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Sweet Dreams in Fairyland
Forum-Index → Roleplay → Sweet Dreams in Fairyland
Posted: Thu, 11/07/2024 17:52 (4 Months ago)
𝓢𝓸𝓯𝓲𝓪 𝓔𝓵𝓲𝔃𝓪𝓫𝓮𝓽𝓱 𝓐𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓸𝓷'𝓼 𝓟𝓞𝓥
HAD THE GALL TO- SAY SHE LOOKED LIKE-
She grabbed the small teenager by the collar of their shirt, readying her fist and letting out a low hissing noise. "Apologize! Right now. AND HAND OVER THE CANDY! I'm being very, VERY patient with you!"
"Sofia, I have an idea. What if we went and got candy from your dad's store? You're too rich for poor people's candy, right? You don't really want this boy's peppermints."
Sofia skeptically raised an eyebrow at Loser Whale's protest. Was he... trying to help this kid?
"Fine. But only once he says sorry for his comment. I do NOT look like a crushed lollipop."
Posted: Thu, 11/07/2024 18:04 (4 Months ago)
Luther sighed, not sure why he even tried anymore, but willing to make one last attempt. "Alright, but first, let go of his shirt. It's probably very dirty, right?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"And you could..." He braced himself. "Try to apologise?"
Posted: Thu, 11/07/2024 18:35 (4 Months ago)
𝓢𝓸𝓯𝓲𝓪 𝓔𝓵𝓲𝔃𝓪𝓫𝓮𝓽𝓱 𝓐𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓸𝓷'𝓼 𝓟𝓞𝓥
Apologize. APOLOGIZE?
"He's the one who refused to share candy with me!" she sputtered indignantly, with an angry grimace. "AND insulted me! He's GOING DOWN!"
Georgie Gandolfini's POV
There was an awkward silence. Hyeon-jeong Yang slowly, robotically rotated to look at the empty seat next to them.
"Alright! So... still not here then. That's okay, Frederick! You're trying your best!" He honked his rubber chicken on his desk with a huge smile, undeterred.
"Okay! Uh, in that case. Evelyn, are you here?"
Hyeon-jeong Yang glanced at the seat behind them, clearly trying so hard not to laugh.
"Okay, uh. That's fine!" Mr. Gandolfini said through a forced smile, glancing around the room. "Kae? Are you here?"
🌺Hyeon-jeong Yang's POV🍃
Still, if this class was too easy, it might even be ridiculously boring. He groaned.
A RUBBER CHICKEN? And pink scented paper he could smell from here? What was with this guy?
Posted: Thu, 11/07/2024 18:44 (4 Months ago)
Kae's gaze cast upwards, just above the door where an old bronze watch limply hung, secured to the wall hastily on the top strap by a nail. It had come with the little house when she moved in with Dante and it read two hours and thirty-seven minutes ahead of real time.
That meant that role call would begin in a matter of minutes.
That meant that she would be late.
Hoping that nothing would fall out of the backpack on their journey or whilst she was at school, she locked the door, hid the key under the plant pot and bolted.
It was a good five minutes later when their hand grasped the door knob to the classroom. Their name had just been called, but judging by the lack of classmates, their tardiness was the least of Mr Gandolfini's problems. "Here, sir." Kae mumbled, taking a seat next to Hyeon-jeong.
☽ •｡° ✦ Welcome ✦ °｡• ☾
To my void
The endless world with no
☽ •｡° ✦ Escape ✦ °｡• ☾
Posted: Thu, 11/07/2024 18:53 (4 Months ago)
Oh well. At least she hadn't tried to order his beheading. He could teach her the words "please" and "thank you" at a later date. For now...
"If you say 'sorry', then I'll make you a cape. You can be the queen of all the snotty children here." He smiled. "Doesn't that sound nice? I'll even let you throw crayons at them."
Granted, that would probably be worse, but hey, three year olds were really stupid. They'd probably just start eating the crayons and thank her for giving them the purple ones. After all, to toddlers, all purple things were grape flavoured.
This could work out for everyone.
Posted: Thu, 11/07/2024 20:09 (4 Months ago)
🌺Hyeon-jeong Yang's POV🍃
They blinked and turned to look at Kae, cupping their face with their right hand, long-sleeved elbow on the hard surface of their desk. In their left hand, they held their pen, which they were lazily doodling on the paper with. Just now, they had paused the next inky line to acknowledge his classmate's presence.
"Get a load of this guy, am I right?" he whispered with a smug expression, their eyebrows raised in amusement. "Hopefully this year's not gonna be a total pain."
They didn't understand why the school felt the need to lump all the students together like this... it was weird enough with an abnormally skilled eleven-year-old like him here. Must have had to cut the budget or something. They squinted back at the guy that was apparently their teacher... Yeah, they must have been pretty desperate if this sad sap wasn't a substitute.
They wondered for a moment why they were even speaking to Kae, but shrugged internally. Eh, whatever, they were suuuper bored waiting for class to start. It couldn't hurt. Even if this 'Kae' person was probably just another moron, he didn't know that for sure yet.
🥳Georgie Gandolfini's POV🌻
"Yeah, I'm here. What, do you not have eyes? No wonder you wear those dumb glasses." The student rolled their eyes as they interrupted him.
He flushed in embarrassment at the student's comment.
Oh! Really? I... thought they looked cool. Maybe I should get a new pair...
"What an astute observation, Hyeon-jeong. Glad to see you're full of energy this morning." He shook his head. "That was, a bit rude though, don't you think?"
"Oh. Was it? I'm sooo sorry." He was clearly not the slightest bit sorry at all, to the point even Mr. Gandolfini could tell that. But he wasn't about to start anything. The teacher gave them a thumbs-up.
"Apology accepted! Good to see you're here. Tazuna?"
Awkward silence again. It seemed that child cared far more about sweets than showing up to class on time.
He sighed internally and marked the absence, proceeding to call for Jing Yu.
🚬Abeni Madaki's POV⚰️
Because, if something more was going on, she could expect a lot more casualties. Which was never a good thing, even if she was used to such grim news by now.
She wondered if she should just head home early... she'd have to ask her supervisor. Right after she finished this last batch. It was a little difficult to turn herself away from her work, even when it was especially boring.
👑𝓢𝓸𝓯𝓲𝓪 𝓔𝓵𝓲𝔃𝓪𝓫𝓮𝓽𝓱 𝓐𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓸𝓷'𝓼 𝓟𝓞𝓥💖
Her eyes grew wide. The idea of that did sound... tempting.
"Is it a good cape? One truly worthy of me?" She narrowed her eyes. Could she trust Loser Whale to follow through?
Posted: Thu, 11/07/2024 20:23 (4 Months ago)
Tazuna Nagamasa
"Alright, but first, let go of his shirt. It's probably very dirty, right?"
What the heck, he bet that gremlin brat kid didn't even wash their clothes once a week. Well, he did, so...
You know what, never mind. It wasn't worth it (probably). He flung a single piece of the fancy-looking-but-kinda-yucky candy at the gremlin and clung onto the other not-gremlin person. Maybe he'd try extorting money out of them later.
Posted: Thu, 11/07/2024 21:15 (4 Months ago)
"W-Woah." Luther nearly yelped as the little kid attached himself to his shirt. A new little leech, staring up at him with very round eyes.
Obviously subterfuge. He had no doubt the kid's real goal was candy, and probably also his wallet. Well, jokes on him, Luther was broke.
He considered trying to shake the creature off, but the eyes were too big and the cuteness unfortunately paralyzed him.
Great. Well I guess I just have two parasites now.
"Of course no cape could ever compare to your greatness," Luther said smoothly. "But I will model it after the queens and kings of old. You can be a new kind of great, a royal and rich greatness."
The day passed by quickly. Dana spent it murmuring to fake-Whiskers and stroking his ears, sweet candied promises falling out of her mouth. At one point, time seemed to blur together, and then it was lunch.
Not sure where to go, Dana hovered outside the office, wondering if she should take one of the free lunches they offered. But the lineups were so long, that she just ended up roaming the gym.
Then the bell rang and it was back to class.
Nora hummed as she pranced across the sidewalk, bobbing her head to an invisible beat. It was a beautiful day out, the sun shining clear in the sky, and casting lovely shadows across the shops.
She'd been down this street a thousand times, and as always, seeing those gorgeous buildings always reminded her of a picture from a fairy tale.
The shops had beautiful, curved signs with fancy cursive letters, clean red brick, and beautiful display cases. Peering into the glass, she saw books propped up, leather bound with that beautiful marble paper, totally unlike the course, rough yellow stuff of the day. Probably only a decade old or so, before the ban on real paper.
She paused to run her hand over the window. It smudged and she stared with fascination as her fingerprints formed on the glass. A real mark of her being here. That this wasn't just a dream.
She was a part of this street, of these people, and she was Jace Mawer. A smile formed on her face and she pressed her whole hand to the glass.
Ever since That Day, she'd found herself longing for a world like this. Pretty and picturesque, as light and fluffy as spun clouds. It was, she decided, a dream.
Why couldn't the real world be her Fairyland always?
The journalists from early flashed through her mind. A smiling, dead-eyed man, and a crazy person bouncing up and down on their heels with a camera and leaves in their hair. So different from each other. The silent danger in the man's posture, and the stupid expression on the person's face as they blinked, mouth agape at everything Nora said.
Then she thought of her mum and dad. Sitting at a table set for two.
They're afraid of you.
Nora's fist clenched by their side. That was fine. They liked it, even. Honestly, it was stupid, because they were really just a goofball, but if people wanted to run, to close off their faces, and stare at them like that-
"Well, whatever, not a me problem." Nora blinked, then realised they'd spent the past few minutes staring into a bookstore when they were already late. "Shiiiii..."
An old lady on the side of the road gave them The Look.
"...take mushrooms!"
Nora hurried along. If the old lady didn't get them with her laser eyes, then coach would. Time to move her a**.
It's kind of funny, she thought. Why does move 'your a**' mean like... move everything? It's not just the *ss moving.
With these solemn questions on mind, Nora turned the corner. The school approached, and panting, they came up to the entrance, running their id card through. The gates creaked open, letting them in. Nora slipped through and the iron clanged shut behind her.
The schoolyard was unfortunately deserted, signalling that school had already started.
Oh dear.
...
Posted: Thu, 11/07/2024 21:25 (4 Months ago)
👑𝓢𝓸𝓯𝓲𝓪 𝓔𝓵𝓲𝔃𝓪𝓫𝓮𝓽𝓱 𝓐𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓸𝓷'𝓼 𝓟𝓞𝓥💖
"WHY, YOU!!"
She was no longer listening to Loser Whale's protests as she punched the candy child right in the face, and then attempted to continue pummeling him over and over again.
WHO CARED ABOUT THE CAPE? THIS KID WAS GOING DOWN.
Posted: Thu, 11/07/2024 21:32 (4 Months ago)
Tazuna Nagamasa
H-Hey! Ow, what the heck...
He crawled behind Luther's arm and attempted to block the punches with it (to some extent). The punches weren't very hard or painful, but his pain tolerance had to at least be in the negatives, so they still kinda hurt.
The thing he was most concerned about was bruises, though. They didn't look pretty, and if he didn't try to protect himself from them he'd inevitably get some on him...
Posted: Fri, 12/07/2024 02:14 (4 Months ago)
When was I designated the meat shield here?
Surrendering to his fate, Luther took up station between the two kids. Ow. Ow. Ow, that hurt. How could a little kid punch so hard????
"Harry!" he cried desperately. "Don't you want to punish Harry?"
"Luther?" Harry's little ginger head poked around the corner. Luther had never been so relieved to see him in his life.
"Late again, are we?"
Nora paused, hand hovering over their locker, every muscle in their body going rigid. Ready to run the moment his face came into-
No, that was silly.
"Hi, Flint," they said cheerfully, turning on their heel to face him fully. "Ordering me around, huh? I thought the teachers collectively agreed you couldn't handle being hall monitor after the whole 'mop sword' incident. What a pleasant surprise, seeing you back at your old post."
The emo weirdo leaned against his locker number #1778, arms crossed, an arrogant tilt to his head. He looked casual, but she knew enough about how vain he could be that he had probably calculated out the best angle to show off his irritatingly chiseled jawline.
"A surprise, huh? That's funny. You know what I find surprising?" His eyes narrowed. "The fact that you dropped out hours before the the last game of the season. That you thought it was just fine to throw us at the championship without our freaking captain. I don't know about you, but I think that's probably the freshest thing in our teachers' minds right now."
Nora blinked. "You were a strong team, it was fine-"
"Cut the crap Nora. It was just as you wanted. We were left to flounder without you."
He thought for a second.
"And then, lo and behold, you disappear for three months."
Oh, he's maaaaad.
Flint was glaring at her, pulled to his full height now, his shoulders stiff and unyielding. Those sharp grey eyes piercing through her skull.
Which he probably thought was something intimidating, but in her opinion made him look more like a disgruntled cat. Hehe. He might be old, but that didn't mean he couldn't be just adorable.
"You'll find a lot of things have changed around here in the time you've been gone," Flint said.
"Like what? You?" Nora cocked their head to the side teasingly. "I dunno man, you seem pretty much the same to me."
Posted: Fri, 12/07/2024 02:22 (4 Months ago)
👑𝓢𝓸𝓯𝓲𝓪 𝓔𝓵𝓲𝔃𝓪𝓫𝓮𝓽𝓱 𝓐𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓸𝓷'𝓼 𝓟𝓞𝓥💖
She crossed her arms. "Buuuut, since I am a just ruler, I'm giving you one chance. GET ON YOUR KNEES AND I'LL FORGIVE YOU!"
Posted: Fri, 12/07/2024 02:32 (4 Months ago)
"Uhh." Harry looked confused. "Do you know what the kid's talking about Luther? She seems slightly unstable..."
Luther considered pity. Then he remembered the photo albums. "I'm not hearing an apology, are you, Sofia?"
His head dropped, the hair falling over his eyes obscuring his expression. "So you think I haven't changed." There was a cold note in his voice she'd never heard before. "Don't be stupid, Jace. You know as well as I do that this place chews people up and spits them out."
When he looked at her now, his eyes, those beautiful grey pools, were hard as flint.
"And you, my friend, are no longer at the top."
Flint left then. Nora stood there for a long time, pulse thrumming in her ears, unable to move. Then she heard a rattling in the next hallway and burst into action.
She ran.
All the way downstairs, down the hall, two turns, and then through the door.
By the time she got home, she was dizzy and out of breath, but she was home. And so she stumbled upstairs to her bedroom and collapsed on her bed, squeezing her eyes shut, praying to fall asleep and wake back up in a dream.
Posted: Fri, 12/07/2024 02:44 (4 Months ago)
👑𝓢𝓸𝓯𝓲𝓪 𝓔𝓵𝓲𝔃𝓪𝓫𝓮𝓽𝓱 𝓐𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓸𝓷'𝓼 𝓟𝓞𝓥💖
A flash of confusion came upon Sofia's face, as though she was considering something. But then she realized it. Of course!
HE'S PLAYING DUMB!
"WHY, YOU!!" She grabbed Harry by the collar of his shirt, and then dragged him off to the Art Room, where she took out the finger paints, and poured them over his head. She hit his head with an easel over and over and over again.
"APOLOGIZE!! NOW!" she screamed tyrannically.
Posted: Fri, 12/07/2024 03:37 (4 Months ago)
Luther listened to the screams in the other room. "So... you wanna go get some candy?" he asked the kid who was still clinging on to his shirt.
TIMESKIP
Dana sat on the bathroom counter, staring into the mirror. Her chubby hands traced patterns over the ash, revealing bits of her filthy reflection in it. Her cheeks were covered in dirt from when she'd been pushed in the mud earlier, and only now was she seeing how weird her face was.
All puffy. She pushed her finger into her cheek and it was hard.
The feeling frightened her so much she dropped off the counter and scampered to her room. Waiting on her bed for her was fake-Whiskers.
She collapsed onto the pile of pillows and blankets, tugging him immediately to her chest and curling up on her side. Squeezing the cat tight, she whispered over and over to herself, "Daddy's coming home, daddy's coming home soon, daddy's..."
I'm so hungry.
And somehow, that hurt worse than daddy being gone. She wished it didn't, but it hurt so bad she thought she might eat Whiskers if he wasn't the only one in the world who still wanted to be her friend.
Except...
Wait.
Dana blinked, sitting back up. She did have friends, didn't she? Back in Fairyland, with all the others.
Her hands found Whisker's face and she stared into it. Slowly, as if in a trance, she brought him up, and suddenly his ear was in her mouth. She chewed it and it tasted like fabric.
Spitting it out, Dana rubbed her face. "That was stupid, Whiskers, I'm sorry."
But she did have friends. And food, real food, in Fairyland waiting for her. That gave her the courage to stand up and go to the kitchen, pulling out the box of cereal and making herself a bowl, just like daddy did every morning since Sunday.
She could survive... until bedtime, because there, she'd see her friends again. Dana remembered the yell-ey girl with pigtails, who was supposed to be her friend. Sofia Arison, she remembered. I'll see her tonight, and this time, I'll talk to her.
All was quiet in the Mawer estate. Nora'd been listening, anticipating a party, or at least a dinner with some important people to "rub elbows with", but it was eerily quiet. Almost as if the place had been paused; stuck in a moment in time.
That was weird. Nora didn't like it. It was just not natural. The sky was blue, her mother loved tequila, and the Mawer mansion was to be in a state of constant motion. Otherwise, the world would collapse in on itself.
But going downstairs was probably pointless at this point. She was tired, and besides...
With a grin, Nora lifted up the giant bag of party chips she'd snuck under her bed yesterday. She had sustenance.
Xenia scrolled through her camera roll, completely and utterly bored. Certainly, she could leave the apartment. Maybe go out for dinner. Get a few last minute shots to send off to the paper.
But that would require movement. Which Xenia was thoroughly uninterested in at this point. This was lazy time.
Clicking on their DE3 player, Xenia closed their eyes and lost themself in the soothing tunes of heavy metal. Maybe later they'd finally pick up their guitar. It had been a while. A gig'd probably be cool...
Mmm...
"I'm home!" Luther called upstairs. But mom didn't answer. Probably kept out late, then.
He trudged upstairs, already taking out his piercings and tucking them with his new earnings into his pocket. Barely avoiding running into the doorframe, he cursed and ducked into his room.
Finally. Back in his room.
With a sigh, he collapsed onto his bed and closed his eyes. Luther listened to his heartbeat go, and gradually became aware of all the creakings of the house, of the neighbour yelling next door, and of his own breathing, slow and rhythmic.
Today was hard.
It wasn't even that Sofia was worse than usual. Somehow, seeing the community centre, seeing Harry scribbling in there... well, it'd reminded him of his own childhood. All the times he'd spent in there, ushered in by mom.
That place was where the guilt he'd been feeling had surged up in his chest. When suddenly it'd all become real.
Luther opened his eyes, stood up, and pulled out his pajamas from the drawer. It was the ducky pair he'd gotten for his fifteenth birthday. A stupid, silly gift from his mom. Tracing his fingers over the worn embroidery, he stared at the little ducks and teacups, and finally snapped back to attention. He gripped the fabric tightly, and then began to change.
Glancing around his room, he walked over to the window. He examined it, then cracked it just a sliver and closed the curtains.
Finally, he fluffed his pillow before clambering into bed.
He'd go to sleep early today. Screw dinner.
He couldn't take more of mom's food like this. Not when he was about to betray her by abandoning the whole world she'd offered him.
Luther was not going to be an artist. He was not going to that stupid school on the wall, to share his paintings of fruit and fields and long-dead animals with the world. The acceptance letter had been ripped up in his desk for weeks. He didn't need it. He had another world waiting for him.
Because in one week from today, he would be a member of the Underground Resistance.
Turning on his side, Luther closed his eyes and waited for sleep.
"That girl was nice," Kubo said softly. "I wish she could've joined us."
He looked up at Lili.
"But she can't, right? Because she's not like us. The police would see her and take her away and put her back with her parents."
Posted: Fri, 12/07/2024 04:34 (4 Months ago)
👑𝓢𝓸𝓯𝓲𝓪 𝓔𝓵𝓲𝔃𝓪𝓫𝓮𝓽𝓱 𝓐𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓸𝓷'𝓼 𝓟𝓞𝓥💖
After the incident with Harry (whose fate I refuse to specify), she was eventually taken home by Loser Whale (as she still insisted on calling him). She was looking forward to learning what her mother was going to give her.
It read,
"To my dear Sofia,
Got busy again, dear.
I got you this jade necklace.
I know you'll love it.
There's some food for you in the fridge.
- Mommy"
Oh. Right. Again. Well, this happened all the time... She giggled and grinned eagerly as she picked up the necklace. YES! This was hers now! Still...
She was... too busy again.
Oh well.
Normally, she'd ask one of the maids to tuck her into bed, but she was too old for that now. She'd just go herself. After getting herself ready, and undoing her pigtails, she got into bed, closing her eyes.
"Maybe I'll have that dream again. That was fun..."
She was so tired. Maybe it was because of that stupid kid earlier. She was glad she put him in his place.
🌺Hyeon-jeong Yang's POV🍃
Okayyyy. So it wasn't like they were, afraid of their dad or anything. But he got home as late as he could, on purpose, so they wouldn't have to look at that face.
It was pathetic. Honestly. Ugh, what a pain.
They got home as quietly as possible, sneaking off to their room. Hopefully he wouldn't notice...
Hyeon-jeong got ready for bed, and went off to sleep.
Hopefully, they'd have that dream again. Jeez, that was bonkers. Nothing like what he usually had. But it did make them a little curious. Of what else this 'Fairyland' had in store.
Pssh. What a literal name. He rolled his eyes.
🥳Georgie Gandolfini's POV🌻
He lived alone, which was unfortunate. He used to have friends who owned a video production company, but unfortunately they moved, and he still wasn't sure why. They were always screaming at him, "MR. GANDOLFINI, LEAVE!"
He played several hands of cards with himself, and got his best friend, a ginger cat named Freckles, a couple of treats, before heading to bed for the night.
It seemed that the kids were a handful, especially that one student. But that was nothing new. It wasn't like anything bad was gonna happen!
He was looking forward to getting to know his students.
🚬Police Detective Abeni Madaki's POV⚰️
But maybe she'd do some paperwork when she got home... no. She needed her energy for tomorrow. Probably best not to pull another all-nighter.
She'd always been dedicated to her work. Ever since she was young.
She'd never... make a mistake, of any kind.
Never.
Posted: Fri, 12/07/2024 04:48 (4 Months ago)
Faith had warmed the sheets beforehand, placing heating pads under the soft mattress, arranged her toys neatly into a line, and changed her blanket to her favorite beary blanket. Perfect for transportation to Fairyland, Quincy thought to herself. She turned on the bunny nightlight and clapped her hands to turn the ceiling light off, before waiting for Faith to enter with hot cocoa and tuck her in to bed.
Faith left Kubo and Lilias as the sun set; promising to help them tomorrow if they met at the same spot. She returned home, prepared food for her parents, Quincy and herself, before going to the basement to pick up the family’s washing she had put in the machine the morning before they left for school. Once that was done, she began preparing hot cocoa for Quincy
Posted: Tue, 16/07/2024 01:23 (4 Months ago)
After returning home, as usual, her parents were out somewhere, maybe they forgot she existed, maybe that’s a good thing, who knows. Xuanji found some random food in the fridge and made some dinner for herself and went upstairs to indulge in books that were only mildly interesting.
Life for her, was just reading, food, school, food, reading, sleep, wake up. Simple and easy.
Posted: Tue, 16/07/2024 21:42 (4 Months ago)
It can be hard to fall asleep, when you know a sugar-spun world awaits you in your dreams. It aches at your teeth, digs into your chest, and pries your eyes wide open to stare right through your ceiling. The effects could be equated to that of withdrawal. Fairyland, after all, is like an addiction. You go there once, and you go there again, and every night you feel the little hole in your heart filled just a little more.
But right now, you can't sleep; your heart is thrumming in your chest like that of a trapped rabbit.
After all, that little beating heart of yours is caught in a snare. The waking world which has never been kind to you, never let you do what people were always meant to do- it lashes you down, chains you to misery.
But inevitably, sleep comes. Time, after all, waits for no one.
And so, one by one, the children fell asleep, the taste of fairy sugar on their tongues, and anticipation for greater dreams to come.
WELCOME TO FAIRYLAND
Her wrist was cold. As she shifted to the side, wishing herself to sleep, she found her cheek not resting on her pillow, but rather on... a carpet?
Nora's eyes snapped open.
The ceiling was scarlet with gold highlights, with little diamond detailing and an extravagant chandelier. She traced her eyes over the fine details and curves half-interestedly, studying the little pictures and shapes that the swirls of the decoration formed. Beautiful, expensive, wealthy... Fancy, even for Mawer standards.
She laughed with relief, sitting up, rubbing at the back of her head. Finally, she was back in Fairyland. And castles? Absolutely sick, yes please. As she dropped her hand back to her side, she spotted the metal shackle. It was too big, so it just slipped right off her wrist.
Then she noticed her sleeve. Weirdly puffy, with leather protectors on the wrists and forearms. Looking down, she realised she was dressed in leather armour. Just like a knight in the old storybooks!
Hm, slightly weird, but god that was cool! In any case...
I'm home. A smile curved her lips upward.
Somebody cleared their throat.
Nora was on her feet before she knew what was happening. Whipping around she came face to face with a young boy, maybe ten or twelve, with wide blue eyes, and soft, face-framing blond hair... And for a second, she thought she'd been replaced, that maybe some other child had been given her place in this castle.
Then she saw the pointy ears and the nervous smile and her world settled back into place.
"Is that really how you wanna look today, Enn?" she asked, amused. "Baby-faced again? I swear you're asking for the teasing at this point."
Enn's eyes welled up with tears. "W-What do you mean? I thought it looked... nice. I made it like the hero in the book..." His voice became very quiet. "Does it- look bad, Nora?"
"Naw. But leave the rescuing up to me, kiddo, you look like a stiff wind could blow you over." She laughed.
The little fairy was a shapeshifter, changing his appearance every day. He went from skinny to athletic, from cute to skrunkly every day. Each feature seemed to be decided by a roll of the dice. The only thing that remained constant with him was the height, or lack thereof.
At first, she'd been wary of the kid. But he was nice, and he knew this place well. Even if sometimes he got quiet or his eyes lingered on some fixture too long.
His eyes darted to the floor, where the chain had fallen. When he looked back at her, he seemed to be asking a question.
She decided to be honest. "I woke up with it on my wrist. I think it's part of the character for today."
In Fairyland, Nora wanted to be a knight, so she'd asked for a castle. Ever since, she'd woken up, usually with some daily quest, like arresting some bandits or solving some weird mystery. The world was probably building up to some story.
But Enn just looked alarmed. "Are you okay? Are there enemies here?" He looked around, fear flashing in those round eyes. "Should we leave and find the others?"
"Naw, it's okay." Nora shook her head. "Honestly, I've been looking for some variety. Maybe today'll be the big one!"
She grinned at him, but Enn didn't smile back. Hm, alright.
"Why don't we head to the library?" she offered. "The little one is probably there already."
Enn nodded, but he still glanced over his shoulder one last time before following her.
They walked down the hall, and Nora took a moment to admire the place. The sweeping staircase with marble detailing, the velvet drapes that framed windows ten metres long... it all formed a beautiful picture. She really did love this place. It was the perfect way to start her heroics!
Kubo's eyes snapped open. Instantly, he knew he was asleep. No longer did he smell smoke, but the musty smell of old paper. And the biting cold was no longer because of the wind, but because of the ancient, stale air that tasted like stone and metal.
As always, he'd woken up in the library. It was empty and quiet, his own breaths crazy loud in his ears.
I don't know why I always wake up here. I hate books. It was big sister who loved them.
Big sister... who was a bad memory. He didn't like thinking of her. He didn't like smelling or seeing the books, because he always thought of her crazy collection and all the time she spent in that little corner.
But still... he likes it here, in this room. Because it's in the same place as hers.
The door creaked open, and there stood big strong Nora and sweet gentle Enn, smiling at him.
A smile grew on his face in turn and he ran up to hug them.
Dana woke up in the kitchen again. It was warm and always smelled of cookies and fresh air. When she got to her feet, her eyes fixed on the open window, revealing the beautiful fields beyond the little cottage.
A smile grew on her face. The house she always wanted with momma and daddy.
Reaching for the counter, she found the box set for the day. It was for chocolate chip cookies; the same kind she wanted, with the little nuts in them.
Her belly rumbled and she quickly got to baking, grabbing the utensils every time they magically appeared on the counter, right when she needed them. She slipped the sheet into the oven and shut it, waiting. When she couldn't wait any longer, she reached right in and grabbed them. The tray didn't even burn like they did in real life, instead being nice and warm, just like the fresh and gooey cookies.
She placed them on the counter. It was time for them to cool, so she went to the fridge and grabbed a juice box.
Someone knocked on the door. Her head snapped up.
My friends?
NIGHT EVENT
Luther rolled over in his sleep, sighing into his comfy bed. The lazy hours in the morning when you didn't have to work were simply the best. Just drifting between sleep and wakefulness, enjoying your fluffy pillows...
Strange... where was his pillow...
He groped around for it, found it, and immediately planted his head on it.
"Ow!" someone yelped. "What the- dude, that's my arm! I know my bicep is super comfy but jeez! Find some other super hot and buff arm to use as your pillow!"
So loud... why were they being so loud when he was trying to sleep... Honestly...
Luther yawned, trying to remember who the voice belonged to. It wasn't familiar, but surely it had to be one of his neighbours... or one of their friends... or...
"You leave me no choice."
Suddenly freezing cold water smashed into his face and he was jerking up with a gasp. Somebody was holding a giant bucket, still filled with bits of ice and water, an unimpressed look on their face.
He quickly realised he'd stolen their arm- wow their hoodie was soft though- and dropped it, pulling back and blinking, trying to figure out what the heck was going on.
"Finally!" they cheered. "I've been trying to wake you up for forever! Seriously, you sleep like the dead." They shook their head and he openly gaped at them.
They were on some endless, wide open white platform with towering white walls. Looking around him, he could see other people of varying age ranges, none of whom he recognised.
"I'm Xenia Coombs, by the way. Freelance journalist." They offered him their hand and he thoughtlessly took it, giving it a shake. "Pleased to meet ya, Luther!"
Luther blinked. "I don't... think I introduced myself?"
They grinned. "Nametag."
He glanced down and realised a nametag was fixed to his chest, listing his name along with his pronouns. He was still wearing the duckie pajamas that he went to bed with.
"The game will start in five minutes." A booming voice echoed across the platform. "Commence the slots."
"Ooo, we gotta be quiet now." Xenia put a finger to their lips. "Shhh, Luthie!"
"Welcome, OCs, to the Nightly Games!" A hidden door began to creep open in the walls, revealing a giant screen, and behind it, a row of weird creatures, sitting on velvet chairs. "You are now to experience the nightly non-canon event! Please wait for selection."
A game slot appeared on the screen. It began rolling over and over again, and landed on three icons, one depicting gorgeous hair, another a home-made and rather ugly outfit, and finally, a makeup brush.
"And the voting's in! Looks like 'Beauty Contest' has been selected by the Upper Gods! You will be judged on your sense of aesthetic, hair styling, and talent with makeup! The upper gods will be your judges! Good luck!"
Spotting things like a rock with googly eyes and an eldritch celery stalk, Luther did not have high hopes for this judging.
"What."
"It said the upper gods will judge us," Xenia said helpfully. "Oh, and it's a beauty contest. I bet you heard that though. Sorry."
"What."
Posted: Tue, 16/07/2024 22:20 (4 Months ago)
🌺Hyeon-jeong Yang's POV🍃
She always took such good care of them, huh?
It was always a place to come back to, where you no longer had to worry about how dull and empty everything was. Just taking in the sights and scents of these beauties.
But... that wasn't what they were here for. Well, wait. Were they here for anything, really?
They slowly got up off the ground. It almost felt real, in a foggy sort of way, like walking through a distant memory.
"Heh. Some dreams are like that, I guess. Hey, Fairyland. That name's still generic as hell, by the way."
Jeez, I'm probably just talking to myself...
But, this was nice. Nothing special, but nice.
His father had forgotten to protect the flowers later that year, after the incident. When the frost occurred... they all died. It was almost like Mom had taken them all with her.
They grimaced. I'm never forgiving that freak for what happened. Never.
It was almost like... she was here again. In a way. Getting to see this.
Were those other kids here again? Ah, come on. Hopefully not. He wasn't even thinking about them!
👑𝒮𝑜𝒻𝒾𝒶 𝐸𝓁𝒾𝓏𝒶𝒷𝑒𝓉𝒽 𝒜𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑜𝓃'𝓈 𝒫𝒪𝒱💖
She giggled and clapped her hands together. "Finally! Something worthy of me. I am loving this."
Soon enough, her servants would arrive! Catering to her every whim!
"Princess Sofia! Is there anything that you desire?"
"Hmm... pizza bagels!"
"And, and can I get you anything?"
"AND CUPCAKES! RIGHT NOW."
"Of course, your Highness! Right away."
Third-Person POV
Abeni Madaki rubbed her eyes and groaned. "Oh, no. Don't tell me... Did I pull another all-nighter? Am I hallucinating? Why am I here..." She turned to see an overly hyperactive... journalist, apparently. Oh no. Was that who she thought it was? And... a man with an obnoxiously eager expression wearing a neon Hawaiian Aloha shirt and bunny slippers. Carrying a rubber chicken. "Aren't you... Mr. Gandolfini? The new middle school teacher?"
He grinned and honked the rubber chicken. "Yep! That's me! The kids there are amazing." (The kids there were not amazing, and one of them had mocked him while another had planted a bomb in his desk, in addition to many of them not even bothering to show up to class. Such adorable little pranksters!) "You're that detective, right?"
"Yes, and... why are you wearing that? Why are you here? Why are we all here?"
"I know about as well as you do! I think I slept in these? Although I don't entirely remember, haha. We're here for a beauty contest where we're judged by the gods!! Aren't you excited?"
Abeni squinted. She was seeing many people here, of numerous ages. This whole arrangement made no sense. The giant screen was blinding her.
She groaned, deciding to just choose to ignore how outlandish this was. She was too tired for this [CENSORED].
"Uhhh... do we have to participate in this? I have work again in the morning."
Mr. Gandolfini shrugged. "No clue! I'm not the gods."
"You're... just going to accept that there-" She took another look at Mr. Gandolfini and cut herself off. Never mind. Why do I even bother?
She tried fishing for a cigarette only to be greeted with a telepathic message.
"No smoking during the non-canon event! Sorry, ma'am."
She immediately cursed under her breath.