock before Azriel could walk back out. He gave up hiding then. 

Strolling to the table, he took the one seat his family left unoccupied. Uri immediately came to his side with his favoured drink, greeting him with a cheery, ‘Hey, you’re back!’ And explained in excruciating detail how long and often he visited.

Azriel could take the teasing and taunting of his brothers. But what he couldn’t tolerate was their plans to frequent and vet out the bar— his secret haven, to find the source that prompted the infamous shadowsinger to break out of his habits. 

As each of them came up with one ridiculous reason after the other, Azriel sipped on his drink. He leaned back, crossed his ankle over his knee, and settled in for a long night of interrogation. He was a spymaster after all and had five centuries' worth of experience with those he called his family.

‘So you lied to us all those nights?’ Disappointment shone in Mor’s eyes as she asked, ‘When I begged you to go to Rita’s with me, you instead came here alone?’

Azriel didn’t answer. He trailed a finger along the side of his glass, and his eyes followed the dewdrops breaking under his skin. He had grown used to the taste, the smell, and the air of the place like it was a second home already. He was acutely aware of every entry and exit point in the building, including the door in front of him. One which was perched open that night.

His shadows crawled up his shoulders, settling higher than usual, almost licking his ear. Their whispering turned incoherent again and with his family’s eyes on him, he didn’t particularly feel understanding of them. Yet they continued, growing impatient.

He felt a nip on the back of his neck. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at Mor’s expectant eyes and then beyond her perfect blonde hair. 

Ayla walked out of the office, ready to take Raya’s place at the bar. She had returned from yet another trip. 

A smirk found its way onto Azriel’s lips for the knowledge he possessed, for the ins and outs he knew of her life while she had no idea of his existence. The power he held over her.

‘Now, now,’ Rhys said, his eyes sparkling. ‘Let him have a moment.’ When Azriel turned to him sharply, he glanced at the bar. 

But not too subtle to go unnoticed. Every one of them turned around, sizing up the supposed reason for his escapades. If Ayla felt their gazes on her, she showed no sign of it, moving as feline as ever. 

And each of his friends had the same idea. Mor was the first to act on it. She headed to the counter and perched herself on a stool right in front of Ayla.

By denying it, Azriel would dig his grave deep, and even deeper by defending her. He kept his lips sealed and eyes on the band while his shadows curled around his ears. Ever the loyal allies, they narrated the scene.

Mor returned with a drink in her hand, spoke into Feyre’s ear, and turned to her other side, sharing her learnings with Cass. 

Feyre left her chair a short while after. Ayla smiled at her the whole time she answered her questions and made her a drink. Feyre returned. 

Cass shifted in his seat, ready for his turn, yet waiting to leave an ample gap in time.

Azriel stood up as Cass’s chair grated against the floor. He made a quick line to the bar and took a seat next to the one Mor and Feyre had chosen, a bit of distance between them in case she hadn’t caught on yet. He mumbled his order under his breath, completely aware of his family’s stares on his back and the teasing laughs they didn’t bother to conceal. Soon, a drink appeared before him. Azriel didn’t look up, but he nodded. He waited long minutes for his family’s excitement to die.

‘You don’t like it?’ The question was as soft as the voice that spoke it, the words laced with tentative curiosity.

She stood in front of him, an arm’s reach away. Her gaze was sharp like that first night when she studied him and his wings. Specks of gold reflected in her brown eyes under the flickering light. They held a calmness that terrified one who got too close to notice. Her hair flowed in soft waves over her shoulder, damp at the bottom from a recent shower, and yet it glowed. Her smile was polite and a bit tight, born out of necessity.

Azriel wondered if she remembered him, and most did because of his shadows.

When he didn’t respond, she nodded at his drink left untouched. He lifted the glass and emptied it in a gulp. A real smile adorned her face. 

‘You can tell me if you don’t like it.’ She sounded tender, unlike with that man all those months ago. She reached for another glass, ‘Want to try something else?’

Azriel nodded once. He didn’t utter a word but didn’t take his eyes off her either. He didn’t need his shadows to know of his family’s prying eyes and ears. A wave of darkness eased behind his back shielding them. 

She placed a glass half-filled with a honey-coloured liquor. When she reached for his empty one, Azriel fisted his hands and tucked them close to his chest.

‘Don’t worry.’ Her voice turned comforting, softer. ‘Your face is too distracting for anyone to notice that.’ She rearranged the bottles as her eyes scanned the other patrons sitting at the far end of the counter. 

He let out a low chuckle. Such words from a woman who only smiled at her customers like a chore. His nerves tingled from head to toe. He was glad for the drink in his hand to blame. When he looked at her, she had only a ghost of a smile, a remnant of the one she wore seconds ago. 

He asked carefully, ‘Is that your attempt at flirting with me?’

She fixed him with a steady stare, a slight tilt to her head. ‘I’m guessing no one tells you the truth unless they get something in return.’

His breath stuck in his throat. While he spent months learning about her, however unintentionally, she unravelled him with a mere look. 

With a shrug of his shoulder, he brought the glass to his lips. The drink was much sweeter than the ones he had before. When it reached his throat, the bitterness hit him, and then, the burn. Ayla narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips into a straight line. 

‘Are you singing tonight?’ Azriel gambled with the harmless one of his secrets to keep her from stumbling upon the deeper ones.

She stayed silent for a moment. Then she smiled again. ‘Are you asking me to?’

Azriel watched the lights scatter on the surface of his liquor as he toyed with the glass. He lowered his voice, wary of his family behind him, ‘I wouldn’t mind if you did.’

‘I only fill in when they need me. I’m usually in the office.’ 

Anyone who talked to him for the first time always caught themselves staring at his shadows. Always. But her eyes remained on his face. She only saw him, not the darkness shrouding him, not the shadowsinger. 

His shadows danced back and forth between them, almost reaching for her and backing away. They listened when she talked and garbled when she fell quiet.

I know, Azriel wanted to say.

A hush fell over. A few murmured before a soft cheer rippled through the air. 

Azriel glanced at the band as they prepared for their next number. When he turned back to her, she was looking at them. He lifted a brow in a silent question.

Ayla stared at him for a minute, a long minute before she stepped away from the bar.

He bowed his head. The last thing he wanted his family to see was the smile on his lips. After a few minutes of shuffling and trial chords, the music began. He refrained from looking over his shoulder. At his family, at her. He took a sip when her voice reverberated through the brick walls, soothing and sensual. 

His heart tightened in his chest. She sang of love again. He asked her to sing, and she sang of love—naughty, brazen love. Azriel chuckled at the not-so-subtle innuendo in the lyrics. Her voice mellowed at the end of every verse, softer than a purr. He closed his eyes. 

This time he didn’t stop himself from imagining how she would feel under him, if she’d sound as sweet or sweeter when she moaned for him. His shadows spied her over his shoulders.

Ayla was watching him. That damned minx knew what he was up to.

Azriel dared to give her his attention. She smiled at him before she closed her eyes. She swayed to the music, almost imperceptible, but not to his eyes.

Her every word was a tender caress to his soul. Her voice reached out, striking a chord in his heart that never existed until that moment. If she held his hand and led him to her home upstairs, he would follow, if only to trap himself with her in the quiet, away from the world.

When the music ended, she stood still for a moment with her eyes closed, just the way she always did. She didn’t return to him. Instead, she walked into her office and closed the door behind her, but not before she gave him a sweet smile.

Another few months of missions further limited Azriel from going back to Pharus. A part of him believed his brothers did it on purpose to test him. Between her strange business trips and his necessary missions, Azriel had the chance to avoid her. He embarrassed himself in front of his family enough to last a few centuries. 

Cass and Nesta teased him with her song whenever they didn’t have a retort. Impromptu vocalising, holding each other in their arms, eyes bulging out of their sockets as they pranced around him.

Fortunately, it was the worst they could do. Once he refused a healing potion and Madja muttered under her breath, ‘I bet he’d be downing it if she gave him.’ 

And he wondered how far the news of his non-existent affair with Ayla spread in the court.

‘Where are you off to, brother?’ Cass would yell at his back each night he left the dinner table. 

‘Far away from you,’ Azriel would mumble, ‘From all of you.’ And if he felt cheeky enough, he teased back. ‘To look at someone prettier than you.’ 

‘All I heard is that I'm pretty!’ Cass would shout back. 

Echoes of her name rang off the walls interlaced with his family’s laughter some days and nights as he left the room with a smile on his lips.

The times he went to the bar, his brothers appeared by his side miraculously. On rare nights, they left him alone. But those nights weren’t rare enough. They sat beside him and spied the door, waiting for her to grace them with her presence.

For he was the one taunted, his family sure seemed to be more obsessed with Ayla than he was. They invited Uri sometimes to gather ammunition against him in his slow torture. If the server had shown no suspicion until then, he sure would soon.

Except for Mor, Nesta and Feyre, none of the others had talked to Ayla. And Azriel was grateful for it. The catastrophe his brothers alone would cause if they ever met her was something Azriel tried not to imagine. The looks they shared that night still lingered in his mind. 

A sigh left his lips unwarranted. Both his brothers turned to him with a look on their faces he didn’t bother to decode. The place offered Azriel peace once. And now, it was only a haunting place with a ghost, Ayla.

The reveal of his secrets had tainted the peace of the bar, for it was crowded more and more on each visit. He could find a different hiding spot. He could go home and lie in his bed again. He wouldn’t need the scent of spices and metal of the place to lull him enough to rest peacefully later. Uri filled his glass with a drink that looked like the one Ayla made for him. Even the server was glad to be anywhere but around his brothers.

One last drink.

Azriel took a long sip—not even close to how it had tasted. His shadows swarmed his shoulders, their weight pressing, as if they sensed his intentions. They did, they always did. The only ones who truly understood why he did or said anything. Maybe they had come to mourn the loss of their safe space too. 

The door slid open by mere inches. Raya nudged it further with her foot as she walked in.

Ayla stepped aside. Her eyes went to someone in front of her, away from the door. She leaned against the table and crossed her arms over her chest. Clad in only a simple white shirt, long and loose, and her legs bare past mid-thighs, she hadn’t planned to make an appearance that night. Her tousled hair was a graceful mess, like she had been in bed for a while, or someone’s fingers had the pleasure of threading through them, over and over again. A darkening red cut—sharp and deep—ran along her leg from thigh to ankle. It was fresh but healing, slowly. 

Raya shimmied out with bottles in both her hands, a few tucked between her arms and chest, leaving the door open and wide behind her. Never once had she needed that much alcohol in one night before.

Azriel didn’t blink. His brothers’ words faded as much as the rest of his surroundings. His shadows froze over his shoulders, deadly quiet unlike themselves.

Raya went back in. 

Then there he stood, the man Ayla was smiling at. He leaned down and whispered in her ear before pressing a lingering kiss to her cheek. Close to her mouth. Ayla shook her head and made for the stairs. She still smiled. The man trailed her, a hand on her hip and a smirk on his face. 

Raya walked out for the last time and closed the door behind her.

The glass in his hand dropped to the wood with a soft thud. The cool liquid sloshed inside and spilt over his fingers.

As though invisible claws clutched his heart and plunged him into icy waters, the haze deluding his senses faded away in a blink. Every nerve in his body honed to one thought. The incoherent whispers of his shadows finally took shape.

Azriel bared his teeth. A low growl rumbled in his chest.

Mate.

Next Chapter: Bastards

[yan-lorkai]

I saw requests were open! I like to request PLATONIC! Lilia with a daughter (or child if you wanna make it gender neutral) who is like Ariel (the Disney princess)

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Warnings: Soft platonic yandere content, fem reader, reader has red hair but that's the only physical description.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ A/N: Lovely request, I hope you like it! <3

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Lilia Vanrouge was known for many things; mainly for being a general, the brother of Meleanor, guardian of Prince Malleus, and a loving father. His daughter, similar to Ariel, had beautiful red hair, an adventurous spirit and a kind heart. He had found her soon after finding Silver, lying dormant above the lake, a beautiful green tail revealing to him what you were.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ However, the strange part was that your parents weren't around. No matter how much he called or dived, he hadn't found them anywhere and Lilia was a fairy, who should he turn to to report a missing mermaid child? He did what fairies do and stole you (although if anyone asked, he would say he just adopted you).

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ A traveler and connoisseur, he knew a thing or two about potions. And that's how he gave you legs and what an idea that was! As soon as you learned to walk, you couldn't stop running, dragging Silver with you wherever you went. It was tiring to take care of you, but Lilia loved it. You and Silver were the best part of his day, and the memories he forged with both of you was something he would never forget.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Since you were little, you have shown a fascination with the aquatic world, always asking your father about the fish, the algae and the tides. Somehow, he supposed, you knew your home was down there and swimming came naturally to you.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Lilia, although protective, never contained your curiosity. He taught you how to fight and defend yourself, but he also encouraged your passion for music and exploration, preferring that over you wandering aimlessly or swimming, afraid that you would simply disappear, even more if you knew the truth. Nights in Briar Valley are often filled with the sound of your songs, which are reminiscent of the old ballads Lilia used to hear on his travels. Your voice is soft to his heart, like a promise of an old friend.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Despite growing on the cottage, isolated from everyone except your father and brother, you captives everyone who meets you for the first time. Your red, beautiful hair makes everyone turn around to admire and when you sing, they are hypnotized by you - even if you don't why that happens, though it's just your mermaid voice acting.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Lilia likes to tell his old stories of battles and magic to you and Silver, while you, in return, like to talk about the ancient and mysterious artifacts you found during your dives. Lilia helps you organize your items, listening to how much you like your little collection of things.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Overall, he is a very sweet and doting father. He let you run free knowing full well he can take you home if you ever strayed away, if you ever feel hurt if you didn't know you too were adopted. And if this do happens, he sooth and comfort you. You are family and family stay together.

[thatmoththoth]

You know what I’m making a catelog of as many mechanism animatics and animations as I can find:

OUTIS

‘Once’

Old King Cole

‘The Twins’

Rose Red

‘Snow’s Flight’

Pump Shanty

‘The Bride’

Cinder’s Song

‘The Resistance Grows’

Our Boy Jack

‘The Aurora Strikes’

Sleeping Beauty

‘Endgame’

No Happy Ending

‘Chapter The Last’

Laid in Blood

UDAD

‘The City’

Broken Horses

‘Olympians’

My Name is No-One

‘Trial by Wits’

Riddle of the Sphinx

‘Ulysses’s Will”

Sirens

‘Trial by Strength’

Favoured Son

‘Loose Threads’

Trial By Song

‘Hades’

Underworld Blues

‘Trial By Love’

Ties That Bind

‘The Daidala’

Torn Suits

‘Sunrise’

Elysian Fields

HNOC

“The Tower”

Gunfight at the Dolorous Guard

“Strength”

Empty Trail

“Death”

The Hanged Man Rusts

“The Hierophant”

Hellfire

“The Lovers”

Blood and Whiskey (unfinished)

“The Fool”

Skin and Bone

“The Hermit”

Holder of the Grail (Partial)

“Judgement”

Peacemaker (partial)//Alt1 (Partial)

“Justice”

Once and Future King

TBI

Black Box

Odin

Cold Case

Loki

Person of Interest

Thor

Conspiracy to Commit Treason

Sigyn

White Noise

Losing Track

Expert Testimony

Red Signal//Alt 1

Ragnarok I: Runaway

Ragnarok II: The Calling

Ragnarok III: Strange Meeting

Ragnarok IV: Jormungandr (unfinished)//Alt 1 (Partial)

Ragnarok V: End of the Line

Terminus

Additional Songs

Tales To Be Told // Alt 1 (partial)

The Ignominious Demise of Dr Pilchard // Alt 1 (partial)

Swan Song

Actaea and Lyssa (partial)

Lucky Sevens (partial)

Lost in the Cosmos (loop)

Cyberian Demons

Fun & Violence

Frankenstein

Death to the Mechanisms//Alt 1 (partial)

MISC

Brass Goggles

Out

High Noon Over Camelot

The Ballad of Jane Doe

Breakcore in a Nutshell But it’s The Mechanisms

This Is How Who Killed Dr Carmilla Went Right?

So… who broke it?

Who broke it?

Get help

Gunpowder Tim Cancels Jonny