#there was an incident with a spotted nutcracker

[ndostairlyrium]

From the OC shop asks: Their pet has caused destruction. Who puts the pet in jail? Who defends the pet?

For as many of your ships as you'd like!

Hi!!! Thanks for asking 💛

El Memo

Oh dear, so, I'm going for all of them lol

Ela & Alistair; She defends the dog, because he's a good boy and he defended Ferelden when times were dire. Alistair would blame the dog for a mess he himself would make << he'd gladly put him into jail too

Barbara & Fenris; The dog did nothing wrong. Destruction was necessary.

Ankh & Cullen; It depends on which pet has caused it (they have 5, horsies included).

Cullen is firmer when educating pets and jail is an option, unless it's Cornelia (Ankh's red hart). Cornelia is rather smart and if she causes destruction there's a good reason behind it (no there isn't, he excuses her because she's fierce). He would explain to her what's wrong, she gets it (yes she does. Will she listen? No.)

Ankh is more on the "eh" side, like, she doesn't care if they do a mess, they're animals, just let them be. But! She does hate the damn crow, and it's reciprocated. Cage it is! Until he frees himself.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I wish the Wales wouldn’t react to the internet.

After that photo scandal, so many articles, real or fake, discussing their state of mind with Rebecca English leading the charge.

Then this morning, a sanctioned article about Kate being spotted at Windsor Farm shop.

Internet/ media response: pics or we don’t believe you

This afternoon: a sanctioned pap pic of the Wales at said farm shop!!!

Internet response: that’s not Kate…..ugh. William knows that once you give an inch, the media/ Internet takes a mile.

I wish he’d never responded to the internet in the first place or to just let it be following Kate’s apology because clearly the internet/ media is a ravenous beast that will never, ever be satisfied. 

*******************

I disagree.

I haven’t followed it too closely but this doesn’t strike me as William and Kate reacting to the internet. They’re just living their normal lives and it’s the people around them who are talking to the media. Possibly they feel protective of one of their own being so targeted and harassed.

The general public talking to the media about William and Kate or leaking where they are/sold their pictures of them has happened before. Some of those instances:

When William, Kate, and the kids had a pub lunch picnic.

When Kate was stuck in traffic on a bridge, she and Louis stepped out of the car to look at the bridge traffic. 

When Kate was grocery shopping.

When Kate chaperones field trips or takes the kids to museums.

When Kate took George and Charlotte shopping.

When Kate took Charlotte to The Nutcracker.

When William and Kate went to a school sports thing for the kids and a fellow parent took their picture (Kate was wearing flared jeans that were wet - I can’t find the picture anymore).

When William has gone to George’s football games and took pictures with the kids.

So because this is not an isolated incident of them being spotted within their community and pictures/video leaking out, I don’t see it as a strategic response to the internet or to the media.

It is strategic in the sense that after about a month of wildly intense speculation, there’s finally “evidence” of Kate being out, about, and around in her community, but it’s not like she’s come out of hiding. She’s been doing stuff around her home in her community. It’s just the first time there were paparazzi there that caught her, which suggests more “fox in the hen house” than a papwalk - someone in the community blabbed (which has happened before) and/or the paps knew that Kate would resurface somewhere so all they had to do was wait and bide their time.

Maybe that makes me a chump. I don’t really care. William and Kate have never done this kind of papwalk before. I find it very hard to think they’d start doing it now, especially when you consider all the other controversies they’ve gotten embroiled in and how easily they could’ve redirected the media with a papwalk. 

[cinder-starlight]

I realized I never really delved deep into Winter Wonderland (mainly because my other platforms aren’t made for this style) but also bc I don’t think I’ve had the chance

So ig tumblr will be the first to get to know everyone more personally :D

Summery: Clara’s Christmas takes a sour turn as she discovers she is to be married in the spring when she turns 18, running away with her nutcracker she discovers Winter Wonderland. She believes it to be a paradise with a tyrannical Rat King—but all her beliefs are shattered once she meets his son, The Mouse Prince. With him she has one week to stop an arising threat within the land, followed with her trying to balance her home life and solve her own problems along the way. Making unexpected alliances, fighting beasts, solving mysteries and discovering what might’ve happened to her missing Mother. in the hopes she can stay in this pleasant world a little longer.

Anyways Disclaimer: this is all concept art; nothing is finalized unless stated otherwise and this may contain spoilers for anyone who’s interested in the story and wants to go into it blind.

I mainly wanna start with the main Silberhaus cast, Clara, Uncle Drosselmeyer and Uncle Scrooge (yes I made a Christmas character from another story fit into my Nutcracker adaptation—I think it’s neat >:3)

I certainly think that in terms of being a family, Clara is definitely closest to Drosselmeyer, mostly because he’s just about as outlandish as someone for their era could get (this takes place roughly between 1880-1889)

Meanwhile Scrooge is the Scar of the family trying not to lose his marbles with the drama that happens left and right.

Drosselmeyer and Clara’s bond is nice to me because a take of mine is that Clara’s father isn’t necessarily on her side, I took the time into account and aspects of different iterations of the characters and especially the books to conjure all this up—I’d like to think where her father’s priorities lie in his image and son Fritz, Drosselmeyer is like “yo- my niece is kinda sick, she’s smart” and idk something about that warms my evil little heart

Sugar Plum and Nikolaus, real quick, Nikolaus is NOT santa, Nikolaus is just the appointed guardian of the Isle of Toys, for the Isle—a Guardian is selected, through time they end up looking more and more like the Ancient Being of the Present, dressing in red and aging to look like the Santa we may know and love.

Nikolaus was a toy soldier originally who had ties to the Muridens (rats/mice), but after some freak incident the two cut ties and never spoke to nor saw each other face to face again.

Sugar Plum on the other hand is a bit more complex and hard to describe without bringing up any major spoilers. She’s the king of gal who must keep a party going because if SOME SINGULAR SOUL dares be unhappy or a sourpuss in her domain then god KNOWS what they could do if they make others feel miserable. She’s the kind of lady who’s sweet exterior really doesn’t do her sour center justice

I don’t have a lot to say on Mother Ginger but she is certainly a personal favorite of mine, she is the definition of peacekeeper but also has that motherly attitude we all need when things get way too out of hand. Her kids (which are called Crumbs) are possibly my favorites above her—they don’t talk and you never know how many there are until you’re swarmed by them—despite her fabulous appearance she actually has a soft spot for being a bit creative, there’s nothing this mama ginger wont style up—the reason she has so many Crumbs is because she- lemme speak—likes to make them; by making their cores and essentially baking them into existence, it’s a whole process I’ll get into another time but she truly knows no bounds with her unlimited love.

Perhaps I’ll discuss the more unusual characters another day 👁️👁️

Such as the Rat King

Mouse Queen

Mouse Prince

And even a few dubious fellows

[chaptersofnow]

the royal kiddos of Chrysalis, Cadance and Shining armor

Flurry Heart, Skyla, Instar Pale and Crimson Sweet

Bios under the cut

Name: Flurry Heart Nickname(s): Age: 26 Pronouns: She/her, They/Them Identity: Nonbinary Lesbian crush/relationship: Dating Pumpkin Cake Parents: Cadance, Shining Armor, Chrysalis Sibling: Skyla, Crimson Sweet, Instar Pale Special Talent: Magical blacksmith, Love magic Occupation: Princess Location: Crystal Kingdom Likes: Heavy metal, wrist bands, doing make up, teddy bears Dislikes: annoying men, people who think she isnt working hard as a princess Bio: Flurry Heart, oldest child to Shining armor and Cadance and heir to the crystal empire. she was an absolute sweet heart,  curly pigtails absolutely beloved by the kingdom. However when she entered her teen years she went into a hard goth phase and never got out of it. a real 180 on her personality. none the less she still works hard to work on her hobbies often, keeping up with her princess duties and making her family proud. At the end of the day she happily cuddles up with her girlfriend Pumpkin as they show each other funny pictures on their phones and watch stupid movies until they pass out. Growing up Flurry heart and Cozy Glow were good friends,when Cozy Glow had to come along with Celestia and Luna for trips to the empire for Flurry heart to cantorlot the two got to spend time together. it took a bit of warming up as Cozy glow was a few years older than the royal princes, but when the two started hanging out they were best friends. Cozy glow would often sneak her to cool places, steal snacks from the royal kitchen and so on. Cozy also was the one who introduce her to heavy metal saying quote "I don't know if you'll like this you seem like the type to like classy music like the nutcracker of sumthin'" the next visit  Flurry heart had dyed her whole mane black and had on the messiest smudgiest make up. it was a real kicker to watch this 15 year old walk is like she was hot shit. Cozy glow gave her more CD, taught her to style her hair, put on makeup and the whole thing. When they got older Flurry returned favor by custom making Cozy Glow her armor when she was officially made a guard of cantorlot. Flurry heart tries to not let the comments of the citizens and visiting dignitaries get to her, and it helps to have her parents supporting her . She met her girlfriend Pumpkin Cake when the mare began to take on Sugarcube corner deliveries herself, like Flurry heart recalls knowing her when they were real little, and seeing her at gatherings where pinkie brings the cake twins to come have fun. but they never really got to talk. but with the constant deliveries and Flurry Hearts development for a sweet tooth Pumpkin cake was around often. at some point the two started dating and Pumpkin moved to the Crystal empire and lives with flurry heart. Pumpkin works in the royal kitchen and Flurry heart is a black smith specializing is creating magic infused armor. 

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Name: Skyla Nickname(s): Age: 24 Pronouns: She/her Identity: Agender Bi pony crush/relationship: Parents: Cadance, Shining Armor, Chrysalis Sibling: Flurry Heart, Crimson Sweet, Instar Pale Special Talent: Love Magic Occupation: Princess Location: Crystal Kingdom Likes: keeping on schedual, looking good, being looked up to, tradition Dislikes: not receiving recognition for her work, physical labor Bio: Second born to the empire, Skyla is defiantly the most cookie cutter princess of the four crystal heirs. She takes after her mother but is a lot of uptight in keeping tradition, making sure everything is set to be on scheduled and so forth. she may have picked this up from her aunt twilight more or less. while her family around her tries to keep her grounded and calm she can't help but get in a big tilly over not having control over things. its gone from not being able to control her pretend play dates as a filly to making sure the daily happening don't get off course. Her older sister Flurry Heart, while working hard and still making sure to get her work done, is a lot more laze in things and is ok with letting things slide if they don't go according to plan. Which tends to lead Skyla to try and follow after her and fix these things even if they don't need to be fixed. Skyla puts on a nice happy face for the people but all her siblings know she holds quite the temper when no one is looking, especially when Flurry tries to tell her to calm down. Flurry was originally the one being trained to take over Cadance's spot as queen of the empire one day, training in the use of her magic. However when Flurry found her true calling as a black smith the honor was passed down to Skyla who has happily worked hard to catch up. Skyla see's herself as bearing a torch for the future of the empire and that she has to be perfect and so must everything else around her. Fearing things to be able to fall apart at any moment. after the big war against darkness Skyla had begun to realize for a few years, realizing no great danger would ruining the kingdom. But after the Queen Erroria incident where her and her family had been captured she has brought back up her walls and has become more uptight then before. 

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Name: Crimson Sweet Nickname(s): Stripes Age: 11 Pronouns: They/Them Identity: Nonbinary Girl crush/relationship: Parents: Cadance, Shining Armor, Chrysalis Sibling: Flurry Heart, Skyla, Instar Pale Special Talent: helping  people make friends Occupation: Princess, student Location: Crystal Kingdom Likes: friends, beetles, small notebooks, the beach Dislikes: Mirrors, thunder, rotten food Bio: Oldest of the two kids born after the marriage of Chrysalis to the crystal family. a marriage made out of many years of apologies, forgiveness and new found friendship. After Chrysalis accepted the friendship of twilight and equestria she spent many years making up for what she did, so her people and everyone else. She was blinded by anger and sadness, when she ruled she truly believed the only way to feed her people was to take their love, and when shown a new way she felt foolish for never realizing and having let her people starve that she denied the change at all. After the Hive came to accept her as their own again she led beside Thorax and his council. Thorax had always been too young to rule all by himself so with a queen with years of experience around to help him things in the Hive improved in new ways. now with her relationship with the Hive repaired Chrysalis slowly made progress to apologize for what she did to Candace and Shining armor. it took awhile to move past the day she invaded and tried to ruin their wedding, but in time over years of forming bonds they had a new wedding. introducing Chrysalis to their family. Chrysalis still lived in the Hive and though their wedding was official for the time it more stood for political alliance between the two, as chrysalis wasn't ready to let thorax stand alone as leader yet. Her staying ended up being what saved the colony, when the war of darkness arose through equestria the entity tried to reclaim the changlings once again as is minons. Had chrysalis not been there to protect them they would have surely been corrupted once again. After the war ended Chrysalis felt safe leaving Thorax as ruler, chrysalis now lives in the crystal empire with Cadance and Shining armor. over the years they have had two children, Crimson Sweet and later Instar Pale. Crimson sweet is still of the younger royal kids, they are quite rambunctious and love to run around with all the other kids in the kingdom. they love to eat and their favorite thing to do is make picnics, they take outings with their school friends almost every week. Bringing along cute snacks that Pumpkin Cake has made for them. 

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Name: Instar Pale Nickname(s): Age: 10 Pronouns: He/him, Any Identity: Genderfuild bi pony crush/relationship: Parents: Cadance, Shining Armor, Chrysalis Sibling: Flurry Heart, Crimson Sweet, Skyla Special Talent: Studying Occupation: Royality, student Location: Crystal Kingdom Likes: cool weapons, books with cool covers, drawings, collecting things Dislikes: loud noises, making decisions, strangers Bio: Youngest of four, Instar is the quiet baby of the family. Growing up in a family as big as his everyone around him babied him, saying he was always so sweet and cuddly. Which led to an amount of coddling that turned him into a very antisocial pony. he struggles to talk to new people and wont go anywhere unless he is with someone he knows so he can duck behind them to avoid conversations. hes a total hypochondriac, believing to be constantly sick and feeling weak all the time dispute his health being fine. Instar likes to spend time with Flurry heart and shining armor the most, Flurry heart because she is quite and they get to just sit around listening to music and reading. and his father because he gets to sit on the side line and watch him work. Instar doesn't think they'd make much for a guard but they love to read all about the different weapons, armors and Technics taught through history and the country. watching his father display these things, or Flurry heart MAKE them is right up his ally. If you do manage to get him to talk to you he is an info dumping machine and will talk your ear off about some obscure history thing he's learned recently.

[chrissykissy]

hello lgbt community welcome to a thread of me thinking abt how my adventures in odyssey f/os celebrate The Holidays 🥰🎄❄

eugene:

insists upon informing jude at Every opportunity that the holiday season does not coincide with historical record of christ’s birthdate, and rather was placed at this time of year to steal the solstice from pagan groups (jude knows, and loves to hear about it)

holiday serenades!!!! he did that whole album, plus he isnt one to shy away from a traditional carol or hymn

i’m sure he’s very low maintenance as far as gifts are concerned, but he’s very used to people tuning him out when he talks so jude getting him a gift that shows he really Listens would get eugene all choked up for sure!

favorite xmas songs: big fan of the old classics, such as: o tannenbaum, silent night, god rest ye merry gentleman (he has sung these songs in canon). i could have sworn he had canonically performed auld lang syne but idc because i say he likes it and im right. loves the sufjan stevens xmas albums because i am never getting over The Incident

dr blackgaard:

i think that regis probably finds the holiday season to be! frivolous? a waste of perfectly good time for productivity, and all that. the grind never stops 😤

definitely spoils sasha with sweet little kitty gifts every year, even as he monologues to her about the arbitrary nature of the season. shes just like *licks him*

that said, i think he’s putting on airs because he never has anyone to spend the season with :’0 until now.... he’s not really sure what to do with himself once jude triumphantly declares his enthusiasm for christmas, but, ah. he’ll find a way to make things interesting

oh GOD i forgot that he’s rich. i’ve never had any desire to travel someplace fancy for christmas but regis knows all the hot spots and surely revels in the opportunity to whisk jude away to literally Any place more glamorous than the northernmost united states

gets a halfhearted christmas card from his brother edwin every year, always saves them. jude is the only person who can ever know about this

favorite xmas songs: will absolutely tear it the fuck up to tchaikovsky’s the nutcracker in its entirety, probably has a private fondness for evil-sounding minor key hymns

bart:

its all about the SPECTACLE, babey!!!! leans 100% into the commercialism of it all

jude’s christmas bonus is a kiss on the cheek :/

ideal christmas date is driving around to extravagantly decorated houses with light shows. hes like “can you believe it? they oughta be chargin’ admission!” but we all know he would stop going if they did. also he had to stop bringing rodney with him bc he and the bones would vandalize the houses 😔

is late giving christmas presents 9 times out of 10 bc he waits for that sweet sweet december 26th sale

favorite xmas songs: mele kalikimaka and feliz navidad (he cannot pronounce the names correctly), i saw mommy kissing santa claus. curated a playlist for the electric palace loudspeaker that only contains the Most consumerist holiday songs

doris:

starts carrying mistletoe in her pocket on november 1st

cannot cook or bake (we know this) but she LOVES decorating (which she can’t really do either). jude comes over with gingerbread pre-baked so doris can have the simple pleasure of icing a sloppy little house. but also? they can nearly burn down the kitchen attempting to bake cookies together...... as a treat :)

would probably have an absolute blast on a horse-drawn carriage ride. i think in general shes Used to experiencing christmas as modern commercialism bc thats what bart likes but she seems like she’d have a taste for a charms and whims of an old, classical christmas. jude (probably post-blackgaard brain imprint, as it seems like an idea he’d come up with) takes her to one of those little town-wide Victorian Christmas events and she gets SO emotional

has probably committed manslaughter on black friday

favorite xmas songs: santa baby, sleigh ride, christmas wrapping by the waitresses

philip glossman:

receives one (1) christmas postcard from jude (which blackgaard begrudgingly co-signed) and is red in the face for the entirety of the month of december

favorite xmas songs: baby its cold outside cause he a lil weirdo

[suhtorus]

The Nutcracker

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word Count: 4.6k

Summary: nutcracker au

A/N: this is my first time writing for bucky, i enjoyed it a lot so expect more of it in the future ;) also, a big thank you to @writingsoftheloser for beta-reading this, i already told u this but dude, you were super helpful and kind and i can’t thank u enough. aaand it just happens to be her BDAYYY! happy happy birthday Vi!! i hope you have an amazing day, sending you lots of love and hugs♡ 

let me know what you think, feedback is welcome :) *gif not mine*

Masterlist

Snow falls in front of you as you stare outside, leaning on the window. It’s Christmas Eve and the whole family is currently at your home. A giant Christmas tree sits in the corner of the living room and all the lights of the house are off, the only light is coming from the candles placed all over the place. The adults are in the dining room chatting and drinking while you are stuck babysitting the younger kids in the other room.

Suddenly, you hear the door open and another guest comes in. Once you see who it is you feel your mood lift to the skies.

“Drosselmeyer!”

You catch his attention by exclaiming his name. He turns his head slightly to the side to look at you and once he sees you, he opens his arms. Getting up from the windowsill, you run towards him and embrace him in a tight hug. He has been a friend of your parents for a long time and you consider him an uncle. He is the sweetest man you have ever known and he is always so attentive and kind to you.

“Hello, child.” His gruff tone welcomes you and you release your grip on him.

He begins to search something in the giant bag he’s carrying with him and once he finds it – whatever it is the he was looking for – he puts it behind his back and turns to the rest of the kids in the room.

“I brought gifts for everyone, would you like to see them?”

He quickly catches their attention and he’s attacked by them. Loud cheering and shrieks are heard as Drosselmeyer hands them toys and trinkets. A loud scream echoes in the room as one of your cousins lifts an impressive replica of a train with rails included.

You stand there watching the kids play with their new toys and you frown as you realize no one thanked Drosselmeyer for the presents.

“Why the long face?”

Getting you out of your thoughts, Drosselmeyer stands before you with a gentle smile on his face. You smile at him and dismiss his statement. He seems to know what’s bothering you because a second later he’s searching in his bag again but this time he hands you a present.

“For you, my child.” Resting on your hands there’s a beautiful nutcracker.

It’s carved in wood and it seems to resemble a soviet soldier. He has black clothing and boots, and a black mask on his face as well. You launch yourself into Drosselmeyer’s arms and thank him. You hear whining behind you and you turn around.

“Why does she get a nutcracker and I don’t?”

Your cousin, who has just received the impressive train, is whining in front of you. His face is contorted in displeasure and quickly rips the nutcracker from your grip.

“Hey! What are you–”

You’re suddenly cut short by an ugly snapping sound. Your cousin stands there, eyes wide open as he holds the nutcracker with one hand and one of its arms in the other. He freaking broke it and it has just been given to you.

Not believing your eyes, you blink again and rage begins to fill your body. Your cousin, sensing the change in your demeanor, flees the scene leaving the toy on the floor.

You kneel and pick it up, trying to piece back the arm to no avail. Drosselmeyer watches you silently and it isn’t until he sees the tears forming on your eyes as you gaze at him, helplessly, that he embraces you in his arms comfortingly.

“It’s alright dear, I think I can fix it.”

Lifting your head to look at him, you clear the tears from your cheeks. “Really?”

Nodding his head, he fishes for his tool box in the bag and begins to repair the toy. You stand by his side trying not to bother him and after a few minutes he’s done.

“Well, it’s doesn’t look like it used to but I think it looks even better. What do you think?”

Handing you the nutcracker, you examine it and sigh. He placed a new arm on it but it was made with a different material so now your toy had a metal arm. It’s not like it doesn’t look good, it certainly does, but you can’t help but feel sad about getting it broken in the first place.

With a squeeze on your shoulder, Drosselmeyer leaves the room to finally go with the adults in the dining room. You sigh and sit back on your spot by the window, looking at the snow fall.

Hours pass by and most of the guests are gone by now. Your parents retire to their room and you and your cousins are instructed to go to yours.

Falling on your bed, you sigh and close your eyes. Looking after a hoard of kids was hard work and it took a toll on you. Suddenly remembering the incident with your nutcracker, you open your eyes and sit up. Concern sits at the pit of your stomach and you wonder where you left it.

Okay so after sitting by the window you placed it next to you, on the windowsill. But when mom and dad came to tell you to go to sleep, you stood up and left.

You left it on the windowsill.

Groaning to yourself, you walk to the door and yank it open. The hallway is dark and you can’t see a thing, but you can’t let something happen to your nutcracker again. Tiptoeing, you make your way to the living room and once you’re close enough you see it sitting where you left it.

Bingo.

You relax and walk towards it, picking it up and examining it. Taking a seat, you lift your legs on the cushion and minutes later you're fighting to keep your eyes open. With the nutcracker still in your hands, your breaths even out as you fall asleep leaning on the window, a gentle smile gracing your lips.

*     *     *     *

The clock strikes as it reaches the midnight.

Yawning, you stretch your arms over your head and groan at the sound your back makes. Blinking slowly, you try to focus your sight but a yawn interrupts you again. Rubbing your eyes, you slowly realize you fell asleep on the windowsill and as you look down, you notice the nutcracker on the floor. 

Standing up to stretch some more, you turn towards the tree, admiring the twinkling lights and ornaments but your brows furrow when you notice something strange.

Your eyes focus on a sudden movement between the branches and you take a step back. Keeping your gaze on the tree, you begin to circle it, trying to find whatever it is that’s in there but the sudden sight of the tree expanding in front of you sends your mind into overdrive.

Gasping, you watch as the tree towers over you and the ornaments grow to the size of your body and that’s when you realize that the tree didn’t expand, you are the one who shrunk. This is a dream, you think, it can’t be real. Looking down at your own body, you notice it looks the same and when you lift your eyes again you can’t help the scream from escaping your lungs.

Your nutcracker is… moving? It is as if it has come to life!

You watch as he moves his metal arm, staring at it. You see his lips move and you’re too flabbergasted to connect it with the sounds coming out of it. It isn’t until he stands before you that you’re brought back from your stupor.

“Miss! Are you alright?”

His long hair falls like a curtain on his face but his blue eyes pierce through it and catch you off guard. He gives you a concerned look and gently tries to catch your attention.

“Miss?”

You realize you are probably making a fool of yourself and advert your eyes, looking away from him as you tuck your hair behind your ears.

“Sorry I–” your mind goes blank. What are you supposed to say? Hi! I just saw you come to life but it’s all good!

Hell no.

He must have noticed your hesitation because after a few seconds without you talking again, he decides to cut in.

Offering you his hand, he introduces himself. “My name’s Bucky, I mean no harm.”

You take his hand and shake it slowly, still unsure about the whole thing. You tell him your name and he sends you a smile, making fine lines appear beside his eyes. Cute.

As you realize the way your thoughts are going, warmth settles on your cheeks and you lower your head trying to hide the blush from him.

Bucky’s eyes can’t seem to leave your face. He marvels at how soft your hair looks and he finds himself itching to feel it. You gaze is fixed on the ground but he remembers the wonder in your eyes and your brows raising in utter astonishment. Adorable, he thinks, but before he can act upon it a loud fuss catches your attention and your mind can only focus on one thing.

Mice.

A big horde of mice is making its way to you, all of them seem to be armed with swords and battle armour. You see Bucky take a gun from one of his pockets and he turns to look at you.

“Get some shelter!” Your heart is pounding and your eyes widen at his words. What is happening!?

Noticing your presence still behind him, he turns one more time to yell “NOW!” And this time you obey him.

You run towards the couch, thinking that climbing it and staying on top of it might keep you safe but you stop to a halt when you see an army of toys making their way to you. Your breath catches in your throat in a failed gasp and you close your eyes, bracing yourself for your imminent death but, they pass you by.

Opening your eyes slowly, hands still on top of your head, you see the army of toys join Bucky and place themselves beside him. Looking a bit further, you watch the mice still running and, on the front line, there’s a bigger and darker-looking mouse with a crown on his head, like some sort of king.

Your attention is brought back to the army of toys and Bucky as you hear a battle cry. They begin to run, meeting the mice halfway through and then the fight begins.

Sword against sword, both armies fight with what you can tell is mighty force. A few seconds in and there are already some fallen soldiers. You shiver and your eyes scan the place in search of Bucky. The pounding in your heart intensifies with each second that passes by without him on your sight. The good news are that you find him still alive, the bad news… well, he’s fighting against the Mouse King.

Bucky looks tired and weak, for each punch that he manages to dodge he receives two more. You wince as another blow hits his face and you begin to feel helpless. He snatches a dagger from one of his pockets and aims it at the king but the latter dodges it easily. In a quick movement, the king manages to catch a fist of Bucky’s hair and brings him down. He seems to say something to him but you’re too far away to hear it. The king turns around and with a single hand movement his army quickly submits the toys under their power and the battle stops.

We lost.

You watch as the mice bring the toys with them, walking away from the scene. Looking back at Bucky, you see the king pushing him forward and then kick him on his stomach as he falls to the floor. Your body suddenly fills with rage and anger. How dare he?

With big strides, you make your way towards the king who’s too busy kicking Bucky on his ribs to notice you. As you're walking, you pick a hammer that lies on the floor next to your feet and once you're right behind him, you smack it against the king’s head.

He falls on the floor with a loud thud and you’re left panting with adrenaline coursing through your veins. Bucky’s eyes widen in shock at the unresponsive body next to him. He looks back at you and then back to the mouse, still not believing his eyes.

You drop the weapon and offer him your hand. Wincing, Bucky stands up and you help him by flinging one of his arms over your shoulders. Looking at his face, your gaze grows concerned at the many wounds on it.

“Are you alright?”

He moves his head in order to look at you and smiles dashingly at you. He has got to be joking, you don’t understand how he manages to still look good even with a bloody and sweaty face.

Shrugging his shoulders, he gives you an innocent look. “I’ll survive.”

You roll your eyes and this time he can’t hold back his laughter. You give him a weird look and he only shakes his head. “M’ fine doll, don’t worry.”

You’re pretty sure the way your heart is pumping isn’t normal anymore. His words make you feel some kind of way and the blush is back on your cheeks. Fixing your gaze somewhere else so he doesn’t notice, your eyes fall on the mice dragging their King’s body away, the toys free from their grasp.

“I guess it all worked out in the end.” You let out a sigh as the last mice escapes from your sight and the previous adrenaline rush begins to die down.

“It’s all thanks to you, y’know.” You whip your head back at him and your words falter.

His eyes are fixed ahead of him, but he seems to be somewhere else. A gentle smile graces his lips and he brings his gaze back at you.

“You’ve set me free.” A thankful grin settles on his face and you mirror it, even if you have no idea what he’s talking about.

Before you can question him about it, a soft glimmer engulfs him and you gasp, completely thrown off guard. Bucky lets go of your shoulders and gently signals you to step away from him. After a few seconds you can’t see him anymore, he’s totally engulfed by the bright light and you don’t know what to think of it. Worry fills your mind.

What if he’s hurting? He seemed calm about it but still. Another thought clouds your mind and this time, you feel scared. What if it’s the ‘light’ and he is being sent away from here?

You’re about to step in when the light suddenly fades. Letting out a sigh, relief flows through you: he’s still here. But once he steps closer, your eyes widen in surprise: he looks– well, different?

His clothes are no longer black and bloody, they’re replaced with a nice tux and he looks clean. Like your very own prince charming.

He notices you ogling at him and chuckles lightly. Offering you his hand, he waits for you to accept it and you do, gingerly placing yours on top of his. His eyes are fixed on yours and you find it impossible to look away from them. He starts walking, dragging you along but he stops briefly when he feels the hesitance in your movements.

“C’mon doll, there’s something I want to show you.”

The soft smile on his lips captivates you once again and you nod absentmindedly, his fingers tracing lightly the top of your knuckles.

Screw him and his stupid smile.

*     *     *     *

It has been a while since you left home.

Bucky went through a small opening in one of the walls and assured you that you had nothing to fear. Minutes later you were facing a long trek covered in snow and flanked by large trees. Still holding your hand, he led you through it as you made small talk and after a while you just walked in silence, content with each other’s presence.

You feel the muscles of your legs and your feet aching in pain and you’re about to tell Bucky to stop when he suddenly turns to you, a wide smile on his lips.

“We’re here!”

You frown at his words and start looking around. There’s nothing. “Are we?”

He looks back at you and sees the confusion on your face. His brows furrow and you watch as they slowly raise and his mouth opens before letting out a laugh.

“Shit, sorry doll. I forgot.” He claps his hands twice and you jump, startled by the sudden noise.

You’re about to question his sanity when a soft, pinkish glimmer appears in front of you and seconds later it reveals a big castle with candy adorning it.

Okaaay, this is getting ridiculous.

Looking back at Bucky you see him making a gesture towards the castle as if nothing happened. You narrow your eyes and shove him away, secretly amused by this new playful side of him. He laughs loudly and beams at you.

“What’s the matter, doll?”

He’s trying to annoy you but you only roll your eyes and start walking towards the castle. He gives up and quickly catches up to you. Both of you are facing the monumental, wooden doors in front of you as they slowly open; revealing what it seems to be a hall flanked by chocolate soldiers.

You’re too caught up staring at the weird ‘people’ in this place that you don’t notice Bucky calling out your name. It isn’t until he places his hand on your shoulder that you finally turn to look at him.

“Huh?” Your head tilts to one side and you frown at him.

He smiles and squeezes briefly your shoulder. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”

Oh dear, more surprises? You nod your head hesitantly, wondering if it was a good decision to follow him here.

Reaching the end of the hall, another set of doors looms over you. Bucky nods at the guards in front of you and in return they open them. Loud chatter immediately fills your ears and you are met with quite a sight.

The giant room in front of you is decorated with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, a high, gold staircase at the back of the room and many, many people dancing and drinking in extravagant clothing. Your mouth is slightly ajar and you have no time to adjust before Bucky drags you across the room.

You stop once you reach a woman with wavy, dark brown hair and a – very puffy – lilac dress. He taps her shoulder and she turns around, gasping. She immediately engulfs Bucky in a hug and your hear her squeal.

“Oh goodness, it’s you!” She sounds excited and you see her embrace him tightly again.

A weird feeling creeps up on you and you don’t notice the tensing of the muscles in your jaw as you smile sourly at the scene in front of you.

They separate from each other, finally, and Bucky turns to you with the brightest smile. “Doll, this is the sugar plum fairy.”

He introduces her to you and this fairy finally looks your way and widens her eyes.

“What is your name, dear?” She looks genuinely curious and you look at Bucky once again.

He gives you a soft nod of his head and you turn your eyes back to her, introducing yourself. She beams at you and steps forward, holding your hand in hers and bringing it to her chest.

“It’s so lovely to meet you!”

She catches you off guard. Pleased to meet you? Deciding to shrug it off, you force a smile.

“The mouse king was defeated thanks to her.” Bucky suddenly exclaims proudly and he manages to catch not only the fairy’s attention but also from the people around you.

Her gasp is loud and she starts clapping like a mad woman. “This deserves a toast!” She looks at you and steps closer. Once she’s inches away from your face, she softly whispers “Thank you, for finally freeing him.”

The smile she gives you this time feels rather warm and you feel bad for thinking badly of her. She takes a few steps back and turns to the band sitting on a stage at the back of the room. Giving them a signal with her hand, they begin to play a beautiful melody. The fairy scurries away, finding her own dance partner.

“Would you like to dance with me?”

Bucky’s voice gets you out of your previous thoughts and you turn to look at him, mouth and eyes open. His hand is stretched before you, waiting for you to take it. Looking back at him, you nod your head and place your hand on his.

He walks the both of you to the centre of the room and once he places his other hand on your back, you begin to dance.

The way his blue eyes shine under the candle lights is mesmerizing. Instinctively you turn your gaze somewhere else and it just happens to land on his lips, which look softer and rosier than ever. A blush tints your cheeks and you look away, focusing on the orchestra on your left.

The sound of the violins dominate the room and it gives you goosebumps while the gentle melody of the harp contrastes against the trumpets. Somehow, the room feels colder but your whole body feels warm and ablaze from the soft contact of your body against Bucky’s chest.

He twirls you, making your hair fall on your face and once you’re back in his arms he can’t help himself from tucking it away from your face. Once again you’re captured by his lovely eyes and you smile.

Letting out a sigh, he slows down a bit your pace and places his mouth on the shell of your ear.

“Can I tell you a secret?” His tone is deep and it vibrates through your whole body.

Swallowing, you try to wet your suddenly dry throat and you nod your head. He moves a little bit away from you, just enough for him to see your face again.

“I kinda owe you my life.”

There it is again. A frown settles on your face and you’re ready to finally ask him what all the fuss is about.

“Yeah, I was wondering what you meant by that. And she,” Pointing with your eyes at the fairy. “said it too.”

He chuckles lightly, his breath fanning over your face making you dizzy. He’s going to be the death of you.

“When I was a little kid, a witch casted a spell on me by the mouse king’s orders. He wanted to ensure his ascension to the throne so he had to get me out of the way first.”

Still rocking you side to side, he sighs softly and you look at him with concerned eyes. His gaze looks distant, brows furrowed tightly.

With a tight lipped smile, he continues. “She turned me into a nutcracker, making it impossible for me to fulfill my duty as a prince. Thankfully, the sugar plum fairy took care of me, protecting me from the ones who wanted to hurt me until I was able to fend for myself.”

You heart breaks for him, this was horrible! You can’t begin to imagine how painful this must’ve been for him.

“Isn’t there a way to break the curse?” Staring straight at his eyes you ask, trying to find a solution. It’s not fair that he has to go through such a terrible thing like this.

You watch as the corners of his lips lift up in a smirk and a heartbeat later he’s dancing again.

“This is where you come in, doll.” His eyes are twinkling again, the playfulness back on his gaze.

“The only way to break the enchantment is by the Mouse king dying at the hands of a commoner.”

A loud gasp escapes your mouth and you look at him offended. “Rude.” You pout, turning your face away from him and crossing your arms in front of you.

His head tilts back as he laughs, his cheeks turning pink. Once he recovers, he looks down at you again and circles you with his arms, bringing you closer. Still holding your gaze, he smiles and traces a fingertip on the side of your face.

“And now, thanks to you, I’m human again.”

His words send your heart in a frenzy, making you warm and giddy. A giggle escapes your mouth and his smile widens.

Oh, how beautiful you are, he thinks.

Not caring anymore, he closes the space between the both of you and places a kiss on your, still flushed, cheek. He joins your foreheads and sighs dreamily, his heart threatening to burst out of his chest.

“My sweet princess.”

*     *     *     *

You open your eyes and blink rapidly trying to get the sleep out of you. Once you realize what’s going on you sit up abruptly and turn you head in all directions only to realize you’re sitting on the windowsill of your home. You look down at your hands and there he is.

Bucky, but as the nutcracker.

You feel you heart sink and sadness engulfs you. This couldn’t be happening. It all felt so real; him, the fight, the dancing… the kiss. Your eyes begin to fill with tears and a sob threatens to escape from your body. You turn your face to the tree and stare, longing filling your chest. Minutes pass by and you keep your eyes fixed on it until something catches your attention.

There’s a white envelope sitting between the vines of the tree, peeking slightly. You frown and rush towards it. Grabbing it, you realize it’s not an envelope but a box, hiding between the ornaments. You make your way back to the windowsill and you feel your heart pounding on your chest. Opening the box the first thing that catches your eye is a shiny thing and, once you pull it out of the box, you gasp.

There, laying in your hands, is a beautiful tiara adorned with the most precious gems. You study it briefly and then decide to keep checking the box. This time you feel something soft against your hands and grab it. A note.

Scanning your eyes quickly across it you feel your eyes water again, clouding your vision. Your heart constricts and a sob finally makes its way out of your mouth. You cover your mouth with your hand and close your eyes. A few minutes later you feel yourself calm down a bit and you read it again. And again. And again.

Warmth fills your body and you sigh both in contentment and anguish.

It has been such a pleasure and a privilege to share this adventure with you. Know that my heart belongs to you eternally, no matter what. I will always be looking out for you, my princess.

With love, Bucky.

Your tears are dry by now and you see the sun creeping up behind the curtains, lightly casting its light through them and showering the room with it. Yawning, you decide to make some tea to calm and wake yourself up.

A knock on the door stops you and you groan. Making your way back, your bare feet pad around the wooden floors and once you’re in front of the door you try to make yourself seem presentable by gliding your fingers through your hair. Yanking the door open you’re met with a familiar pair of blue eyes.

Your breath hitches and you can’t help but gasp. He smiles and winks at you.

“Hello princess.”

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help me with a comment or reblog if u enjoyed it :)

[a-corndog-named-schibbs]

Voltron Nutcracker

Here’s a piece I wrote based on @foxyjoy-art‘s brilliant nutcracker au.  If you haven’t seen it yet, go check it out!  It’s adorable and charming and never fails to make me smile!

To be honest, I have yet to see the Nutcracker ballet live, but I had several picture books growing up that retold the story, so for this piece, I tried to go with a more storybook style of narration.

Please enjoy and happy holidays!

It was Christmas Eve and Lance’s family was throwing their annual holiday party.  An enormous Christmas tree had been set up in the parlor and garland hung from all the walls and bannisters.  Plates of delicious snacks and cookies had been set out for guests and there were piles of presents around the tree.  Parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews all crowded around the room, laughing and chatting and waiting to open presents.  

Lance was in the corner with the younger children, making sure his nieces and nephews didn’t run amuck or break anything.  He was sitting forward with anticipation, waiting for his godfather, Coran, to arrive.  Coran considered himself something of an inventor and he always brought the most spectacular gifts.

Soon, there was a knock at the door and Lance’s mother got up to let the guest in.  It was Coran, toys and gifts spilling out of his arms as he maneuvered through the door.  Immediately, he was surrounded by children, clamoring to see what he’d brought.

“All right, calm down, everyone!” said Coran, lifting the presents out of their reach, “You’ll get to open all these presents in a minute, just be patient.”

Lance waded through the sea of kids and gave Coran as best a hug as he could, trying not to get poked in the eye by the corners of the boxes, “I’m so glad you made it!”

“For a while, I didn’t think I was going to.  That storm outside is getting fierce.”

Once the children had settled down a bit, Coran had them all sit by the Christmas tree to show them their presents.  And the presents were certainly worth the wait!

There were rocking horses painted splendidly in bright colors and an entire army of tin soldiers in bright red uniforms, lined up at attention.  There was a huge teddy bear that Coran called “Hunk”, so big that the smaller children could easily sit in his lap and use him as a chair.  And there was even a little wind-up doll named “Pidge”, who leapt and danced around the room when wound up.

“And the best present,” said Coran, once all the others had been opened, “has been saved for last.”  He lifted up a large box from the pile of presents.  “Are you ready?”

All the children nodded.  Lance leaned forward, eagerly.

“Ta-da!” Coran reached into the box and pulled out a wooden nutcracker.

There were murmurs of disappointment from the children.  A simple nutcracker couldn’t compete with a giant teddy bear or a dancing doll.

“H-his name is Keith!” said Coran, trying to salvage the presentation, “He’s a prince from a faraway land!”

One of the nephews sitting near the front grabbed the nutcracker from Coran’s hands.  “Hi, I’m Keith!” he said, clacking the nutcracker’s mouth open and shut to make it “talk”, “I have a mullet!”

“I wanna see!” said one of the younger nieces, jumping up from her seat and trying to snatch the nutcracker out of her cousin’s hands.

Soon all the nieces and nephews were on their feet, grabbing at the nutcracker and pulling it this way and that.

“Careful with him!” said Lance, trying to worm his way into the group and lift the nutcracker out of harm’s way.

Suddenly, the poor nutcracker slipped from the childrens’ hands.  It landed on the hard floor with a sickening crack and one of its arms broke clean off.

Lance gasped.  The other children all stared at the broken nutcracker before wandering off one by one to play with their other presents.  Lance bent down and gently picked the nutcracker up.

“I’m so sorry, Coran.”

“Oh, it’s quite all right.” said Coran, trying to brush the incident off, “In hindsight, I suppose I should have brought him out first.  The other presents were just a bit more exciting, I guess.”

“Well, I think he’s wonderful.” said Lance, “He’s a beautiful nutcracker.”  And he was.  Lance thought he looked very handsome, with his dark hair and smart red jacket.

“If you like him that much, then he’s all yours.” said Coran, “Here, let’s find some glue and patch him up.  He’ll be just like new in no time!”

Sure enough, after a bit of searching, they found some glue.  Coran reattached the nutcracker’s arm and Lance tied his handkerchief around it to secure it.  Lance spent the rest of the party holding the nutcracker so his nieces and nephews wouldn’t break it again.

As the celebration winded down, it became clear that the snow outside was falling too heavily for safe traveling.  Lance’s parents offered extra rooms for the guests to stay in.

“Oh, that’ll be just fine.” said Coran, when a room was offered to him, “I can have my assistant come pick me up in the morning.”

Lance ushered his nieces and nephews off to bed, before going to his own room, changing into his nightgown, and climbing into bed himself.  Still, he found he couldn’t sleep.  For some reason, he couldn’t stop thinking about his new nutcracker.  He’d left it on the mantlepiece where the younger children couldn’t get to it, but what if it fell?  What if it toppled over again in the night and smashed on the floor?

Lance climbed out of bed and hurried downstairs.  Sure enough, there was the nutcracker, right where he’d left it on the mantlepiece.  Lance smiled and yawned.  Maybe he’d just lay down on the couch for a bit and look at his nutcracker some more…

Lance sat up abruptly.  Oh dear, had he dozed off?  He rubbed his eyes and looked around the parlor.

But it wasn’t the same parlor anymore.  Everything was much too big.  The couch Lance had been sleeping on was now about five times bigger than it should be.  Lance slid off the cushions and just barely managed to land on the ground without injuring himself.  Everything towered over him now, the chairs, the table, the grandfather clock in the corner.  And the tree!  The Christmas tree was now taller than his house.  Well, his house on a normal night, that is.

Lance felt dizzy.  Perhaps it wasn’t that everything had grown, maybe he’d just shrunk.  That would make him about the same size as his nutcracker now.  Remembering the nutcracker, Lance looked up at the mantle and was dismayed to find that the nutcracker had disappeared.  Had someone stolen him?

Frightened and struck with the urge to not be out in the open, Lance ran to the Christmas tree and ducked beneath its branches.  He was in such a hurry that he ran right into Hunk, the teddy bear.

“Oops!” said the enormous bear, “Careful there.”

Lance’s head reeled.  Just when he thought he’d seen everything, here were Hunk and Pidge, the toys Coran had brought, alive and moving and talking.

“Keep it down, will you?” said Pidge, shushing the other two, “They’ll hear us.”

“What are you two doing under here?” whispered Lance.

“We’re hiding.” said Hunk.

“Hiding?  From what?”

“The mice, of course.” said Pidge, peeking out between the branches, “Every year, they come out of their hole and eat all the food and ruin the decorations and gnaw on toys like us!”

Lance also peeked out from beneath the tree.  Sure enough, he could see a large mouse hole across the room.  To his terror, huge mice began to crawl out of the hole by the dozens.  But these weren’t just regular mice.  They were enormous and scary-looking, with mangy fur and pointed teeth and swords hanging at their side.

“That’s Zarkon, the Mouse King.” said Pidge, pointing to the most enormous and scariest-looking mouse of the bunch, “Watch out for him, he’ll eat you up if he catches you.”

“Take whatever food you can carry.” Lance heard Zarkon say to the other mice, “And if you find the prince, bring him to me so I can kill him myself.”

Hunk whimpered, “I wish Prince Keith were here.  He’d show those mice who’s boss.”

“Prince Keith?” said Lance, “The nutcracker?”

“You know about the spell on Prince Keith?” said Pidge.

“No?” said Lance, “What spell?”

But the others didn’t get the chance to answer because at that moment, one of the mouse soldiers spotted them.

“Over there!”

“Quick, grab those three!”

“Inform Zarkon we have prisoners!”

Lance, Hunk, and Pidge all huddled together as the mice advanced on them.  Suddenly, the sound of a trumpet rang across the room.  Lance peeked out from among the branches.  The tin soldiers Coran had brought were all lined up in formation along the far side of the room, some on foot, some riding on rocking horses.  Another trumpet sounded and they began advancing on the mice.  And at the head of the formation was Lance’s nutcracker, very much alive and raising his sword as he charged into battle.

“It’s Prince Keith!  It’s Prince Keith!” said Hunk, pointing excitedly.

“Go on, Keith, give it to ‘em!” yelled Pidge.

Lance watched, shocked, as Keith crossed swords with the Mouse King.  The battle raged fiercely around them.  The tin soldiers downed many mice, but just as many were struck down themselves and had to be carried off the battlefield.  Keith fought valiantly through it all, which made Lance beam with pride at his brave nutcracker.

Unfortunately, bravery wasn’t quite enough.  Zarkon struck Keith on his injured shoulder and Keith cried out in pain, dropping to his knees.  The Mouse King raised his sword to deliver the final blow.

“No!” Out of sheer instinct, Lance dashed out from beneath the tree and removed his slipper.  With all his might, he threw it at the Mouse King and it bounced off of Zarkon’s head.

Furious, the Mouse King turned toward him.  Desperate, Lance grabbed a sword from a nearby fallen mouse and brandished it.

“That’s my nutcracker!” he said, “You leave him alone!”

“Foolish child,” hissed the Mouse King, “Your precious nutcracker can’t help you now.  My soldiers will eat you and your little friends and all that will be left of you is your bones.”

Suddenly, the Mouse King stiffened, a pained expression on his face.  He toppled forward and there was Keith, standing behind him, pulling his sword out of his back.  At the sight of their fallen leader, the other mice quickly threw down their swords and scurried back to their hole.  The tin soldiers cheered, as did Hunk and Pidge, who emerged from under the tree.

All of Lance’s attention was on his nutcracker, though.  “Are you all right?” he asked, rushing forward, “I was so worried!  When that Mouse King hit you, I thought you were dead for sure!”

He reached his nutcracker and, without thinking, placed a kiss on his mouth.  It was a bit awkward, considering Keith was wooden and didn’t really have lips to speak of, but Lance didn’t care.  He was simply relieved that his courageous nutcracker was alive and well.

Suddenly, there was a great flash of light.  Lance shielded his eyes and when he uncovered them again, there was his nutcracker, standing before him.  Only he wasn’t a nutcracker anymore.  He was a real prince, with dark hair and a handsome face and a smart red jacket.

“You did it, Lance!” the prince said, smiling, “You broke the spell that was on me.  I would have been stuck as a nutcracker forever if it wasn’t for you.”

“So…” said Lance, “You were a prince this whole time?”

Keith nodded, “The Mouse King put a spell on me to turn me into a nutcracker.  But the kindness you showed me when you bandaged my arm brought me back to life.  And the bravery you showed standing up to Zarkon made me a prince again.  I’m in your debt, Lance.”

Lance could feel his face flushing, “Oh, it was nothing.”

“No, it wasn’t nothing.  You deserve to be rewarded for this.  Come back with me to the Land of Sweets.  I’m sure the Sugar Plum Fairy will throw a grand celebration in your honor.”

“You should!” said Hunk, as he and Pidge came up to join the couple, “We’ve been there.  It’s incredible!”

“Well…”

“Please, Lance?” said Keith.

“I can only stay for tonight.” said Lance, “I have to be back by morning.”

“One night is all I ask for.” said Keith, “Follow me.”

He turned to face the tree and the others followed him.  Keith lifted up the branches and ushered the three beneath them.  As Lance passed him, the prince took his hand.

“It’s very dark under here,” said Lance, shivering a bit as the air grew colder.

“Don’t worry,” said Keith, giving his hand a squeeze, “I’m right next to you.”

Any moment now, Lance expected to reach the trunk of the tree, but instead he continued to push through more and more branches until he and his friends entered a clearing in a snow-filled wood.  The evergreens towered above them and snow fell gently through the air.

“Welcome to the Land of Snow.” Keith said to his friends, “We have to pass through here to get to my kingdom.”

All around them, little elf-like creatures were poking their heads out of the snowbanks, eyeing the travelers curiously.  A few of them recognized Keith and scrambled out of the snow to greet him, overjoyed to have him back.

“Hello there,” said Keith, surrounded by the little snow elves, “Is Shiro around?  I need to speak with him.”

Two of the snow elves ran off and returned a few minutes later, leading a young man through the snow.  He was dressed all in white clothing that glittered and caught the light when he moved.  He had a shock of white hair on the top of his head and one of his arms glittered especially bright, as if it was made of pure ice.  When he spotted Keith, he rushed forward and pulled him into a hug.

“It’s so good to have you back, my prince!” the man said, “We’ve all missed you so much.  How on earth did you break the spell?”

“This young man over here saved me.” said Keith, gesturing to Lance, “His kindness and bravery broke the spell.”

“Well, then he and his friends are welcome in my realm.” the man bowed at the waist to the travelers, “My name is Shiro and I am the Snow King.”

“Shiro, may we have a ride to the Land of Sweets?  I’m sure Allura will be anxious to see me.”

Shiro nodded, “She’s missed you terribly since you’ve been gone.  Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get home quickly.”  He motioned to draw the snow elves’ attention to him.  “Fetch my sleigh.  Prince Keith needs to return to his homeland in style.”

A small group of snow elves rushed off to fulfill their king’s orders.  The rest continued celebrating.  Some of the snow elves produced musical instruments made of icicles.  They struck them and pure music like the sound of Christmas bells rang out through the clearing.  Other snow elves danced around the travelers, whirling in circles and leaping with joy.

At last, the king’s servants returned with the sleigh.  It was beautiful, painted with silver and white so bright it seemed to glow.  A team of white-haired reindeer pulled it, their fur brushed smooth and silver bells jingling from their harnesses.  Shiro helped each of the travelers into the sleigh and took the reins himself.  He whistled to the team and the sleigh took off, leaving the waving and cheering snow elves behind.

“What’s your kingdom like?” Lance whispered to Keith.

“You’ll see,” said Keith, “It’s magical.”

That soon became apparent as the sleigh left the Land of Snow and entered the Land of Sweets.  Lance had never seen anything like it before.  The streets were paved with hard candies and lined with lollipop fences.  The houses were built from gingerbread and held together with icing.  The sleigh drove over a bridge built entirely from gumdrops, with a lemonade river flowing beneath.

At last, the group reached the palace.  They were greeted by a beautiful young woman with white hair and delicate wings and a gorgeous blue and pink gown.

“Welcome, Prince Keith!” she said, embracing the prince warmly once he had climbed down from the sleigh, “You and your friends are welcome here.”

“Everyone, this is Allura, the Sugar Plum Fairy.  She was acting as regent while I was away.” said Keith.  He turned to Allura, “I have so much to tell you.”

Keith told her the story of how he was freed from his spell, how Lance had bandaged his shoulder when it had broken and how he had stood up to the Mouse King when Keith was in danger.

“Then the people of the Land of Sweets owe this young man their thanks,” said Allura, “Our kingdom is yours, dear Lance.  We will have a grand celebration in your honor.”

She led the group into the palace and Lance was once again blown away by the incredible sights he saw.  The walls of the palace were made of chocolate and the peanut brittle roof was supported by candy cane columns.  Banners spun from candy floss hung from the rafters and every surface was studded with lemon drops, which sparkled like precious jewels.

The people who had assembled were even more dazzling.  They were all dressed up in their best outfits, looking like a field of bright flowers.  There were courtiers dressed as pink tulips, red roses, yellow daffodils, white lilies, blue carnations, purple violets, and every other type of flower imaginable.

Allura had Keith and Lance sit in matching thrones at the head of the room.  Then she ushered in dancers to perform for them.  Sweets from every corner of the world danced to celebrate the return of their prince.  There were chocolate dancers from Spain, coffee dancers from Arabia, tea dancers from China, and candy cane dancers from Russia.  Finally, Allura herself took to the floor and danced a graceful, elegant dance.

Once Allura had finished her performance, all the courtiers rose from their seats to dance, filling the ballroom with dazzling color.  Keith took Lance’s hand and led him to the center of the room, placing a hand on his waist and leading him through the dance.  Lance laughed and twirled, more happy than he could ever remember being before.

“Lance,” said Keith, pulling him to a secluded alcove when the dance was over, so the two could talk privately, “Are you happy here?”

“Of course,” said Lance, catching his breath, “It’s beautiful here!”

“Would you like to stay here with me?”

Lance’s face fell, “I would like nothing more than to stay with you.  But…”

“But?”

“But I have to go home.  I’ve been away too long and my family will miss me.”

Keith nodded, sad but understanding, “Then will you at least give me a kiss goodbye?  So that we can remember each other?”

Lance nodded.  He closed his eyes and leaned forward and felt his lips brush against Keith’s…

When Lance’s eyes fluttered open again, he was back in his parlor.  The bright morning light was shining through the front window and everything was back to its regular size.

Lance sat up abruptly.  His eyes immediately jumped to the mantlepiece.  There was his nutcracker, still wooden and lifeless, in the very spot he’d placed it last night.

Lance’s heart sank.  Had it all been a dream?

He was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of Coran carrying his things into the hall to be taken outside.

“Ah, good, you’re awake!  I was worried you’d sleep through Christmas day entirely.  Lance, my boy, would you carry these boxes outside while I get the rest of my things?  My assistant will help you.”

Lance rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and picked up one of Coran’s boxes.  He carried it out the door, the crisp winter air hitting his face and waking him up further.  A young man in a red coat was outside, loading Coran’s luggage into a carriage.

“Excuse me,” said Lance, “Can you take this?”

The young man turned and Lance nearly dropped the box he was holding.

It was the prince.  Lance couldn’t understand how that was possible, but he’d recognize him anywhere.  He had the same black hair, the same handsome face, the same dark, expressive eyes.

“Here,” the young man said, “Let me get that.”  He took the box from Lance’s hands.  Their fingers brushed together lightly and Lance shivered, not entirely from the cold.

“Thank you,” he said, once he had pulled himself together enough to speak, “I’m Lance, by the way.”

The young man smiled, “Nice to meet you, Lance.  I’m Keith.”

[fyodorscenarios]

I was tagged by @gahyeonns (choco @yokohamastraydogs). 

Thanks you for tagging me! (Btw, don’t worry about losing the message, take your time.) 

1. Always post the rules 2. Answer the questions given by the person who tagged you 3. Write 11 questions of your own 4. Tag 11 people (or however many you want) 

sun or moon?

The moon for sure. It’s beautiful and I’m much more fond of night time than day time. 

is there one time from school that you’d like to relive?

I’d really love to just go back to a few lunch breaks during high school when all of my friends were still around. In grade 12 a bunch of them stopped coming to our usual spot for various reasons, it often felt empty around there. That might be the only thing I’ll miss from high school. 

what’s one person you want to fight?

I’d say my younger brother, but we honestly fight all the time anyway. He always tries to piss me off on purpose, and I kinda have a bad temper so it usually works. If it was someone well known, I guess I’d fight Taylor Swift, maybe? She’s bugged me for years lol...

favorite video game?

I still love Pokémon games, my favourite’s probably Pearl or Platinum because of the nostalgia factor. I also really love the Ace Attorney series, though I’m still not caught up with it yet. 

something you wish you had known before?

How and when to shut my mouth. I was incredibly open about everything as a kid. I used to complain a lot because I got annoyed really easily, other kids hated that. I would also spend way too much time talking about my interests that nobody else cared about. It lead to bullying, plus the fact that I was easily agitated made it much worse. 

worst dish you had?

Meatloaf. My dad’s generally a pretty great cook, but I really hate meatloaf no matter who makes it. Especially when ketchup is baked onto the side, it tastes gross as hell to me. 

how many hours do you really sleep?

If I have to wake up for school the next day, probably 4 to 5. If I don’t have to wake up for anything I tend to sleep in, and in that case I probably get 8 to 10. 

something you regret?

In second grade I believe, there was this incident where one of my friends tied the other up with a skipping rope. The tied up friend was crying and for some reason me and my other friend started pulling on both ends of the rope to make it tighter. I honestly don’t remember the incident well. I remember saying that I was trying to get her out afterwards, but I can’t recall if it was a lie or not. She ended up leaving the school not long after that, her mom was super protective of her. I probably have other regrets, but this is just what I could think of. 

something about yourself you would change?

In all honesty I’d really like to loose weight. I don’t have to look perfect, I just wish I could wear nice things without feeling shitty about myself. 

favorite fairy tale?

The Nutcracker and the Mouse King; I’ve only ever read and seen adaptations of it though, I’ve never read the original. I’ve seen The Nutcracker ballet based off of it quite a few times. Since I first saw it when I was a very young kid I have a lot of nostalgia attached to that ballet and its music. It makes me emotional just hearing a song from it. Last time I saw it and probably the time before I cried during the finale.

you have an unlimited amount of money. what do you do with it?

I’d probably start by buying a nice loft apartment in a big city like Toronto. I’d also buy a lot of really nice clothes and electronics like a VR headset. Then since the money’s unlimited I’d probably set up yearly donations to charities that I’d like to support. Finally, I’d buy some type of private jet and travel around the world.

My Questions: 

If you could live anywhere on Earth where would you live and why?

What’s your favourite type of dessert?

Your favourite historical figure?

What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

What’s your favourite fashion style from a previous decade? 

What’s something that you used to love but can’t stand now?

If you could have an unlimited life supply of any one food or drink, what would you choose?

If you were allowed to meet any celebrity/well known individual, who would you choose? 

Do you have any pets? If so, what are they and what are their names? If not, are there any pets you would like to have in the future?

What in your opinion is the worst movie you’ve ever watched? 

Name five of your favourite musical artists/bands. 

Tags:

@gayuncleford & @theedas (my irl friends who I actually told about this stupid blog. I love you both!)

@nicaniiluv, @theobsessiveadmin, @when-furuta-dabs, & @leaunce (I don’t know if all of you guys consider me a friend, but we’ve talked on repeated occasions so I pretty much consider you all as friends of mine. In any case, thanks for being around!)

Also anyone else who wants to do it can go ahead and say that I tagged them or something. (I don’t have enough friends on this hell site)

[spurisani]

So, usually, when a passenger walks through the metal detector, as airport security, you generally want to signal to them somehow that yes, they’re cleared, they can pass. You might do it with a nod, or a gesture of some sort.

My default is an at times perhaps a bit too sweeping “you may continue” gesture, seeing as I’ve almost slapped coworkers in the face several times with it, if I didn’t know they were standing in the right spot behind me.

I happened to just miss backhanding a coworker at the end of my shift today, and the topic turned to a guy who used to work at our airport, who’d do the “you may pass” gesture at, like, waist height. Or maybe slightly lower. He’d, uh, also do it a bit fast sometimes, apparently.

He nailed at least three coworkers in the balls while working there. One of them had to go home sick from work after the incident, he got hit so hard.

They called him: The Nutcracker.