#I think I got possessed to draw this I literally never draw them happy. i saw that stupid mean gills clip and blacked out

[taiistired]

in no mood to find another ♡

[yan-lorkai]

For day 25 of the October series 2024 to do the dorm leaders (who have first years, preferably Riddle or Malleus) with a darling who says 'yeah I love your dorm leader' to their first years. Simply to screw with them, but the get hit with reality when the dorm leader decides to take that literally (because yes, they would take it as an acceptance of their twisted love) and bonus points if darling finds out because they got kidnapped by said dorm head

It was all supposed to be a joke, really. You had been teasing Ace and Deuce, watching them sputter and stutter when you casually said, "Yeah, I love your dorm leader."

"You're crazy!" Ace was indignant.

"His hair is so beautiful and it looks so soft," You smiled, letting out a shy giggle. "And his eyes are like two cute rubies. And his smug little face is cute too."

Their reactions had been priceless, wide-eyed and incredulous, exactly the kind of entertainment you’d hoped for, after enduring another boring class. You didn’t think much of it afterwards, going about your day as if it had never happened, without knowing who was listening to you with a smile on his lips.

His feelings... They were reciprocated!

Nothing could be better than this.

But then... the next morning, you found yourself in a place that definitely wasn’t your dorm room. Red velvet curtains, neatly arranged rose bouquets, and the unmistakable scent of tea in the air — it all felt eerily familiar. Panic began to creep in as you tried to make sense of it; your hands were tied behind your back.

But before you could process anything, the door creaked open, and in stepped Riddle, smiling in a way that sent chills down your spine.

"Good morning, my dear," he said, his tone sickeningly sweet, like sugar coating something bitter. "You don’t know how happy it made me to hear you confess your love to my dorm members."

His eyes glinted, the redness of his irises sharp and unyielding, as if daring you to take your words back. He heard it. You bit your cheek hard enough to draw blood, afraid to even move. "I’m honored, really. But you must understand that such declarations carry weight. I can’t just let you wander about anymore, can I? Lovers stay together, after all."

You felt your stomach drop as the realization hit. He had taken your teasing seriously, and now you were trapped, under his watchful, possessive gaze, unable to do anything but stare in disbelief.

Those cute ruby eyes were staring at you so lovingly, his soft, red hair shining bright against the light that entered through his window.

"Don’t worry," he continued, stepping closer, his gloved fingers brushing a strand of hair from your face. "I’ll make sure you’re well taken care of here, in Heartslabyul. After all, you said you love me, and I intend to make that love bloom... forever."

[thechocolatearmor]

OK OK OK OK OK people talk about sniper, or pyro, or medic being autistic right?

B u t

What if I told you all of them are?

Every single one.

Engineer? He's autistic. Soldier? Autistic. Frickin Spy?? Omgsh he's so autistic

So because my brain won't stop itching about this I'm going to write up a collection of all the evidence I have for why the TF2 mercenaries possess within their beings the big tism. By the time this is over y'all are going to be very sick of the word autism.

But IDC

So without further ado, let's go through each of these silly mercs one at a time:

Scout:

Alright, first up we got Scout. Scout I would consider to be AuDHD for multiple reasons

The ADHD is more obvious but like dude trust me he's autistic too

He's hyperactive, forgetful, gets distracted easily, kind of the basic stereotypical ADHD stuff you would notice immediately. He stims, he fidgets, he struggles in social situations, he's seen as over the top and a bit annoying, he talks a lot

Now a lot of these traits are things that are common for both autistics and adhders. But I wanna point out some things I notice about him that are autism specific

He has a special interest: It's Tom Jones. Honestly he probably has a special interest about baseball too

But I mean c'mon he's literally has a Tom Jones tattoo

You could argue this is just a hyperfixation but I bet it's been going on for a while

He also has "spikey" skills. Really good at stuff like drawing, dancing, sports, but he sucks at things like reading, math, etc

Mostly what makes me see him as autistic it's how he struggles in social situations. Bro doesn't know how to flirt unless he's got a bucket of chicken on hand

Soldier:

Honestly if anyone's autistic coded it's soldier

Special interest is all things American, especially if it relates to the military

Lots of autistic people wear certain items that remind them of something they like, usually disregarding things like how it looks or even whether or not it's comfortable. Soldier's helmet is way too big for him but he's almost always wearing it anyway

In meet the spy he does "hut hut hut" when he's doing down the stairs and it makes me so happy

He has no filter, he takes things really literally, he often sees suggestions as orders (teleporting bread anyone?)

Also when he says he's been doing nothing but teleport bread for 3 days it makes me think he must've been hyperfocused on that

I don't think he knows anything about volume control since he's yelling everything

What kind of neurotypical fights bears in Siberia while naked and covered in honey

He speaks his mind rather than beating around the bush

His helmet could also double as helping him avoid eye contact

Pyro:

Tell me they don't have aversion to like every texture besides their suit you can't

A lot of their animations are super stimmy

Pretty much nonspeaking

Has childish interests

Could also have schizophrenia? (I'm relatively uninformed about it tho so I might not be a good person to judge)

I bet half of their little mmph mmmph noises are audio stims

Special interest is fire

their stim is ARSON

Demo:

I headcanon him as AuDHD too

I mean tbf a lot of how he is is more related to alcoholism but shhh let me have this

But I mean he made friends with Soldier

Special interest in medieval weapons which would explain why he's crazy about swords?

Drinking could be an unhealthy coping mechanism/safe food

Probably also depressed with how he can never live up to his family's expectations

Infodumping about bombs in his introduction video

Honestly most of my "evidence" for him is just fanon but idc I like autistic Demoman

Heavy:

Whether or not him having a PhD in Russian literature is canon, some of his in game lines show him to be very poetic and thoughtful

The fact that he only has a few food items but always seems super happy to be eating them gives me safe food vibes

He sings and hums a lot, probably as a stim

He has the Resting Autism Face™

Special interest in his gun

A lot of his voice lines also just feel really stimmy to me, especially when he's doing the "YATATATATATA" thing

Not sure he has any volume control either

Seems to genuinely enjoy Medic's morbid stories, at least to a point

He really really really really really likes the song of the Volga boatmen in particular

He's the prettiest princess it's canon, you can't be a pretty princess without being autistic /j

He has a tiny bed for Sasha. HE HAS A TINY BED FOR SASHA

Heavy is often criticized as a class because guess gameplay is relatively simple and can become a little stale for a lot of people. Yet Heavy seems to have some of the most excited voice lines in the game. I feel like this emphasizes how much he thrives in routine, since he seemingly never gets bored of just doing his thing

Engie:

He has 11 phds

A lot of his voice lines also sound really stimmy to me. Either he's going YEEHAWW GIDDY UP or he's yelling DAMNIT DAGNABIT DANGIT DAGGIT NABBIT

Probably a lot of echolalia with that too

He humanizes his buildings and cares for them like a mother bird

Just listen to his genuinely heartbroken when his sentry gets taken down!

When playing Engie sometimes I find myself smacking stuff with my wrench even though I KNOW it's already level 3 and maxed and whatnot, or I KNOW I'm out of metal, just because I wanna hear the clang noise. So this point is just me projecting but I love the mental image of Engie giving his things a few extra whacks too

He sawed off his arm for his special interest

His whole monologue in meet the engineer is so autistic sounding to me

His dancing taunt also feels stimmy

He's always hunched over, implying irregular posture

He's a NERD—

Man of many talents including playing the guitar

Never takes those goggles off

How does he turn a stressful TF2 match into a (not so) relaxing tower defense game?

Medic:

I headcanon him as AuDHD too because he seems really scatterbrained and it feels like he's working on several things at once and always

He talks a LOT. definitely an infodumper

Either he's super stern or really giggly, there is no in between

He wears gloves in battle but not while doing surgery??? Does he just like organ textures??? Wacko

Special interest is obviously whatever the heck kinda of mad science he does

Here's a heavy medic headcanon I have: medic likes deep pressure hugs

Another special interest could be his birds

He's very spontaneous which makes me think AuDHD even more

Look how excited he gets when taking about the tumors in expiration date!

He got the organ stealing autism

Is it just me or does he fixate on baboon organs in particular???

Sniper:

I'm pretty sure all of you know why this man is autistic but I'm going to list some reasons here anyway

My main evidence tho are his Halloween voice lines: https://youtu.be/2WDljNAslys?si=JP25VOGGDWwwoCI7

Exhibit a, look how much he enjoys having an owl head

Exhibit b, lots of those voice lines make him sound really freakin' overstimulated

He probably wears the hat and shades for sensory reasons as well as because they look cool

Obviously the most socially reclusive of the mercs

I love his backstory where he learns he never felt like the other kids because he wasn't actually Australian, but what if he also didn't fit in with the other kids because he's autistic?

Also throwing rocks at people as a kid screams autism to me

No neurotypical would ever throw jars of his own piss at you either

I think he just wants to live in the woods somewhere and never come back to society and honestly that's based

I feel like he would be the type to bite his own arm when stressed (just like me fr 😭)

Extremely meticulous in following his own life rules (ie being professional and having standards, driving safely with the turn signal and everything)

Spy:

Ok just hear me out for this one

Smoking because stim reasons

He's literally and figuratively masking

He's very suave and probably really good with social things, but I feel like it looks like he's just practiced really hard, again MASKING

Who knows he might not even actually be French

Who collects photographic evidence for a ur mom joke

I see him as either being hypersensitive or hyper insensitive to pain depending on the day (his screams + "I do believe I'm on fire.")

Mad butterfly knife tricks as a stim? (Notice he couldn't help but fiddle with them even disguised as scout in meet the spy)

He sucks at dealing with relationships and that's one of the reasons he's a bad dad

He actually really cares about his team and you can see it especially in expiration date but he's not very good at expressing it

Do you think he wears the ski mask for sensory reasons too?

Probably has his suits tailored to not give him any sensory issues, which could be another reason he likes them so much

Believe me I could go on but I think this is enough to get my point across

THEY ARE ALL AUTISTIC >:00

[kazutora-kurokawa]

Hi, I missed you, I love you can back <3

I need obslove with baji, murder, blood, jealousy, yk

Yandere!Baji Headcanons

♡ NSFW, fem reader, naive!reader, gf!reader, reader is in denial, jealousy, murder, blood, arson, toxic relationship, rough biting, soft sex, unprotected sex, creampie, overstimulation ♡

note: you're a person of few words anon, but I think I got the jist of what you were aiming for lol 🩷 I hope you enjoy

note 2: I just wanna take a second to thank y'all because I just realized I hit 700 FOLLOWERS 😭🫠 Who? What? When? Where? How? Why? I don't know the answers but I'm done asking questions, just know that I love y'all so much 🩷😫

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Possessiveness/Marking His Territory

At first you just thought that Baji just liked biting you as a joke, now you wake up every morning covered in bite marks and it's obviously not a joke at all. You don't mind, it seems like it's just a habit of his, like his own little form of affection. But sometimes, you're left to wonder if it's a sign of something more when he bites down hard enough to draw blood, or when he bites down even harder when you tell him it hurts. Of course it couldn't be anything serious though, besides, as long as he's happy it should be fine.

The Things He'll Do For Love

He's fully prepared to kill someone for you, just say the word and it's done. He won't kill right away though, he'll watch the person he plans on killing and leave them cryptic warnings. Most people realize something's wrong when their belongings start having random burn marks and holes on them. Fortunately, he's only had to kill one person that got too close to you. The way the guy's hands ghosted your hips and the way he looked at you just disgusted Baji to no end. He really didn't have a choice but to get rid of the guy and that's exactly what he did. It's so much easier to clean up a murder when you just light the whole crime scene on fire. Of course he was still considerate of you, he sat right next to you and held you when you got the news. He sat next to you at the funeral too, grateful for the closed casket.

Intimate Moments

Baji was very...affectionate, that's how you'd like to describe him anyway. Sex with him was so different from how he'd normally act, it was like he did a whole 180. He was so soft with you, treating you like porcelain, like you were so weak you'd crumble under his rough touch. Of course he'd still bite, but he was much more gentle about it, lightly sinking his teeth into you like a wolf that was scared to break a lamb's neck. His grip was firm on your hips and the way he thrust into you had you seeing stars. He'd always fuck you raw, he liked to feel every inch of you gripping him. The look on your face, the little noises you made, the sound of your pussy squelching every time he rammed into you, everything had Baji on cloud nine. He could never get enough of you and if satisfying himself meant cumming in your pussy all night and overstimulating you, then so be it.

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Taglist

@arlerts-angel @i-literally-cant-with-this @trevengersprincess @giugiette @katkusuo @happy-trenchcoated-impala @drunkcheesecake @darkstarlight82 @reiners-milkbiddies

[dem-obscure-imagines]

The Way it Was Before

Bernard the Elf x Reader

Fandom: The Santa Clause

Summary: Something is VERY wrong this Christmas, and it seems you’re the only person in the world who remembers the way things were before. Well, almost the only person. It’s up to you and the Head Elf to save the day before Jack’s wish becomes irreversible.

Note: I was literally possessed by the spirit of Christmas to write this. I still don’t understand how I whipped this up so fast. Also I have a few ideas kicking around for a sequel, so let me know if that’s something you’re interested in! Additionally, I will be uploading this to Ao3, so if you see it on there too, don't worry hahaha

Warnings: Language, a lil violence as a treat (nothing major just literally a few punches lol), a lil angst but a very happy ending <3

Word Count: 14k

Reader is: Female, 23

Well, that was it, then. It was over. You couldn’t help but feel a little torn up about it. You just weren’t cut out for the job, or maybe you didn’t have the magic for it. Whatever the reason, Mother Nature had made it clear. You were not the Spring Enchantress, and this would be your last foray into the Magical Realm for a very long time, if you ever set foot in it again.

Mother Nature had to visit Santa at the North Pole. You weren’t sure why, she didn’t tell you what she was there to pick up, but she did give you some time on your own to explore the Workshop for the last time.

Wanting to get away from the wandering eyes, you found a secluded nook and sat down, resting your head in your hands. You loved the Pole. It was so intricate and beautiful and whimsical and you would never see it again. You’d never step foot in Mother Nature’s Grotto or the Summer Isles, or even Halloweentown.

It hit you all at once and the tears came flowing before you could stop them. You just hoped none of the elves were around to find you. You didn’t want to worry them when they were already so busy.

“(Y/N), right?” a voice asked, drawing your attention to the doorway where he was standing. Bernard, the Head Elf. Your eyes wandered over his shoulder to the sign on the door. Of course, your crying spot had to be directly outside his office. Figured.

“Right. Yeah. Sorry.” You wiped at the tears, trying to compose yourself. You motioned to the door. “I didn’t realize…”

He shook his head. “That’s alright. Is something wrong?”

“I didn’t mean to bother you. I’m sorry, I can—”

“No, you’re no bother at all. Come on in. My couch is a lot comfier than that bench there.” He motioned you forward and you hesitated, but got up and walked into his office, a large, cozy room with forest green walls, hardwood floors, a small fireplace, a cozy couch, and a desk facing it. There was a shelf of snow globes on one wall, a shelf of old leather books on another.

Bernard motioned to the couch and you took a seat while he perched himself on the edge of his desk. He plucked a tissue out of the box and handed it to you, empathy etched in his brown eyes.

“What’s going on?”

“It um…Mother Nature…” You spoke slowly, composing your words. “She said I’m not the Spring Enchantress like she thought. So um…I’m getting my memory wiped and heading back to the Mortal Realm. Tomorrow, I think.”

“Wiped? Like entirely?” Bernard said, horror in his voice.

“I mean, I’ll still know who I was before I started training under her, but…all of the magic stuff, all of this…” You shook your head. “I knew it was all too good to be true.”

“I am so sorry this is happening to you.” He shook his head. “It’s not fair.”

“Yeah…” You nodded, wiping your tears on the tissue he’d given you. “I’m just glad she brought me here one last time. It’s so beautiful here.”

Bernard smiled softly. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a small snow globe, waving a hand over it before handing it to you. “Even if you won’t remember this place…I’d like you to take a piece of it with you.”

You took a shaking breath, more tears flowing at his words, at the sincerity on his face, at the beautiful snow globe he’d given you. You stood to accept it and found yourself hugging him instead, seeking comfort from the most powerful elf in the Pole. His arms wrapped tight around you, comforting you at your most vulnerable.

“Thank you. So much. Even if I don’t remember it, I…I think I’ll still know. That it’s real. That all of this is.”

“Believing is Seeing.” Bernard said, meeting your eyes. “Someday, you’ll remember that.”

You hoped he was right…

THREE YEARS LATER

Leaving your Irish Folklore class, you were absolutely buzzing with ideas. It had been an amazing lesson. Your professor was very knowledgeable on all sorts of legends and fantasy creatures, where they’d come from, how stories about them had started. You, as a writer, were planning on using this knowledge to write an epic fantasy romance. You weren’t sure what exactly it would be about; you were still waiting for it to click, but you were sure it would eventually.

You walked to your favorite coffee shop, a little ways from your apartment, and grabbed a hot cocoa with extra whipped cream, your favorite around this time of year, sitting down with your work at your favorite table in the corner of the shop.

You took out your notebooks, comparing the notes you’d taken in class to the ones you had left over from…before. The inklings, few though they were, that had lingered in your mind, even after Mother Nature, yes, that Mother Nature, had supposedly wiped them all from existence. Granted, there wasn’t very much left from your time with her, just a few things: the Northern Lights dancing across the sky as you…as you…no, see, there it was. Nothing.

That was all that was left, pieces. And the snow globe on your shelf that you knew was more than just a snow globe, but you couldn’t remember why. Or who’d given it to you.

Sometimes you felt crazy, pushing against the walls of your memory, begging it for just one more detail, but that was how it had been for the last three years. You knew you weren’t making it up, that it was more than just fantasy, but you couldn’t tell anyone. Not even your therapist. The looks wouldn’t be worth it.

So you kept these things to yourself, jotting them down to get them out of your head. Or, rather, keeping them safe in case someday Mother Nature came to finish what she started, wiping it all away for good.

You worked on an outline for a short story for your creative writing class, but you didn’t feel all that confident in it. You sipped your cocoa some more, which had cooled to perfection, and opened an article you were supposed to read for your Folklore class. Something about elves. Festive, you thought with a chuckle. It was indeed the season for that, especially since that had been your last class before Christmas. A perfect send-off for the end of the semester.

Once you’d gotten a decent amount of work done, you packed up your stuff and headed back to your apartment, setting your bag in your room. You checked a few things off of your To Do List.

Gleaming on the shelf, your snow globe caught your eye. “Believing is Seeing.” You whispered to yourself, eyebrows knitting together when you did. It sounded familiar, but…you weren’t sure why. Or what it meant.

Down in the living room, your roommates were watching Christmas movies. In a few days, they’d both be headed home for the holidays and you’d be left on your own for a few weeks. You didn’t mind all that much. You did well on your own, in the quiet. You were kind of sad about spending the holidays alone, though.

Maybe you could find a community event to attend. A holiday party or something. Maybe your college would be doing something for the students who were staying. You hoped they’d let you attend even though you were a grad student.

On the TV, a cheesy Hallmark movie played out, the city girl deciding the small town she’d stumbled into was actually the perfect place for her and the handsome lumberjack that worked at the Christmas Tree Farm at the edge of town was actually her soulmate. You chuckled. You didn’t believe in soulmates. Not like that, at least.

“Hey, we’re going to a party tonight. Down at the Kappa House. You want to come?” Your roommate, Cindy, asked.

“Oh! Thank you. I’m alright, though. I’ll order some takeout or something.”

“Alright.” Megan, your other roommate, nodded. “How was your class?”

“Good! Yeah, I’ve just gotta finish this essay and then I’ll be good for the semester.”

“That’s good.” She grinned, sitting cross-legged on the couch.

You sat with the two of them until they got ready to leave, dressed in short red dresses, fishnets, and Santa hats. “Call me if you need a DD.”

“Oh we will.” They giggled, stumbling out the door, each armed with a bottle of cheap wine, leaving you on your own in the apartment. You did as you’d said and ordered some takeout, cranking out the rest of your paper and turning on some Christmas movies. Elf, Home Alone, all of the classics were on.

You felt something in the back of your mind, a little tingle. You froze, staring at the screen. You expected another little piece, a sliver, anything, but the feeling faded as quickly as it came. You sighed, setting your container of Lo Mein on the coffee table. Suddenly, you were tired. Maybe some sleep would help. So, after putting your things away and cleaning up after yourself, you changed into your pajamas and headed to bed.

You stared at the ceiling for a while, trying desperately to jog your memory for the little inkling that was about to emerge earlier, but to no avail. You shook your head and turned onto your side.

Believing is Seeing…

***

The next morning, you felt groggy and decidedly weird. You jotted down the dreams you remembered in your journal and went downstairs to get some breakfast to appease your growling stomach. You poured yourself a bowl of cereal with milk and plopped down in front of the TV, all but dropping it in your lap when you saw what was on the screen.

“Come on up to the North Pole, folks! Christmas Wonderland right at your fingertips! This year, we’re opening our Winter Wonderland Water Park, Hotel, and Resort! Pet the reindeer! Take a photo with an elf! And don’t forget to meet Santa!”

“What the Fuck.”

“Oh! See! I told you! We should go! They have a two for one on the Mistletoe Cruise!” Cindy grinned, hopping over the back of the couch. “Rewind it!”

You did as she said, pausing when the prices were on the screen. It just so happened to be when this so-called Santa was also on screen. Taking one look at him, you could tell something was wrong. His height, his voice, but most of all, his hair, which was frosted and spiked up. He may have been wearing the suit, but that was no Santa.

Chills ran up your arm at the sight of him. No, that was no Santa. That was Jack Frost.

It was coming back to you a little now.

“What…the North Pole…?” You murmured, confused.

“Obviously. What, did your parents never take you as a kid?” Megan asked. “We went all the time when I was growing up.”

“I can’t say they did, no…” You shook your head. No, this was bad. Something was very wrong here. Your stomach sank, veins on fire and chills unending.

You got changed at the speed of light and headed out to town, stopping in the book store next to your favorite coffee shop, where on the front rack was this new Santa’s memoir. It was titled, “Becoming Santa” and you doubted anything in it was anywhere near the truth.

You scooped up a copy of it as well as a book on the history of the Pole. There had to be something in there, some hint, some…someone you could contact. You checked out at the counter and headed next door to the coffee shop, spreading out your books and notes. You grabbed a cocoa with extra whipped cream and a shot of espresso. You knew you’d need the caffeine for whatever lied ahead.

You combed the books extensively, rolling your eyes every paragraph as you waded through Jack’s stuffy memoir. It was…impossible. You couldn’t believe this had all happened overnight. Unless there was magic involved. You cracked open the history of the Pole book, which had pictures, thankfully. You were able to look through and see if there was anyone you recognized. The longer you stared at the pictures, the more it confirmed your suspicions. You had been to the Pole before, but not in the capacity your roommates were discussing. It hadn’t been a theme park, a tacky tourist destination loaded to the brim with money-grabs. No, you had been there when it was a gorgeous, beautiful workshop, full of joy and love and…for lack of better word, Christmas cheer.

A single tear slipped down your cheek and you sat back in your chair, taking it all in. You remembered. Most of it, anyway. There were still bits and pieces that wouldn’t click into place just yet.

“This seat taken?” Someone asked.

You looked up, staring for a long moment as his features came into focus, his kind brown eyes, dark curls, a pointed ear sticking out from under his hat. He was the exact same as the last day you’d seen him, right down to the red tunic embroidered in golden symbols, the tassel necklace around his neck.

You gasped softly. “Bernard?”

Click.

His face split into a grin and a wave of relief swept over him as he all but collapsed into the seat across from you. “Thank the stars. I didn’t think you’d remember me.”

“How could I forget?” You asked, mostly to yourself. You had forgotten him. Well, until now. But it was all coming together. Something about seeing him made everything else, all those loose, scattered pieces, finally come together.

“So far, you’re the only one who remembers.”

“Remembers you?”

“No, remembers…the way things were yesterday.” He lowered his voice and you nodded, eyes wide.

“Okay cool, I’m not crazy. Always nice to know.” You sighed, closing the book and sliding it over to him. “I’ve been looking for…I don’t even know what, to be honest, but I knew it wasn’t right.”

“That’s…yeah.” He nodded, flipping through the book before closing it again.

“So what’s going on?”

“No idea. I was on my way out of the Pole when it hit, which is probably why I was spared. All of the elves…” He shook his head, arms crossed. “I don’t have any magic. I didn’t know where else to go.”

“Why me?” You asked softly, voice breaking at the edges. “How did you find me?”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on you since everything happened. I’m really sorry. What happened to you isn’t fair and I understand if you want to stay out of it, but I need your help. You’re the only person I have left.”

“I was on your team the second you sat down.” You told him, earning a tired smile. “So I did find…something. Um…Santa. Our Santa, I mean. When did he…?”

“He put on the coat in 1994.” Bernard replied with certainty.

“Okay that’s not good.” You opened Jack’s memoir to his origin story, in which he claimed to have become aware of his Santa Powers in the same year on the same night. “That never happened. Jack…he must have gone back in time and overwritten things.”

“How would he even have done something like that?” Bernard asked, taking the book from you and reading through the section you’d underlined.

“Father Time,” you mumbled. “Maybe he did something to Father Time.”

“Maybe.” Bernard nodded. “He’s in London. Big Ben. We can head there. But first, we need to find our Santa and pray that he remembers too. If not, our goose may already be cooked.”

***

Bernard ordered a drink for himself and the two of you left the shop, sticking a nice tip in the jar on the way out. You led Bernard to your apartment. Your roommates were still there, buzzing about their impending trip to the North Pole.

“I thought you guys were going home to see your families for the holidays.” You said, prying to see just how much they had changed in this new reality.

“Oh right, right, we were, but this deal is just too good to pass up, you know? My parents will understand. We’ll just celebrate…over spring break or something.”

“Yeah, yeah same. It’ll be fine, I’ll just mail them their presents.” Megan agreed, going right back to vacation planning with Cindy.

You gave Bernard a look that he returned before the two of you went up to your room. You pulled open your laptop and sat on the floor, Bernard looking around your room, eyes careful, admiring every detail until he found it, the snow globe he’d given you still sitting on the shelf.

He smiled softly, picking it up and giving it a shake before setting it back. “You still have it.”

“Of course I do. I’ve had it in all of my apartments. I don’t move anywhere without it.” You smiled and paused, thinking. “Did you…use your magic on it when you gave it to me? Maybe that’s what’s bringing my memory back.”

“No, I only used my magic to inscribe the plaque.” He explained, pointing to where the words were inscribed in curling cursive words, Believing is Seeing. “Something else is protecting your memory, even now.”

“Mother Nature?” You wondered quietly. Then again, if she wanted to protect your memories, why would she have wiped them in the first place? It didn’t make sense, so instead, you turned your attention to Google. “Alright, what’s Santa’s government name? As long as Jack didn’t kill him, we should be able to find him.”

“Scott. Scott Calvin.” Bernard replied, sitting on the carpet beside you, leg brushing against yours. “When we found him, he was living in Illinois. He might still be close to there now.”

“Scott Calvin…” You said quietly, typing his name in the search bar along with Illinois to attempt to narrow down the search results. It was common name, but hopefully not too common. You scrolled through hits from Facebook, showing Bernard the profile pictures to see if there was one he recognized. After all, you never saw Santa when he was still human, only as the Big Man himself.

“There! There, that’s him!” Bernard pointed to one of the Scotts. You clicked on his profile and started scrolling.

Marriage Status: Divorced

Employment: Frost Toys, Illinois

“Frost Toys.” You read, sounding deflated. “Even he’s working for Frost.”

“Can you get a phone number? His business phone maybe?”

“Can do.” You hopped onto his LinkedIn and found his contact, punching in the number and handing your phone to Bernard.

He waited while it rang, shaking his head when it booted him to voicemail. There was a long beep and Bernard said, exasperated, “Hey Scott, this is Bernard. If you remember me, remember anything, please call back. We’re going to fix all of this.”

He hung up and handed the phone back to you, looking disappointed.

“It’s okay. It’s gonna be fine.”

“Having trouble believing that at the moment.” He exhaled, frustrated. “This is bad.”

“On a scale of zero to plastic Santa…?”

He chuckled, mood lightening the tiniest bit. “You heard about that?”

“It was the talk of the meeting that month.” You laughed, remembering. Your smile faded when you remembered who else had been at that meeting. Maybe that was where Jack had gotten his messed up little idea of world domination.

“I’d take three of that guy before this.” Bernard shook his head. “What now?”

You thought before shrugging. “I guess we’re going to Illinois.”

“You’re serious? You’re coming with me to get Scott?”

“Or what, let you do this on your own? No way. Help me get some stuff together. I just put gas in my car so we should be good for a while.”

He smiled, getting to his feet and pulling you up after him. “Alright, what do you need?”

As quickly as you could, you gathered up the absolute basics: a pair of pajamas, an extra set of clothes, your toothbrush and toothpaste, your hairbrush, extra fuzzy socks, and a phone charger. Once the two of you were done, you stopped in the kitchen to load up on snacks and drinks for the long car ride, garnering looks from your roommates.

“Hey, who’s the guy?” Cindy asked, having missed him on his way in, apparently.

“I’m Bernard, a friend of (Y/N)’s. We have, uh, History together. History class, that is.” He offered his hand, but neither of them shook it, still too wrapped up in their phones and the cruise tickets they were busy booking.

“Ohhhh, right, I think I remember her mentioning you.” Megan nodded, agreeing. “You two going somewhere?”

“Illinois.”

“Why?” Cindy asked. “What’s in Illinois?”

“We’re going to see The Bean. I’ve heard it’s lovely this time of year.” You shrugged. “Probably cheaper than a North Pole trip, too.”

“The Bean…” Bernard chuckled, shaking his head as he shoved a box of Rice Krispy Treats in the snack bag along with some Hershey Kisses and a bag of Twizzlers.

“Okay, Mr. Sweet Tooth, pack some salty stuff for me,” you muttered, elbowing him.

“Heh, right. Sorry.” He smiled sheepishly, packing a few saltier options that would appeal to your human taste buds.

“We probably won’t be back by the time you two leave, so…lock up good, alright?” You asked, meeting each of their eyes.

You loved your roommates. You knew they weren’t usually like this, dropping literally everything for a vacation. It was something about this timeline. Christmas wasn’t…happy like it was supposed to be. It was a bitter, greedy thing that was pushing these girls, who loved their families very much, away from their loved ones during the holidays. It made you sick.

“You alright?” Bernard asked, noticing the moment you began to space out. The last thing he needed was to lose you, too.

“I’m good, yeah. Let’s go.”

***

Hauling your little suitcase and your bag full of snacks, the two of you walked out of the apartment to where you’d parked your car. Thankfully, it was still there, one of the things the new timeline seemed to have no effect on. You slid your suitcase onto the back seat and Bernard set the bag of snacks on the floor in front of the passenger seat.

You settled into the driver’s seat, turning on the car and adjusting the temperature and the mirrors. Bernard fiddled with the radio, looking for Christmas tunes and finding them, catching the end of White Christmas just in time for an announcement from the radio host.

“We’re playing your favorite Christmas Hits all day, 24/7. That was White Christmas by Michael Bublé, up next, Santa’s new hit single, Come Meet Santa.”

“You’re kidding me.” You groaned as an insufferable song started blaring from the speakers, Jack singing about his fancy new resort at the Pole.

“He’s got the reindeer in a petting zoo?” Bernard asked, disheartened as he listened to the lyrics.

“Oh my god…” You shook your head. “We’ve gotta find Scott.”

You connected your own Christmas playlist to the aux cord, doing away with Jack’s twisted idea of Christmas and set up navigation to the Frost Toys office building in Chicago. You figured even if it wasn’t exact, it would get you close enough to Scott by the time he called you back. Well, you hoped he would. Hope was kind of all the two of you had.

You drove out the front gates of your college campus and started heading towards the highway. “Let me know if you need a bathroom break or anything.”

“Alright.” Bernard nodded, still looking tense.

“Did you…try to call the Pole? I don’t know if there’s a special number for that or…?”

“I did. Customer Service put me on hold.”

You blinked. “Customer Service?”

“Yeah we didn’t have that department yesterday.” Bernard crossed his arms and leaned back against the seat, eyes squeezed shut in what you were sure was the immense stress of the situation. “Sounds like Curtis is in charge up there now, though. It’s like I never existed.”

“Oh.” You said, turning on your blinker to get in the faster lane. “I’m really sorry, Bernard.”

“Yeah, it’s…we’re gonna fix it.” He insisted, repeating your sentiment from earlier. “We have to.”

“We will.” You assured him.

He chuckled darkly. “This whole time, all I’ve been able to think about is how…this…what I’m going through now is what you’ve been going through for the past three years.”

“If it makes you feel better, I didn’t really know what I was missing out on until today.”

“How do you mean?”

“Something about you showing up jogged my memory. Before that, it was just little tiny bits and pieces. If it weren’t for your snow globe, I definitely would have thought I was losing my mind. I remembered Mother Nature and the…role she played in this, I guess, but I could not have told you what she looks like. All I’ve had is the idea of her.”

“And now?”

“Now I remember. Pretty much everything, I think. Santa, the Pole, you, all of it.”

“Well that’s good for us.” Bernard chuckled.

“And when it’s over, I’m sure she’ll just…wipe me all over again.”

“I will see to it myself that that does not happen.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe she ever did that to you to begin with. Lead you on like that just to drop you like nothing happened.”

“Yeah.” You shrugged, letting out a sigh. “I don’t know, I just…like I said to you that day in your office—I think, it’s still a little fuzzy—I always knew it was a little too good to be true. I always felt like I just…I was the puzzle piece that didn’t fit. That there was this big, beautiful, magical world out there, but I wasn’t meant to…be part of it, I guess.”

“I don’t think that’s true.” Bernard shook his head. “I’m 1600 years old and I’ve never met someone who doesn’t have a place. And having met you, I can guarantee you do belong. If Mother Nature can’t see that, then that’s her loss.”

You smiled softly. “Thanks.”

“You know, we can always use a hand in the ornament department.”

“I’d work anywhere you stuck me just to be able to hang out at the Pole again.”

“See, that’s the spirit.” He laughed.

The two of you drove for a handful of hours and you did decide to stop for gas, just to be safe. That, and you were really craving a gas station slushee. So, you filled the tank while Bernard grabbed the two of you some slushees for the rest of the drive down.

While he was standing there, there was a weird, floaty feeling about him. For a moment, his hands began to fade, sparkles taking their place, but as soon as you walked through the doors, the bell jingling above your head, the feeling went away and he exhaled a sigh of relief, feeling solid again.

“You alright?” You asked, voice hushed.

He squeezed his eyes shut, nodding before daring to meet your gaze. Never in his millennia and a half had he ever felt so weak.

“Bernard?”

“I’m fine!” He insisted, raising his voice slightly, but softening when he met your eyes again. “Sorry, I’m…fine.”

“Hang in there.” You whispered, standing closer to him. “I can’t lose you, too.”

He nodded, but didn’t say anything. The two of you went back out to the car, sipping your slushees and turning the Christmas music back on when it was interrupted suddenly by an incoming call.

You looked at Bernard and he reached over, putting the call on speaker. “Hello?”

“Bernard? Is that you?” Santa’s voice came out of the speakers and you sighed in relief.

“Santa? Oh thank the stars.” Bernard closed his eyes, a long breath working out of his lungs.

“What the hell is going on? Where are you?”

“We’re about an hour from Frost Toys. We did some research and found this, uh, new job of yours.”

“Don’t get me started.” He chuckled. “I’ll send my apartment address. Does this number work? Whose phone is this, I didn’t know you had a cell phone.”

“I don’t. It’s a long story, but I’m with a friend and we’re on the way.”

“Good. Well then, I’ll see you two soon. The sooner the better.” Scott sounded very relieved. He hung up and texted over your new destination, which was just a little ways further than the building you were already heading towards.

With new fervor, you pulled out of the gas station and got back on the highway, reaching Scott’s apartment with speeds even Bernard was impressed by. You pulled into the parking garage, got your little orange slip to put on the dash, and took the elevator into the building. Scott buzzed you upstairs and you met him outside the door of the snazzy, modern downtown apartment. At the very least, this timeline had given him a cushy job. He ushered the two of you inside.

“Bernard.” Scott greeted, hugging his Head Elf briefly before the two turned back to you. “I’ve never been so relieved to see you.”

“Likewise.” Bernard sighed.

“And you are…?”

“(Y/N). (Y/N) (L/N).” You introduced, offering your hand. “I don’t expect you to—”

“Oh! You were Mother Nature’s apprentice for a bit, weren’t you?” He asked, remembering.

“Yeah. That was me.” You nodded, deciding to spare him the gritty details. “I’m here to help save Christmas.”

“That might be easier said than done…”

“(Y/N) thinks Jack might have used time travel to do this. We were planning on going to see Father Time to see if any of this is something he can fix, or…or if Jack did something to him and that’s how he accomplished all of this.”

“It wasn’t Father Time.” Scott shook his head. “Jack tricked me with a wishing snow globe. Made me wish I had never been Santa and…took the coat for himself.”

“Oh.” Bernard murmured, nodding. “The Escape Clause. Well that would do it, then.”

“There’s gotta be some way to undo this.” Scott said. “It can’t just be over. This can’t be it. Carol…she doesn’t even know who I am.”

“Mrs. Claus?” You asked softly and he nodded solemnly.

You’d met her on a few occasions and she had always been so nice to you, relieved to have another human-ish woman at the Pole, as she said, which always earned a laugh from you. And now, she was a school principal again at a public school who didn’t believe in Christmas anymore. Even Mrs. Claus wasn’t safe from Jack’s trickery.

“Okay, so…we go to the Pole, then. Get…plane tickets, I guess. My roommates were planning their vacation there when we left, so if they can do it, I’m sure we can.”

“Definitely.” Scott nodded, searching for tickets on his phone.

“We go there, find that snow globe, and undo all of this, set it right, the way it’s supposed to be.” You said, determined.

“You think it’ll work?” Scott asked Bernard and he thought over it for a long time before nodding.

“It has to.”

***

Scott booked three tickets for the earliest flight in the morning, at five. You changed into pajamas so you could attempt to get some sleep, and Bernard put something on the TV. You emerged from Scott’s guest bedroom, face wiped clean of makeup, hair freshly brushed, and cute little penguins on your pajama pants. Bernard grinned.

“What?”

“Penguins?”

“I thought they were cute.” You defended, shrugging as you plopped down on the couch next to him.

“I never said they weren’t.” He shrugged, kicking his feet up on the coffee table.

“Hey, pizza sound good, you two?” Scott called from the kitchen.

“Sounds perfect.” You replied.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Bernard agreed, flipping channels until he found what he was looking for. Ah yes, the Christmas movies. Specifically, the stop-motion Rankin/Bass movies you’d watched during your childhood. Absolute classics.

You gasped, childlike wonder filling your features. “Oh, I love this one.”

“You like these movies?”

“I’ve seen just about all of them, I think. We always used to watch them when I was a kid. These were my childhood. I like them a lot more than the Hallmark movies my roommates are always watching.”

“Rightfully so.” Bernard agreed. “These guys just…got it.”

“Better than anyone else.” You sat criss-cross on the couch. “Riddle me this, Mr. Head Elf, is Rudolph real?”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, (Y/N), but no, he is not.”

“No! What? You’re lying!” You covered your face with your hands. “My life is a lie.”

“I wouldn’t lie about something like that.” He laughed. “Rudolph is not one of our reindeer. The rest all are, though. Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen.”

“Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen?” You asked.

Bernard smiled, proud. “Precisely.”

“Hey,” Scott held the phone away from his face for a second, covering the microphone with his hand, “pepperoni good? Thin crust?”

“Sounds good to me, Santa.” Bernard gave a thumbs-up. He could not, for the life of him, remember the last time he’d even had pizza.

“Yeah, I love thin crust.” You agreed.

“Great.” He nodded and walked back towards the kitchen again, finalizing the pizza order.

The commercial break hit with, of course, an ad for the North Pole Waterpark and Resort. There were clips of miserable elves playing games in the arcade, forced to work as lifeguards in the waterpark, facilitating the reindeer petting zoo.

You frowned, that familiar feeling of dread settling into your stomach again. This was awful.

“That’s Betty, there, in the green. Third in command. Second, now, I guess. She looks…”

“Miserable.” You finished.

“Yeah.” Bernard nodded. He let out a frustrated shout. “I can’t believe this is happening! Look at them! Look at what he’s done to the Pole!”

Bernard took a shaking breath and slumped back against the couch, his lack of magic hitting him once again and that floaty, sparkly feeling returning.

“Bernard?” You asked, voice rising in concern.

“It’s my magic. The magic of the Pole, of Christmas, everything. Elves are…well, we’re basically made of magic, so if we don’t fix this, and soon…” He shook his head, words trailing off into hopelessness.

“Take some of mine.” You said, quiet, but certain.

He stared at you for a long moment. “What?”

“Take some of my magic.” You told him, more confident this time.

“You still have magic?” He asked, eyebrows furrowing.

“And no idea how to use it, but you do. You need it more than I do right now.”

“O-okay.” He nodded, sitting up a little straighter.

You unfurled your legs, turning to face him. You turned his hands so they were in a receiving position and placed your palms on his, taking a deep breath and closing your eyes to focus yourself, tuning into the fragments of magic still inside of you and then pushing them towards him, through his hands, up his arms, into his chest.

He flinched a little at the feeling, the sharp, cold tingle, but his eyes widened when he saw it, your magic, flowing into him. It was iridescent, teal and purple and pink and blue, waves ebbing and flowing, its gentle glow lighting up your features in the dim room, your hair blowing around softly in the gentle breeze it created.

It looked like the Northern Lights.

He pulled away after a few long moments, stopping the flow. You opened your eyes to look at him.

“Do you feel better?” You asked, concern etched deep in your gaze, pulling at his heart strings in a way he hadn’t felt in centuries.

“A lot better. Thank you,” he said. “But save some for yourself. That might be what’s protecting your memories.”

“Right.” You nodded, thinking. “That makes sense.”

It was quiet, the murmur of the TV the only sound other than Scott in the kitchen, getting dishes out in anticipation of the pizzas arriving, their ceramic clattering against the fancy marble counters you’d spotted on your way in.

You looked at Bernard, really looked at him for the first time. You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t been crushing on him a little bit, back when you were acquaintances, when he was the knowledgeable, responsible, somewhat stern Head Elf with a heart of gold and you were Mother Nature’s apprentice, vying for a destiny you would not receive.

You remembered the way your heart would lurch when he peeked into the meetings you sat in on, with the rest of the Legendary Figures, and occasionally, the Guardians of the Seasons, if their presence was necessary.

One of the other elves, you were pretty sure her name was Abby, had given you a tour the first time you were there, she’d introduced you to him, and she’d also called to attention the way your cheeks went rosy the moment you walked away from him.

You wondered if he thought of you, if he had those memories too, tucked away someplace special, or if you were just another passerby in his long, long life. Sometimes you almost forgot he was hiding a thousand years behind that youthful face.

Sitting there, you weren’t sure if it was him who started leaning in or you, but it stopped as soon as Scott called for you from the other room, like a scratched record in the middle of a sweet, slow Christmas ballad, pulling you both back down to reality.

“Pizza.” You chuckled, standing up from the couch. Maybe it was the lighting, but you swore Bernard’s cheeks were rosier than they had been before.

“Right. Pizza.”

The two of you walked out to the kitchen together and sat on the barstools pulled up to the counter, grabbing slices of the thin-crust pepperoni.

“So, I booked the North Pole tickets. I also booked us tickets from there to London…Just in case.”

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.” Bernard chuckled.

“Hey, you look better.” Scott noted.

“I’m feeling a lot better, too.” Bernard motioned to you. “(Y/N) here still has a few tricks up her sleeve.”

“Good. We’re gonna need all the magic we can get.”

***

You didn’t get very much sleep before your alarm went off. It had been about what you were expecting. You never slept well when you were stressed.

You did, however, have a dream.

You were sitting in a meeting with Mother Nature and the Guardians, the two of them that were left after the Spring Enchantress’ retirement. Of course, you were training up to fill the position, so it wouldn’t remain empty for long.

Mother Nature led the meeting, held in the giant tree at the center of her Grotto, glancing at her watch every few minutes until finally, he showed up. Jack Frost. Even then, chills ran up your spine, though, at the time, you were convinced it was a side effect of his existence in general.

“Sorry I’m late, ladies. Had quite the hold up in Toronto.” He shrugged, sliding into the fifth seat at the round table, a snowflake embedded in the crystalline mosaic on the table’s surface. “What are we talking about?”

“You, actually.” Mother Nature stated, sitting up straighter. “We were wondering how the search for the Aurora was going, since you’ve elected to take on the task yourself.”

“Ah, yes, well, it’s certainly not easy. Winter Guardians don’t just fall from the sky, you know. But I’ve searched all of the places she used to pop up. Hence my overlay in Canada.” Jack shrugged. “And besides, it’s been five centuries since we’ve had one, I think we’re doing just fine without her.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” The Autumn Witch, a gorgeous young woman named Amber Sanderson, interjected, meeting him with her sharp gaze. Her long, curly orange hair was as beautiful as the autumn leaves, brown skin smooth and ageless, even after her thirty or so years on the council. She didn’t look a day over twenty-five.

“Then what would you say, Ms. Sanderson?” Jack countered, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. “If you have a problem with the way I’m running things, I’d prefer if you were forward about it.”

“We have been.” Evangeline Cho agreed, the Summer Sorceress. As her season had just started, she was glowing even more brilliantly than she usually did. “Every year, winter creeps further and further into autumn and spring. And it seems you haven’t done anything to stop it.”

“What, I can’t control that! I’m getting more powerful! It’s merely a side effect.”

“Which is precisely why we need someone on this council who can control their abilities. Such as an Aurora, which you were tasked with finding nearly a century ago, Frost.” Mother Nature stated, her voice cool and even. “If you’d like one of us to find her instead—”

“Oh no, no, that won’t be necessary. I promise you, by next winter, we will have an Aurora again and I’ll go back to managing snow days and frosting window panes.” He drew an X over his heart. “Cross my heart.”

“Excellent.” Mother Nature nodded. “Meeting adjourned.”

You blinked awake in time with Mother Nature’s gavel, staring at the ceiling of Scott’s guest room. That wasn’t a dream. You were certain. It was a memory. You’d have to tell the others.

***

Once your alarm went off, you got dressed and met Scott and Bernard in the entryway of the apartment. Bernard, who hadn’t changed his clothes, had one pointed ear sticking out the brim of his hat, a dead giveaway if there ever was one. You rummaged through your carry on and produced a knitted hat you’d made a few years back, motioning to his ear.

“Oh. Right. Thanks.” He nodded, swapping his usual headwear for the hat you gave him, slipping it on with ease. “Where’d you get this?”

“I made it. I knit.”

He chuckled, checking his reflection to make sure he was covered well. “Well aren’t you just full of surprises?”

“As we’re both learning.”

Scott drove the three of you to the airport and you arrived early, hoping your plane would be a little ahead of schedule, but when you found it was actually delayed an hour, it gave you time to grab drinks at the coffee shop.

“Hot cocoa, shot of espresso, extra whipped cream, please.” You ordered, Bernard just behind you.

“I’ll have the same, but make it a double shot.”

“Coming right up,” the barista nodded, setting to work.

Outside, the sun was just beginning to rise, filling the sky with orange and pink, sunlight glistening on the icicles hanging from the windows. You smiled, appreciating the quiet moment despite the dread looming overhead.

Once your drinks were ready, you joined Scott on a chair near the windows.

“So um, I had a dream last night. I think it was a memory from before.” You said, not sure how else to bring it up.

“What was it about?” Scott asked, curious.

“I was at a meeting with Mother Nature and the Guardians. Jack was there, sitting in for…the Aurora, I guess.”

“The Winter Aurora.” Bernard replied, nodding.

“What is that?” Scott asked, unfamiliar with the term.

“Well, there’s a Guardian for each season, often a woman, gifted with the powers of that specific time of year. They work with their Legendary Figures to oversee the flow of time and ensure everything is on schedule. The Spring Enchantress, the Summer Sorceress, the Autumn Witch, and the Winter Aurora.” Bernard explained. “We haven’t had an Aurora at the Pole in 500 years…”

“Well that would explain why I’ve never heard of her.” Scott nodded, thinking. “So Jack took her job?”

“Yeah, they were talking about his…powers increasing, I’m assuming because he was getting buffed by her powers in addition to his. And how winter is creeping into autumn and spring because of it.”

“That’s not good.” Bernard shook his head. “The seasons have to be balanced. Jack’s hunger for power is messing up the eco system.”

“Mother Nature said he was supposed to be looking for her, and I don’t know…maybe he just…wasn’t looking.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me.” Bernard took a long sip of his cocoa. “I’ll add that to the top of my list as soon as we get everything else back to normal.”

As soon as you finished your drinks, the plane started boarding, so you followed after Scott and onto the plane. Through the windows in the walkway, you could see the plane, giant, winter blue, and emblazoned with a giant picture of Jack Frost’s Santa impression, giving a thumbs-up.

“I’m gonna puke.” You rolled your eyes.

“Ditto.”

The three of you boarded and settled into your seats, all in a row. Scott had brought his laptop along to do some research on the flight. He figured it was better to go in with something of a plan than be blindsided by whatever you found on the other side. You had a feeling the Pole would look a lot different than last you’d seen it.

You settled into the window seat and got as comfortable as you could. For a supposedly luxury flight, the seats were surprisingly stiff. Knowing Jack, you should have expected him to cut corners, even in his power fantasy brought to life.

“How are you feeling about all of this?” Bernard asked, voice soft.

“As well as I can, I guess.” You shrugged. “I’m glad I’m not doing this alone.”

He nodded, eyes meeting yours, soft and serious. “I am, too.”

A lady in a flowery dress walked past, her perfume so strong, you caught a whiff of it from the window seat, its floral scent immediately tickling your nose. You tried your best to suppress the sneeze, but to no avail. You sneezed two times, waiting for a third, but it never came.

“Jeez.” You shook your head, reaching for the Benedryl in your bag.

“What’s that for?”

“My allergies. That lady’s perfume was pretty strong.” You chuckled.

“You have allergies?” Bernard asked, eyes narrowing. “Spring allergies.”

“…Yeah?”

“You have spring allergies and Mother Nature thought you were the new Spring Enchantress?” Bernard asked, looking skeptical. He knew Mother Nature. She was an intelligent, almost all-knowing being. He knew she wouldn’t make a mistake that obvious.

“That part never made sense to me either.” You shrugged.

“She thought you were a Spring, but…you’re obviously more of a Winter. I might be a bit biased, though.” He smirked.

Your heart raced when he said it, the realization hitting you that he was flirting. You were getting hit on by Santa’s Head Elf. That was something not everyone could say.

“I mean, I was born in December. The 21st.”

Suddenly, his flirting demeanor was gone, replaced instead by a look of realization, like you had just given him the last piece of the puzzle he’d been trying to solve since the day you left the Pole. “The Winter Solstice…”

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Let me see that, Santa.” Bernard took the laptop from Scott’s lap desk, clumsily navigating with the mousepad and punching something into the search bar. “Where was it your parents are from, (Y/N)?”

“I grew up in South Carolina. We were supposed to live in Michigan, but Dad got a job opportunity at the last minute, so we moved right after I was born.”

“Whereabouts?”

“Traverse City.”

“Hmm…” Bernard clicked through articles a bit before finding a story that made your heart race. “Is…Is this the house?”

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s…Oh my god.” You covered your mouth, reading through the article. Three months after your family had moved out, there had been a freak snow storm that took out half the houses in the neighborhood. And your house had been hit the worst, the roof over what would have been your nursery was caved in completely.

“Jack hasn’t been not looking for the Aurora. He’s been killing her every time she’s popped up.” Bernard concluded, a horrified look on his face.

“Wait. So you’re saying…” You swallowed the lump in your throat. “I’m…”

“Mother Nature appointed you Spring Enchantress to throw him off of your scent.” He said. “That has to be it. It’s the only explanation.”

“Are you sure?” You asked, fingers shaking as you wiped your sweaty palms on your pants. “I…I mean, wouldn’t I know? I’m not…special. Not like that…”

“Are you kidding me?” Bernard asked, incredulous. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. (Y/N), I’ve seen your magic. It’s the only think keeping me alive right now. It…” He reached for your hand, positioning your palm so it was facing upwards and as soon as he did, a wave of stunning Northern Lights glowed between your fingers. “Do you see that? I’ve seen Aurora magic. This is that. I can’t believe I didn’t figure it out sooner…”

“Woah.” Scott muttered, eyes falling on the scene unfolding between the two of you.

You curled your fingers, pulling the magic back into yourself and extinguishing the light. You sat with it for a moment and met Bernard’s gaze. “He tried to kill me.” You murmured, tears brimming in your eyes. “He tried to kill me for…for power? For a title?”

“We’re not going to let him get away with it.” Scott stated, fire in his gaze. “We’re not going to let him get away with any of it.”

You felt a tingling on your head and watched as white trickled from your scalp down to the ends of the piece of hair at the front of your face. Your heart raced and you touched the hair with shaking fingers.

It was real now. You were the Winter Aurora. And you had a feeling the closer you got to the Pole, the more evident that would become…

***

By the time the plane landed, the three of you were settled on a plan. Scott, Jack’s biggest priority, would cause a distraction, buying time for you two. Bernard would find the elves and try to snap them out of it. You, as the only one Jack wouldn’t fully recognize, would go find the snow globe and get it to Scott so he could undo his wish and fix everything.

Was it a perfect plan? No. But it was all you had, so it would have to be enough.

You walked off of the plane together, hoping the streak of white in your hair wouldn’t draw too much attention. Once you were inside the gates, the three of you huddled, finalizing your plan.

“You’re going to be fine on your own? Do you know how to get to the snow globe room?” Scott checked.

“I’m…being here…yeah, I’m definitely gonna be able to find it.” You nodded, still completely blown away by the powerful waves of magic, hitting you all at once for the first time. “It’s all coming back to me.”

Bernard grinned, hopeful. “Good. Good luck.”

“You too. Stay safe. I…I really don’t trust him. What he’s capable of…” You said warily.

The Head Elf shook his head, confident. “Is nothing compared to what you are.”

“Let’s save Christmas.” Scott announced.

The three of you split off. You watched as Bernard and Scott walked away together, Scott playfully nudging Bernard. About what, you couldn’t be certain, but you had a pretty good feeling it had something to do with you.

Cheeks flushed for more reason than one, you took off, following the swirling feeling around your heart, dodging past security elves with a stealth and speed you didn’t know you possessed. It was like muscle memory, suppressed very deep in the core of your being. A power you had never tapped into, but one that was quick to embrace you. You felt it in your soul, the Pole wanted you there, and it was very glad you’d returned.

Following the instructions Scott and Bernard had given you, you walked briskly down the corridors, slinking past bakery elves on their way to one of the many tourist eating spots. The workshop itself sat big and empty, barely an elf in sight. The few that were there looked tired, sad, working on tacky Santa Claus bobble heads and cheap gift shop pens. It broke your heart.

Distant voices echoed against the cavernous halls. In your mind, you heard echoes, too. Laughter and love and light, elves building toys, creating things together, working to make the kids of the world happy, no matter what it took. The workshop had been wrapped in pine trim and string lights, warm and bright.

Now, it sat dark and empty.

You wiped a tear from your cheek and continued down the hall, to where the entrance to the Hall of Snowglobes was. And at its entrance, was Betty, who stared at you for a long moment as though trying to place where she recognized you from, but quickly shook it off.

“You can’t be back here. No visitors allowed. I can escort you back to the main area, though.” She offered, smiling.

“Your name is Betty, right?”

She hesitated. “How did you…? Nevermind that, you’re still not allowed back here.”

“I have to be back here.” You told her. “It’s important. The fate of Christmas depends on it.”

“Well, the fate of Christmas depends on me doing my job, so if you’ll follow me this way.”

“I can’t do that, Betty.” You shook your head. “And I know you don’t want to either. Don’t you see that all of this is wrong? That what Jack’s done to the Pole, the capitalism, the resort, the gift shops, the reindeer in the petting zoo, this is not what Christmas is supposed to be. You know that. I know you know that.”

Betty’s features saddened and for a moment, you thought you’d won her over until she reached for a walkie talkie. “Security, we’ve got a tourist that needs to be removed from the Workshop.”

“Great.” You huffed, summoning your power to your hand, just as Bernard had shown you. But instead of sending a blast of energy at her, you let it slowly waft over, rainbow colors and dancing lights slowly enveloping her. As the magic hit her face, she blinked through it, eyes awash in the pinks and teals and purples. Yet another streak of white flowed through your hair.

She dropped to her knees and stared up at you, tears in her eyes as it all came flooding back. Her voice fell to a whisper. “You’re our Aurora.”

“I am.” You nodded, feeling confident in your title for the first time. “And I need your help. We don’t have much time.”

“Bernard, he’s gone! He—”

“He came here with me. We have to hurry. We need that snow globe.” You told her and she nodded.

You helped Betty to her feet and she ushered you into the Hall of Snowglobes, carefully plucking the little glass orb that had started all of this off of its pedestal and handing it to you. You held it with careful hands, admiring it. It was beautiful, if not absolutely dangerous.

“We’ve gotta get this to Santa.” You told her.

She nodded, following you out of the Workshop and into the bustling center of town, an absolute sensory overload if there ever was one. Tourists packed the streets, vendors were shouting over the noise, and above it all, speakers were blaring Jack’s Christmas Album, each new song worst than the one before it.

There was a massive stage, covered in fake ice and bright lights, and on said stage, was him, Jack Frost in all of his faux Santa glory, his red suit iced at the ends, hair spiked and ridiculous, like icicles. Behind him, was a row of toy soldiers and in their grasp was none other than Bernard, eyes wide in fear as Jack manifested a blast of snow in his hand.

“(Y/N)!” Scott shouted over the crowd, waving wildly to get your attention.

“Get this to Scott.” You handed the snow globe to Betty, urgency in your voice and your eyes. “I’ve gotta get Bernard.”

“On it.” She took the globe from you and weaved through the crowd expertly. You ran towards the stage as though everything was moving in slow motion.

“This guy isn’t Santa! He’s trying to ruin Christmas!” Bernard shouted, voice cracking as he did.

Jack laughed loudly, and the crowd assembled did the same. “Do you hear him? I am Santa! Without me, there would be no Christmas! What gives you the right to say any of this?”

“I’m the Head Elf!” Bernard insisted, struggling against the toy soldiers. “I’ve seen a thousand Christmases and dozens of Santas! You are nothing compared to any of them!”

“Alright, tough guy, you think I’m not Santa? How about I show you what a real Santa is capable of?” Jack threatened, ice in his voice. He raised his hand to freeze Bernard and you dove onto the stage, tackling Jack to the ground, earning a loud gasp and several concerned voices from the crowd.

“Don’t you dare touch him, you fucking narcissistic popsicle!” You shouted, getting a good punch in before retreating to Bernard’s side, kicking the toy soldier behind him and pulling apart the large ribbon bow binding his wrists. Parents covered their children’s ears, shielding them from the harsh language. Some of the crowd cleared out, retreating to a safer distance, while others pulled out their phones, desperate to go viral on YouTube.

“Come on.” You grabbed Bernard’s hand and he squeezed yours, following you off of the stage and through the crowd to where Scott stood with the snow globe. He shook it and made a wish, but nothing happened.

“What?” Scott asked, trying again. “It won’t work.”

“It’s the Escape Clause.” Bernard closed his eyes, remembering the rules. “Jack made this wish. He’s…he’s Santa now; he’s the only one who can undo this.”

“Oh my god.” A wave of dread flowed over you.

“And those, my dears, are the words I will never utter.” Jack said, dusting himself off and sauntering over to the four of you, his security not far behind, ready to apprehend all of you. “It was a nice try, though. Really valiant effort, all four of you. Scott, Bernard, Betty…and you. I can’t say I recognize you.”

“Maybe if you had half a braincell, you would.”

He scoffed, offended. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. They’ll figure that much out when they get you to jail, I suppose.” He shrugged and the security officers seized the four of you, taking the snow globe and giving it back to Jack. He tossed it in the air cockily a few times before chuckling. “You know, I don’t need this thing. I’m never going to wish all of this away.”

Frost tendrils crept up the glass dome and in a great burst of light, it shattered. You gasped, feeling the magic settle. This was it. This was reality now. There was no way to undo it.

“O-oh.” Bernard took a stuttered breath, faltering. He collapsed to the ground and you pushed away from security, rushing to his side and collecting him in your arms.

“Bernard?”

He shook his head. You raised a hand to give him more of your magic, but he lowered it with his own. “You have to finish this, Aurora.” He said, eyes serious, glimmering despite the pain you could tell he was in. “You’re the only one who can.”

He leaned forward, a hand brushing the hair away from your face, capturing your lips with his own, his kiss soft and tender, tasting faintly of peppermint, and then he disappeared in a burst of sparkles, his silver and gold magic drifting forward into your chest.

You gasped, tears rolling down your cheeks, arms empty and heart emptier. “No! NO! What did you do to him?” You turned, facing Jack.

“The only thing I could. Protecting Christmas from the likes of you.” He shrugged. “What was it he called you? Autumn? Is that your name? Autumn?”

“No.” You told him, rising to your feet, pure magic lifting you from the ground and setting you on your feet.

His eyes widened and he took a step back.

“I’m the Aurora.” You rose into the air, teals and purples and pinks swirling around you in a rush of power. You raised your hand, manifesting the snow globe within it, its broken shards reforming in your grasp, effortless and precise. Once it was whole again, you shook it, magic swirling within its waters, overriding the rules of the Escape Clause with rules of your own.

A voice came out of you then that you weren’t sure was your own. It came deep from your chest, echoing across the pole, accompanied by a wave of power, the same magic you’d used on Betty, but tenfold, fierce and fiery, prickling like static all down your arms as it left you.

“May Everything Return to the Way it Was Before, to the Way it was Always Meant to Be.”

And with one final rush of magic, everything went white.

***

It took a while for the picture to form in front of you, your hearing distorted, the colors slowly coming back one by one.

You were kneeling there in the center of the Workshop, which was full of elves, their work paused as they watched the scene unfolding. Scott was Santa once more, wearing his red undershirt and suspenders, looking jollier than you’d ever seen him. Carol stood beside him, looking confused.

Mother Nature was there, as was Tooth, and, of course, Jack Frost, wearing his signature blue suit as opposed to the red one he’d been wearing moments earlier.

You got to your feet, looking for Bernard in the crowd, but not finding him. Your heart lurched, your search brought to a halt by Jack’s nasally voice.

“Aw, come on now, kid, no hard feelings, right?”

Rather than replying, you wound up and punched him square in the jaw with more force than you were used to possessing.

“OOOOOOOH…” The elves murmured, wincing as Jack fell to the ground, gripping his face.

“I’m going to ask you one last time and you are going to answer me. What. Did you do to him.” You demanded, a fierce power zinging through you.

“I didn’t do anything to him! This is all a big misunderstanding! Right, Santa? Tooth? Back me up on this!” Jack groveled, shielding his face with both hands, cowering in fear.

“Can’t do that, Jack.” Scott shook his head. “You have to answer to her.”

“Where is Bernard?”

“I feel like there are more pressing issues at hand—” Jack deflected, shrinking further away from you.

“What’s that?” One of the elves asked, pointing to a column of sparkles manifesting beside you.

You turned to look, staring at it until it clicked. Reaching into yourself, you let the last pieces of Bernard’s magic flow out of your chest, where it had retreated for safekeeping. Silver and gold glitter rushed out of you, swirling from the ground up until he was standing there again, solid and real.

He all but collapsed into your arms, holding onto you tightly while he found his balance again.

“Bernard,” you sobbed, holding him close, your arms desperate to prove he was real again, that he was solid and wasn’t going anywhere.

“Hey, no need for tears, Aurora. I’m alright.” He grinned, meeting your gaze. His hand rose to your cheek and he wiped your tears away as he took you in for all that you were. “Thanks to you, I am.”

“(Y/N)?” Mother Nature asked, voice soft and warm.

“I…I can explain.” You insisted, turning to face her.

“No need, dear one. I know why you’re here. I’ve always known.” She smiled, bowing her head. “And now that you’re here, we can finish this.”

You looked to Bernard and he nodded, letting go of you to give you a gentle push forward, his eyes proud and supportive.

“Kneel.” She instructed, and you did, dropping to one knee in front of her.

The elves fell silent, desperate to witness what was unfolding for the first time in centuries.

“(Y/N) (L/N), through your bravery and selflessness, you have proven what I’ve known all along. You are the Aurora Borealis, the Winter Guardian, and Protector of the North Pole and all her Magic. For the first time in five centuries, the North Pole has an Aurora, which means…” She looked to Jack, who shook his head desperately.

“No. No way. I am not giving an ounce of my power to that…that…she punched me! Twice! Did none of you see that? She’s violent!”

“After everything you did to the Auroras before her, you’re lucky all she did was punch you!” Bernard snapped, arms crossed. “Not to mention the fact you destroyed her house in an attempt to kill her.”

Jack gasped in faux shock. “What, me? I…I would never—!”

“Jack.” Mother Nature reprimanded sharply. “You don’t have to give her the power. It was never yours to begin with.”

She outstretched a hand and, as easily as turning on a faucet, the power he’d been given, the magical, dancing light, was siphoned out of him and floated straight into you. Your feet lifted from the ground, head tilting back as your body slowly rose from the floor, power greater than you’d ever seen or felt ebbing and flowing around you, changing you into the thing you were always meant to become: the Aurora Borealis.

Your hair fully turned white, glimmering like fallen snow, a few stray streaks of pink and purple and teal scattered throughout. Your skin took on a subtle sparkle, every part of you becoming stronger, right down to your fingernails. Your clothes were replaced with a simple, glittering dress, the color of the night sky.

Gently, you touched down again, fully reborn.

The elves murmured and whispered in awe and you looked around to find a row of proud faces.

Mother Nature stepped forward and took both of your hands in hers, meeting you face to face for the first time in three years. “Dear one, I am so sorry for everything you’ve been through. I should have warned you, I should have done more to ready you, but I didn’t and…I let you feel alone.”

“I am alive because of you. Because you misled him. Everything you did was to protect me. I understand that now.” You told her, voice smooth and confident.

She touched her forehead to yours for a moment before pulling away to meet your gaze again. “Then, dear one, I have one last question for you.”

“I’m ready.”

“Hereby and Forevermore, your duty as the Winter Aurora is to the North Pole. You are tasked with its safety and secrets, to protect all of its residents and the magic they hold. Do you accept the Title of Winter Guardian and all of the responsibilities it holds?”

“I do.” You nodded, meeting Bernard’s eyes for a brief moment, only to find the warmest, proudest smile on his face.

“Then this belongs to you.” In her hand, Mother Nature manifested a small, elegant silver tiara, embellished with glittering snowflakes. She set it gently in your hair, completing your transformation once and for all.

Jack started sneaking towards the door, but you lifted your hand, a wave of power rushing around him, turning him back towards the rest of you and giving him a push back towards the rest of you. He stumbled forward, looking around the group nervously.

“You’re—you’re not gonna kill me, right?” He asked. “You still need me! I’m the one who oversees the snow days and-and the snowmen! Think of the snowmen!”

“We do need a Jack Frost.” Mother Nature said. “Which is why while you were here terrorizing Santa, I was locating your successor. Jack, come on in.”

The doors of the Workshop opened and in walked a much younger man with shaggy white hair. Your best guess put him in his early twenties, and his wardrobe was much more modern than the other Jack’s as well, a blue hoodie adorned with silver swirls. He carried a large stick with a curve at the end of it, somewhat resembling a scythe.

“Nice to meet you.” He waved casually, leaning against his stick.

“My successor?” Jack’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re firing me?!”

“Oh, we’re doing more than firing you.” Tooth chuckled. He looked to you. “Aurora, what do you think we should do with him?”

“He needs to be put…somewhere he can’t hurt anyone else.” You decided. You turned to the Head Elf and he perked up, interested to hear your suggestion. “Do you have a snow globe I could borrow?”

He grinned and reached into his satchel, pulling out a fresh one. “I like the way you think.”

“What? No! You can’t just—” Jack shook his head, looking to Santa, to Mother Nature, to even Mrs. Claus for some other solution.

“This is for all of the Auroras before me, for the elves you brainwashed and the reindeer you stuck in a petting zoo. You’ll have lots of time to think about what you’ve done. And maybe someday, in five hundred years or so, I’ll let you go live a boring human life.” You told him, taking the snow globe from Bernard and focusing.

There was a bright flash of sparkles and then it was done, Jack was trapped in the confines of the little snow globe in your hands and he looked very angry about it, but his complaints were too muffled to make them out clearly. Santa reached for the snow globe, so you handed it to him and he gave it an amused swirl.

“Well done, (Y/N).” He complimented, passing the snow globe to Curtis. “See to it that this gets locked away properly.”

“Will do, Santa.” Curtis nodded and headed off.

“Now, (Y/N), if you are going to be staying here, I suppose someone will have to show you around the place.” Santa smiled knowingly.

Bernard cleared his throat. “I believe that would be my responsibility as Head Elf, Santa.”

“Yes, I believe it would.”

The Head Elf offered you his arm and you gladly took it, letting him escort you up the stairs of the workshop and down the hall so the two of you could have a private moment. As soon as you were out of sight, he turned to face you, his hands cupping your cheeks, nose brushing against yours.

“See, I knew you were more of a Winter.”

“Do I look okay?”

“You’ve never looked better.” He murmured, closing the distance between you and pressing his lips to yours passionately. In your Mortal life, you’d had your fair share of kisses, but kissing Bernard was something else entirely. He was experienced, that was for sure.

After what felt like an eternity, he pulled away, resting his forehead against yours. “Now, where would you like to explore first?”

***

Bernard took you around the Workshop, showing you all of the departments, which were full of elves, all of them working hard to ensure Santa was on schedule to leave that night. Bernard checked in with each of them as he did, making sure everything was going according to plan. Tooth and Mother Nature had stuck around to help out, and some of the other Legendary Figures had arrived as well, introducing themselves to you when you came around.

Finally, as the end of your tour, Bernard led you to an ornate set of stained glass double doors. As if by magic, they swung open when you approached, giving way to a beautiful bedroom, tall, arched ceilings, dancing Northern Lights projected across them. Stained glass windows, a large, wooden desk, hardwood floors and shelves and shelves of books. There was a carved armoire in the corner of the room, and against the leftmost wall, on a platform, was a giant canopy bed.

“This is the Aurora’s suite. You can decorate however you’d like. I had some elves from the interior design department get it fixed up for you.” Bernard explained, your arm looped through his, hand resting on his bicep. “If you’ll turn your attention right over here…”

He led you to the desk, dropping your arm and plucking something off of the desk. Your snow globe! The one he had given you three years before, still inscribed with those famous words that had started your entire adventure to begin with, the last remnant you had from this life before it was ripped away from you.

“My snow globe! How did you get it here?”

He shrugged, handing it to you. “My magic came back. Which means I can give this back to you.”

Bernard lifted his hand and you pressed yours against it, palm to palm. Gently, your power flowed from him back into you, a light breeze blowing through the room. He brushed your hair away from your face and pressed a long kiss to your cheek.

“There’s still a lot to do, but…I think we’re going to be able to pull everything together by tonight.”

“Well then you better get out there, Mr. Head Elf.” You smirked, pressing a kiss to the corner of his lips.

He met your eyes, “You’ll be okay?”

“I’m going to be just fine.” You assured him, setting the snow globe back on the desk so you could rest your arms on his shoulders, his hands resting on your waist. “And after, you and I will have all the time in the world to figure this out.”

“Oh! I didn’t mean to interrupt…” Curtis muttered, standing in the doorway.

“Curtis!” Bernard exclaimed, his voice cracking.

You giggled when he abruptly pulled away to face his number two.

“The tree topper department needs an extra set of hands.” Curtis said, motioning back towards the workshop.

“Can I help?” You asked.

“Oh, Aurora, you don’t have to—” Curtis shook his head.

“Yeah, but…can I?” You asked, eyes curious.

Curtis grinned. “Yeah, of course.” He made eye contact with Bernard. “I like her already.”

Bernard gave you a nudge. “I do too.”

***

At Santa’s request, you met him and Bernard at the stable gates to see him off for your very first Christmas as the North Pole’s Guardian. Your heart was racing. You didn’t know what was expected of you or what you’d have to do, but Bernard was there, his smile ever so reassuring.

Some of the elves that worked with the reindeer helped get them all properly harnessed and ready for the flight, carefully attaching their reins to the sleigh. Bernard walked you through what you’d have to do. As one of the oldest elves in the Pole, he remembered the process well.

“It’s easy. All you’ll have to do is raise your hand.” He was standing right behind you and raised your hand with his own, positioning it just so. “And lower the barrier so Santa can leave. And if you can’t, we have controls for that now. It’s…mostly ceremonial at this point.”

“Well that does make me feel a little better.” You smiled, turning towards him.

“And, um, after, I think you should…check the armoire in your room. I left something for you.”

“Oh you did, did you?”

“Something for the party. You don’t have to wear it, though.” He shrugged awkwardly, cheeks extra rosy.

“And the party starts…?”

“The minute Santa gets back.” Bernard explained. “And then we get three months off and pick back up in March.”

“Alright.” You nodded, smiling. “Plenty of time for you to show me the ropes.”

“I was thinking exactly the same thing.” He smiled, looking both ways, but not risking a kiss, not with all of the elves assembled to send Santa off.

“Everything ready?” Scott checked, donning his famed coat and hat for the flight just as a few elves loaded the famous gift bag, filled to the brim and then some, onto the back of the sleigh.

“All set, Santa.” Bernard nodded.

Scott put a hand on your shoulder, the other on Bernard’s. “We owe this Christmas to you two. Wouldn’t be standing here without either of you.”

“All in a day’s work, Santa.” You smiled.

“I’ll see you when I get back. And then the real fun begins.”

“I’ll see to it that we have enough eggnog at the ready.” Bernard replied with a wink, which Santa laughed at.

“Excellent.” He climbed into the sleigh and gave you the signal.

Just as you’d practiced, you lifted a hand and focused on the barrier protecting the Pole, made of the same magic that flowed through your veins. Effortlessly, the veil parted, making way for Santa’s sleigh and the elves erupted into cheers as Scott flew off into the sky. Bernard cheered loudly, turning to you and scooping you up in his arms, spinning you around in his excitement. You squealed with laughter.

Once your feet were on the ground again, you met his eyes briefly before pressing the quickest of kisses to his cheek and walking over to Carol, who was smiling a proud, maternal smile.

“Let’s get you ready for that party, huh?” She asked, looping her arm around yours. “You’ll have to fill me in on everything you’ve been up to! It’s nice to have a human-ish woman around here again.”

“I missed you, Carol.”

“I missed you too, hon.”

***

The deliveries went on without a hitch and Scott was back at the Pole faster than you could sing the Twelve Days of Christmas. Carol, you, and Betty had gone into your room to prepare. Carol did your hair, perching your snowflake tiara perfectly atop your head. You felt like a princess.

Betty helped zip up the dress Bernard had left for you, an elegant silver gown with a layered skirt, a tasteful slit up the leg, and off the shoulder sleeves, a layer of tule on top that was embellished with silver stars.

“You look stunning.” Carol complimented, resting her chin on your shoulder as the two of you admired your reflection.

“Thanks to you.” You tilted your head. “I’m still getting used to the hair, but…I think it looks nice like this.”

“Makes you look like a superhero.”

“I kinda feel like one, too.”

“Well you should. Scott told me everything that happened. I’m glad you were there to help.”

“I’m glad I was, too.” You said, pausing before asking, “So…theoretically speaking of course, is there a rule prohibiting the Aurora from…dating?”

Betty gasped, smiling. “I knew it! You and Bernard—”

“You and Bernard?”  Carol asked, interested. “I never would have guessed.”

“Never?”

“Well, maybe a little.” She admitted, pinching her fingers together. “Saving the world together is a very romantic first date.”

“So…I am allowed to…date him?” You asked, earning a giggle from Betty.

“There is nothing, to my knowledge, prohibiting either the Aurora or the Head Elf from falling in love,” she reported. “But I can check the handbook if you want me too.”

“That is good to know.” You tapped your temple, laughing a bit.

Downstairs, you could hear the music pick up and the three of you took that as your cue to join the festivities.

Soon, you were standing at the rail overlooking the Workshop floor, where Bernard was standing, chatting with Curtis, Santa, and some of the other elves. As soon as he caught sight of you, he froze, his glass of eggnog halfway to his mouth and eyes locked on you.

You smiled coyly and lifted the skirt of the gown, carefully navigating down the stairs. He ditched his glass on a cluttered table and met you at the foot of the stairs, taking your arm.

He swallowed thickly, admiring you for a long moment before murmuring, “You look beautiful, Aurora.”

“Thank you, Bernard.” You smiled, tucking your hair behind your ear. “You picked a great dress.”

“Would you like to dance?”

“I’d love to.” You nodded, letting him lead you over to where the rest of the elves were paired up, swaying to a slow song. Your arms settled around his neck as he tugged you closer, a hand on your waist, the other finding your free hand.

It was clear in seconds that he knew how to dance, as he expertly spun you out and then back into him with ease, his chest flush against yours, mouth right against your ear. It was one of those moments you were forced to remember he’d lived a hundred lifetimes. He carried them well; he always had.

When the music picked back up, he said, “Let’s go get some air.”

You nodded, letting him lead you back up the stairs to the railing, where a few stray elves were also hanging out, getting some space from the heat of the party. The two of you leaned against the metal, looking down over your new home.

You were quiet for a long while before finally asking the question that had been on your mind since early that morning, in an airplane in another timeline. “Did you know her? The other Aurora?”

He nodded, face serious. “I knew her, yeah. I wasn’t Head Elf at the time, only second in command. She and I were acquaintances, but she was nice.”

“Mmm.” You hummed.

Bernard reached over and touched your hand. “I much prefer what you and I have this time around.”

“And what is it you and I have?” You asked.

“I’m…not sure yet.” Bernard shook his head, tugging you ever so closer, a gentle hand on your waist. “But I do know that in all of my 1600 years, I’ve never felt like this before. Even before, when you left, when I thought I’d never see you again, I was waiting for the day our paths would cross. I wish it had been under better circumstances, but…”

“But, I’m glad you found me.” You interjected, taking another step forward and resting your head on his shoulder.

Bernard leaned in to kiss you, but stopped, noticing all the elves watching. However, when you pointed straight up at a bundle of glowing mistletoe, he knew there was only one thing he could do…

THREE MONTHS LATER

“Ladies, thank you so much for agreeing to meet here at the Pole.” Mother Nature smiled at each of you, seated at the large round table in your office, which was, coincidentally, right down the hall from Bernard’s office.

Around the table were yourself, Mother Nature, and the three other Guardian Spirits, Briar Flores, Amber Sanderson, and Evangeline Cho, each of you dressed for your respective season, but Briar was absolutely glowing, as though a halo of light was positioned just behind her head at all times.

“Thank you for having us, (Y/N).” Briar thanked, bowing her head. “My place is absolutely a mess at the moment. Bunny has paint on just about every surface in the building.”

“Any time, Briar. This place has been quiet since the elves started their break. Things should be getting started up again soon, though.”

“If you need any help saving Christmas this year, you let us know.” Amber chuckled.

“Knock on wood Christmas doesn’t need saving this year.” You laughed, knocking on the table.

“I am serious, though, as soon as Easter is over, we all need to get mimosas and brunch. There is this lovely little island that is just so flowery and perfect this time of year, you’d all love it.” Briar beamed.

The rest of you murmured and nodded in agreement, stopping only when Evangeline looked up at the doorway, biting back a grin.

You looked up to see Bernard standing there, a bouquet of snowdrops in his hand.

“Hello, Bernard. How can I help you?”

“Oh, Aurora, I didn’t mean to interrupt. The guys in foliage need a second opinion when you have a minute.”

“Right, of course.” You nodded, looking to Mother Nature.

“Meeting adjourned. I’ll see you all next month for a progress report.” She smiled, straightening up her papers. The rest of you all stood up from the table and began to exit the office.

Mother Nature rested a hand on your shoulder, glancing back at Bernard. “You look really happy here, (Y/N).”

“I am really happy here.”

“Good, I’m glad.” She gave your shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll see you next month.”

Once the others had scattered to the winds, Bernard walked into the office, closing the door behind him.

You quirked an eyebrow. “The guys in foliage, huh?”

“Partially. Partially just the Head Elf wanting to make sure his Aurora had something pretty to look at.” He whispered, an arm drawing you closer for a kiss that you gladly reciprocated.

“Your Aurora already has something pretty to look at.” You replied, a finger booping the end of his nose.

He shook his head, grinning. “Does the flirting never cease?” “Check in with me in a few hundred years.” You replied, setting the snowdrops in your vase before lacing your fingers through his, your other hand rising to rest on his arm as you walked out of the office and towards the large room you’d been using to train your powers. “Now, where were we with those lessons…?”

Tagged: @madameggroll, @capamericant, @midnightmisses, @five-hargreeves-apologist

[fwitolei]

The Dragon Prince Thoughts 6x03 - The Frozen Ship

Previous Episode // Masterlist // Next Episode

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Spoilers under the cut

Ooh so this is how callum got out of those chains in s5

WAIT why are his eyes bright instead of black did he get possessed back then again—

OR IS IT A VISION—

“Uh, are you sure it’ll hold us?”

It’s giving s1ep6 or whatever when they dropped Zym’s egg—

They’re not sPrEaDiNg ThEiR wEiGhT

OMG IT IS LIKE WHEN THEY DROPPED THE EGG—

OH NO SHADOWPAW DON’T DIE

Rayla really said “yeah nah” lmao

Bruh how long has Terry been sitting there

This is so unhealthy for him ugh—

WHY’S HE JUST L I N I N G UP STICKS LMAO

Oh he’s making something—

OH claudia came back

Wtf happened to her—

She looks worse off than before she left Terry behind

“It’s sad that this ship is stuck. I mean look at it. This ship is going nowhere.”

Wonderstorm definitely knew what they were doing here lmao—

“I mean you can draw pictures of the ship but does that change anything?”

HOW DARE YOU CALL OUT MY FANART OBSESSION HAHAHAHAHAHA—

TERRY YOU DESERVE BETTER 😭😭😭😭😭😭

I still love y’all but C’MON—

They better get a happy ending

“Is Rayla crying?”

Bro how did you even hear her from outside that big-ass ship—

BRO BRUSH FROM THE BOTTOM UP OMG—

Wouldn’t have has to cut it if he knew how to properly brush hair lmao—

“Guess I can always use a pile of loose planks as a blanket.”

Dude if i didn’t know better i’d think you were trying to get Rayla to share her blanket

But it’s callum so of course not lmao—

“My dad wrote that.”

STOP HE’S TALKING ABOUT HIS BIO DAD

HIS NAME IS DAMIAN AHH—

I wonder if callum remembers damian a lot since he died when he was a kid

Stella and Sneezles are on a mission lmao

They’re literally the fandom

K I S S 

WHY’D YOU STOP

“I did dark magic again.”

S E R I O U S L Y

NOW OF ALL TIMES??

You’ve gotta be KIDDING me—

GAHH CLAUDIA’S HAIR IS SO PRETTY—

Aww Terry made a prosthetic for her I love that

“I didn’t have a choice because… I would do anything for you.”

Omg callum’s delivery on that line was SO GOOD ugh—

Rayla’s face is pure gold too

WAIT THEY’RE FORGETTING THE PEARL—

OH NOW YOU REMEMBER IT AFTER YOU GOT OUT OF THE SHIP

Gurl don’t die

THE SHIP SAYS RAYLLUM

NO WAY LMAOOOOOO

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN—

OMG VIREN’S BACK IN KATOLIS

OOP THE HUMBLE SERVANT LINE

Viren breaking down sobbing is something I never thought I’d see

Ezran’s unfazed face is wild

“Are you begging for mercy?”

“No.”

“Good. You don’t deserve any.”

DAMN THAT’S HIS COLDEST LINE YET

Woooooooow that was wilddd. I’m worried about the Rayllum ship sinking and what that means for rayla and callum I hope nothing bad happens to them. Terry and Claudia’s relationship is also really tense cuz Terry’s been just allowing claudia to walk down the dark path she’s on for what could be years and he’s just accepting it no matter how many times she could’ve (directly or indirectly) hurt him. It’s unhealthy, yes, but at the same time i think they really do need each other. I think if they work at their relationship they could make it work. I hope Soren gets to talk to Viren now that he’s back in Katolis I’m excited to unpack that, especially considering we didn’t get to see them talk in s4 (yes i did read the short story and it’s S A D 😭).

[moonstruckdraws]

Meet Sage!

A mushroom yokai based on the Bleeding Fairy Helmet (Mycena haematopus) & Luci's partner!

Her design; I feel like her design is what you'd expect from a mushroom character, with the bellcap on the head & such. I gave her stubbed feet cuz she's a fungus & they don't got any feet lol. I also gave her that indent some mushrooms have on her cap for fun.

Bleeding Fairies are common in NA & EU, but are also found in Japan & Venezuela, & I'll take any reason to draw clothing from Japan. So I gave her a haori with simple designed sleeves. Keepin it simple & honestly it looked better with the design only on the sleeves (& I don't have the sanity to draw a complex design every time but maybe one day).

I am EXTREMELY happy with her hair because I used the gills (underside of the cap) of the mushroom to round out & look like bangs! And I'm happy with it because it looks cute lol

Sage is from the Mushroom Forest, while the forest itself is not a living environment for other yokai, it is her home. She used to reside near Mermaid Lagoon; away from the Battle Nexus as criminals & thugs tended to hang around the outskirts (like what Raph & the Mud Dogz did) Currently though, Sage is living in Witch Town.

Alright, her biology (don't expect it to be 100% accurate to the actual mushroom lol)

The Bleeding Fairy Helmet is called as such because when damaged, it'll emit a deep red color like blood. While I did cover her in bandages, I swear she's not fragile. She's actually quite sturdy & literally thick skinned (despite being a thin-stemmed mushroom).

She's got chompers!! Little piranha she is. I gave her chompers because she's a mushroom which are decomposers. She loves any edible plants and can/will eat tree bark. While Bleeding Fairies aren't said to be poisonous, it's recommended not to eat them due to possible toxins they produce. So, I made it so she's immune to other toxins & has high resistance to poison & venom (though not invulnerable).

I think yokai naturally emit mystic energy or just have an aura of potential energy, so Sage's mystic energy would spawn fungi when she walks on special soils full of mystic energy. This always happens on the soil in the Mushroom Forest & can be a compass to where lots of mystic energy is.

Bleeding Fairies are a bioluminescent mushroom, but with very weak bioluminescence. I of course did not follow that, nor made it the biologically correct glowing color, because it's more fun. I love blue bioluminescence & it contrasts her reds. Haven't really decided on which hue of blue, but i'll figure it out lol. Anyway, she glows automatically when it is dark. It's of the brightness of lava lamps, but she can dim her glow but never fully off. She also glows sometimes, at a less intense level, when feeling strong emotions (mainly sadness or surprise)

As said before, Sage now lives in Witch Town. Though her reasons for moving are unknown, she adapts quite well in the area. Though she many stays in her home, she enjoys strolling around the Hidden City & trying new things.

She works as one of Witch Town's herbalists & studies medicine and plants. She is still technically in training as she learns to a bit of magic from her mentor & expanding her mystic powers.

Sage gains possession of a cloaking brooch from her mentor as a gift for her dedication & because of her interest of the surface world. (I have not designed this yet, but maybe this weekend lol). She doesn't carry it on her person constantly, only when planning to make trips up to the surface.

[zephyr-bazaar]

Intro??

Hi! My name is Draconia and this is my BokuMono Blog (TM) I like and follow from @octahyde!!

Bokumono is my all time, number one favorite series with absolutely zero exceptions. It always has been and always will be the one single most important media to me in my entire life. I got into the series in 2007 and have played almost every game since. This series is such a comfort that when I’m struggling my therapist literally prescribes me to play one of these games.

The only games I haven’t played are the GBC games (I own one of them though), 64, Back To Nature (played every ver of the mineral town games besides it), Save the Homeland/Hero of Leaf Valley (I have the latter but don’t have a good psp. Tfw. I know this makes my pfp very ironic but listen what me and Dia have is So Real.) and Sunshine Islands because I was less than fond of IoH.

I have played every other game in the series besides that! Of those, the only games I actively dislike are Pioneers of Olive Town and Island of Happiness (besides Pierre). I’m good to talk about literally any other game in the series though!!

This series is what got me to draw, write, make plushies, AND cosplay. Igusa Matsuyama to this day is my biggest artistic inspiration.

As for some more info:

My favorite games are Magical Melody, Grand Bazaar, and Trio of Towns.

Of those three, Magical Melody is my favorite. It was the first game in the series I ever played, and will always be the most special to me. No matter what. Thanks to a very cherished person in my life, I even have a disc signed by Yasuhiro Wada himself framed in my apartment. It’s probably my most prized personal, non heirloom possession.

My favorite bachelorettes are Dia, Vivi, and Agate.

My favorite bachelors are Ivan, Nadi, and Chase.

My favorite ship in the series is Jamie/Tina. Babby’s first queer ship…

My favorite crop is tea leaves. Idk if that one is random but my farms are like 95% crops and like a sheep or two so I feel like I should say it becausef I go all fucking in on crops. It’s insane how hard I go on crops dude. I like minmax crops.

I also have a beloved OC X Canon ship The YuzuWren. They have over 100 hours in my copy of 3oT. I’ll link to a post infodumping all about them when I write it!!

I also have an OC x Canon ship in SoS1 (The MistLand), but that one isn’t as special even if it’s just as developed (also they haven’t gotten married yet when The YuzuWren have. Roland’s taking it slow.) I’m also considering making an OC x Canon file in ANB for Felicia just to round out the 3DS games.

My only real DNI is please, for the love of god, do NOT bring up Stardew Valley to me or on my posts. I never have, and never will have any desire to ever play it, and I am exhausted for it being brought up every time someone discusses a series 20 years older than it. Also while minors are fine to follow here, please do not follow my main account. It’s nothing personal, I just don’t want minors on that account. Tumblr is the only social media I talk to people under 21-22 to begin with.

Other farm sims besides Stardew are okay, though! I will likely also discuss Fields of Mistria and Snacko on here! I’m also in desperate need to play Cult of the Lamb, but that’s more fitting for my main blog than here, lol.

I think that covers everything!!!!

[batsplat]

still the same anon here. so what if instead of The Devil™️ it is a demon instead? valentino still strikes a faustian bargain and all we’re 100% keeping that. and yeah yzr-m1 is the manifestation of that demonic spirit. you know that valentino tribute video which is from the bike’s pov? “I’d been waiting for somebody like you for so long. I was nervous, but it was love at first sight for both of us. I knew instantly our relationship would be something truly special. We had that undeniable once-in-a-lifetime spark, and all the pieces of the puzzle just came together. I will never forget how we stopped on the grass in Welkom in 2004. Just the two of us, realising that you and me together was right – and that this was only the beginning….” etc. like this was so insane I think about it a lot. anyways, yzr-m1 is not exactly like a malicious presence, and obviously loves valentino but it is inhuman! and valentino chooses to give it…..or her? his heart and that turns him a lil bit inhuman too….. and let’s remember that irl valentino keeps this fucking bike in his bedroom…….very “character who keeps the cursed artifact, which is the source of their power, close” of him. and also talks to her before every race…..

the ducati years is yzr-m1 cursing valentino for abandoning it/her btw.

ummmmm what possessed me to write all this I don’t know btw

(x, x) no go on, anon... that bike letter is so. so.... I also think about it too often. the fact they literally got someone to read this stuff out loud... they gave the bike a voice... what a sport. *pinches bridge of nose* anyway. I think!! the bike can be a little bit demonic. but it can also like... reflect something of the rider back at the rider - so that as a Part of the rider, it ends up becoming an externalisation of some of their most notable traits, a way of emphasising them as well as distorting them. it whispers back at you what's already in your soul... and if you pour a part of yourself into that machine, then this is what your machine will inevitably become. so it's a bit... the nature of competition, right, ensures that this naked desire to win will end up being transmitted to the machine. but then if you draw your desire to win from spite specifically... if you have, for instance, switched manufacturers and wish to prove the entire world wrong, to make your former employer miserable, to show up your rivals and make them suffer... then eventually, that desire will fester within the machine and its nature will be twisted and corrupted accordingly

though I do like valentino's yamaha being Special and Weird!! adores valentino, is possessive of valentino, is unnatural and by definition inhuman, is already kinda inclined towards malice, calls valentino away from honda... again, it's a way of representing what the step from honda to yamaha actually Means in narrative terms, how it's this process of self-actualisation with both good and not so good consequences... like!! it was the perfect marriage between a giant of the sport in ill-health and a champion who desperately required a new challenge. some purpose. so if you have a capricious, maltreated bike that simply finds the concept of valentino - uh, *clears throat* riding it too attractive to resist... then why not tempt the two-time defending champion to make the switch? to take the leap into the unknown? to give himself over to this new adventure? and, yes, this bike will not take kindly to being abandoned...

anyway yeah there's a happy middle ground there somewhere in where the malevolence Comes From. something already kinda creepy, unnatural about the yamaha that then is encouraged by valentino - who talks to it before every race, imposes his own will on the machine and gets some of his malice and spite reflected back at him. valentino whispers to the bike and the bike whispers back... he keeps it close to him, as it now contains a part of his soul. a mutuality here, a symbiosis... it's coming into your own as a bike and as a rider by embracing the cruelty of competition to the fullest. a partnership that is extraordinarily successful but also morally corrosive. a "once in a lifetime spark", if you will

[mediterraneanmenace]

[I send you a pestilence such as the world has never seen. Your rivers will turn into blood and plague will seep into your sleep, into your dreams...] [... And when hope has been whittled down to the very marrow of despair, that's when you'll come knocking on our door]

It's done, finally. The "cover art" for my BG3 prequel. (Also fun fact: Raksha is 7'1". I just like drawing Cambion!Raphael big)

A Holy Inquisitor and a Devil. Sacred and Profane. AKA how these two will start as a loving couple only to end up in a spiral of mutual destruction.

Buckle up, we go into a lengthy character analysis below.

The reason he got attracted to her in the first place is pure, unfiltered narcissism: he saw himself in her ego, her ambition and personality. Said attraction turned into affection and eventually love when she told him about her past - mirrors of each other. Raphael also becomes very protective with Raksha - to a fault.

(This will be explained further in the story itself) Raksha herself was happy to find someone who wouldn't look at her with fear (reverential or not) and that would enjoy watching the operas/theatre plays she loves.

They're similar but opposites: one being the literal son of one of Hell's Archdevils and the other a messianic archetype who unknowingly has Archdevil blood (Baalzebul's) herself - close enough to be relevant but NOT enough for her to be a Cambion.

Raksha was adopted and raised by a strict archdeacon in a cathedral as proof that he could "turn a devil into a saint", so you can already guess her views on things like sexuality (she and her companions have a literal vow of chastity going on).

She demonizes sexuality and doesn't live her attraction to Raphael well (let alone when she finds out he's a Cambion. Girl was ready to break her vow for him). But he does help her to get a more healthy view on intimate stuff. :)

Raksha "sends the plagues" (spells like Contagion and Insect Plague) to villages that - according to her or the religious institutions that call for her help - need the divine help of Ilmater to purify themselves from their sins. Her idea is that, if you survive, you have successfully repented. Of course, some people would rather make a deal with someone like Raphael to live than trust the divine forces that put them through such torment.

In the piece you can see how it's Raphael sneaking a hand under her shirt and holding her tail with his - she's *trying* to appear as the virtuous one resisting temptation but is actually smiling complicit. The uncensored piece is a bit more... Explicit about it. [ You can find it on my 18+ Twitter @/paprikadust :) ]

Raksha is young (she's 23, 24 when they marry) and never had a relationship before, so she mistakes his possessiveness for love until she finally snaps (a big factor for this is finding out about Hope), escapes and goes into hiding after 6 years together. Raphael being himself of course becomes absolutely obsessed to find his wife. (I mean, before actually even talking to her, he stalked Raksha for 4 years. From 19 to 23)

Also I'm not a fan of people forgetting about what he did to Hope. I think he's actually quite dominant with Raksha in bed and does have servants checking on her whenever he can't be close enough to control what she does.

The prequel ends as the events of Baldur's Gate 3 take place.

Also closeup. :D

[docholligay]

Yellowjackets S2E2: Shauna

Hello! This is about up to Season 2, Episode 1 of Yellowjackets, and ONLY that of Yellowjackets. I have not seen beyond this spot, at all, and know NOTHING about this show. Please do not spoil it for me.  Things that are spoilery in nature, for me, include: saying things like  “Just wait!!” confirming or denying anything I put forward, outside information about the cast interviews or creator statements, leading questions like “Do you think “blank moment” means anything?” etc. Remember  that Y’ALL HAVE SEEN THE SHOW AND I HAVE NOT. This informs the way you  talk about things relating to the show. Just be really careful is all  I’m asking. Also: If there is LITERALLY any stance I  could take on this show or character that would make you upset, please  just fucking block the tag

If you WOULD like to discuss the show and my takes on it, the Discord is right here! I don’t go there, so it’s a great place to get every emotion out.

Please thank @sailorsunspot and @moonlight-frittata for backing this odd way of doing a liveblog, and remember my tip jar is always open

I love the whole line of devotion with Shauna, and how I don’t know and I’m not sure Shauna knows where devotion ends and insanity begins. Is she even loyal to Jackie, or is she happy enough to use the memory of her as the pawn in whatever she happens to need? 

Jackie has functioned primarily as her chief critic, in her death, in a way so much meaner and sharper than in life. Jackie is the tool by which Shauna criticizes herself. I loved Jackie, especially when she was bitchy, but she wasn’t clever in that emotionally intelligent, meanspirited way that Shauna actually is, on the inside. Jackie wouldn’t ever think to say these things even if she knew them, but Shauna, oh Shauna has been waiting to tell herself this shit for years. Jackie, who she loved, Jackie, who she killed, Jackie the god she worships and her own demon, only she’s the one possessing jackie, isn’t she? Making Jackie say the things she wants her to, be as mean as Shauna thinks she must have been, because why wouldn’t she be?

Even the whole braiding of the hair and doing of the makeup is this sort of adornment you might give a shrine. As long as Jackie is there she can be anointed in oil, metaphorically. More on that later. 

It’s all deeply fucked, and I am very here for it. 

This is also a really good example about how your inability to deal with a problem always affects more than just you. I mean, obviously, this is an outside case, but they are waiting for dinner because Shauna can’t stop drawing her fingers to the candle of jackie’s memory. Calling it now, the baby is almost certainly going to die or be stillborn because of the things that Shauna is doing right now. She is also providing a major point of friction for the group, represented mostly by Taissa and Lottie. Lottie wants her to be allowed to process in whatever way she sees fit, including apparently staying out until all hours of the night in a freezing shed, because Lottie is an idiot. Taissa forces the issue of confrontation with her grief, because that’s a huge part of this episode, and, I suppose it really does deserve its own post but its unlikely to get it: The things people do to confront the grief of others. But because Shauna won’t deal with her feelings, everyone else has to. Shauna is still trapped in a world where her friend is her judge and jury, in a way that was never true when she was alive. And it costs EVERYONE. 

Anyway, back to what i was originally talking about, I’m so glad they had Shauna eat the ear first because it sort of got the “What the fuck!?! Ick!” out of the way so we could use this literal consumption of Jackie as something else. We’ve had time to sit with our disgust, and so it’s not the first thing we think of when Jackie talks about Shauna’s HUNGER. We already tip our hat to this when Jackie says that Shauna slept with Jeff just so she knew what it felt like to be her, but so much of this is about never being able to be close enough to Jackie to become her, to crawl inside her skin, to love her as a sister and a friend and a lover and as herself. I feel like some of this resonates differently as a woman of a certain age--because being a lesbian was so fringe, we were afforded the intensity of female friendships that blurred the line between love and desire and possession in a way that realy just doesn’t exist anymore, because things are seen through a more sterotypically romantic lens. It’s not bad, per se, and it makes a lot of things easier, but it means that when looking at things like this, the question of “Was Shauna in love with Jackie?” has a multifactorial and complex answer that I’m not sure SHAUNA knows the answer to. Yes, and, you get me? 

So when Shauna-speaking-as-Jackie tells herself that it isn’t some fucking game stew she’s hungry for, that she literally wants to eat Jackie, and make her a part of herself, wants to cut her open and feast upon her, it’s true. She knows it’s true, and it’s not just the physical hunger talking. You could give Shauna a big old dead elk and she would still want to eat Jackie. 

Because if they cremate her, as Tai very wisely says they need to do, then she will be lost forever. There will ne nothing tangible that Shauna can point to. Shauna needs that. Jackie has been the trellis on which Shauna has grown, and as much as she might have sometimes longed for freedom, she found herself wandering right back to that trellis. What will she do without it? But consuming her? Well, then won’t she always be a part of Shauna? She  can finally have Jackie literally inside her, like Nut swallowing the sun only to give birth to it again. Giving her something to revolve around.

I made a joke about while i was watching the episode, but this is why Shauna won’t let them take her jacket, but they CAN eat her. Because taking her jacket would make her less Jackie, but eating her will allow Jackie to be ever-present, in every one of the girls. It will allow Jackie to have been the most useful of them all. It is such a fucked up form of love and intimacy, and i ADORE it, because we often in media have cannibalism as a way of showing how far people have been pushed from society, and that’s certainly a part of what is going on here-- that’s the whole reason the spirit of the forest dumps snow onto Jackie and helps force their hand--and that’s great, but ALSO, the reason i love it is as a show of Shauna’s grief and love and need to carry Jackie with her. 

[yatorihell]

Noragami Reread Volume 14-17

Heaven arc in full swing and a lot of foreshadowing

Vol 14

52

'The world he sent her back to' final chapter line?????

Yato reaction to not knowing Hiyori's birthday, it's probably not something that would cross his mind since birth isn't a thing in his world

We never actually see what Yato does for her birthday party????

Kazuma forshadowing his betrayal to Yukine

Ebisu could've just called Kunimi when he got lost lol not a single thought in that head

Bishamon refusing to release Tsuguha is so stupid it's the only way to save her

'If I could just stay with Hiyori and Yukine that would be fine by me' hnnnn

God's exist for people vs Yato saving Hiyori at his own expense

People can only be truly saved by other people vs hospital arc vs recent chapter I hate this manga

Yukine sending Hiyori letters and Yato eating them

53

Just a fun little chapter, bit of Kazubisha and finding out the artist is actually Hiyori's brother at the end

54

Yato showing up to Masaomi and bynpinf into Hiyori after avoiding her for 2 months

'Just friends?' Yato what did you expect

For grandma Iki it's on sight she knows bad vibes when she sees them

Wonder if the Iki family can be like Father's lifeline for Yato

'Even one so immaculate and become bewitched by evil' Yukine downfall forshadowing

Grandma Iki asking will you protect my grandchildren vs recent chapter I hate life

'You've been my god of fortune for a long time' I'm so sad Adachitoka you make me so sad

55

Nora warning Yukine about Kazuma lol

Tsuguha breaking and that whole aftermath was... yeah

Saku suppressed his names with a spell but he's still out if it tbh

Kazuma be like lol I might be indebted to Yato but I'll still betray you

Vol 15

56

Time for Heaven arc

Yukine tells them Kazuma has betrayed them

Bishamon crying over surviving her shinki like babe she could've survived too if you released her

8 millions gods? Stop breeding

'I exist only for Viinas sake' get you a man who loves you this much

Yukine starting to have dreams about his past hnnnnnn

It must've been a ballache to draw the robes in heavens arc rip Adachitoka

57

It was a different shinki who got Ebisu, I wonder what form they take

Yato unsure of joining Heaven after Ebisu's death

Yato talks of defying heaven lol not foreshadowing at all

Then immediately asskissing to keep his god status

'I'd rather be a piece of shit' you are <3

Yato and Hiyori encouraging reconciliation between Yukine and Kazuma

Yato inviting Hiyori to heavens party

Tenjin didn't choose human guidepost because he knows they can betray you

Bishamon pissed Kazuma used resound on Yukine

Where's Suzuha's grave hmm I guess the cherry tree is it tbf since they visit it

Wish we saw more Bishamon and Hiyori

Yato as an obvious wolf in sheep's clothing

'To be blessed is to be buried' Yukine took it seriously

Foreshadowing of a god possessing a hafuri going rogue

58

I think this was the first chapter that released once I caught up with the manga

Everyone's so cute in their formal gowns, I like how Yukine's is blue and Hiyori's is probably red

Takemika being a little bitch to Ebisu

Popularity contest of the Gods and Stationmaster Tama appearing was such a nice touch

Matchmaking ceremony

Yato face when Kofuku says Hiyori's soulmate hsnbd

Yama is with her soulmate already that's cute

Hiyori literally watching her future being decided for her

It's so funny that all the soulmates are just like Yato

Oh Kofuku why did you tie it do you know what happened I'm so sad

Kiun vs Yukine

Hafuri sealed away foreshadowing

Takemika fight foreshadowing

Obtaining a hafuri requires an enemy which is why Takemika is so eager for a chance to fight

Bishamon gone missing and then it's like 2 years of stress

59

Hiyori wondering what it means that Kofuku tied thier plaques hhaaaaaa

Emishi bear god is so cute he won't kill you

Adachitoka working native gods in and their subdued nature with heaven, being happy to just live on their own land, being cultivated from reincarnation to make sure they don't defy again

After everything when asked his nature Yato still thinks of why he was born

Hafuri mono lore

Oh Kiun is so small circling Takemika in his little dragon form

Takemika needs to fuck off a bit no wonder you don't have a hafuri with that attitude

Yes Takemika you are pathetic whining for a hafuri

Oh no he's getting horny just thinking about getting a hafuri

Bishamon promising Heavens head to the hafuri

Marilyn Monroe moment for Bishamon I really love that dress

Shikki is such a look, our Batmon

Vol 16

60

Once again the serve on this outfit? Deadly

One year since they all met and it's Yukine's birthday (I'm ignoring what's about to happen)

Hiyori prayer to all be friends again hnn

Bishamon knowing how to track the Sorcerer from eye contact

Quick Father flashback, it's funnier knowing that he caused her death by driving her away

Heaven shows up so quick compared to the final arc lol

61

High treason declared against Bishamon

Ebisu trying to veto the subjugation order

Kofuku dead

Wonder what the other 7 unpardonable crimes are

Nora playing up to yukine to make sure Bishamon dies

Why did they change my balls are tingling

Ysto soft spot for Bishamon

Yukine having 50 aneurysms about yato revealing himself

62

Yatobisha dreams crushed they don't want a happing ending together

Yato can't reincarnate? Father stop gaslighting

Hiyori coming in with the steel chair on Father go girl

This is the most battle intensive we've been since like yomi

63

Hiyori showing up and fixing Yato's arm

Yato not abandoning Bishamon and wanting to live her innocence

Yukine crying because he wants to keep Yato safe

Vol 17

64

Kazuma offering to take Bishamon’s place for execution

Yato really is such a good fighter

'You aren't capable of truly loving people' Kazuma is self aware Bishamon doesn't feel that way (or does she)

'I will see him again' oh we didn't believe this for so long it took like 7 years

'He'll realise that he can't save anyone' vs recent chapter

65

Child Bishamon being punished by Father

Kazuma spell to help Yato and he's not even made up with Yukine yet

Bishamon god of calamity image

The Reveal that Nora knew her past already had us so shook

Nana past revealed and she was able to overcome it gave us so much hope for Yukine

Kazuma really thinks highly of himself lol of course they don't want a shinki to die instead of the traitor

66

Takemika being banned from lightning ad a child because of his nature

Mad how Takemika died from like a thousands cuts since the shinki slashed him to death along with the ayakashi

Takemika hiding his lightning and Kiun does it for him, they're such a good match

Yato Sekki bondage

Kiun puts himself in harm to make Takemika act and it works (not instantly)

Oh go crazy Takemika

67

What a form Takemika let him be a dragon

Yato shielding Sekki from the lightning because he's breaking a little

Once again the art is insane this entire arc

'I can't let Yato die no matter what' vs recent chapter

DO YOU THINK I'LL LET YOU TAKE HIM FROM ME

I WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO PROTECT YOU

Kazuma is such a psycho I want one

Damn kazuma stayed in human form for 5 years never being called

Bishamon asking for a pet name

Kiun stuck on the shinki are objects for the god narrative

Takemika got that female rage go girl

God remember when he cut Yato's neck and we freaked this actually reminds me of Yato and father

'But mine will always be on my side'

That line up of Yukine's eyes with Yato's face

Splitting the dragon in half

Kiun bowing and allowing Takemika to be who he is

[autisticandoddlyspecific]

It's 2:40am and I just imagined a bunch of shit about Sun and Moon in the world of fuckin Hazbin Hotel of all things, specifically to build up to the dumbass ship of DCA/Alastor. So yea here are my notes.

Sun suddenly wakes up in like an alleyway or something in hell. The sound of the city – including the anguished screams, drunk arguments, and the occasional distant gunshot or explosion – overwhelms him. Sun, dazed and confused, is probably harassed by somebody lying around in that same alleyway and quickly darts off to avoid further issue. He’s immediately horrified by the grimy and gore-stained state of the streets, and decides to just keep running. Still in shock, he notices a few posters scattered about on the ground. One’s a very worn and barely legible one drawn in what used to be a fun handmade drawing of the “Happy Hotel”. He figures based off the name and the art that it might be in a cleaner state than his current location. He finds his way to the hotel, noticing it’s new name, “Hazbin Hotel”. He wonders for a bit if they went under some kind of rebrand, and if this change means it isn’t the happy place he was hoping for, but he decides to knock anyway just to see. He’s greeted by Charlie, who welcomes him in. 

At some point, he gets a moment to sit down, and starts coming out of shock. Probably whilst talking with Charlie. He starts to break down, crying he doesn’t know where he is or how he got here. He learns he’s in hell fairly quickly, and is unsure as to why. Does that mean he has a soul? Upon being asked, he simply answers that he is not human, that he never was. Just created as a theater robot, then a daycare attendant, and suddenly he was here with no warning. Charlie takes compassion on him in his distressed state, and assures him that the hotel is safe, and he is welcome, soul or not. Based off what we see in the end of the first season of the show, Lucifer probably lives at least part time in the hotel to be part of his daughter’s life and all, so it could be this soon that Lucifer is prompted to take a look at Sun, revealing a sort of soul, not quite like the human souls or the smaller sparks of life in beings such as Razzle and Dazzle(r.i.p). Also it’s a sort of dual-soul thing going on where it’s like two cells not quite done with cytokinesis. Sun isn’t sure yet that he’s okay with people knowing about Moon, so he doesn't give that away. The exact moment is pretty flexible and I could also hc that Charlie possesses the same ability so it doesn’t really matter if Lucifer actually stays there lol.

Sun gets along with Charlie, and is given a room despite his insistence that he doesnt need to sleep. She’s all like “You still need a place to yourself to relax!” so he relents. He’s pretty amazed at having his own fully furnished room. Even in its best state, Sun and Moon’s room in the ‘plex was just storage basically. Boxes.

I also imagine that he’d clash a little with Niffty, as they both have their own ideas of how things should be done to keep an establishment in working order, and neither likes their work being interfered with. Sun is also both disturbed and disgruntled at the fact that Niffty hunts down bugs with needles, intending to stab them, rather than use anything like bug traps or poisons.

Even more, Sun’s put off by Alastor, as he literally cannot look at him with his robotic eyes without visual distortion and glitches. At some point he’s gonna ask if Alastor can make it stop and he will, but I don’t know how long that’d take.

Before long, some unexpected event occurs, and the lights go out. Until this, he’d never been in any area too dark. He’s in some room alone at this time, and someone hears odd noises or something and either checks on him or just runs into Moon. Moon is immediately ready to fuck shit up, and unable to think clearly. He causes some drama and mild property damage, but fails to seriously hurt anyone before being trapped by at least one of the powerful magic users in the building. Charlie probably summons a light source, which upon realizing Moon reacts negatively to, brightens it enough to bring Sun out. Sun is probably nearly inconsolable and at least half-expects to be thrown our or decommissioned for what just happened, and Charlie asserts she wouldn’t, immediately understanding that Sun is suffering and unable to control what happens when it's dark, and offers to help. During this conversation, Sun either intentionally or accidentally lets it slip that something is wrong with Moon, and that he isn’t supposed to be like this.

This is the latest possible moment the existence of some sort of soul-like essence in Sun and Moon can be discovered, as Charlie asks to see what’s inside them to make Moon act this way. Sun is hesitant, as it requires turning off the lights to get a good look, but is assured by those present that now that they’re not being caught off guard and already have their weapons/magic at the ready that they will be able to handle it. Sun also needs to be reminded that Charlie genuinely wants and likes to help people, and Sun is gonna be a little caught off guard by being indirectly referred to as a person. He probably hugs Charlie, and asks her to be careful. Moon is like a rabid animal, but ultimately helpless with Alastor there, keeping him in like a barrier or whatever. Charlie examines the infection on Moon’s half of the dual-soul thing, and Vaggie and Angel taunt Moon with anything that triggers more aggression to make the infection more apparent/distinct and easy to remove without collateral damage. Vaggie just points her spear more aggressively at Moon, awkwardly shouting that she’ll hurt him and other people, and Angel goes like “OoOoOh I have a gun! And drugs!” Which sets moon tf off. "And sex toys!" and Moon isn’t having it and does more rabid animatronic shit which is funny as hell tbh, and was the intended effect. Charlie starts separating the infection from Moon, causing him to screech, flail around like that slug that touched the salt in that one tiktok, and claw at his face before going still. His red eyes fade as he goes quiet, before his hands slowly twitch, and his eyes light up blue. 

Moon is free from the parasite in his head, and falls to his knees. As the magical barrier recedes, he has no idea what to feel. He also just isn't sure what’s going on because he hasn’t had much of a coherent thought of his own since arriving in hell, but he has the vaguest idea. Moon’s like “How could I ever repay you” And Charlie’s like “All you have to do here is try your best.” and I think now’s a good time for Moon to get his turn to cry into her shoulder.

Over the course of the first few weeks at the Hotel, Sun, and eventually Moon, realize they are doing things they never were built or programmed to do. They learn they can emote with their faces much more than they ever could’ve before. They can cry with tears. They can get sleepy, and sleep like human sleep. They can even eat and drink somehow.

The first few interactions with Alastor are brief, most likely, the few words they do exchange being somewhat frustrating. Alastor doesn’t have any interest in associating with Sun and Moon, mainly as an extension of the general distaste he has for modern technology, partly because Sun said some passive aggressive things about/to Niffty. But a few taunting words with a thin veil to sound like a mockery of encouraging words is totally on the table still. 

Yea idk im going to bed.

[plutothe-pup]

Long, Long Time || An Unsent Letter to Luca

His heart panged incredibly hard in his chest, and the urge to start sobbing again rose in his throat but he swallowed it back. If only just because with that pang of endearing love, he felt an even bigger swell of something else: Guilt. His gaze drifted up - for just a second - landing on Luca’s abandoned pile of presents. Of the object left untouched, that Milo had so quickly put his hands on Luca to stop them from looking now. Maybe you should wait until later to read that. He needed to get that letter back. It wasn’t the time. Milo thought it had been, but .. no. It was clear he had been wrong. Completely wrong. It couldn’t be read. It couldn’t leave this house. It wouldn’t be hard either… Milo was good at stealing, regrettably. Incredible at lifting wallets and purses and watches without being caught. Slipping an envelope out of Luca’s possession or just out of the pile of gifts while they weren’t looking would be simple. Too easy. And Luca was too kind. @lucathedreamer

Merry Christmas, Luca!

Even though this is our second Christmas here, it feels like the first one we probably both understand a little better, right? It's been a crazy year, but I'm thankful that you've been by my side the entire time - even when I try to push you away (sorry lol). So thank you for being such an amazing friend, and for trusting me enough to be able to share parts of yourself and your story with me.

It's really strange to think that when you walked up to me at the park that first day that this is where we'd be all this time later. It's also weird to think of how similar our stories are, and yet how opposite they are at the same time. It's... kind of neat actually that we could share so much in common and yet be able to teach each other so many new things too.

You're one of my best friends, Luca - and I care about you an awful lot. So you know there's nothing more that I want to see than for my friends to be well, right? It's something I want more than my own happiness. I would give everything I have, and everything I ever would have if it meant that my friends got what they want. It would never even be a choice.

More than anything else, I just want you to be happy, Luca - I want you to be loved. Appreciated. Felt and understood. I want you to feel comfortable with yourself and with others. I want you to be able to experience all the things you deserve to see and do, and for you to be able to invent and draw and create. You're so incredibly smart and talented, and it's funny because I don't think you even see it. Not everyone can do the things you do, Luca. So I know you'll end up doing great things in the future.

It's also no secret that I care about you a lot.

I think I always have.

You know, I never understood how people could think 'love at first sight' existed, but sometimes when I think of you, I don't think that's such a weird idea anymore. Simply because the second I met you, it was like we'd already been friends for a very long time - and maybe in a past life we were; because there's no way that I should have felt so comfortable with someone so quickly. But you always know the right thing to say to make me laugh. You listen when I feel like other people aren't. (And you don't listen when you know you shouldn't). You stayed by my side and understood, even when everyone else was angry. You gave me chance after chance, even when I felt like I didn't deserve it.

We were literally raised to be each other's enemies, right? It's insane to think about but by all logic in the world, we should hate each other...

...but I think I'm in love with you, Luca and the craziest thing is I think you might be in love with me too. I see the way you look at me - because I look at you the exact same way. Which should make this simple, right? If two people care about each other this much, it just makes sense.

But nothing about my life makes sense - and I know it's so incredibly unfair, but so would be letting myself act on those feelings when I know that everything you deserve, I can't give you.

I can't hold you when you're sad. I can't kiss you goodnight. I can't pull you close and let those words I'm too afraid to say translate through every heartbeat against your chest. We can't experiences all the 'firsts' of dating together like we experienced the 'firsts' of friendships and general life.

The worst part is I know you're already shaking your head and thinking 'it doesn't matter', or 'I wouldn't mind'. But I know you would. Maybe not right away. But years without more than a simple touch? Years without being able to share affection with your boyfriend, it would get to you. It gets to me. Everyone pretends that it wouldn't, I guess to make me feel better but... Believe me.

You don't deserve to sacrifice that much for me.

I am so, so sorry I can't give you this, but I just want you to be happy, Luca.

So please don't waste yourself on someone like me, not when you have so much potential for the future and I don't. I will never be even a fraction of the person you deserve to have by your side. You deserve someone so much better.

You deserve everything, but I certainly don't deserve you.

I just hope you can forgive me for that, and that maybe somehow you and I can still be best friends too.

[robotstrategy]

Recalled • Part 4 • 30 - Roland

Previous • Series Masterlist • Part 4 Masterlist • Next

Drops of black ink fall into the bathtub as Roland unravels the skin wraps Lee had wrapped him with. Lilian watches as he rinses off all the inky residue revealing the pieces of art across his body.

When Roland was ten he broke his arm, his mom got him a cast instead of a new arm because it was cheaper, he had drawn a shark on it and made the drawing into a permanent tattoo when the cast was cut off. At thirteen he was attacked by a shark that swam too close to the beach, that or he swam too far out. When he walked back onto the sand he was battered and bruised, he had scars that would still be on him today if they weren’t given to Nero and Connor. His step-dad told him it was karma for the things he did earlier that day, he didn’t even care that his step-son could’ve been eaten alive if Roland hadn’t beaten that shark to death.

Roland wonders why he still likes sharks, maybe he just never had the money or time to get the tattoo removed, or maybe it was the respect he had for a bigger monster out there; that no matter how awful he or his step-dad was, there was literal bigger fish to fry.

Roland curses himself, he’s thinking about his stepdad again, and how something could be worse than him. Admittedly dying to a ferocious animal is way worse than a few strikes to the back, but there’s a difference between a trigger-happy, abusive parent and a defensive, scared animal. 

“Do you mind grabbing that second skin wrap over on the counter?” Roland asks Lilian as he thoroughly cleans his arms and legs.

Lilian goes over to grab the second skin. “Why are you covering it again, it’s too pretty to be covered.”

Roland laughs, taking the wrap from Lilian’s hands. “It’s not done healing, I just needed to get the extra ink off.”

Roland wraps up his limbs in the transparent gauze-like wrap before wrapping them again in blue bandages, he turns to the mirror to inspect himself, groaning at the sight of freshly emerged pimples.

Roland has the luck of a teenage girl when it comes to pimples, it’s like dandelions, there’s one, and then there’s a ton, and he can’t get them to go away as easily as his friends used to. 

“You can use some of my face wash if you want.” Lilian eyes Roland. 

“Ya sure? I mean, I don’t know if I should use stuff that isn’t really mine.”

Lilian scoffs. “Just because you’ve become possessive of your stuff doesn’t mean I have.” She pulls out an elastic and hands it to him. “Put your hair up, then it won't get in the way.”

Roland grabs the elastic and puts his hair in a high ponytail, a few shorter pieces fall back into his face. Lilian pulls out a specialty acne cream, apparently it’s supposed to pull out all the gunk in someone’s pores in a matter of four hours. 

“Only put that on the spots that need it, or else you’ll wreck your face even more than it already is.” She hands him the tube, and she then goes for a bag of pimple stickers, placing some on her own problem areas. “Take your pick, you won’t want puss leaking out of your face when the treatment starts.”

Roland scoffs. “No offence, but I’d rather not have unicorns and teddy bears on my face.” To that Lilian rolls her eyes. “There’s some sea creatures in there if you dig hard enough.”

Lilian brushes her teeth while Roland places salmon and starfish on his face. “How’d you get it anyway?” Lilian asks, in reference to Roland’s acne.

“Chocolate pudding.”

“You’ve been eating that a lot.”

“It’s becoming a comfort food.”

And it really is, it’s a simple treat, but it seems like in any slightly stressful situation he’s gotten it. Back at the hospital when he had first woken up, in the support group, his mom had gotten him a carton of it as a treat when he got released from the hospital after the freakout with his meds. He supposes it’s what spam is to Hayden, but then again it was never something present in the basement, god forbid Sonia gets them anything nice. 

However, Roland is happy that it hasn’t become such a big thing, last night he ate the last pudding cup he had in that pack of six. Admittedly having a cup almost every day isn’t the best, but if they were bought for him he should be allowed to have them. 

“So what are you doing today?”

“Sleeping.”

Lilian gives him a look, staring him up and down. Roland scowls.

“What’s with all the attitude?” 

She stays silent for a moment. “I thought you’d go get a haircut.”

“Don’t you need an appointment for that?”

“Leslie doesn’t get many customers these days, you’ll be fine.”

“Haven’t I had enough of altering my body this week?”

“I want to go outside you wet rat!”

Roland wheezes at the randomness of that insult. “What did you just call me?”

“A wet rat! Now go get dressed, and tell Mom we’re going out this time!”

Lilian waits outside on the doorsteps as Roland comes out the door, his hair still in a ponytail. As they walk out of the yard they’re greeted by Otto and Martha, who are out gardening.

“Hi dear, oh, what happened to your arms and legs?” Martha asks.

“Nothing, It’s just tattoo wraps.”

“Oh, are you doing the same thing that the other Recalls are doing?”

“Uh-huh!”

“Oh that’s lovely, are you taking your sister on a walk?” Martha peeks behind Roland to take a look at Lilian who clings to him.

“Apparently I’m getting a haircut,” Roland jerks the arm that Lilian holds onto, “I got called a rat.”

Otto and Martha share a chuckle, “Well, I hope you look less like a rat by the time your hair gets trimmed.” Otto jokes.

Roland and Lilian walk further down the street into the city. 

“Do you know them?” Lilian asks.

“I had lunch with them last week, nice people.”

“I’ve never met them.”

“You should.”

Roland and Lilian walk down the street of the suburbs, every once in a while there’s a big tree overflowing onto the sidewalk, shading the path in which they walk. Sometimes there’s a swing hanging down from them. Roland has never noticed it, but it seems like the city has become more youth-friendly recently. Though, somehow there’s more anti-homeless architecture, and Roland is not necessarily sure if it’s meant to be anti-homeless, or anti-teenager. There’s a big puddle up ahead from the rainstorm last night, one of the many blessings in an Indiana summer, unfortunately, it’s not a blessing for the light-sleeping Roland.

When they get close enough to the puddle Roland hops over it, but Lilian jumps into it, splashing Roland in the process, wetting his socks.

“I thought you didn’t want me to be a wet rat.”

“I don’t, stop letting me make you a wet rat.”

Roland starts running down the street, hopping from side to side, avoiding the puddles while Lilian chases after him stomping through all the puddles. She eventually catches up to Roland despite her coordination, hugging onto his back.

“I guess you’re the wet rat now.” He laughs.

“No, I’m a mouse, a pretty one,”

“Of course,” Roland chuckles. “The prettiest one of them all.”

On the course to the hairdresser Roland feels Lilian leave his side, he turns around to see her eyeing dresses in the window of a tailoring service. She pats her shorts as if almost imagining it on herself, she then snaps back around catching up to him as he continues down the street, watching her.

Entering the salon the same bell rings as the door opens, before Roland can even look at Leslie's old desk, she’s already up in his face.

“Roland! I was wondering when I’d see you again!” She exclaims.

“Hi Leslie!” Roland responds.

“Come to get a haircut? It looks like you need one.”

Roland looks at his sister. “Lilian would agree with you.” Lilian nudges him in the arm.

“Well don’t waste any time, come sit down!” She gestures to her chair. Roland sits down in it, and she places a cape around him. 

“So, do you still want that beach blowout?”

“I think I want something else.”

“No worries! Let me get you a magazine.” Leslie hands off a haircut magazine to Roland. “Boys these days like getting mullets, but honestly they look awful, at least the ones that they get.”

“I think it’s self-expression, ‘cause there’s no way they’re getting a girl with that cut.” Another hairdresser adds it sends a slew of giggles throughout the salon. 

Roland points to a certain hairstyle in the magazine, “How about that one?” Leslie looks back at Roland, inspecting the hairstyle he points at. 

“Huh, a short mullet.”

“Oh,” Roland looks to the ground. “I’m upsetting you aren’t I?”

“No, no, something like this could actually work for you. I think I’ll take it down a little at the back, and add a tinsy bit of length at the bottom.”

Leslie takes electric clippers to Roland’s hair, getting it down to a pixie cut. “I believe this belongs to you.” She hands Lilian back her elastic. Leslie escorts Roland over to one of the wash basins, surprisingly this freaks Roland out more than his experience at the tattoo parlour, because his head faces the ceiling and Leslie isn’t even telling him her next move. 

“Oh April where did you get that top? It’s beautiful!” Leslie asks, looking in front of her. 

“Thank you! I got it from a local artist! She gives half the profits back to the Rewind Ward near us.” April explains.

“Isn’t that the one who lost all three of her high school sweethearts to unwinding?”

“Yeah, see, so she dated the first one, then he broke up with her, then she got with the second one and he got unwound, then she got with the third one, then the first one got unwound, then a day before they were supposed to graduate the third got unwound.”

“Well, at least she only experienced heartbreak twice instead of three times.”

“The last one’s name was Zane right?”

“Yeah, Zane.”

It’s as if all the colour drained from Roland’s face, they’re talking about Valerie, he’s the first boyfriend in the unwound trio. Him, the guy he can’t even remember the name of, and Zane. One of the things that kept Roland sane at the beginning of his recall was that the two women he had hurt had good men to keep them company, Valerie had Zane and Risa had Connor. But Valerie didn’t have Zane, instead, he was unwound, he could’ve had so much, a loving girlfriend, and his place back on the varsity team, but instead he succumbed to the same fate as him. Roland can only hope that somewhere out there, Zane is kicking AWOL.

Leslie taps Roland on the shoulder, waking him from his daze. 

“Are you okay hun? Sorry about them, I told ‘em to stop talking about it.”

“Yeah, no, it’s fine.”

Leslie escorts Roland back to her chair. “I used to remember when I had to use the little high chair for you, now I almost have to send the chair to its lowest setting.” She reminisces. She pulls out a size 2 razor and clips it onto the clippers, he folds over Roland's hair and starts going at the sides.

“Leslie, do you think I look like a yin yang?” Roland questions.

Leslie furrows her eyebrows, “That's a weird question to ask.”

“I don’t know, my tattoo artist thought I was one.” 

Leslie sighs. “You see, hair is one of the many ways someone can express themselves. Here, you can get so many people from different walks of life with all the different sexualities. Sometimes the feeling you’ve got about someone is right, and sometimes it’s completely wrong, so I just chose not to assume anything.”

“But if you had to.”

“I wouldn’t.”

“But-”

“Assuming makes an ass out of u and me. Besides, if you really wanted to know why wouldn’t you just look up yin porn.”

“Leslie! Lilian is right there!” Roland points to Lilian, she rolls her eyes for the third time today. “I know what porn is Roland.”

“I feel like you shouldn’t.”

There’s another ring at the door, a muscular ochre guy around Roland’s age enters the building, he’s got his hair half shaved off with thick dreads on the other side, and he’s got piercing green eyes that cut right into Roland’s possibly no longer existent soul. He walks over to Leslie’s chair, inspecting himself in the mirror, he then turns to Roland, who’s currently getting the main part of his mullet done.

“Seriously, another guy who wants a mullet?”

“Yes, but he’s letting me make it look good.” Leslie puts her hand into Roland’s view, gesturing to the guy in front of him. “Roland, this is my son, Dante. You two used to have playdates all the time when you were little.”

“We did?!” Dante seems just as befuddled as Roland is about this new revelation. 

“Yes, we stopped bringing you around when his mom remarried… no offence.”

“None taken, that was a good choice honestly.”

Out of nowhere, Roland feels an arm wrap around his neck and the side of his face is pressed against the side of Dante’s. It practically flusters Roland and he thinks that Dante has just answered his question about him being yin yang. “Hm, yeah you do look familiar, we’ve got pictures together in your scrapbook don’t we Mom?”

“Dante! Get off him, I’m trying to cut his hair!”

“Right, right, sorry…” He backs off.

Leslie finishes cutting Roland’s hair, in the end, she’s right, taking a little off the back and adding a little on the bottom does make for a nice mullet. Roland pays with some of the money from the envelope and he and Lilian start heading home.

“So, should I leave you alone for the rest of the afternoon?” Lilian asks.

“Ew, no, gross, I’m not doing that, and you already knew I wouldn’t!”

“Yeah, yeah, I just wanted to see your reaction.”

Roland finds Lilian leaving his side again, he looks back to her staring at the same dress as before. 

“You really like that dress don’t you?”

“Well, not that exactly, it looks a little tacky,” She sighs. “I just want a big pretty dress, y’know?”

Roland blinks at her, “I don’t, I’m a guy.” Lilian scowls.

“Tell you what, for your eighteenth birthday I’ll try to convince Mom to get you a pretty dress.”

Lilian gasps, “Really!”

“I said I’ll try, that’s not a promise.”

“Thank you!!!”

[splattermouth]

Adaman for the ask meme!

ADAMAAAN ive come around to him a lot, compared to when i first played thru pla. 

(Also mind you its been a while since ive played and i took iridas route over adamans so i dont know. Every little detail about him. But i like him <3)

favorite thing about them: he’s so fucking funny, i love that hes like the straight man of hisui. Adaman is so fucking normal (genuine), and literally everyone else around him has like a secret bit they have to commit to or theyll die. And like he just has to deal w it. Like all of it. Everyone’s nonsense all the time. You can tell he’s so tired and he’s just trying to keep it together

Also obligatory, but his design is soo fucking killer. Ive only recently actually sat down to draw him n hes just so fun. So well shaped. I like irida’s design on its own a lot, but like compared to adaman? they did her so dirty.

least favorite thing about them: I WISH WE GOT MORE OF A BACKSTORY WITH HIM UGGH i hate to compare him to Irida sm here, but she got like. A very clear story of struggling to accept her new position as clan leader after being abruptly shoved into it. Of the rest of her clan either having insanely high expectations for her, or in Palina’s case, feeling like she didn’t deserve the position.

I get Adaman’s whole thing was Supposed to be that he struggled to earn respect from the rest of the Diamond Clan until Dialga outright Possessed him (which that part is fucking sick. For the record), but i wish they just made it more apparent that. That’s What was supposed to be happening lol. 

Because idk, at least to me, definitely the rest of the clan members were kinda bratty, but i never got the impression they were that way specifically Because they thought Adaman was a weak leader, you know? I didn’t even like realize that’s what was supposed to be happening until like. Reading a few other posts abt Adaman’s position in the story dhdfhgkg Good and interesting ideas w his arc just poor and kinda rushed execution imo!!

favorite line: that one fucking line @ irida towards the end of the main game that was like. ‘I don’t think our rivalry is a Diamond and Pearl Clan thing. I think it’s just a You and I thing.’

lives in my brain.

brOTP: for the love of god i need him and irida to be friends that fucking hate each other.

They are at each others throats over Everything, they will argue Everything just for the sake of arguing, if they every agree w each other on any matter they will both collapse on the spot. They are so sick of each other, but also they are best buddies and no one knows them like They know the other. It’s so fun…

OTP: AH im sorry he’s very aro to me. Both bc I don’t think there’s rly a lot of ppl he could be shipped with anyway, but also he does not strike me as someone who has a romantic interest in. like anyone.

He strikes me as a chaste bisexual man who has never felt an ounce of infatuation for another person in his life. He’s just very buddy-buddy w a lot of people, and he’s happy w that <3

nOTP: so i wouldnt say its a notp bc i dont like. vehemently Hate it, and i think there Could be potential. but im sorry, appraisalshipping makes me kinda :/ a fair amount of the time.

Some stuff is cute, yeah, but most of it is just reeks of ‘i only watch/read/play things for shipping and specifically to ship gay prettyboy twinks’ to me. Adaman and Volo have maybe had all of five lines w each other.

I think there could genuinely be something cool to explore there, like contrasting just how immediately trusting Adaman appears to be of Volo? Compared to Irida who calls Volo's bluff right off the bat for being way too friendly w the protag to be completely genuine. With Adaman just tending to be a more open and friendly person than Irida. Adaman putting his faith in someone he absolutely Should Not just because hey! Adaman’s just a nice person like that! He's not gonna be mean to this guy he just met just bc he's a little overeager! But like god knows no one has any interest exploring That dynamic lmao.

anyway if you ship like adaman/akari im legally allowed to break all of your fingers, slowly and individually

random headcanon: I think he should be like 5’5” at most. He’s short and he’s fat i know this in my heart of hearts.

Also despite always talking about utilizing the time he has to the fullest, he doesn’t strike me as someone that pushes himself or other ppl to constantly be Doing and Accomplishing things, so much as he tries to make every moment meaningful and wants others to do the same. I don’t think he’s all that headstrong as some people may describe him, and i dont think he’d necessarily be someone that thinks like. Taking a nap is a cardinal sin. I think he just wants people to put their limited time on this world to something that matters to them rather than petty bullshit (like arguing w the pearl clan sdhk).

ALSO also less an adaman specific headcanon, but i do personally like to think most of the diamond clan are family, or at least all the main members we see. I know hes canonically brother to melli and mai i think? But i think theyre all one big dysfunctional family and theyre why iscan never leaves the coastlands to visit anymore.

unpopular opinion: i dont think hes boring sorry!! Im guilty of think this at first as well tbf but MAN. going back to the what i dont like abt him thing. Knowing now thats what his whole character arc is supposed to be just makes me :(. He wants to be a good leader and he loves his friends and family a lot and takes such good care of them and they literally like. Do not care until dialga outright tells them to take its little thrall seriously for once. Man. man. 

song i associate with them: DHGJKDFH Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion on main. My Girls feels very adaman-core.

favorite picture of them: So theres like zero actual canon art of him outside of just ingame screenshots but i do like this breezy lil adaman here. annoyed…