#winter hale

[cyborg-martyr-wolf-monarch]

The Rampion Crew - Name Aesthetics

[hareepotter]

ya lit meme | one of ten series or books |

the lunar chronicles by marissa meyer even in the future the story begins with once upon a time.

[tears-of-stress]

A bunch of times that Winter’s hallucinations get the better of her and how she and Jacin deal with it

Just simp tbh

[wizardingaesthetics]

Kaider: Reunion

Written for TLC Shipweeks prompt Kaider and Renunion! Read more on fanfiction.net! I’ve got a number of TLC one-shots up there!

i. Eyes

Kai would be lying if he said he’d forgotten the exact shade of Cinder’s eyes. He’s seen her a thousand times on the NetScreen in his room, giving speeches or attending events all the way on Luna and the close-ups do show her eyes.

It’s just that they’re different up close.

The cameras, no matter how good, can’t capture the exact shade of her eyes in the sunlight, or the way the corners of her eyes crinkle when she’s genuinely happy.

The cameras don’t know that her eyes light up the moment she sees him, they don’t know that for an eternity neither of them look away, taking in as much of each other as they possibly can.

They don’t know that when she looks at him, Kai’s entire world stops. That just one look from Cinder can simultaneously save and destroy him.

ii. Hands

She doesn’t realise she’s reached out to him until her fingers brush against Kai’s knuckles. From the corner of her eye, she can see him tilt his head, acknowledging the touch.

He shuffles, close enough for the folds of his silk robes to brush against her gown.

Cinder’s not sure who reaches our first, whether it’s Kai, sticking his hand out for Cinder to take, or her own response to the fact that he’s standing closer.

Their hands touch, again, and in a flurry of movements their fingers are entwined and palms pressed together.

Kai glances at her, again, and this time Cinder dares to look at him too, a smile gracing her lips.

She squeezes his hand and Kai returns the gesture.

It’s been too long. Far too long.

iii. Lips

Cinder lets out a squeak of surprise, her heart hammering against her chest. She can feel his breath against her cheek, warm and chilling at the same time.

“Guess who,” he mutters in her ear, lips brushing against her skin and making Cinder’s heart die, literally.

She spins around, hands finding his chest, and without thinking through it, stands on the tips of her toes, pressing her lips to Kai’s.

He shifts, lodging one hand on her neck and wrapping the other around her waist, guiding her into the kiss, pulling her closer.

“Kai,” she whispers against his mouth, closing her eyes and listening to her heartbeat.

“Cinder.”

And then they’re kissing again, her back flush against the wall, her hands tangled in his hair, her tongue tentatively greeting his midway.

Fuck, she’s never going to leave him again.

[aestharsis]

Winter Blackburn-Hayle // Snow White Aesthetics

In Honor of Her Birthday: January 3rd 109 T.E.

[wizardingaesthetics]

Scarlet: Fairytale

Written for the TLC Shipweeks prompt Fairytale. Read more on Fanfiction.net where I’ve posted a number of one-sots on the crew and their adventures!

“Maman, how much longer?“

It’s Maha’s fifth time asking since she woke up the morning, and her thousandth time this week. Scarlet’s daughter only has vague memories of the crew but, Stars Above, she seems excited about their arrival.

At five, she’s the oldest of any of the kids, which means that Thorne treats her like royalty and, obviously, Maha love that. Maybe she’s not waiting for the rest of the crew, Scarlet muses, just Thorne and Cress and the gifts that come with.

She crouches on the floor, peering into the oven, at her lemon pie and, within moments, Maha is at her side, face inches away from the tempered glass door. Scarlet likes to think that her daughter already has a love for baking - she insists on mixing the ingredients and takes great pleasure in measuring the ingredients and setting them out for Scarlet. Unfortunately, this ‘love’ does not have her staring at the pie for too long.

"Maman,” she says again. “How much longer?”

Scarlet huffs. “Soon,” she says.

For a moment, Maha seems satisfied with the reply. She nods in approval and has trotted halfway to the door before another thought seems to strike her. “How much is soon?”

“Less than an hour,” Ze'ev announces, appearing at the doorway. He turns to Scarlet. “Kai and Cinder might take a bit longer. They got caught up in some official business.”

Scarlet would be lying if she said she didn’t see it coming. Sometimes it feels as though she and Ze'ev were the only ones who still lead normal lives - not that she regrets the decision.

She loves the familiarity of her grandmère’s home and the hard work that comes with the farm outside. More than that, she’s glad for the stable life they’ve set up for Maha and any other kids that may or may not come in the future.

“Maman,” Maha says again. Ze'ev’s put her on the kitchen stool and she’s dedicatedly eating an apple he’s sliced for her. “Can you tell me a story?”

Scarlet stands, taking the seat next to Maha. “A story?” she echoes caught off-guard by the sudden change of topic. “About what?”

Her daughter’s eyes seem to light up. “Magic,” she whispers, sounding both enthralled and fascinated all at once.

“Magic?” Scarlet questions.

“Mhmm. Like in fairytales.”

It’s strange how Maha and all her classmates love the idea of magic. Fairytales from the second era have become popular again and sometimes Maha insists on being told tales about Mermaids and Sorcerers.

Scarlet usually delegates Ze'ev the task of narrating there. Magic, to her at least, always comes with memories of bioelectricity and manipulation and she doesn’t yet think she can tell Maha stories in which the magic wielders have powers to create things that aren’t there - just like the Lunars.

Maha, of course, knows none of this and continues to stare at Scarlet in anticipation.

“I’ll tell you about a different kind of magic,” she says leaning forward. “The magic of cooking.”

Maha frowns, scrunching up her face and shaking her head. “That’s not magic, silly.”

But Scarlet smiles, pinching her daughter’s nose fondly. If there’s one type of story Maha loves more than any other, it’s the ones based of some reality - from Scarlet’s past, and maybe it’s okay to use that to her advantage right now.

“Your great-grandmère Michelle was an incredibly powerful wizard. She was known for her skill not just in the tiny town of Rieux but in all of France and before she died, she passed down her powers to her granddaughter.” She’s put on a faux accent for dramatic purposes, rushing at some parts and then pausing dramatically at others.

“Once, in a far off land there lived a knight called Iko. She was brave and one every battle she ever fought in, but, she was cursed for she could neither eat nor drink. Any other knight might have angry but Iko was kind and good too. She didn’t mind that she couldn’t eat. She just wanted to cook.

"So, the knight Iko went to a goblin who lived in a cave. His name was Thorne and he was ugly and lazy and very annoying.”

Maha giggles and Scarlet winks at her conspiringly.

“You see, Thorne was lazy and could definitely not cook but he happened to know of the Wizard Maman and he told Iko about her. There was one problem though, they could not just go and ask the Wizard to help them. They needed to make the Wizard’s favourite people convince her to cook.

"So, they went to the farmer Papa who the Wizard loved more than anything else in the world. Papa did not like this plan but the Goblin Thorne told him that the Wizard could give him tomatoes so Papa agreed.

"Next, they went to the Fairy Winter who was the Wizard’s closest friend. She really liked the idea of cooking together so she too agreed and, where the Fairy Winter goes, so does the Healer Jacin.”

“Maman, what’s a Healer?”

“Like a doctor. Anyway, now that the Goblin Thorne had convinced enough people they finally went to Wizard Maman’s house. She said no at first, but Farmer Papa and Fairy Winter reminder her how much she liked to cook So, eventually, Wizard Maman agreed to help them cook.

"They all sat down in a circle now, deciding what to make when the Wizard asked everyone where they would cook. Her house was tiny and the kitchen couldn’t fit so many people. It would become very crowded.

"Luckily, the Iko had an answer. She knew of a Prince with a very big kitchen and it would definitely fit all of them easily. So, now, they all went to Prince Kai’s house.”

“Maman?”

Scarlet stops. “Yes, dear?”

“Why is Maman Wizard not a witch?”

Scarlet shrugs. “Because she wants to be a Wizard.”

“But Maman - ”

“Now, Maha, do you want to tell the story or should I?”

Maha huffs, slouching slightly and staring at the ceiling. “You.”

“Now, where was I? Oh! So they all went to Prince Kai’s house and he said that he would allow everyone to use his kitchens only if Cinder the Dragon said yes.

"Everyone was suddenly very worried. Cinder Dragon was very big and scary and nobody wanted to convince her. But then, after lots of debating, the brave knight Iko said that she would go and, two hours later, she came back with Cinder the Dragon. She had said yes.”

Maha beams.

“Then everyone went down to the kitchens and after a lot of arguing we started to cook. The Goblin Thorne kept misbehaving so he had to sit in a corner and cut the vegetables but everyone else had lots of fun. Especially Knight Iko and Wizard Maman.”

She leans forward now, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Do you want to know a secret?”

Maha nods enthusiastically. “Everything tasted delicious.”

“Did Goblin Thorne get to eat?”

“Excuse me? Goblin Thorne?”

They both look up and Maha’s face immediately breaks into a smile. She slides off her stool and and jumps into Thorne’s arms. Literally. He lifts her up, making Maha squeal, and swings her around before placing Maha on the table. “Maman was telling me a story about Goblin Thorne and Knight Iko.”

“Was there a slug called Scarlet in it?”

Maha shakes her head. “But there was a Wizard called Maman.”

Thorne glares at Scarlet and then deftly lifts the girl so that she’s sitting on his shoulders.

“Well, it’s about time you heard about Scarlet Slug and Handsome Thorne. I’m sure it’s better than any story your Maman could tell you.”

Scarlet leaves them to it, picking up Maha’s now empty plate and dropping it in the sink.

Cress is outside and Winter will arrive soon with her two-year-old. And then Iko and Cinder and Kai and it’ll be all of them, again; One big happy family with a few minor additions.

[wizardingaesthetics]

Cresswell: Photograph

Written for TLC Shipweeks! Read more on Fanfiction.net - I’ve got a whole series of one-shots on the crew up there!

Where our eyes are never closing,

Hearts are never broken

And time’s forever frozen still

The click of the lock is as familiar as the sight that greets him the moment the door swings open. Thorne lets out a shaky breath, eyes wandering over the dusty floor and furniture.

It’s been years but he remembers his last days here as though they were yesterday - the tears spilt, the fear that had clenched his heart and, at the end of it, the sharp pain that is yet to leave him.

Thorne steps inside and a gust of wind follows, causing dried leaves to rush past him and shift the layer of dust ever so slightly. Thorne coughs, his nose irritated by the sudden disturbance and, in a moment, his mind is made.

She wouldn’t have wanted this. She’d have wanted flowers in the vase above the kitchen sink, spotless floors that wouldn’t have brought up her allergies. She’d have wanted fresh food in the pantry, with all the windows open and sunlight flooding into the house.

And hell, if not for himself, he’ll do it for her. For Cress.

He gives up in an hour. It’s bloody painful to stand where she stood, knowing that she’ll never be at his side again, and it’s easier to lie on the couch with the NetScreen flashing images about an event he doesn’t care about.

Thorne rolls over, arm tucked under his head and stares at the ceiling. The setting sun floods the room with shades of amber and gold and a quiet voice in his head reminds him that this had been her favourite time of day; When the world was calm and peaceful and still.

Thorne wakes up to the twittering of the birds and, for a moment, he’s hit by a sense of déjà vu. His mind convinces him that if he rolls over and peaks into the kitchen Cress will be standing by the stove, wearing one of his shirts, her blonde hair tangled and untied, waving about her small form as she moved around the kitchen.

He can picture her turning towards him, smiling broadly and rambling about a squirrel she saw running across the yard or the bird that keeps flying into the window - he opens his eyes, smiling to himself, and then freezes.

The kitchen is empty, the room silent and Thorne is most definitely alone.

He pushes himself off the couch, runs a hand through his hair, tugging at it roughly so that the sharp pain snaps him back to reality.

Fuck this.

Fuck it all.

He’s up in moments, grabbing a discarded shirt and roughly tugging it onto his head. His elbow hits the edge of a nearby chest of drawers and Thorne spins around, cursing in his head. His one hand still tangled in the sleeve of his shirt, his line of sight blocked. He doesn’t see the frame till his other hand hits it sending it to the ground.

The world stops

“No.” It’s a mere whisper, the first word he’s uttered in the last few days. Thorne groans, bending down and briskly brushing aside the shards of broken glass, not caring if they pierce his skin, and pulling out the thin photograph that lived within the frame.

Seeing her face is like being punched in the gut.

She’s smiling at the camera, head tilted to one side, lips parted revealing pearly white teeth. Her hair is just past her elbows, stray strands blowing against her face in the wind. Their arms are linked, his own smile goofy and cheerful.

They don’t know what the future holds for them. They don’t know that everything is going to go wrong.

Despite the familiar ache that tugs at his heart, Thorne stands up, lifting the next frame and wiping it clean with his sleeve.

She’s got her face buried in his arm here, her wide smile visible even from the side. It’s from their first holiday together - from Cress’ first time in the snow. She never got to go back. Never got to live it again.

The next is of all of them, from Scarlet’s wedding. Cress isn’t next to him this time, having chosen Iko’s company instead. She looks happy as ever, her eyes dancing with silent laughter, her legs bent awkwardly as she no doubt tries to stand on her toes and make up for her height.

There’s another one of Cress with a snowman, Cress with the girls, Cress hugging him, holding his hand, kissing him. Casual candids at the beach, a shy smile from before a gala.

A dry chuckle resonates in Thorne’s throat, sounding halfway between laughter and a sob.

If any of them deserved to live, it was her. His little Cress.

So Thorne changes his mind, again.

He moves in. Stocks up on food and remembers to always have fresh flowers in the vase.

In summer, Scarlet-junior comes to stay and he tells her stories of their adventures, the ones that Scarlet and Ze'ev would never share. In fall he visits the Commonwealth where an army of kids attack him either in bear hugs or wrestling matches (honestly, either way, he’s being attacked from all directions and ends up on the ground).

In winter Thorne visits Luna on some political business that Cinder insists he accompanies her for. And, in spring the crew meets at his place (her place) and they bring up old memories; They laugh and cry together, and save for her absence, it feels like old times - before the pile of kids and added responsibility arrived.

Everyone leaves eventually, till it’s just him and the thousand photographs again. It’s not the happily ever after Thorne imagined, not the fate Cress deserved, but he promises himself that even though she’s been gone for years he’ll keep her memory alive forever.

[elvencantation]

and now the lunar chronicles ladies in star wars garb!! because once again I am procrastinating... I rambled in the captions