Derek Stark was headed home from Varcity High School Football practice, ruminating on how it seemed everything went so well for the other guys on the team. Mark London and his playboy antics, Matt Gale and his good looks, and Isaiah Johnson and his status on the team... All the while Derek Stark was shouted at, ignored, and treated like a big fat joke. The blond senior was not gifted with the best of looks. His greasy blond hair was almost constantly smattered with sweat from working out and practice, his chubby, somewhat brutish face had copious jowls, and he had to wear glasses off the field.
His body as not much better - Coach had basically cajoled him into on more and more weight, even when that weight wasn't exactly all muscle. Now he was left to walk home while the others merrily banded together into a car and drove past him, cackling and chuckling at their good fortune. His height of six foot five only made him feel ungainly, and somewhat clumsy when he moved due to his 300 lbs body weight.
His clothes were at least good, and he was blessed with a great amount of strength from his bulking, but it wasn't like he could exactly take much delight in that. Not when he was given no goddamned respect. As he walked down the road, he thought about his last girlfriend breaking up with him due to the mess his personal life was in right now. She just couldn't keep going, it seemed. Not a week later, she was going out with Matt and necking with him in the middle of the hallway. Presumably laughing with Matt about him behind Derek's back.
He kicked a pebble off the road and watched it go down off the road on to a wooded area, where apparently the storm that had swept through town last week had knocked over some trees...and he saw something odd pinned underneath one of the trees. It looked...vaguely humanoid. His eyes widening, Derek quickly found himself darting down off the road to try and help whoever or whatever this was pinned under a tree.
He heard a raspy, groaning voice call out to him, "H-Help me, bless you, bless you, you're the only one so far to give me your time..."
Derek wielded his strength and pushed with all his might against the tree in trying to get it off of this "person", even though the voice sounded creepy and vaguely disturbing. The tree creaked and groaned with the force exerted on it, and rolled off of the "man". Derek looked over as what he thought was a person was freed.
Except it was definitely not any kind of human being he'd ever seen. A squat, small and compact body, but with extraordinarily long arms and legs, and a large head with very little neck present, its eyes bulging out of its skull, its nostrils flush to its head, and its mouth hanging open and long. Derek almost fell backwards from shock at how grotesque it looked. He thought HE had trouble, this thing fell off the ugly tree and hit every single branch on its way down...
And then it spoke again, "Oh bless your kind heart, young man. Few would help one such as I." A grating, raspy voice. Fitting it very well indeed.
"What..." Derek started, looking it over, "What are you?"
"I am a Svartalf...and I do not blame you for your wincing. Our kind has..." It spoke, cupping its chin, "...less glorious features than our elvish cousins. I can tell you might be inclined to...sympathize..."
"My looks are none of your business." Derek said, turning his head to the side, obviously offended. But he did see its point. Both of them had basically struck out.
The creature stepped around and looked at him at various angles, grinning in a rather uncanny way, "Oh, but I think it could be my business. You saved my life, good traveler. So I am bound by the customs of our people to offer you a gift. A boon. Name whatever you may desire, and I will give you that in great quantity."
Considering what Derek saw of this creature, how it looked, how it moved, he didn't question this for an instant. He was dealing with something beyond what he'd consider normal. It was doubtlessly capable of some kind of magic or something. How else would he explain its look, its walk? "And you can give me what I want like that..." He contemplated for a moment, and grinned, "Alright! I want to be hot. I want to be muscular, attractive, masculine and strong! I want to be the best looking!"
The Svartalf cupped its chin and seemed to smile an insidious little smile, "I see what you desire. And I will give you your due." It flourished its hand and produced a beaker full of bright blue liquid, "This is specially treated Electrium. Once emptied, it will automatically refill. Such is the depth of my debt to you. You, and whoever may drink this, will change and become whatever beautiful ideal they have in mind, more and more each time they partake."
Derek nodded excitedly, not only would this thing never run out, but he'd be able to finally achieve his goal! "I'll take it! Thank you, thank you so fucking much!!"
The Svartalf gave Derek the beaker of Electrium, and then gestured, creating a deep black fissure in the world behind himself, "No, thank you, Derek Stark. I do not believe we will ever meet again, but know that your wishes shall be granted however much they change." And with that, the Svartalf disappeared into that black fissure, which closed up behind it.
Derek looked down at the Electrium, and headed home quick as he could. By the time he got home, noting his mother was out and his father was asleep, his legs were tired and aching, and his hands were shaking with the excitement. Taking up the Electrium in one hand as he stood in front of the full length mirror in his room, Derek drank of it. He shook with the almost electric energy in the drink...
And when it was all down, he looked and saw the drink was full again, and he felt tingly, but still normal.
He sighed, figuring it wouldn't work instantly. He didn't even see as he sat down for bed that his creamy, pale skin was starting to tan already very slightly, or that his hair was losing its greasy look. As Derek figured he would see the result in the morning, he drifted off to sleep, still eager to see what would become of him.
In the morning, Derek would wake up to see...