#there’s a similar easter egg for halloween and like. why would they just put a jack-o’-lantern on the floor. it’s not real it’s literally

[sholmeser]

I mean this as a Genuine question I am not trying to be rude I’m so sorry if it comes off that way. But your post about otasune not celebrating Christmas confused me; Cant people celebrate both? Like can’t otacon be Jewish and Also celebrate christmas? I grew up around a lot of kids who did both every year couldnt they be doing it for Sunny’s sake or something? Idk again im not trying to be rude I’m just genuinely confused

ok i will say that i was jokingly exaggerating with my wording in that post i’m not saying it’s like. a flagrant mischaracterization if you want to create/enjoy content of them doing christmasy stuff you can do whatever you want. i’m not jewish myself so i can’t speak on how common it is for people to celebrate both hannukah and christmas but i think for otacon the biggest thing would be more the fact that being alone with huey (who was absolutely not doing anything. let’s be real) for over ten years + having had essentially no friends growing up means he wouldn’t have any precedent of what spending time with his loved ones during the holidays is like. i mean you could argue that he’s always wanted to find out or whatever which like. alright i guess. i just think his (probable) general apathy towards the holidays + snake having undergone a very traumatizing experience during the same time of year would mean that they just wouldn’t care. them buying presents for sunny because she read about santa claus and them going all out decorating/dressing up/cooking are two different things

[carisc4pshaw]

Through the Seasons

In which Elle and JJ are married and have a daughter and spend Summer vacation, Halloween, Christmas and Easter together. (really fluffy)

word count: 5k

tags: fluff, jelle, wlw, bisexual, lesbian, summer vacation, holiday, bali, swimming with dolphins halloween, autumn, fall, candy, dressing up, christmas, winter, snow, snowman, hot chocolate, presents, easter, spring, easter bunny, chocolate eggs, easter egg hunt, cookies, baking, flirting, marriage, criminal minds, fbi, lesbian elle greenaway, bisexual jennifer jareau, love, parenting, mom elle greenaway, mom jennifer jareau, fluff.

notes: will be posting on ao3 I hope you enjoy!

—————————————————🤍——————————————————

Summer:

Elle laid back on the sand with her sunglasses covering her eyes. She propped herself up on her elbows when she heard a little screech and a giggle knowing exactly who it came from. She lifted her sunglasses to get a better view of the scene in front of her.

Down by the ocean blue sea her wife and daughter were building sandcastles. She had met Jennifer Jareau through work almost four years ago when her daughter was just 5 months old and in her opinion, she couldn’t have found a better person to raise her child with.

JJ had treated Lyra as if she was her own right from the start.

The two of them had only taken Lyra on two vacations abroad and on both occasions, JJ would insist on Elle relaxing in the sun while she entertained the young girl.

She watched as JJ pulled Lyra onto her lap hugging her tightly as Lyra’s damp brunette curls stuck to the blonde’s skin. She loved them both so much.

Elle rested her sunglasses on top of her head before getting up and going over to her family, “What are my babies building?”

“Mommy! Mama and me build castles!” Lyra looked up at her with her big brown eyes.

“It looks really good baby,” Elle said looking at JJ with a smile that the blonde woman could read as her heart melting over her daughter.

Lyra climbed from JJ’s lap and reached her hands up to Elle making a grabbing motion indicating she wanted to be picked up.

Elle immediately lifted her up resting her on her hip, “I love you my princess you’re so adorable aren’t you?” she kissed the tip of her nose making her giggle.

“I wanna swim in the pool at the hotel,” Lyra pouted blinking her long eyelashes at her mommy.

“You need more sunscreen before we do anything, baby,” Elle looked at JJ, “And so do you my love you’re going pink.”

JJ groaned, “Why do you always pick such hot places we aren’t all blessed with golden skin.”

“Well I love you the way you are,” Elle kissed her cheek once she was standing.

Lyra started to whine with a frown on her face.

“What’s wrong Ly?” Elle twirled her finger in her daughter’s hair.

“Who’s gonna look after my sandcastles when we go back?” Her eyes were wet like she was about to cry.

“The mermaid will look after these ones and you can build new ones when we come back,” Elle told her.

Lyra’s small hands gripped onto a piece of Elle’s hair, the little girl was very clingy with her and JJ she never wanted them to not be with her, “But I made them they mine.”

“I took a picture sweetheart,” JJ rubbed Lyra’s back.

A young woman sat not too far away and listened to some of their conversation smiling before deciding to speak up, “Would you like me to watch your sand castles for you?”

Both Elle and JJ turned to see the woman talking and Lyra nodded her head, “Yes please!”

The woman smiled, “No problem.”

“What do you say, honey?” JJ prompted.

“Thank you,” Lyra smiled widely, her dimples showing. They were one of JJ’s favourite things, they were exactly like Elle’s.

“It’s no problem, you’re a beautiful family. You and your mommy are similar,” The woman complimented.

“Thank you so much,” Elle smiled.

“You’re welcome, I hope I have kids as cute as her one day.”

“Do you wanna be friends?” Lyra asked wriggling in her mom’s arms to be put down.

The woman laughed, “Of course!”

Elle let Lyra down and the small girl ran the small distance towards the raven-haired woman, “My name is Lyra!”

“My name is Emily,” She shook the girl’s hand.

“I’m Jennifer and that’s my wife, Elle,” JJ smiled as she laced her fingers with Elle’s.

“Who you come with Emily?” Lyra asked.

“I came here with a friend of mine and my girlfriend they both stayed by the pool at the resort though.”

“You come back with us,” Lyra turned to Elle, “We can make more friends Mommy.”

“Who will look after your sandcastles though? Emily asked.

“The mermaids! They have pretty wavy pink hair and magic tails!”

“Okay if you’re sure I’ll come back with you,” Emily laughed.

“Can you carry me?” Lyra gave her puppy dog eyes.

“No Ly,” Elle shook her head, “If you want to be carried Mama or I will carry you.”

“Fineeee,” She pouts, stomping her feet a little.

“Lyra none of that or we won’t be able to go to the play area later,” JJ said.

“Okay, mama I do as I told.”

Elle helped Lyra up onto JJ’s back for a piggyback ride.

“How did you guys meet?” Emily asked Elle once they began walking back to the hotel.

“At work, I was working with the sex crimes unit of the FBI before I had Lyra and while I was off there was an opening in the department where JJ was working, she’s a media liaison and that’s where we met when I got the job there, Lyra was 5 months old,” Elle told her smiling the entire time.

“Oh, it’s like fate you got the job then. I’ve actually been working for Interpol, some of my friends work for the FBI,” Emily replied.

“Oh wow, that’s… Small world huh but also an awesome job, what about your girlfriend?”

“She's a cardiologist.”

“Wow, that must be stressful.”

“Mommy! Are we still swimming with dolphins tomorrow?” Lyra interrupted because she felt left out of the conversation.

“Yes baby,” Elle laughs.

“I’m guessing she’s your only child?” Emily says.

“Mhm, we want more but Lyra is enough for us now honestly I couldn’t even imagine trying to share my love for her with another child, she’s my entire world,” Elle gushed as she watched her daughter pulling on her wife’s hair.

“It would be easy once you had more than one but I can see what you mean she’s perfect.”

“Oh, she really is I couldn’t imagine her being any other way.”

“There’s my friend and my girlfriend,” Emily pointed to the other side of the pool where a blonde girl was sitting with someone who looked familiar to Elle.

“Isn’t that Derek?” JJ asked pointing to where Emily had just pointed.

“Uncle Derek?!” Lyra shouted pretty loudly.

“Wow this really is a small world,” Emily laughed.

“Hi pumpkin, What are you doing here?” Derek asked Lyra taking her off JJ’s back.

“Mommy’s took me on holiday!” The girl squealed at the end of her sentence, “I build castles in the sand.”

“Wow did you? You’re so clever,” Derek sat on the sun lounge with her.

“Will you come swimming with me and Mommy, Mama does not want to come in now and someone needs to look after Mommy in case she is not able to swim,” Lyra asked.

“Baby, I know how to swim,” Elle laughed.

“Just in case I said.”

“Yeah I’ll come in with you why don’t you Mommy and Mama stay here we can handle the pool can’t we?” Derek said tickling her.

“Stop!” she giggled loudly, “Yeah we be fine on our own.”

“You don’t have to Derek,” Elle said.

“Are you kidding I want to hang out with my favourite girl you guys relax.”

“I would kiss you right now if,” JJ started before earning a glare from Elle, “… If you were my wife.”

Derek laughed, “Get acquainted with Em and Marissa, we won’t be in there too long and we will stay at the end closest to here.”

Elle nodded, “Okay thank you, If you ever want her for a sleepover let us know,” She winked.

“Sorry, a three-year-old crying all night isn’t exactly a chick magnet.”

“Worth a try to get some alone time with my wife,” Elle shrugged.

JJ rolled her eyes at Elle asking Derek to take their daughter for the night, “You’ll just have to wait until we are home.”

The next morning Lyra woke her moms by trying to wiggle her way into the middle of them in bed despite the fact there was barely a gap due to how they were cuddling.

JJ was the first to wake up and realise, “Hi honey.”

“Hi Mama, let me in,” Lyra gave her puppy dog eyes.

“Okay, but it’s only 6 am so you need to be super quiet and let Mommy sleep,” JJ helped her into the middle.

Lyra touched her mom’s face lightly, “Mommy is really pretty,” she whispered.

“She is, isn’t she?” JJ said stroking Lyra’s hair.

“Do you think I’m pretty because Mommy made meee?”

“I think you’re gorgeous honey but try to sleep for a little longer so you have lots of energy for the dolphins,” JJ placed a kiss on the little girl's head.

Elle woke up first the next time as she could feel little feet kicking around, the clock said 8:30 am. Deciding that was a good time to get up she quietly climbed out of bed and went to the small kitchenette in their room to make a cup of coffee.

Once it was ready she stood in the doorway of the bedroom sipping on it while she watched her wife and daughter sleeping but JJ quickly felt her stare which awakened her from her slumber.

“What are you doing? You’re so creepy,” JJ groaned sleepily.

“It’s not creepy you’re my wife and she’s my daughter I love you both, do you want some coffee?” Elle said approaching her with her lips pouted ready for a kiss.

“Yes please my love,” JJ said before kissing her lips.

Elle and JJ held hands while Lyra skipped in front of them on the way to the dolphin pool, the small girl had already asked her mom's countless questions that neither of them really had the answer to.

Lyra abruptly stopped in front of them, “Wait! What do they eat?”

“Fish probably sweetheart,” Elle answered.

“Oh… Okay!” She continued skipping.

“She’s so strange sometimes,” Elle whispered to JJ.

“Hm she gets it from you you’re a little weird sometimes,” JJ kissed her cheek.

Lyra gasped seeing the dolphins swimming in the pool, “Can you believe we are really swimming with dolphins?!”

“Honestly… not really that thought actually makes me feel rather sick,” JJ answered.

“Honey you don’t have to, she and I can just do it together, you can watch?”

“Oh yeah, I want pictures Mama!” Lyra whined.

“Well I guess it’s decided then, but you have to be a good girl and listen to Mommy I know you don’t like it but she’s just trying to keep you safe okay?” JJ told the girl.

“Got it!” Lyra said pulling off her pink Hello Kitty tank top and blue hibiscus print skirt to reveal her bathing suit covered in flowers, “Armbands please.”

JJ took the armbands from the bag while Elle slipped her cream crochet dress off to reveal her low cut halter neck black swimsuit, “You’re wearing that?” JJ's eyes widened.

“What’s wrong with it?” Elle said looking down.

“You look beautiful but honey it’s a bit revealing, and you’re swimming with dolphins your boob could easily pop out of the side of that they barely fit in there as it is.”

“I don’t know why you’re complaining you love them and you loved this swimsuit on our honeymoon,” Elle smirked.

“You weren’t in a pool swimming with dolphins, children and other children’s parents on our honeymoon,” JJ raised an eyebrow.

“Oh come on it’s fine,” Elle dragged out the ‘e’ before taking Lyra’s hand, “Come on baby let’s go.”

Elle and Lyra spent an hour swimming with the dolphins while JJ took way too many pictures but she wanted to take as many as possible to put in a scrapbook to show Lyra when she was older.

——————

Autumn/fall:

Lyra dramatically dropped her marker pens on her colouring table with a loud sigh.

“What's wrong princess?” Elle asked from the sofa.

“It’s Halloween I need to get trick or treating!”

“It’s only 3 pm we are going as soon as Mama is home from work,” Elle said getting up and standing behind Lyra stroking her wavy hair.

“I hate waiting can I get dressed now!” Lyra kicked her legs around.

“I suppose but Mama wanted to see you.”

“Film it and we can go visit her at work when I am ready,” Lyra giggled getting up from the pink plastic chair.

“Well I’ll have to check with Mama first, baby,” Elle took out her phone and texted JJ.

Elle: hey honey, any confirmation on the time you’re going to be home?

JJ: Not yet, we aren’t too busy though so 6:30?

Elle: Ly wants to get in her costume now and come to the bureau

JJ: Aww Spence would love to see her dressed up as would I of course.

Elle: So that’s fine with you?

JJ: Depends are you dressing up too?

Elle: I will put the witch hat on for you

JJ: And the black dress please, you look gorgeous.

Elle: I’ll consider it.

JJ: 😏 I can’t wait to see you, and our little monster.

Elle followed Lyra into her bedroom, “Mama said that’s fine, do you know where your costume is?”

Lyra nodded and pointed at the closet.

“And the pink boots?”

“Ummm, in your shoe room maybe, I played dress up in there.”

“Okay see if you can find them love,” Elle said opening the closet to find the Monsters Inc. costume.

Elle helped Lyra into her costume, she looked adorable. After a few pictures she put on the long black tight-fitting velvet dress with her witch hat, “How does Mommy look?” she asked finishing putting on her deep wine-red lipstick.

Lyra gasped, “So pretty, Mama is gonna love it.”

Elle and Lyra walked out of the elevator hand in hand. JJ was already waiting by the glass door for them. When she saw them she pushed the door open.

“Mama, Am I cute?” Lyra asked, letting go of Elle’s hand and running to JJ.

JJ picked her up and kissed her nose, “The cutest monster I’ve ever seen.”

“What about Mommy, she cute too?” Lyra pointed at Elle.

“Oh your Mommy is the most beautiful,” JJ told her putting her down and taking Elle’s hand.

“Lyra! Don’t you look adorable wow,” Spencer said from his desk.

“I’m Sully!” Lyra said running towards him.

“I can see that, I’m a huge Monsters Inc. fan.”

“Really? It’s my favouriteeee.”

Across the room, Elle had taken her hat off her head placing it on JJ.

“You look sexy,” JJ smirked and placed a hand on Elle’s ass while they were in each other’s arms.

“You look sexy,” Elle said looking down at JJ’s tight shirt that she was sure was hers before kissing her.

“Ew gross!” Lyra shouted from Spencer’s arms.

The two women pulled back and made their way over to their daughter and Spencer.

“Honey you need to be quiet people are working,” Elle told her.

“When trick or treat? It's already 5 pm Spencer said,” Lyra pouted.

“How about we go now?” JJ said.

“Yeah! Now now now,” Lyra wriggled in Spencer’s arms.

“Okay let me go get my things,” JJ said before leaving them.

Lyra ran up to the first house on their street with Elle and JJ not far behind. She had a pumpkin-shaped basket in her small hand as she used the other hand to knock on the door.

“Trick or TREAT!” Lyra said yelling ‘treat’ rather loudly clearly showing her intentions of why she was at the house earning a laugh from the man and the door and the two women.

“Aren’t you a super cute monster,” he said bending down.

“Yeah candy please,” Lyra grinned.

“Honey that’s rude, you wait until you are given candy,” Elle told her.

“It’s fine,” the man laughs putting a couple of pieces of candy in Lyra’s bucket before returning to his usual height and looking at Elle, “I haven’t seen you around here.”

“We don’t live far just up the road!” Lyra answered.

“Well your Mommy is very beautiful I wouldn’t mind seeing her more often,” the man had a small smirk on his face when he was looking at Elle.

“Which one?” Lyra asked.

The man raised an eyebrow, “What one?”

“Yeah? They are both my mommies. Kiss,” Lyra ordered turning to her moms.

JJ put her arm around Elle, “We aren’t kissing honey come on go to the next house.”

“Sorry, I didn’t realise…”

“It’s fine,” Elle offered a small smile until Lyra took the lead running off to the next house.

——————

Winter:

Christmas Eve was a pretty big deal in their house, it wasn’t before Elle met JJ but ever since she had Christmas Eve was just as important as Christmas Day.

One of JJ’s favourite things about Christmas was getting to make Christmas Eve boxes for them all. She enjoyed having a day off work with Elle and going to department stores to find cute matching pyjamas for the three of them, movies they could watch together and mugs for their hot chocolates. Elle just loved to see her this happy.

The family of three sat on the sofa snuggled into each other with many pillows and blankets watching the nightmare before Christmas.

“So Mommy, Santa Claus is definitely coming tonight yeah?” Lyra asked looking up at Elle with her sparkling brown eyes.

“Yes baby, you’ll have lots and lots of presents to open,” Elle stroked her head.

“What? More than today’s box?!” Lyra gasped with a grin on her face.

“Yes you’ll have more presents than today, the Christmas Eve box is a few things I picked out for you they aren’t from Santa,” JJ explained.

“Thank you, Mama, I love us being matchy in comfy pyjamas,” Lyra cuddled into the side of her.

“I love it too princess,” JJ kissed the side of her head and smiled at Elle.

“When are you going to get married together?” Lyra asked playing with the edge of her blanket but also still focusing on the TV.

“Honey, we are married. We got married last year, you were our flower girl,” Elle told her.

“Really? When I was two?”

Elle nodded, “Yeah baby you don’t remember?”

“Not really,” Lyra pouted.

“That’s okay, me and Mommy can show you pictures sweetie,” JJ said.

“Hm kay, not now I getting sweepy and Santa Claus might be here soon,” Lyra spoke her eyes closing every couple of seconds.

“Who do you want to take you to bed?”

“Both you please,” Lyra gave both her mom’s cute wide puppy dog eyes.

“Of course sweetheart,” Elle stood from the sofa picking Lyra up. The small girl immediately threw her arms around her and clung to her like a koala.

The two women sat beside Lyra’s bed as she curled up in her princess duvet before they started their ‘goodnight routine’ which was saying I love you lots of times and big cuddles and kisses.

Once she was drifting off they turned on her night light and left the room with JJ’s arm around Elle’s waist and her hand resting on her hip.

“Excited for Christmas my love?” Elle asked after kissing JJ.

“I think it’s going to be snowing. Should we wrap the presents?”

“Probably if you want our daughter to have presents to open,” Elle laughed.

JJ looked into Elle’s eyes and placed her hands on her cheeks before leaning in a little, “I love you so much and I love it when you call her our daughter, I love spending my favourite holiday with you both,” JJ finished her mini speech with a small peck on Elles's lips.

“We both love you so much Jay even if you make us put the Christmas tree up in November,” Elle said before going to get the wrapping paper and tape.

At 6 am Lyra ran into her mom’s room and jumped onto the bed waking them up.

“It’s snowing, it’s snowing! Let's go outside!” She kept repeating until she got an answer.

“Honey, it’s only six in the morning, don’t you want to open your presents and have breakfast first?” Elle asked still with her eyes closed.

“No outside first please Mommy it’s going to melt,” the small girl pouted.

“We will go, give Mommy a couple more minutes I’m sure she’ll meet us outside with hot chocolate. Right, babe?” JJ said kissing Elle’s cheek.

“Mhm sounds like a plan, my love,” Elle curled back up in the duvet.

“That means you’ll have to get out of bed,” JJ ran her blunt fingernails up and down Elle’s back.

“Come onnnn,” Lyra whined.

“I’m coming sweetheart,” JJ slipped out of bed, “Go put your warmest coat on and don’t forget to get your hat, gloves and scarf we don’t want you getting sick.”

“Yes Mama, going,” Lyra said while running out of the room.

JJ went over to Elle’s side of the bed and kneeled next to her so they were at the same height, “You can have five minutes because you need to make the drinks and I know you won’t her out there longer than half an hour,” the blonde kissed her lips.

“Yes ma’am,” Elle mumbled.

JJ put on her warmest clothes with her coat and gloves before going to check that Lyra was ready.

The brunette girl was waiting by the door in her pink sparkly snow boots, purple hat with a Hello Kitty logo, black coat and pastel multicoloured scarf. She looked so adorable JJ had to take pictures of her.

The two had been building a snowman for 15 minutes when Elle finally appeared on the porch with 3 mugs of hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles on top.

“Oh don’t you both look adorable,” she said placing the drinks down.

“Put a coat on babe! You’re going to get ill,” JJ said looking at Elle in her dressing gown.

“I’m fine, the robe is fluffy,” She smiled sitting down and taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

“Look at my snowman Mommy,” Lyra pointed at the snowman that was around her height.

“Wow, honey did you do that yourself?”

“Uh huh Mama just helped shape him, he needs a scarf he gonna be cold,” Lyra frowned.

“He has to be cold Ly so he lives longer.”

“Oh, kayyy,” Lyra shivered, “I am cold now.”

“Do you want to go inside and open your presents,” JJ asked picking her up.

“Hmm, but I don’t want to leave Mr snow.”

“That’s okay we can look from the window.”

Lyra nodded, snuggling into JJ and closing her eyes until they reached the porch. Since it was cold out they decided to finish their hot chocolates inside.

After opening their presents, Elle and JJ helped Lyra set up her Barbie dream house she got and watched her play for most of the day. It was the perfect Christmas.

——————

Spring:

Easter wasn’t much of an important holiday to them but after hearing about it from her Nursery Lyra decided she wanted the family to go all out with taking part.

Elle had gone into the bureau early to finish up a piece of work and create a small easter egg hunt for Lyra. She knew her daughter would love doing it around their friends and she had approval from Hotch who had decided on doing the same for Jack.

Once the purple and green wrapped chocolate eggs were hidden around the office Elle texted JJ telling her that everything was set up.

Lyra and JJ arrived at the office and Elle was surprised to see Lyra was dressed up as a pink bunny.

“Oh, what’s this baby?” Elle laughed, her daughter looked adorable.

“I wanted to be a bunny! Cute?” Lyra grinned scrunching her nose.

Elle picked her up and kissed her nose, “The cutest bunny I’ve ever seen.”

“Do I get chocolate now?” Lyra asked grabbing strands of the waves in Elles's hair.

“I made you an easter egg hunt,” Elle told her.

“What that?”

“I’ve hidden eight purple eggs around the office do you think you can find them? Not the green ones you have to leave them.”

“Are they chocolate eggs?” Lyra’s eyes lit up.

“Mhm,” Elle hummed, “See if you can find them, if you can’t you can ask one of us to help you.”

Elle sat on her desk as Lyra ran off to find the eggs. JJ perched next to her, “She��s perfect.”

“I know, where did you find that bunny costume?” Elle laughed.

“In the back of the closet, I have no idea where it came from.”

Within a few minutes, Penelope appeared in front of the couple, “Lyra is wearing the easter costume I got her! Isn’t she the most perfect adorable squishy bunny in the world?!”

“Ah I should have known it was from you,” JJ laughed.

“Well duh! I’m the fun one,” Garcia motioned to herself with a little spin.

“She does look pretty cute,” Spencer said.

“We are amazing godparents!” Garcia said to him.

“Well I had no part in the costume but we sure are.”

“Spencie, can you help I can’t find some,” Lyra pouted.

“Your mommy hid them wouldn’t she be the best to ask?”

“But moms say you’re super smarttttt, You’ll know!”

Spencer blushes, “Oh well, yeah I can help, sure.”

“You should let her have a sleepover at mine, I’ll invite Spencer over she’d love it!” Penelope exclaimed.

“Sold, I want a night alone with my wife,” Elle said.

JJ rolled her eyes, “We will think about it, she’s still quite young for sleepovers.”

“They are her godparents what could go wrong?” Elle shrugged.

“Mommy I found them!” Lyra ran back with the eggs in her basket.

“Let’s count them,” JJ said.

“1…2…3,4…5,6… and 7,” Lyra said as JJ picked them out.

“You still have one more to find honey.”

“But I looked everywhere,” Lyra pouted with a little frown.

“Have you checked Mommy’s desk?” JJ asked.

“Not yet!” Lyra climbed under Elle’s desk.

“Darling please be careful you don’t hit your head,” Elle said.

“I found it!” she said climbing out from under the table and showing her moms and Penelope proudly.

“Well done baby,” Elle said in a baby voice.

Lyra giggled, “Wait! We lost Spencie.”

“Oh no, where did you leave him?” JJ asked.

“Ummm coffee machine I think,” the small brunette began to unwrap one of her chocolate eggs, “Can we go home soon? I wanna make bunny cookies.”

Elle nodded, “Yeah honey, just give me like 10 minutes okay? Jack will be here soon if you want to see him.”

“Not today. COOKIES!”

“I’ll take her to the car, you finish up,” JJ kissed Elle’s lips softly before picking Lyra up, “Come on princess.”

“No! I’m a bunny today not a princess,” Lyra whined putting her thumb in her mouth and resting her head on the blonde's shoulder.

“I think you’re a sleepy bunny,” Elle said stroking her hand down her daughter's back.

“If you wanted to be a bit longer I could take her home now. She could have a nap,” JJ asked Elle.

Elle looked at the pile of papers on her desk, “Yeah, I have my car here anyways. I’ll be about an hour.”

“Okay, I love you see you soon,” JJ leaned closer to her wife.

“I love you too,” Elle closed the gap kissing her.

“I’m home,” The brunette woman whispered but loud enough so JJ would be able to hear if she was downstairs and placed her keys on the table near the front door.

“Hi beautiful,” JJ wrapped her arms around her in the hallway.

They stayed hugging for a few moments but the conversation didn’t stop, “Is Ly still sleeping?”

“Yeah, she was so tired she fell asleep in the car on the way back.”

“Any reason why you’re so cuddly today?” Elle asked remembering how she woke up with JJ attached to her side cuddling her then as well.

“I just love you so much and I want to spend every second of every day loving you and cuddling you and kissing you,” JJ pulled back from the hug and looked into Elle’s eyes.

“I love you too Jay, more than you know. Did you get started on those cookies?”

“Kind of? Do you think she’ll be mad?”

Elle shook her head, “Doubtful she just wants to decorate them.”

“Wanna help finish making them?” JJ asked taking Elle’s hand in hers.

“Always,” Elle let her drag her into the kitchen.

Their baking was sidetracked after Elle flicked some of the flour out of the bowl that went over JJ’s clothes. At first, the younger woman was not exactly impressed nor happy but once Elle allowed her to do it back and it turned into a little food fight they were both laughing with each other which resulted in a make-out session with JJ on the kitchen counter until they heard on the baby monitor they still had that Lyra had woken up.

Elle helped JJ fix her shirt that she had started unbuttoning to get to her collarbone a few minutes ago and quickly wiped her lipstick that had smudged on both of their mouths as they heard little feet on the stairs.

Both of them were presentable by the time their daughter wandered into the kitchen with her thumb in her mouth and her blanket in her other hand.

“Did you sleep well, baby?” Elle said.

The child nodded, “Ready to do cookies.”

JJ looked at the timer on her phone, “They have five more minutes sweetheart.”

Once the timer went off and the cookies had cooled down the three of them all took a few cookies each other using small icing tubes to create patterns on easter eggs and easter bunnies.

[awesomesauce2929]

Goku introduces Zenon to various earthly things (you just look at this guy, he made time for the little god)

Like "this is a frog environment, my dudes". Goku brings a frog to Zenon's house, specifically on Wednesday. And basically just to show Zenon the creature (Zenon eats the frog when Goku is distracted, Saiyan thinks it escaped)

HUGE PILES OF DRY AUTUMN LEAVES. Goku rakes the leaves into big piles and Zenon watches people jump into those leaves and have fun, and participates too. (Now I'm thinking about Whis being introduced to this once, and now he periodically comes to Earth for more than just food)

Maybe introductions to holidays and food (Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and etc)

Fishing with rods???

Maybe Zenon meets Goku's family and Chichi tells him about Goku's adventures and how they got married. (Daishinkan asks Chichi about her food recipes and she is happy to share them with him)

All of this, please someone make this into an slice of life anime of the Adventures of Goku and Zeno (alternative title: DBS: Make Zeno happy saves the Earth, haha)

Goku loves his little friend and personification of destruction - giving him a Earth tour, Zeno-sama will enjoy this very much, considering his interest of that planet may have peaked as most fighters in the tournament were from Earth.  Earth got numerous cultures, traditions and whatever Goku shows would cover a small percentage what the Earth offers but it's a good start introducing Earth to Zeno, navigating through the goods, the bads and often the ugly of humanity. I see Goku being a guide and teacher to Zeno in this.

I like to think that Zeno love to swim in the sea, so I can imagine Goku and others go to the beach, have ice cream or fish and chips or crack a coconut and drink the coconut water.  Then Zeno seeing people surfing on the wave and want to get lessons on it. Beerus and Whis is always with them because Beerus does not trust Goku alone with Zeno-sama, he still fears for another universal tournament of erasure. Zeno had a problem at first with the god following them around but Goku would ease this, making sure this tour would be enjoyable for all.

How I imagine Goku introducing Earth to Zeno, is similar how Goku was introduced to Earth, by humble environment and technology (Capsule Corps). Yes I can imagine Bulma would give Zeno a capsule to put his stuff away if he wants. Ah Goku and Zeno fishing with fishing rods and getting fishes, yes to that a lot. Why not Zeno wants to collect the seven dragon balls with Goku and Bulma, later meeting the earthlings during this adventure, what kind of wish Zeno wants to make, the earthlings wonders? (actually Zeno wants to see Shenron, and ride on him, that would be fun to see)

Zeno likes to stay Earth for much longer, but the Grand Minister picks him for his duty but there's always a next time, especially Goku invited Zeno and Grand Minister for the supper/an event, maybe, hanabi, the fireworks and Zeno and Grand Minister in yukata, so so cute.

Chi-Chi will be more than happy to share recipes with Daishinkan, I can see them making food together under Chi-Chi's direction, a feast fit for the gods. Why not they bond over kids and gossip, they can have couple of teas over this.

""Maybe introductions to holidays and food (Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and etc)"" chef's kiss to this idea, yes yes, especially they come to visit, please imagine Zeno having fun during the easter egg hunting around the field finding the eggs, or Zeno wearing a cute costume during Halloween.

Thank you for this ask, I had so much fun answering this (thanks for waiting)

[thoughtsinadaydream]

The Spooktacular Halloween Movie Challenge: October 28, 2023

Five Nights at Freddy’s (October 27, 2023)

Desperate for a job so that he can keep custody of his little sister Abby, Mike Schmidt accepts a position as a security guard at an old animatronic pizzeria called Freddy Fastbear’s. It turns out the job isn’t as simple as it may have seemed. Can he keep his sister safe against the tide his new job brings?

Released only yesterday (theatrically; I believe streaming was two days ago) and available on Peacock, this long anticipated movie adaption of the video game is already getting some boos from the critics, but I expect that ratings will take an upswing as the audience puts their two cents in. I have only watched some let’s plays of the original and some adaptations of the game; I haven’t played it myself. That being said, I know enough to say they captured the spirit of the game pretty well. There are some shot for shot copies of some of the game’s jump scares, and of course, there are similar musical stings, Easter eggs, and a pizzeria matching the original layout pretty faithfully as far as I can tell. That’s all good news for people who were excited for its release because they loved the game.

What made me appreciate this film was the effort they did to put some more depth to the story. After all, you’re pretty much a faceless security protagonist in the original video game, listening to the history of the place through tapes and trying your best to stay alive in a struggle against unstable electricity and relentless monsters. Interesting for a game, not really interesting for a movie. Instead they gave Mike Schmidt a story, a pretty compelling reason to make the choices he does, and people to protect other than himself when things go awry.

You can probably tell that I liked it. The practical effects were great. Using puppetry instead of CGI gave it some realism, the music could be both haunting and fun depending on the circumstances, and I became pretty invested in not only the three main characters but the puppets too.

I should warn that it’s honestly not that scary, which seems to be why most of the critics were irritated, but to be honest, I don’t think it would have been appropriate if it was scarier or gorier. The makers probably knew their target audience, mostly kids up to 20s, maybe early 30s adults. No need to scar children for life who just wanted to watch such a huge pop culture icon adaption. And to be fair, the game is not gory either. It’s got jump scares, that’s pretty much it. Hard to be mad at a video game adaptation for keeping the same tone. I had a good time. It looks like a lot of people who are familiar with FNAF agree. Try it out if that sounds like fun to you.

**Edit: to be clear, critics are rating the movie pretty low, around 20-30%, but if you really dig into it, audience scores are hovering at around 90%. Pretty big schism to make early judgments on success**

[isabella-111]

Heyyy I've never done an ask thing on here before and I'm kinda scared so please don't bully me. And I saw you were shipping people together and I'm really bored so I thought I would submit something

I'm around 5'3, I'm on the skinnier side, AFAB, I use He/him pronouns. My sexuality's isn't really labeled but I would date any gender. My hair is shoulder length and its kinda curly, more like really lose curls that aren't really defined and its a light brown. I have mild heterochromia. One of my eyes is green grayish and the other is more brown. I'm an Aquarius too! I save everything. I'm a vegetarian too. I love ghost even though I have an extreme fear of them, I use an Ouija bored as décor. I love old things weird things that I get from Goodwill. My favorite Movie is Napoleon Dynamite I love the lack of a predicable plot. I'm also on the spectrum. I'm learning French. Also I love school very much its my definition of fun. I listen to really any kind of music I don't care (never modern country) I really love Christmas music though!! I'm a Hufflepuff too. I don't like being mean to people but when I get overwhelmed I can be very mean. I'm also quick to respond with something snarky but feel very guilty after. I really enjoy reading anything. I get hurt often, I chipped my tooth tripping on a computer cord last month and half my front tooth was gone. (Got it fixed tho) And my favorite hobby is just fallowing my friends around, I don't like to go places alone so I'm almost always fallowing someone. I also love people who are opposites of me, like loud and outgoing people that are 100% my type.

My favorite Fandom is really only Criminal Minds tbh

A/n : this is a safe space no need to apologize also omg stop i love your entire vibe also my grandma used to have a Ouija board that she used as decoration and like a tray which scared the shit out if me when i was little ( now i have have crystalsand tarot cards all over my room) anyways that just reminded me of that. Also I’m so so sorry that this took so long I had a rough 2 months but I’m feeling a lot better and got my motivation back sooo IM BACK hope you like it ;)

I ship you with Spencer reid

- Halloween is you and Spencer’s Holiday like no joke you guys go all out . Decorations EVERYWHERE. Couple costumes are a must im thinking Jorge and Napoleon one year and then zoo lander and Hansel the next.....has he seen those movies no but you’ll just have to put him on

- movie nights with Spencer are definitely funny especially when it’s a comedy

“But like why does his school ID Say 2004 - 2005 if it’s supposed to be In the 80’s” Spencer’s says as he paused the movie for the 20th time

“Spence maybe it’s like a Easter egg”

“It throws off the entire plot and time why would the director do that if it makes the entire film theoretically and periodically uncannon y/n it just makes no sense ”

“Just push play he’s about to dance “

“But the ID and- ”

“I Love you but please stop with the ID”

*5 minutes later *

“ kips a sadist” Spencer’s says super nonchalantly as he grabs a bit of popcorn

“ yah probably “

*movie ends *

so how’d you like movie”

“Solid 8/10 “

“ yay cause we’re gonna watch it at least once a week “ you say with a smile on your face that almost says I’m joking but not really

“ spencer please do the dance..... ik you remember it pleaseeee”

- 1000% bugged spencer to do the napoleon dance for like 2 weeks until he agreed

(When he did it was the best thing ever definitely a record moment )

- you probably met spencer through Penelope she Immediately saw the similarities and decided to work her Cupid skills and brought you to together

- you being clumsy and Spencer using his knowledge on medical stuff to help you out ( ice packs , stitched , home remedies whatever it is he knows what to do ) but he absolutely internally and not so internally panics when you get hurt

 -putting on Christmas music the day after Halloween and Spencer being like “ IT NOT EVEN DECEMBER YET”

- spencer being absolutely enamored with your eyes he can and will stare at them for hours . “ never seen such pretty eyes ya know like on such a handsome face”

Awkward flirtying >>>>>

[delanyb]

Since I’ve been slacking off with the Fnaf headcanon series for quite some time now, with no good reason, have some AR skins and event character headcanons

Shamrock Freddy

Like Frostbear and Firework Freddy,he’s a Freddy made specifically for the holidays. St. Patrick day to be exact

Has a Irish ascent to go with his holiday theme

Similar to Rockstar Freddy, he desires Faz-coin to a unhealthy degree

Enjoys talking about St. Patrick day traditions and folklore.

Is pretty self-centered

Usually picks on Frostbear for no good reason

All the other animatronics who take part in the Fazbear Funtime Service either are indifferent to him like Chica or 8 Bit Baby. While others like regular Freddy and Bonnie hate him for just being a overall jerk

In some instances when the animatronics are being shipped together in trucks for customers, a Shamrock Freddy always seems to cause some sort of commotion that usually leaves everyone in mangled animatronic parts by the end

The company was actually considering removing him off from the service completely given all the problem he caused

But considering that he makes for great revenue during the St. Patrick day season, they just left him alone for the other animatronics to deal with.

Firework Freddy

Aside from Chica with her cupcake, he’s the only one who comes with a accessory.

Has lots of nicknames, but the most common ones are Firework and just Summer Freddy

All the other animatronics find his firework very cool

Springtrap however does not becuase anything that goes boom gives him flashbacks to when the springlocks snappped back in the saferoom all those years ago...

Is a expert on cooking with a barbecue

Has a lot of knowledge on sport related stuff from all over the world

Hates the cold

However he doesn’t hate Frostbear and feels bad for him becuase of Shamrock Freddy’s constant bullying

Has a lot of extras clothes and extra accessories that correspond with the traditions of the customer(s) that ordered a vist from him

For instance, he may be all decked out for 4th of July one year, and the next you’ll see a bear ready for the beach and so fourth.

Constantly switching his attire for each visit does get a little annoying, but for him, making people happy in the end makes it worth all the hassle.

VR Toy Freddy

Is a completely different entity than regular Toy Freddy

Is the textbook definition of absolute gamer chad

Playing video games takes first priority for him

Recently he’s been playing the newest instalment in the fnamh’s (Five Nights At Mr Hug’s) series

He’s quite clumsy and bumps into other animatronics or common house things likes selves on a daily basis

But on the rare chance he’s not using his headset he’s usually making absurd theorys on what’s going on with the lore in the new Vr game

His main theory is that that this new strange crate looking character escaped from dumper purgatory from the previous game in the series and placed themselves into the in universe VR game.

Shamrock Freddy question why he’s still invested in that series though. As he states, the original trilogy is the best and that it all went downhill once that weird gumball machine used paper plates as a skin suit.

Whenever He or anyone else for that matter says something along the lines of that, VR Toy Freddy always goes into essay long arguments for why he’s wrong. He’s very quick to defend his favourite franchise

Jokes that he’s The Man Behind The Slaugher unironically even when the meme has died ( *In this universe the man behind the slaughter meme exists because of the Fnaf 1 news paper clippings, along with the fact that Springtrap is a well known entity thanks to HW, and the Fazbear Funtime service.*

Chocolate Bonnie

Nicknames are Choco Bonnie, and unfortunately as immature as it, Poop Bonnie

He’s made of real actual chocolate

Once somebody’s dog took a big bite out of his bottom right stomach area that simply couldn’t be repaired. The dog took 87 bites out of him btw

That’s why every single copy of the Chocolate Bonnie model scanned in after that day has that big and distracting hole

His three button and botie are mint candy flavoured

Real Easter eggs are hidden inside his stomach cavity and are placed near his endo parts

Though he’s more appropriate for Easter time, sometime he’s advertised for the Halloween season for that trick or treat goodness

Similar to Bon-Bon and Funtime Freddy , Easter and Chocolate Bonnie are a two in one package.

Given the surprising popularity of the Funtime Service, (*in universe*) a merch store has being set up to only spread word of their brand but to bring these beloved characters in the pop culture consensus again, and Chocolate Bonnie gets a bunch of merch

Whether it be a coffee mug,a shirt, or the type of chocolate bunny you’ll see in those craft stores, Cholocate Bonnie has it all.

Easter Bonnie

Is very dramatic and has a showman like personality. (Similar to Funtime Foxy in UCN)

His Easter egg pattern on his stomach area is actually drawn with crayons and the circles are get plain circle shaped stickers you would find at the your local dollar store. Goes to show that the Fazbear Funtime Service sticks to the roots of Fazbear Entertainment, being really cheep

How Easter and Chocolate Bonnie entertain customers is that Easter Bonnie usually has a “dramatic” retelling of the Easter bunny fairytale while Chocolate Bonnie’s the food, customers can eat while enjoying the play

He’s quite athletic

The “Happy Easter” tag on the top of his ear isn’t actually a intentional design choice

Easter Bonnie just stole it from a random candy store nearby

Some confuse him as a winter themed Bonnie covered in snow due to his mainly white colour palette. Considering that Freddy Frostbear’s a thing that isn’t that much of a stretch

Can perfectly imitate any of the other animatronic’s voices. It honestly shocks animatronics like Springtrap or Foxy with how well Easter Bonnie can capture this respective accents to a tee

He prefers to hop like a actual bunny than walking normally

Loves decorating Easter eggs.

Toxic Springtrap

All that purple goo is actually just fungi infected with some of that classic remnant

Due to his frightening nature he’s only available during Halloween time

However despite his looks he’s actually quite kind at heart. Much more than regular Springtrap that’s for sure

Is actually scared of the dark

He likes playing chess

Doesn’t like the fact that he’s advertised as something to be feared

Usually hangs around with 8-Bit Baby the most and the two usually play board games all day

Although like everyone else he feels some sort of discomfort whenever he’s shocked, the pain is really minor for him compared to other animatronics

Given that he’s only desired during the month of spooks, for the rest of the year, he’s left alone at the factory where all the animatronics are constructed and duplicated in the first place

Due to this he’s got a pleta of abandonment isssues

System Error Toy Bonnie

His head, body and limbs can be detached and put back together very easily

That’s how he entertains customers in fact. He’s basically a animatronic sized construction set, similar to Mangle

Their eyes glow bright orange in darkness

Is able to phaze through physical objects

Due to some people complaining about regular Toy Bonnie’s voicebox, the team chose to implant stock computer sound effects into System Error Toy Bonnie’s voicebox rather than actual dialogue.

Knows your WiFi password

Is taller than regular Toy Bonnie

The system error phrase near his stomach area gets brighter amd brighter whenever his costume shell is damaged

Static electricity flows through him from time to time. So it recommend that whenever a customer should wear gloves and other appropriate safety equipment when interacting with the animatronic

Balloon Boy always tries to get the static electricity balloon trick to work, but it never seems to work. System Error Toy Bonnie could really care less about this ordeal though

Highscore Toy Chica

Loves playing video games

But unlike Vr Toy Freddy, Her life doesn’t focus on it 24/7

She likes playing a variety of games too. virtual games, handheld games, games on consoles, board games, etc

Is very supportive

Knows what emojis are

Considering that she’s meant to be hip with the kids, she knows a lot about current gaming and fandom culture in general

Is a pretty good speed runner when it comes to video games

Although it doesn’t happen often she can get quite serious when it comes to gaming. You can tell when she’s just playing for fun or not if her endoskeleton eyes and grey are exposed

is indifferent to the term “Gamer Girl”

Hates games where you can’t skip the cutscenes

Radioactive Foxy

A random model of Foxy accidentally found his way into a power plant and eventually got covered in radioactive goo

The higher ups working for the Fazbear Funtime service thought that it would be a shame to throw out a perfectly good plush suit and endo. So after some strange testing involving remnant they just rebranded this as a completely new skin.

Green radioactive material drips over his body all all times

His hook is twice as big as regular Foxy’s. Probably due to the combination of experimenting with both remnant and toxic radioactive goo

Has no eyebrows due to the constant radioactive energy

Thanks to Radioactive Foxy’s transparent look, this was the first time any of the customers got a real good look on the inerworkings on how a endo properly fits into a plush suit.

Is on the hunt for and wants to consume more radioactive energy

Can transform into a more liquid based form

He’s slower than regular foxy but sill runs at a moderately fast pace

One of the more aggressive animatronics in the service alongside the likes of regular Springtrap and Frostbear

8-Bit Baby

Similar to Highscore Toy Chica, she’s meant to be marketed to the gaming crowd.

Specifically those who enjoy old school videogames

Can despense real cupcakes for eating pleasure

Has a extra sprinkler perfect for ice cream decorating

Her fan operates correctly and henceforth can be used for cooling or drying needs

Her microphone is preprogrammed with chiptune styled music

Has become many people’s favourite animatronic and has been in high demand ever since they were first brought to the service due to their uniqueness

Moves at a snail’s pace

Loves playing board games with Toxic Springtrap.

Regualr Circus Baby finds her 8 bit version adorable

[mikiruma]

🏳‍🌈📌💎🎥💕 for homestar runner!!!

🏳‍🌈 do you have any headcanons (lgbt, race, neuro, etc) that are important to you?

GAY STRONG BAD... and while a lot of it is projection & kinny its not just that... i think it's hilarious how in an effort to make strong bad into this. whatever he is. bragging about how many ladies are on their knees just to date him? he always has these ridiculously beautiful girlfriends who love him so much, but you'll never meet them because they live in far off lands? or on the moon? (sbemail #67: autobiography) the though of trying to hit on the ONE girl to further his "womanizer" image disgusts him??? imagining a male character to be female so it would be "acceptable" to date him?? (sbemail #99: different town) imagining a male character falling in love with him but only expressing distaste outside the imagination sequence? (sbemail #130: do over) receiving a love letter in an email from a dude but only saying so much as "it just wouldnt work out" when he remembered people are watching him??? (sbemail #8: brianrietta) TEXTBOOK!!!! hes gay man!!!! yeah theres internalized stuff which is. kinda what im hinging on but like. he's gotten better over the years w his general personality shift. im just disappointed that this probably wasnt how he was meant to be written at ALL but like. if i had free reigns over the show i'd want him to find acceptance and realize yeah, you can be gay and still commit arson.

(other than that homestar/homeschool/champeen/strong mad are autistic. also coach z is trans & him and bubs are married. i also rly like trans strong bad)

📌 how did you find your hyperfixation?

my uncle actually introduced it to my sibling & i way back when!! and we hadnt actually talked about it SINCE he told us abt it... until last time he was in town!! and i didnt even know he remembered it until he saw the trogdor board game which came in the mail the day before & we got to go crazy go nuts over that again!!! (i dont rly remember much of the introduction other than. we were at my grandparents house for christmas or something & i had to go home to visit the site... and i was like 9 or 10) anyway cool uncle rights

💎 are there any fun facts or trivia that you would like to share?

the brothers chaps have regularly used the fan-owned homestar runner wiki as a resource... useful when u put out as much content as they do! the wiki is credited in all five episodes of strong bad's cool game for attractive people in the "special thanks" section, the brothers have mentioned the wiki itself by name in interviews & at least one toon (that i've seen), just over the past few days on strong bad's twitter page they linked to one of the pages! it is an incredible resource if you wanna know everything about everything in the series, but i think it's really something knowing the creators use it as well. oh yeah and they donate when they can to help keep the servers afloat when the site runs donation drives so. that's pretty cool.

🎥 do you have any favorite scenes from your hyperfixation?

"favorite scene" or "favorite toon".... im gonna drop some of my favorite toons (or the ones i quote the most) bc most are 3-5 minutes long

fall float parade

sbemail #129: garage sale

pumpkin carve-nival

doomy tales of the macabre (cw: body horror)

halloween potion-ma-jig

i killed pom pom! (cw: alcohol)

sbemail #206: videography

sbemail #110: for kids

play date

donut unto others

where my hat is at? (cw: alcohol)

the homestar runner goes for the gold

the homestar runner enters the spooky woods (cw: emetophobia, (one) dead animal is part of homestar's final fear)

sbemail #207: too cool

a decemberween mackerel (cw: unsanitary in an easter egg)

added some content warnings just in case, also the links in red go to the official site while the black links go to youtube!

💕 tell us about one of your favorite characters and why you like them!

i will lay down my life for strong sad no questions asked. he deserves several hugs. i would like to be his friend. i like to think if everyones aware theyre in a cartoon and does their own thing outside what we see on the site, then like... hopefully theyre nicer to him.... i know its fun to rag on him bc he is kind of an easy target but listen. goth king. similar music taste. we totally would have hung out in middle school. also thinkin abt how him and strong bad used to get along.... bro.... i would like to see more of that....

[lovehomedecorideas-blog]

How to decorate your home creatively?

Imagination is as valuable as a big budget when it comes to transforming your home. Besides, you've likely accumulated enough accessories over the years to fill a shop—buying any more would only contribute to clutter. "All the visual chaos is stressful and distracting," says Lauri Ward, home design expert and author of Use What You Have Decorating. So step one is to clear as many surfaces as possible. And once you do, steal these no-cost tips to dress up every room.

1. Turn a stool into a side table.

Re purpose a seat into a handy stand, perfect for pulling up alongside a sofa or easy chair. Try one on its own, or cluster a few (even varied heights work). And remember less is more: Allow the rest of the room to be basic—try an unadorned table and sparsely decorated walls—so the quirky chairs stand out.

living room sets under $500 https://www.justdiydecor.com/livingroom-decor-ideas/top-5-living-room-furniture-sets-under-500/

2. Change your chairs.

Matching dining sets can feel humdrum over time. Trade a couple of seats from the kitchen with ones in the dining room. Place them at the head or center of the table so the effect looks intentional.

3. Take advantage of open shelves.

Pull out your pretty pitchers or patterned plates and arrange them to be admired.

4. Rearrange lamps and shades.

Swap a bedside lamp with one from your desk or the living room, or simply switch the shades for a different look.

5. Redo a whole room.

Play around with your furniture configuration—reposition a sofa, rotate a rug, or try dividing the room with an open-backed bookcase or storage unit. Leave sections of the shelf empty to let light through.

6. Think creatively.

Use a glass jar as a vase, group ottomans as a coffee table, or try a pretty basket to hold a plain planter.

lighting ideas for living room with no ceiling light https://www.justdiydecor.com/livingroom-decor-ideas/top-8-lighting-ideas-for-living-room-with-no-ceiling-light/

7. Style your bookshelf.

Since messy shelves can make an entire room look disorganized, pretty yours up. The foolproof way: Arrange hardcover books from tallest to shortest on most shelves. Lay a few too-tall books (or any other books) flat to serve as bookends to keep the others in place. "Add decorative items such as pottery or framed photos to one or two shelves," says Ward. "You don't want accessories on every shelf or it appears cluttered." Use baskets or boxes to hide unattractive DVDs or paperbacks (or stash these elsewhere). Leave empty space on some shelves here and there so the eye has a place to rest.

8. Create visual symmetry.

You likely buy decorating items as matching duos, and that's smart: Pairs add balance and tranquility to a room, says Ward. But if you don't have two of a kind, make dissimilar items look more alike. For instance, place a shorter lamp on a book stack to coordinate with a taller lamp. Or use pieces of comparable height and size, such as a small trunk and an end table, to flank a chair.

minimalist bedroom on a budget https://www.justdiydecor.com/bedroom-decor-ideas/minimalist-bedroom-ideas-on-a-budget/

9. Bring outdoor furnishings inside.

Wicker, wrought iron and decorative aluminum furniture can create a garden-, coastal-, beach- or cottage-themed space inside. "By using my favorite outdoor accessories indoors, I get to enjoy them year-round instead of for a few short months," says Emma Kippen of Dennis Port, MA. Bonus: Outdoor furniture is easy to clean and nearly indestructible. Bring in sisal rugs, baker's racks and plant stands too; they're just as functional and attractive indoors as they are out.

10. Arrange unique tablescapes.

Design mini-vignettes on tables, mantels or buffets with keepsakes, from china to figurines. "There's no point in keeping interesting items if no one ever sees them," says Ward. Group similar objects, such as mercury glass or colored bottles, together; single items often get lost among other elements in a room. Stack some pieces at different heights on top of books or a wooden box. Or use a decorative tray or trivet to pull together items to make them appear as a collection.

11. Go natural.

"I love to decorate with items I find in my own yard or while on vacation," says Sherry Mathews of St. Petersburg, FL. "One of my favorite displays is a large piece of driftwood in a shadow box." Other ideas: Line the mantel with large, smooth river rocks. Fill a clear, lidded storage container with tiny stones or shells to make bookends. Display a bird's nest as part of a tablescape. Tie together long, slender tree branches and lean against the walls in a corner. Fill a hurricane glass with dried moss, acorns or seedpods.

12. Pull from other rooms.

You hardly ever use that large platter, so rescue it from storage and hang it on the living room wall. Draft your soup tureen into service as an accent piece in the family room. Or use ceramic garden pots or pretty teacups to corral soaps and cotton balls in your bathroom or earrings on your bedroom dresser. Doilies or decorative tablecloths can be draped over curtain rods as no-sew window dressings. A seldom-used ice bucket or log carrier can hold hand towels in the guest bath.

13. Design a gallery.

Everybody knows you can cover a wall with family photos or artwork, but what else can you group to make a statement? "Use what makes you feel happy in your space," suggests Ward, but make each gallery feel unified by sticking to a single theme. For example, hang wire and rattan baskets or postcards on the dining room wall. Display cooking tools such as antique egg beaters, a Bundt pan, cookie cutters or whisks on the kitchen wall. Tack up a few pretty but never-used placemats one under another in a column to span a vertical space. Space them equally and go for symmetry.

urban kitchen decor https://www.justdiydecor.com/kitchen-decor-ideas/10-urban-kitchen-drawer-storage-ideas/

14. Reuse holiday decor.

Why bury traditions in the closet 11 months out of every year? "I keep our artificial Christmas tree up year-round and decorate it with seasonal accents," says Teri Gay of Charlton, NY. "It's a way to simplify because I never have to take it down, and we celebrate each season with garlands of red hearts for Valentine's Day, shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day, leaves for autumn and so on." Or use Easter baskets to hold fruit on your table. After Halloween, scoop out whole pumpkins to use as vases for floral displays (slip a glass bowl inside to hold water).

15. Rotate and rearrange accessories.

"When you live with something a long time, you don't see it anymore," says Ward. So put it away for a little while and fall in love with it again when you take it back out. Or swap out items, such as pillows and throws, from one room to another to change up the look. Also, move around small pieces of furniture within a room. For example, slide two end tables together to make a coffee table or use a small chest as an end table. You won't believe how different a room can look with the very same things in them.

[thisislizheather]

March Magic 2021

Above Photo: Cherry Blossoms are in bloom at the University of Washington right now - Photo By Kai Wang

Am I alone in thinking that was the longest March of all time? It truly felt like it would never end. Usually I love my birthday month, but with everything still the way it’s been for the past year, there really didn’t feel like much of a reason to celebrate. Also, Nathan got COVID. It was awful and scary and I was worried about how he’d be, but all is well and he just got his vaccine this past weekend, which is incredible. So a real roller coaster type of month, but thank god it’s over.

Here’s everything that went down last month.

I recapped how my winter list of things to do went.

Forever an optimist, I made a list of spring things that I’d like to do. One of my favourite things to do is get a pedicure on the first day of a season. I don’t get them very often at all, so it’s a nice way to usher in some new weather.

I finished watching Superstore, which is such a great show. I would’ve never watched it on my own, so this is why you have to listen to your best friend’s recommendations sometimes. They know more than you. Also, it was weird as hell to hear the Smashing Pumpkins song Today in one episode. Just seemed like a strange pairing, them and this show. Or any show, really. But I mean they did lend a song to that Apple ad, so I guess the old days of Billy Corgan complaining about everything are over.

I read and reviewed Joan Rivers’ book Enter Talking.

I made my way back to Lilia with Irene to devour their seasonal leek focaccia & green salted butter, which is always heaven on a plate. (Me and focaccia have had a pretty strong love affair going on for some time now. I plan on making it at home soon, but I can’t decide on the flavouring I’ll want to add to it. There are too many possibilities.) We also shared two pastas: the corzetti with pine nuts, marjoram & parmigiano reggiano as well as the sheep’s milk cheese agnolotti with saffron, dried tomato & honey. Always a good meal here. Might benefit from some new pastas, though.

Above Photo: My sweet baby girl, leek focaccia & her green salted butter

Above Photo: Stunning Irene & pasta

Above Photo: I’m very excited for bread

I got my first Moderna shot! I usually have tons of anxiety around needles, but somehow it wasn’t a problem this time (maybe because I had the kindest nurse on the planet). It sounds so simple, but she told me to look away, to take a deep breath and while I was taking that breath she put the needle in and THAT WAS IT. So grateful for that advice. Must remember that for life now. I have my next shot on April 8th! (I did get COVID arm, but it went away in 24 hours so it really wasn’t a big deal.) Also, I’ll definitely ask a medical professional, but if it’s allowed then I’m definitely getting my card laminated for free.

There’s this great, cute new store called Gift Box on Broadway in Astoria. It’s very similar to Lockwood, only better. Lots of cards, gifts, beauty products, candles, that kind of thing.

It’s green garlic season and we must all celebrate! I’ve also decided that I might devote my life to compound butters. Making them, eating them, giving them away as gifts potentially. Maybe this is what’s been missing.

Google image search the vagar faroe islands and let’s go.

I can’t stop putting this Esti vegan feta on everything, it tastes exactly like regular feta only slightly less salty.

Everything from the brand Umbra is gorgeous.

These are officially (and my niece Layla can attest to it) the greatest socks on the planet. Not too tight, not too short or high, and soft as a cloud.

Best kale caesar dressing I’ve had in months. And I love the idea of using breadcrumbs instead of croutons to liven things up a bit.

I made this roasted winter citrus and wow was it hot fruit. It should be a crime to make something look this good, but taste average as hell.

I started using the app Google Keep to organize all of my lists and tasks and I love it. It’s so much better than using Notes.

HOW have I never even HEARD of Shake Shack’s Innovation Kitchen?! AND HOW HAVE I NEVER BEEN. It’s moved to the top of my current Must Visit list.

I may or may not have fallen down a rabbit hole of incredible Melissa Clark recipes. Love this woman.

If you live in Englewood, New Jersey, how do you not just LIVE at this bakery? My god. Every item. In my mouth. Now.

And listen, I’m no scientist, but this seems like huge news…?

If you find yourself anxious or unsettled, this video of lasagna being made from scratch is the most soothing thing I’ve come across in months.

Target sells candles?! I’m the last person on earth who learned this. $4 for an actually great mini candle is wild.

Tried a slice of the red velvet cake from Milk Bar and it was unexpectedly good. I don’t usually care about red velvet (because it’s a scam?), but honestly their cakes always find a way to taste amazing.

I made this cajun linguine and it was so lackluster, I hate when a pasta recipe doesn’t work out. It’s so upsetting. Also, cajun seasoning can blow me.

They’re opening a Sonic in Manhattan, which I’ve never been to before, is it worth going?

I know Eataly is for tourists, but once in awhile I like to stop in to peruse. I tried one of their prepackaged foods (the eggplant parmesan) and it was a hard pass. Just no flavouring at all. The only thing that saved the day were their individual little Italian chocolates. Always amazing. I do want to eventually try their dried pasta Afeltra since I’ve heard such good things about it.

I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely not ready to watch documentaries about the pandemic yet. I don’t know if I’ll ever want to. I mean… we’re still IN IT, for christ’s sake. HBO needs to just sit down.

Tell me that you know the song Sea of Love.

You had me at “cheese-oozing focaccia.”

Great piece on diet culture by Julia Turshen.

When I was in Seattle in April a few years ago, I wandered onto the University of Washington’s campus and was blown away by their gorgeous cherry blossoms. They have a livestream of them right now, if you’d like to take a look.

With plastic bags officially banned now, I desperately need a basket bag to take when I go to the farmer’s market. So f-ing lovely. Everyone will think I’m Belle or some shit.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a fresh Jamaican patty in my life, so I’m definitely going here the next time I’m in Mississauga.

I love this chickpea salad, especially after adding basil.

Some of these are actually really great tips.

How on earth have I never heard of the restaurants Dell’anima or Anfora?! They’re both under the Joe Campanale umbrella (of L’Artusi fame)! I’m so excited to go. Just look at those menus.

Speaking of, I can’t go for too long without eating the wagyu steak tartare at L’Artusi. It’s a problem. (It also makes me want to buy a really great finishing olive oil, so I’m looking into that. I’m thinking either Monini or Frantoia.)

Above Photo: Wagyu steak tartare at L’Artusi

One thing I’ve started to do that you should too: buy good butter. I stopped buying margarine many years ago and thought I was a better person for buying regular grocery store butter. But sweetie, you can do more. The butter (specifically European butter) in specialty shops or some bakeries or markets is EONS better than the run-of-the-mill basic grocery butter. And it enhances literally everything that you use it in. Right now, the butter in my fridge is beurre de baratte butter and it’s ridiculously good. Obviously I’m not going to use this butter when I’m baking because I’m not a millionaire, but when I’m making something savory for dinner? Or a compound butter? Or on top of asparagus? On some bread as a snack? It’s unreal.

Speaking of food advice: don’t buy your parmesan at the grocery store either. I’ve never had amazing parmesan from there. It’s always the same, even the expensive stuff. Get your ass to a cheese shop. Enough already, you’re an adult.

I tried a CBD chocolate and just as I thought: it’s a scam. Just like red velvet. It did nothing for nobody.

I bought this tea tree toner on a whim from The Body Shop and I might keep buying it for the rest of time. I use it on my face right when I get out of a hot shower and it’s kept my face feeling incredible lately.

A new coffee shop opened up in my neighbourhood called Coffee Avenue and I can’t recommend it enough. The macadamia milk hot chocolate blew my face off.

I finally ate at Bar Primi in the city and it was spectacular. We had the ricotta crostino with hazelnuts & truffle honey (which is almost like a dessert, it’s so good), the linguine with 4 cloves of garlic & breadcrumbs as well as the penne ragu alla bolognese with ricotta which was the very best. Can’t wait to go again. Loved the atmosphere of the place, too.

The seasonal candle is out at Trader Joe’s and it’s grapefruit, which smells perfect. I’ve finally stopped hoarding their candles and have started burning them. Only took me a year of lockdown to realize I should try to enjoy my life.

Lemon Kit-Kats exist and all is right with the world. Delicious.

I don’t go very often, but I’ll always love The Dutch. Perfect cornbread. Perfect tartare. You can’t go wrong.

Above Photo: Housemade scallion-chipotle cornbread with whipped butter

Above Photo: Wagyu steak tartare, capers, bearnaise aioli

*Note: if it seems like I eat a lot of steak tartare - I do. Good observation. It’s incredible.

Controversial opinion but the Dove chocolate peanut butter eggs are one millions times better than Reese’s peanut butter cups. I couldn’t believe it either.

This leads me to another declaration: Easter candy might be better than Halloween candy. Hear me out. Halloween candy is almost chaotic when you think of the candy options, it’s overwhelming and more often than not, disappointing. Easter candy, however, is usually always new and fresh each season. They’ve got to work harder to get you to notice Easter candy, so infact you’re getting a more well thought out product, which usually tastes better. Anyway, can you tell I’m depressed…?

I went to the new Ulta location in NYC in Herald Square and it’s great, it seems bigger than the UWS one and it’s way more convenient to visit. Must remember. Oh! But speaking of Ulta, remember how last year they had such great birthday gifts? They really dropped the ball this year. They’re trying to give a $5 Mario Badescu facial spray as the March gift?! Are you fucking serious?! That’s the worst. Literally the worst gift of all the months. Fighting every urge in my body to write them a strongly-worded letter about this. Just insanity. I didn’t even go claim it. Keep your damn gift, no spray can calm me down from this.

New love: macadamia milk in my iced coffee in the morning. Just heavenly.

I rewatched Wall-E and what a great movie. For all ages. Too perfect.

Love the song Team by Lorde.

I watched the Woody Allen & Mia Farrow documentary on HBO and it’s obviously a must watch. So many things I didn’t know about that story were shown, this man needs to be stopped.

If you ever get a new phone and you want to transfer over all of your WhatsApp messages to your new phone (and you’ve never backed them up), you can pay $40 and use this site to do it.

The new Super Mario World in Japan looks incredible.

Do not judge me, but I ordered (and returned) a SKIMS bralette. I was swayed by a few photos of women wearing it and wanted to see for myself what it felt like. Verdict: crap. Sure, the material is soft but only because it’s so poorly made and unsupportive. An immediate return. The beautiful colours of the bras are what sells the product, in my opinion. It’s so hard to find well made, beautiful browns and neutrals in undergarments.

Speaking of what’s her name, I also ordered this KKW mini lip liner set that I’m unfortunately in love with. I use it as a lip liner and filler, and each fucking one is gorgeous. I’m going to do a post to show you. You’ll see what I mean.

I came across this wonderful stationary store in Chelsea, City Papery. I could spend hours roaming the aisles in there. Made a mental note to go back to get some really beautiful envelopes (why on earth am I still buying the basic-ass white envelopes at CVS??), such a great store.

I’m proofreading a book right now about the idea of living with intention and I’ll post a link to it as soon as it’s released later this year. It’s honestly one of the best self help things I’ve read in a long time.

I’ve had a Pinterest account forever and I recently organized a lot of the recipes into seasonal categories, which has inspired me to make so many new meals this season. Check it. Also, I haven’t tried these yet, but these spring recipes (below) sound delicious.

Blueberry Ricotta Cake with Lavender Glaze

Banana Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

Lemon Almond Pudding Cake

Asparagus Quiche with Hash Brown Crust

Apricot Shortbread Bars

Buttermilk Lavender Scones

Carrot Cake Bread with Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting

Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Lavender Mascarpone

I’ve mentioned my filmmaker friend Dusty before (his film Violation was at Sundance this year), well his movie is a Critic’s Pick in the The New York Times this month, which is amazing and so well deserved. Truly could not happen to a better person.

I have eaten approximately five pounds of asparagus since spring began and I can’t see myself stopping anytime soon. It’s so fucking good. One grievance: that huge, fat asparagus. Why’s it so big like that?? Unnatural as hell. Give me that thin, beautiful asparagus that’s increasingly so hard to find any day. And to anyone who’s like, “Don’t you hate how it makes your pee smell?” - why you gotta go smell your pee? Be normal, weirdo.

I did Nathan’s podcast and we talked about how it’s been so beneficial to get some intentional offline time each Sunday.

Here were the best tweets of the month.

Some things that I’m looking forward to this month: I’m trying so hard to find a way to stream the last three episodes of Stanley Tucci’s Searching For Italy which has been impossible to find, will definitely go check out Little Island, excited to maybe go to the Kusama exhibit, I’d really like to make the Carbone garlic bread, I want to locate and try milk bread, my brother Robbie told me to mix balsamic vinegar & mayo and put it on a burger so I’ll try that soon, I bought some dried Rao’s pasta so I can’t wait to make it, I’m so excited that movie theatres are opening on the 2nd here (I’ll be fully vaccinated very soon so this is great), and I’m adding a resolution: I’d like to do one new thing on the first of every month (examples: buy stock in something, eat ramen, etc.).

If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can see what went down in February over here.

[it-was-so-human]

Everybody's waiting for the next surprise

Her family was falling apart and Sansa can’t fix it and she can’t force pumpkins down their throats no matter how hard she tries. Jon and Sansa. ~2,200 words

Also on AO3

@jonxsansafanfiction Day 3 - Pumpkins! 

Autumn was undeniably Sansa Stark’s season. There was just something about the crisp clean air and excitement that came with Halloween and the changing leaves. 

(Leaves that were a perfect match for her auburn hair.)

((And autumn trees paired with a cute sweaters and killer boots? It made for a stellar Instagram post.))

But even though she was home now, it just didn’t feel right. October was supposed to be cold and instead it was currently a balmy 67 degrees which made little to no sense (expect for you know, climate change.)

At this rate, they would never have a chilly autumn. And who knows what winter would be like? 

Sansa needed the kind of cold that you feel in your very bones to make everything feel real.  Right.

She sighed deeply. The cold would make things feel right, even though nothing has been right in quite some time.

Sansa just wanted to be a little girl again, sniffing that her dad made wear her North Face parka over her sparkly princess costume while trick or treating. Tiara on her head, waddling down the sidewalk on a chilly autumn (early) evening.  

She had transferred back north this year for her sophomore year. Going to college in the south was a bad idea. As cute as dressing up for tailgates sounded in theory, she was a northern girl and belonged up north. Besides, Michigan was in her blood, and she had basically broken faith with the Starks when she went elsewhere. That spot was where her parents went on their first date, around the corner was Robb’s fraternity, and that’s where Bran twisted his ankle after a football game.

She just belonged here. (Go Wolverines!)

And Jon was here too, a senior now and had been so very good about taking her under his wing. From well-timed coffee breaks to walking her home from the library at night to taking her to parties without acting ridiculously protective. 

(Jon was… who Jon was… is complicated. His mother was her father’s childhood family friend. He had adored her. Lyanna had Jon very young and she died when Jon was still a toddler. Raised by his Uncle Mormont, a stern former army commander, it was natural Jon was drawn to the chaos and warmth of the Stark home. He was also conveniently her brother Robb’s best friend.

She remembered ugly whispers when she was young that Ned was Jon’s father. Ned had always treated Jon like a son and they did have similar coloring. And despite there being no truth to the gossip, Jon was always a point of contention between her parents. Maybe that’s why Sansa never really warmed to Jon, she was always Catelyn’s little shadow. 

Besides, he would rather run around with Robb and Arya. He never had time for playing dress up with her. But now that they’re older, she can appreciate his brand of thoughtful seriousness.)

((And this lovely smile he would send her way every now and then that made her just feel.))  

There was another reason it felt right coming back north. Since her father passed away last spring, she wanted to be closer to home. Closer to her family.

Her mother dealt with the grief over losing the love of her life by throwing herself into helping Robb succeed at the family business.

Robb who was overworked and looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders at 24. Stressed and exhausted after taking over his father’s role. 

But there was still Arya, Bran, and Rickon and they needed her and she wanted to be there for them. Her heart was aching to be there.

Halloween was their dad’s warm up for the holiday season. They were one of those families. Respected in the boardroom, Eddard Stark however was a family man first and foremost. What’s the point of so many kids if you don’t have matching holiday sweaters, her father would simply shrug. 

Her parents went all out for the holidays. The Thanksgiving turkey was comically huge, the Christmas tree towering, the lights outside the house absolutely blinding, the Easter eggs intricately decorated.

She had planned to get the family to their favorite farm last weekend, they could pretend to get lost in the hay maze and mildly spooked by the middling haunted barn. Go to the orchard and pick apples and drink warm apple cider with a sprinkle of cinnamon and buy the boys apple cinnamon donuts and watch them get the powdered sugar all over their faces.

But the farm was closed because the world was against Sansa Stark, and when she finally found a suitable replacement pumpkin patch everyone was busy.

But now it was the weekend before Halloween and she just knew her plan was going to be great. This weekend, they were all hers. Her mom and Robb were going to be holed up in the offices of Stark Enterprises but they boys would be home and she was so sure she could convince Arya to hang out as well.

She readied herself for the hour-long drive home, a trunk packed with pumpkins and carving supplies and freshly baked Halloween-themed treats to eat while watching a silly scary movie (and she even used real milk and eggs and butter despite being a vegan herself because she loved her family and was a terrible phony but whatever).

The weather was barely nippy when she left her dorm, but she pulled on a soft rust-colored seater and grabbed a scarf anyways. She smiled in the mirror, feeling seasonally appropriate and ready. Her family would be together and she could already feel a warm glow go through her.  

A warm glow that turned to bitter ash when she arrived at the Stark family home.

Arya was running around getting ready for a costume party and Bran shrugged her off claiming that he had to go to an academic decathlon practice.

When she finally smiled down at Rickon, he argued that he was too old for Halloween and was going to his friend’s house.

Keeping a smile on her face though it felt so very empty, Sansa tried to persuade her youngest brother that he and his friends could come over instead and they could all carve pumpkins together.

Arya made her way down the staircase, rolling her eyes at the scene, “Just let it go, Sansa. No one cares about your pumpkins.”

Sansa feels as if she’s been given a physical blow, but mages to nod, trying to hold back tears.

She knows that’s just how Arya is—once just your average sisterly rivalry, there relationship had only grown more tense and biting. (She wasn’t the best big sister growing up, but god she’s trying so hard now.) 

Their Nanny, Old Nan, just gives Sansa a sad smile and pats her cheek, offering to make her a mug of hot chocolate (because no one ever remembers she gave up dairy two years ago.) 

So Sansa leaves the house, her heart breaking a little bit more. Her family was falling apart and no matter how hard she tries she can’t put together the pieces and it was all her fault.

Because her father was dead because of her.

He died on his way from the airport. If I didn’t call asking for help… or if I didn’t date that asshole Baratheon boy… wasn’t seduced by his stupid fucking fake charm…. wasn’t such a child when Joffrey scared me that night... so much that dad needed to come pick me up.

She remembered how on that last phone call her father had promised her one day she would find someone brave and gentle and strong. But that felt like a lifetime ago.

Because ever since now mother is on the verge of a mental breakdown, and her older brother’s a workaholic, and Arya is cruel, and her sweet brother Bran has become unrecognizably cold, and Rickon who would always give her tight body crushing hugs only runs away from her.

And Sansa can’t fix it and she can’t force pumpkins down their throats no matter how hard she tries.

She didn’t want to go back to her dorm with all her supplies defeated, to be judged by her roommates who were annoyed the transfer girl would rather go home than take up their invite to go out. 

So instead she pulls up to Jon’s apartment. He gave her a key, and he and his roommate Sam should be at some party or something so she can just hack a pumpkin in his living room.

She walks in, first dropping off the fresh vegetables she picked up for him in the fridge. (God that boy would go weeks without lettuce or a piece of broccoli if he could.) 

Then she spreads newspapers on their table for her carving station. While Jon’s apartment is untidy because you know, boys, it’s definitely not unclean. It’s actually pretty cozy. 

She knows she’s taking advantage of the kindness of a boy she barely acknowledged growing up, but she doesn’t know where to go. 

And she just wants to stab her pumpkins.

It’s actually pretty cathartic, stabbing a pumpkin.

An hour later, she hears the door open—looking up to see Jon Snow walk in. His thick dark curls are mussed from the day, a heavy book bag hanging off a shoulder.

He doesn't seem surprised that she's in his apartment committing sever pumpkin-cide.

"Arya called and said you might be here." His voice is gentle and she hates that he probably feels sorry for her. She hates feeling like this. 

She shrugs, continuing to whack at her pumpkin

Sansa's quite artistic, very handy at painting and knitting and most Pinterest-y crafts.  

She really should be better at carving a fucking pumpkin. But she really isn’t.

“I brought you something,” he says coming to sit next to her, crossed legged on the floor. “A treat. You know, for Halloween.”

He hands her the Best Dessert in The World, a slice of vegan lemon cake. (Because Jon always remembers she gave up dairy two years ago.)

She tells him thanks, but continues to whack away at her sad pumpkin.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

No, no she doesn’t. But it’s so very hard to keep inside right this moment. 

“They blame me.” She feels her face crumple as a sob escapes her followed by another.

“Sansa, no one blames you. They love you and your father loved you. It was an accident. You know this.”

He wraps his arm around her, and places a firm kiss to her forehead.

“No, they do. They do and they should.”  She talks to a therapist but that reality was always there and she’s afraid it always will be because it’s true. 

“No one blames you. I was there the night you called. Robb and Arya both threw fits because they wanted to come too. Were ready to kill your boyfriend themselves. How could they blame you?”

“Jon…” she whispers. “They’re mad and I can’t do anything right. I can’t fix it.”

“No, just the other day Robb was telling me how thoughtful you were to send him freshly baked cookies at work. That you cared enough to, even during your midterms. How happy it made him.”

She gives a small nod in response and he continues.

“And Arya wouldn’t have gone to Homecoming if you hadn’t found her that perfect dress.”

“I bet Gendry thought she looked beautiful,” she sighs.

“I bet he did. And I wouldn’t take Bran personally. He’s fourteen and there’s this cute girl named Meera on the decathlon team.”

She should be miffed that Jon Snow knows more about her siblings lives than she does, but she can’t find it in herself to be.

She only burrows closer to him and feels his cozy sweater against her cheek, relishing the warmth of his body.

He lost his mother when he was so very young, and she feels guilty at taking so much comfort from him when she still has so much. But he doesn’t seem to mind, and she’s very grateful.

“You’re the sweetest girl I know. No one else has ever made sure I eat my vegetables,” he teases before continuing. “And you’re adored, Sansa Stark. You don’t need to fix this. It’s just going to take time.”

There’s a comfort in his words, but she still feels like whining. Just a bit more. It feels too good, being held by him.  

“It’s not even cold,” she grumbles.

“You’re going to be so mad when winter comes and you have to trudge to class in knee-deep snow,” he says, his hand drawing little comforting circles on her shoulder.

“But I look cuter when it’s cold,” she managed to sniff. 

“Sansa Stark, you always look cute and you know it.”  

Who Jon was… was complicated. He was boy who used to jump out dressed as a ghost to scare her, the sullen teen who grudgingly let her paint his nails, the boy who held her as she sobbed after her father funeral.

Jon was… he was... he was Jon and he was hers. He had always been there and she never wanted him not to be. He was brave and gentle and strong. It was complicated, but also so very simple.

“You think I’m cute?” She shouldn’t ask, it was indulgent and silly and he probably just thinks of her as some stupid kid sister or something and she’s making a fool out of herself but she really can’t help it.

He breathes deeply, shakes his head slightly before letting out a choked laugh.

“I think you’re beautiful.”

It’s so earnest and god she’s turning red and in her periphery she sees that his cheeks are also sporting a nice healthy blush as well.

And she can’t help but feel like she’s glowing a bit inside. But he seems so uncomfortable now so she decides to take him out of his misery.

She is sweet after all.

“And what about my pumpkin?” she asks, lifting it up and turning side to side, modeling it for him

He smiles, one of those Jon smiles, rolling up his sleeves.

“Your pumpkin, on the other hand, looks a bit sad. Hand me a cutter.”

[awesome22123]

Dear Lipsmackers

HI!

IT’S ME.

We need to have a chat about this whole lack of good, new tsum tsum lip balms.

“But we just put out Valentine’s day limited edition packs AND have Easter one’s coming” I hear you cry. And I promise I’ll get to those in a moment because they too, are part of the problem.

First, let’s look at what tsum tsum lip smackers are currently, as of 02/05/2018

Here’s my very rough chart of what’s out right now. I’ll put it in list form so we can do the maths a bit easier. In the regular releases we have

Mickey Mouse

Minnie Mouse

Donald Duck

Daisy Duck

Winnie the Pooh

Tiger

Eeyore

Chip

Dale

Jack Skellington

Sally

James P. Sullivan [Sulley]

Mike Wazowski

Elsa

Olaf

Stitch

Dumbo

Cheshire Cat

Dory

Tinkerbell

Marie

Thumper

Ariel

Yoda

R2-D2

Storm Trooper

Darth Vader

Princess Leia

Ok so for the regularly released characters we’ve got 28 individual characters [with one or 2 flavor doubles].That’s very little compared to the hundreds of characters Disney has created over the years, and frankly it feels lazy that lip smackers, known for their varying flavors, have flavor doubles among 28 items in a series.

But I’m more likely to to forgive that cause hey, maybe they’re not the same flavor. Maybe they’re just kinda similar and my nose can’t tell. It’s a fairly low number of similarity between 28 different characters. I can let that go.

What I refuse to forgive is the novelty/limited edition ones we’ve been getting so far are basically the same figure model, with just new colors slapped on. Sometimes they don’t even change the flavor. For example

Valentine’s day 2017 Limited Edition Mickey and Minnie [2]: Whipped Pineapple Magic and Strawberry Beignet [respectively]

Halloween 2017 Limited Edition Mickey: Spooky Ooky S’mores

Halloween 2017 Limited Edition Minnie: Sour Tricky Treat

Halloween Villains 2017 novelty[?]: Maleficent

Halloween Villains 2017 novelty[?]: Cruella [Red Velvet]

Halloween Villains 2017 novelty[?]: Ursula [Grape]

Christmas 2017 Limited edition: Mickey Jolly Jelly Bean

Christmas 2017 Limited edition: Minnie Candy Cane Lane

Christmas 2017 limited edition: Marie [vanilla something]

Christmas 2017 limited edition: Tinkerbell [Candy apple]

Christmas 2017 limited edition: Daisy Duck [Peppermint macaron]

??? Limited edition gold and rose gold Mickey and Minnie [2]:  Whipped Pineapple Magic and Strawberry Beignet

Valentine’s day 2018: Mickey and Minnie - Marshmallow hugs & Sweet Candy Kisses

Valentine’s day 2018: Han Solo & Princess Lei - Froyo Smuggler & Cinnamon buns

Coming out Easter 2018 Thumper Caramel Kiss [same as the original, this one has a carrot decal on his side]

Coming out Easter 2018 Mickey Cherry flavor

Coming out Easter 2018 Minnie Strawberry Lollipop

Ok, now let’s count them all up 21 [cause some were packs of 2] novelty/ limited edition tsum tsum’s have come out last year along with a few this year [and those that are coming that are listed online already].

Of those 21 limited edition version 12 of them off the list are just different versions of Mickey an Minnie. Lemme break it down

Valentine’s day 2017 Limited Edition Mickey and Minnie [2 pack]: Whipped Pineapple Magic and Strawberry Beignet 

Halloween 2017 Limited Edition Mickey: Spooky Ooky S’mores

Halloween 2017 Limited Edition Minnie: Sour Tricky Treat

Christmas 2017 Limited edition: Mickey Jolly Jelly Bean

Christmas 2017 Limited edition: Minnie Candy Cane Lane

??? Limited edition gold and rose gold Mickey and Minnie [2 pack]:  Whipped Pineapple Magic and Strawberry Beignet

Valentine’s day 2018: Mickey and Minnie [2 pack] - Marshmallow hugs & Sweet Candy Kisses

Coming out Easter 2018 Mickey Cherry flavor

Coming out Easter 2018 Minnie Strawberry Lollipop

If we just want to count Mickey and Minnie as a pair cause they always seem to come out together, that’s 6 different iterations of those 2 characters [7 if you count the original version].

Of those 6 iterations 3.5 share the same flavor. Valentine’s day 2017 shares the same flavor with the limited edition gold and rose gold and Valentine’s day 2018 share’s it’s flavors with the original Mickey and Minnie smackers. The 0.5 is for the Easter Minnie cause she shares the lollipop flavor with the valentine’s day 2018 Minnie and the original Minnie smacker.

The majority of the remaining limited edition characters are just the molds of already existing characters redone with some different color and a different flavor. 

Mickey and Minnie molds were re-used for Halloween and given slightly different flavors, but still in the same general family as the original M & M smackers, they also got a spoopy paint job, big whoop

Marie was redone for Christmas, given a different colored bow, instead of being love in Pear-y she her Christmas flavor was Purrrfect Vanilla Soufflé

Daisy was redone for Christmas, got a new red bow and a red scarf, falvor changed from Glamorous cotton candy to Peppermint Macaron

Tinkerbell got some snowflakes painted on her dress and went from Pixie Peach Pie to  Enchanted Candy Apple

Christmas, Re-used Mickey and Minnie molds AGAIN, gave them a Christmas paint job, changed the flavor.

Mickey and Minnie molds re-used for Easter 2018, Mickey gets a new flavor while Minnie shares the same flavor with her 2017 valentine iteration and the original running Minnie smacker

Thumper mold re-used for Easter 2018, decal of carrot added to side, base color changed, same flavor

I thought the villains for Halloween were the start of something great. I was expecting brand new tsum tsum’s to roll out every holiday, or at least every other holiday. But no, they’re mostly giving us the same exact mold with some color changes and maybe a new flavor.

Instead of flooding my collection with the same goddamn figure why don’t you go and give us new characters to collect. Those newish flavors could have been used for so many new tsum tsum smackers. It’s downright wasteful. It’s lazy. It makes it look like the company doesn’t understand what its fans want. 

Yes we want more tsum tsum smackers. But we want actual new characters with brand new flavors. Not 80 different colored versions of Mickey and Minnie. 

They’ve missed out on some amazing opportunities. I was talking with someone and they pointed out that last year was the 80th anniversary of Snow White. How amazing would have been if they made a collectors edition with a snow white tsum tsum and all the 7 dwarfs all together, except the dwarfs were half the size of the regular tsum tsum smackers. That shit would have been amazing and everyone would have been all over it. But no, instead we got more Mickey and Minnie and other re-skinned molds. 

The Han and Lei 2 pack was a nice attempt for Valentine’s day, but that was only the introduction of 1 new character. Leia came out a few months ago in her own individual packaging. And it’s not like this 2 pack has them looking any different for valentine’s day. Lei looks exactly the same as when she first was announced and Han is dressed in his normal movie outfit. Could have at least given us a Millennium Falcon shaped box or something to make it feel special and limited edition [I say that cause I’m pretty sure after valentines Han Solo is gunna be released in his own individual packaging].

AND THEN WE GOT ANOTHER VALENTINE’S MICKEY AND MINNIE PACK.

Easter is coming and they’re just giving us re-skinned molds again. You could have given us new characters. What about the rest of the Winnie the Pooh cast? They’re all pretty soft colored, they could have been the fun new release for Easter and parents could have hidden them along with eggs. We could have gotten Rabbit, and Piglet, Kanga and Roo. But instead we’re getting the same old goshdang figures with new colors. Good job team, way to be creative and original.

I am just incredibly unimpressed with the lip smackers company and their line up of new smackers. They could be so much better but they’re choosing not to be and frankly that’s turning me off as a fan.

Please stop re-skinning the molds and give us new characters and new flavors. That’s literally all we want.

[marjanefan]

The 12 Days of Christine and the Horror Genre

Please note this essay contains spoilers for the Inside No.9 Episode ‘The Twelve days of Christine’ along with discussion of plot points of ‘Dark Water’, ‘Under the Shadows’ and ‘The Badadook’.

The Twelve Days of Christine has been the most analysed episode of ‘Inside no.9’ with at least two in depth Youtube vlogs and other blog analyses. This reflects the regard and affection with which the episode is held. However one aspect of the episode which is worth exploring further is how the episode utilises horror tropes to tell the story of Christine’s life.

The episode is directed by Gulliem Morales who has directed ten Inside No.9 episodes in its first five series. Guillem Morales made his name with the acclaimed horror film ‘Julia’s eyes’ which brought him to the attention of Steve Pemberton. He shares Pemberton and Shearsmith’s respect and affinity for the horror genre. He like them illustrates that it is a genre which is capable both of profound insight into the human condition and of artistic merit. I have written a previous piece about another episode Morales directed ‘The Stakeout’ that pays tribute to and comments on aspects of the horror tradition.

The episode uses soundtrack (including sound effects), lighting, and pacing in similar ways to horror films. In particular the sequence at the end of ‘April/Easter’ where Christine sees ‘The Stranger’ for the first time and the smashed eggs utilises tropes from horror to considerable effect . There are other occasions in the episode such as the sound of the car alarm/doorbell on the change between September/October (Halloween) where the soundtrack uses techniques from horror. The tropes discussed in this essay are not just used in the films I discuss below but in many different horror films such as ‘The Poltergeist’, ‘The haunting’ and ‘Jacob’s ladder’.

The episode also builds tension and mystery in a similar way to the best horror films. We do not know at first what is happening to Christine but we know it is not good. When we find out that Christine has apparently received a Valentines card from her first boyfriend who had been dead for several years we begin to sense something is not right. This is before we see ‘The stranger’ for the first time. Christine’s growing disorientation and distress as the episode is conveyed incredibly well.

For me ‘The Twelve days of Christine’ fits in with three acclaimed horror films which tell the stories of single mothers whose home and young child comes under threat from dark forces – Hideo Nakata’s ‘Dark Water’ (2002), Jennifer Kent’s ‘The Babadook’ (2014) and Babak Anvari’s ‘Under the shadows’ (2016). These films are set in (presumably) 1980s Japan, modern day Adelaide (Australia) and Tehran during the Iran/Iraq war. Despite their very different setting they all examine the anxieties around motherhood of the central characters and how these women have to fight for their children in often hostile situations and societies. Each of these films are each worth a deep analysis in their own right and can be interpreted in any number of manners. I recommend WeeLin’s analysis of ‘The Badadook’ as an example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D02G8QWYXDY&

Horror often gets criticised for problematic portrayals of women and violence against women. There are certainly many films in the genre which are problematic but then this is an issue with most film genres. In these three films and in ‘The Twelve days of Christine’ we see rounded (and usually sympathetic) female characters who all have inner lives and hopes and fears. We see their struggles and their courage. Importantly they are also allowed to have flaws. They show the impact of social issues their central characters face. They take the hard work of motherhood seriously. It is worth noting that ‘The Twelve days of Christine’ is the one episode of ‘Inside No.9’ that has a central figure who is not played by Pemberton or Shearsmith and she is female. Not only that but Christine’s experiences as a woman are the focus of the plot. She is a deeply likeable and sympathetic character (unlike a number of central characters in other episodes!). Sheridan Smith gives a truly astonishing performance as Christine and she brings her to life wonderfully. (As an aside Pemberton and Shearsmith have written some really interesting and worthwhile female characters across Inside No.9’s five series).

The three films I mention concern women who are going through traumatic experiences who find their homes and child under attack from a mysterious force- Yoshimi (Dark Water), Amelia (The Badadook), Shideh (Under the Shadows). In ‘Dark Water’ Yoshimi is struggling within a sexist society to provide for and keep custody of her child. In ‘Under the shadows’ Shideh is contending with both an appalling war and a highly repressive government which has just banned her from studying to be a doctor. In ‘The Badadook’ Amelia is trying to deal with grief and mental illness. The forces that threaten the central characters and their children Mitsuko (Dark water), The Djinn (Under the shadows) and the Badadook all can be interpreted as representing and embodying these threats.

In ‘The 12 Days of Christine’ this figure is ‘The stranger’ (Reece Shearsmith). We first see ‘The stranger’ about a third of the way through the episode at the end of the April/Easter sequence (when we also see the smashed eggs). Then we hear his voice over the baby monitor in ‘June/Father’s Day’ where he apparently takes Jack. We then see him in ‘October/Halloween’ where he is holding Jack saying ‘I’ve got him’. Some people theorised that ‘The stranger’ is actually the ghost of Christine’s first boyfriend but Reece Shearsmith stated this is not the case on the audio commentary of the episode he did with Steve Pemberton. Shearsmith also discussed the work that went into creating the right look for ‘The stranger’ to make him look sinister (with his steamed up glasses and rainmack). Something that is worth noting is that on both occasions when ‘The stranger’ apparently takes Jack, Adam actually either has him or is collecting him. Could ‘the stranger’ represent Christine’s knowledge that Adam will now have to be responsible for raising Jack alone?

One important difference between ‘The 12 days of Christine’ and these three films however is that it gives a logical explanation for Christine’s experiences and who ‘The stranger’ is. Christine is not forced into a final confrontation with him. He is not some malevolent force but just some man who happened to step into the road. He actually managed to rescue Jack and is clearly guilt stricken at what has happened. He is far more mundane and human than he first appears. However his carelessness contributed to the crash which kills Christine.

Another apparently supernatural event that occurs is when the eggs smash against the walls and floor Christine’s flat during ‘April/Easter’. Eggs are symbol of rebirth and fertility so the broken eggs can be seen as symbolic of Christine’s (unsuccessful) struggle to stay alive. We see these broken eggs when we see Christine seriously injured in the car. However I also have my own thoughts on the eggs as a symbol. When we next see need Christine in ‘May’ she is heavily pregnant. We see her express her fears that the arrival of the baby will change and put pressure on her relationship with Adam. These fears are sadly realised. Could the broken eggs also symbolise the fact that Christine would soon be pregnant and her fears about what motherhood would involve? (These are just my own thoughts)

Wee Lin made an interesting observation on the significance of Christine’s burn which we see in ‘November/Guy Fawkes night’. She argues when Christine realises it was her, not Jack who burned their hand on a sparkler as a child, it is her realising that it is she not Jack who is seriously injured. This may also represent Christine taking on the wound on Jacks behalf, in effect ‘sacrificing’ herself for Jack.

In all three films there is a young child of around six/seven (Ikuko, Sam, Dorsa)- about the same age of Jack at the end of the episode. This is an interesting age as it represents a particular point in a child’s cognitive development. They still retain a level of innocence of young children while having a growing awareness and knowledge of the world around them of older children. They also have an ability to react and understand events while being too powerless to alter them We do not hear Jack speak but we can tell from his face at the end that witnessing his mother’s death will be an event that will have a profound impact on him.

It is important to note why Christine only remembers events that occurred in the flat. It was a place where a lot of important events in her life happened. Not only that but its meaning changes as her life changes. It goes from being her ‘batcherlotte’ home to a family home to her home with Jack. This fits in with Christine’s journey from her early 20’s to late 30’s from carefree single girl to wife and mother to divorcee and single mother. Indeed we could say the flat is a representation of Christine’s psyche. Horror films (along with other genres of literature and films) regularly use single locations to represent the psyche or characters relationship to the circumstances of their lives (such as The Haunting and The Yellow Wallpaper).

As noted before ‘The 12 days of Christine’ provides a rational explanation for all that Christine experiences and she is not obliged into a final confrontation. So what is the real horror in ‘The 12 days of Christine’? Several times we see Christine’s anxiety about her relationship with Adam and its eventual failure. We see her distress in her discussion with her father at the end of ‘September/First day of school’ at her feeling that her life is in a rut (she has been in the same flat and job for many years and is a divorcee). We also see her anxiety about being abandoned by the people she loves. Some have explored the idea that the episode shows Christine’s fear that she will develop the dementia that took her father.

This is why the end of ‘The 12 Days is so affecting. In her final moments Christine realises her life was full of love and that she had meaningful connections and times with others. Sheridan Smith’s beatific and peaceful smile in the final moments shows Christine’s realisation of this. She can at least leave her life knowing that she loved and was loved by others. The ending of the episode may be tragic but is not horrific. In the end what is so powerful about ‘The 12 Days of Christine’ is that it shows that even an apparently insignificant life has meaning and purpose and how each person is connected to each other.

As an aside I always recommend this terrific blog as their analysis of individual episodes is always incredibly insightful and detailed

https://dodoswords.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/inside-no-9-review-series-two-the-12-days-of-christine/

[ramajmedia]

Pet Sematary: 10 Hidden Details Everyone Completely Missed

Author Stephen King is such a prolific and popular writer that it seems there is a new film or TV adaptation of one of his works coming out at least once a year. With the success of adaptations, remakes, and inspired works like It, Castle Rock, and Pet Sematary, it seems like Stephen King is having a bit of a moment as of late.

RELATED: The Best Performances In Stephen King Adaptions, Ranked

While Stephen King has produced more memorable horror stories that are worthy of adaptation than most people can count, it's easy to understand why there are a few select King properties that are being remade. Pet Sematary is undoubtedly one of the classics, and this year's take on it is one of the best Stephen King horror adaptations ever made, period. The film-makers clearly put a lot of love and care into creating this new and exciting iteration of this classic tale, but that attention to detail also means that there are a lot of details that were missed. Let's take a look a few! Watch out for spoilers throughout.

10 It's In The Eyes

Film making is a very visual medium, so any film-maker who knows what they're doing will give some visual clues towards the story that audiences may not consciously pick up on, but that will subconsciously make that story even more believable.

In the case of Pet Sematary, the evil of the Wendigo possession is all in the eyes. When Ellie is resurrected, she has a pretty distinct droop in one of her eyes which seems to indicate that there is something not quite right about her, but the back-from-the-dead Church has a less noticeable but similar partially-shut eye.

9 Sheena Is A Punk Rocker

Everyone loves a good Easter egg, but damn. So, this most recent film adaptation of Pet Sematary is not the only first. There was another Pet Sematary movie made in 1989. In the earlier version, the man driving the gas truck that hits Gage (Gage is the Creed child who dies in the novel and the earlier film) is listening to the song Sheena Is A Punk Rocker by The Ramones.

In this updated version of Pet Sematary, the driver winds up hitting Ellie because he's distracted by his phone ringing. Who happens to be calling? Sheena.

8 Zelda's Unnamed Illness

In the Pet Sematary novel as well as the film, the whole subplot of Rachel's sick sister Zelda dying is almost as scary as the main story itself. While the book clearly establishes what it is that made Zelda so ill, the movie never actually specifies what her disease is.

RELATED: 10 Movie Animals Scarier Than Church From Pet Sematary

Zelda was actually suffering from a severe and untreated case of spinal meningitis, a disease that wouldn't cause nearly that level of suffering if it had been treated successfully. It's possible that the film-makers decided to omit the specific illness because those symptoms would be so rare for somebody with the sickness who was being treated.

7 Derry, Maine

It's actually kind of hilarious to realize that one of the most well-known towns in Maine is probably the fictional town of Derry, but since it is the location of so many of Stephen King's stories, it's a name that plenty of people have heard again and again.

Although Pet Sematary doesn't take place in Derry, the film decided to pay a little nod to the famous horror town by including a road sign saying "Derry - 20 mi." in a brief car scene with the characters. It's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, but a great nod nonetheless.

6 There Wasn't Just One Church

The Creed family is the central focus of the story of Pet Sematary, but as you might guess from the very title of the piece, pets play a vital role in the story as well. Winston Churchill (abbreviated to Church) is the Creed's family cat, and the first member of the family to experience the death and resurrection that the mysterious burial ground offers.

RELATED: Pet Sematary: 10 Differences Between The Original and Remake

Church really had to act his little feline behind off for the movie, which is presumably why the production didn't just use one cat. In fact, five cats wound up playing Church throughout the movie.

5 Church Is A Pretty Exotic Beast

In the United States, one of the most popular breeds of cat is the American shorthair, but there are other breeds that are somewhat popular in America and around the world.

While Church could have been any type of cat breed, the film-makers understandably decided to choose a squad of Maine Coon cats to play Church in this adaptation of Pet Sematary. It was a clear homage to the setting of the movie, but finding almost half a dozen identical Maine Coon cats was quite a challenge!

4 Cujo

Stephen King is probably the most prolific horror writer of all time, and the popularity of his works is so great that everyone in the world will probably have some passing familiarity with at least a few of his stories. Since there have been so many different adaptations of Stephen King stories (plus the fact that nearly everything he writes takes place in the same location), it's always fun to insert a few references to his other tales.

RELATED: Pet Sematary's Church the Cat: 5 Differences From the Original Film (and 5 Things They Kept the Same)

So, it's easy to miss, but at Ellie's birthday party, Jud can be overheard talking about a rabid Saint Bernard. Most savvy viewers would recognize the reference immediately: it's Cujo!

3 The Beginning Spoils The End

The end of Pet Sematary concludes with a pretty dark but still somewhat mysterious cliffhanger, wherein Gage is the only surviving member of the Creed family, but it seems like his survival isn't going to last for very long. However, as most people who have seen the movie would realize, the very beginning of the film shows the aftermath of the entire Creed family massacre.

If you've only watched it once, you probably didn't catch it, but the beginning scene is slightly different from the grisly action we see at the very end of the film. At the start, there is a small bloody hand print on the car window, which would imply that Gage has already been killed.

2 The Wendigo Myth Matters

The film doesn't go into much detail about the myth of the Wendigo and what it means. In terms of the actual story, the only real relevance of the Wendigo is that it can reanimate the dead but also appears to be possessing them, so the resurrected Church, Ellie, and Rachel that we see are just parts of the Wendigo itself.

However, the legend has some metaphorical relevance to this story in particular. It's a creature that can only survive on human flesh, but eating it makes it bigger, and therefore increases it's appetite. So, then, it makes sense that the Wendigo takes root in Church, then draws Ellie into the road and overtakes her small body, then Ellie kills Rachel, and then they both finally overtake Louis.

1 This Film Even Shocked Readers Of The Book

So, if you're one of the many who probably saw this movie without having read the book first, then you likely didn't notice that the movie made a shocking adjustment from the novel. In the novel, it's Gage who is hit and killed by the truck, whereas in this film adaptation it's Ellie.

There are a few reasons why this change worked so well. Firstly, it adds an element of surprise, even for those who already knew the story (a rare thing for film adaptations). Secondly, while losing Gage would be a tragic blow, having the older child in the family be the one to die allowed for the actors to really play around with the scary Ellie elements a lot more.

NEXT: 10 Scary-Ass Movies to Watch On Halloween

source https://screenrant.com/pet-sematary-shocking-twists-surprise-moments-stephen-king/

[mandysxmuses]

1-20 for nero

//OH MY WORD WELL SOMEONE’S A NERO FAN

(don’t blame ya look at that Final-Fantasy-level FLOOF)

I’m a fan too he’s my fave too don’t think I’m calling you out

anywho let’s get to it

1. Is your muse artistic?

Absolutely not. The most he can draw is a stick figure and he has had to look into a dictionary multiple times in order to figure out some bigger words he didn’t know. He has unique ideas for fighting and is able to come up with quick and violent solutions on the spot, but... artistically inclined, Nero is not.

2. How easily startled is your muse?

He’s... able to deal with most explosions without flinching. I’d say he’s generally a pretty tough boi.

Unless he’s around flirty girls that like him and are enjoying how uncomfortable he is, then he’s as easily startled as a barefoot jackrabbit on a hot greasy griddle in the middle of August. (Yes, I slipped yet another Spongebob reference onto my blog, fight me.)

3. Is your muse a dog or a cat person?

I’d say he’s neither, he has no real preference either way, he’s just not an animal person -- but if it did have to come down between the two he’d pick a dog. He thinks cats are assholes that don’t really care about their owners so much as their own needs.

4. Does your muse believe in magic?

If demonic spells and the like count, yeah, he definitely believes in that because he’s seen it first-hand and part of their power is in him. To deny demonic magic or power would be denying his own abilities. That said, street magicians and the like, he’ll happily call out on bullshit and be one of those hecklers that constantly boos them.

5. What is your muse’s dream career?

He wants to kill demons for a living. ... And it seems like he’s already doing that, so hey, living the dream! He doesn’t even want to settle down eventually because there’s still going to be demons in the world and he wants to keep as many people safe as possible (and remain a badass for as long as possible too. Pride’s a factor).

6. Would your muse ever get married?

If it’s with Kyrie, absolutely. ... Tbh with how much he spends money left and right on her on here I’m surprised he hasn’t bought her a ring yet.

If she dumps him, he’s going to be lost. Like.. nobody will ever be able to reach him ever again unless they knock down a huge, huge wall.

Maybe in an AU where he wasn’t dating her he could marry someone else, but I don’t see how that would work as Kyrie is the main person he got his sense of empathy and humanity from.

7. What is your muse’s favorite holiday?

He thinks Christmas is too cheesy, Halloween has too many random screaming kids coming up to your door, and Easter’s... well, a celebration of a religion he’s not even in that happens to have eggs.

Thanksgiving is his favorite. Why? All of that food. It’s a whole holiday dedicated to a feast. Because he got his more ferocious appetite after acquiring the bringer, he didn’t really have a favorite holiday before then.

8. Has your muse ever been in a fist fight?

Several, before acquiring his demonic arm. Almost all of them were with random people in the streets he had a beef with, a few of them having mentioned Kyrie in some distasteful way, all of them won due to Nero’s superior skill, and all of them getting Nero promptly punished by Credo who did not want his young Knight beating up civilians no matter how equal their weaponry was.

9. How would you describe your muse’s style?

//UH. ... uh.

I mean. Uh. He obviously isn’t into the creepy monk clothing. But the style he wears is still similar to that of Kyrie and Credo in that it seems to take a sort of midieval or Gothic influence while also having a modern touch -- I DON’T KNOW HOW TO DESCRIBE IT, THOUGH. I’m as familiar with fashion terms as Nero is with seduction. We’re both terrible. I could say he likes wearing less “uppity” or “pure” clothing as the earlier two as he tends to wear darker colors and “cooler” articles, but yeah --

“Hey, I can.. seduce..”

//YOU SEDUCE BECAUSE YOU LOOK GOOD, YOU’RE TERRIBLE AT THE ACT OF SEDUCTION.

10. Does your muse tend to daydream? What about?

If you get him started on Kyrie, or he just starts to think about her in general, he’ll probably start gushing and daydreaming about her for hours unless someone stops him. It’s freaking adorable.

11. What is the longest your muse has gone without sleep?

He went three days without sleep just to see how long he could do it before inevitably crashing and getting in trouble with Credo. He thought sleep was pointless until he went those three days, though, so the experience at least was an important lesson.

... And a bad one, because now he prefers to nap instead of staying up.

12. If your muse had a child, what name would they choose?

//UH.

“UH.”

//He’d have Kyrie pick the name.

“I’D HAVE KYRIE PICK THE NAME.”

13. Can your muse play a musical instrument? Which one(s)?

Nero can actually play guitar! He has only a little experience with it, and the only one he had growing up was given away, but that’s part of the reason why the air guitar taunt is his favorite.

... And why he can stand there doing it forever uninterrupted in the game instead of moving on with saving the world, like the dork he is. Air guitar is more important than saving Kyrie.

14. What would your muse say is the pettiest thing they’ve ever done?

“... I guess it is a bit petty to judge all demons just because they’re demons ... even if the majority are assholes ...”

15. Does your muse consider themselves a good person? Why or why not?

Nero considers himself good because he fights for what he believes is good -- that being protecting humanity and those he cares about from the demons. However, since his arm appeared and has been obtaining more strength ever since he acquired it, he worries that allowing the demonic side of himself to take over too often will begin to warp his sense of morality and turn him into a sadistic monster.

16. In your muse’s opinion, what is the best possible gift they could receive?

A peaceful, happy life with Kyrie. ... Unfortunately, the peaceful part’s never going to happen.

17. Does your muse put much stock in things like horoscopes or fortunetelling?

This is one of those things he would call bullshit on and laugh at the fortunetellers for, and possibly scream at them for making money off just telling people things they want to hear.

18. If your muse could travel back in time and save one person, who would it be?

Credo. ... He’d also scream at him relentlessly and order answers, and maybe beat him up just a bit more for the part he took, but if he knew that Credo regretted his actions and wanted to correct them he would save Credo.

19. If your muse could only eat one food for the rest of their life, what would it be?

He loves his protein. Give this boy some ham or roasted chicken for the rest of his life and he will be satisfied. That said, he can’t imagine eating only one food for the rest of his life...

20. Does your muse have any hobbies or interests that they’re embarrassed to share?

He’s not really ashamed of any of his hobbies unless somebody else makes fun of him for it, and even then, he has to care what they think first. Nero generally doesn’t care what anyone thinks unless they’re close to him.