#i have beads at home to make friendship bracelets…. and i will be there shortly

[blondephil]

my friend and i found a happy hour nearish my job that’s $5 for margaritas AND for espresso martinis. so naturally i was lit by 5:30

[languor-em]

Do Mimi and Spooky have any special designs to them that make them stand out from other Gengar/Mimikyu? And what's Mimi's opinion on Pikachu, sense some Mimikyu love Pikachu and other's hate them??

YES!!! THANK YOU FOR ASKING!!! YES YES YES!!!! I had to bust out some doodles as FAST AS I COULD for this ask thank you so much bestie

For the most part Spooky looks like any other Gengar, just a little bit fluffier. Theo thinks it's because it was cold where they grew up, but she isn't entirely sure.

His eyes are a little more downturned than most other Gengar- he just looks generally more tired. Because he is. Not to worry, Theo takes excellent care of him, he's just on the sleepier end of the spectrum.

He wears friendship bracelets!! He and Theo have matching ones!! One's a lil beaded bracelet with his name that Theo made for him when she was like,, seven and he was still a Ghastly, she wore it until he evolved into a Haunter and could actually wear it. The other is more recent, a woven one that Theo made for him shortly after he evolved into a Gengar and she started sheltering other Ghost Type Pokemon

He and Theo have been partners since both of them were really tiny! Theo met him while playing in the snow a lil ways outside of town when she was four or five, and he followed her home. Her grandad was understandably nervous, but they got along so well, he didn't have the heart to separate them. They've been together ever since

Theo named him when she was like six- she's asked him many times if he wants a different name, to which he refuses every time.

He eats Theo's nightmares!! She gets a lot of them, and he helps her rest by munching on the fear and bad dreams that naturally spawn during the night!

Mimi's disguise has gotten pretty torn up over the years, wear and tear mixed with the conditions he was in before Theo found him made sure of that. He and Theo have sewn a lot of colorful patches on his costume over the years!

He loves to accessorize!! Bows, bowties, bandanas, he likes to feel pretty!! Theo loves dressing him up, too. She makes him little outfits!

He's very cuddly!!! He doesn't like being by himself, so he's usually in contact with either Theo or Spooky. It helps that he's very easy to carry around.

As for how he feels about Pikachu- at this point in time he sort of just admires them. When Theo first found him, he was way more obsessively attached to them. He very much is of the camp of "wanting to be loved like Pikachu are", and it's taken a lot of time for him to begin to move past that unhealthy attachment. He's doing much better now, but he still likes Pikachu!! Theo and Spooky are very proud of him!!!

He also helps Theo with her anxiety!!! She takes him with her onto the subway and whatnot, and he sort of eats her bad feelings and panic when it gets to be too much. It also helps that he's very plush shaped, and that he loves being hugged

[kimmiherself]

CHAPTER ONE: THE BOYFRIEND

I knew I wasn't crazy but I could be a little control freak and a tad bit obsessive-compulsive at times. I had a tendency to get anxious if things around me weren't organized. I couldn't ask the world to keep it that way for me but I could control my environment. I always kept my bedroom clean and in order, with all my books and stationaries piled up neatly on my side table, my dresser a display of beautiful things I had collected over the years—cute buttons, old jewelries, broken pearls and other beads, a ballpen with green feathers attached to one side and a matching notebook that was my diary, along with the array of headbands and hairclips, as well as my hygiene products, while every other nook of my bedroom—even the ceiling—showcased my collections of stuffed toys and every other cute and green thing that matched the mint-colored walls and linens. I didn't have much but I had decent clothes that consisted mostly of t-shirts and pants—I never liked to wear anything without a sleeve. I'd pile them up neatly in my closet, with the width of the folds always uniform and parallel to each other. I always kept everything in order and I would immediately notice if something had been moved or wasn't in its place. That's just who I was. Things should be planned. Things should be organized. And it was frustrating whenever things didn't go my way.

But there were things that I didn't plan but surprised me, anyway. Like meeting my boyfriend, Matthew.

I first met him at an inter-school event. I was in second year of high school and he was in his last. We both went to private schools  but in different districts. When our schools decided to work together for a radio broadcasting competition, I had to team up with Matt's group for a few days before the actual event and literally holed up in one room with the group for another day or two during the actual event, which was hosted in another school.

He barely caught my eyes at first. Meeting new people was awkward and a little difficult for me. I mostly kept to myself and only talked if asked to. Until I noticed those little giggles erupting around me and the looks the other members of the group shot each other, which was becoming more and more distracting each day. This guy, the group's leader, would just shrug it off. When our eyes met one time, he gave me an apologetic smile, which only brought more giggles from the others. I froze and, suddenly, became very self-conscious. I didn't want to assume but I believed the group was teasing him about me, which brought out conflicting feelings from within me.

I always tried to look neat and presentable, as if I had a mother doing that for me just as how my friends' mothers seemed to be doing to their kids, but that didn't mean I was confident to say I was pretty. Honestly, I believed I looked at least average. My long, straight hair was a product of my yearly visit to the salon. I hated every wave and curl of my hair so I kept them straight by acquiring the magical services of hairdressers. My face was too simple that it wouldn't stand out in the crowd. My eyes too large. My lips too full. My height average. I also hadn't shed most of the baby fats in my midsection and it was one thing I really disliked about myself. Well, to keep the points even, my skin was naturally fair. It just wasn't as fair as Kendra's—the person I'd hate to compare myself with the most.

Kendra topped the long list of girls at school who had brought up my insecurities. People claimed she was the prettiest. Her skin the fairest. Her face the most angelic. Her voice could even summon the angels if she'd like. Her dance the most graceful. Her body a perfect structure. And when I knew some boy I had a crush on liked her first, I flipped. I claimed not to mind but I did. I kind of felt embarrassed to sit next to her. She was a year younger than I was but we mostly ended up performing in various events together. There was one time I was called to become one of her back-up dancers during a competition and it really irked me. For days, I wondered how nice it would be to switch places with her. I believed I was the better dancer. I couldn't sing, though. And she really was beautiful—I paled in comparison to her. But the thought was a bitter pill to swallow. I kind of hated her for being too perfect. Kendra really brought out the worst in me, and she didn't even know.

Someone liking me was both confusing and unbelievable to me. There was only one boy who openly showed his feelings to me, and sure I liked him too. For a while, I was obsessed with him and of our budding friendship. But the moment someone made a comment about me growing taller and bigger than he was, my feelings died out like a candle blown. And he liked Kendra first. Like most boys in school did. It just also didn't sit well with me to become someone's consolation prize because he didn't win the grand prize. Aaron was a good guy, though. My insecurities just gnawed on me.

Matthew's appearance to my life was unexpected but pleasant. The teasing during the competition even intensified when Matthew called my name during script-reading instead of someone else's. Suddenly, I was hyperaware of his presence. I knew where he was in the room without looking. I anticipated hearing his voice during practices. And I had become exceedingly conscious of myself when he was there. I realized how magnetic his eyes were behind those thin slits and how sheepish his smile was. And it unnerved me whenever he chose to throw that smile at me. When the actual competition came, he stood next to me and it was the closest he ever was with me during the entire event. We never talked, though. We only ever had our timid stares whenever our eyes met.

While we never talked during those first few days, we spent months and months of talking through the phone during the duration of our relationship. It started with friendly chats and warm conversations. He would always throw compliments at me and say he was very lucky I was giving him any attention. I felt luckier. I never knew having someone to listen to all my internal dialogues was that satisfying. The constant communication bound us together despite the aching distance. He wrote the most romantic messages and the most heartfelt promises that I fell in love with him almost instantly. He was pretty poetic but always sounded so mature. He took up Mass Communication in college and I thought it suited him best. Matt had his way with words...and words were all we had for each other.

For almost two years of being together, we had only met four times. The first time was during the earliest part of our relationship. There was an event at school and he surprised me by visiting. I ruined that when I just screamed upon seeing him and ran home. I literally ran away, dragging one of my friends with me. It took only a second and I was gone.

The second was unexpected. My mother had to process some documents in the city for her flight back to work. My sister and I went looking for a copier machine and, lo and behold, Matt was standing in the middle of a busy alley, his gaze locked on mine. Everything around us seemed to move in slow motion as I stared back at him, my heart beating erratically. I couldn't even remember if we talked. The fear of having us found out by my parents superseded my excitement so, again, I rushed away as fast as possible.

The third time we met lasted about thirty minutes. We had our first date. A really short one, though. I snuck away from our school event to meet him at lunch. It wasn't even a real lunch, but I couldn't care less. Finally, I was with him. I had been wanting to see him for what seemed like forever. While we talked endlessly on the phone, we barely did in real life. I was shy, awkward, and couldn't even mutter a word without stuttering. I had been trying to write our love story that time and I wanted him to read it. I was hesitant at first but he was already so curious that he had to read it. I watched his lips twitch a few times as his eyes scanned my words, and I felt the contents of my stomach trying to come back up. It was embarrassing. I didn't know what he thought about it but seeing him smile somehow calmed my nerves. It was the shortest date ever that one could hardly call it a date. But he was sweet and a real gentleman too. He never even touched my hand, which I had been hoping he would. I wanted to hold him...to feel he was there. Like he was real. Like what we had was real. It was weird how close it felt we were on the phone but how distant we actually were in real life. I started thinking about the reality of it all. Was I just hallucinating things? Did he really love me back? I started to doubt everything.

The fourth time we met was in the city. I had to attend to an overnight school activity and the morning after I had to sneak away to see him. No one knew about it. The sun had just been up and I had to see him in my pajamas for I was still waiting for my turn in the bathroom. We met outside the dormitory my group was staying at and sat on a bench nearby. I had started wearing my prescription glasses by that time and regretted doing so when he asked me about it. I probably looked hideous. I hadn't even taken my bath yet. Everything that morning just made me feel so embarrassed once again. We were together for like ten minutes, with me just squirming in my seat as he looked at me. Again, I couldn't remember what we talked about—if we ever did, but I remembered him taking off his black rubber bracelet that had a knot in the middle and slid it up my wrist. "To remind you of me," he said. As if he ever left my mind. The slight grazing of his skin over mine was enough to make me dizzy and it didn't help that my heart was pumping like crazy. He left shortly after that, seeing we both had full days waiting for us. And when he waved his final goodbye, he said he loved me.

I loved him too.

But being Matthew's girlfriend wasn't entirely easy. As a matter of fact, it was too difficult and too complicated that I always found myself crying at night. It was because of this relationship that I met loneliness and learned it was a terrible companion.

Being in college and living in the city away from his family hadn't always been easy for Matthew. He had dreams and he had been doing his best to achieve them, even if it meant he had to take part-time jobs here and there just to support his education. He was always responsible and I never knew anyone who worked as hard he did. Even in high school, he already part-timed as a radio DJ. I was very proud of him. He inspired me to work very hard myself so I could reach my dreams too, although him working that hard meant our relationship would be put to the least of his priorities. I knew I mattered to him...he just didn't have the time for me yet.

And it left me wrecked. He had broken up with me multiple times that I lost count already. He told me he couldn't keep a relationship while life was beating the hell out of him and added I was too young and too naive to even understand. But he couldn't seem to leave me alone for long too. It was that uncertainty that kept me awake at night. He said he loved me even after dumping me. He said I'd just have to hold on and wait for him to be ready. He said we'd be together once I finished high school—he let me promise that one. Matt said I'd just have to be patient.

Then he would disappear for weeks.

Those days were torture to me.

Loneliness started eating me. I'd wake up feeling nothing and I would go to bed feeling like the world just crashed on my shoulders. There were days I'd wreck everything in my bedroom and I'd snap at anyone who tried to come near me. There were days that I hated everyone, even my friends at school, and just holed up in the library after class. But mostly, I'd cry myself to sleep. And it didn't help that every song on the radio seemed to mock me. Then I'd start feeling like sleeping and never wanting to wake up.

I tried to forget him and focused all my attention to school, and it became an obsession. When mother was talking about possible universities and colleges for me, she mentioned I could go to the country's capital and study there. But flying across the country, stretching the distance between Matt and I into thousands and thousands of kilometers, wasn't an option for me. Despite the uncertainties and the heartaches, I'd rather be near him, like a moth ever so tempted to embrace the flame.

There was only one college for me. My brother said it was one of the best and it was in the same city as Matt's. I wasn't actually looking forward to become a nurse but I also didn't have anything I particularly liked at the moment. I was merely following my brother's footsteps and it didn't sound so bad at all. But to get to that college, I would have to ensure my scholarship that promised a hundred percent off the tuition fee, even though I never once had been pressured by my family about it. I just didn't want to add to my mother's burden and it also made me feel good to study at a college with the word best attached to it. So I had been studying really hard and I had also been joining all the extra-curricular activities that would hopefully earn me points and help me graduate at the top of my class. For a while, it took my mind off my broken heart.

But, as I said, Matthew couldn't leave me alone for long. He would pop right back up when I had started getting used to his absence. It was becoming exhausting but I couldn't seem to let go of him too, so I'd jump back again to this vicious cycle.

Five months and I'd be off to college. Matthew and I had gotten back together and jumpstarted our relationship once again. It was as exhausting as ever but the thought of seeing him at the end of this waiting game was enough to keep me going. Matthew had becoming more and more distant and inattentive each passing day but I believed he was just really busy tossing himself between school and work that he could hardly find the time to check his phone. Still, I couldn't help but wallow in his absence. He even forgot about my birthday and it crushed me so hard. He promised he'd see me but it never happened. I tried getting his attention though, but it was worthless. I only looked like a clingy, immature, whining little girl who couldn't wait to get her candy.

I knew I'd been really annoying but Matt was still sweet and kind with his words whenever he found the time to check up on me. "You know you're my sunshine, right?" he asked once, in between my silly attempts of getting his attention. I didn't actually know how he had been doing and it made me feel guilty. I hoped I'd brought him more happiness than headaches. "We'll be together soon. You just have to wait," he always said. And those were the words I held on to.

Soon.

Very soon.

[daringspirits]

“Dear old world’, she murmured, ‘you are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you.”

— Anne Shirley (by Lucy Maud Montgomery, in Anne of Green Gables)

Basic Information: Age: 19 years old Gender: Cisfemale Sexuality: Bisexual Nationality: Canadian Career: University student (Double major: English & Political Science) Living space: Dorm room (shared with Violet Harmon) (Birth) Parents: Walter Shirley, Bertha Shirley Canon: Anne with an E

In Avonlea:

”I like imagining better than remembering.”

Her life before adoption was not great. She spent most of her life in Saint Alban’s orphanage, in between being leased out to other homes to work as a servant/maid. The other girls in the orphanage, and they liked to terrorize her. The matron and other staff members disliked her just as much, and she was punished often. The most notable family that she worked for was the Hammonds. Mrs. Hammond had eight children, and Anne’s job was to take care of them. When she wasn’t quick enough or didn’t do as good of a job as the Hammonds had wanted, she was beaten, or whipped. On one such instance, Mr. Hammond had a heart attack and died right next to Anne. She was quickly sent back to Saint Alban’s, and shortly afterwards she was sent to Avonlea, to the Cuthberts and Green Gables.

”Every little while, this horrible, sickening feeling would come over me, and I’d be so afraid that this was all a dream. But I just had to one more time. This is real. Green Gables is real and we’re home.”

The Cuthberts had wanted a boy from the orphanage, but instead, they’d been sent Anne. Anne fell in love with Green Gables and Avonlea almost instantly, and she quickly found a friend in Matthew Cuthbert. Matthew had fallen for the girl almost instantly, and quickly made it clear that he wanted her to stay, but Marilla needed more convincing. But it didn’t take long, and after some choice declarations in a train station, and an apology from Marilla, the Cuthberts added Anne to their little family— and they hired a farmhand named Jerry Baynard, an Acadian boy.

”I solemnly swear to be faithful to my bosom friend, Diana Barry, for as long as the sun and moon shall endure.”

The Barrys are the Cuthberts’ neighbors, and were of a much higher class. When Anne first met Diana, she was as quiet as a mouse, warned by Marilla to be careful with how she spoke and acted as the Barrys were a harsh sort when it came to misbehavior. But once the two were alone, Anne entranced Diana with her fantastical stories and her freedom and wildness. And that was when they became bosom friends. They’ve had their bumps along the road, but they are each other’s number one. Anne loves Diana with all her heart.

“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out that there are so many of them in the world.”

Anne was excited to go to school, but her first days weren’t all that great. She made mistakes, and the kids of Avonlea had prejudices that they carried from their parents, so it was hard for her to make friends. It didn’t help that Billy Andrews and Josie Pye were being bullies. But Diana was at her side, and after the Gillis Fire, Ruby was at her side too. She became friends with Aunt Josephine, Diana’s lesbian great-aunt and Mrs. Lynde and Miss Stacy and with the passage of time, the rest of the girls became her friends too. She found kindred spirits within the boys as well, namely Cole Mackenzie, the farm-boy who dreams of being an artist, and Jerry, the farmhand turned nuisance, turned close friend. She meets Sebastian and Mary through Gilbert Blythe, and the Blythe-Lacroixs become part of the Cuthbert family. And when she meets Ka’kwet, a Mi’kmaq girl, Anne befriends her just as easily as she would anyone else.

“Perhaps love unfolds, out of a burgeoning friendship, as a golden-hearted rose, slips from its green sheath.”

Gilbert Blythe was a nuisance to Anne since the moment he pulled her braid and called her ‘carrots’. His interest in her was the single-most largest obstacle between Anne herself and the friendship of the other girls. No matter what he did or said, Anne could not be convinced to think of him as anything other than an annoying rival in the classroom. That is, of course, until his father died. She made a mess of things, as she always does, and managed to hurt his feelings. Eventually they apologize to one another, and when he comes back from his months at sea, he brings with him Bash, and with Bash came Mary, and soon the Lacroix-Blythes and the Cuthberts are like kin. And then— then she falls in love.

As of the Season 3 Finale:

Anne has grown a lot through the course of the season, and turning 16. She befriends a Mi’kmaq girl, Ka’kwet, embarks on a journey to find her true origin, and falls in love. Anne writes an article on the Mi’kmaq, and then an article titled “What is Fair?” in an attempt to bring to light the injustices against women, inspired by the lack of justice shown for what had happened to her friend Josie Pye. She faces her past, Cole joining her as she visits Saint Alban’s Orphanage one last time. And she makes plans for the future by taking her Queen’s exams, and celebrating her graduation with her classmates.

By the end of season 3, Anne knows of Walter and Bertha Shirley, and what Bertha looked like, and that they are teachers. She is living in Mrs. Blackmore’s boarding house, and is about to start her first term at Queen’s alongside most of her school-mates, save Gilbert. Gilbert has decided to go to the University of Toronto— and Anne and Gilbert have decided to become pen-pals, furthering their connection in this time apart. And they have kissed. Three times.

Personality:

Anne is a passionate individual, who loves with all her heart. She cares for the people she cares for, and has a talent for making friends of the unlikeliest of people. She is loyal to her friends, and her friends are usually not limited to those in her age group. She is intelligent and has a thirst for knowledge, and she has a very strong sense of justice and what is right and wrong. She is spunky, and she also has an ability to find the beauty in the mundane. Her imagination is large, and she adores writing in all forms. (She also does quote literature sometimes.) But she is also odd, and insecure and stubborn beyond compare. Her past has hurt her, after all. This is the girl who was determined to hate a boy for the rest of her life, the girl who wouldn’t budge from the residential school until Ka’kwet’s mother pushed her to. She also sometimes has the problem of making plans and acting without fully considering the consequences, but this is a flaw she continues to work on. She’s hurt people, friends, because of her lack of forethought.

Los Angeles:

About a year ago, things finally fell into place in Anne’s mind. Dreams were revealed to be long-lost memories, and the rolling waves and the acres of green fields she’d seen in her mind’s eye had been the images of Avonlea and Green Gables that her soul had been unable to forget. The necklace that she’d always worn was the one she shared with her dearest bosom friend, the sketch she’d lovingly kept on her dresser was made by Cole, the beads hung on her mirror were the ones she’d traded with Ka’kwet, her cherished charm bracelet had been given to her by Matthew, and the pen— the pen sitting in a forgotten drawer in her current room had been the one she’d used since the grifters had come to Avonlea. It was almost laughably easy to reconcile her memories with her current life as all it did was provide clarity to the questions she’d had about her own self. Not that she’d told many people about this— no, the only one who knew it all was Lyra. Lyra, her closest friend here, her kindred spirit. Now that she remembered Diana, nobody could take her bosom friend’s place in her heart, but Anne knew that her heart was big enough for more, and there were plenty of people here in Los Angeles that she adored with everything she had.

[talesofealdancynedom]

Jupiter Minkmonk, in her fairy robes shortly after this story. When your children take a level in magic badass, you take a level in magical parenting badass.

Tale 8: Cetus, Jupiter, and Makatchthis (chapter 4. The Craft Supply Store 4/5 ) part 2. Stories of Fey

coarse language

Matcha had been on Tiberius gate for about a month. Palladis kept him on the gate, fed him, and played with him. Palladis took her task of controlling her brothers, the raven princes, seriously. She spent hundreds of years around humans and preferred their company; she knew the stakes. Palladia also remembered the last time a griminthrope was in the day veil. The day one of her brothers first devoured the flesh of men. Even if Matcha was presenting as a normal boy, the fact he was becoming a deadly beast was at the back of everyone’s minds. As for Palladis, she was one of the eldest royal fey, and she took the form of a small white girl with gold eyes and opal raven robes when approached by humans. Being admired as an iridescent white raven was a fun hobby for the younger princesses. Palladis had lived long enough to know that vanity means little, and is a childish pursuit. Matcha, having grown up a bit, was getting curious about the day veil. being stuck on the gate was like being stuck in the nest; stories were not enough satisfying his youthful mind. He had come to his senses now that he had put on some weight and plumage. He tried to fledge off the tower trellises but often fell on his face. Matcha wanted to fly, be with his brothers, and quench his deep hunger. And when there was nothing rotting on the gate, and Palladis could not bring him carrion, he lusted for the hunt. But Matcha had gotten attached to his new family. He was beginning to love humans as companions; thus, he had developed empathy for living things. Unlike other griminthropes, Matcha understood that the dead once lived. That he himself was half human. He would dare not hurt a human or fey, yet feared he would.

For a long weekend Morgan, Regina, and their friends were taken on a field trip to a fey convention. By their  professor, Hara Fyrstan, who was head of fey studies at their magic academy. They took a bus, and packed for up to three days away from home. Cetus and Jupiter began to sweat. Would Morgan sleep walk back such a distance? What if people found out Regina and Morgan were mages and try to persecute them? What if Matcha or another fey wreaked havoc on the village without Morgan’s guidance?

“Honey.” Cetus said tensely, glazed over as he stared at their precious children walk to the bus.

“yes dear” Jupitar responded. Her body clenched. The Ivory skinned, hazel eyed Franc in her was being tested. North Central people had a low bullshit tolerance, iron will’s, and true grit. which is what made her steady in the face of life’s trials. Jupiter and Cetus held hands as they watched their children walk off to catch the bus. They felt each other squeezing the circulation out of their forelimbs, mutually.

“Morgan needs new clothes. Something in this forest’s water is making him grow like a tree. In spite of his trouble eating….” Cetus quivered.

“I hate malls. He is at that age though,” Jupiter said in monotone. “Wait, he still has trouble eating? I thought we got him on anti-anxiety meds and therapy so he didn’t develop an eating disorder. You need to catch them young. After what His father did, he’s mentally unwell.” She grimaced.

“Oh, yeah. I mean he’s better than he was. Give the kid a break. Man I still can’t believe it,“ Cetus grumbled. “wait. Jupe, Where’s Matcha? Shouldn’t we be watching him?” he gasped.

“Damn it, Cetus. Let’s just take the bloody bird with us.”

“he looks more like a boy. He doesn’t birb very often… For someone so eager to be a birb”

“you mean bird? Which isn’t a verb...”

“he he, that rhymed.”

“I’ll get him” Jupiter sighed. She clicked the keys to make the car beep, which was audible from where they parked it just outside the gate. “I love you!” Cetus yelled walking to the car. “Love you too dear” Jupitar exclaimed back, fetching Matcha and her wallet.

Matcha was thrilled to leave the gate, he chattered the whole drive into town. Palladis tailed behind in flight. Raven children were as swift as any train or car.

“look ornaments! Can I eat one? I’m hungry!” Matcha said when they were in the mall. Cetus had strapped him into a shopping cart with winter twine. A type of thin yet sturdy magical rope. They ddidn’t want matcha running around, even with Palladis at their tail. However, the winter displays and decor were overwhelming and bewitching to the young griminthrope. Even Palladis had gotten distracted from watching her brother. Matcha snatched a ornament off a display as they carted by, and tried to eat the trinket, but then threw it up. He swallowed it whole like a pelican, and popped it right back out in perfect condition. He felt and looked very disappointed. Jupiter took and put it back on the next mall display while they kept walking. Cetus was busy looking for the next store, and without looking handed Matcha a toy. Jupiter had the grimace of someone who was reading internet memes; the distasteful kind. She was like that the entire time they were in mall. The sight was something to behold, the two of them were like veteran parents going to a mall with a toddler. But instead of a toddler it was an ominous black fey in a shopping cart. That was nearly the size of the shopping cart. A few people gave them scared looks, even here this was a bit odd. Cetus assured the staff that a wizard wasn’t necessary; they were just ‘babysitting for their nephew’. Which made even less sense. After over an hour picking out clothes and things they needed while they were there, Cetus and Jupiter found a table in the food court. they sat down with their orders looking exhausted.

“Suppose we should feed Matcha too eh? There is no shortage of trash around here, Jupiter.” Cetus said. Jupitar had gone space cadet eating tatter tots. Cetus rolled his eyes and turned to the shopping cart. It had three bags of clothes and a neatly wrapped cord of winter twine in it. “OH SHIT.” Cetus exclaimed. Jupiter perked up like new mother hearing a baby cry in the next room at 2am. She looked at the cart. She looked at Cetus. Jupiter cursed five times in francish, and grabbed the loot from their cart, her husband’s arm, and then walked out of that mall like a soldier into battle. She didn’t even finish the tater tots.

Cetus and Jupiter sat in the car for thirty minutes in silence brainstorming where Matcha would have gone. He was either in a dumpster behind the steak house or somewhere there is music and shiny things. Clubs were not open this time of day. It was noon. Cetus sighed and looked out the side window to see a large store by the professional building. “oh look, a Gabriel’s. Jupe, that place plays top 40 radio and has sparkly stuff everywhere. Matcha might be in there! I also need more yarn and stationery.” Cetus prompted. Jupiter rolled her eyes and they both exited the car. She should have never of joined that couples knitting group.

Matcha had never been somewhere so wonderful in his life. It almost reminded him of the nest. The music, the beads, the glitter, charms, thread, fake flora, bird houses, and gift wrap. It smelled of cloves, plastic, dust and popery. The lights shone brightly like flickering stadium lights, yet it still felt dark. The soft soulless catchy music played in a soft and tinny voice filling every crevice of the open, sparsely populated, glorified warehouse. Matcha had stars in his eyes, and he grabbed a basket like the other customers. He B-lined to the jeweler section and began tossing things in his basket. He began singing the songs on the PA perfectly, and had starting dancing to make every instruments sound. He was a one-man band. Matcha had also 152 dollars of merchandise ripped open and strung together into friendship bracelets. Matcha had decided to sit cross legged and bead like his father on the top of the cake decorating isle. He was on high profile mission of friendship bracelets.

“customers please stay calm. A wizard has been called, and will arrive shortly. Thank you for shopping at Gabriel’s.” an announcement said. This is when Jupiter and Cetus walked into the store. Cetus excused himself to the yarn section. Jupiter saw and heard Matcha a mile away and walked over to the isle he was perched in. She saw an employee and a wizard looking at the top of isle ten. Matcha was like a child that had eaten too many five cent candies. Jupiter looked both ways down the isle, and then walked forward and looked directly into the wizard’s eyes. Her gaze nearly defenestrating his soul from them.

“a North Central lady. Perfect. Last thing we need is a damn franc. Do we have improper posture? Or are you here to mock us well we deal with this…whatever it is…” The wizard said. Jupiter had been made fun of for her ethnic background since she moved to the grand West. It had made her strong. Jupiter punched the wizard before pulling him into a knee to the groin and tossing him aside like laundry. He lay on the floor whimpering. Jupiter then put one heel into his shoulder and the employee slowly walked backward out of the isle. She was not payed enough for this.

“get down here right now, young man.” Jupiter said with an intense thunder in her voice. Matcha froze cold and looked down at Jupiter’s unblinking stare. He wasn’t sure what he had done wrong. Matcha looked at his half-completed work and then stuffed it into a pouch on his side. Matcha held up a charm bracelet.

“look Jupiter! I made a shiny for you! I’m super crafty now! Just like dad!” Matcha Exclaimed. He was so genuinely proud of himself. He flew down and Jupiter grabbed Matcha by the hand, and escorted him to the till to meet her husband. Cetus payed for his yarn at the till, and apologize for the griminthrope. Jupiter stood behind him holding Matcha to prevent him from wondering off.

“sorry about that, were not trained in magic. Just have to watch him for the weekend. We can pay for the damages.” Cetus said. The manager stared silently in fear behind Cetus, at Matcha, well scanning the wool. Macha began to impatiently wiggle and hum.

“So, you’re taking that thing away then? And it’s not coming back?” The manager asked handing over the card reader.

“nope. Staying with us. Can’t apologize enough…Hope he didn’t scare off any business.”

“in that case, you don’t have to pay us for damages. we’ll pay you in place of the wizard, who is still indisposed by the frosting nozzles. Do you want a beading kit for the road? You know… so that thing is satisfied and DEFINITELY does not come back to my store?”

“thank you kindly. I think that is an excellent idea ma’am.” Cetus smiled charmingly.

With craft supplies in had Jupiter dragged Matcha into the backseat of the car and strapped him in. Cetus, about to get behind the wheel, noticed Palladis was on the car hood.

“YOU” Cetus growled.

“don’t tell my dad. We just went past that chandelier and I just… so sparkly…” Palladis said. Jupiter and Cetus both gave Palladis a nasty glare as they entered the car, slamming their doors. Cetus then started the car and turned on the windshield wipers. Palladis slid off the hood, her pleas barely audible through the glass. When Palladis got up and flew away to follow them home, Cetus began to drive. Jupiter looked into the art supply bag from the passenger’s side seat; “That colour? Sweety, we’ve talked out this. “

NEXT--->

<---PREVIOUS