#sledders story

[sleddingchampion]

What AM I ANYMORE..

[artmolonara]

Snow Day - A Lumpy Where's Waldo Story

A continuation of the Uncle Waldo series I've been creating. You can read the last two chapters, Lullaby Bye and Peek-A-Boo, via the links.

Also shout out to @nami-ramen again for continuing to make awesome illustrations based on my writing. You can see their rendition of the Peek-A-Boo chapter here (I also love the idea that the Detective was awake :oD)

Ok, fair warning: this one is a doozy, and deals with some VERY HEAVY subject matter that may be uncomfortable to some (Nothing bad done by our titular Waldo tho, he a "good" boy in this)

*** Proceed with Caution, and Enjoy ***

Two years. Seemed hard to believe how the time was flying. Waldo felt it not in his own body, but saw it on those he had been watching. That being, the Detective, and their child, Junior.

Enough time had now passed since Wenda's death that grief no longer clung to the Detective like a shadow. Waldo now only saw it periodically, in the night.

And Junior, they were now walking and talking, kinda, all over the place. The pair of them had begun to take walks over stroller rides, and Waldo had enjoyed tagging along on their strolls as a distant watcher. Every now and again, Junior might spot Waldo, and he'd give a wave. The kid seemed better at finding him than the Detective was.

Truly an marvelous development.

...

The end of the year was upon the world, and with it, snow had arrived.

Waldo liked snowy days, and not just because he liked to paint the snow with stripes of red, or watch screams become visible in the cold air, but also because the world could truly be still on winter days. Never was anytime truly as quiet, calming.

Though quiet wasn't what he was seeking right now. What was bringing him more joy was the squeals of delight carrying on the breeze as Junior and the Detective slide down a snow covered hill on a toboggan for the 11th time in a row.

It was a popular spot in the park, and a bunch of other families were sledding and snowboarding there as well, all enjoying the winter break.

Waldo watched from the other side of the frozen pines, unseen by all.

It was a rather fun thing, sledding. Part of Waldo wished he could join in on the activity, but alas, he must remain unseen, as per the game. For now, he was content to just observe. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he might watch one of the sledders, other than his hunter and their ward, wipe out spectacularly.

The wish was clearly a premonition, as within the minute, a rambunctious teen lost control of their snowboard, tumbling and crashing into a tree at incredible speeds, leaving their leg twisted backwards. Waldo smirked to himself at the screams that filled the air.

The responsible adults there, the Detective included, were immediately drawn to the scene. The Detective turned to Junior, speaking and gesturing to them in a way that Waldo recognized as "stay put." They then walked over with most of the other parents, leaving a series of kids sitting on the slop.

Junior was well behaved, Waldo knew, and was very good at staying put when told to, so there was no fear of them wandering off.

...

That was when Waldo noticed the man.

He seemed to come from behind a tree, as if he had always been there. Waldo was surprised he hadn't spied such a festive sweater.

Slowly, he walked in the direction of everyone, pausing to look at the commotion. After a moment, he looked towards the hill, and all of the children there.

The hairs on Waldo's neck stood up straight in recognition. He knew a predator when he saw one.

It began to make a beeline for Junior at an even pace. Waldo's grip tightened on his walking stick.

Did it dare?

It crouched down next to Junior, saying something to them, to which the child gave no reaction. Then, with a final glace around, the dingo scooped up the baby, and began to walk briskly away.

Oh, it did.

No one else had seen, all their attention had been on the lame teen screaming their guts out. But Waldo had seen, and when he was done, he was going to make those wails sound like cries of joy in comparison.

Oh, this will be fun...

...

Waldo could move extremely fast when he wanted to. Teleportation was one mode he traveled, but he could move in the space between that as well. Were anyone to see, they might just notice a strange, slightly sparking, gust of wind moving through the park, and how the lamps it passed seemed to blink on for a second.

He tracked the creature to the parking lot, seeing just as the car began to turn out. It moved at an leisurely pace, obviously not wanting to draw attention to itself.

Waldo kept pace with it, until it came to the first stop sign right at the park exit. Then, Waldo made himself reappear, inconspicuously, right next to the sign. Feigning a smile, Waldo waved at the car, and began to cross the road, acting like a common pedestrian.

The creature in the driver's seat feigned a polite smile back, acting like a common human. Waldo got a better look at it. The person suit it wore was unremarkable, a rather convincing disguise. His gaze looked then to the passenger's seat, where Junior was sitting. The child's blank face of confusion suddenly turned up to a smile in recognition at seeing their Uncle Waldo.

Waldo felt his smile twitch into a sneer. They were sitting in a booster seat.

A damned booster seat.

It had done this before.

I'm going to take my time with this one.

Stopping directly in front of the car, Waldo leaned forward on his cane, and began to stare daggers at the driver, still keeping his smirk. The creature's grin faulted a little, and it gave a polite beep with the horn. Waldo just shook his head, and rested his foot on the bumper, smile now becoming much, much wider.

The dingo caught on now, all pretense gone. In an attempt at retaliation, the gas was floored, but the tires only spun in the slushy snow, unmoving against Waldo's heel.

Enough preamble. Waldo slammed the end of his cane into the compacted ice, and there was a sudden sparking light in and around the car. Streetlights overhead flared and exploded, the car's engine sputtered and died, and before the beast had time to react, another cane appeared from the dark of the back seat and hooked around the creature's neck, pulling it taught against the headrest with no hope of air.

Move, and you die.

It was a command said by him, but not by HIM him.

While the creature's struggling stilled, an arm, identical to Waldo's own, reached passed and hit the child lock button. Waldo nodded, walking over the the passenger's door and opening it.

Junior's eyes had been locked on Waldo, and now seeing him closer, they reached out their arms, "Wally!"

Waldo's smile softened, "Hey, kiddo. Quite an adventure you're on today, but I think it's time we go back to the Detective. Don't want them to think something," he glanced up at the tumor, "bad happened to you." His teeth bared a bit wider as the cane around it's neck tightened to the point it's eyes bulged; the gurgle was pleasant to hear.

He undid the straps and picked Junior up and out of the car. As soon as he kicked the door shut, the car came back to life.

Drive.

The vehicle took off, and Waldo took a moment to wave goodbye, Junior mimicking.

He would catch up later.

...

No less than fifteen minutes had elapsed since the start of the whole ordeal, and over the sound of the distant ambulance sirens, Waldo could hear the Detective calling out for Junior. Their voice was just starting to shift in pitch from worry to general concern, and there was at least two other voices calling out as well.

As they reached a spot nearby, still out of view, Waldo slowly lowered Junior down to their feet, kneeling beside them.

"You OK?" Waldo asked, taking a moment to look the child over to makes sure nothing was out of place.

Still in good spirits, glancing off in the direction they were being called, Junior just gave a distracted, "Uh huh."

Waldo sighed, a worry now filling his chest, which was a very strange sensation, "OK well... listen OK?" He put his hands on the their shoulders.

Bright eyes looked to his, focusing when they saw how serious he was.

"You have to be careful of people you don't know. There are adults out there that could-"

Another call for Junior. There wasn't time to go into a full stranger danger lesson, unfortunately. He hoped the Detective would do that for him soon after.

"Just try to stay close to your Uncle Waldo and the Detective, OK? And if anyone else tries to take you somewhere or do something you don't like, you bite them." He put up his hands to mimic claws, "Like a T-Rex."

Junior smiled, and made a soft "Rawr!"

Waldo chuckled, "Rawr, that's right." The worry still swirled in his chest, and acting on it, he hugged Junior to him protectively.

"Just... be careful OK? I can't always be around to protect you..."

Almost as if comforting him, Junior's tiny hand patted his arm, followed by a soft, "Oh kay."

The Detective called again, and Junior turned away as Waldo let go. He smiled, "Race you to the Detective, ready?" He faked prepping a sprint, to which the child bounded in place with new adrenaline, "ReadysetGO!"

Junior took off, leaving Waldo sitting in the snow. He took a moment, quelling the waves of anxiousness he wasn't at all used to, before standing up and watching again from a distance.

Junior was found immediately, the Detective seemingly going through the same motions and emotions Waldo just had with Junior, talking somewhat sternly before hugging with relief. The pair soon left the park in the wake of the ambulance taking the forgotten lame teen to the hospital.

...

Later that evening, Waldo visited the Detective residence. Junior had already been sent to bed, having just transitioned out of the crib. The Detective now sat alone in front of a small smoldering fireplace, staring into the embers with an exhausted expression, a half finished mug of hot cocoa on the coffee table before them.

Waldo knew what they must be thinking, as his thoughts were there too. And while Waldo could see down the current path and knew that things would turn out alright, the worry and looming fear of what could have happened or happen was as oppressive as the cold night.

When the Detective nodded into sleep, and a passing car's engine roared, Waldo let himself in. He put out the remaining fire, then found a blanket on the couch to lay across the Detective's from. Long hands rested gently on weary shoulders, giving them a soft squeeze.

"Don't worry, they'll be alright," a gentle reassuring pat, a thumb caressing the base of a neck, "They have us. And we are in this together."

Tension slowly left the sleeping form. Waldo smiled, picking up the mug and downing the rest of the lukewarm liquid, lips on the rim touching the ghost of the Detective's in an indirect kiss.

A grandfather clock began to chime twelve. Waldo smirked with his last sip.

Time to have some fun.

"I'll see you for the holidays," He promised before vanishing with a crack. The Detective stirred, blearily looking around, before getting up to check on Junior.

...

It was at the final stroke of midnight that Waldo materialized before the darkened building on the edge of town. The perfect playground where he and his selves wouldn't be interrupted.

A small concrete room awaited. Inside had been strung up with red and white lights, glinting off the various tools and blunt objects strewn about like x-mas toys. Seems his alters also couldn't wait for the holidays to begin.

They looked at him as he came in.

"Ah good, we're all here then." Five sets of eyes feel on the dangerous cancer tied to a chair in the middle of the room. It struggled against its bonds, whimpering out muffled pleas for mercy behind duct tape. All futile.

It was a shame this work was going to have to be unaccredited. He would have loved to string this monster up by it's intestines for the Detective as a present. But unfortunately, the game required him to be subtle. Still, that didn't mean he couldn't play.

The situation had already been explained to it, why this was happening, and what was going to happen. The horror in it's eyes was at it's peak. Good, now they could get the party started.

A small radio was switched on, the static of cycling through stations rung the room like a drum. After a couple channels of festive music were passed over, a station playing Queen's Don't Stop Me Now was selected.

The tune filled Waldo up with anticipation, and he began to prance about to the rhythm. He channeled it all, all the new emotions, into a feeling of righteous fury that fueled him. Oh, he would make this last. Last for a very, very long time.

And as the Waldos began to harmonize with Mercury, dancing towards the beast with canes and weapons raised, the inhuman thing screamed out in glorious terror.

...

"COLD" CASE BODY FOUND

Warning: This news story contains graphic descriptions of crimes that may disturb some readers.

A dismembered and decimated body was discovered on Friday, February 14th hidden in a snowman in a local park.

This killing, according to police statements, is connected to the body parts found in snowmen that have been found over the last few months. DNA testing has identified them as belonging to the individual, but identification of the victim has yet to be determined.

The first of the body parts, a thumb, was discovered in early January of this year, hidden inside of a snowman in a local picnic area. Several others were soon discovered in the area, including more fingers, toes, and teeth. All had minor stages of decomposition due to being encased in snow, and analysts determined that all were removed from a living victim.

More snowmen appeared over the next few weeks, including more and more body parts taken from a still living victim. Evidence of torture was found, including blunt force trauma, stab wounds, electrocution, asphyxiation, poisoning, removal of skin, insect and animal predation, and burning via gasoline.

The body recovered showed extensive abuse, according to witnesses. "It wasn't even a person anymore," one witness described, "just a torso with it's heart exposed, like one of those anatomy classroom statues, but burnt to a crisp and if the peeled muscle side was the whole thing."

The final cause of death was determined to be hypothermia, and set just hours before the body was discovered. It is possible that the victim was encased into a snowman while still alive.

The hunt for the perpetrator is still ongoing. Our reporters got the following statement from the chief of police during yesterday's briefing.

"The person who committed this heinous act will be brought to justice. The manhunt has been expanded to the neighboring counties, and we urge anyone with any information to come forward."

When asked if this is at all tied to the Waldo killings that occurred almost 3 years ago, the chief of police stated, "There is no evidence linking those cases at this time. This appears to be just a single victim over a long period, which does not match the MO of Waldo."

Identification of the body is expected to be determined next week.

...

Alert

Be on the look out for this man, Fred-----------. Last seen three months ago.

The assailant's vehicle was discovered in ---------- with evidence of child kidnapping and -------------- discovered in a hidden compartment.

If you see this man, contact authorities immediately.

...

Missing Children Found

5 children have been discovered after having been missing for months.

They are identified as ------------, ---------------, ---------------,----------------------, and ------------------------------. All were victims of kidnapping at various different times last year. According to reports, all have evidence of various types of abuse.

The children were discovered outside the local detective office, having apparently been dropped off.

The children have been reunited with their families and are expected to receive treatment for their trauma.

We reached out to the families and the officers on this case for more information.

"Well of course, we're really relieved that she's home, and she's safe now," the mother of one of the children told us in an interview. "According to ---------, she was saved from a bad man by a bunch of Santa's elves. I've never been one for praying until our baby was taken, and I think perhaps someone must have heard our prayer and returned our baby to us."

All children seem to identify that they were being held somewhere dark and abused by a man described as -------------------------, then being left alone a long time without food before being "rescued" by multiple different people. These individuals reportedly fed and cared for them for a short while before releasing them.

One child described the rescuers as looking like "Mr. Mint from Candyland".

At this time, no assailants have been identified. Investigation of this case is still ongoing.

...

It would be a couple weeks more before the Detective figured something out.

The placement of the snowmen seemed random at first, but after piecing it together in order of appearance, words began to form in red string upon the town map.

The last one, the body, was the final dot in the exclamation:

DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS!

~FIN/to be continued~

OK, a long one, I know, but god, I just needed a creep like that to suffer, and to make Waldo go full Dexter/Rorschach on them. Also if it wasn't obvious, old Freddy K was the inspiration for that guy (the remake one at that) F that guy!

I think I have just one more Junior focused Waldo fic planned, and perhaps a "X-mas special" involving the Detective and a sprig of mistletoe.

By the way, if you like my work, please consider supporting me on Ko-Fi, would really help me out a lot right now.

BUY ME A KO-FI

[book4air]

The story of a Fire Nation soldier who encounters an Airbender long after they were all thought to be wiped out…

An original story developed by the Book 4 Restoration Project.

Social Media: https://linktr.ee/book4air

Showrunners: Ryoma Ishizuka Lucía Lobosvilla

'Rumors and Relics' Based on the story “Relics” by Johane Matte & Joshua Hamilton Writer - Lucía Lobosvilla Artists - Melissa Palacios, Vago, Luan Bindewald, Sam Lee Wins Coloring - Kat Peterson, Sam Lee Wins, Melissa Palacios Letterer - Melissa Palacios

Voice Directors: Lucía Lobosvilla Anthony Rodriguez

Composers: Aneesh Kashalikar

Audio Team Head Audio Engineer: Sam Gabriel Line Placement: Valravn Mixing Engineers: TheTVBunny (Elise Lepley) Mastering: Kim Morton

Video Team Team Lead: Ryoma Ishizuka Video Editor: Astrid Ev Clip Compiler: Curtis Creates Stuff

Special Thanks: Book 4 Restoration Project Team Dark Horse Comics Nickelodeon Gene Luen Yang Gurihiru Aaron Ehasz Bryan Konietzko Michael Dante DiMartino Dave Roman Kevin Coppa Baby Lion Turtle Dave Subscribers and you!

Voice Cast

Hanzo - Christian Sekhanan Dulma - Josephine Sweet Merchant (Narrator) - JJ Williams Fire Captain - Grant Corvin

Patreon

White Lotus: Zac Harrell

Fire Sages: Daniel Lacey Stefan Gheorghiev

Dai Li Agents: Alejandro Navarro Minnichi

Freedom Fighters: Geans mistercokes

Cabbage Merchants: Abel Anna Yamshchikova Bunix can you feel it now mr Krabs Cezary Styczewski Edowen imitationpitaya Jake Sullivan Laura Castrillón Melissa Palacios Mercedes Valle Nerd King 101 Nichelle (ShadowleafTV) Night In Star Light Smith sniddee Tacosdecanasta Victoria C. McMullen Violet

Penguin Sledders: Ashe_Wottlin ayszhang BNT Dornfist Duke Skibbington Laala 212 Pokejedservo TheTobi2Uchiha TitaniaBird Tony Lui WhyNotReek Akiizayoi4869

Executive Producer: Ara’digm Wong

[tabsters]

The Twelve Days of Zodiacs - Day 11

"On the eleventh day of Christmas, my Zodiacs gave to me, Eleven singers singing, Ten actors acting, Nine sledders sledding, Eight drinkers drinking, Seven bakers baking, Six ornaments, Five ugly sweaters, Four wrapped presents, Three snowmen, Two bread rolls, And a snowball fight under a tree."

it should be noted that this story is in a modern AU, aka an AU where no magic exists. everyone is just normal and untraumatized! the modern AU names for the characters are listed below:

TZE! Aquarius: Mizumi TZE! Pisces: Sensha TZE! Cetus: Enyo TZE! Serpens: Takeo TZE! Ara: Jishin TZE! Crux: Chaeyeon TZE! Lyra: Haein TZE! Lupus: Jasper TZE! Lepus: Audrey TZE! Vulpecula: Val TZE! Lynx: Lylian TZE! Ophiuchus: Megumi (mentioned) TZE! Hydra: Hayami (mentioned) TZE! Piscis Austrinus: Doremi (mentioned)

tagging @mythicalmagical-monkeyman @hyperfixation-tangentopia @maiawhimsicalt @sweet-star-cookie

next chapter is here!

“I’ve heard these guys before!” Cassie said as the two of them went into the bookstore. “They came by and caroled at my house! But unfortunately, I wasn’t home to see. My mom did get to record them a bit, though!”

“Yes, the Merry Men are pretty great,” Ciara said, sitting down in one of the bookstore’s many plush armchairs. “And now you get to see them in person!”

“Ciara!” A woman from the back shouted, opening the back door with her hip. Her hair was—well, it was ankle-length and varying shades of blue, so Ciara assumed it was a wig. It trailed in the air behind her as she set a massive stack of books on the counter. “Great timing! Help me shelve these!”

Ciara groaned, but begrudgingly got up from her plush armchair to walk up to the girl. “Hi, Mizumi. Good afternoon to you too, Mizumi. Doing great, Mizumi.”

“Don’t give me that attitude!” Mizumi handed half of the stack to Ciara, who dutifully began pushing aside books to make way for the new ones.

“Who’s your friend?” Mizumi asked as she ripped open a cardboard box, taking out more books.

“She’s Cassie. Middle schooler.” Ciara turned around to wave a book—titled Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation—at Mizumi. “Don’t make her shelve books, that’s just more free child labor.”

“I can help!” Cassie ran over to the counter, picking up a book at random. This one was Skate the Infinity, featuring two boys with skateboards on the front cover. Cassie supposed that this book should go into the manga section.

“Nah, that’s fine.” Mizumi waved her off. “You can read out the summaries of the new books, help me figure out which ones I should keep.”

“Okay!” Cassie said, flipping the manga book over. Ciara groaned from where she was now on a ladder, presumably at the fact she had to do actual manual labor. “This one’s about two guys that like skating. Like, really like skating, apparently. It’s their whole life.”

“Watched that anime. Loved it. Keeping it.” Mizumi pointed towards the countertop. “Start a new pile, would ya?”

“This one’s called…Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.” Ciara squinted at the main character, who had black hair and a white trench coat. “A guy gets transported into his favorite web novel and has to survive the apocalypse.”

“Still haven’t read the entire novel yet.” Mizumi stood on tiptoe to reach for another book. “But the comic is really good. Keep it.”

“I dunno about that,” A new voice said, coming down the stairs. “It’s so damn long. Just keeps dragging on and on forever.”

“Enyo,” Mizumi said, turning around to wave a lazy hand at him. “You don’t know shit about great literature.”

Enyo, who had long black hair streaked with dark blue, made his way down the stairs. “Yeah, yeah. We gonna practice or what?”

“When your brothers get here,” Mizumi said, closing her box and kicking it to the back.

At that very moment, the door jingled open. “The brothers are here!”

Standing in the doorway were two boys, one with black hair with green streaks, and one with dyed bright blue and green hair. Or perhaps that was also a wig. Both of them waved.

“Sensha, Takeo,” Mizumi said, before saying something in what Cassie assumed was Japanese. “You’re late.”

“Sorry, sorry,” The boy with blue and green hair said. “Mizu, you should be more clear with your directions.”

“The directions were, come to my place early, so we can practice the boys’ songs before the others get here.”

“Yes, but ‘my place’ could either mean your bookstore or your apartment.”

“I live above my damn bookstore, my bookstore and my apartment are one in the same—“

“Enough, Sensha!” The other man—Takeo—shouted, waving his hands in the air. “Doremi was kicking up a fuss at home, that’s why we were late. Sorry, Mizu,” He finished as he fiddled with his wire glasses.

So all three of these guys are Doremi’s older brothers. Cassie thought. And Megumi’s and Hayami’s brothers. Small world.

“Don’t we need Jasper here as well?” Enyo asked, finally standing next to all of them. “He’s the only other bass.”

“Jasper’s here!” Another voice, this time a female, shouted as she entered. “So’s Audrey! And everyone else!”

“Well, I guess everyone’s here now,” Mizumi sighed as she watched a horde of people troop into the bookstore. She clapped her hands together.

“Let’s practice, shall we?”

-

Several warmups later, the entire chorus was assembled in a line in Mizumi’s bookstore. Mizumi herself was messing with a mini Bluetooth speaker, smacking it with the heel of her palm. Enyo was helping her. Sensha was going around clipping small microphones to everyone’s shirt collars.

“That’s Val and Lylian,” Ciara said, pointing to two women standing in the alto section. Val had bright red hair, while Lylian had wavy light brown hair. They were holding hands, muttering the lyrics in tandem.

“That’s Jishin, Chaeyeon, and Haein.” Ciara pointed to three women, wearing red, yellow, and blue respectively. “Sisters. They live across from us.”

“And that’s Audrey and Jasper.” The remaining man and woman both had matching dark skin and curly hair. “Twins.”

“Alright!” Mizumi said loudly, seemingly having figured out the Bluetooth speakers. She tapped her fingers on her microphone, hearing the sound resonating through the speaker. “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, yeah?”

All the singers cleared their throats, standing in a line. Ciara leaned forward excitedly. “This is their best song!”

“God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay,” The chorus sang, their voices seeming to blend together perfectly. “Remember, Christ, our savior was born on Christmas Day,"

“To save us all from Satan’s power, when we were all astray,”

“Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy,” Both Ciara and Cassie sang. The song was a very familiar one for both of them, it seemed. “Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy.”

Then the beat of the song slowly shifted. It changed from a slow ballad to a peppy pop tune. Cassie gasped in surprise.

“Isn’t this the Pentatonix version?” Cassie asked as the girls began to vocalize and the boys began to beatbox.

“Mhm! When these guys were in high school, they were in a program called the Verdant Voices. It’s like a VIP choir program. Now they all come back together every year to do carols.”

“That’s so sweet!” Cassie continued to watch the singers chorus. “Does their choir teacher still keep in touch with them?”

“Yeah, he does! I think he actually retired a year ago. But he still comes to their concerts.”

Everyone began to stop singing, and began stomping and clapping rhythmically.

“God…rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay!” They continued stomping and clapping, gradually increasing in speed. “Remember, Christ, our savior was born on Christmas Day!”

“To save us all from Satan’s power!”

“When we were all astray!”

“Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy!”

“Tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy!”

“HEY!” All of them suddenly shouted at once, throwing their hands up into the air.

“Woo!” Cassie shouted, clapping enthusiastically as Ciara let out one long whistle. “That was amazing! You did all that just from your voices?”

“Yep,” Takeo said proudly, thumping his chest. “Mr. Alan taught us well.”

They sang a couple more songs after that. Deck the Halls, Carol of the Bells, one involving Hanukkah, one involving Kwanzaa, and one involving pie.

“That last one was pretty funny,” Cassie said, wiping tears of laughter from her face. “You guys are really good actors and singers.”

“I know, right?” Audrey said, puffing her chest out.

“Not good enough, though.” Mizumi stepped out of the line, perusing her sheet music. “Altos, what were you doing on measure fifteen, Candle, Shine Your Light?”

“Uh…” Jishin, Aubrey, Val, and Lylian looked between each other awkwardly.

“Tenors, a bit flat on measure seventeen, Deck the Halls.” Mizumi pointed towards Enyo and Sensha. “And basses, remember to project throughout all the songs. Don’t get overshadowed by everyone else.”

“And what about the sopranos?” Jasper asked, folding his arms together. “Anything to comment on with them?”

“Sopranos, you were fine.” Aquarius waved her hand at them absentmindedly. Haein and Chaeyeon high-fived.

“I thought they all sounded fine,” Cassie said, leaning over to Ciara. Ciara nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, but people that specialize in an art can tell the tiny discrepancies in what’s right and what’s wrong.” Ciara waved her hands around. “Like how you can tell when something’s wrong with a stage light, but how normal audience members probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.”

“Ohh. Yeah, makes sense.”

“But I was in choir for all of middle school. I think Mizumi’s just being nitpicky.”

“Ah.”

-

The Merry Men practiced for an hour more. Cassie felt as though they sounded the same every time, but the choir seemed to think otherwise. They bickered about minor mistakes and started a couple petty arguments.

“Come on!” Jasper shouted, slapping his hands together. “What would Mr. Alan say, guys?”

“Mr. Alan would tell the sopranos to stop being so damn loud.” Lylian pointed towards the sopranos, her irritation evident. “There’s four of us, and three of them, and we still can’t hear each other.”

“Maybe if the altos sang out more, they’d be able to hear themselves,” Haein said, while Chaeyeon coughed into her fist.

“Five minute break! Five minute break!” Enyo shouted, waving his hands in the air. “Everyone take a break!”

“Eesh.” Cassie watched as the choir dissolved, scattering throughout the bookstore. “That’s a lot of infighting.”

“Yeah.” Ciara crossed her legs and folded her arms. “Choir kids fight to kill.”

“God, it’s like herding toddlers,” Mizumi sighed, collapsing into the chair next to Ciara. “Graduated from high school eight years ago, and yet some things never change.”

“Aren’t you being too hard on them?” Ciara asked, passing her a bottle of water.

“What? Of course not.” Mizumi unscrewed the top of her water bottle and guzzled half the bottle in one gulp. “They were the top singers of our choir. They’re used to this.”

“It’s also Christmas,” Ciara pointed out. “They all probably want to be enjoying the holidays with their families, but they’re here with you. Helping you and singing with you.”

“You guys sounded really good!” Cassie piped up. “I couldn’t tell if anything was wrong, and I doubt any other people will be able to tell either.”

“Yeah, I know,” Mizumi sighed again. “I just…I want all my performances to be perfect. If nobody else can tell, then at least I can. That’s what Mr. Alan taught us. All of us.”

“It doesn’t have to be perfect, Mimi,” Ciara said, tugging on the strands of Mizumi’s wig. “You shouldn’t sacrifice your crew’s wellbeing for perfection.”

“As long as all of you are having a good time, that’s what matters, right?” Cassie asked.

Mizumi sighed once more, looking around at her fellow choir members. “I suppose you kids are right. I always did hate practicing ten thousand times before concerts. Maybe let’s just let loose for a bit.”

She stood up again, a small smile on her face. “Hey! Guys! Let’s go get some boba!”

“Boba? At a time like this?” Chaeyeon called back. “I mean, not that I’m complaining. But the great Mizumi Akiyama, letting us take a break?”

“The world is ending,” Val remarked. “Mizumi is now under the control of some malicious black mold.”

“Ha ha, very funny.” Mizumi stood up, cracking her knuckles and straightening her wig. “I just…well, I’m very grateful all of you guys are willing to do this with me.”

“The world really is ending,” Sensha said in a stage whisper.

“Shut up.” Mizumi slapped Sensha on the back of the head. “Before I change my mind. Drinks are on me!”

Everyone cheered, and Mizumi turned back to look at Cassie and Ciara. “You guys wanna come with?”

Cassie and Ciara looked at her, then at each other, then answered in unison.

“Okay!”

fun fact: the Verdant Voices is based on a real program at my school, called the Golden Voices. every year they go around the school and carol, and they do all the musical accompaniment with their voices. this year, they did Pentatonix's God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen as their opening song, and so I wanted to include a little reference to them :D

check out @sweet-star-cookie's starglass zodiac lore if you liked this!! questions about my lore are greatly appreciated!!

[nevinslibrary]

Totally Youthful Tuesday

This kids book is so cute. Max and Marla are best friends, and, they want to be sledders in the Olympics. And, they know that they need to practice, practice, practice to get there. But, there are things going against them too, wind, really really big slopes, and more. That’s okay though, they can get through it if they have each other, and keep going.

As I said, the story was so cute, and I really liked the art too. And, I’m excited because it’s part of a sort of series (i.e. you don’t have to have read the previous books to enjoy books later in the series).

You may like this book If you Liked: Our Friend Hedgehog by Lauren Castillo, I'm Going To Build a Snowman by Jashar Awan, or Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Schaar Idle

Max and Marla by Alexandra Boiger

[maryannwrites]

Mush You Huskies

Enjoy this story from Slim Randles about a chance encounter in 1974 that was an embarrassing moment. But he recovered in typical Slim style.

It’s the time of the year when dog-sledders get serious about preparing for the annual Iditarod Dogsled Race that starts the first Saturday in March in Anchorage, Alaska. Slim Randles participated in the first race, and today on the blog he’s sharing a memory of a chance encounter in 1974 when folks were gathering to start the second race. The story is an interesting look at the iconic sport of…

[leafdebrief]

the story so far

it's just mine though. yours is different. but the point is, it's the same, every single damn time.

[elsewhereuniversity]

Why You Should Wear Boots after Picking a Major You Didn’t Want

A university is a place where dreams are thrown away.

Such is the case far too often. It remains Real even between the railroad, highway and train tracks. Even there, people interrogate themselves: ‘This is your dream, but is it realistic? How much is the starting salary? Look at your classmates, elegantly breezing over what you clawed through, tooth and nail. Look at your competitors––’

So many choose to drown their dreams themselves… even though, at Elsewhere University, the dead do not rest quietly. The Wild Hunt is proof of that. Yes, that Wild Hunt, which rides across campus when the fog rolls in. We all know the versions in which they hunt for students unlucky (or unbelieving) enough to be outside when the hounds begin baying. Stay inside, stay quiet, and you’ll be all the better for it, if they ignore you.

What about the other versions, though? What about the versions in which it is best to open your windows and howl back? There are tales like that, too––

Sometimes, those brave enough to shout along with the Wild Hunt will be rewarded with a share of prey or gold. Those kind enough to repair a lost hunter’s sled soon discover this to be the right choice, for upon closer inspection, the hounds are not just hounds. Their bones are laden heavy with wrath.

And sometimes, villagers tell tales of a cloaked rider on a white horse. Horseshoes spark against the night breeze. He will ask you to play an impossible game of tug-of-war. If you are wise, you will tie the other end of the rope to a sturdy oak. The leader of the Hunt likes clever little things. He might even drop a reward in your boot.

Perhaps this is why you see students wearing boots for a while after they declare their majors. Even Magenta (who got her name from always wearing high-heeled loafers of that particular shade) and Ma-Boi-Blanche (who has 17 pairs of white sneakers) wore boots back then. Rumor has it, according to a friend of a roommate of a Forbidden Major, that this footwear will help you abandon your misery.

When the Wild Hunt rides as a group, they come to condemn. The RAs are not wrong in telling you to run for safety when the fog descends.

On the other hand, when the leader of the Hunt appears alone, he comes to test. In this more benign (but not safe, never safe) form, 4% meet a bedraggled man, 2% a king of old, 3% a specimen of demon (the Christian subspecies), 6% a harlequin, and 5% a sledder with a thick Mecklenburg accent.

84% of those who have survived the encounter say that the leader of the Hunt wears a cloak and a wide hat that partially hides his eyes (one of which is duller than the other). He gallops in on a splendid white horse.

95% of those who survived the encounter were wearing boots (one of them was wearing spatterdashes over court shoes, but eh, close enough).

100% of the survivors say that you must be ready to be tested. Be kind, clever, daring. If you are all that––and wary, wise, lucky too––the leader of the Hunt will let you go and stuff something in your boot. A post-it, on which is written the major that they chose, yet hated with every fibre of their being.

Now, put the boot back on and walk. It may be a bit awkward to walk around, what with the paper writhing under your feet, but do so anyway. Every student who has tried it reports that when they got back to their dorms, the paper had vanished from beneath their soles. In its place, they had gained a floating sensation, grafted in their bones.

By the end of the year, Ma-Boi-Blanche and Professor Redd were chattering away like old friends. The Professor had to admit that his student wasn’t very good at dissections, but there was an unmistakable passion for anatomy in his eyes, and he would improve soon. (Very soon, especially with Professor Redd’s talent of acquiring practice bodies, his jaunty hat growing redder with every new specimen.)

On the other side of campus, the law majors learned to listen for the click-clack of high-heeled loafers. Woe betide the unlucky people who faced off against Magenta, who suddenly threw herself into mock trials with gusto. Her opponents gained a Pavlovian fear response to seeing any shade of pink.

This did not go ignored. The Involved went up to the two, in order to warn them.

“The Gentry do not offer things for free,” they said. “And intelligence isn’t cheap. What in Morganwode did you pay?”

To which the ones who met the Huntsman merely laughed, because they weren’t any smarter. The only difference was that now, they were interested in the subjects they found so odious before.

In the old tales, a satisfied rider of the Wild Hunt will reward a human with meat. The person will walk back home in the dark, one shoe on and one shoe off, the boot growing heavier with every step. Once home, they will see that the raw, bloody meat has transformed into gold.

There are a few who still receive this, not always in the payment of gold, but in blessings. (Childe House’s oldest RA is one of them, which explains why the once-every-305-days evacuation has a 100% success rate, even when half a dozen residents don’t understand what a “mandatory house meeting” or a “fire drill” is.)

  Which begs the question: why does the leader of the Hunt help so many?

Rewards are meant to be given to the exceptional few. Yet the unhappy are not part of these few. Given the number of students with newfound rapture in their eyes, one does not need to be exceptionally kind, clever, or daring to transfer their passions. Just wary, wise, and lucky are enough.

When asked, the leader of the Wild Hunt proclaimed that such a spell is child’s play. We’ve already provided the ingredients: two subjects and a passion. The price is low because all he needs to do is to sever the interest from one subject, then attach it to another. Simple work, he said. He would never think of charging so much for something he could do before breakfast. It is not befitting a warrior. Think of it as a favour from a father to his children, he said, then laughs as if there is a joke here that no one else understands.

There are more people who understand than he might think, for the more competent members of the Forbidden Major have another theory. Anyone with passing knowledge of folklore would be able to recognize this person at a glance, they say (quietly, and never to the Huntsman’s face). He is the amalgamation of ghost, fae and old god.

The first rider of the Wild Hunt might be, depending on the amount of fertilizer on the campus lawn and the moon phase, the oldest warrior poet. There are less battlefields for him to watch over now, but still he is song and madness. Still, he is overcome with fury when he sees yet another soldier buckle before the fight has begun.

This child would have made a fine skald. That child could have become a brilliant shield-maiden. This one had the makings of a king, yet they chose to push these futures away, he said through clenched teeth. These children began to think there was nothing left. They started to look at the pond and that single eighth-floor window which could open all the way.

This is not a battlefield, but… to give up before the horn sounds, under his watch?

Unforgivable, he said, with an unblinking smile, all teeth and lone glittering eye. To despair is to slander my hundred names.

So the leader of the Hunt casts a few spells here, a little trickery there, and coaxes the bright frenzy back in their eyes, or so the Forbidden Majors whisper. The price is only low because of who and why he is. He helps them so they can die more valiantly, another day.

  Think of it as a favour from a father to his children, he says, then laughs as if there is a joke here that no one else understands. This is despite the fact that half the Forbidden Majors and a fifth of the Literature Majors know who he is.

(Not that they would reveal that, ever. The all-father’s wrath is a terrible thing.)

  Addendum:

Statistics unavailable for those who encountered the Wild Hunt’s leader alone, while not wearing boots. Mythological references, as well as the Sword-House valet’s intuition, imply it is better not to know.

[Author’s Note]

I did not intend “Why You Should Wear Boots after Picking a Major You Didn’t Want” to be so long. Do pardon me.

There is much debate over the identity of the Wild Hunt’s leader. My personal favourite theory is that the leader is Odin, or some variant of him, which this submission is based on. Still, I couldn’t resist hinting at the others:

“Bedraggled man” = multiple stories, in which the Hunt’s leader is any hunter who preferred hunting to going to church, or else slandered a certain god

“King of old” = Arawn

“Harlequin” = in Vitalis’ Ecclesiastical History Vol. 2 (1140), Hellequin/Herlequin is the herald of a Wild- Hunt-esque procession of tortured souls. There is also King Herla.

“Sledder with a thick Mecklenburg accent” = Frau Gauden

-Louis

[scottbcrowley2]

100 years ago today in Spokane: Sledders take to Spokane streets - Tue, 03 Dec 2019 PST

Four Spokane streets were opened up as “slides” for youthful sledders. The parks department was supplying wood for bonfires at each site, to keep the youngsters warm. 100 years ago today in Spokane: Sledders take to Spokane streets - Tue, 03 Dec 2019 PST

[sauerland-2001]

Cool Runnings and the White Savior Trope

I’ve recently watched this video which explains the white savior trope.  It’s super interesting and I agree with most that’s being said in that video.  They go through different genres too and while mentioning sports movies, which often use the white savior trope against a historical background, one of the movies they show a quick cut of is...Cool Runnings.  One of my all time movies.  My ultimate comfort movie.  Have I, a woc, fallen for the white savior trope without realizing it??  Have I been too blind in my love for this movie or too used to the WST that I didn’t notice it??

Cool Runnings, if you don’t know (WHY NOT??) is inspired by the true story of the first Jamaican bobsled team that took part in the 1988 winter olympics.  I understand why the creators of the WST video would include Cool Runnings:  a white man coaches and helps four black athletes to achieve their dream of getting to the olympics.  The reason why I disagree that we’re seeing the typical WST is that it’s not the coach’s story.  From beginning to end, the focus is on the boys.  Derice is the unquestionable lead who drives ALL the action.  He is the one who finds Irv, the coach, and gives him the kind of pep talk that is typically reserved for white characters. The boys are the ones who find the key to success, not their white coach: it’s Sanka who says that they need to stop copying other (white) athletes’ styles, and proudly show their Jamaican roots (which they do).  There is initial conflict in the team but it’s the boys who resolve it themselves, Irv has absolutely nothing to do with it.  Yul gives Junior the most amazing support when it comes to standing up to racists and his own father.  And Junior in turn reassures Yul in his dreams to make something of himself.

Speaking of racism:  this is a Disney movie, but there are several instances where it’s made pretty obvious that this team gets looked down upon due to the color of their skin.  When Junior wonders why the other teams have a problem with them, Yul answers:  “because we’re different.  And people are always afraid of what’s different.”   And the ONE instance where Irv the coach gets to be a hero, he tells an all-white, all-middle-aged men panel of sports officials:  “Oh I didn’t realize that four black guys in a bob sled could make you blush”, openly pointing at the racist decision to disqualify the Jamaican team.  

Anyway, the main reason I don’t think they’re using the white savior trope is that Irv is never seen or presented as the savior.  Sure, they do need him to get to the winter olympics but as I said, the action, the characters’ development - it all comes from the black characters themselves.  Irv is actually the worst person in this whole story:  he cheated in competition while he was still an active bob sledder and was stripped off his gold medals.  He’s still hated by his former team mates and coach and he’s been letting himself go in Jamaica while “investing” in dog races, before Derice basically saves him.  But his story is not the focus and nobody forgives him, we don’t know what happens to him after the film ends.  There is no touching scene where he is suddenly a great person thanks to black people magic (another trope used in WST movies).  Yes, he learns from Derice, who is the ultimate good guy, but again, not the point.  As a viewer, you’re rooting for Derice to get to the olympics, you root for Junior to stand up to his father, you root for Sanka because he’s the only non-athlete, and you root for Yul to get his dream palace one day.  Derice is such a strong character, you know that he would have made all of this true even without Irv. When the Jamaican officials deny further funds to support the team, Irv is ready to give up, while Derice immediately comes up with alternative ways to get the money. 

But here’s where I understand why the film was included in the WST video: strictly speaking, Irv wasn’t needed.  But they included a white man for the Disney audience. The white man who supports the black characters and stands up for them, making the audience feel good about themselves. Racism is suddenly resolved when the former hateful German athlete congratulates the Jamaicans in the end and accepts them as equals. Irv’s former coach who tried to sabotage the team’s efforts to get back at Irv, applauds along with everyone else in the end.  All of these things frequently happen in movies with the white savior trope.  So in that respect, it’s not wrong to include this one in the video.  But as I said:  in Cool Runnings, the story is moved forward by the black characters.  Irv never talks over them.  Sure, he gives them a very stern dad talk after they mess up, but again, it’s the boys who come up with the solutions, not Irv.  It’s their story from beginning to end.  The typical WST movie like The Help, Green Book or Blind Side is about the white character’s journey while making black characters the supporting players in that journey.  Cool Runnings is about four black men pursuing their dream, not the white character’s dream.

[blogparanormalexpresso2stuff]

'Weird Monsters - Black Eyed Woman and more' | Paranormal Stories

Published on Jul 12, 2016

In this video, I discuss a collection of cases involving odd beings and creepy creatures. Cases include a Black Eyed Woman from Chile, a Demonic-looking beast hunting kids in California, an unexplained half bear/half lion creature encountered in the woods of North Carolina, a Wendigo sighted by sledders in Minnesota and a pair of bizarre Hat Man encounters, one from Prince Edward Island and another from Serbia.

Without the Support of Patrons this channel would not be possible.

https://patreon.com/BeyondCreepy

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author: Beyond Creepy

Source: Heidi Hollis, Brian Sullivan

Video: Background footage filmed/photographed by Beyond Creepy using a Panasonic Lumix

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All background footage is filmed by me using a Panasonic Lumix. stock images. All audio narrations are provided by me (Beyond Creepy). All stories are exclusively written for this channel by me.

▶ SOCIAL MEDIA

►Twitter ~ https://twitter.com/BeyondCreepy

▶Contact Information

beyondcreepy@gmail.com

All music and background soundscapes/music/audio are royalty free and provided by Youtube's Audio library:

▶Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

[sleddingchampion]

Oh my cog do I wanna be a dad

[xantchaslegacy]

WAIT ACTUALLY THIS IS SO COOL!!

Okay, if I might rant for a second: Pashalik Mons was a minor character in one of my favorite short stories from the pre-canon Magic novels (”Dochyel’s Ride”). In that story, the POV character was a young goblin (Dochyel) who, though admiring Mons as a hero of the Rundvelt goblins, chose to become a rock sledder instead of a raider. This job meant riding a sled of stone down the mountain ahead of the raiders to break holes in the village fortifications to make them easier targets. This was not only an unglamorous position, but dangerous, as these goblins were often killed by the villagers before the other raiders arrived.

Dochyel petitioned the goblin elders to allow the construction of larger sleds to accommodate raiders as passengers. Pashalik Mons was one of the few voices that spoke up in support of the plan, and eventually led to the goblins changing their tactics to great success. It’s a bit of an unusual story in that it depicts dominarian goblins as much more thoughtful, cultured, and intelligent than we see them nowadays. Granted, they are depicted as remorseless raiders, but it’s about as nuanced a look at goblins as we get from the Magic lore. 

(I think this also makes Pashalik the only/ one of the few characters to get a card despite only ever appearing in pre-canon stories)

[book4air]

Social Media: https://linktr.ee/book4air

Book4Air #avatarthelastairbender #restorationproject

Showrunners: Ryoma Ishizuka Lucía Lobosvilla

'The Vow' Artist - Rick Orange Writer - Lucía Lobosvilla Letterer - Melissa Palacios

'Rebound' Original Artist - Ryan Hill Original Writer - Gene Luan Yang Additional Art - Luan Bindewald, Melissa Palacios Letterer - Melissa Palacios

'Rumors and Relics' Based on the story “Relics” by Johane Matte & Joshua Hamilton Writer - Lucía Lobosvilla Artists - Melissa Palacios, Vago, Luan Bindewald, Sam Lee Wins Coloring - Kat Peterson, Sam Lee Wins, Melissa Palacios Letterer - Melissa Palacios

Voice Directors: Lucía Lobosvilla Anthony Rodriguez

Composers: James A Reilly Aneesh Kashalikar Ty Porter Music

Audio Team Head Audio Engineer: Sam Gabriel Line Placement: Valravn Mixing Engineers: TheTVBunny (Elise Lepley) Mastering: Kim Morton

Video Team Team Lead: Ryoma Ishizuka Video Editors: Hazco Fox, PhantomSavage, TheRealizer367 (Walter Vitola), Astrid Ev, Curtis Creates Stuff, Mr.Amazing

Special Thanks: Book 4 Restoration Project Team Dark Horse Comics Nickelodeon Gene Luen Yang Gurihiru Aaron Ehasz Bryan Konietzko Michael Dante DiMartino Dave Roman Kevin Coppa Baby Lion Turtle Dave Subscribers and you!

Voice Cast

Aang - Ryoma Ishizuka Katara - Stephanie Pines Zuko - Cade Watts Iroh - D. Tyler Fultz Appa & Momo - Josh Lee Mai - Ari Thrash Kei-Lo - Belsheber Rusape Jr. Mura - Kat Peterson Tom-Tom - Victoria McMullen Ukano - PeanutButterMacaron Hanzo - Christian Sekhanan Dulma - Josephine Sweet Merchant - JJ Williams Fire Captain - Grant Corvin Headband Guy - Ara’digm Wong Additional Voices - Grant Corvin, Cade Watts, Lucía Lobosvilla, Ara’digm Wong

Promo Bumper Animated by Sam Lee Wins Voice of Katara - Stephanie Pines Video Editing - Ryoma Ishizuka Audio Editing - TheTVBunny (Elise Lepley) Mastering - Kim Morton

Patreon

White Lotus: Zac Harrell

Fire Sages: Daniel Lacey Stefan Gheorghiev

Dai Li Agents: Alejandro Navarro Minnichi

Freedom Fighters: Geans mistercokes

Cabbage Merchants: Abel Anna Yamshchikova Bunix can you feel it now mr Krabs Cezary Styczewski Edowen imitationpitaya Jake Sullivan Laura Castrillón Melissa Palacios Mercedes Valle Nerd King 101 Nichelle (ShadowleafTV) Night In Star Light Smith sniddee Tacosdecanasta Victoria C. McMullen Violet

Penguin Sledders: Ashe_Wottlin ayszhang BNT Dornfist Duke Skibbington Laala 212 Pokejedservo TheTobi2Uchiha TitaniaBird Tony Lui WhyNotReek Akiizayoi4869

Executive Producer: Ara’digm Wong

[tabsters]

The Twelve Days of Zodiacs - Day 12

"On the twelfth day of Christmas, my Zodiacs gave to me, Twelve skaters skating, Eleven singers singing, Ten actors acting, Nine sledders sledding, Eight drinkers drinking, Seven bakers baking, Six ornaments, Five ugly sweaters, Four wrapped presents, Three snowmen, Two bread rolls, And a snowball fight under a tree."

aaaaaand that concludes my second ever SGZ X TZE crossover!!! this was really fun to write as well, and putting in a bunch of christmas tropes was very refreshing, compared to the stuff I normally like to write. i hope you enjoyed this 12 chapter fic!!!

it should be noted that this story is in a modern AU, aka an AU where no magic exists. everyone is just normal and untraumatized! the modern AU names for the characters are listed below:

SGZ! Aquarius: Odessa SGZ! Pisces: Cherise SGZ! Piscis Austrinus: Paris SGZ! Aquila: Aquilina SGZ! Lynx: Lennox (Len) SGZ! Lepus: Luka SGZ! Chamaeleon: Mae

tagging @mythicalmagical-monkeyman @hyperfixation-tangentopia @maiawhimsicalt @sweet-star-cookie

"Gotta warn you, though," Ciara said as she laced up her figure skates. "I'm garbage at skating. The last time I did it was in eighth grade, when I went on a family trip. Fell on the ice, then on my older cousin, then I cried."

"I'm sure you've improved in that time!" Cassie said as she wobbled on the ground, holding her hands out to keep her balance. "It's been three years."

"Yeah, but I haven't skated at all in that time." 

"Eh, fair point."

"Don't worry!" Cassie's friend, Ellie, piped up. Her curly brown hair bobbed around her head as she bounced around. "We'll be here to catch you if you fall, won't we, Leena?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah." Leena, a small girl with a curtain of straight black hair, nodded. "Yeah, definitely." 

"Do you guys go skating a lot?" Ciara asked, finally trying to stand up by herself. She immediately almost lost her balance, and sat straight back down.

"Yeah, every year," Ellie said, grabbing onto one of Ciara's arms. Leena limply hung onto the other arm, and Ciara slowly rose. This time, she was able to stand, with their help. 

"Don't worry, it's much easier when you're actually on the ice!" Cassie grabbed Ciara's shoulders, and together, Ciara was escorted out of the locker room by a troupe of eighth graders. 

"Easy, easy...ooh, don't trip and fall!" Ellie squealed nervously as they slowly made their way towards the ice.

"You could crack your head open on the ice," Leena said, her voice low. "That would be really bad."

"No! Nobody's cracking their head open!" 

"Lots of blood. Lots of guts."

"Anyway!" Cassie laughed, and Ciara was reminded of the concept of the Freudian Trio, from AP Psychology. There were two people that each fell on an extreme, and one in the middle to balance them out. It seemed that Ellie was "anxious energy", Leena was "no energy", and Cassie was "calm energy". A very good combination when it came to friendship.

"Almost there...almost there!" All of them finally stepped onto the ice. "Woo! Success!"

Ciara then proceeded to almost slip and fall face-first on the ice, so maybe it wasn't quite a success. 

"Oh, jeez!" Ellie tightened her grip on Ciara, while Leena loosened hers. "Hey—Leena, come back here!" 

"You got it!" Leena shouted, skating away. Apparently, she had the most skating experience, as she was able to expertly spin in circles on the ice. She even did a little hop twirl move, which Ciara found very impressive.

Cassie skated forward to replace Leena. "Don't worry! Take it easy. Right foot, left foot...yeah, that's it! Just like that."

"This is gonna take a while," Ciara sighed.

-

Ciara did up being able to stand up by herself, albeit with the help of the rink railing. She inched her way forward, just putting one foot in front of the other. Cassie stayed by her side most of the time, and when she did skate off, one of the other girls went to replace her. 

However, she couldn't help but feel that she was intruding on something. Every time one of the girls traded out, Ciara felt that they looked enthusiastic to leave her behind. 

That's not true, She tried to tell herself as Leena stood at the end of the rink, waiting for her to catch up. Not true. They enjoy having your company, probably. They think you're cool, even if you can't skate. Probably.

Leena was staring at her, the majority of her face hidden behind her hair. Ciara was trying not to think about how Leena was probably judging her underneath all that hair. 

"Leena?" A voice asked, causing the middle schooler to look up suddenly. Ciara looked over as well. There were three women, all skating towards them. Cassie and Ellie were accompanying them as well. For the first time since Ciara saw her, Leena had a visible smile on her face. 

"Hi!" Leena said, quickly skating over to the tallest woman. She had dark curly hair, and was wearing dangly lightning bolt earrings. The woman standing next to them, one with dark skin and a pink dress, patted Leena's head. "How have you guys been?"

"Good, good," The tall woman said. "Cherise has been helping me with my prototypes for my next fashion show."

"And Paris has been helping her model them!" Cherise gestured to the final woman, who was small and had long, dark red hair. The woman waved up at all of them, blinking her lime green eyes. She had on a sparkly skating leotard that was adorned with various pink sequins. 

"This is Odessa and Cherise," Cassie said, waving to the two women standing on the right. "And Paris. Odessa's an old friend of Leena's mom, and Cherise is her wife."

"Her mother and I were in a band, back in the nineties!" Odessa chuckled, playing with one of her earrings. “Ah, those were the days!”

“Your work is so good!” Ellie said, admiring the leotard. It seemed to shine no matter what angle Ciara looked at it from. “How long did this take?”

“Ah, forty hours?” Odessa shrugged. “Give or take. One of the longer pieces I’ve worked on. I’m hoping to beat miss Aquilina over there."

All of them looked over to see a woman with bright yellow hair leaping on the ice. She was wearing a similar sparkly leotard, this one with blue and green sequins. Perhaps she opted to model her clothing herself. 

"Now, now," Cherise said, patting her wife's arm. "Just because Aquilina won last year's competition doesn't mean she'll win again this year."

"She better not." Odessa seethed. 

Paris tapped Cherise on the shoulder, signing something in ASL. Ciara could understand a bit of it—one of Mizumi's friends was deaf—and she thought it was something like 'we should go'. Cherise nodded in agreement, gently tugging at Odessa's arm.

"We should really get going," Cherise said, and Odessa seemed to snap out of whatever reverie she was in. "But it was lovely to see all of you!"

-

An hour later, Ciara was making a tiny bit of progress on her skating skills. At this point, she told the middle schoolers to go on without her, that she would be fine by herself. Cassie made a brief argument against it, but Ciara insisted.

Alright, let's try this again, she told herself as she slowly let go of the railing. Left, right, left, right...nope.

She fell on her butt, yet again. She sighed, wondering if straight up lying on the ice would be a better fate than this.

She then heard the distinct sound of someone laughing at her. 

They were three teenagers, two guys and one girl, probably freshmen. She hadn't seen them at her school—they probably went to the one across town. One of the boys was wearing an oversized hoodie, with what seemed like a cat print on the back. The other boy was wearing a fur-trimmed coat, with a checkerboard pink and purple pattern. The girl, who seemed to be their leader, was wearing a plain white sweater with various colorful paint-looking splotches.

They looked like idiots, in Ciara's humble opinion. And she would be damned if she let herself be made fun of by idiot freshmen. 

So it is with this thought that she grabbed at the railing once more and stood on her feet. She wobbled around some more, but finally managed to maintain her balance. The kids stopped laughing at her. Damn kids. 

Emboldened, she skated forward, slowly putting one foot in front of the other. 

Steady...steady...

Nope. She lost her balance by the fifth step, falling forward and reaching her hands out to block her fall. The two male teenagers keep laughing as they skated by her.

"Len, Luka," The girl scolded them as she passed Ciara. "Stop laughing." Her voice is dripping with insincerity, and it catapults Ciara straight back to middle school. "That's not nice."

"Yes, Mae," The two boys grumbled in perfect sync as they pass as well. 

"You good?" A new voice asked as they approach from behind. Ciara muttered some swears, her hands struggling to get purchase on the ice. The person skated in front of her, reaching out a hand, and Ciara distantly thought that this day will be responsible for giving her a heart attack.

"Hi, Kai." Ciara said as she took the hand offered to her. Kai's wearing the Charizard beanie that she got him when they were nine. The orange ears flopped around as Kai readjusted it. "What are you doing here?"

Kai shrugged, holding up his phone. "Pictures for photography class. Candid shots of passerby."

"Ah. Nice."

"Mhm."

They stare at each other for a little while more, Ciara trying to figure out topics of conversation. It had only been a couple days since she saw Kai at the coffee shop. Maybe the universe was playing games with her. Damn universe. 

"You kept my hat." Ciara pointed out, pointing at his hat. Kai looked up, touching his hand to the neon orange Charizard hat. 

"Yeah. I did." Kai pointed to Ciara's hat, smiling a little bit. "And you kept mine."

Ciara, bewildered, pulled her hat off her head. Had she wore the hat today? She just put on a random hat and ran out the door. 

"Huh," Ciara said, staring at the Pikachu hat. "I did."  

"Ciarachu's back," Kai laughed, ruffling Ciara's hair. "Remember, in fifth grade?"

"Yeah! And now..." Ciara stared at the Charizard hat, trying to come up with a way to mash Kai's name and Charizard's name together. "Kaizard's back as well!" 

Kai ruffled Ciara's hair, placing her hat back on her head for her. "You still don't know how to skate?"

"Eh, no."

"Well, c'mon." Kai held out his hands, shaking them a bit. "I'll help you, yeah?"

"I..." Ciara gently placed her hands in Kai's. "Yeah, okay."

"Great, great." Kai looked over his shoulder, making sure there was nobody behind him. "Alright, don't let go, okay?"

"What are you—"

And so Kai began to slowly skate backwards, holding onto Ciara all the way. Ciara found herself being tugged along slowly, more secure now that somebody was holding both her hands. 

"Yeah, just like that," Kai said as they both drifted along the rink. For a split second, it felt like they were the only ones in the skating rink, maybe even in the whole universe. "See? You're not so bad after all."

"That's just 'cause you're here to help me," Ciara laughed. It was true—every time she felt herself slipping or sliding, she held onto Kai's hands tighter. Kai then steadied her, shifting her back to a better position. 

"Nah, that's all you," Kai said, smiling down at her—when did he get so tall? 

"Hey, Ciara!" Ciara could distantly hear Cassie shouting as she skidded across the ice. "Oh! And your friend! You've been having fun by yourself, yeah?" 

Ciara could just hear the 'wink, wink, nudge, nudge' in Cassie's voice. Kai didn't seem to notice, though, and cheerfully waved at her. "Hi! You're Ciara's middle school friend, right?"

"Mhm!" Cassie nodded her head as Ellie and Leena skated up behind her. "And these are also my friends from middle school! Ellie and Leena, say hi!" 

"Hi!" Ellie said, while Leena just nodded her head in greeting. "Who's this?"

"I'm Ciara's friend from middle school," Kai said, shaking his bangs out of his eyes. He threw the girls a grin, and Ciara swore she could see Ellie swoon. "Name's Kai."

When did he get this cool? Ciara had to ask herself as Kai let go of one of her hands to smooth his hair back. 

"Are you...?" Leena asked, pointing in between Ciara and Kai. "Dating?"

Both of them looked down at their connected hands, seemingly now realizing that they were holding hands. Ciara quickly let go of her crush's hand, immediately almost toppling over. Kai spun around, grabbing Ciara's shoulders and keeping her upright. This ended up with Ciara awkwardly holding onto Kai's waist, and Kai awkwardly holding onto Ciara's shoulders. 

"Anyway!" Cassie said, skating in front of both of them. This gave the two of them a brief moment to recollect themselves, and untangle their limbs. Ciara thought she could hear Leena snickering. "We should take a picture, yeah? Everyone gather round!"

Leena and Ellie skated over to stand next to the two high schoolers—Ellie seemed very eager to stand next to Kai—and Cassie put herself in the front and the middle. 

"Sorry we left you behind," Cassie said as she fumbled to get her phone out. Ciara held her purse steady while Cassie finally fished the phone out.

"No problem." Ciara snuck a glance back at Kai. He was smiling, chatting with Leena about some RPG game. "I found a friend, so it worked out, yeah?"

Cassie nodded cheerfully, smiling up at all of them. She held the camera up, shifting it to get all of them in frame.

"Alright, guys!" She shouted, all of them looking towards the camera. "Say 'Merry Christmas'!" 

Ciara looked up at Kai, who grinned down at her. He nodded his head towards the camera, as if urging her to channel her inner Christmas spirit.

So she did. After all, she was surrounded by good people that cared about her. And wasn't that what Christmas was all about?

"Merry Christmas!"

check out @sweet-star-cookie's starglass zodiac lore if you liked this!! questions about my lore are greatly appreciated!!

happy 2025 everyone!!! wish you luck and prosperity and good mental health!!!

[jellyfishdooter]

So.. it’s okay to just throw my random ideas out here, right? Okay cool

Egos and Winter Activities

Jackieboy Man: Snowboarding (with a GoPro strapped to his chest to record the whole thing)

Marvin: Downhill skiing (with JBM, super fast-paced but a lot of fun!)

JJ: Cross-country skiing (He likes the scenery and it’s great exercise! Not to mention super relaxing)

Chase: Hockey (Plays with his kids usually or the other egos if they’re up to it)

Schneep: Ice skating (Super casual just goin’ around the rink, nothin’ fancy)

Anti: Hiding the elf on the shelf (in places to scare the others like the bathroom or their bedrooms or places they’ll least expect it)

Robbie: Sledding (small hills by himself, but will go down larger hills with somebody else sitting behind him. Usually Chase or Anti)

Wilford: Building a snow fortress (its as big at the manor and nobody is allowed inside. All trespassers will be shot)

Dark: Staying inside with a mug of hot coco (likes to secretly watch the others from the window)

King: Long naps (it’s cold, but since he can’t hibernate he just takes a lot of naps with his subjects)

Bing: Snowmobiling (Usually drags the sledders back up the hill so they can ride down again)

Googles: Snowball fights (Blue give orders, Blue Green and Red throw, Oliver makes the snowballs. they always win)

Yan: Making Christmas cookies (for senpai, obviously. No you can’t have one)

Bim: Watching holiday TV specials (he usually hosts them. But the stage gets a bit more red afterwards..)

Jim Twins: Decorating a gingerbread house (it’s a total mess and they end up eating most of the candy, but they have fun working together on it)

Host: Telling holiday stories (His voice is super soothing and has this way of bringing the stories to life with just his words)

Edward: Gift wrapping (steady hands and always does a clean job)

Silver Sheppard: Outside decorating (he’s in charge of hanging up the lights outside the manor)

Ed Edgar: Making Christmas cards (with business cards inside for selling his kids)

Eric Derekson: Oversized sweaters (basically smothers himself in them because they’re super comforting and fluffy)

Derek Derekson: Shoveling the driveway (well, he forces Eric to do it while he watches and tells him to go faster. Prick.)

Randall: Building a snowman (kinda basic, but still nice. Slaps New York style pizza on it’s head and calls it a day)

Damian: Fundraising (Always throws a charity ball every Christmas to raise money for those who need it, especially during the cold holiday season)

William: Hunting (the chase is the real fun part)

And of course

Santaiplier: Leaving out Milk and Cookies (truth be told I’ve heard he prefers crackerbarrel but yaknow whatever works)