#Holiday Spirit AU

[midnight-mourning]

Holiday spirit doodles/rough sketches to get the juices flowing, yes this is exactly how everything went in ch. 2 definitely mhm mhm

apologies to the non-fem readers I just wanted to draw a pretty dress, forgive me 😔

more closeups below the cut

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

PD-MDZS: The Hallmark Episode.

[echoes-of-courage]

I am so late for this and I ahhhhhhhh—at least it’s still 2024

Spirit Tracks and Wind Waker were both released in December, on the 7th and the 13th, respectively. Fitting, for such an iconic succession duo. Despite all their differences, Piper and Pirate are quite similar at their cores. Niko, for one, has certainly noticed.

Archive

[shiliria]

The mad queen👑 and the undead knight🥀 !

[agent-gin]

“James….Right, about that,” Joe said before jumping to hold steady Maria’s ladder, sending pile of letters falling over. Glancing up, his cheeks flushed being face to face with Maria’s behind and quickly looked away. Looking around, he wondered if any of Sora’s creatures has gotten away with it, or worse….Huck’s bunnies. How is it that there were so many of them.

“I would never doubt your ability, but throwing yourself into organizing the North Pole for the holidays isn’t the best way to cope with a divorce. Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it? It’s not like there are lawyers for ‘our kind’. And if religion has taught us anything, break ups are rather…..messy.”

“Is the music suppose to help sorting all these children’s letters to the North Pole?” Joe inquired tilting his head before attempting to try to save a falling pile of letters, “Are your little helpers on strike or something?”

[scarlett-ink]

Animatronic Crossing:

🎁The Gift🎄

Toy Day has arrived on the island of Superstar! But things aren't exactly as cheerful from you as you had expected.

Sun's here to fix that!

[bluu3berry]

(EARLY doodle for crustmus) I'll post one more art thingie on christmas (version of 'guh xD) REMEMBER!!! Asnwering asks 2day!!

I'm going to post my '2024' wrap after christmas :] and probably take a short little break afterwards to mess with more mediums of tradtional art (like painting, oil pastels, and color layering) Since i've been wanting to and i have another week off after christmas sooo ye !!! I hope you all have a merry christmas eve and chrustmas ! stay safe everyone <33

@anon-coke @scramble-eg @superbfirnacho @phishyyphish @the-second-reason @spookuzm

[veevil]

vee i’m doing someone mischievous

OMG thank you Legion this was An Experience to recieve these asks!! Are you...... going to eat him....

[anakinsgirlfriendreal]

Parts Of the Truth

masterlist

Chapter Eleven

Warnings: mature language, reader had a bit of a tumultuous childhood, reader is actually insane(not at all projecting). I wrote this chapter in light spirits to undo the wrong I did to you all the last time, I'm sorry😔. Also maybe some spelling errors (let's not talk about how I never ever proof read ever, just keep that to yourself)

Growing up you were always loved as a child, between your sister and yourself you weren't afraid to say that you were more favoured. You weren't rich at all but your mother always made sure you had everything you wanted. You'd say your life was perfect up until your father left. He had come home one night, drunk and heated, announcing that he was leaving your mother.

"I met someone else and I love her" he had said. You were young then, but the memory never left you. You remembered how torn up and shattered your mother was. You remembered how your sister lost her way after that, following friends and throwing her life away. How you'd sleep near your mom and listen to her soft crying. You also remembered she had told you to never be the woman to cause another woman such pain because 'you lose 'em how you get 'em.'

You recalled how some woman did to your family exactly what you did to Padme. You remembered how a few years later your mother had seen her in a grocery store, a little girl at her side and the ring your father took from your mother's finger and gave to her, nowhere in sight because he had done it again, he had found someone 'better' and she had lost him just how she got him.

In a way, you found it funny. The way history repeated itself was laughable, if you didn't laugh you'd for sure cry. You sat in the tub, back pressed to his chest as he kissed your shoulders, massaging your sides. You think back to the night he had told you he was leaving his wife. He was leaving her for you, or so he'd had you believe. The way he confessed his love for you and begged to be with you had you convinced even though you rejected him at the time you knew what you wanted. The way he had been focused on being nothing short of an excellent father to Darcy recently, had you believing that he was being honest. You'd convinced yourself- no lied to yourself that he only wanted you, a person simply couldn't make up the things he had told you. And yet as you contemplate the text on his phone you realized that you weren't special, mother of his child or not, you were another notch in his belt. A play thing that he would get tired of and trade for a newer model.

He nudges your shoulder, the water around you splashing slightly, "You okay? You spaced out on me."

You nodded, smiling as he washed the soap from your back.

You laid on your side, ears perked up as you listened to the faint sounds of his movement downstairs. He was making some quick snack, it was apparently a thing for men to get extremely hungry after sex. So once he'd helped you bathe and got you set and comfortable in bed he went to look after his own post-sex needs. As you laid there your mind was quieter than usual, focused on one train of thought instead of the fifty different tracks it normally ran. You couldn't believe your own stupidity, your mother always told you "No matter how many times a man says he will, he probably won't leave his wife and if he does, he'll eventually leave you too, you lose 'em how you get 'em."

You won't say you didn't expect this, subconsciously you probably did you just didn't expect it so soon. I mean literally minutes after you decide to be with him, now without the barriers of his marriage? Why did Padme have to be right.

His ringtone pierces the air and ceases when he answers, you creep closer to the bedroom door, opening it just enough so you can hear what he was saying.

"No she doesn't know" his voice is faint but you can make it out well.

"Kate, would you just trust that I know what I'm doing. I'll see you Friday. I love you too."

Your heart drops, jumping back into bed when you hear his footsteps ascend the stairs. Damn Kate, who is this Kate anyway, was he cheating on both you and Padme with Kate before, and now he's just cheating on you? Who the fuck is Kate?

You picked your own brain for answers, nobody at the company went by Kate that you knew, there were some Katherine's but they went by Kat you were pretty sure. He had no business associates nor business associates' wives who went by Kate, so who the hell is Kate? Where did she come from, and why was she ruining a relationship that you decided to properly commence an hour ago. You were so deep in thought now you hadn't even realized he was talking to you.

"Y/n? Seriously what's going on" he sat up, "Are you having second thoughts about this?"

Maybe, who's Kate?

"Look I know Friday's-"

Your brows furrow, Friday? As in 'our getaway' Friday?

"Did you say something about Friday?" You ask, lost.

He looked at you confused now, "Yes. Did you hear anything I just said?"

When he's met with silence he sighs, "what's the matter with you?"

"Why don't you ask Kate?" You roll over, turning your back to him.

"What?" He turns you over to face him again, and you just get out of bed.

"Did you forget? Should I jog your memory? 'Got Friday off, extra day for our getaway' winky face" you closed an eye and then scowled again.

"oh, I can explain that-"

"I'm sure you can, because you always have an explanation for everything. How do you keep up with your lies oh my God" you begin to rummage through your closet, putting on jeans, why you were preparing to leave your own house? You had no idea but you were too heated right now.

"Kate's my-"

You cut him off before he has time to lie again, "Your what? Your second side chick or is it third, I lost count since you sleep with half the fucking city! Oh don't tell me she has a kid for you too, you really just sow your royal oats anywhere, you bastard. You know Padme really dodged a bullet, cause you're such an ass. She's lucky she couldn't have kids because I can't believe that I have to know you FOREVER" your voice raised, you zipped your boots and pulled on your coat prepared to slam the door in his face but he stops you by holding you still.

"sister" he says.

"what?"

"Kate. She's my sister" he says again.

You feel so embarrassed, you had over thought yourself into pure insanity, it's official. You think for a moment, which you probably shouldn't be allowed to do ever again.

"You're lying. What sister texts her brother in that tone?"

"Tone? Texts have tones?" He laughs at you, "You're insane."

"I am not insane. Sisters don't text their brothers with that winky face emoji okay. That's what I text you when I send a pic of my lingerie or when we're gonna have sex later or something so I am not crazy. You're just a liar"

He sighs, he unlocks his phone, going into Kate's chat and handing it to you. You moved over to sit on the bed, scrolling as far back as you were able to.

"She's not my 'side chick' she's my sister" he says.

You scroll through the texts, your jaw hung slightly loose as you read through them. "Oh, someone really needs to teach this girl how to text, 'Dad's been riding her' winky face. Who even says that?"

He sits next you on the bed, "She's...odd."

You look at him, and you have to laugh at yourself, "Ani, I'm so sorry" you hugged him, "What's Friday?"

"Well, Thanksgiving's on Thursday but we're all working people, so everyone decided that we'd go up to my family's lake house for the weekend and celebrate then, and I thought it would be a good time for you to meet them."

You felt terrible, count on yourself to jump to conclusions.

"I thought since you and I were actually gonna do this thing for real, you know without me being married to someone else and all, it was time for you and Darcy to meet them. My mom's been going insane about having a grandchild and never meeting her" he continues.

"That's so sweet, well now I feel terrible. It's just, Padme said that if you cheated on her then you'll cheat on me too because it's a hard habit to break, and I just felt so stupid, when I saw that text I didn't think- I'm sorry."

He brushes stray hair from your face, "That marriage was a mistake. I told you that. Look I hate what I did to Padme...all those times but, she wasn't the one I wanted, you are. I remember when you first started working for me, and you sat in on one of my meetings. You were wearing slacks and a knitted sweater cause you said it went best with your shoes, and you called an engineer pretentious and asked if a kid drew his plan-"

"Oh Aaron, he fucking hates me" you chuckle.

"Yeah, he still asks if I'm gonna fire you soon. I remember because I knew in that moment, that you were who I wanted" he finished.

"what? You decided in that moment? When I wearing a sweater my mom made with her cat on it and slacks?" You laugh.

He nods, "I just knew. I knew everyday for a year until I asked you out and then you finally said yes" he takes your hand, "You're stubborn and headstrong, you jump to conclusions better than an Olympic athlete, you're dramatic and I want it all. You, your fifty personalities and our Darcy."

You shove his shoulder, trying to contain your blush, you were a grown woman and he had you blushing like a school girl. "It's actually fifty-one"

"But you know, uh given all the things you said earlier, I'm kinda having some doubts" he looks at you with a serious and unreadable expression.

Your face drops, until he breaks into a smile, "Maybe you can change my mind again if you get out of all these clothes" he gestures to your fully dressed figure. You totally forgot you were gonna storm out of your own place earlier just to make a point.

"Oh? Perhaps Mr. Skywalker would like a dance?" You stand pushing him back onto the bed.

"I'll make it rain baby" he kisses your lips.

Let's pretend he has living family members, because anything can happen in fanfiction!!😘

[thecrimsonvalley-creates]

~ Decorating the tree ~ Holiday scenes for mine and @nattravn-art's Rusty Lake characters. Tree decoration is very important: specially for someone like Murray who never had the luxury to celebrate the holidays when he was a child. And believe me, in our headcanon this is not the only tree in the Vanderboom house. There probably is a tree twice its size somewhere. Please do not ask exactly where or how Frank found it ;)

[goldenamaranthe-blog]

Santa Clause is Coming to Town: Single Mom Au

Disclaimer: Buckle up, y'all. This is a long one.

Kela: (steps into the house and kicks the snow off her boots)

Blake: Welcome home, sweetheart. (steps out from her office with a book in hand) How was school? Are you excited for holiday break?

Kela: (looks up at Blake with tears in her eyes and sniffles)

Blake: Oh, baby. (immediately tosses her book to the nearest surface that isn't the floor and rushes to Kela's side, kneeling down to look her in the eyes) Honey, what's wrong?

Kela: (wipes the tears from her eyes aggressively and hiccups) T-The kids at school... *sniff - hic* ...they said that Santa doesn't visit Faunus houses. He doesn't visit animals.... Is that true, Mama?

Blake: (blood boils as she pulls Kela in for a hug) Baby girl, absolutely not. You know Santa shows up every year.

Kela: (crying silently into Blake's shoulder) But we're living with Yang now. What if Santa realizes that this house has mostly Faunus? What if he only visited our apartment before because there were a lot of humans there that he didn't want to skip?

Blake: (mentally making a hitlist for children and contemplating if it's a horrible thing for adults to beat the shit out of students as she holds Kela tight and pets her hair)

Yang: (steps in from the garage, oil and grime cover her jeans and work shirt) There's my favorite ladies! (notices Kela crying) Little Fighter, what's wrong?

Blake: Some kids at school told Kela that Santa doesn't visit Faunus houses because they're animals.

Yang: (eyes flash red) Is that so? ......Excuse me. I think I hear my work phone going off in the garage. (steps out into the garage and the sound of a truck engine turning over fills the house before fading away)

Blake: (mentally) Yang, don't do anything stupid.

-A Few Days Later: Middle of the night, Christmas Eve-

Blake: (green, white, and red lights flash across her face through the cracked open door, pulling her groggily from slumber) What in Remnant? (notices Yang's empty side of the bed) Yang?

Thunk! .....Thunk! .....Thunk!

Blake: (follows the noise to the common room and gasps)

The living room has completely undergone a holiday explosion. The tree has more ornaments, garland and lights are strung in bows along the walls, candles and giant decorative candy canes frame the tree, three brand new stockings with Yang, Blake, and Kela written on them are hung up on a hastily constructed mantle, a fake snowman, and all sorts of glittering decorations are trickled around the room with a few extra presents set up underneath the tree. The presents gift tags read "to Blake" and "to Kela."

Yang: (wearing a Santa hat, white tank top, red trousers with a black belt and suspenders, a red Santa jacket is draped over the arm of the couch, and a pair of brand new work boots on her feet as she steps around the room carefully - leaving behind flour footprints with speckles of glitter on the hardwood floor as she slowly backtracks towards the mantle)

Blake: (mostly speechless and in awe) Yang, what is all this? Where have you been? I've had to tell Kela that you were on an important work project. (realizes she's supposed to be angry and props her hands on her hips) You better have a good explanation for why I had to lie to my daughter.

Yang: (beams a smile that's brighter than the sun reflecting on freshly fallen snow) Hey, babe! Sorry about just dipping out for a few days. After hearing Kela say that Santa wasn't going to show up, I had to make a trip to "Santa's Workshop" to pick up some extra decorations and make a chimney.

Blake: (anger fades) .....You did not go buy all these decorations and a fake fireplace just to make Kela feel better...

Yang: What do you think I am? Made of money? No! (finishes backtracking and slips out of her boots, tossing them in the garage, before going over to Blake in her stocking feet) I went to Patch to get some more decorations, hit up the shop to make this mantle and fireplace out of some plywood and concrete, and asked Weiss for a favor.

Blake: (blinks in disbelief) You asked Weiss for a favor?

Yang: (pulls a white envelope with Kela's name written in fancy calligraphy, red wax seal and glitter out of her back pocket) Couldn't write the letter from Santa myself. Kela would recognize my handwriting. (places the letter next to an empty plate and glass on the coffee table)

Blake: (tearing up) I don't know whether I want to slap you or kiss you right now.

Yang: Well (plucks the Santa hat off her head and places it on Blake's head) you could start with a kiss and decide whether or not to hit me after?

Blake: (adjusts the hat so her ears are more comfortable) Or I could give you a special present early~

Yang: (blushes excitedly) Lead the way, Ms. Clause!

[midnight-mourning]

He’s a Little Confused but He's Got the Holiday Spirit

Hello! As the title implies, it's time for this to become a fic, for those that don't know, I wrote a prompt response that's basically a christmas au of confused spirit (curtosey of @divinit3a) and it was so good that I decided to make a full fic for it. this post contains the basic info of the fic, some lovely designs brought to life by Pom and will include links to each chapter as it posts ^_^

There's also a little poll at the end to vote on the title if you'd like to participate~

The Plot:

You're a blacksmith/animatronic technican in a small, mountain village, known far and wide across the kingdom for it's holiday decorations and delight. So much so that the royal family themselves visit yearly to partake in the festivities.

However, due to some recent threats and strange has happenings, there's much more security this year, and among that security is two royal guards who seem keenly interested in keeping you from investigating too far into the matter. And you, they're also interested in you.

The Characters:

Y/N - You! With the same personality, motivations, and goals as Y/N from Confused Spirit, and with a similar job as well. You run a shop in town with a small team of smithies, tinkerers, and inventors at your side. (I don't have a design currently but imagine a the most androgynous blacksmith/medival peasent outfit ever <33)

Sun & Moon - The two guards that have been meddling in your affairs. Though, given they've been a surprising help with your siblings, you can't say much. Also with the same personalities, and characteristics as Confused Spirit. However, they're motivations and goals are different and do not reflect their CS counterparts. Meaning, anything discovered about these two does not apply to or justify any actions taken by them in CS. Designs below are by Pom who brought my vision to life <3333

The Shop Crew - the parts & infastructure team from CS! with an adjustment here or there :)

Melissa & Gabriel - Your siblings. Still adorable. And still a menace.

All others - You'll just have to see :) There is some overlap from CS, such as Abby as some already know, among many more

Where to read:

I'll be posting these to tumblr & ao3! Tumblr first/only (until I can think up a title) but then I'll also have it on ao3 for better reading bc these will be long chapters.

Speaking of, there will be seven chapters total, including the one I've already posted!

Timeline:

Honestly want to tell y'all i'll be sharing a chapter every day or so, but after the disaster that was me last week with feeling unwell and getting behind, I'll just say, she'll be posted completely hopefully before my break is over 😅

Title (and tagging):

While I admit it WOULD be funny to just name it Holiday Spirit, I'm gonna let y'all decide for sure. I'll leave the poll up for a week since I'm not in a rush to post to ao3 (and I unfortunately doubt I'll have it done in a week lmao) everything related to it though will be tagged with #HS! au and #Holiday spirit au as the au is called Holiday Spirit, this is just for fun pretty much

Chapter 1:

Chapter 2:

https://www.tumblr.com/midnight-mourning/771893744939270144/2-animatronics-dancing-oh-and-you-youre-there?source=share (this is an inline link bc it KEEPS SHOWING SPOILERS)

EDIT: messed up the poll, so sorry >_< if you already voted and it said 1 day pls vote again shkjdf

Tag list for the usuals (if you would like added, see this post for more info):

@scarletcowboy @beemyhuneybee @fishm0ther @deviouscrackers @elsajoyagent8

@luckyyyduckyyy @zenkaiankoku @jogimote @local-shrub @amarynthian-chronicles

@robinette-green @everlightreader @sinister-sincerely @starredeclipse @dangerva

@juukai @crystalmagpie447 @mothgutz236 @lizyxml

[gabi-trollastic]

Around the first day of 9 days before christmas, here are Snowbell, Midnight and Spirit talking and having fun with some decorations 😄🐭🐁🐤🧀🪱🤍🖤♥️🤶🏻🎅🏻🎄🎁🌈🎵🎇🎀🎉. I hope you like it and enjoy it 😊. Snowbell, Midnight and Spirit belongs to @happyqueenandgrumpydork .

[kate-m-art]

akskdk it's December and been wanting to do some holiday sketches so yeahhhh

Me and my friends Main 4 link ocs and their stories' leading ladies, Autumn and Maeve, Cillian and Niamh, and then a redraw of one from a few years ago with Legend and Maggie <3

[puhpandas]

Halloween Spirit

(1,770 words)

Evan learns that the spirit of Halloween comes with enjoying spending time with people you love during the season, and thats why he'd never felt anything of the sort with Michael and his father. 🍫🎃🕷

"Have you ever been to Spirit Halloween?" Gregory asks him someday when they're hanging out at his house. Evan looks up from one of Gregory's drawings he was coloring in and tilts his head.

"No." Evan replies after a moment. And hes never wanted to, either. Not only would getting there mean either his Father or Michael would have to take him, but he knows Michael gets all of the scary masks he terrifies Evan with there. Plus that there are animatronics with uncanny molds and bloody faces and long fingers and black cloaks that jump out and scream at you.

So hes never really had an urge to go. Hence why he's literally never been.

"Never?!" Gregory exclaims when he learns about it. He jumps up off of his bed, shaking his head. "Evan, going to Spirit Halloween is like... it's like a major life event. Its tradition. You go to Spirit Halloween every year during the season to get pumped for it."

"I've never heard of that." Evan replies. "I've just... never had a reason to go."

He purposefully leaves out all the reasons he never has wanted to go. He doesnt want to be a Debbie Downer.

"Well now you do." Gregory tells him. He grabs the sketchbook out of Evan's hands, setting it on his comforter and then yanking Evan off the bed with suprising strength. "I'm taking you to Spirit Halloween today. No take backs."

Evan yelps, and only narrowly avoids eating carpet. "I never even agreed in the first place." Evan points out. After he doesnt pull away, Gregory let's him go to slide his shoes on. "But... sure. I'll go with you."

"Yes!" Gregory pumps a fist, slipping a navy hoodie on. With a faint smile at Gregory's excitement, Evan stays how he is, already wearing a plenty warm wool sweater. All he has to do is pull his own converse on and they're out the door.

"How have you never been?" Gregory comments when they've set off, following the sidewalk. The trees have long since all turned reds and oranges and yellows, and they flutter in the pleasant breeze the Autumn season is producing. Pumpkins and skeletons and spiderwebs decorate every yard theyve passed, and store windows hold those jelly stick-on's. "Pretty much everyone has."

"Nobody's ever taken me." Evan replies, shrugging. "My family doesnt really decorate. Especially now that its just us."

Before, when his Mom and Elizabeth were still living with them, there would be the occasional decorating. Elizabeth would whine and push for something seasonal to celebrate and his parents would cave and buy some cheap decorations to sling up around the house. But that was years ago, when he was a much younger kid. Now, hes thirteen, and its just him, Michael, and their Father.

Evan dares to think Michael would actually like to have decorations up. It's just that he believes he's 'too cool' for things like that. He's always enjoyed Halloween, if not for access to extra scary masks then to run around town with his friends to spook other innocent children. Plus, the king size candy bars he always brings home have to mean something.

Evan's never really had a reason to like it when every time he'd dress up he'd be made fun of in some sort of way, and then actively targeted as soon as he'd step outside. Plus, everything Michael likes about Halloween, Evan dislikes.

But Evan dares to believe this year will be different. The reason being right next to him.

"God, your family is so boring." Gregory groans. "Nobody even took you like... when you were a kid years ago?"

"Nope."

"Ugh." Gregory makes a face, slinging an arm around Evan's shoulder. "Well thats why you dont like Halloween. Because your family has always sucked too bad to let you enjoy it."

Evan nods sagely, knowing its true. His family always makes Halloween what they do or dont do. And usually, Evan's never cared enough to wish for a better, more seasonal holiday. He's always been too worried about other things to be in any sort of joyful mood.

"Well, dont worry about it right now, alright?" Gregory tells him, shooting him a grin. "This year you'll get to experience real Halloween. We'll get you a costume and take you to see cool stuff, and you'll get to do stuff like carve pumpkins and bake cookies with us."

Evan's eyes widen at the influx of activities. He's only ever done maybe a couple of those throughout his whole life.

He looks at Gregory earnestly, brain already flashing with images of Evan laughing and smiling, flinging cookie batter at Gregory, costume shopping without the lingering paranoia, and digging his hands inside a pumpkins guts.

The promise of having fun with people he actually likes, who like him back is so overwhelming, he almost tears up.

He pushes it down, offering Gregory a wobbly smile. "That... that sounds fun."

"It always is!" Gregory boasts, and Evan is convinced he can see stars in his eyes. "Man, I wish Ness were here. I really want her to meet you. It would be so cool spending Halloween with both of you.

There goes another mention of the infamous older-sister-away-at-college. Evan's heard a few of those, but it's not what he focuses on in that moment.

Something about Gregory putting him on the same level as his biological sibling makes something warm and fluttery bloom in Evan's stomach.

"You'll get to introduce me someday." Is all Evan manages to get out, and he almost backtracks at the implication in his sentence that Gregory will be willing to stick by him that long. But Gregory just smiles, shakes his shoulders a bit, and goes "She'll love you."

Evan hides his smile in the collar of his sweater. If Gregory is so sure, Evan cant wait to meet her, too.

It's not long at all afterwards that they finally make it to the store. Evan thinks it looks very bare bones, compared to how Gregory was describing it, but Gregory just says not to judge a book by its cover.

Gregory was right. The inside is what counts.

Halloween decorations fill very inch, gravestones and spiderwebs and skeletons waiting to greet you. There are tons of different mini-sets around the store with animatronics, and despite how Evan stays as far away from the animatronics as possible, Gregory's excitement over them make him feel better about how creepy they are.

Evan's favorite section though has to be the costume wall.

It's just a shelf full of silly costumes stuffed in bags from floor to ceiling, and it stretches across almost the entire store.

"Ness and I used to spend hours here just making fun of the costumes." Gregory had said after bringing him to it. "Look at the model on this one."

Then he'd pointed at a dumb looking werewolf, and when Evan had burst out laughing, they'd kept going.

The daylight outside slowly fizzles out in the corner of Evan's vision, in the foreground. That gray, cloudy sky that comes with Autumn fading into a dark, deep blue. By the time its their turn to leave, Evan's cheeks hurt from smiling and his throat is dry from how much he had talked and laughed.

Before they go, Gregory insists on buying Evan a Halloween sweater, no matter how much he'd protested. It's another thing he insists is tradition.

When Gregory didnt budge, Evan caved and chose a really soft black one with and orange collar and a Jack-o-lantern in the middle. Gregory had chosen one for himself, then proceeded to get attached to one of the plastic inaccurate skeleton animals and buy it too. They'd named the little dog with bone ears and a bone nose Davey.

Evan never imagined that this is what the spirit of Halloween is like, but he feels it now more than he ever has. It reminds him of those Christmas movies he'd see on TV where the lesson would be that the true meaning of Christmas is spending time with your family.

As sad as it sounds, Evan never understood those. But he thinks he gets it now.

Because the contrast between last year and this year is so stark. It's not the fact that he went to a Halloween store. If he'd gone last year with Michael and his Father, he would have been miserable, because Michael would try to make him be. This year, he had fun looking at silly stuff with Gregory.

Its only now, when Gregory is handing cash over to the employee behind the counter, who'd just bagged their sweaters and Davey, that he realizes just how much Gregory is his best friend.

They only met in July, after all... but even that feels like a lifetime ago, despite how the school days went by so much quicker with a friend, no longer so awful.

Funny how Evan already feels closer with a boy hes known for a few months than he ever has with his brother and father.

"Can I sleep over?" Evan asks when they break through the doors of the store and the cool air of Autumn washes over his face. He breathes in the scent of fallen leaves and actually notices a difference, this time.

He's feeling bold, he realizes. Scenarios of how he could get in trouble for not asking flash in his mind, but he notices he doesnt really care in the moment.

Gregory, like how telepathic he feels sometimes, notices too. He grins, acknowledging the significance, and nods, bringing out his phone. "Let me call my Dad and we'll swing by your house to grab you a bag."

Evan nods, smiling himself. He plays with the plastic of the bag in-between his fingers, peeking at Davey through the gaps.

"When we get home, I'll make some popcorn and hot chocolate, and then you gotta watch this movie with me. I watch it every year for Halloween."

Evan nods repeatedly, smile already growing on his face. After today, hes sure itll be fun.

They sit on the curb, leaves floating through the breeze, and a light sprinkle starts just in time for Freddy to pull into the driveway.

They hop in the car and Evan watches the scenery outside, looking at people decorations and imagining how he'd carve his own pumpkin, or ice his own cookies.

He'd never cared before now. He'd never cared because he'd never been given the chance to. But now he does. And all he's thinking about is how much 'going home' with Gregory feels right.

ao3 link

bonus: this is Davey

[love-mabel]

a gravity falls christmas carol. stanford scrooge?