#jackie and crystal both covered by snow i--

[sugarsnap-caely]

A Cozy Winter’s Day

Large flakes fluttered and fell between the bare branches of snow-covered trees. It had been snowing for quite sometime earlier and there had to have been at least a foot of the white crystals on the ground.

A window fogged up as a very large fluffy dog leaned up against the back of a chair, it’s nose nearly touching the glass as it looked outside with big longing eyes.

Marvin leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, a smirk on his face as he watched the dog yearn. “Hey, Jackie,” he called, tilting his head back over his shoulder.

“Yeah, Marvie?” Jackie poked his head around the corner of the hallway.

“I think someone wants to go outside and play.”

Jackie stepped fully around the corner, still holding on to a holiday decoration he had been in the process of hanging up. He stood just behind his boyfriend, listening to his death omen doggie give a small whine. “Well, what are we waiting for?” He put down the decoration on the coffee table as he stepped over to the door to grab his coat and a leash.

As his owner passed him, the dog turned in his direction, panting affectionately. Once he noticed that Jackie was grabbing for the leash he immediately bounded off the couch, his tail wagging as he bounced at Jackie’s feet.

“You ready to go outside, boy? You wanna go outside?!” Jackie leaned down, pulling a hat on his head as he baby-talked the dog.

The dog let out a very loud, Broof!

That was all the answer Jackie needed as he hooked up the leash and opened up the front door, running out with his companion.

Marvin smiled, watching his boyfriend through the window as he and the dog ran across the yard. He sat down on the couch, admiring the view. The dog bounded and jumped, trying to nip at the flakes falling from the sky. In turn, Jackie stuck out his tongue, trying to catch them as well. However, he failed to notice the leash slowly beginning to wrap around his legs. Marvin, on the other hand, did not miss this detail as he bit his lip in anticipation.

Sure enough, the dog jumped up in the air, and in one sudden movement, Jackie found his face planted in the snow.

Marvin howled with laughter, nearly falling off the couch as he hugged his sides.

Just outside, Jackie was wiping the snow off his nose but having a difficult time between laughing and his dog trying to lick it off himself. “Down, boy!” He ruffled the dog’s fur, kissing him on the top of his head as he picked himself back up.  As he dusted the snow off his hair he looked around. He breathed a sigh of contentment, watching as the light made the snow glisten and sparkle. “If only Marvie were out here to see this.”

“Right behind you, silly!” The next thing Jackie knew, something cold and wet pelted the back of his neck. He whipped around, seeing Marvin wearing his cape and chuckling as several snowballs floated around him.

Jackie beamed, laughing. “Looks like I wasn’t the only one who wanted to play outside!”

“Damn straight!”

Jackie just barely managed to dodge another snowball as he ran for the cover of the tree, his dog bounding behind him. He swiftly crouched on the ground, beginning to create his own line of icy ammunition. Marvin may have had magic on his side, but Jackie certainly outdid him when it came to agility and strength. Peeking from around the tree he lobbed one of his snowballs at his boyfriend, managing to pelt him in the shoulder. He ducked back around, pumping his fist in celebration.

“You can’t hide behind that tree forever!” Marvin called, creeping closer.

“Try me!” Jackie regretted it immediately as snowballs fell from the air above him. He threw his arms over his head, running out from behind the tree. “Hey! That’s cheating!!” The smile on his face betrayed the anger in his voice.

“You call it cheating, I call it an advantage!” Marvin laughed, chasing after his boyfriend as he dodged the snowballs being thrown back at him. He was on his tail. 

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. The dog was now barreling towards him. He yelped, turning around and running the other way.

“Now who’s got the advantage!” Jackie yelled as he chased after Marvin. With one final leap, he tackled him sending the both of them into the snow.

Once again, they found themselves laughing heartedly.

“I guess it was my turn to get a face full of snow, huh?” Marvin chuckled, doing his best to shake the hair out of his snow like a dog.

Jackie didn’t answer. Instead, he gave a small sigh, a lopsided smile on his face as he stared at Marvin. The snow stuck to his boyfriend’s lashes, and the sunlight was causing them to sparkle and twinkle. Combined with the blue irises, Marvin’s eyes looked like the night sky. It matched perfectly with the inside of his cape. How did a dope like him end up with someone so pretty?

“Cuz you’re a handsome dope.”

Jackie blinked, blushing as he realized he’d said that out loud. “I--well...uhhhh,” he stammered, trying to hide his head in his coat like a turtle.

Marvin chuckled. “Come on,” the magician said as he got to his feet, holding out his hand to help his boyfriend up. “While you might think the snow looks pretty on me, it’s freezing out here, and I’d like to be warm and toasty.”

“Well, that’s what you get when you don’t wear a coat or hat, Marvie.” Jackie lightly shoved his shoulder, his face still red like a cherry. “Besides, you’re doing a great job of keeping me warm.”

Marvin picked up the dog’s leash. “Oh, hush. Let’s just go back in and make some hot cocoa.” Although, now his face was a little warmer as a blush of his own dusted his cheeks.

~~~~

The two of them curled up on the couch, mugs of hot chocolate in their hands as the fireplace gently crackled. Marvin’s head leaned against Jackie’s shoulder as the two of them watched a movie start-up on the television. His hand gently stroked and scratched his cat’s ears as he purred at his feet.

He had traded his pants, shirt, vest, and cape for a pair of Jackie’s sweats. Once again, he had forgotten to do laundry and was left with almost no clothes. Thankfully, Jackie had let him borrow some of his own. Marvin rubbed his face affectionately against the hood of the sweatshirt. Where would he be without his big, strong hero?

Beside him, Jackie took a sip of cocoa from his mug. He sighed, setting down his mug and wrapping an arm around Marvin, giving him a light squeeze.

Marvin turned his head at the contact, pursing his lips and trying to hold back a laugh. However, he couldn’t hold back the red hue that spread across his face.

“What? What’s so funny?” Jackie raised an eyebrow, an amused chuckle escaping his lips as he turned to look at him.

That did it. Marvin giggled nearly spilling the contents of his mug as he did his best to set it down. “You--you’ve got--” he couldn’t even finish his sentence before he caught the confusion on Jackie’s face and a new wave of giggles washed over him.

“Well come on, spit it out, or your cat’s gonna leave his spot, and I know how much you hate that.”

Marvin wiped the tears prickling at the corner of his eye as his giggle fit died down. “Alright, alright.” He pulled his cat back towards the couch, causing the feline to let out a slightly annoyed mewl. He grinned, the laughter still lingering in his voice as he continued. “Jackie, you’ve got whipped cream for a mustache, and it’s on your nose, dumbass.”

Jackie crossed his eyes as he looked down at his nose. Sure enough, there was a generous coating of sugary cream. He licked it off his lips, wiping his hand across his face.

Marvin’s giggles came back for a moment and he covered his mouth with his hand. “Hey, Jackie.”

“What is it now, Marvie?” Jackie was nervous. How else was he going to embarrass himself today?

Marvin glanced up, smiling. “Look.”

Jackie looked up. Dangling above their heads was a small clump of mistletoe. He could just barely see the whisps of Marvin’s magic disappearing into the air around it. “Oh no.”

Marvin’s grin widened. He was blushing full force now as Jackie looked back at him. “Oh yes.”

“Must you be so cliche?” Jackie said, giving Marvin’s shoulder another squeeze.

“Only if it gets a reaction like that out of you.” He poked Jackie’s cheek indicating the tomato red tone.

Jackie chuckled as he cradled Marvin’s face with his hand. “Speak for yourself. You’re redder than my sweatshirt.”

Marvin leaned into Jackie’s hand, humming contentedly. “I love you so much, Jackie.”

Jackie craned his head closer to Marvin’s as the two of them looked into each other’s eyes. “I love you too, Marvie.”

The two of them locked their lips together, embracing as the fireplace crackled and burned like the fire they shared in their hearts for each other. And that was all the warmth they needed.

~~~~

AN: This story is based on @inspiredrawaw’s Death Omen AU (seriously go check them out). The Marvelspeticeye ship is so cute I can’t. I wanted to do something for this amazing AU but I’m not as confident in my drawing skills as I am in my writing skills. But anyway, I’ve been thinking about writing something like this for a little while now. It finally started snowing today, and so this just POPPED into my head. I couldn’t resist.  (I would have had it done earlier but I had to go to work...)

This is my first time really writing something romantic, and I hope I did well. I also hope that I got the characterization right, and I hope not too much of my own versions bled into this story. All in all though, this was very fun to write. ^^

Also, this is a bit of a holiday gift for them, so I hope you like it. ^^

#marvelsepticeye #writing #sugarsnapcaely #death omen au #jacksepticeye

[artificialqueens]

papa don't preach. (jackie/gigi) — roza

a seven part story where each chapter details a different relationship with jackie based solely on the song correlated to their individual madonna rusical verses.

summary: the year is 1989 and gigi is in love but can't do a damn thing about it. it seems that everything including time is working against her and jackie. [ verse three: papa don't preach ]

author's note: this will probably be my favourite chapter I write because besides nackie I feel like this ship has become some what of a brand for me and I'm glad since I've shipped them since episode one. thank you jankie candle gc for support always.

My Tumblr: @leljaaa / AO3 Link / ( ꈍᴗꈍ)

*.✧

"You coming to the party tonight?"

Gigi turned, closing her locker as she let out a simple huff.

The blonde hated parties.

It seemed a bit strange for the head cheerleader to be so opposed to the pinnacle of what high school popularity was measured. Gigi hummed as she licked the small bit of lipstick stuck to her teeth as she pulled back her long hair.

"Probably not," she said simply as she grinned seeing her best friend  

Crystal groaned, rubbing against her shoulder trying to convince the cheerleader to finally let loose and have some fun. The high school seniors walking down the hallways. She knew that unassertive look from anywhere after a decade of friendship.

"It's gonna be so fun all of the cheer team and some of my girls will be there," her best friend began with a wide smile creeping across her lips as she spoke excitedly at the sentiment that she was beginning to finally be invited to parties their last year of high school.

"If you wanna experience what these parties are like just get two cheap, gas station bottles of Vodka and some snow from down the block."

The redhead hit her shoulders as Gigi gasped, "You're acting like I'm lying! These parties are just excuses for the jocks to up their body count and for everyone to get blackout wasted and wear sunglasses to school the next day."

Alcohol and drugs were fun the first two times until everyone around you turned against you and was in their own psychedelic ward blasting Chaka Khan and AC/DC over their parent's home radio.

"Your boyfriend is gonna be there you know!"

Gigi gnawed at the inside of her cheeks, crossing her arms as they walked towards the parking lot, skipping their last period pottery class together in favour of getting soda from the nearby gas station and sharing a cigarette.

This boyfriend Gigi had was quite interesting.

It was the stereotypical, cutesy head cheerleader with the stunning quarterback that every school and every movie seemed to eat up.

He was decent at best and they were only really together because Gigi was far too afraid to break up with him considering her current situation.

He was cheating. She knew it, she knew for months but still would smile blissfully when he'd come to say hello in the morning or kiss her by Crystal's locker. She saw all of the guilty looks that the other cheerleaders or the side eyes from some of the art students.

She knew.

"I love you ," was something the blonde never heard and she hoped she never would because they both knew in the back of their heads this was purely a mental picture to last the rest of the year and not a relationship.

"I already said no, I told him that Jackie is helping me study for that stupid math exam next week."

Crystal rolled her eyes.

Gigi and Jackie had been seeing each other almost everyday after school for almost three months. She never questioned a single about it, there was no way Gigi would ever be with a woman considering how important her popularity and status at school was to her.

Jackie was extremely sweet and Crystal always enjoyed coming over and seeing Gigi so genuinely happy and glad to have the two of them together.

The Persian was the perfect student every parent dreamed of though from what Jackie explained it was just what every Middle Eastern mother expected.

Debate captain, immaculate grades, student body president two years in a row and extremely passionate. Crystal always felt awful seeing how hard she had to defend herself against all the racist jocks who thought calling her slurs and telling her to go back to Iran was funny.

"I'm from Canada you genius," she'd reply cooly before walking off completely unbothered.

"My mom didn't come to America as a refugee just for me to get offended by some fucking jock." Jackie was truly badass and full of stories.

Crystal could tell that Gigi agreed if the two even with them being complete opposites were so well put together.

"Well, have fun studying," Crystal replied sweetly as always before they managed to slip past the teachers and get into Gigi's black BMW.

Oh we will.

— *.✧

Studying. Studying with Jackie.

"Fucking christ," Gigi moaned as she tightly tugged at Jackie's hair feeling her partner's lips beginning to slip down to her bare stomach.

Well that was a lie.

Three months. Gigi couldn't possibly judge every story and rumour she heard of her boyfriend having sex with other girls at school when not only was the blonde doing the exact same thing but she was doing it with a woman .

Doing this routine with Jackie almost every single night because their parents were almost always gone for work or had late night shifts worked out wonderfully since her mother wanted her to have company while they were traveling constantly.

"Of course your friend can sleep over!"

Friend.

It was 1989. The AIDS crisis horrified everyone even those who hadn't been affected and being out and proud and waving her flag around was not a good idea. It was the worst idea.

Jackie, who was probably the most tolerant person she had ever met, was also scared to come out for multiple reasons though she sighted her cultural background as the main issue.

Gigi didn't even dare make a reference to it with her father still finding it funny to say slurs in her house and out in public shitting on his own masculinity. She'd be a dead girl walking if any of this ever got out.

But god kissing Jackie was ethereal.

"You're beautiful Gigi," she whispered as their lips met for the third time, both of them completely in heaven as they made out on her bed with both of their shirts already discarded on the floor.

"This was so much better than any party," she whispered against her skin as she caressed Jackie's cheek with her thumb. Gigi biting down on her lip as she held back a moan feeling the Persian bite down on her neck.

She was intoxicated every minute they had sex, every time they'd sneak out at lunch or from their individual activities at school and make out in Gigi's car with the air conditioning and radio blasting.

Boys were completely and utterly overrated.

Having sex with a woman was liberating despite the time period they were living through.

It was beautiful, it was the most intimate thing Gigi would ever experience and it only helped that Jackie was the most attractive woman she'd ever laid eyes on.

No one would ever compare to those dark brown eyes and the long, curly black hair that fell all the way down to her hips.

That soft smile and chuckle whenever Gigi would hold her hand or kiss her cheeks while they made out or shared a cigarette in her car.

Every hiss, moan, breath—everything about Jackie was utterly irresistible.

"You're heaven," Gigi breathed out panting as their lips parted, Jackie gently slipped off her lover's skirt as the two of them continued to kiss.

I'm in some deep trouble with this.

"How's your boyfriend," Jackie giggled against her earlobe as Gigi gasped, surprised that the Persian would even make a shady comment especially regarding her relationship status.

It was an odd turn on.

"That was shady," she breathed out with a moan feeling herself completely melt in the warmth building around their bodies. "He's at the party that I refused to go to."

Jackie gave a firm nod before opening her mouth to speak again, "You ever going to actually break up with that prick?" She asked quietly with their hands mangled in each other's hair.

Gigi rolled her eyes, not wanting to think about her stupid boy toy when she had Jackie about to frivolously pound her in the ground for the fourth night in a row.

"Gigi?"

She definitely seemed a bit pushy on the subject of her cheating though Gigi grabbed her wrists and kissed her hard. Jackie couldn't be mad they were kissing again even if it was absolutely a cheap stunt to shut her up.

We're not talking about this right now. The message was loud and clear to the Persian who decided to drop all mentions if it for now.

Fine. You win.

— *.✧

Gigi dragged long on her cigarette, puffing out the smoke as Jackie opened her bedroom window coughing. "This is a daily occurrence I'm noticing, do you always smoke after sex?"

The blonde stared at her lover who was still completely nude, the senior hummed along to the Madonna single that played in the background from her glittery, pink radio.

"If you're gonna stare at me you shouldn't make it so obvious you know," she spoke with a smirk across her lips as she turned towards Gigi who flushed. Jackie pulled the covers over herself as she let her head rest on the blonde's chest.

They closed their eyes and sang along quietly to the music that bounced around the walls of her bedroom as the Persian took a heavy breath.

"I'm in love with you Gigi…."

Gigi crushed her cigarette in the ashtray right on her table, frantically panicking on how exactly to explain that the idea of them being any more open was an awful idea.

"Jackie…"

"I know, I know, I'm ridiculous and out of mind for ever thinking that you'd love me back and would ever be out and proud with me," Jackie began before the shorter woman held her hands on her shoulders, kissing her so she'd stop talking once again.

The Persian chuckled admitting that it was a pretty effective method.

"Loving you is easy Jackie, accepting it is the hard part," Gigi admitted with silence building in the air as she continued on about how right now wasn't the time for them to be open and how everything was working against their favour and their life.

"I know."

"I know you know it's just—" Gigi shrugged, getting angrier and angrier that they even had to be forced to keep their love a secret as if they were Romeo and Juliet or some star crossed lover bullshit she had read in her literature class from junior year.

"I love you but I can't break up with anyone now, everyone knows we're friends and Crystal is already suspicious of everything we do."

"Crystal would never call us out, she's not one to talk either when she and Jaida make out after every guard practice," Jackie laughed admitting something that Gigi sure hadn't known about her best friend.

"Wait, she what?!"

"My lips are sealed, Jaida is my best friend and my secretary." The Persian laughed as she stuck her tongue out, Gigi immediately wrapping her arms around her and locking lips.

That's definitely going to be a phone call with Crystal later.

Euphoric.

"You still taste like cigarettes," Jackie coughed dramatically before Gigi pressed a finger to her lips with a suggestive grin, admitting that Jackie still tasted like everything that had happened in the last ten minutes.

"You're much more erotic than I expected."

"I know, I'm truly incredible baby."

Half an hour passed before Jackie began to drift away and sleep, the two of them making sure to at least put some clothes on in case her mother was to randomly come home.

Gigi sighed, not being able to fall asleep as easy as her lover.

Everything in Jackie's life was planned out: she had every credit, every club, every possible letter of recommendation and was just waiting to get those acceptance letters to Havard or Stanford or some elite college to go and study Political Science.

Gigi was a head cheerleader, barely passing her classes and enjoying life on a whim.

She'd never wanted something or someone for that matter so badly, so purely. This felt like some kind of high school romance that was supposed to burn out in a month or two.

I want Jackie forever.

Shit.

— *.✧

"You doing alright?" Crystal asked the next morning as Gigi nodded, wearing a longer dress than usual to mask all the hickies and bruises that had shown up over night from Jackie's consistent biting.

"How was the party?"

The guard captain sighed, admitting it was just a lot of pills, marijuana and cheap alcohol. She sounded even more upset about the fact that everyone there was almost exclusively a jock or the freshmen who were related to them.

"Told you we could've just done drugs in my car."

Crystal slapped her shoulder as the two of them passed Jackie who gave a wave and said good morning to the both of them before giving Gigi a distinct stare.

The blonde giggled to herself knowing exactly what that stare meant. It had become an entire language with dozens of codes and fabrication written underneath the staring and glances.

Your car. Five minutes.

"I'll talk to you later," she yelled as she took a detour down the staircase as Crystal was left standing, utterly confused.

"Okay?"

It indeed took only five minutes for Gigi to run past all of her fellow cheer team in the locker room, say hello and make another sharp turn out the door before exploring the parking lot trying to remember where she had even parked her car this morning.

Gigi unlocked the car immediately upon seeing Jackie already leaning up against the passenger side door.

"In the car," were the only words that left her lips as Jackie followed her instructions with subtle glances to make sure no one was watching them as Gigi locked the door and immediately threw her keys to the backseat, grabbing Jackie by her collar and kissing her heavily.

There wasn't much time to respond but once again the cacophony of voices in her head yelling how wrong it was seemed to completely disintegrate the moment they began to kiss.

"Someone's in a mood," Jackie said breathlessly as they seperated, falling back into the seats as Gigi adjusted her top, trying not to wrinkle it too much.

"You're the one who wanted to meet me!"

"I didn't want to make out with you!"

The blonde cocked a brow, crossing her arms as she turned down the radio and let Jackie have her turn on the soapbox.

"Go ahead," Gigi grinned, completely interested with what Jackie possibly would want to speak about. "You have my full attention baby."

The Persian sighed as she lifted up her shirt, Gigi completely flustered at first thinking that they were actually about to attempt intercourse in the front seat of her BMW though it was completely different than what she expected.

She gasped seeing the various marks across her stomach and hip, her finger gently dragging past them in horror.

This certainly wasn't from them sleeping together last night, it looked far too painful and too new of a wound.

"Guess who Gigi."

Gigi shook her head furiously, refusing to believe her boyfriend was that much of an asshole. "He didn't," the blonde mumbled completely in awe.

"He did. Jaida sent him packing though, him and his stupid friend. She ran after them for a solid hallway or two."

I missed all of this because I decided to skip first and second period to get coffee.

"What even happened?"

Jackie looked at her, frowning as she still managed to keep her composure undeniably well. "Gigi I think it's now a bit too suspicious that you're skipping parties in favour to get good grades on tests."

"But it's a valid excuse!"

"Almost every day for three months?"

"It's good sex!" Gigi blurted out not knowing what else to say in response to her partner.

Jackie adjusted her shirt as she spoke seriously, trying to make sure that Gigi knew that this entire relationship was a stalemate.

"Either we need to be twice as secretive so no one else gets suspicious or has any more violent ideas or we need to stop completely Gigi."

The blonde held her hand tightly, whispering how badly she needed Jackie in her life and how badly she was going to beat up her boyfriend after this conversation was over.

"Gigi, be smart about this, do not try to rope your emotions into this conversation," Jackie snapped, Gigi immediately looking taken a back as she silently sat against the driver seat letting the Persian finish.

"I love you badly Gigi, I've never loved anyone so much in my life and probably never will but let's be smart about this for a minute. We're seniors, we're both graduating and have completely different paths planned."

Jackie took a breath, "Are you willing to be with me despite the fact everything for people like us right now is utterly awful?"

Gigi nodded, not even taking two seconds to think about the answer to that question.

"I want you and only you."

"Promise?" Jackie held out her pinky, Gigi snickered though the Persian seemed completely adamant about the gesture.

"I promise."

— *.✧

Promises are a curse.

Of course the minute they promised to make it work it all fell apart.

There's only so many nights and weeks they could've gone without being caught.

One stupid night lead to lots of whiskey, a few cigarettes, their clothes off and more sex expect this time her father was home.

Shit.

Gigi wasn't sure what to expect besides Jackie being almost thrown out of her window and the blonde having to watch the entire thing play out before her.

Tears, a lot of them as her father was screaming and completely shattered at the fact his only daughter was attracted to women.

Being an awful human being or failing school were not on top of the "things to be disappointed in" pyramid of life. Nope, it was instead that she was in love with another woman.

"If you saw how she treated me you'd give me every blessing you had and an apology," was the only thing Gigi muttered at the table the next day. Her hair still messy, her father beyond the realm of anger and her car keys taken away of course.

They agreed to not speak to her mother about this. This was purely a one time thing and a mistake her father convinced her.  

"Can't you see that times are changing?" Gigi yelled, slamming her glass down so firmly she was shocked it didn't shatter on impact. "Is it because she's Iranian? Is it because you don't want me to be gay and hurt and outcasted by the world?"

No answer.

"You're too young to understand."

"I am about to go to college, I know exactly what I'm saying."

Gigi had never felt such a cold and depressing tension hanging above the air. She ate the rest of her breakfast in silence before attempting to call Crystal and explain what had happened when her father was out of sight and in their backyard.

"We're in love Crystal, this isn't just some stupid movie fantasy," she attempted to explain through tears as her best friend offered to come over or atleast give her a ride to Jackie's apartment.

"Leave in ten minutes, I'll meet you outside."

— *.✧

Back to square one they were.

The crying and emotional reaction was enough to tug at Jackie's heart and let her stay the night and for them to have sex again.

Now instead of her house all night it was all about rigorous planning and trying to make sure that them being together didn't circulate around school the final months they had together.

Absolutely no hanging out in school, no more glances, no more sneaking to football games just to see Gigi and make out behind the bleachers; it was a sacrifice but was well worth it for safety.

No boyfriend was the only positive outcome of this entire mess.

"You ever wanna run away?"

Jackie cocked a brow, looking ridiculously worried toward the statement the minute it left Gigi's mouth. Their fingers tangled in each other's hair as they had been laying in Jackie's bed the entire morning, fully clothed but completely horny.

"Is this a question or a proposal?"

Gigi sat up on the bed, running a hand through her own hair as she sighed heavily wondering if this was even a concept worth exploring.

"What if we just run away Jackie?"

The Persian already up and sitting next to her, rubbing her shoulders as she spoke about her plan and how she had dreamt of it last night.

"We never have to hear our parents whining or bitching about our relationship, we can be open, we can have a life together—" Jackie shook her head in desperation.

"No… Gigi, please think about this."

"It's almost the year 1990! Things will start changing Jackie, I just want to be with you and love you and not be afraid to shout it in the streets," the blonde began to go off on another rant as Jackie returned the sentiment by kissing her lips, making sure she'd stop talking for a minute or two.

"That's not fair, you stole my method."

The Persian cackled, pressing her lips to her forehead, completely amused as they decided to drop the conversation and instead get up to eat and try to get Gigi's mind off of this entire idea and situation laid out before her.

"We'll figure it out when the time comes."

— *.✧

Time.

There's not enough time .

There never will be. Life was truly just one giant hourglass filled with sand and expectations.

Sitting at an almost three hour long graduation was absolutely a waste.

Gigi is utterly hypnotized as her eyes only stare up at Jackie giving a final speech as valedictorian of the senior graduating class.

It's beautiful to watch, truthfully.

To see Jackie completely telling her story to so many parents and students, some of which had consistently harassed her and wished she'd been beat up harder by Gigi's ex boyfriend.

Her words were smooth and crisp and she had the ability to truly make anyone cry and deliver a message, to reconsider arranging their entire life around and starting fresh and clean.

It was powerful.

Crystal was in mopping sobs the minute Jackie even started and she only got louder and louder as the speech went on, Jaida and Gigi holding her hand on each side trying to calm her down.

"Please stop crying," Gigi grinded through her teeth as she adjusted her cap and gown.

Occasionally Gigi's eyes would water but all in all it was a beautiful speech, the only one the blonde would ever want to listen and analyze.

I could write an entire thesis on her.

And her thighs.

They clapped before she stepped down, shaking hands with the principal as she walked back to her seat, she strolled past the blonde quickly giving a loving glance towards her direction.

Crystal was completely broken the minute they tossed their hats in the air and the entire room burst into cheers, Gigi screamed in happiness once she realized that everything about high school was over and done for.

I managed to survive senior year.

Jaida, Crystal and Gigi all headed for the bleachers knowing that there had to be one last smoke and one last cheer to the three of them who had become extremely close once Gigi's best friend decided to live her life truthfully and admit she had been seeing Jaida for almost a month.

"Am I allowed to join in?" A familiar voice commented softly as they sat at the top step of the bleachers, looking out at the sunset and the view of their high school one last time.

Jaida laughed, cheering for her friend and their senior president as Gigi smiled and nodded. Her feet gently tapping the bleacher space right next to her that could be filled up.

"Absolutely," Gigi spoke with a grin as Jackie took off her cap and heels, walking barefooted across the dirty, old steps with not a single care in the world.

Gigi was impressed.

The minute the stars started to come out was when Jaida and Crystal realized they had to leave, wishing them a goodbye as they hugged with not a single tear shed knowing tomorrow they would all celebrate at Jaida's house.

Jackie and Gigi were left. Alone.

Two women, making out under the night sky attempting not to lose balance on the creaky bleachers as they kissed in public even if nobody was watching.

How romantic.

"You're perfect," Gigi spoke in fragments as they kissed, Jackie taking in all of the blonde she could before she had to move away to the east coast and go to Havard.

This couldn't possibly be the end of the story.

Jackie wasn't going to let their last moments be them sobbing and making out on their high school bleacher after everything they had gone through together.

"Runaway with me? Come to Massachusetts?"

The question.

Gigi felt like she couldn't breathe the minute Jackie suggested it. It felt like a stranger fever dream she wanted every part of.

"Are you serious or just joking around?"

"Serious. You run for the hills with me tomorrow after we see Jaida and Crystal."

Gigi's lips curled into a smile as she wrapped her arms around her lover's waist with a firm nod of the head.

"Absolutely."

#rpdr fanfiction #jackie cox #gigi goode #crystal methyd #jaida essence hall #gigi x jackie #crystal x jaida #lesbian au #high school au #s12 #implied sex #madonna verse series #roza #tw drug and alcohol mentions

[thdorkmagnet]

Merry Stump Day, Marco Diaz!

Hey everyone, Happy Holidays, I bring you all a new story of mine to enjoy! This takes place in my Light of the Sun and Stars AU, with Marco celebrating his first Stump Day ever. I know my story on here is running a bit behind so I’m hoping nothing is confusing but I wanted to go ahead and post this one here as my gift to you all! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Star vs and all its characters are owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney. All rights go to them.

 The snow was falling softly onto the peaceful dimension of Mewni, bathing the world below in a blanket of white, making the landscape look like something out of a fairytale. A peaceful atmosphere and festive spirit seemed to have settled over Mewni, no soul left feeling sad or downtrodden on that of the most joyous day of the year: Stump Day. And it came as no surprise at all that Butterfly Kingdom had gone all out in their celebration, since it was no secret that their rulers adored the holiday. Many Mewmans and even a few Monsters wandered the frost covered streets chatting and enjoying the decorations that seemed to hang from every lamppost and home, everything covered in glowing lights and luminescent crystals, creating a beautiful display of colors and cheer. And at the very center of all the festivities stood Butterfly Castle, the residents inside enjoying the most extravagant party in the dimension as the royal family and their friends were all gathered together in the Great Hall for drinks and stories.

And it just so happened that Marco Diaz was currently listening to one of those very stories being told to him by Star's dad, the stump-shaped cup of hot cocoa in his hands all but forgotten as he listened intensely to the story of the very first Stump Day. His eyes were shimmering with intrigue and his sun cheek marks spun away in excitement, while next to him, Star sat with her head resting against her hands looking equally as engrossed in the story as her boyfriend and best friend was. She had even dressed for the occasion, wearing overtop her usual casual attire of a sea green dress, she was now wearing a red fleece jacket that went down to just below her hips and buttoned with three identical black buttons in the middle. Her leggings were now pure white and instead of purple boots she had swapped them out with black ones that had a reindeer face painted on the front of them. She still wore the horns Marco had given her but her hair had been braided back with red string and tied into a festive looking bow at the end of her hair. Marco kept finding himself staring at his bestie, adoring her colorful attire and he silently wished he had dressed up for the occasion as well. But for right now, his attention and focus was entirely on King River as he began his tale.

“Back long ago when Mewni was still young and the people inexperienced, back before anyone knew of dimensional travel and magic and even basic hygiene, lived the original Mewmans,” the king began, his tone light and cheerful but carrying a weight of importance that seemed to suck you in and left you hanging on his every word and Marco found himself impressed by this ability. Star's dad truly had a talent for storytelling. “Back then, everybody only looked out for themselves, only forming small groups and tribes, while everyone else was there enemy!” As River slammed his hand down on the table Marco jumped, his eyes incapable of growing any larger as he learned more about his heritage. “Fights broke out all the time back then, both Mewmans and Monsters constantly at war with themselves and each other as they tried to gain dominance. Until one day, magic was discovered by the Mewmans and with this power came a battle unlike anything the world has ever seen! The greedy and selfish Mewmans began trying to destroy their brethren, hoping to conquer Mewni for themselves! But as the battle continued, it seemed they were all doomed to wipe each other into extinction instead.”

“What about the Monsters?” Marco spoke up and River looked over at the boy with slight annoyance at the interruption.

“Monsters were smart,” Buff Frog answered from his table, where he and the rest of Marco's Monster family sat listening to the story, Star somehow able to convince her parents to let them be there for the celebration, knowing how important it was to Marco to have all his loved ones around on his first real Stump Day. “They know better than mess with magic.”

River cleared his throat, trying to pull the attention back onto him as he muttered, “Yes well, excluding the Monsters who have nothing really to do with this story...” He took a deep breath before continuing in his usual jovial manner, “Anyways, as the fighting grew worse and worse, a blizzard struck out of nowhere, quickly ending the battle as they were all forced to instead seek comfort from the dangerous cold. But all that fighting had devastated the land and what little was left was blown away by the swift and deadly storm. There was nowhere safe for them to go.” River paused for dramatic effect, looking over the watching crowd. Marco was on the edge of his seat at this point, his eyes filled with fear as he began anxiously biting his fingernails, while his girlfriend just smiled over at his cuteness.

“Until,” River finally continued, causing Marco to let out a loud sigh of relief. “Oh good, there's more,” he muttered and Star had to bite her lip to keep from cooing over how adorable her Marco could be sometimes. “They eventually came across a giant tree that seemed to be at the very heart of Mewni, its wooden frame too strong to be blown apart by the wind and its branches big enough to keep all of them safe and dry. The early Mewmans, although still full of hate, had no choice but to gather together around the tree to stay alive. And after a while, as they stayed huddled together, trying to find warmth, they eventually began to let go of their harsh feelings, forgetting about their differences and hatred as a warmth within them started to grow and fill their hearts with peace instead of sensless violence. Eventually, the storm passed but the time the Mewmans had spent together underneath that tree had left a lasting impression.

“They ended the war that day and from there the Mewmans began spreading out across Mewni, creating an alliance of kingdoms that stood with each other rather than against each other. And at the center of all the other kingdoms, stood the most powerful of them all, the Butterfly Kingdom, set up in the very place the fighting and violence had once taken place, now a symbol of peace across the land. In fact, the very tree that kept everyone alive was cut down and used as wood to make the very castle we sit in today.

“But its the stump that was left afterwards that we honor and celebrate every year on this day for bringing us all together and for reminding us that deep down we are all Mewmans!” River finished his speech, before raising his cup high and declaring, “To the stump!”

“To the stump!” came the replied shout from the crowd, Marco shouting the phrase at the very top of his lungs, before gulping down the soothing hot chocolate along with the everyone else. The minute he was done chugging the drink, he let out a deep sigh, leaning back against the table as he said wistfully, “Wow, that was an incredible story.”

“Yeah but King River always leaves out the rest of it,” Jackie commented and Marco gave her a wonder-filled look.

“There's more?” he asked hopefully and Jackie couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

“Yeah dude, in fact Stump Day is completely different now then it was back in the day thanks to Earth.”

“Wait, really!” Marco gasped in intrigue.

“See, on Earth we have a similar holiday called Christmas and after we became allies with Mewni, the Mewmans started adopting some of our traditions, like giving gifts to show your love and appreciation of each other, rather than just spending the whole holiday celebrating the Stump.”

“Which the Stump wasn't too happy about,” Janna pointed out.

“Yeah but it worked out. Eventually even the Stump had to submit to the power of Christmas spirit,” Jackie replied, clenching a fist dramatically. “It's said that the stump's heart was melted after our guy, Santa Claus, showed him the true meaning of Christmas and he even teamed up with him one year to help bring presents to not just the good kids of Earth... but Mewni too.”

“Wow, Jackie how do you know so much about all this?” Marco asked, looking quite impressed with his friend's knowledge.

Jackie gave him a sheepish grin before admitting, “I learned about it mostly from this old cartoon special my parents and I used to watch back on Earth every year. 'How the Stump Saved Christmas', it was pretty cheesy but it was my favorite as a kid.”

Marco let all this sink in, before exclaiming,“Wow, I can't believe I went all these years without knowing anything about Christmas or Stump Day!”

“I can't  believe it either,” Star agreed giving him a sad look. “This is my favorite time of year. I can't imagine not celebrating Stump Day. Did you and the Monsters ever do anything for the holiday?”

Marco shook his head. “No, all Toffee ever did was lay a couple of stumps around the castle and that was it.” He let out a long sigh. “I have so much to catch up on.”

“Well your in luck, Marco,” Star told him, inching a bit closer so her side was touching his, as she put an arm around him. “Because here at Butterfly Castle we go all out for Stump Day. We bring you the works!”

“Yeah!” Marco cheered, pumping his fists into the air. But he turned to her with a confused look as he asked, “What are the works?”

“Well first up is carols and stories, which we just did,” Star explained. “Then we got hot cocoa...” She held up her empty stump cup to show him. “Decorations and loved ones...” She gestured to the room around them, Marco smiling brightly at the familiar faces and colorful decorations that surrounded them. “... the stump of course. And last but not least is-”

“Presents!” Star's dad shouted at the top of lungs.

Moon shot her husband a look, before saying politely to the crowd, “Yes, will everyone please move single file into the throne room so gift unwrapping can commence.”

“Ha ha come on slowpokes, I bet I'll be the first to open a present!” River shouted, rushing for the doors at top speed, yelling an annoying battle cry, the others following suit, though at a much slower pace.  All the while, Moon buried her face in her hands at her husband's childish and embarrassing antics, muttering under her breath, “Oh River.” Why did he have to be like this every single year?

…

“Oh wow Jackie, thank you so much!” Marco cried as he ripped the last of the wrapping paper, holding the gift close to his chest while his eyes twinkled in delight. “I love it!”

Jackie smiled at him and said, “Glad to hear it, dude.” She held back a giggle as she reminded him for probably the tenth time, “But you have to open the box to see what you got, remember?”

Marco nodded, a sheepish grin on his face as he said, “Right, right, I knew that.” He had done that so far on every single gift he had been given, just as impressed by the packaging as the actual present inside. Not that anyone minded, it was adorable to see the boy so giddy and joyful at the simple act of receiving a gift from his friends and family that they all couldn't help but stop and watch his reactions all the way through. Marco opened up the box and gasped at what he saw inside, his eyes shimmering with gleeful gratitude as he shouted, “Thanks, Jackie! I love it!” He reached inside and pulled out the blue helmet decorated in cute designs, giving the girl a quick hug from the side. “I'll treasure it always!”

Jackie smiled. “I thought you might,” she said. “I figured this way you had your own helmet to wear whenever you want to go skateboarding with me.”

“Wow that's so awesome of you, thanks!” Marco said gleefully. He paused to set it beside him with his other presents before looking around the room in fascination again. It was hard not to, the big room one Marco had never seen before, a giant stump taking up quite a bit of the space there, which according to King River was the original one brought there by the Butterflys who built the castle. Its long roots looped and branched out across the massive space, creating nice places for everyone to sit as they opened presents, usually sitting in groups of three or four. Marco himself was currently squeezed between Star and Jackie, his pile of presents slowly diminishing until only one remained.

The boy frowned for a moment, suddenly feeling his stomach churning with guilt. Star picking up on the change in her boyfriend's demeanor asked, “What's wrong, Marco?”

“I guess I just feel bad that all of you got me gifts but I didn't get anything for any of you,” he admitted.

Star gently put a hand over his, telling him softly, “Hey, it's okay. Nobody expects anything from you, Marco. We're all just happy you're here with us. Everyone just wants your first Stump Day to be special.”

Jackie giggled slightly as she looked over her shoulder at the large pile of opened gifts and added, “Yeah, hence why everyone went overboard when they heard this was your first time celebrating.”

“Maybe just a little,” Star admitted as her and Marco followed their skater friend's gaze.

The hooded teen let out a deep breath, nodding his head in agreement. “Yeah, you're right, guys. I should just enjoy it,” he said, before flashing them a confident grin and declaring loudly, “And next year I'll be sure to give everyone here the best Stump Day gifts they've ever seen!”

“That's the spirit!” Jackie exclaimed, giving him a quick hug.

“But for now,” Star said with a hinting tone, slowly reaching behind her. “You can... open this present I got for you!” The blond gave her boyfriend the brightest grin imaginable as she held up a bright red present with a pretty green bow around it.

Marco gasped with joy the moment he saw his gift, taking it eagerly out of her hands. “Oh wow, Star. This is so great! You didn't have to do this!”

“What and not get my boyfriend a present on his first official Stump Day?” Star teased, giving him a quick wink, which caused him to blush.

“Thanks, Star,” he said shyly.

“So, what are you waiting for? Open it up,” Star said, quickly losing her patience as she tried to guess what his reaction would be to her extra special gift. Her blue eyes sparkled as she watched him rip off the wrapping paper, not taking any time or care to preserve it, which was fine with her, just discarding it onto the floor without a second thought. He looked the box the bright red box over, his eyes incapable of growing any larger as he turned it around in his hands, observing every inch of the cubed surface. He hadn't even known boxes could come in different colors. “Wow, thank you Star, this is so awesome!”

Star laughed, putting her arms around him in a make-shift hug and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “If I had known you'd like the boxes this much I would have saved you up some.”

Marco grinned goofily at his girlfriend's show of affection, saying brightly, “I guess I'm still pretty much in shock over getting any gifts at all.”

Star and Jackie smiled at him, the skater saying, “Well you deserve every single one, dude.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. But her impatience finally won out as she gave him a tight squeeze and said, “Now hurry up and open it! You're going to love it!”

Marco laughed, saying, “Okay, okay.” he threw the lid off, staring inside at his present, before his smile vanished, his jaw hitting the floor as he gave the object inside a disbelieving look. He was mesmerized, his sun cheek marks spinning a mile a minute as he processed what he was seeing. He looked over at Star with a questioning look, silently asking her if this was really for him and she nodded, her palms pressed together in front of her mouth as she gauged his reaction. The boy quickly looked back at his present before his breath hitched, tears flooding his vision. He reached inside and pulled out the bright red hoodie from within, holding it close to his chest as the box hit the floor with a muted and forgotten thunk.

The material was the exact same as the one he was wearing, soft to the touch, in fact it seemed like almost an exact replica to his favorite choice of clothing. But unlike the identical dozen hanging in his closet this one had festive designs stitched all over it. A stump occupied the center, of course, and below it Star and Marco were holding hands. A set of pretty yellow stars had been stitched in different sections of the hoodie, which he noticed all looked like the ones he had seen topping some of the trees around Mewni. Each sleeve had a green snowflake pattern on it, right at the elbows, and the inside of his hood was lined green as well. “Star, I-I don't know what to say,” the boy whispered under his breath, still struggling to keep his tears at bay. “How did you find this?”

Star held him close to her as she explained, “I had it made for you. I managed to locate the company that made your old hoodies and I asked them to make a specialty one for you. This way, you'll always be able to look back and remember your first Stump Day with me.”

“Oh wow, thank you, Star!” Marco cried, the tears now finally breaking free as they rolled down his cheeks. He hugged her close to him, laying his head on her shoulder as he repeated over and over again, “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love it so much!”

The joy on Star's face was indescribable as she made her Marco happy beyond belief. She loved spoiling him already, adoring the cute little face he would make whenever she surprised him with something. But this accomplishment might have been better than all the others, because she knew she had just made his day and she hoped this would be enough to convince him to agree with her on this being the greatest time of the year. And considering how tightly he was hugging, it would seem she had done just that, the blond royal silently congratulated herself on knowing her bestie well enough to get him exactly what he wanted.

The moment they pulled away, Jackie suggested, “Why don't you try it on, Marco?” The boy didn't even hesitate as he ripped off his old hoodie, Star grabbing it out of the air before watching as he slipped on the new one. He was too excited to even take the time to unzip it, just slipping it over his head and letting it slide down his body before stuffing his arms through. Marco squealed with delight, softly feeling of the fabric with his fingertips and standing up so he could admire himself from every angle. “It fits me perfect!” he shouted, not even realizing the sleeves were just a bit too long and kept falling over his hands. Star would have complained that the makers had gotten the specific dimensions she had given them wrong, but honestly he looked too adorable with sleeves that completely covered his hands. Plus Marco was pleased with it, Star figured she should be too.

Marco sat back down, rolling his sleeves up enough that he had use of his hands, proclaiming to the two girls, “This has been the best Stump Day I've ever had!”

“This is the only Stump Day you've ever had,” Jackie playfully pointed out.

“Yeah but I don't think anything is going to top this,” Marco said.

Star kissed his forehead, making him blush, as she said with a mischievous grin, “Challenge accepted.”

Marco just smiled and laughed, but before he could retort, there was a call across the room. “Star!”

The three looked over to see Moon waving at her, trying to desperately get her attention as River was currently wrestling with one of his Johansen cousins, Rider, to get the mislabeled gift that both thought was addressed to them. Star cringed, before shouting, “Coming mom!” She turned to Marco, giving him an apologetic grin as she sheepishly muttered, “Sorry, duty calls! Be right back, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Marco said, smiling to let her know it was fine. But as he noticed his hood still tucked under her arm, he quickly added, “Oh here let me take that back.”

He reached out a hand to grab it, but to his surprise Star pulled away, frantically shouting, “No, no it's fine. I'll keep a hold of it a little longer. So I can, uh... give it to Sir Lavabo.”

“But Sir Lavabo is off for the day,” Jackie pointed out.

“Well I could at least send it to be washed,” Star quickly countered, her cheeks now coated in a bright blush. “Okay well, I better get going!” she quickly excused herself, running over to her parents.

Marco and Jackie shared a look. “What was that about?” the boy wondered aloud.

“No idea,” Jackie responded, looking equally as confused. But after that, the two let the subject drop, the two settling into a comfortable silence, just watching the others, who were all equally in the festive spirit.

Tom and Janna sat side by side on one of the stumps, the beanie-wearing teen watching as the demon boy opened his gift with a cheerful smile. But it vanished in an instant as he held up the tiny mistletoe in his hands, giving her a questioning look. “Come on, Janna. Mistletoe, really? I thought you would be a bit more clever than that,” he said with a scoff, rolling his eyes. At this point, Tom had been around Janna enough to learn her ways and was almost unfazed by most of her flirtatious charms. Which is why, now she had taken that as a personal challenge, constantly going out of her way with more and more insane schemes to make him blush and lose his cool. But this did not seem to be one of them as she pulled off the oldest trick in the book.

Janna, didn't seem troubled or ashamed though, as she just smirked at him, saying lazily, “Oh Tom, ye of little faith. What is in your hand right now, isn't just mistletoe.”

Tom gave her a stunned expression, asking hesitantly, “Then... what is it?”

“It's a magically infused patch of mistletoe, which makes anyone who touches it have a sudden and uncontrollable urge to kiss whoever is nearest them.” Janna scooted just an inch closer, her elbows resting on her knees as she said flirtatiously, “So Lucitor, where's my Stump Day present?”

Make directed his attention next over to his Monster family who all sat clumped together around their leader, Buff Frog, who waved as he noticed Marco's attention on him. The boy waved back, before pointing to his hoodie and his dad gave him a proud shake of his head and thumbs up. But his attention was quickly drawn back to his rowdy friends, Beard Deer currently getting annoyed with Lobster Claws, who had spent the last minute and a half shaking his present, trying to guess the contents within. The crustacean had a thoughtful expression as he rotated the gift in his oversized claws before giving it another shake, making Beard Deer growl in frustration. “Just open it already, idiot!” the deer Monster shouted.

“Hang on, I like to take my time,” Lobster Claws responded.

“Well at this rate, Stump Day will be over before you get done!”

“Okay, okay, fine,” the crustacean finally snapped, before slowly beginning to peel away the paper, inch by tortuous inch, Beard Deer letting out an infuriated groan, his whole body shaking with mirth.

Marco smiled at his families antics before turning his attention to Higgs, trying not to laugh out loud at what he saw, knowing the consequences for doing such a thing. The redheaded knight and her dad were currently wearing matching green sweaters, Dex grinning goofily while his daughter had her arms crossed in front of her chest, a sour expression on her face. “Isn't this fun, Higgs!” her dad asked with a cheerful demeanor.

“Not really,” the girl grumpily mumbled under her breath.

“What was that, sweetie?” Dex asked, not quite hearing her.

Higgs groaned. “I said this is embarrassing, dad! All the other knights are gonna be making fun of me! I'll be the laughingstock of the castle for weeks!”

“Well I think I you look good, Higgs,” Jak helpfully pitched in.

“I don't need your pity, Jak!” Higgs barked at him.

Dex sniffed, tears filling his vision as he quietly whispered to himself, “Just like her mother.”

“Vioooollet!” a small voice shrieked, gaining Marco's attention as he quickly checked to make sure the twins were okay, but sighed in relief as he saw that Daisy and Violet were still just playing with their new toys together on the floor. The cutesy twin had a set of 'My Little Unicorn's' that her mom had gotten her, while Violet was playing with her new pose-able Monster action figure (a gift from Star apparently). Daisy was pouting as she crossed her arms bitterly in front of her chest. “Stop knocking over my unicorns! They are trying to graze!”

“Yeah well they can't now because a Monster is attacking them!” Violet screamed, before roaring and making her toy stamp around, knocking over several of Daisy's unicorn collection. “Silly unicorns, me smash them with super strong feet!” the girl said in the deepest voice she could, clearly speaking for her action figure.

“That's not fair! You're breaking the rules, Violet,” Daisy whined, pointing an accusing finger her way.

Violet laughed, still speaking in her Monster voice, “Ha ha ha, me Monster, me no care about rules! Now to destroy pitiful horses with my laser vision!” She starting making shooting sounds with her mouth, while her sister just groaned in annoyance.

“Monsters don't even have laser vision,” Daisy pointed out.

“Yeah, well this one does,” Violet told her, breaking character for a moment.

“Fine, than my unicorns use magic to slay the Monster,” the cutesy girl declared, picking up two of her toys and aiming it at Violet's action figure.

“Not if he gobbles them up first!” the creepy kid exclaimed.

“Ha, yeah right, everyone knows unicorns taste bad,” Daisy matter-of-factly stated.

Marco smiled, glad to see the two playing and getting along... sorta. His eyes continued scanning the area looking for their mom, not surprised when he found her surrounded by a large group of guys all craving her attention, which she seemed to be loving every second of. She gasped as she opened up the tiny present in her hands saying in a sugary-sweet tone, “For me? Oh Manfred you shouldn't have” The Mewman in question was smiling ear to ear, a bright blush on his face, while the others were shooting him death glares.

Marco smiled at the older royal, wondering how she managed to capture so many people's attention at once. Everyone always seemed to love her and that was a trait Marco wished he could know more about, since his insecure side still surfaced and caused him trouble every now and then.

The boy let out a deep sigh, letting everything sink in as he just enjoyed the moment. Everything was so wonderful and new and fantastic and he didn't even think he had a word to describe how happy he was to be a part of it. It made him feel special, made him feel like he belonged, like this was where he was always meant to be. He couldn't believe how many Stump Day's had been robbed from him, how many memories he had missed out on due to Toffee's selfishness. But at least he was here now and that was really all that mattered, he realized.

Marco turned to look back at his presents, thinking of how wonderful and incredible his family was, when something occurred to him. Star hadn't opened a single gift. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed, too entranced in his unwrapping frenzy to realize his girlfriend had just been watching him the whole time. He quickly looked around for any signs of Star's presents around the branch they were sitting on, before his eyes scanned the rest of the room, hoping maybe they had all just been misplaced or something. But everyone else was done with their wrapping and he couldn't see a single, unopened box left anywhere in the massive room.

The boy frowned, before turning back to Jackie asking in concern, “How come Star didn't get a present?” He couldn't believe it, if anyone deserved something special on Stump Day, it was Star. She was incredible and she deserved a billion gifts to show her just how amazing she was. How could nobody get her anything?!

“Oh Star usually waits to open up her presents the day after, y'know during her birthday party,” Jackie nonchalantly explained.

Marco felt his heart stop as he screamed in shock, “What?! It's her birthday tomorrow!”

“No, it's today, but she always celebrates the day after,” Jackie replied with a questioning look, taking in the look of surprise on her friend's face. “You really didn't know that?”

The boy shook his head, feeling the color draining from his face. How didn't he know that? Star was his girlfriend and his bestie, if anyone should have known when her birthday was it was him. “Marco,” Jackie's voice softly called, incapable of reaching him as he lost himself more and more to his distressed thoughts. But not only didn't he know it was her birthday, but that also meant he hadn't gotten her anything either. He hadn't gotten his own girlfriend a present on her birthday... which also happened to be on her favorite day of the year! “Marco?” What was wrong with him? He had to fix this!  He had to do something for her!”Marco?!” He had to show her just how special and important she was to him! He needed to-

“Marco!” Jackie shouted for the forth time, this time finally managing to gain his attention as he finally met her gaze. The boy noticed the concern in her eyes and the fact he was suddenly feeling light-headed and realized he had most likely just been hyperventilating. The skater gave him a comforting smile, telling him, “Look it's okay you didn't know.”

“No it isn't!” Marco argued, his voice cracking against his will. “I'm her boyfriend, Jackie! How could I not get her anything on her birthday?!”

“Well look, you can just do it next year like we talked about,” Jackie helpfully suggested, but Marco shook his head vigorously.

“No way, this is different,” the hooded teen argued. “I can't be the only one who didn't get her a birthday present. I'd feel awful.”

“Star would understand,” Jackie reassured him.

Marco sighed. “But that's not the point. She shouldn't have to. She is the most amazing person I've ever met, she deserves better.”  Marco bit his lip as he tried to wrack his brain for an idea, as he muttered to himself, “There has to be something nice I can do for her.”

Jackie watched her friend closely, judging his thoughtful expression as she realized that the hooded teen wasn't going to give up on this idea. His determination was something nobody could match and once he made his mind up, there was no stopping him. So wanting to cheer up her friend, she helpfully suggested, “Tell you what, how about later we go over to Quest Buy and find something for her. Would that make you feel better?”

Marco's face immediately broke out into a wide grin and he surprised her with a tight hug. “Yes that would be awesome Jackie! Thank you so, so much!”

Jackie giggled and gave him a gentle squeeze back, her heart leaping for being able to brighten the innocent teen's spirits. “No problem, Marco. You know I'm always here for you.”

“Hey guys.” The two pulled out of the hug to see Star standing over them (the hoodie still bundled up in her arms) looking tired but happy and she smiled over to them saying, “Sorry about that. So what do you want to do next?”

Before Jackie could say a word, Marco had grabbed a hold of her arm and loudly exclaimed, “Well actually, me and Jackie just realized that we needed to go do something, so we have to go.”

Star seemed surprised by this, asking, “Now? But the party isn't over yet.”

“Yeah but we really gotta go,” Marco responded immediately, the skater not even having a chance to protest as the boy stood and began heading for the door. He shouted over his shoulder on the way out, “Great party! Had a great time, thanks everyone, bye!”

Star gave Jackie a quizzical look as she was dragged out of the room, but the white-haired teen merely shrugged in reply and gave her a sheepish smile, before following along after the boy, knowing it was pointless to argue with him at this point. Marco's mind was made up, he was getting a gift for Star.

…

Marco and Jackie casually strolled down the bustling streets of Mewni village, dodging joyful peasants that passed by them, all of them in a hurry to get somewhere it seemed. Marco did, however, receive several compliments for his festive hoodie which he just smiled and thanked them for. The streets were crowded with a million things to see and do that day, sellers giving out Stump Day merchandise, decorations and lights that covered every corner of town, and carolers singing traditional Stump Day carols with donations boxes set up to help those in need. Normally Marco would have stopped to enjoy and gawk at all the new sights and sounds, but today the hooded teen barely noticed any of it, he was on a mission and he couldn't afford to get distracted. And so with every step his pace increased more and more until he was almost jogging down the sidewalks, leaving his friend behind in a trail of dust. After a few moments, Jackie called after him with a giggle, "Slow down, dude, you're gonna get run over." "I know, I know," Marco said, himself down enough that he was side by side with Jackie, but the effort left him bouncing up and down with energy and impatience. "But we're so close. I just can't wait to get Star a birthday present. She's always doing so much for me, I really want to return the favor." "And liberating her entire world and then becoming one of her most valued and hardworking members of her commission isn't enough?" Jackie asked in a teasing tone, raising a knowing eyebrow at her friend. "You know what I mean," Marco argued, a grin lighting up his face at her playful demeanor. "This is different from all that. She's my girlfriend, isn't getting her a present on her birthday like one of the requirements of being a good boyfriend?" "You got me there," Jackie replied, shooting him a wink. The two turned to face forward and Marco gasped, his eyes shimmering as the Quest Buy shop finally came into view. "There it is! Come on Jackie, let's hurry!" Marco raced forward, Jackie doing her best to keep up with him, dodging smoothly around carts and passerbys giving them startled looks as they went by. The boy reached the store entrance, Jackie right on his heels, and he slammed the door open loudly shouting, "I'm here to buy the perfect gift!" But he froze as he noticed that the store was completely empty and not just of customers... everything was gone, the shelves empty and the bins picked clean. The only one currently there was a very tired looking sloth, slowly sweeping the floor. "Wh-What happened? Where is everything?" Marco asked looking around the store with a frown. "Uh yeah, we sold out for the day after our Stump Day 99 percent off sale," the sloth explained in an unenthusiastic voice. "Sold out!" Marco whined, putting a hand to his head. "But now how am I gonna buy Star a birthday present?" he asked worriedly. The sloth shrugged. "I don't know. Not my problem." Jackie however was deep in thought, finally saying enthusiastically, "Luckily, I may know a way."

…

Marco stood open-mouthed, staring in wonder at the giant store before him the second he stepped through the portal. Jackie appeared right behind him, before sealing the dimensional tear back up with her pair of scissors. Marco, meanwhile, had yet to blink, afraid he would miss a single fantastical sight from the new world before him."Wwwwhhhoooaaa!" The boy whispered in amazement. The building looked more like a labyrinth than a store, endless rows filled with every item known across the multiverse which seemed to stretch outward into infinity. Marco could see several sloth workers restocking shelves or answering customer questions. He also spotted a large map, or he thought it was a map, it looked more like an ancient code that he wasn't even sure was decipherable, but he was grateful to see it all the same. A giant sign hung above the whole store, reading 'Quest Buy.' "Pretty cool, huh?" Jackie asked, seeing the joy and astonishment written all over the boy's face. "This is the original Quest Buy, everything from our store and then some is here, which means we shouldn't have any trouble finding Star a present." "I'll bet!" Marco exclaimed. “It's so huge! I-I can't believe a place like this even exists." "Well its real, all right," Jackie replied with a chuckle. She gave her hooded friend an eager grin as she added, "So how about we start looking for that present?" "Yeah!" Marco cried, pumping both fists into the air in excitement. He gasped as something caught his eye and quickly latched onto Jackie's arm, shouting, "Ooohh what's that? Let's start over there!" Jackie held back her laughter as the boy dragged her around the store, freaking out over something every couple of seconds. After about half an hour of exploring the store, Marco started to get serious and doubled down on his gift getting mission. That was when Jackie discovered that the hooded teen was a very picky shopper, at least where Star was concerned. Nothing seemed to be to the boy's liking, developing a very critical eye toward the wondrous items from across the multiverse. At some point, Jackie started pitching him suggestions, which didn't seem to help all that much.

"What about this?" Jackie suggested, holding up a pair of star earrings. "I bet Star would like these." Marco gave them a frown, before shaking his head. "Mmm, nope. I can do better for her than that." Jackie nodded and set them back. "Fair enough." The two continued on a few feet, before the skater suggested, "How about a wand charger, she can always use one of those?" She pointed down the aisle where a large selection of charging devices were. "Too formal," the boy replied. "Oookkkayy," Jackie said thoughtfully. "How about this?" The girl gestured to the device. "Its a device that can braid your hair in ten seconds or less guaranteed!" "So can Star's wand," Marco pointed out. "Hadn't thought of that," the skater replied.

“Well what about this?”

“No.”

“Or this?”

“Nope.”

“This?”

“Um, is that box supposed to be buzzing?”

Jackie screamed and quickly threw the box of insta-kill bees back up on the shelf. “Why do they even have that here?” the skater asked, wiping her hands on her pant leg.

Both teens looked around at the massive store filled with a billion items, none of which seemed just right for Star, and they sighed. This was a lot harder than they were expecting.

“Are you in need of assistance?” a mechanical sounding voice said behind them and the two screamed and turned to see a large creature, its body made out of electricity with a large green eye that seemed to make up its entire face. The eyeball blinked red every couple of seconds as it stared at them with a dead look, making both of teens skin crawl.

“Um, who are you?” the boy asked, resisting the urge to hide behind his skater friend. He didn't like the way this thing was looking at him.

“I am Quest Buy's first customer service bot,” the thing explained. “My function is to help our customers find a purchase that is to their satisfaction. Now then, are you in need of assistance?”

The two shared a look, before quickly shaking their heads, Jackie saying, “No, no that's okay. We're good.”

“Yeah, you can go help someone else,” the boy added, hoping he didn't sound too desperate to make the thing leave.

“I'm afraid I cannot do that, my systems have picked up unhappiness from you two and I am unable to leave until you are satisfied with your purchase.”

“Great,” Jackie muttered under her breath. “So now we got a tin can following us around and monitoring our every move.”

“I am not made of tin, I am made of ionized plutonic energy cells which are located in my core processing center, which is stored in my retina chip,” the service bot explained.

Marco gave the thing a long lost look before asking in confusion, “Um, what?”

“Her eyeball powers her face,” Jackie translated.

“Ooohhh,” the boy said, sorta understanding what all that mumbo-jumbo she had been going on about was.

“Yes, that is a more simplified way of putting it,” the service bot agreed. “Now then, is there anything I can do to make your shopping experience easier, I could perhaps give you directions to a section of our store, or read you off some deals we have going, or I could get you set up with our membership program-”

As the bot continued to list off more and more options, Marco and Jackie tuned her out, turning to each other as they began whispering amongst each other. “Well looks like we're gonna be stuck here a while, dude,” Jackie pointed out.

“Yeah I know,” the boy sighed. “Man, why is this so hard? I know Star better than anyone, finding her a gift should be no problem.”

“Well, what do you think she would want?”

The boy shook his head. “I'm not sure, there's just too many options in here, I can't think straight.”

“There has to be something in here she would like?”

“Yeah, but I don't want it to be just any old gift, I want it to be perfect.”

The service bot's voice instantly stopped and the two turned to the machine, giving it quizzical looks. Its eyeball was wildly blinking red and before either could question what it was doing, it simply stated, “Request acknowledged.”

There was a bright flash of light, as it shot a beam directly at Marco and Jackie, who screamed and held onto each other, fearing for their lives, clenching their eyes closed. The hooded boy's life flashed before his eyes and he wondered if this was really the end for him and his friend. But after a few seconds without blinding pain, the boy decided to risk peaking open an eye. The two were now in a giant empty room, their ragged breath echoing off the walls of the open space. Hovering over them was the service bot, who gave them the same empty look as before, though now the blinking red light was gone at least. “Hey, um, Jackie I think we're alive,” Marco told the girl and her eyes flew open as she looked around the room in confusion.

“Where are we?” she asked.

The service bot was quick to answer, saying, “The Wishing Room. A coming attraction to the Quest Buy store opening up to the public sometime next year.”

“Wishing Room?” Jackie repeated skeptically at the same time Marco nervously questioned, “Are we even allowed in here?”

“Yes, I have granted you both temporary access in response to your request,” the bot answered.

“My request?” the boy asked, raising a confused eyebrow.

Suddenly, the bots eye lit up red again, this time Marco hearing his own words and voice being repeated back to him, 'I don't want it to be just any old gift, I want it to be perfect.'

“Okay, that's creepy,” Jackie said, shuddering as a chill went up her spine.

Marco was inclined to agree, but he pushed this frightening moment aside for the more pressing concern he had. “So this room... it can help me get the perfect gift for Star?”

“Yes,” the service bot replied simply. “The Wishing Room can create anything it is you desire.”

The boy smiled and eagerly asked, “Okay great, how does it work?!”

“Whatever you think of will appear here,” the service bot explained.

“Wow, that seems so simple,” Marco gasped in shock. He had thought it would be much more complicated process that that.

“We are designing it to be user friendly, once we work the last of the bugs out.”

“What was that last bit?” Jackie questioned skeptically.

“Nothing to concern yourselves over, the safety of our shoppers at Quest Buy are our top priority,” the bot recited, her monotone voice sounding almost as if she was reading off of a script.

“Okay then,” Jackie said, slowly raising an eyebrow before turning to the hooded teen. “Go ahead and give it a shot, dude.”

“Right,” Marco said with a confident nod. He took a step forward, closing his eyes so he could concentrate on what he was doing, before saying loudly, “Okay room, please give me what Star wants most!”

The boy heard a poof sound and he smiled opening his eyes, expecting to see something amazing in front of him, but he could only gasp and stare open-mouthed at what had been created. Standing before him was a replica of him, except for his mole being on the wrong side, his cheek marks were dull and faded, and wearing a blue hoodie instead of his typical red. “Wh-Who are you?!” Marco asked in shock.

The boy smiled and stated plainly, “Oh I'm Marco Fresh, the new cooler version of you, who is gonna sweep Star off her feet-”

“Nope!” Jackie shouted, waving her hands in front of her and making the fake Marco vanish from sight. “That is not what we wanted!”

Marco just continued to stare blankly ahead, his eyes wide and full of confusion, “D-Did I just make another me?”

Jackie sighed, before telling him, “That must have just been one of the glitches, try again Marco.”

The boy nodded, still looking slightly startled, before he took a deep breath and tried again, trying to concentrate on something Star would like. The blond liked a lot of thing, rainbows, narwhals, that old band Love Sentence she and he had listened to a couple of songs from. Let's see what else? Puppies, sunsets, her home and family, making people smile which always seemed to just make her whole face light up in the cutest way... okay, focus Marco. What was the thing she loved the most in the world?

He heard another poof sound and his eyes snapped open only to see nothing before him. He frowned and looked around a bit, till he eventually found his newest creation sitting at his feet. It was a miniature version of him, wearing only a diaper, with its mole and cheek marks looking the same as the last fake him. Only this time, it had red wheels on its feet. It smiled up at him, before saying, “I'm Baby Marco and I have wheels for hands, Whhhheeeee!” It skidded away, leaving a dust cloud behind it as the two teens could only gap in disbelief at what had just occurred. The two shared a quick look before Marco suggested, “Never speak of this again?”

“Agreed,” the skater said instantly.

“Okay this clearly isn't working,” the hooded boy said with a disappointed look. “Maybe we should just go back to searching the store.”

“Yeah, I think this room is either broken or buggy,” Jackie concluded, her hands going to her hips as she looked around the large space skeptically.

“The Wishing Room is fully operational and had encountered zero glitches in-24- days,” the service bot replied, pausing as her voice changed when stating the number of days.

“Then why isn't it working?” Marco asked, growing quickly frustrated. “Why can't it just do what I asked and make the one thing Star cares about most?!”

The boy looked away from the machine sadly, his gaze connecting with a mirror that had suddenly appeared next to him. He stared at his dejected looking reflection for a few moments before he sighed, squeezing his eyes shut as he asked softly, “Why don't I know what Star wants?”

Jackie the whole time was giving him a thoughtful expression, when suddenly the answer clicked in her mind and a smile lit up her face. She walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder as she gave him a cheerful look with her pair of bright eyes, “Maybe you do.”

Marco gave her a perplexed look. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, maybe the answer is right in front of you,” Jackie explained, gesturing over to his reflected image.

The hooded boy followed her gaze, before cocking his head quizzically to the side, as he asked, “A mirror? But she already has one of those.”

“No, not the mirror,” Jackie replied, with a slight giggle at the boy's cute naivety. “You.”

“Ohhh,” Marco said, finally nodding in understanding. He looked back over at his reflected image, a smile lighting up his face, asking softly, “You really think it's me?”

“Well yeah, I mean what does Star care about more than you,” the skater replied.

“Awwww,” Marco said, his cheeks lighting up with a blush and his eyes shimmering with affection. “That is so sweet!”

Next to them, though, the service bot was starting to act weird, its body twitching and its eye flashing bright red, along with the rest of its electrical body. The two noticed this and Marco asked his friend in concern, “Um, what's it doing?”

“Uhhhh-” was all Jackie got out before it interrupted her.

“Error, error, error!” it began screeching, making the two cover their ears at the loud, obnoxious noise. “Item not found in Quest Buy's inventory! Request unable to be complete!” All the while, its body began shuddering more and more, until it was simply repeating the same phrase over and over, “Item not found! Item not found! Item not found!”

Finally, much to the two's surprise and dismay the machine exploded into a ball of flashing lights and electric currents, the two shielding their eyes from the bright burst of heat. After a couple seconds, the two slowly moved their hands and opened their eyes, seeing a singed and broken patch of ground where nothing remained save for a green card with an eyeball on it. The two just stared at it for a few moments, completely speechless after what had just occurred, until finally Marco asked, “Sooo, are we gonna have to pay for that?”

…

The two were giving the sloth worker sheepish smiles and shrugs as they watched him clean up the last of the mess that the destroyed bot had left behind, shooting them very unhappy glares as he did so. Lucky for them, Quest Buy wasn't making them cover the costs on their one of a kind robot, after they had explained the story to them, since it seemed more due to bad programming then their fault directly. Still, that didn't stop the two from feeling guilty for breaking it but there was little they could do about it now, no sense dwelling on it.

Besides there was still the task at hand and now that that fiasco was over, the two's mind drifted back to their mission as they followed the sloth out of the back room. They watched him as he grumpily stormed away, before Jackie turned to her friend and asked, “So Marco have you figured out what to get Star?”

The boy shrugged, saying, “Not really. I mean it's cool that I'm so important to her but it's not like I can exactly wrap myself up to give to her.”

“True, but on the bright side whatever you get her she's sure to love because it came from you,” Jackie pointed out, elbowing him once in the shoulder.

Marco contemplated that for a few moments, biting the inside of his cheek in thought. He knew that was true that it didn't matter what he got her she would be sure to enjoy, but he still didn't want it to be just any gift, he wanted it to be special... like the hoodie she made for him. It was amazing not just because it had come from Star but that she had put so much care and thought into getting him exactly what she knew he would love. So the big question was, what could he give her that could compare to her amazing present?

That was when it hit him, the answer that had been right in front of him the whole time. How had he not thought of it sooner? It was perfect and he was sure it was exactly what she would want. A smiled brightened up his face as he slowly turned to Jackie, who gave him a curious look seeing the excitement written all over his face. “What? Did you figure out what to get her?” she asked, pretty sure she already knew the answer (if his cheek marks which had turned into flashing light bulbs were any indication than the answer was definitely yes).

The boy nodded, confirming Jackie's suspicions, as he proudly declared, “Yeah, I think I know what she wants.”

“Great to hear, Marco,” the skater said with an encouraging grin. “But we better hurry and get whatever it is though. Quest Buy closes soon.”

The girl started to run ahead, but came to an immediate stop the second she heard her friend say, “Actually...” She turned back to him with surprise. “...it's not in Quest Buy.”

Jackie raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for further explanation, before he added mysteriously, “In fact, we've already got everything we need.” He put his hands on his hips, the knowing smile on his lips never wavering as he just stared ahead with a confident look gleaming in his eyes, until finally his friend asked, “Sooo are you tell me what it is or-” The boy gave her a sheepish look, saying quickly, “Oh yeah right, sorry.”

…

Night set on Mewni, bringing Stump Day ever closer to an end for the year and for most in Butterfly Castle, they spent that night in blissful sleep, unaware of the world turning. It was silent and peaceful in the castle not a creature stirring not even a gobblemouse, which could be quite the pest this time of year. It seemed nothing could disturb the calm silence of the quiet evening as a gentle snowfall continued into the late hours of the night, not even a gust of wind had blown through to disturb the dream-like state that had fallen over the kingdom.

Star was asleep in her bed, enjoying the quiet as visions of sugar plums danced through her head. The girl let out a deep sigh and licked her lips, muttering groggily, “Mmmm, delicious.” She pulled her arms a little closer to herself, bringing the bright red hoodie right up to her nose and she subconsciously took a long sniff, feeling calmed by the smell of her Marco, a smile appearing on her face as she fell into an even deeper state of slumber.

The door to her room slowly creaked open, Marco cringing as he feared the loud noise would wake her up but Star made no movement from her bed and the hooded teen breathed a sigh of relief. He carefully tiptoed his way over to her bed, making sure to avoid tripping over anything in the dark and, once he made it to her bed, he simply watched her sleeping form for a moment, mesmerized by the rise and fall of her chest as she snored softly. He noticed his hoodie held tightly in her grip and he felt his cheeks flush, causing his cheek marks to spin, and a grin light up his face. It looked like the same one she had at the party and he couldn't help but wonder if she had carried it around with her all day. He imagined she had, she seemed quite attached to it in sleep.

“Star,” he softly whispered, trying to keep his voice low, despite the eagerness and impatience he felt building up inside his chest. He put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle shake, saying, “Wake up.”

The girl groaned, mumbling incoherent things in her sleep while she scrunched up her face, making her resemble and a cute, little rabbit Marco observed. Finally, after a bit more prompting from the boy, Star raised a hand up to her face and lifted her sleeping mask up enough so that she could peek open an eye and see who was disturbing her slumber. “Marco?” she groggily murmured, sitting up some, before letting out a loud yawn. But as she did she realized the hoodie was currently laying against her chest and she quickly tucked it underneath her pillow, her cheeks turning a bright shade of pink, hoping he hadn't noticed it. “W-What are you doing here?” she asked, sounding a bit more awake than before, even though her face told him she was still half-asleep.

“Well it's midnight, so I just wanted to be the first to tell you...” the boy began slowly, before exclaiming loudly, “Happy Birthday!” He surprised her as he threw his arms around her in a tight hug making the blond giggle and beam ear to ear as her favorite person in the universe held her in a close embrace.

“Awww, Marco,” Star cooed, finding him just as adorable and enduring as ever. “You're the greatest!” The girl adjusted her position enough so she would give him a quick kiss on the cheek, reveling in the happy laughter that followed from her sweet Marco.

After another minute of just holding her close, the hooded teen finally pulled out of the hug, saying, “So, did you like my surprise?”

The girl nodded, giving him a loving grin. “Yeah I did.” She sighed, starting to lay her head back when Marco suddenly exclaimed, “Great, because that isn't the only one!”

“Oh really,” the blond royal said, raising a playful eyebrow.

“Nope, which is why I need you to come with me so I can show it to you,” he said, grabbing her arm trying to drag her out of bed.

Star paused, having a sneaking suspicion that he was going to lead her to a waiting surprise party and she debated for a moment on asking him to wait till morning. She could use the sleep... but seeing the look of excitement on Marco's face as he practically bounced around her bed, his body incapable of holding still making him look like an adorable little kid, she didn't have it in her to say no. So she just smiled and threw her covers off, revealing her pink bunny onesie she had gone to sleep in (a gift from her mom), before rising up out of bed. Marco waited patiently as Star took a quick second to stretch before following after him, though he never once released his hold on her arm as she did.

The boy did his best not to completely drag Star as they descended the steps to the bottom floor of the castle, wanting so badly to run the rest of the way, but he fought the urge back, continuing on at what felt to him like an agonizingly slow pace. The moment they reached the bottom steps, Marco released her hand maneuvering himself so he was behind Star, putting his hands over her eyes. “Marco, what are you doing?” she asked with a playful edge to her tone.

“I don't want to spoil the surprise,” the boy replied, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice. He couldn't wait to see Star's reaction.

Star just laughed and said, “Okay then, lead the way Marco.” The hooded boy obeyed guiding the blinded girl down the hall and into the throne room, where the gathered crowd quickly held their breaths waiting for their cue from Marco. The teen brought his blond bestie to a stop, keeping his hands in place as he said in a sing-song voice, “We're heeerree.”

“So then can I open my eyes now?” the girl asked, all this anticipation and build up causing her own excitement to grow despite already knowing what was coming, recognizing the path they had taken by heart and picking up the hushed breathing around her. It was pretty obvious her original suspicion was correct, but that still didn't mean she wasn't looking forward to it. Besides, it was hard not to want to join in when your bouncy, innocent boyfriend is helping hype you up with his own one-of-a-kind enthusiasm.

The boy instantly removed his hands, his eyes remaining implanted on Star as he shouted, “Okay, open 'em Star!” The blond did just that, blinking her eyes open at the same moment a chorus of cheers rang out around the room, all simultaneously shouting, “Happy Birthday, Star!” The girl gasped, a hand flying to her mouth, as she took in the scene before her.The throne room was now covered head to toe in decorations the time and care put into hanging each and every balloon and streamer apparent just from looking at it, even though most of it seemed to be recycled from the Stump Day party. A pile of presents was stacked neatly in the corner and a massive rainbow colored cake the size of the Star sat a short ways away from it on a table with a fancy white tablecloth. It was beautiful and delicious, just looking at it making Star's mouth water and she recognized it instantly as Kelly's work, especially as the green-haired girl only stood a short ways away, admiring it.

But none of this was what really had left her awed and speechless. That honor went to the group gathered there to greet her, consisting of not just the set of her close friends like Jackie, Janna, Tom, Pony, and so on that were to be expected... but also the smiling faces of every single orphan who had ever lived in the castle before, who she considered to be just as much family as her own flesh and blood.

“Oh my gosh, what are you all doing here?!” she asked in disbelief, looking around at the large crowd before her, misty-eyed.

“Me and Jackie invited them,” Janna explained her arm leaning on the skater's shoulder, who shared the same pleased smile at invoking the reaction they got from their friend. “It was Jack's idea actually.”

“Yeah, we figured you'd want everyone here to celebrate,” Jackie said, her eyes shining with bright enthusiasm. “Just consider it my birthday gift to you.”

“Our birthday gift to you,” Janna blurted out, raising a finger in the air.

Star let out a long breath, fighting back tears as she choked out, “I-I can't believe you all made it!”

“Of course we did, you really think we'd miss out on our favorite person in the world's birthday?” Oscar spoke up, giving her a pleasant grin that made her heart fill with warmth.

“Thank you all so much,” she said, her voice cracking a bit and the others all let out a collective aww, before racing over to envelop her in hugs, Starfan13 beating all of them to the punch.

All the while, Marco was just watching his girlfriend's every move with glee, overjoyed to see her so happy and carefree over her surprise as she hugged each and every one of the orphans, laughing with contentment. He couldn't help but feel his heart soar, the extra thumping in his chest filling him with pride for helping put such a beautiful smile on his Star's face. And he hadn't even gotten to the best part yet. Once Star had given out the last of her hugs to the others, Marco turned his attention over to Jackie, who gave him a nods and an encouraging thumbs up to tell him it was time. The hooded teen nodded before sucking in a deep breath, pulling the small, neatly wrapped gift from his pocket as he made his way over to Star.

“I can't believe you all did this for me!” Star shouted, her eyes shimmering with joy and affection for her little family, a hand over her heart. “This is just so... incredible!”

“So then, I'm taking it you liked the surprise?” Oscar asked, jokingly.

Star laughed. “Yes I did.”

“So then, think you feel like getting one more?” Marco asked, offering her his present with one of his cute, signature smiles.

The girl stared down in shock at the gift in the boy's hands for a second, taking in the perfectly folded pink wrapping paper and dark pink bow, before her eyes caught Marco's and Star felt her cheek marks beat once against her will as she felt her face heat up with a familiar blush. Finally she regained control of her senses, saying sweetly, “Oh Marco you shouldn't have,” before taking the present from him.

“Well I wanted mine to be the first one you opened, since I think you're really gonna like it,” Marco said, practically squealing with joy.

“I'm sure I will,” Star said, giving him an affectionate look, while her hands fiddled with the bow, trying to find the best way to open it without making too big a mess. The while time, Marco seemed to be getting more and more eager and impatient for her to open the gift, his eyes darting back and forth wildly and his body beginning to shake with anticipation.

“You should really hurry up and open it, Star,” Janna spoke up. “I don't think Marco can wait a minute longer.” The girl followed her gaze and held back a laugh at her boyfriend's adorable jitteriness, his face turning slightly pale as he held his breath, looking like he might explode if she didn't see what was inside soon. So, not wanting to waste another moment, she ditched the delicate approach as she yanked the ribbon free and then preceded to tear through the wrapping paper in the span of a couple seconds.

The moment she got a good look at her gift she froze, staring at the small strip of cloth speechless. It was a piece of Marco's hoodie, no bigger than her hand, the soft, red material unmistakable from anything else, she had become quite familiar with it over the months she had been with Marco after all. It had been cut off into a circular shape, before being stitched along the sides to hide the jagged edges and Star didn't have a clue who had enough experience there to do such a thing. But even more impressive than that was the pink outline of an octopus, an exact replica to the one on the front of her favorite dress. “Wha- Bu- How?” was all she managed to gasp out, running a finger along the soft cloth as the scent of Marco drifted up to her nose.

“Well I noticed you seemed pretty attached to my hoodie back at the party,” the boy began, making Star blush, but he didn't even notice too busy glowing with pride and joy for his good guesswork. “So I figured you must really like it like me, so I cut out a piece of one of my hoodies for you. The sewing was the hardest part but I-” The boy stopped himself looking over at his friend Higgs, who had been the one to show him how to sew it under the condition that he didn't tell anyone about one of her hobbies, and he quickly corrected himself before he accidentally gave it away. “-figured it out. Its small enough that it can fit inside your purse,” the boy continued. “So that way, you'll always have something to remind you of me, even when we're apart.”

The girl stared at him for a long time in silence, her eyes jumping back and forth from her boyfriend's smiling face to her gift, her throat closed up making it impossible for her to speak at the moment. “Do you like it?” he asked, his patience growing thin as he waited for Star's answer.

The girl nodded, swallowing down the lump in her throat, before squeaking out, “I love it! Thank you so much, Marco!” Then, unsurprisingly, she pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tight as she whispered into his ear, “I can't believe you really destroyed one of your hoodies, just for me.”

“Well of course I did, your amazing Star and I wanted to give you the perfect gift,” the hooded boy clarified, not sounding at all upset or worried that one of his favorite possessions was ruined. “Besides, I do still have twelve others and you did just get me a new one, so it's not like I really sacrificed anything...” the boy sheepishly added.

Star shook her head, still never breaking her hold from her Marco. “Doesn't matter. It was still very sweet of you. I couldn't have asked for a better present from my amazing bestie,” she softly cooed, finally pulling out of the hug to stare deep into his eyes.

“Soooo, what your saying is my gift was... perfect?” the teen slowly asked, looking excited for the answer.

Star nodded, trying to hold back her laughter at her boyfriend's naive cuteness. “Yes, it was perfect,” she agreed, before leaning closer and giving him the gentlest kiss on the lips. Marco reveled in the kiss, before deepening it himself, moving his lips softly against hers, one of the very few times he had taken the initiative where their kisses were concerned. Meanwhile, the others were just watching them in silence, all of them having to hold back their want to gush over the adorable couple, most of the orphans there never getting to actually to see them acting lovey-dovey around each other, since their last time around the two had been before they had started dating. All of them had known that Star and Marco had feeling for each other, but it was another thing to see them actually expressing this in such a way and not a one of them could hide their joy over seeing both teens truly happy.

Finally the young couple's lips parted, staring breathlessly at each other as their eyes just shined with love and affection, brown and blue meeting in a beautiful dance of shimmering pupils. Star looked slowly back over at her crowd of friends watching her every move and felt a small blush light up her cheeks. She had forgotten they had an audience. But she swallowed her embarrassment, saying, ��Well then, I guess all that's left to do is get this party started.” The others all let out a cheer of delight, before Star and Marco shared another smile, looking so happy and content just being in the other's arms.

Pony, as soon as she heard her bestie's declaration, she suddenly blurted out, “Okay but first, could someone please turn on some heat, it's freezing in here?” Her teeth were chattering and her whole body was shivering to show just how miserable she was.

Jackie noticed this and quickly nodded, reassuring her with a simple, “I'm on it,” before going over to the fireplace. As she did, Tom gave his friend a skeptical look, saying, “I don't know what your talking about, P. I feel just fine and I literally live in fire.”

Pony just rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Well yeah you think that, you can also light yourself on fire,” she snapped.

“Then maybe all we need is Tom to stay warm,” Janna suggested, wrapping her arms around her crushes neck, the boy giving her an odd look.

“What are you-” Before he could even finish his sentence, Janna had leaned over and given him a kiss on the cheek, causing his hair to erupt into flames, while he himself froze in place with a goofy, surprised smile.

“See, told you. He's the best heat source there is,” the girl smugly said, her arms never breaking hold of his neck.

Jackie, meanwhile, was busy examining the fireplace with a frown. It had somehow gone out during the night and the girl didn't understand how or why such a thing could happen, especially when they were using Phoenix Embers which were supposed to burn for twice as long as wood or coal. And yet, the half-burnt chunks of charred rock were proof that they had once been lit but somehow gone out, no sign of how such a thing could have come to pass. Maybe one of the others had put it out, Jackie thought. But that was unlikely. She leaned down, to try and restart the fire, when she felt a few specks of dust land in her hair and she looked up the dark chimney in surprise. She gasped, her eyes widening in shock,  as she quickly stood back up, calling over to her friends, “Uhhh, hey, Star, Marco! You might want to come over here!”

The two gave her an odd look before obeying, running over to join her at the fireplace. “What's up?” Star asked.

“Well you might not believe this but there are a bunch of presents stuffed up the chimney,” the skater said.

The two blinked in disbelief, before Marco asked, “Huh?”

“You know what, think it's better if I show you,” Jackie said before going over to the fireplace and slamming a hand into the brickwork as hard as she could. Instantly, a pile of presents came tumbling down, falling into a pile on the floor, making Star and Marco just gap open-mouthed. It also attracted the others attention, all of them staring over at the three in confusion.

“Whhhoooaaa,” Marco softly whispered. “Who are all these presents for?”

“No idea,” Star said, before walking slowly over to the gifts, examining them closely. “But there has to be like, at least thirty gifts here!”

“The bigger question is, how did they get here?” Jackie asked, before her and Star locked gaze, the two girls both coming to the same realization. “You don't think-” Jackie started.

Star nodded, her hands to her hips. “How else do you explain all of these presents just showing up in our chimney?”

“Good point,” Jackie agreed.

“Hey guys look, a note,” Marco gasped, picking up the small slip of paper lying on one of the gift boxes. The two girls moved so they could look over his shoulder at the light red parchment, while the others leaned forward hoping to satisfy their own curiosity over the mysterious letter. Star asked her boyfriend, “What's it say, Marco?”

The boy frowned in concentration as he slowly read off the poem written in delicate cursive on the page. “For the boy who helped spread the message of equality and peace, with his joyful enthusiasm that never does cease. With his kind acts of bravery and heart filled with light, he ended the violence and ceased the big fight. And although growing up he wasn't taught of this day, the spirit was in him in its own special way. And since none deserve better and his good deeds have shown, a lifetime of presents for every year he has grown.

Merry Stump Day, Marco Diaz.

Signed, SC and S”

An audible gasp and soft murmuring came from the others the second the boy was done reading, while Marco just let the paper in his hands go, numbly watching it flutter to the floor, before looking over at the presents in shock. After a moment of just silent contemplation, he turned to Star and Jackie, who both just stood there completely speechless. “Who's SC and S?” he asked them in confusion.

“That would be Santa Claus and the Stump,” Star explained, still looking amazed by this fact. “I mean, if you think about, it all adds up.” She gestured over to the pile of unopened presents.

“Huh, well how about that, dude,” Jackie said, giving Marco an encouraging grin. “Looks like you just brought the Stump and Santa together.”

Marco gasped, his eyes filling with joy, as he whispered in pure delight and wonderment, “Like in your cheesy Christmas specials?”

“Yep, exactly like that,” Jackie agreed with a chuckle.

“It's a Stump Day miracle!” Starfan13 suddenly shouted out and the others all released a loud cheer.

Tom, however, could only stare wide-eyed, before he blurted out, “Wait, so you're saying their actually real! I always thought they were just kids stories!”

“Of course they're real,” Star firmly stated, crossing her arms and shooting him a glare for ever doubting the Stump. Didn't he know how dangerous that could be?

“Besides you can literally light yourself on fire,” Janna pointed out. “That's honestly one of the least crazy things that's happened to us this year.”

Tom opened his mouth, looking like he was on the verge of arguing but seemed to think better of it, shrugging and saying, “Good point.”

“Soooo,” Marco's voice cut in, bringing all the attention back to him as he looked down at the gifts longingly. “Does that mean these are all for me?”

Star put an arm around the boy, telling him in a sweet voice, “Yep, apparently Santa and the Stump recognized just how special and amazing you are! Just like the rest of us all know.”

The boy blushed, before asking delightedly, “So I get to open all of these?”

Star giggled, before kissing his cheek, “Yep, go ahead. You earned it, Marco.”

“Yeah and you better get started, you've apparently got fourteen years worth to get through,” Jackie added playfully.

“Okay!” the boy yelled, before joyfully diving for the nearest present, not wasting a second as he ripped it open. He gasped, before shouting in pure elation, “Oh my gosh, it's a box!”

The others just watched as the adorable teen opened present after present, oohing, awwing and showing off each and every gift, re-experiencing the joy of Stump Day all over again. Star just smiled and laughed at her boyfriend's joyous reactions, grateful with each new thing he received no matter what it was. She was so enchanted by the hooded teen in fact, that she didn't even realize Janna had snuck up behind her until she was speaking from right next to her, causing the blond to jump slightly. “You know it doesn't seem fair,” the beanie-wearing teen observed and Star gave her a questioning look.

“What doesn't?” Star asked, an eyebrow slowly raising.

“That they didn't get you anything,” Janna said simply, her hands sliding into her pockets. “I mean sure, I get what they were going for, giving Marco enough presents to make up for never getting to celebrate Stump Day before. But what about you? You helped bring peace to Mewni, too. They couldn't have sent you a card or something. Geez, how cruel is that.”

Star considered this for a moment, as her hands began fiddling with the small patch of Marco's hoodie. She couldn't help but grin down at it, still touched by her bestie's thoughtfulness. She couldn't have asked for a better gift for him, the idea of carrying a piece of Marco around with her everywhere filled her with so much joy she wasn't sure their were words to describe such a feeling. And as she slowly looked back up at Marco, seeing the joy and happiness spread all over his gaze, she felt her heart swelling in a way that only her Marco could cause, her crystal eyes shimmering like a thousand diamonds.

Star's face softened into a loving glow as she watched her pure, sweet Marco enjoying his very first Stump Day, every ounce of unparallelled delight and merriment on his face making Star's heart leap. Just getting to see him smile like that, easily made this the best birthday she had ever had, as her boyfriend was rightfully spoiled yet again. Which was why the girl couldn't help but chuckle softly to herself, her eyes never once leaving Marco as she told her friend in a tender, whispered tone, “It's not cruel. They knew exactly what to get me.”

#Star vs #Star vs AU #My Writing #Light of the Sun and Stars #Starco #Jantom #Starcember #Not sure if this counts but what the heck

[jellyfishdooter]

I'm gonna send you a fluff prompt cause that Jackie prompt must have really hurt to write. It was really good btw!!! How about marvin waking up from a nightmare and Jackie comes to comfort him^^ I'm in soft mood as you can tell :3

Aww thanks bean!

OH MY GOD HOW DID THIS GET SO LONG JESUS CHRIST

Uhh- enjoy below the cut!

~~~

Marvin stood in the middle of a fast field of golden grass that seemed to stretch on forever. The sky was as blue as his eyes hidden behind the mask. 

There was no mask, but his eyes remained closed. His face was bare along with his feet. He could feel small insects scurrying across his feet, the soft grain of the grass against his hands. 

The wind shifted and began to gently nudge the human along, swaying the grass to match the waves of the ocean and making his loose hair dance. The smell of fall was crisp on his nose.

Marvin began to walk, blind. Trusting the wind to take him along as he sang along to the song of the earth under his breath. A soft melody of whistling winds and dancing plants, with a strong and deep bassline of heartbeats and thunder.

Thunder. Marvin stopped walking when the wind turned from late summer warmth to a bitter cold. A chill running up his spine with a promise of rain. And as he opened his eyes, bitterly bright lightning flashed across the sky and made him gasp when the promised thunder clapped out after it- like a hunter finally hitting it’s mark after the chase. Rain shot down like needles ripping through his clothes- his skin. 

It hurt! 

Desperate, he looked around for shelter; for salvation. But there was nothing.

Another crack of lightning struck the ground and suddenly there was fire. It ran quickly across the crisp, dry grass and did not seem to be affected by the rain that already burned Marvin’s skin. 

Normally, the human didn’t fear something as trivial as fire. But here, in this place.. He ran. The fire morphed and changed, growing as if it had consumed a city already was chasing the man without fear of losing kindling. The flames laughed cruelly as they licked at Marvin’s heels, forcing him to beat the ground faster. 

But it wasn’t enough. The man was surrounded by fire, and being pelted with knife-like rain that caused millions of tiny cuts to draw blood on his skin. He looked around quickly, turning around and around, desperate to find a way out as the earth beneath him began to char and crumble. The dancing flames deceived his eyes- painting pictures of those he loved to have cruel faces of pure hate and disgust. They got closer to him, the glint in their eyes promising pain.

Marvin cried out as the ground under him gave out, sending him into a freefall into darkness. 

Where bright red strings caught him like razor wire, stopping him from hitting the ground like in the gallows-

Marvin woke up with a shout, bolting upright in his bed as he gripped at his shirt around his heart, willing for it to slow down. He breathed heavily as his eyes darted around the room, quickly taking in his surroundings. 

He told himself he was home in his room- but his brain was still half in his dream world, yelling at him that there is still danger. Tears pricked at his eyes as his mind tore in two, leaving him stunned and unsure what to do other than clutch onto his blankets and try to remember how to breathe.

It wasn’t long until a knock on his door made him almost jump out of his skin. Marvin managed to croak out a meek “Yeah?” and his eyes widened when he saw that Jackie was on the other side of the door. The magician quickly tried to dry his eyes with his sheets but it was pointless, the hero had already seen.

“Can I come in?” Jackie asked in a gentle voice, waiting until Marvin nodded numbly until he entered the magical man’s room. “Nightmare again?” His words were not scolding or tired, but filled with true concern.

Another nod. Marvin carded his fingers through his own mess of hair, not able to meet Jackie’s eyes. Jackie cautiously sat on the bed keeping his movements slow. Marv couldn’t help but bitterly laugh in his mind. The eldest ego was acting like he would shatter any second. Which.. Might have been true in all honesty. Not like Marvin would ever admit that, though. 

“You wanna talk about it, or be distracted from it?” Jackie asked. It was routine at this point. Jackie would ask whether or not Marvin would want to discuss what happened in the dream to get it out of his system. Or the option to take his mind off the dream by just letting Jackie fill his ears with random babble until he got back to sleep or until the sun rose through the window.

“Distraction.” Marvin mumbled, pulling his legs up to sit criss-cross and make room on the bed for Jackie to do the same across from him. Jackie did so, his socked feet poking out from under his legs and he sat up straight to match Marvin, showing off the litterment of scars from saving the day and from his own personal battles. “Can we..” Marv started slow. Jackie had his full attention. “Can we do the, ah.. five things.. Thing?” The magician made a vague gesture in the air with his hand, hoping to get the point across to the hero. 

Jackie blinked, a bit surprised by the request, but wasn’t against it either. “The five senses technique? Yeah sure, Marv. If you think it’ll help.” Marvin nodded and looked across to Jackie, their matching eyes finally meeting. Jackie gave him a warm smile. “Alright.”

They started with a deep breath. Jackie demonstrating for Marvin to follow along to. Breathe in through your nose slowly and hold. Before just as slowly letting it out through your mouth. They repeated this three times before Jackie started to talk again. “Look around the room here. Name five things you can see. Try to be specific.”

The magician looked around his bedroom. He had a lot of things in here. Shelves crammed with dusty leather books and other magical artifacts (and of course things like snow globes, fanart, and a few toy magic kits that he liked to collect). His work desk littered with notes for spells and jars filled with herbs and other things he decided that might be useful later. From his ceiling hung several colorful tapestries and crystals on strings that caught the silver moonlight filtering through his window. His wardrobe stuffed with both expensive, elaborate clothes, and also a selection of simple shirts and jeans. He didn’t even want to think of everything he had crammed in the cupboards and under his bed- 

Marvin stopped himself before his mind got too much further off track. He glanced at Jackie, who was sitting as patient as a saint, before taking another deep breath and clearing his throat. “Well.. I can see my.. My copy of the Player’s Handbook for DnD night.. Um..” He scanned the large dark wood bookshelf just over Jackie’s shoulder, “My magic 8 ball.. A jar of sage leaves I need to replace. The purple geode Chase got me for my birthday. And..” He looked around and his eyes landed on his bedside table- also cluttered with another stack of books and more trinkets. “My rune spoon?” Marvin said with an awkward chuckle, picking up the wooden spoon he got from a fair a few years back for shits and giggles. But came to be one of his favorite tools while working with spells. Gently running his thumb over it, he looks over to Jackie once again.

“Good job!” Jackie cheers softly, keeping his voice low as to not wake up the rest of the house. The walls here were pretty thin unless Marvin put a charm up to deafen the noise during the day. The older ego takes another deep breath, prompting Marvin to do the same before carrying on. “Okay, tell me about four things you can touch around you. Really try to describe how they feel if you can. Heh, seems like you’re already ahead of the game.” He nods to the wooden spoon in the magicians hand and smiles. Not to mock him, gods no. But to show that he really did care and was here for him.

Marv had to take another breath when memories of the burning fire and sharp rain from the dream filled his mind and whispered phantom pains across his arms and feet. “The wood of the spoon is smooth.” He interrupted his own mind from spirling back to the nightmare. “Polished but not sticky with gloss. Uhh,” He set the spoon aside and laid his hands flat on his PJ pants, “Smooth again. But.. more silky and soft.” He moved one hand to the blanket covering his lap and rubbed it between two fingers, “Fluffy. Not really like a cat’s fur but.. Softer. Warm.” Running out of ideas in the moment, Marvin reached up and touched his own dark wavy hair. He grimaced. “Soft but.. Oily. Gross. I need a shower.” He stuck out his tongue in disgust at himself, causing Jackie to chuckle softly.

Another deep breath together. “Halfway there. This one is a bit harder.” Jackie warned gently, “Name three things you can hear.”

The magician paused before letting his eyes slip close so he could focus on the quiet sounds of the sleeping house. “I can.. Hear the traffic outside. Those poor saps who have to get to work at an ungodly hour making the commute.” He chuckled to himself, tilting his head to listen through the walls the best he could. “Chase is snoring in his room.. Or maybe he passed out in the living room? Not sure.” A faint smile played on his lips as he focused once again to listen to the sounds of the room itself. There wasn’t a lot of sound in here… “Your breathing. I can hear your breathing from here.” He opened his eyes again, “And no, that’s not an insult.” 

Jackie couldn’t help but laugh, beaming brightly as Marvin came back into himself again, slowly forgetting his nightmare. “Apology accepted?” He quipped, scooting closer to Marv before taking another breath with him. “I’m here to help with this one. Name two things you can smell.” 

Marvin laughed at the hero, shaking his head but sniffing the air anyway. “Yep. You’re a stinky bastard alright.” He joked, gaining a light-hearted shove from Jackie. “Hah. And..” He looked around a bit before raising his blanket to his nose and taking another long sniff, “My blankets got washed yesterday so they smell.. I dunno, clean?”

“Works for me.” Jackie encouraged, reaching over Marvin to open up his bedside table’s drawer and pull out the other man’s small jar of stashed chocolate drops. “Last one. I’m gonna make it really easy for you.” 

Marvin mocked a scoff, “Excuse me, Sir. But I don’t believe I gave you permission to get your grubby hands on my stash.” 

“Well if you don’t want a fuckin’ chocolate then I’ll just put ‘em back-” 

“Now I never said that. Gimme.” Marv snatched the candy from Jackie’s hand as he held it up and popped it in his mouth with a low hum. “Chocolate. With a peanut center.” He said with his mouth still full, taking the jar back from the other ego and handing him a candy before putting the whole thing away. Jackie gladly took it and popped it in his own mouth with a cheeky grin.

“Feelin’ better, Marv?” Jackie asked once they both finished their sweet treats.

The magical man nodded lazily, his eyes starting to have trouble staying open once again. “Thank you. For.. putting up with…” He makes another vague gesture towards himself and sighs. “All this.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Jackie said, getting up from his spot on the bed and stretching- making a few bones pop in his back and knees. “I love being able to help you, man. It’s what I’m here for. And you know I’m just next door if you need anything else, right?” 

“I-” Marvin was about to argue. Saying that he didn’t want to be a bother to Jackie or to disturb his sleep. But.. they’ve had this little argument before many times by now… “Thanks.” He simply replied instead as Jackie stopped at the door. 

The hero turned back and gave him another smile, “Of course. Anything for you guys.” And with that, Jackie quietly closed the door behind himself. Marvin stayed sitting up, listening to Jackie return to his own room before settling back into the blankets himself. With a soft smile on his face and the nightmare mostly forgotten, the man slowly closed his eyes and allowed himself to sleep until the morning sun gently woke him up with a warm kiss.

#my writing #shut up jelly #fanfic #jackieboy man #marvin the magnificent #angst #fluff #nightmares #fire #comfort

[safyresky]

Fusion AU Part IV: The Not-So-Triumphant Return of Jackie Frost

Part I: The History | Part II: When Elle Met Berline | Part III: The Bernelle Bit | Part IV: The Not-So-Triumphant Return of Jackie Frost | Part V: The Triumphant Return of Jackie Frost |

[I had to split this one in half as well, yikes! Please enjoy Jackie’s opening act! It covers Crystal Springs from the Prologue to Chapter 11--if you’d like more deets on Jack and Jacqueline’s reunion, sans fusion, feel free to read it here! Part 5--Jackie’s proper return--should be up eventually. Enjoy!]

EDIT: THIS PART WAS MISSING A WHOLE ENTIRE SCENE!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE I DIDN’T NOTICE IT! ANYWAY, I’VE ADDED THE SCENE AND WOULD LIKE IF EVERYONE COULD REBLOG THIS VERSION THAT, AH, ISN’T MISSING HALF OF THE TEXT.

Jacqueline had had a very odd morning, that was for sure. She woke up very warm, her cheeks rosier than usual, and with a horrible craving for nachos and the spiciest salsa possible.

That wasn't even the strangest thing. There was also the fact that just yesterday she recalled having woken up plotting to overthrow Santa, because just yesterday, her dear, dear brother had been Santa and she had been Jack Frost.

Only she had remembered the truth—that he wasn’t Santa. And even stranger, still? When she talked to her family this morning, they didn't remember that timeline at all.

It didn't take long after that for Jacqueline to put two and two together. Judging by how warm she was, and how the timeline had been set back to rights, she came to the conclusion that something impossible had happened.

Her brother had been thawed.

Now she found herself on the outskirts of Elfsburg, loitering by the Dome, trying to get the courage to go down and sneak a peek to see if she was right. It was not going well however, nope, not at all. Not only had she been there for nearly an hour now trying to get herself moving, but someone else was approaching and Jacqueline had felt their anger from however far away they were. So she hid in a snowman, and had promptly been thrown into a snowbank by none other than Bernelle.

“Wrong Frost,” Jacqueline simply said.

“Jacqueline? Gingersnaps! I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was you.”

“It’s okay,” Jacqueline said, accepting the fusion’s outstretched hand. “Thanks.”

“Least I can do after knocking you into the snowdrift. What are you doing out here?” they asked.

“I could ask you the same thing, you know. Shouldn’t you be out and about vacationing?”

“I was until Judy popped over and gave us-me-the news.”

“Still adjusting?”

“I guess so. You doing okay? You look...very not icy.”

Jacqueline glanced down at her white dress, and shoved her very poofy, very straight, very brown hair behind her. She cleared her throat. “Yeah, I woke up like this. I mean, I usually do wake up lacking the freeze dry but the thawed dress is new. Usually it stays on overnight. I guess you heard about what Jack did?”

“Yeah,” Bernelle said, frowning. “He froze Neil and Laura solid, shoved them in a closet with Lucy, and managed to force Santa to use the Escape Clause and become Santa himself! Did I get everything?”

“More or less,” Jacqueline replied. “Do you remember that timeline?”

“No. I don’t, and nor do the other two. None of the elves do, according to Judy. She seemed shaken by it, though; she didn’t remember either but I’m guessing from the aftershock it was not a good timeline.”

“It really wasn’t,” Jacqueline said.

“You remember?”

A nod. “Jack Frost was Santa. Someone had to be Jack Frost.”

“Right. That would fall on you, wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah! And nobody would believe me when I said that he wasn’t Santa. It was brutal. Bernelle...I woke up yesterday ready to stop Santa Jack. I woke up today in the proper timeline and looking like this. I think something happened between the fix and now. I think...I think something thawed Jack.”

“What?” three voices replied. There was a faint glow and Bernelle poofed, leaving a shocked Bernard and confused Elle in the snow.

“Thawed him? But I thought it couldn’t be done!” Bernard exclaimed, jumping up.

“Thawed him?”

“He was a frozen winter sprite,” Bernard supplied, holding out his hand. “Sometimes winter sprites are born frozen.”

“Like a frozen heart type of thing?” Elle asked, grabbing his hand and pulling herself up.

Both Bernard and Jacqueline nodded. Elle dusted the snow off of her backside, thoughtful. “That’s...I mean I knew he was frozen, but I didn’t even realize it was that complex."

“Not necessarily,” Bernard said. "It depends on the sprite." He hazarded a glance at Jacqueline, who was staring off at the Workshop, looking conflicted. He glanced at Elle; she shrugged.

“Everything okay snow buddy?” Elle asked.

“Could you guys do me a favour?” she said suddenly.

“Course,” Bernard said. “What’s up?”

“Could you...could you tell me? Tell me if it’s true. Tell me...tell me if something really has thawed Jack.”

The couple shared a look, then nodded.

“Absolutely,” Elle said.

“We promise,” Bernard added. “As soon as we find out, Elle will let you know. Or I’ll pop by.”

“Thanks you two,” Jacqueline said. “And sorry for, uh, you know...making you fall apart.”

“That’s alright,” Elle said. “Bernelle has been at it most of the day and if they appeared here, well...”

“Not all the elves are as sophisticated as you guys when it comes to fusion, right,” Jacqueline teased, her friend nodding.

“This has been a lovely chat Jacqueline, but we don’t really have time for it! We have to get back to the Workshop asap. I have an elf to talk to, and who knows what other messes we’ll have to clean up,” Bernard finished, starting to head back down. “Nice seeing you, Jacquie. I hope you feel better.”

“You too, B-Man,” Jacqueline said, watching him head down.

“I better get going. He’s real upset by this whole thing. I am too, but Bernard is especially angry.”

“Might be residual, from the Frostmas timeline. He...well, let’s just say that it didn’t go well for him.”

“What about me?”

Jacqueline looked away. “I…I don’t know.”

“Oh,” Elle said. She could tell the sprite was lying, but decided not to press. “Maybe that’s why I’m not as upset? Because I didn't experience it?”

“Who knows, I’ll never understand time stuff.”

“That makes two of us. Look, I gotta go. But we’ll let you know what we find, Jacquie! Promise!” Elle waved and headed down, rushing to catch up to Bernard.

“Thanks,” Jacqueline said. If Jack had really and truly thawed, then...well, things would definitely change, Jacqueline decided. She turned on her heel and disappeared, nothing but two forlorn sticks in a pile of snow telling of her presence there that evening.

Eleven months later, Jacqueline found herself sitting in Santa’s office, face to face with her formerly frozen brother.

Eleven months later Jack found himself completely powerless and in a position he never imagined he would find himself in ever again: face to face with his little sister, who wasn’t so little anymore.

With Jack’s thaw had come a power shortage; he had hidden it well for most of the year, but by October things were looking bad. He had built up relationships and made amends, but with the Dome melting and him not doing anything...well, all the work he put in to prove he had changed almost fell apart, until a forced Council Meeting had caused him to admit the truth: that he couldn’t do anything.

Well, what else could they do? The only fix they could figure out was partially enacting the Legate Law, bringing in Jack’s Legate—his second-in-command, next in line for his title, his little sister—to see if she could help the Dome, and by extension, Jack. So here Jack stood, staring at Jacqueline, as she stared back, both of them equally thrown off.

It wasn't until Mother Nature cleared her throat that both sprites snapped to attention. "Shall we get to work, children?"

"Children?" Jack said, offended.

"I mean, compared to her we are," his sister replied, shrugging.

"Yes! Let's get to work on that ceiling!" Santa said, excited to fix the Dome. Even if it was temporary. "How do you guys plan on doing this? Is there going to be a fusion involved?"

A harsh silence fell, the smile on Santa's face falling immediately. Mother Nature grimaced; Jack looked away, just catching Bernard and Jacqueline sharing a look.

"Sorry," Santa said. "I just thought, seeing as how Berline tends to take care of, you know, big things—"

"Berline?"

"Yeah, you know, Bernard and Jacqueline's fusion?"

Jack frowned.

"They've never met," Bernard supplied.

"Ah," Santa said.

"Well we won't need any fusion to fix the Dome," Jack said, voice cracking a bit. "I managed it by myself easily, I'm sure I can take care of it again. Jacqueline will take care of it, rather," he corrected.

"Excellent," Mother Nature said. "Now then, I trust you will all be fine on your own. If any of you need anything, just call for me," Mother Nature said, staring at Santa and his Head Elf in particular. "As for you two," she began, turning to the sprites. "Jack, you know how to mend the Dome. Jacqueline, you do not. Jack, you will teach her. Alright?"

"Alright," they both replied.

"Excellent. I'll be off. Take care, all of you." And with a bright flash, she was gone.

"Shall we?" Jack asked his sister, gesturing to the door.

"I don't know the way up," Jacqueline replied.

"Right. Follow me, then," Jack said, and both the sprites left the room.

"I thought that sprites were super cool with fusion," Santa said. "They did not seem cool with fusion. What's up with that?" 

"They've fused before, when they were both much younger," Bernard explained. "It was fun at first, according to small Jacqueline. But whenever it happened closer to the Day of Darkness...it never went over well. Jacqueline didn't like hearing the thoughts Jack had. And after what he did to her..."

"Yeah, I don't think getting stabbed helps make a well-balanced fusion," Santa said.

"Nope," Bernard agreed. "But they might make up in time."

"Here's hoping. Otherwise, I think we're doomed," Santa said, thinking of the melting Dome.

Jack realized two things as they headed up to the Dome. One: it would have been better if they had teleported. Two: the silence was thick enough to cut with a knife and Jack had no idea how to fix that problem.

He had been trying to think of small talk, anything to lift the awful tension, but nothing he thought of felt safe enough. He figured then that he was damned if he did, and damned if he didn't; so, he asked her the only thing currently on his mind.

"So you've fused with the head grouch himself, huh?"

"Really? After fourteen hundred years, that's the first thing you ask me?"

"I've been trying to think of something to say the whole way up but nothing felt...safe. I couldn't take the silence, I had to break the ice somehow."

"Hmm, maybe a hi, how are you? A sorry for fourteen hundred years of silence perhaps?"

"I just never knew you and the Bean Pole were that close. It threw me off."

"There's a lot you don't know about me," she snapped back, speeding up as they approached the top of the hill and the melting Dome came into view.

It was...bad. The area they faced was covered with slush. In the distance, they could hear the sound of rushing water—and it sounded fast, which was...very not good. The slush had traces of mud in it; even more not good, both sprites realized.

"This is really bad," Jacqueline said. "My dress is getting all dirty, yuck."

"We can't have that."

"At least I'm not the one wearing white," Jacqueline pointed out, crossing her arms.

Sure enough, Jack's pant bottoms were getting visibly dirtier than Jacqueline's dress. "Ew," he said. Before he could properly reply to his sister, there was a large cracking above them. They dove just in time as a piece of ice fell between them, right where they had just been standing.

"How did you let it get like this?"

"Do you think I asked for this to happen?"

"You don't want to know what I'm thinking!"

"Oh really?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, really!" She placed her hand on the wall and the Dome shuddered, instantly stopping both siblings' angry retorts. "Oh no, what did I do?"

"Nothing bad! Listen." The cracking had stopped, the sounds of the rushing water a bit quieter now. "It's waiting for you," Jack explained.

"What?"

"The skill used to fix the Dome is called ice whispering. You place your hands on the Dome, and the ice tells you where all of the cracks and what have you are, and then with your help, guides the frost over to fix it."

"So I place my other hand on the Dome, and it'll just...tell me?"

"Theoretically, yes."

"What do you mean theoretically?!"

"That's how it usually works for me, and as you've oh-so-plainly pointed out Jacqueline, it's not really working for me right now because I'm powerless."

"I know that!" Jacqueline said. Angrily, she placed her other hand on the Dome. The walls lit up; her anger melted as the light raced upwards, until even the very top of the Dome was glowing brightly. "Woah."

"I told you."

"You said it was theoretical," she sassed back. "Now shut it, I have to concentrate.” She lifted her palms off of the Dome once more and placed them back on the wall. Blue tendrils shot out from her palms, the Dome brightening as the magic stretched on, healing all of the cracks and crevices. Soon enough, Jack could feel the magic leaking out of the Dome—the beginnings of what was known as the Deliquesce—slow to a drip. Jacqueline had done it (though it was only temporary. He could tell).

Said sister's hands dropped from the wall. She exhaled, turning to look at Jack. She looked…very upset. And very hurt.

"Why did you do it?" she began. "Why did you leave us? Why did you leave me?"

He paused for a moment, his guilt beginning to weigh down on him harder. "I felt like I had to. Santa had taken—"

"You know what, I don't want to hear it," she decided, turning on her heel and teleporting.

"Wait, not while you're angry!"

Jack poofed as well, following Jacqueline's trail. He reappeared just outside the town square, Jacqueline a few feet ahead of him. 

"Jacqueline, I'm sorry," he began.

"Sorry?! That's all you have to say?"

"What else do you want me to say?!"

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Jack!" She stomped towards the center of the square. Snow had started falling now—which Jack knew was not good. It wasn't supposed to snow as fast as it was right now beneath the Dome.

"Did you ever think at all during those centuries about what you had done? Have you ever felt even a little bit of remorse for the Day of Darkness?"

"All I've been doing this year is feeling remorseful and just trying to make up for what I did!"

"I never would have guessed, seeing as how even after your thaw you still didn't appear! Did you ever think as you messed around with timelines, frosted up the ecosystem, threw things out of balance, how that affected us?"

"How it affected you?"

The sprite looked surprised very briefly; then the anger was back, her fists clutched at her sides. The snowfall was beginning to turn into a storm, tears falling now.

"You didn't get the luxury of dealing with the fallout, but I did! Mom refroze herself, Jack. And while you can't possibly understand what that means, being frozen all your life, allow me to paint the picture for you! She was cold, and aloof, and always looked at me disappointed. And Dad—he had it bad, too! He was always tired, always upset and tiny me, well, she couldn't quite figure it out now, could she? So she came to the conclusion that it must've been her! It had to be me! A constant reminder of what you did, living right there with them under their roof."

"Jacqueline, I—" A snowball to the mouth silenced him.

"Oh no you don't! I'm not done yet! Nothing changed until the Twins came along—that's right, we have siblings, Jack, that you don't even know about because you left us! You left me! And then, after fourteen hundred years of silence, instead of an apology or anything like that, you just wanna make small talk, as if...as if it never happened!"

Jacqueline collapsed, the cold winds stopping. Jack moved closer, trying to find the words. Before he could say anything, Jacqueline looked up at him, frozen tear tracks on her face. "You may have been able to forget it. But I haven't forgotten any of it."

And with that, she disappeared. Jack had no idea what to do or where to find her.

But the smaller than average elf that had seen the whole thing knew exactly what to do.

It wasn’t long before word of what had happened made its way into the Workshop, the head grouch himself heading outside to asses the situation, much to Jack’s dismay.

"You saw the whole thing, didn't you?" He asked, taking the hand that Bernard offered.

"I did. I knew she was angry but wow, that was angry. What did you do?"

"Made small talk instead of apologizing about the whole stabbing and leaving thing," Jack said, voice cracking. "Asked her about fusion...probably everything I shouldn't have done, really."

"I coulda told you that," Bernard said.

"Oh I bet you could've," Jack said.

The elf shifted, hands on his hips. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Everything okay out here?" Elle asked, arriving on the scene. "What happened? I thought Jacqueline was supposed to be here!"

"She is, but Jack upset her and she poofed."

"What did you do?"

"Small talk."

"Which led to the mini snowstorm?"

"Yeah. She's really angry," Jack said. "I figured she would be upset but...well, I don't know what I was expecting," he frowned, scratching the back of his neck.

"You should probably give her time to cool off, and then talk to her properly," Bernard said.

"Thank you for the advice, Bernard. Oh so helpful."

"Don't patronize me," he replied over his shoulder, as he talked to a few elves about getting some shovels and digging out the doorways.

"Hmm." Elle said, helping a few elves out of the snow banks that had formed.

"What?"

"I might be able to find her. I could figure that out and then tell you where she is.”

"Then what? Go find her so she can start yet another snowstorm?"

Elle rolled her eyes. “No. You go find her and talk to her, once she’s chilled out.”

"I don't think it's that easy, Elle."

“You haven’t even tried!”

"Woah, what happened here?"

Jack sighed. "I tried to make small talk with my sister after she repaired the Dome."

"So it's fixed?"

"Temporarily."

"And the small talk ended in, uh...this?"

"Yup," Jack said.

"Fourteen hundred years of pent up angst," Bernard said.

"I know, thank you Beanie bag."

"Hey, be nice," Santa scolded.

“Yeah Jack, be nice,” Bernard said.

“Oh, you’re one to talk!”

Santa rolled his eyes. "Baby steps though, right Jack? She got the anger off of her chest, maybe now she'll be more open to talk." he shrugged.

"I don't even know where she is," Jack said.

"I do," Elle said happily, joining the group. "I'll see if she's good to talk. And if she is Jack, you go talk to her, and fix this. Like you've wanted to."

Jack nodded. For about fifteen minutes he helped clear the square, glancing over at Elle to see if she had heard from Jacqueline yet. Finally, as they wrapped up the tidying and were heading in, Elle grinned and called him over.

"You heard back?"

"Yup!"

"You know where she is?"

"She said she would show you," Elle said.

Sure enough the moment she said that, an image of the freakishly large tree he liked to spend time in popped into his head. "That's where she is! I should've known," he added.

"Well, what are you waiting for Frost? If she told you where she is, you very well may be getting that second chance of yours."

Everyone stared at Bernard, confused.

"What? Just because I'm enjoying this doesn't mean I don't want them to make up. So what are you waiting for, Jack? Go get your sister back."

"Well thanks Bernard. I really—"

"Don't ruin the moment."

Jacqueline was in the outskirts of Elfsburg, among the ruins that once were the stronghold of the Elves before the Christmas Elves. Jack had taken to exploring the area during his year thawed. There was one place in particular that had become his sort of hideaway, where he would go to think and hide and wonder why he was so powerless, and if they would ever come back. 

There was one tree in particular that he had liked to sit in. The branches had grown to be very thick and wide, growing in such a way that up in the tree, it was nearly its own natural tree house. It just needed a roof—which, if it wasn’t magically growing in the North Pole, it would have had; a nice, leafy green canopy. But the branches were thick and bare and lacked any leaves, the only thing really sticking out being the blue of Jacqueline’s dress as she leaned against one of the branches.

“Listen,” he began softly, stopping at the base of the tree. “If you don’t want me to come up, that’s fine, I’ll wait down here until you’re ready.” He waved his hand to form a chair; nothing happened. With a sigh, he began moving snow against the tree, shaping a chair by hand.

“Wow. They really are gone,” Jacqueline said. She had moved closer and watched him now, a curious look on her face.

“They sure are.”

She sighed and walked back into the depths of the tree.

“If I may?”

“It’s not my tree.”

Taking that as a very flippant yes, Jack walked up the trunk and mirrored her stance against a thick branch.

“At least that’s still working,” Jacqueline said.

“Hmm? Oh! Yeah. It’s nice that I have some magic left.”

“Then it’s probably all still there,” she replied. Another sigh. “Listen Jack, I’m sorry about freaking out on you like that.”

“Jacqueline, you stop right there. You had every right to be angry. Have, that is.”

“I know. But I had hoped that I wouldn’t get so angry when we met up again and yet, here we are.”

“I have that effect on people.”  

Jacqueline laughed. 

“I know it’s a little too late for an apology, but I am sorry, Jacqueline. I really am. I know that it doesn’t mean much, I mean you said so yourself, fourteen hundred years and all—but I am sorry. Very truly sorry that I left you and hurt you the way I did. If I could change it now, I would. I know I can’t so...all I have for you is an apology. And a promise to never do it again.”

Jacqueline’s hand briefly fluttered to her gut, before she smiled. “That means a lot,” she said. “Thank you, Jack, you stupid brother.”

Jack laughed. “You’re welcome, my dear, dear sister.”

The next thing he knew, Jacqueline nearly knocked him out of the tree with a hug. He blinked, his hands up in the air before he smiled and returned the hug.

“I’m also sorry for ah, picking at the fusion thing. It’s just—knowing that someone like Bernard was there for you enough to actually fuse with you every so often just. It really got to me, but I shouldn’t have bothered you about it.”

Jacqueline let go, looking up at her brother. “No, you shouldn’t have. But I forgive you. I get it, you know.” she crossed her arms and smirked up at him. “You’re a little jealous that he was a better big brother than you were.”

Jack threw his hands up. “You got me, guilty as charged.” She laughed, and Jack grinned. Little victories, he thought. “I suppose...well. Even this Santa knows your fusion with Bernard. What was their name?”

“Berline.”

“Right. To think that Berline—who I’m sure is ah, pleasant enough—” Jacqueline snorted. “Has been around more than Jackie? It’s upsetting. Especially because I don’t quite think Jackie would be around any time soon.”

“Well, no. Not any time soon. But it doesn’t mean they’ll be gone forever,” Jacqueline pointed out. “Maybe they’ll be around again soon, who knows.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Sure,” Jacqueline said, floating down from the tree as Jack walked down the trunk behind her. “Things may get bad, but they get better too, and that includes sibling relationships, Jack. Fusions are, after all, manifestations of relationships. Forgiveness takes time and we...well, we have plenty.”

Jack contemplated everything silently, falling into step beside Jacqueline as they made their way towards the short skyline that was Elfsburg off in the distance. “We’ve got a long walk ahead. Why don’t you catch me up while we head back? Tell me about the family. Twin siblings, you said?”

“Yeah! They’re a riot, and quite literally hot-headed,” she said.

A feeling of comfort overtook Jack as they headed back towards Elfsburg. That hadn’t been so bad. As he listened to Jacqueline tell him about their siblings, and things she had done while growing up, Jack felt that perhaps things were looking up. Perhaps things would get better—it was finally feeling that way, after all.

And it could only get better from here, he thought.

Things were definitely not getting better, Jack decided, two days later. He held Jacqueline in his arms; she was unconscious. That wasn’t all, though. This had been the second time since she arrived at the Pole that this had happened—they were all at a loss.

Something weird was happening to her, and combined with Jack’s own power shortage (which, despite their work, wasn’t quite improving; Jacqueline was at a loss of what to try next), things weren’t looking good for the two frosty siblings. Lately, Jacqueline would be going about her business, mid conversation when suddenly she would freeze up. she would talk to herself, argue with what everyone thought was herself, and then would begin to destroy everything around her.

It was very not-Jacqueline, especially considering the weird red tone her eyes seemed to take when these attacks happened.

So far, she had nearly destroyed the town square, frozen a bunch of the toys and inner workings of the Workshop’s main floor, and scratched Jack’s favourite side of his face with some stray ice. This time around was a tad more concerning; last time, she had awoken in a matter of seconds. This time, minutes were ticking by and she was still out.

It was the longest five minutes Jack had experienced in a while.

Hismus had finally arrived, trying to fuss over Jacqueline but not quite being able to with the people surrounding her and the odd sleeves she wore. Jack found himself bickering with Santa and Bernard as they waited for Jacqueline to wake up, Elle keeping an anxious eye on Bernard’s pocket watch.

“Okay, let’s all calm down—”

A loud gasp cut off Santa as Jacqueline shot up, breathing heavily. She looked around; she realized she was on the floor and winced.

“It happened again, didn’t it?”

The silence spoke volumes enough.

With a sigh, Jacqueline began trying to clean the mess she had made but was thwarted as Jack grabbed her around the waist and began to drag her towards the Elfirmiry. After a bit of a struggle, a few snowballs and much protesting on Jacqueline’s part, they were finally seated. Jacqueline pouted on the bed, her arms crossed.

“Oh, stop your pouting. You really ought to take better care of yourself, you know.”

“Look who’s talking! I’m not the one who let themselves stew with no powers for nearly a year. Maybe you should take better care of yourself!”

“No need to be nippy.”

“Sorry. I’m just…” Jacqueline sighed, head on her hands. “This is getting worrisome. I’m afraid. Maybe I am turning forcibly evil.”

“No, you’re not. You’re the least evil person I know, Jacqueline.”

“Then what’s happening to me?”

Jack faltered. “I don’t know. But hey, chin up sister dear! We’ll figure it out together,” he said, squeezing her shoulder, ignoring the chill he felt on the back of his neck.

Jacqueline blinked, eyes going wide.

“What? What is it?”

“Your hair,” Jacqueline said.

“My—what?” Jack put his hand on his head, feeling the top of his head. It felt like regular hair (still no frost). “What are you talking about?”

“The back of your head, you blizzard brain.”

His hand roamed to the back of his head, where the hair went from relatively fluffy to hard and cold. It was—it was frozen? “Is there a mirror?”

Jacqueline glanced around; no mirror. She put her hands together and pulled them apart, a reflective piece of ice about the size of a small vanity mirror, the kind that flips to magnify on one side. “Here you go,” she said, ignoring Hismus’ shout of “Careful with your magic! You were just unconscious!” from across the room.

“Thanks.” He angled it towards the back of his head, adjusting until he could see the reflection himself. “Wow.”

“It’s frozen!”

“Wow,” he said, with more emphasis. “How did that—?”

“It happened after you said we’d figure this out together. Jack, I think I have an idea…but I’m not sure you’re going to like it.”

“I’ll try anything, at this point.”

“I think it’s time we returned home.” Jacqueline said, with a small half smile.

It took a bit of convincing on Jack’s part, but thankfully he had had a few days to think about it while Jacqueline wrote home to brief the family and prepare Blaise, Winter, Fino and Fiera for her arrival home—and Jack’s return. He had hoped they would tell her to leave him here but unfortunately, Jack was very wrong. Their parents sent a reply by tele-mail almost instantly, and Jack wasn’t sure how to feel at first (though the image of Bernie’s desk nearly catching on fire thanks to the method in which Blaise sent tele-mail was very funny and made him laugh very hard).

It was actually reading Blaise’s letter that had finally turned the tide for him.

I talked to your Mother and we both agree. You should come home…with Jack. Frankly, I think it’s about time. Your Mother agrees. We’ll start looking into potential power shortages from the past as well as what may be causing those blackouts of yours. We’ll talk more once you’re home.

See you soon. Both of you. Stay safe.

Love, Blaise and Winter

“You see Jack?” his sister had said. “They want you home; both of them do.”

“I want to make things right. I miss them all so terribly. But what if…what if they don’t?”

“I promise you Jack, they do want to make things right. This is their chance, and more importantly, it’s your chance. Isn’t this what you’ve wanted since the thaw, all timeline hijinks included?” she had asked.

“It is.”

“Then I think the answer is easy.”

And she was right. In that moment, his resolve had steadied; he was going to make things right with his family, like he had wanted to for oh so long (and the note freezing in his hand as he thought about returning home probably helped the decision a fair bit as well).

They had discussed departure times (Jack was very against Jacqueline’s thought of leaving at dawn) and had decided on a nice lunch and a quick cup of cocoa the very next day, and then they would be off. Now he was beginning to second guess himself as they stood in the stables, just outside of the grand doors in clear view of the top of the not-as-lustrous-as-usual Dome, ready to leave. A few elves milled about, watching with interest as they tended to the reindeer. Bernard and Elle stood beside Santa, who held hands with Carol, baby Buddy strapped to a carrier on his big belly.

“Make sure this is a good fix,” Santa teased. “I want you both to take all the time you need with the family before heading back up, and the stronger the fix, the better.”

“So no pressure, right?” Jacqueline said nervously, eyebrow raised. Santa chuckled.

“It’ll be fine, Jacqueline.” Jack said. “Just do it like I taught you and you’ll manage a beautiful fix. It is, after all, my own special method.”

“Right. So, I bring my hands together like this,” she began, cupping her hands.

“Yes, exactly! And focus on the Dome’s magic in the air—what we can still feel of it, that is—and watch.”

Jacqueline’s eyes were shut tight in concentration. A small, light blue glow began to grow within her palms, tendrils of magic slowly stretching up. She opened her eyes, grinning. “I’ve got it!”

“That’s my sister!” Jack said, grinning himself and squeezing her shoulder when something interesting began to happen.

The light that encompassed the two of them was overwhelming. It was big. A shape began to take form, and Bernard’s eyes widened.

“We should all step back a bunch,” he suggested, already dragging Santa and Elle a few steps back.

“Why? What’s wrong with them?” Carol asked. “Should we call someone?”

“Nothing’s wrong yet,” Bernard said. “They just may be a bit unstable. And unpredictable.”

“What do you mean they?!” Santa asked.

“They’re fusing,” Elle realized. She had moved to Carol’s side and was pulling her back now.

“What?” Carol asked.

“Remember that giant fae thing I told you about?” Santa said.

“Yes?”

“That’s what’s happening right now with Jack and his sister.”

“Oh boy,” Carol said.

The shape had taken a form, but it hadn’t solidified yet. Elle thought that they were the second biggest fusion she had seen (Diteline was a little bit taller). She had to crane her neck to see the huge form that was apparently Jack and Jacqueline’s fusion.

Finally they came into view. Big was an understatement; their fusion was incredibly tall and something about their aura made you feel that they were perhaps a bit “too much” at times. The work around the Claus family and the two head elves had stopped. Everyone was focused on the finally corporeal fusion in front of them, enthralled and mildly concerned.

And this was just from looking at their back!

“Look at THAT,” the fusion said, grinning at their palms. “Oh, that is bea-UTIFUL!”

The Dome had begun to grow incredibly bright. The small tendrils of ice that had been in Jacqueline’s hands were now at least three sizes bigger and glowing just as bright as the Dome. Shifting their weight back, Jack and Jacqueline’s fusion leant back and, with a flourish and an “alley OOP!” they tossed their hand upwards, the magic shooting forth from their palms and hitting the Dome. The ground nearly shook; the Dome shone brighter than anyone had ever seen it before, a light blue light coating the ice from top to bottom. The last of the tendrils left the fusion’s palms, and they grinned up at the Dome, watching as the light glowed extraordinarily bright and then disappeared, leaving the North Pole incredibly silent.

“WOW! What a fix! That’s incredible! A shame it isn’t permanent,” the fusion said with a sniff, hands on their hips now. “It’ll hold for a while though.” They frowned. “Why do I sound so weird? I don’t recall wearing poofy sleeves. No, wait, I always wear poofy sleeves. No I don’t! But I do. Hang on a sec…” they looked down at their hands, bringing them up to their face. “What?” they squished their face and turned behind them. “OH! Oh my GODS,” they said, all four eyes widening and a glow once again encompassing them.

“Duck!” someone shouted, as the fusion fell apart in a brilliant flash, snow billowing about everyone.

Jacqueline lay flat on the ground, Jack in a sit beside her. She lifted her head, blinking, and turned to look at Jack.

“Did we just?”

“I believe so.”

“I know I said soon but that was…”

“Unexpected,” Jack finished, getting up and offering his sister a hand. “You okay?”

“Yeah, for the most part. A little shocked is all.”

“That makes like, five of us,” Elle said, breaking the silence.

“Did you fix it?” Santa asked, hopeful. “Did your fusion permanently fix it?”

“Santa, did you not hear them? They said it was a great fix, but not permanent,” Bernard supplied.

“A very good fix,” Jack confirmed, staring up at the Dome. “But not at all permanent.”

“Look how bright the lights are! It hasn’t been this solid in a while! Wow!”

Carol watched as Santa headed out the doors, looking up at the Dome. She turned her attention to the two frosty beings before her, smiling. “You two better get going. The sooner the better, otherwise Scott is going to drill you two about the Dome,” she said with a laugh.

“See ya, Mrs. C,” Jack said, accepting her hug.

“I’ll miss you guys—it’ll be quiet without the two of you around,” Carol said, hugging Jacqueline now.

“That’s for sure,” Bernard said.

Elle laughed. “Throw me a thought every so often, will you snow bud?”

“Of course!” Jacqueline said. “We’ll see you all as soon as we can.”

And, with a wave, the sprites disappeared on the spot, both of them realizing that they had a lot to talk about.

#fusion au #fusion au part 4 #dani writes #the santa clause #tsc #crystal springs #tsc: crystal springs #fusion #I HAVE HAD THIS DONE FOR A WHILE! #well this part at least #I realized today that part 4 was nearing 8k which was the same amount as part 3 #so i decided-with help from pals-that i should split it up #instead of cutting content #this means more jackie action when they kick pyros' ass next part (spoiler alert i suppose) ehehe #anywho i'll stop babbling #enjoy! #:D

[whenimgoodandready]

*SVTFOE SEASON 2 Bloopers

My New Wand!

-Glossaryck:”Imagine the universe as this big old cauldron, and magic is the bubbly stew inside, and your wand is the spoon”

Star:”My wand isn’t a spoon, it’s a wand”

Glossaryck:”It’s a metaphor, Star”

Star:”No, it’s a wand”

(Glossaryck gives her an unamused look)

Glossaryck:”YOU’RE A WAND!”

(They stare at each other until someone on set starts laughing and then they laugh)

Ludo in the Wild

-(Ludo is eating chunks from what the spider ate, we see in the background Wander riding Sylvia as he’s reading a map)

Wander:”Okay, so we take a turn by that snowy mountain (Ludo stops eating and overhears an unfamiliar voice as he turns around) and then we go-” (Wander stops talking as he and Sylvia turn to see Ludo. They both awkwardly stare at each other)

Sylvia:(to Wander) “I told you we were lost!”

Mr.Candle Cares

-(Tom and Marco are playing ping pong, Tom hits the ball so high over Marcos head, a stage light falls hanging with a guy holding on for it as he screams, the camera goes shaky as Marco runs over to help)

Red Belt

-(in Marcos dream, when the locker opens, instead of Marco in a suit, it’s Ms.Skullnick and she says “Ta-da!” with jazz hands)

-(When everyone is flying away with balloons, Alfonzo and Ferguson’s balloon pops and they go crashing down as some people are horrified while others laugh while flying away)

Star on Wheels

-(When Marco and Oskar are chasing after Star on her runaway bike, the projector screen of the streets background falls revealing the stage crew and other characters getting ready (ex.Toffee holding a coffee mug while reading a script) they all look toward where the background fell)

Starstruck

-(Mina is having trouble with the bag over her head as the director tries to give her directions)

Daron:”Over to the left!”

(Mina bumps into a tree)

Daron:”No! The other left!”

Mina:”Damn it! Daron!”

By the Book

-Ludo:(to the wand) “Tell me your secrets” (he listens to the wand and he hears these:) “New episode of “The Big Bang Theory” this Thursday, never eat a peanut butter and banana sandwich with Sprite, Bebe is going out of Business! What!?”

(Everyone on set starts laughing as Ludo looks confused)

Ludo:”What!?” Isn’t that what it was supposed to say?”

(Everyone continues to laugh)

Sleepover

-Truth Box:”What.......is..........the square root of nine?”

(Everyone looks confused, but Marco)

Star:”Um, Pony Head, I think this is a math quiz box?”

Pony Head:”Oops, my bad! Sorry Daron I-”

Marco:”THE SQUARE ROOT OF NINE IS THREE!”

(Everyone looks at Marco on why he took it so seriously)

Friendenemies

-(When Tom and Marco are singing that Love Sentence song, Marco forgets the words and starts singing the chorus to Jojo’s song “Too Little Too Late” and Tom looks over at the director as Marco is singing and says laughing, “Daron?”)

Is Mystery

-(When Buff Frog is handcuffed to the grinder with that Bat Monster next to him, the Bat Monster keeps cracking up every time he has to reply “It goes in the hole” cuz it’s too funny to say “hole” and after a few takes, Buff Frog:”Where does all the corn go?” The Bat Monster hesitates and screams, “IT GOES IN THE F***ING A**HOLE!” And he and Buff Frog and everyone on set bursts into laughter)

Into the Wand

-(When Star is in the “grandma room” she reads Eclipsa’s tapestry plate, but her tapestry is the poster for “The Minions Movie!” Star gives a sly smile that says, “Very funny guys” to the crew on set as they laugh)

Bon Bon the Birthday Clown

-(Marco is descending down the stairs all dressed up, he trips as Jackie and Star go to help him up and Marco laughs saying, “Didn’t this happen in “She’s All That”!)

Raid the Cave

-(Star is stuck on her back from the large heavy backpack wiggling around and then pauses)

Star:”Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” (Star starts laughing as Marco starts laughing too as well as the staff. Star laughs as she presses her spider necklace like a “Life Alert” button)

-Star:(to Buff Frog) “I thought your babies were sending us fanart” (she flips through the drawings and then comes across a black and white photograph off Buff Frog posing sophisticatedly in a black turtleneck with his autograph on it)

Star:(shows Buff Frog the photo while trying to hold her laugh) “WTF is this!?”

(Buff Frog looks embarrassed as he goes over to Star)

Buff Frog:”Gimme that!” (he chases after Star as she runs around the set laughing while Marco looks both confused and amused)

-(Star is looking at the All-Seeing Eye spell and comes across Janna doing mischievous stuff)

Star:(gasps) “Janna you scoundrel!”

(Star moves over the All-Seeing Eye and instead of seeing Principal Skeeves, it’s the trailer for “Fifty Shades Darker”)

(Star gasps in amazement)

(trailer shows the shower scene)

Star:”OOOOOOOH”

(trailer shows the masquerade scene)

Star:’”AWWWWWWWWWE”

(trailer shows the ex-girlfriend about to shoot)

Star:”OMG!”

(Marco is peaking through the door)

Marco:”Star?”

(Star shrieks and jumps waving her hands around in a quick motion and then tries to block the trailer)

(Marco laughs)

Trickstar

-(Sensei does his bicycle stunt, but the stuntman who was doing it crashes. Everyone on set goes to check on him as some are laughing while others are concerned and the camera falls)

Baby

-King River:(about Glossaryck) “So? He’s gone. Good riddance, I say. Little s*** always creeped me out”

(staff laughs as River smiles and bows his head in shame)

(Take 2) King River:”So? He’s gone. Good riddance, I say. Little guy always f***ed with me”

(staff laughs again as River just sits and smiles)

King River:”I know! I know!”

(Take 3) King River:”So? He’s gone. Good riddance, I say. Little s*** got (cracks up) WHAT WAS COMING TO HIM!”

(staff laughs once again as River covers his head on the table laughing. Raises his head to the director)

King River:”I’m not sorry!” (covers his head again)

-Baby:(to Star) ”Bring me that apple”

(a red apple appears. Suddenly, the Old Hag from “Snow White” comes in cackling, takes the apple and leaves. Star and Baby are stunned silent then someone off set laughs)

Running with Scissors

-(Marco climbs up the cliff to blow out Hekapoos flame. It blows out, but re-lites itself. Marco is confused. He blows it out again and again and it re-lites itself again)

Marco:”Huh?”

(Hekapoo smugs as Marco repeatedly tries to blow out the flame only for it to re-lite itself again as the staff snickers)

Marco:’Damn it, Hekapoo!”

(Hekapoo laughs)

Mathmagic

-Janna:(whispers) “Hey Star! Why did the chicken cross the road?”

Star:(boredly) “IIIIIIIIIII don’t knooooooooow?”

Janna:”Cuz she didn’t give a “cluck!”

(Take 2) Janna:”Cuz she cried “fowl!”

(Take 3) Janna:”Cuz she was suicidal!”

(Take 4) Janna:”To finish this damn scene”

(Take 5) (Janna just pauses on her sly look then looks confused. She turns to someone off set) “Line”

(someone off set laughs)

-Star:(raises her hand and waves it around frantically) “Ms.Skullnick! I’d like to solve the puzzle!” (stops and realizes what she said as Janna buries her head in laughter)

-(Star is writing something on the board. She turns around and reveals the answer for “C”...........2+2=fish. Star gins and someone off set laughs as well as the staff)

The Bounce Lounge

-(Star and her friends are dancing and then she begins to twerk which Pony Head stops and is surprised to see, but then laughs as the staff does)

Crystal Clear

-(Rhombulus and Star are having tea)

Rhombulus:(to Star) “So the audition went well, but they said they’d give me a call if they’re interested, but that was weeks ago and.....well...I-I don’t. Think. They’re interested and-(looks around) Oh wait, are we rolling?”

(someone off set laughs as Rhombulus looks embarrassed and Star covers her mouth to not laugh) 

The Hard Way

-Glossaryck:(to Ludo about the narwhal blast) “Star came up with that from her imagination”

Ludo:”What’an (does the Spongebob rainbow hand a sparkly rainbow appears) imagination?”(Ludo is bewildered at what he did as is Glossayck with them starring at the rainbow)

Ludo:”Uhhhhhhhhhhh (darts his eyes at Glossaryck) I didn’t do this”

-Glossaryck:(to Ludo) “Bring me that apple”

(makes a pickle appear)

Ludo:”Glossayck, that’s a pickle”

Glossaryck:(deadpanly) “Yes”

(Daron, the director, from off set) “It needs to be an apple”

(a pudding cup magically appears)

Ludo:”No”

(polka dot boxers magically appear)

Ludo:”No”

(Ludo himself magically appears)

Ludo:”No!”

(a GREEN apple magically appears)

(Daron, from off set again) “It needs to be RED!”

Glossaryck:”Well f***! (gestures to it) It’s an apple isn’t it!?”

Ludo:”Where’s the prop guy!?”

(Take 2) Glossaryck:”Bring me that apple”

(makes a red apple appear. The Old Hag comes in cackling again to steal the apple)

Glossaryck:”NO!”

(The Old Hag stops as Glossaryck flies away to get a broom and starts chasing the Old Hag around hitting her with it while Ludo watches the whole thing)

Glossaryck:”This is our apple! Get! Get! Get!”

(he chases her off set as Ludo just stands there)

-(Ludo becomes possessed)

Ludo:(the voice of the lady from the cell phone Moto commercial is heard) “Hello, Moto”

(Glossaryck just stares deadpanly, but then tries to hold back his laugh. He buries his head down and stays quiet.......then bursts out laughing along with the staff)

-Ludo:”Time to give it up old man”

Director:’Cut!” Ludo, you were a little late on the queue”

Ludo:”Darn! I was so close! Lip-syncing is hard!”

Toffee:”Tell me about it”

Heinous

-Marco:(to Star)”Now are you convinced that parking meters aren’t filled with candy?”

Star:”I thought it was a pinata!” (tries to hold back her laugh. Marco tries to do the same)

-Ms.Heinous:(holding Rasticores arm)”He’s my dear, sweet Rasticore. This is just his arm, but he’s part lizard. so his whole body will grow back soon. And then he’ll be a big boy-” (stops and pauses) “Okay, (turns to someone off set) “do I really have to kiss this thing?” (points to the arm as she listens to the person) “Cuz you know it’s dusty right?” (the person off set snickers as Heinous makes a crooked smile) “Shut up!”

-(Star is playing with two Princess Marco dolls and makes them kiss with kissing noises. Looks up to the people off set) “I don’t exclude” (sheepishly grins)

-(”Princess Marco” is writing something in the back of the sign. He turns it over with a smug look. It reads, “Help! I’m being forced to do a kids show” someone off set laughs)

-(”Princess Marco” is doing the apolgoy video)

“Princess Marco”:(seductively looks at the camera) “Looking for a good time? Call Princess Marco to give you the “royal treatment” (winks. The staff laughs)

(Take 2)”Princess Marco”: ”Anyway, last time I was at St.Olga’s school, I said and did some stuff that I shouldn’t have. And that was....bad. And, uh, I just wanted to say, um.....I WILL EAT ANY LEFT OVERS YOU LEAVE ON YOUR PLATE! (grins)

(the staff laughs)

(Take 3)”Princess Marco”:(sarcastically) “As princesses, we should never drink-”(tries to hold back his laugh and buries his head. The staff snickers. Marco lifts up his head and laughs quietly)

All Belts Are Off

-(Marco is about to break three boards)

Marco:”Hi-ya-” (the boards don’t break and he hurts his foot. He hops around holding his foot) “Ow ow ow ow! SPLINTER!”

-Marco:”I’m hiding in the bushes and recording all of Jeremy’s bad behavior”

Star:”Oh, so you’re like a....like a...-”

(Star slides off the tree she’s holding onto and falls) “Whoa!”

(Take 2) (Star falls off again) “OOF!”

(Take 3) Star:”Oh, so you’re like a...like a...”(slides off again) “Ah!” (abruptly gets up looking pissed at the staff and points at the tree)

Star:(sternly)”Who greased this f***ing tree!?”

(the staff snickers and laughs)

-(Jeremy is demonstrating his karate kicks and falls over) “Whoa, whoa!”

(he laughs as he’s on the ground. Marco goes over laughing and helps him up)

Jeremy:”Thanks man”

(Marco leaves waving a dismissive hand at Jeremy while holding his stomach form laughing)

-Grand Master: ”Yes! Ha-ha! Y-Uh, yes. Yes, indeed, hi-ya indeed, yes, indeed. Yes, indeed. Uh, wonderful. (knocks over one of the candle sticks and it starts setting the floor on fire) “Ah!” (runs around screaming) “FIRE!”

(Everyone panics and Marco grabs a fire extinguisher to put out the flames. As he’s doing that, we hear Daron, the director)

Daron:”Okay, let’s just get a nonflammable candle” (sighs) 

Collateral Damage

-(Star is doing trash pickup and levitating stuff)

Star:(to Janna) ”How am I supposed to know where to go or who I am if I don’t have a-”

(the magic wand malfunctions and flickers as it starts waving around)

Star:”Whoa!” (Star grabs onto the wand as it starts lifting other things such as the actors, props and the camera crew)

Star:”WTF!?” (Sees that it’s levitating the whole set, all the actors, props and looks up a it suddenly lifts up the entire Stage Building having the bottom fragments fall on her as she’s now outside alone)

Star:(looks at the wand confused) “Is this thing really magic?”

-(Star darts her eyes at the window with the palm trees swaying in the wind as Principal Skeeves talks to Star)

Principal Skeeves:”Winters here are quite har-”

(He’s interrupted by a guy who was handling the ceiling stage lights falling from the outside window background and faintly screaming and we hear a crash)

Star:”Oh my gosh!”

(runs over to the window and Principal Skeeves looks out too. They are followed by Marco, Janna and some actors as the guys moaning in pain)

Guy:”I’m okay”

Star:(turns her head and yells to the director, Daron) “He’s okay!”

-School Girl:(about the statue)”Where’s the kissing a**!?” (realizes her mistake) “Oh f***!”

(The actors behind her cover their mouths and as she buries her head in the possums rear. Jerks her head out)

“Ew”

(The actors uncover their mouths and laugh)

-(Star is holding the speaker in Principal Skeeves office)

Star:(with a bored smiley face speaks into the mike) “Bueller.......Ferris Bueller?”

(Someone off set laughs)

Just Friends

-(Star and Marco are lip syncing to Just Friends with their electronic singing Love Sentence toothbrushes. Suddenly, Stars toothbrush slips from her hand hits Marcos head)

Marco:”Ow” (rubs his temples)

Star:”Sorry”

-Star:(to the ducks) “This place is great! I used to live here”

Jackie:”Me, too. Wait, what?”

Star:(walks over and points to her left) “Yeah, for, like, a day. But you guys will make friends so quick! There’s the lady that steals hair who lives over there”

Jackie:(laughs) “Really?”

Star:”Yeah!” (points around) “And there’s our director, Daron” (we hear Daron laugh) “And there’s Brain H. Kim the music producer” (staff starts to laugh) “And over there’s Toffee flirting with Hekapoo”

(camera swiftly pans over to a make-up chair. We see Hekapoo sitting while some ones powdering her cheek and she’s smiling up at Toffee with him holding a coffee cup in one hand and leaning the other arm on the vanity mirror looking flirtatiously at Hekapoo)

Toffee:”So yeah, I won a Golden Globe for my role in “Dexter”, it’s not an Oscar, but hey! it’s gold!”

Hekapoo:”Hmmmm” (leans in close) “That’s nice” (both stop and realize they’’re on camera. Janna walks by swaying her arms with a smug look on her face)

Janna:(singing) “Bom chicka wah wah, chicka wah wah, Bom chicka wah wah”

(Toffee glares and covers the camera)

-Star:(getting wet from the sprinkles of sweat) “Oh, don’t be silly! I just wanted to be down here by the stage so I could feel their sweat spraying on my face!”(gets splashed with a bunch of water and then a bucket falls off the stage as a guy looks down and gets embarrassed while quickly getting the bucket and leaves)

Justin Towers:(leans down from the stage to talk to Star) “You need a towel?”

Star:(smiles embarrassingly) “No s***!” (the staff laughs)

Face the Music

-Moon:”I’m here because your son took a very important book form my family”

Avarius:”My son? Which one? Crudo?”

Moon:”Eh no”

Avarius:”Not Yudo!”

Moon:”Mm-mmm”

Avarius:”Menudo?”

Moon:”Uh, no”

Avarius:”Ugh, Okay, I’m just gonna go down the list. Dudo, Kudo.....Marsha, Jan, Cindy, Greg-”

Brudo:”Honey! That’s the Brady Kids!”

Avarius:”Fur Foot, Beauty Stem, Elf Cup, Shaggy Mane, Puff Ball-”

Brudo:”That’s the Toad Patrol!”

Avarius:(face cracks a smile) “Red, Blue, Green-”

Brudo:”THOSE ARE COLORS!” (falls back on his chair laughing as Avarius tries to hold in her laugh along with Moon. The staff laughs)

Avarius:(to some one off set) “I forgot my lines! Just....so many damn kids! Ha ha ha”

-Ruberiot:(playing his lute and singing) “Where is Princess Star?” (pauses. Darts his eyes around then continues) “Where the f*** is Star?” (hangs his head down snickering as does Marco. The staff laughs. Ruberiot and Marco can’t contain themselves and burst laughing about)

Starcrushed

-(Pony Head is at a dinner table with a prince)

Pony Head:”So they were like originally gonna have me with a f***ing bleeding head and I was like, wtf!? So thank God Daron changed her mind and-(looks at the camera) “Oh wait are we rolling?”

(staff laughs)

Pony Head:(laughing) “Check please!”

-(The Magic High Commission burst through the castle doors and gasp. Instead of the giant eagle feeding the giant spider, it’s Milo, Zack and Melissa doing a circus act with all the rats. The Commission looks bewildered as the show goes on then Milo, his friends and the rats stop and look at the Commission. There’s an awkward pause. Diogee comes in)

Diogee:”Bark! Bark!”

Milo:”No DIogee, go home, he’s not supposed to be in “Star vs. The Forces of Evil”

Hekapoo:”Neither should you guys!”

Milo:”Sorry, we thought it was a closed set cuz our show is-”(as he’s walking, he slips on a camera wire) “Oops!”(it makes a ceiling light swing down and knock down Rhombulus)

Rhombulus:”Oof”

(the rats scurry around panicking. As that’s going on, Milo gets up)

Milo:”Sorry” (steps towards the Commission) “You see we-”

(he steps on a cardboard on set that launches Hekapoo in the air as she screams and passes through a trapeze act between the rats making one of them lose focus and having it crash on a rat walking on a ball which knocks him down and the ball bounces into a cannon that automatically launches it into Omnitraxuses face knocking him down and finally, Hekapoo hits a button on the wall that unleashes the cats in a later scene from Stars wand spell. The cats run around chasing the rats as everyone runs and screams around with the set falling apart and a fire starts on the right side. Milo just stands there looking nonchalantly around)

Milo:”Geez, and I thought it was just my character”

-Marco:(about Star to his dad) ”Well, uh...things are a bit weird between us right now”

Rafael:”What could be weird? Two teenagers sharing a home. One boy, one girl (pauses as he forgets his lines and awkwardly smiles) “holding hands, laughing, skipping to my lou” (voice almost cracks as the staffs) “showering together, sleeping together” (holds in his laugh as he bows his head and the staff laughs) Marco:(with an amused look on his face) “Dad?”

Rafael:”I’m not your dad, I’m an actor”

(staff laughs harder)

-(Oskar throws his keytar in the air.......too high)

Oskar:”Oh s***! Sorry!”

(Star covers her mouth from laughing)

-Omnitraxus:(to Lekmet) “You found Glossaryck?”

Lekmet:”Baaaa!” (he opens the book and gets hit by Oskars keytar knocking him down. He gets up and talks in a Brooklyn accent) “Ah C’mon!”

-(Ludo/Toffee and Moon are battling in the air when the harness holding Moon makes her do flips)

Moon:”Whoa!” (she starts dangling around the room out of control as the lighting turns to normal and the background music stops. Moon stops and just hangs there dangling)

Ludo/Toffee:(his eyes go back to normal and Ludos voice is heard) “Are you okay?”

(Toffee runs into the scene holding his script)

Toffee:”What’s going on!?”

Moon:”GET ME DOWN!”

-Police Officer:(through a megaphone) “This is the police! You punks better be having a study party up there!”

Guy:”I’ve never read a book in my-”(gets hit by Oskars flying keytar knocking him off the rood. Everyone gasps as the camera goes shaky)

-(Jackie has her mouth open for the pizza nuggets to fly in her mouth and she’s making that “Ahhhh” noise when suddenly, a fly flies into her mouth. She starts choking)

Marco:”Oh s***!” (give Jackie the Heimlich Maneuver and the fly shoots out hitting Star in the eye knocking her down)

Star:”Oof!”

-Star:(arguing with Moon) “And apparently, there’s this thing called “summer” where you-’(Oskars keytar falls on her head knocking her down. Star gets up and groans) “F*** you, Oskar!”(grabs the keytar and throws it at Oskar off screen. We hear Oskar go “Ow”. Star calls out to him) “HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT!?’

Star:(storms out) “Where’s the Tylenol!?”

#svtfoe #svtfoe bloopers

[dire-kumori]

The Long Road: Chapter 1

Through the Looking Glass

Rated: T

Pairing(s): hijack

Story summary: When a distress call from Father Time turns out to be a trap set by Pitch, Jack ends up lost in a time before the Guardians with only Baby Tooth at his side. The two immortals are lucky enough to be found by a group of (somewhat) sympathetic teenagers whom they quickly befriend, including the awkward and funny leader of Berk's Dragon Academy. Before long Jack finds himself assimilating into Berk's culture and way of life. Even though he is effectively stuck, with new friends by his side Jack finds he doesn't mind taking the long road back to the present.

((We need seventy-four more gallons of paint on the floor, pronto!))

((Project four-hundred and sixty-three finished! Next group!))

((Get out of the way you little pests!))

((The model's melting! The model is melting!))

Ice blue eyes glanced up from time-worn pages as deep, guttural voices rang through the air spouting out orders and complaints as surprisingly dexterous hands quickly and efficiently assembled hundreds of delicate moving parts with skill that the modern world's most technologically advanced automated factories would never be able to match. Hundreds of thousands of toys, both simple and complex and each one bearing a touch of the workshop's magic were being assembled by the hairy hands of the bestial yetis even now, a mere month after Christmas had ended. The workshop was a wonder, polished red wood and wrought iron and gold hold seven floors of furious activity, magic and technology blended seamlessly into a sprawling atelier, the heart of which was the massive Globe of Belief.

The Globe itself was a work of art; cobalt seas parted gold wrought continents shimmering with millions of tiny, brilliant lights. It stood at the dead center of the workshop, visible on all levels including the high balcony where Jack Frost was perched, one leg swinging over the railing and shepherd's crook leaning against the wall within arm's reach. In his lap he held a large, leather-bound tome with an ornately stitched cover and yellow pages that smelled of herbs and ink. Every so often his eyes would flicker from the delicately penned script towards the Globe and the magically formed aurora borealis radiating from the gilded spire at its top.

It had been a fortunate coincidence that Jack had already been inside the workshop - Tome of the Guardians in hand - when North had sent the signal, though the old Cossack had yet to inform the youngest of their fold of the nature of the summons. The flurry of activity in the workshop never ceased, and as the rest of the Guardians had yet to arrive Jack had decided to finish reading the chapter he had been in the midst of when North had come bursting out of his office, cursing in Russian and activating the Northern Lights.

((Wrong, wrong, wrong! You got the wiring all mixed up! What will the boss say when he sees this, eh?))

That proved easier said than done, however. In the three years he had been a Guardian of Childhood Jack had grown used to the constant noise of the workshop. What he had yet to get used to was hearing the yetis' guttural language being translated directly into his head.

((Love? Jackie?))

Again, Jack's pale blue eyes left the tome in his lap, this time to meet the mismatched eyes of the tiny, humanoid creature perched comfortably atop his shoulder. Donned in sapphire blue feathers, the creature, much like Jack himself, radiated an aura of cold. Tiny crystals of ice decorated her already beautiful down and clung to her long, needle thin beak. A single white plume adorned the creature's forehead, complemented by thin, opalescent wings like those of a dragonfly.

((You haven't turned the page in a while.))

"Oh." Jack's eyes scanned the page. Ten minutes had passed since he had finished reading the text, yet none of it stuck. "Sorry Baby Tooth. It's kinda hard to concentrate with all the," he paused, making a vague gesture with his free hand towards the workshop floors below, "noise."

Nuzzling his cheek, the snow-fairy dubbed Baby Tooth assured Jack, ((You'll learn to tune it out eventually, Love.))

This earned a smile from the frost spirit and he stroked his companion's silver feather with his forefinger, much to her delight. Just as he was about to return to his reading, however, the main doors to the workshop burst in, a flurry of ice and snow flying in along with a blur of grey and white fur. A pair of yetis rushed to close the doors even as the seven-foot-tall humanoid rabbit - Pooka, Jack corrected himself - raced up the spiraling ramps towards the balcony where Jack made his perch, and the large fireplace that made up the larges part of the far wall.

"Hey Cottontail!" Jack called out, a playful smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, "Nice weather, huh?"

The Pooka, one E. Aster Bunnymund, sent Jack a withering glare as he came to a stop before the fireplace. Standing on one great paw, he held the other to the warm flames, massaging it gently but frantically in an effort to drive away the biting numbness. "Oh stuff it, Frostbite."

The twittering of wings announced a second arrival. Baby Tooth perked up as her mother, the fairy queen Toothiana, arrived with three mini-fairies in tow. The mini-fairies immediately rushed to Jack's side, chirping in greeting, fawning over his teeth, and exchanging hugs with their frost-imbued sister. Their feathers, emerald and gold where Baby Tooth's were sapphire and silver, sparkled under the brilliant glow of the Globe of Belief making them appear as though they had been draped in gemstones.

"Oh Jack! You're early!" Toothiana cried as she descended through the roof. She was at Jack's side in an instant, throwing her arms around his slender shoulders in a warm embrace, mindful though of the mini-fairies. Toothiana, as opposed to the fairy armies she commanded, stood no smaller than a human woman, though her body was draped in the same jewelescent feathers as her girls. Her eyes sparkled like a pair of amethysts and her head was crowned in blue and gold and green feathers.

"Eh, I was already hanging around," Jack replied with a halfhearted shrug. "Any idea what's going on?"

Toothiana replied with a mere shrug while behind her Bunny began to rant under his breath. Jack could only make out a few words, those few being 'blowhard,' 'freezing,' and 'belly,' along with several words a Guardian of Childhood had no business repeating.

"Whoa Bunny! You don't hang around kids with that mouth, do ya?"

"Rack off."

"Make me."

"Boys, enough!" Toothiana hovered between the two of them, never mind the fact that neither of the pair had moved from their spots on opposite ends of the balcony. Bunnymund rolled his verdant eyes and settled down before the fire, back turned quite deliberately to the youngest Guardian. Jack, similarly, turned his eyes away from the Pooka, returning his attention to the tome in his lap. He was unable, however, to stop his lips from curling into a wicked smirk as his eyes swept across the page.

"Hey, Bunny."

Bunnymund's ear twitched, but he otherwise gave no indication that he'd heard Jack.

"Did you really look like this way back when?"

Suddenly the Easter Bunny was alert, leaping to his large feet with his ears rigid and spinning to face Jack. His eyes widened in horror as he took in the sight of Jack holding the Tome of the Guardians open to a very detailed sketch of Bunnymund draped in a thick, ornate lab coat with spider-like optical lenses strapped to his head.

"Oi!" With an indignant cry the Easter Bunny launched himself at Jack, though the snow sprite had been expecting such a reaction. With a playful laugh Jack snatched his staff from its resting place before propelling himself over the edge of the balcony, tome tucked safely under his arm. The Wind caught him before gravity could and carried him just out of Bunnymund's reach. Jack laughed again Bunnymund slammed his stomach against the rail in his frantic attempt to capture Jack and retrieve the tome. "Can ya go five minutes without being a bloody nuisance ya gumby?"

"I'm the Guardian of Fun. You do know what fun is, don'tcha Bun Bun?"

"Enough, you two!" Toothiana's wings beat furiously as she hovered between the pair of bickering Guardians, silencing both Jack's laughter and Bunny's grumbling. Fixing the former with a pointed glare Toothiana held out one delicate hand. "Now Jack, if you aren't going to settle down and read..."

With a sigh Jack handed her the tome, much to Bunnymund's visible relief.

"And Bunny!" His ears snapped up as he went stiff once again. "Cursing in front of a child? Shame on you," Toothiana scolded before flying off to return the tome to North's library. She remained unaware as Jack smirked at Bunnymund behind her back, mouthing the words 'shame on you' in parallel.

The Easter Bunny seethed in silence, turning his back once again to Jack Frost and the snickering fairy perched atop his shoulder.

The Sandman was the last of their fold to arrive. Like Toothiana he had traveled to the workshop via air, descending into North's realm in a massive hot air balloon crafted of golden dream-sand. The construct dissipated as the Guardian of Dreams touched down on the balcony alongside Bunnymund, Toothiana and Jack, each of whom welcomed him eagerly. The humanoid star answered each of them with a beaming smile and shifting shapes above his head written in his sand; a box topped with an elaborate ribbon, a long, smooth rod, and a question mark.

((North-pole-why?))

Jack struggled to keep his face neutral, though with everyone's attention on the fallen star not a one would have noticed his discomfort anyway. The voice resounding in his head sounded far less human than the bestial noises the yetis made, and in truth did not so much resemble words at all, but rather wordless thoughts filled with impressions of meaning. The sign representing North had carried with it the echo of a jolly laugh, the memory of wide, bright eyes sparkling with Wonder, and the faint scent of chocolate and pine needles that always wafted from his scarlet robe. The sensation was far from unpleasant and in fact brought a sense of comfort and warmth to Jack's otherwise cold body, but the Sandman's wordless voice was so alien that hearing it sent a rush of dizziness straight to the spirit's head and he was forced to lean most of his weight on the gnarled shepherd's crook in his hand.

The jingling of bells accompanied by the heavy fall of large boots interrupted whatever response Tooth or Bunny had prepared for the Sandman and announced the arrival of their host and a booming voice wrapped in a thick Russian accent boomed out, "Ah, good. You are all here."

The leader of the Guardians, Nicholas St. North, only resembled his alias in passing, his title of 'Father Christmas' suiting him far better than 'Santa Claus'. A former Cossack bandit, North was both tall and wide, able to meet the willowy Pooka at eye level whenever their altogether too common arguments about Christmas and Easter broke out. His snow-white beard hung down to his large belly and his electric blue eyes peered out at his comrades from beneath bushy salt-and-pepper eyebrows. North appeared to have already dressed for travel. Even under the red, fur-lined robe he wore Jack could see the hilts of two sabers tied to the sash around his waist.

The silly, clumsy, bell-wearing elves parted as North approached the rest of the Guardians, pointy hats and lolling tongues flopping in time with their bouncing steps. As he grew closer Bunnymund rose to his full height, ears slowly rising while Toothiana's wings went still and she lowered herself to her feet.

"North, what's wrong?" the fairy queen asked as she noted the shadow on her old friend's features. "Has something happened?"

Sandy created a question mark above his head and Jack was bombarded with: ((Concern-worry-desire to know-desire to help.))

Meeting Toothiana's eyes with a solemn stare North replied, "It is my mentor. He has seen signs of Pitch."

"Black sand and shadows?" Bunny said, attempting and failing to make light of the situation. "He normally takes centuries to recover. It hasn't even been a decade."

"I am aware, but I also trust my mentor's judgement. If Ombric says Pitch is making a move then I believe he is making a move."

Not one of the elder Guardians doubted Ombric. At the same time, none of them wanted to accept that Pitch had recovered so quickly either.

Fixing her normally peaceful features into the regal countenance of the Queen of Fairies, Toothiana asked, "What exactly did he see North?"

"Traces of black sand in his machines, shadows falling where they should not. Fearlings may be at work."

"Any clues to what Pitch's up to?" Bunny asked.

"Not so far but-"

As the elder Guardians became more absorbed in their conversation Jack took a few silent steps back. He let the Wind lift him silently to the railing where he knelt, watching passively and toying with the idea of sending a gust of cold air to douse the fire. Baby Tooth shifted on her perch, plucking at the crystals of frost that clung to Jack's sky-blue hoodie with fingers the width of a sewing needle.

Love, she whispered into his mind, followed by us-together-you-me-we-Love. Jack smiled, comforted as always by her presence and her unequivocal love for him. Unlike the Sandman's alien words, hearing Baby Tooth's real voice echo in his mind felt natural. It was no different to him from hearing his own thoughts; her feelings were his and vice versa.

((Jack-friend-lonely-come?))

Speaking of the Sandman...

The bombardment of star-speak nearly caught Jack off guard and he looked up just in time to see the last of the Sandman's signs fade. Even so the fallen star was beaming at him, gesturing for him to join the group even as the other three continued to literally talk over his head.

A small smile gracing his lips, Jack stood and hopped down from the railing. The movement caught the rest of the Guardians' attention and the conversation came to a slow, clumsy halt. Baby Tooth took to the air as she followed Jack as he stopped beside her mother-self who placed a consoling hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Sorry Jack," she offered. "We didn't mean to exclude you we just-"

"Forgot I was here?"

There was no bitterness in his voice, but Toothiana flinched anyway. Out of the corner of his eye Jack was aware of Bunnymund's ears flattening against his skull even as the stubborn Pooka carefully monitored the rest of his stance to keep it neutral. No one tried to insult him by denying what he fully knew to be true, but it was Jack who was regretting his words. It was hardly their fault, after all, that they had fallen into what had been routine for them for six hundred years.

"I was just kidding, it's no big deal," the snow spirit laughed, waving his hand as though to scatter his biting words like smoke. "So what's the plan? We charge in and send 'em running?"

"Nyet, first, we go to Big Root-" Nobody missed how Jack's face lit up. "-Then we investigate." North turned on his heel and began to march towards the giant, acorn-shaped elevator that connected the levels of the workshop. "Everyone, to the sleigh!"

Jack bounced on his heel, childish and eager. "Can I drive?"

Toothiana and Bunnymund shouted in unison. "NO!"

North occasionally reminded Jack of James Bond, only with better toys. The sleigh itself was incredible, a mesh between a snowmobile and an F-14 jet fighter, propelled by a combination of shag-furred, wild reindeer and a powerful rocket engine. Even more amazing, in Jack's opinion, were the colorful snow globes North kept in his coat. A single shake could create an extremely detailed model of whatever destination the user whispered to the glass out of thousands of swirling flakes of colored snow. This was what North did once his sleigh was airborne, and Jack only just caught a fleeting glimpse of a massive, gnarled tree inside the orb before North pitched it into the air ahead of them. The snow globe exploded into a swirl of color and light and the reindeer drove the sleigh through without so much as a pause.

The scene before them - the snowy peaks jutting up from the snow and ice against the backdrop of sparkling stars and radiant lights - melted away, replaced by brilliant blue skies and rich greenery. Jack slid out of his seat and made himself comfortable on the wing, much to Bunnymund's dismay. Jack ignored the Pooka's panicked order for him to climb back inside the vehicle in favor of taking in the sights below.

Miles of forest stood between the bracken barrier and the Guardians' destination. Amidst the trees Jack caught a fleeting glimpse of a bear, larger than any he had seen in his three hundred years of wanderings. As Big Root grew closer Jack also caught the eye of a woman standing in the dead center of a garden of ugly statues. The woman's green eyes glittered up at him, even over the distance and when Jack waved at her she waved back, spilling gold coins from her palms as she did.

"Uh, hey North," Jack shouted over the Wind, "Why does that woman have statues of your elves?"

North threw only a passing glance at the woman. "Ah, is Spirit of Forest. Statues are not statues. Statues are intruders."

"Whoa."

The massive, resplendent oak tree dubbed Big Root by the Guardians stood at the heart of the forest. Its trunk rose miles into the air and was so thick around that Jack guessed one hundred people standing hand in hand would not be able to wrap themselves all the way around. The lush foliage nearly blocked out the sun, yet light still poured from glittering golden windows that appeared to have grown straight out of the wood of the trunk.

Bunnymund was first out of North's sleigh when they touched down in front of Big Root. Jack laughed at the Pooka as he very nearly hugged the ground before remembering himself and straightening his stance, sending Jack a withering glare for good measure. As the last of them climbed out of the sleigh the massive, curling roots of Big Root unfurled themselves from the base of the trunk, revealing a wide archway out of which stepped an old man draped in silver robes that were decorated with cogs and clockwork. He had a beard as long as his body, thick, bushy eyebrows that looked like clouds that had been plucked from the sky and glued to his forehead and leaned his weight on a smooth, moon-colored staff with an old, victorian clock for its head..

"Nicholas!" the old man cried out, arms sweeping out in a grand motion as he welcomed his guests.

"Ah, Ombric! My old friend!"

North swept up the frail old man in a hug and Jack winced as he swore he heard something snap in the old man's body. But North settled the man back down and he appeared to be no worse for the wear.

((It has been far too long my apprentice. Tell me, how have you fared? And your workshop? I have heard wonderful things about it,)) the old man gibbered on Old Atlantian.

A merry laugh rumbled from North's belly which he patted on for emphasis. ((Am doing well with yetis' cooking. You should come to workshop sometime, have some cocoa.))

It was strange to hear a language so completely foreign that Jack was not even sure if he could replicate all of its sounds spoken with North's very obvious accent. North spoke Atlantian a just bit more clumsily than he did English.

((Ah, and who is this?))

Jack stood just a bit straighter as the old man's eyes fell on him. North instantly beamed at Jack, placing a burly hand on Jack's shoulder and giving him a light nudge in the old man's direction.

"This is our newest Guardian," North said with the tone of a father showing off his favorite son. "Jack, this is-"

"Ombric Shalazar," Jack cut North off, breath slightly short from excitement. He held out his free hand to North's mentor. "I read about you in the Tome of Guardians."

((Ah! You speak Atlantian very well!)) Ombric exclaimed as he shook Jack's hand. ((Perhaps you should work with my apprentice on that, eh? Between you and I, he sounds a bit out of practice.))

Jack laughed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as North parroted his mentor's words under his breath. "Actually, ah, no. I don't." A small weight shifted in Jack's hood and a moment later Baby Tooth was settling on his shoulder. Ombric's eyes went wide in amazement.

"Jack Named her," Toothiana explained as Ombric took in the sight of the silver-blue fairy with swirls of frost not unlike the ones clinging to Jack's clothing and staff. The wizard stroked his beard with twig-like fingers in a manner that reminded Jack very much of Merlin from the animated Sword and the Stone.

((Ah, I see. The fairy received Winter Magic, and you in turn received the Gift of Tongues,)) he mused, more to himself than anyone else. ((This is quite fascinating. I honestly cannot remember the last time I have seen a bond like this formed. You must be a very special young man.))

Biting the urge to point out that he was well over three-hundred years old, Jack nodded and said, "Thank you."

((Now come! All of you!)) Ombric made a grand sweeping motion with his hands and gestured for the Guardians to enter the archway in the base of Big Root. ((Please, come in and make yourselves comfortable. There is much to discuss, not all of it good.))

As large as the trunk looked from the outside, it seemed infinitely larger on the inside. A small part of Jack had expected the inside of Big Root to resemble the tree house from the Keebler Elves cookie commercials. Indeed, much of the furniture appeared to have been grown rather than made, the wood jutting from the floor and walls to create natural shelves, tables and chairs. But there was a mechanical quality to it too, brass work cogs and gears serving as decorations and clocks of every size, shape and style covering the walls and shelves. The ticking of thousands of clocks merged with the hum of insects - all of which rang in Jack's head as a million whispering voices scrambling to be heard over one another. The result was a constant drone that had little to no meaning to the Winter spirit aside from an overall sense of panic.

Ombric led the Guardians up, up, and up a winding staircase, high above where the clouds hung in the sky. The three airborne Guardians faced little difficulty with the steep climb, nor did the surprisingly hardy Father of Time. Bunnymund grumbled a bit, but the aeons-old rabbit had the stamina and musculature to withstand the brutal climb.

"Bah!" North huffed as the group ascended to the seventy-third level. "Too many stairs! Is time you invested in elevator!" The Guardian of Wonder's face had gone red and his breath came out in heavy pants.

((Son, if you would just lay off of the Christmas cookies you would not be having this problem.))

"There is no problem with Christmas cookies!" North protested. "I am fit as an ox! Am just needing there to be fewer stairs."

((This is what you get for spoiling yourself with those gadgets you fancy.)) Ombric paused as they reached the end of the staircase, beneath a gilded star-sand window. With a wave of his hand Ombric unlatched the window and climbed through, leading the Guardians after him.

Amidst the highest branches of Big Root stood a massive observatory, bronze plates worked almost organically around the branches that had grown naturally into the domed roof. The cavernous space was lit by eight torches posted evenly along the wall and alight with cold, blue flame. Four massive clockwork telescopes made of polished brass and moonstone were arranged around the room so that each pointed in a different Cardinal direction through the weaves of branches which grew around the lengths of the scopes. The centerpiece of the room was a machine the likes of which Jack had never seen, resembling somewhat an enormous teapot in passing only. Levers and gears jutted out from the mass of curling metal almost at random. Nine mirrors were suspended on a dial which freely rotated around a large glass container shaped like a flower bud.

"Wow," Jack breathed, immediately flying ahead of the group to get a closer look at the bizarre contraption. Upon closer inspection he found that the mirrors were not mirrors at all, or at least they did not show what a mirror was meant to show. In the glossy surface of one he saw a tiny girl with a mane of wild red hair and holding a toy bow follow a trail of wisps into the shadows of a forest. Another showed a woman wearing a lavender gown with impossibly long golden hair running barefoot through a grassy field while a dour-looking man watched. In another he saw two young sisters playing in a grand ballroom... filled with snow. Baby Tooth seemed to especially like the last one, floating from Jack's shoulder to get a better look as the elder sister transformed the floor into a skating rink.

((Ah, you like that do you?)) the Atlantian sorcerer asked as he approached Jack. ((This is my pride and joy. With this I am able to watch unfold as they have in ages past, or as they will in ages yet to come.))

"So it's a time machine?" Jack asked without removing his eyes from the image.

((Yes, and also I fear the Pitch's target in my home. It is here that I have seen the unusual shadows, and sometimes I will return to find the settings have been changed overnight, without my overseeing them.)) A solemn silence fell over the room and Baby Tooth retreated back into Jack's hood, remembering sourly her last encounter with the King of Nightmares. In the mirror Jack watched as the sisters' game took a similar dark turn, the elder accidentally striking the younger with a blast of ice in a moment of panic.

"How did Pitch even get in?" Toothiana asked. "Why didn't the star sand-glass keep him out?"

((I do not know that it has not,)) Ombric admitted. ((All I have seen thus far are shadows, and only at night. Still, I did not wish to take chances.))

Over on the other side of the room from where Jack and Ombric stood Bunnymund gave an approving nod. "Good call mate." The Pooka's eyes were fixed on something on the floor, and as North approached he saw Bunny scraping something off of the wood with his nails. Black sand. "When was the last time you saw Pitch?"

((The Nightmare King himself? Six hundred years ago. His minions? I believe this morning, just before the sun rose.)) Ombric stroked his beard. ((That is, assuming it was a Fearling and not a silly moth playing near the torches.))

"And what exactly did you see?"

((At first, nothing. I came up here because of a moth complaining that there was something wrong with the lights. I thought she just meant they were going low, but when I got up here they were burning as strongly as ever, flickering and dancing as flames are wont to do. The shadows, however, did not move an inch. It was as though they were frozen in time.))

Signs flashed above the Sandman's head; the silhouette of the boogeyman, two streams of sand that shot out of his ears like smoke, a boxing-glove striking the silhouette, and two hands with their pinky fingers intertwined. ((Pitch-anger-defeat-promise.))

Jack and Baby Tooth exchanged looks before turning their eyes to the floor and their own shadows. Shifting so that he was standing in front of the torch sconce, Jack observed the way his shadow flickered and spun in time with the cold flame. Vaguely, he remembered being trapped inside Pitch Black's realm with the Nightmare King himself slinking through the shadows, taunting him. Jack was proud of himself for suppressing the shudder that threatened to work its way up his spine.

"And you have seen other such things?" North asked, bushy brows furrowed.

((Many times over the past few days,)) Ombric replied gravely. ((I have tried everything I could to banish them, but not even the brightest light seems to have any effect.))

"Then we'll take a crack at it," Jack said, flashing the old wizard a playful grin. "C'mon, how hard could it be?"

This earned a chuckle from Ombric. ((Very, but I like your enthusiasm.)) Again, Ombric made a grand sweeping gesture with his arms. He seemed rather fond of grand sweeping gestures, Jack thought. ((Come, let us all rest. Out enemy is most active at night and so we must also be thus!))

Once upon a time Big Root had been a center of learning open to any and all who had an honest desire to study under Ombric Shalazar's guidance. Time had seen that period of Big Root's history ended. Had it just been a matter of belief dying out, Ombric's teachings might have nonetheless survived, if not flourished, but the witch trials had seen Big Root's doors barred forever to the mortal world, Father Time taking a more indirect approach in the guiding and teaching of children.

As such, the sleeping quarters that had once been occupied by Ombric's wards now stood empty, ready for the Guardians to lay their heads. The wooden frames of the bunk beds - as the rest of the furniture inside of Big Root - appeared to have been grown into their current shapes rather than made. The mattresses were stuffed with giant snow-goose feathers and the sheets made from spun glowworm-silk. The eldest four Guardians laid down in the offered beds appreciatively, Toothiana directing her three accompanying fairies to take over operations in her stead and the ever-present streams of dream-sand rising from Sandy's sleeping form. Sleep took them almost immediately despite the fact that each of them - save for Sandy - was used to getting by on very little sleep. Only Jack hung back from the offered respite.

((You will be needing your rest,)) Ombric insisted, urging him forward.

"I know, but..." Jack trailed off, not quite sure how to explain it without coming across as incredibly pathetic.

((Are these rooms not to your liking?)) the old wizard offered. ((I have other rooms with equally comfortable beds, if you are uncomfortable with the company.))

"It's not that," Jack insisted while Baby Tooth shot him a pitying look from his shoulder. From anyone else, he would have been offended. "I just, uh... I'm not really used to sleeping in beds."

Jack braced himself for the 'oh, poor Jack' routine. He had received it from the other Guardians, Toothiana especially. Only Sandy seemed understanding, and while Jack was comfortable enough dozing off in the fallen star's cloud of dream-sand from time to time the other three had yet to give up their plans of forcing him to sleep in a bed like a civilized human being.

((Oh, well in that case...)) Ombric clapped his hands. Before Jack could ask the obvious question he heard a sound like the stretching of taffy and a bulging shape sprouted from the otherwise smooth wall above them. The shape stretched, lengthened, grew more spindly appendages, and then began to sprout pale green wisps of leaves.

Jack stared at the newly grown tree branch, mouth agape, while Ombric turned on his heel and slipped out the door. ((Sleep well, Jack.))

Ombric woke the Guardians just after sunset. Where the never ending tick-tock-tick-tock had been irritating by daylight - Jack had been prematurely woken by it three times already - it was downright creepy in the dark of night. The clamoring of the insects did little to lessen the effect; the overall atmosphere was eerie and Jack found himself wondering if this was really the same place he had read about in the Tome of the Guardians.

Only the blue-green glow of the magically lit torches kept the darkness at bay, though watching the shadows dancing in the unnatural light was far from reassuring. Still, Jack supposed, better that the shadows were moving rather than lying in wait ready to pounce as Ombric had described. Baby Tooth whispered similar sentiments into his ear.

The observatory looked much the same as it had when they had seen it in the daylight, save that inky black shadows clung to the walls. Jack was not sure whether or not to be relieved to find the shadows were behaving as shadows normally did, flicking and jumping in sync with the dancing torchlight.

((It may be hours yet before the Fearlings or strange shadows appear,)) Ombric pointed out. ((It was just before sunrise the last I saw them myself.))

"We're used to pulling all-nighters, mate," Bunnymund pointed out. To emphasize his point he gestured to Sandy who even then was directing his streams of dream-sand which passed through the star-sand windows as though they were no more than air.

Even so, the hours passed slowly. Tsar Lunar made his ascent into the night sky, though he went unseen by the Guardians. At some point Toothiana had begun muttering to herself, rattling off a never ending list of teeth to be retrieved and gifts to be left, never mind the fact that her faeries were overseeing themselves for the time being. Bunnymund took a single unpainted egg from one of the leather pouches strapped to his furry chest, a paintbrush and some small vials of paint from another, and began to painstakingly decorate the blank shell. Still, his nose never ceased twitching and his ears swiveled this way and that, ever alert even with his intense focus.

Jack was finding it far more difficult to keep himself occupied. He paced the room, frosted the windows, poked and prodded Bunnymund until the Pooka snapped at him, played a rousing game of 'eye spy' with Baby Tooth (made redundant by their shared thoughts) and eventually settled on watching the scenes in the dials of the time machine.

Ombric was in and out of the observatory all night. He walked the entirety of his home, he said, just in case the Fearlings took note of the Guardians' presence and made their rest elsewhere in Big Root. Every so often the old wizard returned to check on the observatory, not appearing to be in the slightest bit reassured when nothing changed. Once when he checked up on them he brought with him a tray holding several mugs of tea and cocoa - tea for the adult Guardians and, he insisted, North, and cocoa for Jack and for Baby Tooth to whom he served the drink in the cap of an acorn.

"Thank you," Jack said as he and his fairy accepted their drinks. The crackling sound of frost climbing over the mug filled the air the moment Jacks' fingers touched the ceramic, and slowly the curling tail of steam that rose from the brown liquid faded from view. Ombric watched intently as Jack took his first sip of the now cool liquid, eyes slightly wide. Jack did not have to try hard to pretend he did not notice; the moment the drink hit his tongue he nearly forgot that the elder was there at all.

The chocolate was rich and smooth, and tasted like wintergreen and snow-filled air. The flavor brought to mind images of snowball fights and frosted windows and icicles sparkling in pale morning sunlight. Jack's nostrils stung with the same crisp coldness that Winter air brought, a sensation he found far from unpleasant. "This is amazing!" he cried, unable to put to words quite how amazing it was. Ombric chuckled, obviously pleased by the inarticulate praise.

((From the looks of things, it seems your tiny companion quite agrees.)) Indeed, Baby Tooth had drained her cup completely and was holding the ice-rimmed acorn cap out to Ombric as though to say 'seconds please.' Jack plucked the acorn cap from her fingers and refilled it from his own drink as Ombric went on. ((I acquired the recipe from my dear friend Bunnymund, though I admit to experimenting with it a bit.))

Without looking up from his egg Bunnymund huffed. Something along the lines of 'humans, always trying to improve what nature has already perfected,' if Jack heard correctly.

((I had assumed that it would be better hot, but you seem to like it just fine as it is, eh?))

"I've never had anything more delicious," Jack admitted. Then, looking over his shoulder to the Guardian of Wonder, he added, "No offense North."

North ignored him in favor of grumbling over his tea.

Jack turned back to the image in the time machine's dial, continuing to sip his cocoa as he did. The image this time showed a boy, short and thin with a light dusting of freckles across his face and a shaggy mess of brown hair. The boy in the image was falling through the air, wind rippling his hair and green woolen tunic as he plummeted towards the ocean miles below, though the look on his face was one of pure elation. Mere moments before the boy would have hit the rocky waves a streak of black cut through the air and the boy was rising again, now seated in a streamlined saddle strapped to the back of a creature both feline and reptilian in appearance.

((It is rather fascinating, is it not? How much of history the world has forgotten?)) Ombric murmured. ((Nobody today knows of the dragon-riders among the viking tribes, and yet here we see them, plain as day.))

The boy in the mirror joined a group of other teens, each of whom also rode a dragon, though not a one rode the same species unless you counted the lanky, blond-haired brother and sister who each rode atop a head of the same two-headed reptile. "I thought vikings didn't actually wear horned helmets?" Jack's statement came across as more of a question. Of the teens shown in the image, only two did not wear helmets, and those that did had very prominent horns worked into the metal.

((The vast majority did not, it is true,)) Ombric explained. ((But in a tribe of dragon riders? Of course they would include as much draconic imagery in their dress and their crafts as possible.))

"Do you watch them a lot?" Jack asked without taking his eyes off of the screen. A second boy, much burlier than the first with darker hair, attempted to imitate the first boy's stunt with little success; Jack forced himself to stifle a laugh as the rust-colored, serpentine dragon with the dark, crooked horns and massive wings continued to fly, not noticing its riders absence.

((Oh yes. As much as I adore books, they can only teach me so much, and most of the information contained within is not first hand. It is much better to watch history unfold myself, and, I must admit, a great deal more entertaining.))

Jack nodded in agreement and took another sip of his cocoa.

Another hour passed. By the time Jack had finished his drink he had grown bored even of watching the images in the time machine's mirrors. In fact, he found himself not caring to do much of anything at all, except to sit cross-legged on the floor and listen to the insects' prattle.

A similar lethargy seemed to fall over the other Guardians. From Sandy it was almost expected, and not altogether a problem as the little dream weaver could work even in his sleep. From the others, it was a bit funny. Already North was snoring loudly enough that he almost entirely blocked out the never ending drivel of the insects. Toothiana was leaning against him, using his large belly as a pillow. Only Bunnymund remained semi-conscious, though his half-painted egg lay abandoned on the floor and his head was constantly bobbing, jolting upright every few minutes as he struggled to stay awake.

'I should wake them up,' Jack thought, yet he made no move to do so. He had told himself several times already that he would, yet he simply found himself unable to muster up the motivation to do much of anything.

((I want some more,)) Baby Tooth whined for the umpteenth time.

"Mm-hmm," Jack replied, not really listening.

((It was really tasty.))

"Yeah."

((I bet the bugs would like some too.))

"Probably."

((Where do you think they are?))

Jack blinked. He sat up a little straighter, clutching his staff tighter in his grip as he did. Glancing around the room, he once again took in the sight of the sleeping and half-sleeping Guardians. This time, the sight set off warning bells.

"Where are the insects?" he murmured aloud. From the Tome of the Guardians he had expected the lunar moths and glowworms and spiders to be prominent within Big Root. Only now did it seem strange to him that while he had heard their voices whispering and hissing at him from the walls, he had not seen a one. "Where is Ombric?"

Baby Tooth blinked at him sluggishly, as though he were speaking gibberish. This was wrong; her mind and his both felt sluggish, and linked as they were the effect was doubly crippling. Baby Tooth's thoughts swam with yum-good-warm-sleep-do-obey-sleep-obey-obey...

The warning bells ringing in Jack's head suddenly turned into a siren. Clumsily he reached for Baby Tooth who hardly reacted when he plucked her up from her seat on the floor next to him, though Jack was sure he was holding her a bit too tightly, and whose head lolled as he tried to place her in his hood as gently as possible with his fingers feeling like lead.

"Bunny? Hey, Bunny?"

The Pooka did not react. Jack stood, a bit too quickly if the way the room seemed to spin was any indication, and made his way unsteadily towards the only other conscious Guardian.

"Hey, Cottontail, get up. I think something's wrong..." Jack trailed off as he neared the Guardian of Hope. Bunnymund's eyes were open, but they seemed wrong. Distant. His head was bowed, no longer bobbing and his ears and nose were still. Tentatively, Jack reached out to shake his friend's shoulder. The moment he had touched the Pooka, however, Bunnymund slumped over, hitting the ground with a loud thump and staying there, dead asleep.

"Whaaat's goin' on?" Jack mumbled. His tongue felt like it had been carved of wood and his lips like they were made of rubber. "Bayee Toof?"

He received no response from the frost fairy nestled in his hood.

The drone of the invisible insects increased in volume, thousands of tiny voices screeching at him in hundreds of languages - moth, worm, beetle, ant, spider, gnat... Jack held his head, trying to stop the room from spinning.

((BadbadverybadwhispermumbleshoutrunhidefleeescapewhisperwhisperhissBlackherehissmumblewhispergogogo!))

"Jack?"

A single voice cut through the din, old and familiar. Jack blinked a bit stupidly, trying to focus and realizing only when he felt a spindly hand on his shoulder that he was still staring at the unconscious form of Bunnymund.

"Jack, is everything well?"

"Nnnnnnhhnn..." Jack's reply trailed off into a slurred whine. Ombric wrapped his other hand around Jack's shoulders, assisting the young immortal in turning to face him as Jack found his limbs refusing to work as they should.

"Oh, you poor boy," Ombric purred, and there was some thing wrong and familiar about his voice but whatever it was stayed just firmly out of reach. Jack allowed himself to be lead from Bunnymund's side, even as his instincts were screaming at him to react, that there was something wrong with this whole thing, that there was something familiar about the spider-like hand resting on his back...

"Here, you look absolutely exhausted," Ombric was saying, though his voice sounded hollow. "Why don't you sit down and rest a bit?"

Jack nodded in spite of the wrongness because sitting seemed like a very good thing and standing made his head hurt...

((RunbadgetoutbadshushwhispermurmermumbleBlackPitchBlackPitchBlackPitchBlack...))

"Zzzzuggz?"

Ombric ignored Jack's incoherently slurred inquiry and continued to lead him to the... something. Jack blinked. Was that a giant teapot? When had that gotten there?

Dimly Jack was aware of something tugging at his staff. Even in his lethargic state Jack tensed, fingers digging into the frost-rimmed wood out of habit. A faint sigh tickled his ear and the tugging stopped, though Jack's grip remained fast. Suddenly Jack heard a mechanical hiss and an intense white light blossomed in the near-darkness. He snapped his eyelids shut, tears streaming from their corners as Ombric continued to lead him forwards.

((PitchBlackPitchBlackPitchBlackPitchBlackPitchBlackPitchBlack...))

Jack heard the insects' cry now, clear as day, but the words simply did not register. They were meaningless. Cautiously he peeked his eyes open, snapping them shut almost instantly as he realized that the intense white light was now surrounding him on all sides. Somewhere through the haze of his mind Jack was aware of someone talking to him, the voice confident, pleased. The voice was... reassuring him? Promising to come back for him? Jack was unsure. He offered the invisible voice a smile and a vague nod.

Then the white disappeared and he was falling.

#fanfiction #my writing #The Long Road #hijack #frostcup #jaccup

[mysticdragon3md3]

MD3 watches Carole & Tuesday season 1 part 2

I didn't write any reaction notes while watching eps13-14 because I wasn't at my laptop at the time.  And I didn't write any during ep15, because I was trying to not be so distracted.  By by ep16, I couldn't not write reactions anymore.  ^^;;;;

Also, I watched this half of the season mostly in English dub.  I thought if I did, I wouldn't get so distracted. And it did help me be able to watch while I ate.  Yet I ended up marathoning the rest of the series all day.  ^^;;;;;  

2:26 PM 12/27/2019

Carole and Tuesday ep16

"Where can we find a band that will play for free?"  *Turns corner and finds a band playing for free*  LOL  I love this show!  LOL  ^o^  No, but seriously, I love how virtually conflict-free it is.  Whatever obstacles there are, get resolved quickly or by the end of an episode or 2.  ^o^  I used to be the type who was all about the "demon hunter" subgenre and Shonen anime.  But yesterday, I had to admit that maybe I'm not that anymore.  Yesterday, I had been trying to get myself to catch up on Dr. Stone and Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba, but instead I watched more Ascendance of a Bookworm and Carole & Tuesday.  ~.~;  For a few years now, I've found myself unable to watch anything outside of the iyashikei genre: moe shows, slice of life, "feel good" series, etc.  Hell, Natsume Yuujinchou is one of my top 3 favorite anime.  And now I can't stop watching Carole & Tuesday...but I can't get myself to watch more of a good show like Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba.  x~x;  I guess this means my anxiety has gotten really bad if I have to exclusively watch soothing series with no traumatic drama.  I recently heard a movie reviewer (reviewing Uncut Gems and) describing the Drama genre as supposed to make you tense and uncomfortable, and I was like, "Nope.  Not for me.  No wonder I can't watch dramas."  But I don't want people to mistake me as saying series like Carole & Tuesday and Natsume Yuujinchou are "shallow".  I cry at every episode of Natsume Yuujinchou.  Carole & Tuesday constantly move me inside.  It's just not the manufactued drama and glorification of meanspiritedness that seems to be on display in the Drama genre (for dramam series/movies outside of iyashikei category).  

"She was born poor.  Her parents both died when she was young."  What?  I saw this clip subtitled before Netflix US was able to premier it.  And the translator said that Flora's parents died because they couldn't afford their hospital bills.  And that really struck me.  It's a real thing going on in the US.  So I'm sad that Netflix didn't have the same translation in their subtitles.  

Oh, wow.  The dub translated it as "She lost both her parents at a young age, becuase they couldn't afford a hospital."

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Carole & Tuesday ep17

Ertegun is so stupid.  LOL  He doesn't even realize that the one thing he has left is his name, and he could use that to make money.  

I was so sure Aaron was the black_knight.  Well, at least we can ID the stalker by his fingernails.  

LOL  They both thought they could get away with playing the same song.  LOL  

You tell her, Spencer.

Woah.  It just turned into Perfect Blue.  

6:51 PM 12/27/2019

Continuing the ep.

Well, you sure ARE going to die soon. I don't care if Ertegun has been mostly an antagonist during the first half of this series.  That Pinocchio needs to get pummeled.  lol  But don't kick him into the air!  Take him to jail!

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6:57 PM 12/27/2019

Carole & Tuesday ep18

They're not going to try to interrogate Aaron?  Sounds like he has an idea who the stalker is.

They didn't ALREADY tell the police?!????

Hofner!  I like when Gus reconnects with his old friends.  Even if it is business. It's like a glimpse of these guys being rag-tag musicians back in the day, contrasted against them now, is kind of amusing.  

Why is she interviewing him?  I thought Tuesday wanted to ask him what he's been covering about her mom.

I should look up Kyle's voice actor.  He sounds familiar.  

Now that I think about it, Angela has been really preoccupied by this stalker stubplot.  Usually she's more of an antagonist towards Carole and Tuesday.  

Well, the phone is bugged.  ...Or is it the car?

"Anti-Mars" terrorists?  

Please don't tell me Jerry caused the exploison.

Well, I didn't expect Tao to get pulled into this political subplot.  

I kind of wish I hadn't seen this clip of "Threads" beforehand.  Then I wouldn't have been reading for when Tuesday was crushing on Kyle.  Still, even while watching it, if it wasn't for Tuesday's blushing, I probably wouldn't have gotten the hint that she was forming a crush on him, because I didn't really see why anyone would crush on him for the few interactions they've had.  I mean, Tuesday finally talked about her mom and even fears that she's afraid to burden Carole with.  So maybe she confused "friendship-like therapy sessions" with a deep connection?  

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7:33 PM 12/27/2019

Carole & Tuesday ep19

I hope Alba City's infrasstructure is built for snow and whatever run-off water it might cause.  

They don't have money for a big stage show!  LOL

I wonder if Tao and BlackKnight know each other from past programming industry.  

Bilboard status!

Aw, don't call Ertigun a traitor...

I'm surprised Carole recognized Amer.  Boys' facial bone structures can change a lot as they grow.  

Whenever Angela and Carole&Tuesday have their little stand-offs, it reminds me of a "battle anime".  lol

"If you tell us, maybe I'll stop calling you a traitor."  Oh, poor Roddy!  LOL

I actually really like this idea of Tao's programming skills, how the analytical psychology programs apply to both music and politics, all this AI, and hacking.  If they made a whole series about that, I'd be very interested.  

Dun dun DUN!

Even though Ertigun is an idiot and can be a jerk, it still is sad to see someone sad.  

I wonder if the Black Knight set up this hoodie guy---and there we go.

Oh!  So that's why that lcip I saw of Carole & Tuesday's song from this ep seemed like most of their electronics were out of comission.  I'm surprised Tao's microwave emitter didn't blow out Ertigun's electronic equipment too.  ----Wait.  So all their equipment wasn't blown out?  They chose to go low fi?  Good.  It's like what that Chinese cinema movie critic said: It's better to contrast a superstar vs trying to copy cat Bruce Lee; that's why Jackie Chan was able to stand out.  But it's really sweet that Carole & Tuesday prefaced their performance with "this is how we play at home for each other".  ;u;  Even if it's quiet, it's cool to see the crowd so perfectly captivated.  

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7:58 PM 12/27/2019

Carole & Tuesday ep20

Jeeze, this is getting serious.  As in uncomfortably plausable in real life.  Big companies being behind a political candidate, so they can manipulate laws to get away with whatever they want...  Yeek.  

"Popcorn Bomb"?  ^o^

Wait a second...  I switched to Japanese dub so I could check out his seiyuu...  Is that...Keiji Fujiwara?  No way...  Wikipedia says Subaru Kimura.  

I like that this series is discussing how rap is used as a protest tool.  I'm not that familiar with the genre, so I wasn't aware of how entrenched it is in politics until I saw some reports recently.  Apparently, there are even authoritarian governments trying to create their own rappers, in an attempt to drown out all the dissident popular rappers.  

I know "I don't have time to be sad" is framed as some kind of "admirable" resilience, but it seems kind of sad to me.  

It's funny how little characterization their band is given, other than their character design and a few short moments, but I guess this series doesn't have much time for that on top of everything else.  

Well, that's a target on Amer's back.

Angela's adopted?  

Maybe I haven't noted this yet, but it's really creative all the ways this series finds to save its budget. Like keeping Angela in essentially the same outfit as one of her previous standard costume designs, but just changing the color of her strapless top.  And they get away with it; it really does look very different, just by changing the color (and probably symolizes the darker turn her story is taking.)  It's impressive.  It's how studio Bones can afford all this rotoscoping and so much more animation that other series.  

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8:25 PM 12/27/2019

Carole & Tuesday ep21

"Nevermind the serious darma going on in Angela's B plot.  Let's get on with our A plot."  LOL

Y'know there's a lot of anime where a girls says, "Will you go somewhere with me?"  And she's framed really cute.  Then cut, and there's supposed to be some kind of scene of them hanging out that the characters say isn't a date, but the direction/framing and the male protagonist treat like a date.  Is that phrase "Wanna go somewhere with me?" like a common phrase in Japanese used to ask someone out on a date?  

HOw did Roddy make that promise without already knowing how much a natural Christmas tree costs?  lol

Wow. So many pills. This escalated quickly.

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8:43 PM 12/27/2019

Carole & Tuesday ep22

I"m so glad we have protagonists who can worry about their "rival".  

"You don't have time to be worrying about other people."  But that's why I like Carole & Tuesday!  ;o;!

Now that I think about it, isn't it weird that they're meeting and having this complicated discussions with Crystal in a hotel lobby instead of a conference room?  But hey, if it saves studio Bones money to reuse the same set designs, rather than design a whole new conference room and hall to a conference room, then it's an impressive budget cutting technique.  

They're so cute!  Jumping up and down and giggling.  ^o^

Look how flabergasted Carole looks while Tuesday sings "happy birthday" to her! ^o^ And Ziggy is so cute!  Cooing/singing along too.  ^o^

Professor Zeeman?  Who's that?

Whole scene stopped so Roddy can compliment their dresses...  Dawwwwww.... ^___^

Omg someone really studied US award ceremony monologues.  All the cheesey cringe and shout-outs to the audience and everything. O_o

OMG  The host is outsing Tuesday's relation to Valerie?!  Did peopel know that before???

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9:04 PM 12/27/2019

Carole & Tuesday ep23

Aw, Angela's #1 fan/manager is back.  

Dang.  Skip-tachi getting arrested for just walking down the street.  I know I started off watching this show because "nothing really bad happens", but as these last few episodes come up, it's sure escalating into "real world problems" territory.  o_o  I can't even look at the "MICE" on the cops' backs and this whole subplot about refugees and immigration being used as a political talking point for an election more than as anything else, without thinking of real world problems right now.  

Just a second ago, I thought it was really cool that Spencer was actually in Carole & Tuesday's apartment.  But now EVERYBODY'S there!  LOL

I like that they mentioned "scaring people into self-censorship" and not just banning freedom of speech.  

At first, this speech sounded like unrealistic slice of life fluff.  "Saving the world through a song"?  Isn't that what won the war in Macross?  That level of unrealism.  But when Tuesday said, "If we can all sing freely, none of us will be silenced," then it all made sense as a unified protest song.  Like, "I dare you to arrest the entire industry".  

"But a person who's not idealistic is nothing but a slave!" turned into "Although, if you don't defend what you believe in, then what's the use in living."  o.o

Well, I didn't expect Valerie to confront Jerry about the bombing.

Well, now we know why the first episodes introduced the Immigration Hall.

Wow.  there's a whole cyberpunk corporate espionage movie going on in the B plot.  lol

Oh..."Mother Earth"...I saw spoilers of that song before I actually watched this episode.  That was the one interpretation I didn't consider.  

I love when the cuts go to Ziggy with the sleepy eyes.

I'm really glad they brought back Angela's #1 fan/manager to be there to listen to Angela's emotional breakdown.  

I like that Tao and his AI exchanged some semblence of "human"/empathic concern in saying goodbye to each other.

Is Tao really going to disappear?

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9:34 PM 12/27/2019

Carole & Tuesday ep24

So Pr. Zeeman is a designer baby creator.  

Oh, wow.  Tao and Angela are like siblings.  

Don't people die by jumping off bridges?????? O~O!

LOL  Scream from the rooftops then "SHUT UP!"  LOL

The landlord finally spoke!  ^o^

Aw, their idol Crystal is fangirling over their other idol Flora.  And then Desmond appears to overshadow them all.  LOL

AW, they even brought back Carole's friend working security at the Immigration Hall.  ;u;

Finally watching this song in context.  ;U;

Well, if Shinichiro Watanabe wanted to make a series about the music industry and all its tropes, he did it.  It's got that "We Are the World" moment and everything.  

The lyrics of "Mother" really mean something different after realizing they're protesting for freedom of speech.  o.O

9:56 PM 12/27/2019

And now, done.  That was Carole and Tuesday.  ^___^

#MD3 watches Carole and Tuesday #reactions