#get in that pumpkin and be a jackolantern

[senselessalchemist]

preview

[gl1tchxr]

is howleen an acceptable name for a fakemon?

sneak peak of said fakemon

[drewpicturesani]

im feeling so normal about the weather rn guys

[mayakern]

can i ask, which of the designs on the list of skirts on the chopping block you've shared would you say are the least likely to ever return? like for which ones is this the absolute last chance to get them?

skirts from this chopping block list that are absolutely not returning ever:

every solid color on the list (so chanterelle, cobalt, scarlet and pumpkin)

hiss from a rose (valentine)

jackolantern (after the sale ends, whatever inventory is leftover we will pull from the store and save until next fall, but we will absolutely not be ordering any new inventory of this design ever again)

skirts that are VERY unlikely to ever return again and would only be brought back if a lot of people were very vocal about wanting their return:

mountains

brown thistle

dawn whale

desert sunset

rainbow mini

morning glories

fancy rats

hiss from a rose (dark)

hydrangea

skirts that i could see potentially returning in 3-4 years if we do a poll and y’all are vocal about wanting their return:

sunflowers

cherry tree

whales

[nanawritesit]

Fall-Themed Dates with Itzy 🎃🍁🍄

A/N: This request actually came in very recently, and I didn’t mean to ignore all the requests I have from much earlier! BUT it’s October now and I’m just in such a cozy mood 🥺 So I’m JUST SAYING if you want a request written ASAP, I would request something fall-themed 😉

Yeji: Pumpkin Patch

She was so excited. She was decked out in her autumn attire: a knitted beanie, an army green waistcoat, knee high socks, and boots 🧡

(She wanted to wear heels but you told her the pumpkin patch was muddy like a good partner :))

She led the way through the fields, examining each pumpkin to find her perfect match 🎃

They were all either too tall, too skinny, too dirty, or too lumpy! You giggled at her pickiness as she cast several aside

Finally, at the end of the patch, you struck gold! 💛 She found three beautiful pumpkins, smiling brightly and cheering as she crouched down to rip off the vines. She was adorable, trying to carry all three of them out at the same time. You chuckled and insisted on taking one.

On the way out you bought her a hot apple cider from a little stall 🍎

When you guys got home you immediately set to work carving them. She made hers into a cat face, and you made yours into the classic jackolantern. The third one was just left as it was, and all three went out in the doorstep!

You also picked out a few gourds to lay beside them!

Lia: Baking Cookies

You came home from work with a mysterious grocery bag under your arm, and Lia couldn’t resist her curiousity as she asked you about its contents.

You whipped out a box of sugar cookies with pumpkins on them and a bag of chocolate chips, telling her that you wanted to bake with her to relieve some of your mutual stress 🧡

She cheered happily and ran to get your custom aprons. Hers was red gingham and yours was black and white stripes.

The sugar cookies were easy to make, being that they just needed to be thrown in the oven. While they were baking, the two of you set to work on the chocolate chip cookie dough 🍪

You took turns adding in the ingredients, teasing each other when you added too much or too little 🥰 Soon you had two full sheets of cookies ready to go in the oven!

While they baked, you rested on the couch, playing some cozy records and telling each other about your days at work 💛

Once they were done, you poured two large glasses of chocolate milk and brought some out to her on a plate. The rest would be given to the girls and your coworkers tomorrow :)

She insisted that the two of you made the best cookies, and that you needed to “stress bake” more often 🧡

Ryujin: Cozy Movie Marathon

You were both clad in plaid pajama pants and fuzzy socks, cuddled up on the couch waiting for the movie to start.

It was late at night, you both had the weekend off from work and were determined to stay up to watch cozy movies together!

In your queue were movies like Beetlejuice, Hocus Pocus, Practical Magic, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, and The Addams Family. (I’m sorry if you’re not familiar with these, I only really know about American spooky movies, and I know Ryujin likes a few Western films 🥺)

Between you was a big bowl of a snack mix she saw on tiktok that she’d been wanting to try. It had popcorn, chocolate covered pretzels, peanut m and ms, and candy corn 😋 (if you’re from the midwest like i am, then you’d throw in some puppy chow 😉)

She was laying on top of you, head curled up on your chest with her arms around your neck… your own arms were slung around her waist holding her tightly, and you’d give her an occasional kiss on the forehead 🧡 There was a plush blanket on top of you, and it was just so warm and cozy with the heater going…

Your plans to stay up late were dashed when you both fell asleep halfway through the third movie. But it didn’t matter. You were happy just being together. Plus, you had the whole weekend to finish your list of movies 😌

Chaeryeong: Bookstore

You knew that Chae had been waiting for a date in the city. The weather was perfect, a little chilly but still warm enough to go out. So, as soon as you both had a day off, you woke her up and told her to get ready :)

She wore a cute blazer and turtleneck combo with a skirt and tights. Her tote bag was slung over her shoulder and her hair was down in loose waves. She decided to put on some red lipstick too since it was a special occasion 🥰

You took the subway into the city and immediately set off for your adventure 🧡

You came across a quaint little bookstore that you had never seen before, and decided to go inside.

It was the cutest little shop! There were fairy lights and amber leaf garlands adorning the ceiling, and it smelled like cinnamon and apples 🍎

Chae pulled you the rest of the way in, excitedly running through the aisles of books until she found some that interested her.

Once you had picked out your books, you took her up to the checkout counter and noticed they sold a few crystals and stickers. You both picked out a few and then payed :)

You then decided to buy her a warm drink at the coffee shop across the street. You both decided to be basic and get pumpkin spice lattes, laughing at yourselves and taking pictures with them for social media 💛

You both enjoyed each other’s company, curled up in the little seating area in front of a fireplace. You each flipped through your new books and drank your coffee, so glad you decided to go into the city 🥰

Yuna: Sweater Shopping

All of your summer clothes were getting too chilly, so you decided to go thrift shopping with your girlfriend 🧶

She looked so pretty in her cream colored trench coat and jeans, high heeled boots clicking on the floor as she roamed the aisles.

Of course, with her amazing taste, she ended up finding most of the cute sweaters for you! You ended up with a big pile of white, maroon, pumpkin, evergreen, navy blue, mocha, and black colored sweaters in all kinds of patters 🧡

You of course bought her a few cute tops she liked :) She tried to refuse but you insisted since she had helped you so much!

Once you were home and had washed all the sweaters, you gave her a little fashion show! You strutted out into the living room modeling each piece, striking pose after pose. Yuna clapped and whistled at each one, telling you that you looked so cute and cozy 🥰

In fact, you looked so adorable that she couldn’t resist tackling you down into her lap to attack you with kisses!

A few days later, she insisted that you had to go out again so you could show off your new drip ✨ You wore her favorite one, which was the maroon one :)

[chained-to-the-mirror]

Hi Sanna! I would like your opinion on an art situation. I design and carve pretty intricate jackolanterns for a halloween display, and I do it because I want to, so it's fun. My mother's friend has asked for table numbers for her son's wedding to be carved into pumpkins, and my mom (without asking me first) said I would do it "since they're just numbers, so they're easy." Even though they'll be easier than what I normally do, that's still 15-20 pumpkins that I wouldn't otherwise be doing, and that's probably 10+ hours of my life I won't get back. Because it's for my mom (and her friend, but at this point, I would only do it to appease my mom), I'll suck it up, but I said that's a commission and she'll have to pay for it. The question for you, since you are experienced at setting prices for your time, is how do I figure out what my time is worth for this project? I asked her to supply the pumpkins, but I will design the numbers and give her font options, and of course carve them. Any thoughts/advice? Thank you so much!! -Kim

Ohhhh this is so tricky. I always struggle with pricing my time when I get commissions, especially for the knitting ones (which is kind of similar to your situation here).

So you will spend 10+ hours on this in just manual labour, plus the intellectual part of designing. Crafts are always hard to price, because let’s face it, you’ll never get a proper pay by the hour because that would put the price way too high. Most people who don’t do crafts do not understand how much time goes into it. And even if they do, some seem to think it’s something of a glorified hobby, so you don’t need to be paid that much for it. But like in your situation, it’s not a hobby if you are told what to carve and how much.

I’ve been lucky in people who have commissioned me, as it’s always been someone who values craftsmanship. I don’t know how your client is in this sense, but I think you shouldn’t undersell your art no matter what. If they don’t want to pay, then they can make do without the pumpkins. As for the price… I would find out how much some manual labour jobs pay by the hour, and then add to that because of the designing work. Or you could consider pricing it by the pumpkin - I’m sure people sell carved pumpkins, so you could check out common prices for them, and again adding to it because these are custom made?

I’m sorry, this is probably not very helpful. It’s an issue I always have trouble with. If anyone reading this has advice for Kim (and me!) you are very welcome to add to this post ❤️

I really hope you find a good solution! Hugs 💗💗

[worrysomegus]

at least where i live lots of farms grow and sell them - its a pretty common Fall Fun Day to go to say an orchard and pick apples/choose pumpkins/possibly get chestnuts or cranberries depending on the farm. and yea they do just straight up rot its a whole thing. usually you can see the deflated carcasses of jackolanterns and pumpkins well into november

wghat!! don't they smell bad???

[slasher-male-wife]

Halloween Slasher event: Dressing up the town with Vincent Sinclair

Day 16 of the Slasher Halloween event. I love decorating things I'm not gonna lie. I'm a interior design gremlin who loves decorating for holidays especially Halloween. Anyway I hope y'all enjoy some more Vincent content.

Warnings: None I can think of

Every October Bo likes to dress up the town in Halloween decorations when they take a day off of getting tourists in town. So this year now that you're here you can help Vincent dress up the town while he deals with other things.

You're allowed into the stores which is also a time for the brothers to clean up the dust and cobwebs all around. Vincent will hand you the boxes of decorations and let you handle that while he works on cleaning up. But he will join you.

He's probably made all decorations too. A lot of wax decorations and paper bats and things like that.

He's also probably made some fake Halloween poster things for the town that you can help him put up.

You'll also probably make like fake jackolanterns out of wax pumpkins for the House of Wax too.

If there's big decorations to add I think that Vincent will insist he can do it himself because he's like super strong. He is but when you pull out a 12 foot tall skeleton you're gonna need help setting it up.

[cbc-bb]

@celestialmomma asked me to tell about how block holes work so here goes. definitely not an expert but i have read several books about astronomy and it’s one of my true loves as a living being.

before i talk about black holes i want to touch briefly on stars. in addition to being bright and hot, star are also massive and mostly made up of hydrogen and helium (helium gets its name from helios, the sun) and some other heavier atoms.

inside every star are two wolves: there is the immense gravity of all that mass pushing in on itself so intense that it's continuously fusing atoms together; the other wolf is the terrific energy released from this atomic fusion like heat and light (everything is so tightly packed that the photons released from these reactions bounce around inside the star, sometimes for millions of years, before eventually escaping the surface and just maybe landing on the photosensitive part of a being that in some way feels it; not relevant but how wonderful?)

so a star exists as a kind of dance: gravity wants to squish it together and this squishing causes nuclear reactions which want to explode out. while the star has enough fuel to keep making reactions, the balance basically holds and the star is some degree of stable. depending on how big the star is, one of these forces will eventually win: the star either completely explodes (we call these nova or supernova), or if the gravity wins the star collapses in on itself.

this is like a jackolantern on november 20th, but this sunken pumpkin is collapsing in all directions in a catastrophic, runaway reaction further and further down the rabbit hole until it becomes the rabbit hole itself. they become extremely small and dense (although i thiiiiink not infinitely so?)

so much matter in such a small, dense space means the gravity around a black hole is so strong, not even light can escape it and thus you can’t really see into one because there’s nothing coming out of it to be seen. such strange things happen when you tamper with light and gravity and space like that, they kind of defy normal expectations. time gets floopy. they’re so oddly massive they warm the fabric of space, and light literally bends around them, forming a lens that lets us see behind them

they are if nothing else charismatic

[hellfiremunsonn]

Smashing Pumpkins. Eddie Munson x Reader

Smashing Pumpkins.

I DO NOT ALLOW MY WRITING TO BE REPUBLISHED ANYWHERE OTHER THAN MY OWN BLOG WITHOUT MY CONSENT

SUMMARY: basically ur a little shit and wont let him help you even though you’re definitely struggling and he keeps asking you to give him the knife but ur just in full goblin mode and wont let him and then you cut yourself a little, and hes like SEEE!!!

18 + IF YOU ARE NOT 18 OR OLDER DO NOT READ OR INTERACT WITH MY WRITING. IT IS NOT INTENDED FOR MINORS. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MEDIA YOU CONSUME.

Warnings: fem!reader, little bit of ditsy!reader, Eddie being the sweetest boyfriend, hospital, stitches, blood (reader slices her thumb pretty badly) a doctor (cause ya know, ur in the hospital) IF I MISSED ANYTHING ELSE LET ME KNOW 

 Word count: 1876

You’re sat in the middle of Eddies living room. Newspaper and a big black garbage bag surround you from where you say, legs splayed out into a V with a very large pumpkin in between them. You wanted to do something really cool and surprise Eddie with it when he came home from work, but the fucker came home early, ruining any chance of surprise. You were elbow deep into the pumpkin, pulling out the cold squishy insides and letting them splat onto newspaper next to you when he walked through the door.

He choked on the song he was humming, slightly startled at your presence, and even more so to see the giant pumpkin between your legs.

“Eddieeee!” You whined, tipping your head back. “You weren’t supposed to be home yet!”

He laughed, setting his things down on the counter before turning to you. “I mean I can leave if that’s what you want?” He said teasingly, thumb pointed to the door behind him.

“No, you can stay” You said mumbling, trying to hide your smile “But you ruined the surprise” You said with a pout, continuing with the squishy insides.

“Was the surprise the giant pumpkin in your lap?” He said shuffling towards the sink in the kitchen, washing his hands thoroughly of any left over grease and dirt from work.

“It might have been” you mumbled. “Well technically it was gunna be the jackolantern I’m turning it into, so you can’t look till it’s done okay?” You said picking up the large kitchen knife next to you and pointing it at him.

He laughed, putting his hands up in surrender, coming over to you, feet balanced on either side of the carpet not covered by pumpkin mess, as he leaned down to kiss you on the forehead.

You giggled. “You look like you’re playing a weird game of twister”

Eddie laughed, tipping his head back and almost losing his balance. “I’m gunna change, please don’t hurt yourself while I’m not in the room” He said with a pointed look.

“I’ve made it this far Munson, I think I can manage” you said smiling.

He rolled his eyes and left, a very dramatic “mhmm” leaving his lips as we went.

You continued gutting your pumpkin until you were satisfied with it’s mostly clean insides, and started on carving it. You really didn’t know what to put on it, and you didn’t really have the artistic abilities, to do something more creative, so you decided on making the pumpkin look as silly as possible. An all too happy pumpkin to sit outside of the Munsons home. You laughed to yourself as you started on its eyes, classic triangles.

When Eddie came back out, you had the pumpkin as close to you as you could get it, practically under your chin as you concentrated on guiding the knife back and forth through its thick skin.

Eddie audibly cringed when he saw the way you were handling the knife. “Baby can I do that for you?” He asked sweetly.

“M'fine Eds I got it” You said huffing, blowing a few strands of hair away from your face.

He tapped his fingers on his thighs. “What about using a smaller knife? It might be easier” he said taking a step towards you, slowly like you were a small animal that was going to get spooked at any sudden movement.

“They don’t cut as well as this one” You said with a grunt, the knife finally going through to the other side.

“You’re going to hurt yourself” arms crossed, like a parent scolding a child.

You looked up at him through your lashes. “You look like Steve” You said with a smirk, and he immediately dropped his hands to his sides, shoving them into his pockets. 

“Can I please do it for you?” He almost begged.

“If you take one more step I will stab you I swear” You said laughing, holding the knife up to point it at him again, a harmless threat because in actuality you would never hurt that soft boy intentionally. “I know how to use a Knife Edward, I’m not gunna hurt myself, I’ve carved a pumpkin with much worse”

Cringing at his full name he huffed. “Cause that’s exactly what I need to hear to reassure me of your safety” He said rolling his eyes and turning towards the kitchen.

You mocked him in a high pitch voice before stabbing the knife into the pumpkin once more “You worry too much, I’m very mu- Shit” You cut yourself; sliced the side of your thumb from where your hand was holding the pumpkin steady, the knife slipping out a little too much with your last pull, slicing the meaty side of your thumb. Dropping the knife haphazardly you wrapped your hand around your thumb with a whimper, afraid to look at the damage.

“You cut yourself didn’t you?” Eddie said coming to your side quickly.

“N-no” You stuttered, eyes big and watery, bitting down on your bottom lip.

“Can I see?” he asked softly, tentative hands on top of yours. Looking down you saw blood dripping down the palm of your hand and your heart beat quickened slightly. Letting go of your thumb slowly, your hand sticky with the warm substance, you realized you cut yourself a lot deeper than you thought. You shoved your hand back around your thumb tightly, doing a breathing exercise to try to keep yourself calm. Eyes back on Eddies, his softened at your expression, one hand coming to cup your cheek, brushing away the tears that began rolling down your flushed cheeks. “Hey you’re okay baby, were gunna wrap it up nice and tight, and just take a little trip to the emergency room okay?”

You whimpered and shook your head ‘no’ in response, words stuck in your throat, unable to get anything coherent out.

“It’ll be okay, promise” he said standing up and walking into the kitchen, returning to the floor next to you with a baby blue tea-towel in hand. “Here, c'mon, we gotta wrap your hand up babe” when you hesitated to give him your hand, afraid of losing more blood.

“I’ll be quick yeah?” He said reaching one of his hands out. You took a deep breath, leaning towards him and freeing your thumb from your hand, looking away while he swiftly wrapped the towel around it. He grabbed your other hand, bringing it back to your now wrapped hand, and squeezed your fingers, encouraging you to hold the towel tightly in place. You winced a little, a few more tears escaping when you finally opened your eyes.

“Alright up you get” Eddie said holding onto your elbows while you leaned them into his palms, steadying yourself as you stood up. Helping you into your shoes, Eddie knelt in front of you, quick fingers looping the old laces of your converse, wrapping one of his sweaters over your shoulders and leaning you to his van. Hopping up onto the ledge with you he made sure you were safe in your seat, leaning over you to buckle in your seatbelt before heading to the drivers side.

The wait wasn’t as long as you thought it might have been, and by the time a doctor finally saw you, your thumb had mostly stopped bleeding. Still from it being so deep, the doctor decided to give you two stitches, knowing it would heal faster this way.

“Alright if you would just turn your head, maybe look at your boyfriend there, I’m going to numb your thumb so I can stitch you up”

“Oh god” You mumbled, turning to Eddie, your free hand holding tightly onto the fabric of his shirt, in the centre of his chest. He brought both of his hands to yours, warm and large as they wrapped around it.

“You got this babe, it’ll be quick don’t worry” He leaned forward to kiss you on the forehead, his subtle attempt to loosen the tightness of your furrowed brows, creasing in the middle.

You felt the doctor take your hand, almost as gently as Eddie had touched it earlier, but you could tell it was more strategic verses being comforting.

“If you could just take in a nice deep breath for me” The doctor said calmly, and you did as you were told. Inhaling deeply, almost hurting your lungs with how much air you pulled in you groaned at the sharp pinch in your thumb, clenching your teeth together and leaning forward until your head rested on Eddies chest, just above your still clenched fist.

“Jesus, fuck, christ, shit, bitch, tit that hurts” You spat out the words, mostly muffled by Eddies chest. He tried not to laugh at your choice of expletives and how your feet were stomping quickly on the white tiled floor.

Within less than a minute, you were stitched back together, and wrapped up with a now comically large white gauzed thumb. You felt stupid, a little embarrassed, and a bit hungry. Unusually quiet on the drive home until Eddie turned to you briefly, before looking back at the road. “What’s up buttercup?”

Tears welled up in your eyes, and you felt silly for being emotional about it; maybe it was the adrenaline wearing off but still. “M'sorry” You said quietly.

Eddie turned to you again, a few times in a row to take in your expression while still driving safely. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for my love” he reached over with one hand, petting the hair away from your face, hand resting gently on the back of your head. You turned to face him, cheek pressing agaisnt the skin of his wrist.

“You don’t think I’m stupid?”

He snorted. “Hardly, you’ve hurt yourself in weirder ways”

“Never needed stitches though” You said with a pout, very much feeling sorry for yourself. “Oh god did I leave blood in your house? What if Wayne sees it and thinks you really did kill someone this time, oh no”

Eddie laughed hard at that one, it was loud and throaty, his hand returning to the steering wheel as he turned back down the road of the trailer park. “You know he wont be home until way later, and besides, you really didn’t bleed all that much, just a little much”

“Just a little much?” You repeated with a smile, cheeks sticky from leftover tears.

Eddie held up two fingers, his index and his thumb giving you a visual of how much blood actually came out. You rolled your eyes at him and laughed, unclipping your seatbelt and sliding out of his van, being extra cautious of your thumb, holding it against your chest for maximum protection.

Coming around to your side of the van, Eddie wrapped his arm around your shoulder, leading you back to the trailer. “Can I help you carve the damn thing now?” he asked, opening the door and letting you in first.

“Nah, I think we should smash it, I’m mad at it now” You said staring at the pumpkin through slitted eyes, hoping it could sense your hatred through your look.

“Smashing pumpkins huh? Sounds metal, I’m in” He said with a grin.

[dragon-queen21]

TRICK KR TREAT MAYLIZ!! 🎃👻 Happy Halloween 💞

You get a trick and a treat :D

How do you mend a jackolantern?

With a pumpkin patch!

[poisonheadcrabsalesman]

Halloween Prompts 2022

Here are 4 prompts of various flavors

Blue Team Halloween Costumes ft. Veta

Fireteam Majestic carves Jackolanterns

New Mombasa Civilian POV Floodgate

Frankenstein Miller

"Did you guys lose a bet?" Veta asks, not hiding the way her eyes roam appreciatively over all the exposed Spartan in front of her.

"Not exactly." Fred admits, fiddling with the shield and cape.

"We're winning a bet." Kelly chimes in, adjusting her sandals. The straps crossing over her calves barely stay tied as they strain under the pressure.

Linda nods, her helmet bobbing and her sharp eyes peering out of shadow. Her arms are full of plastic spears. "They shouldn't be so loud. Or talk where they can be overheard."

The Master Chief approaches, a small grin barely visible under the plastic Spartan helmet casting his face in shadow. He's a mountain of a man and his current attire only makes him appear like a figure of legend. Scars, new and old crisscross his body. "We can have the weapons, as long as they're not used. Captain's permission." His eyes seem to linger on Linda and she raises her chin to meet his gaze.

"You went to the Captain dressed like that?" Veta gestures to all of him. Over 7 feet of scarred muscled Spartan in a discount costume cape and leather undies would be threatening. But perhaps if anyone could deal with it unfazed, it'd be Captain Lasky.

"I thought you were going to ask the Commander?"

"I'm trying to stay on her good side."

"By staying out of her way." Fred smirks. Veta briefly remembers something about how he downplayed the story of Blue Team going AWOL and what they were later doing on Reach.

Veta watches Blue Team talk and tries not to get distracted by all the skin on display. It doesn't help that she's unfortunately at tit level, the Spartans all have biceps bigger than her head, and the skimpy outfits leave very little to the imagination. Nor does it help that the last time she and Fred had a non-life threatening moment together, he was also about this dressed and she had hugged him.

She clears her throat and four sets of eyes zero in on her. Spartan IIs are unnerving in a different way from her kids. "So, what bet?"

"There's a costume contest some of the IVs were talking about."

"We're going to win." The Master Chief smiles, and she can see a bit more under the cheap helmet now. His smile is broader this time, mischievous.

-

"Ugh, why are we doing this?" Madsen whines, throwing down the comically tiny dull-bladed utensil to wipe vegetation off his hands.

"It's tradition, ya wimp. And we're doing that whole 'Cultural Exchange' business with the Swords, so quit yer whinin' before they get here." Grant chides from over where she's helping Hoya bring in more assorted gourds and fruits, both Terran and alien.

"Yeah, okay by why are we doing this, and not the plant nerds or Crimson?" Madsen shoots back.

Roland butts in to let them know the Swords are on their way and Thorne looks frantic as he guts a pumpkin. "Crimson's been assigned to helping the kitchens. When you win the obstacle course, you get to choose your task. The Commander said something about 'rewarding teamwork'."

Madsen rolls his eyes and picks up the tiny orange scoop. "Do I even want to know what this is? Doesn't look like a pumpkin." He drags the scoop out of the plant pod in his hands and slimy green trail follows.

"It's closer to an Earth cactus than gourd. Native to the deserts of Sanghelios, it stores water in the membrane you're struggling with and-"

"Okay! Jeez, I asked what it was, not a whole lesson."

Madsen tips the pod over and spills seeds and slime down the front of himself and Hoya laughs at him as the door slides open. Commander Palmer walks in, is immediately unimpressed, and turns to introduce their guests.

Three of the younger Swords are partaking along with Spartan Kovan from Fireteam Shadow.

Her presence makes all of Majestic blink.

"I like Halloween," She says in her thick accent, "and I am good with a knife."

Madsen makes an aborted grumble and gestures to the wicked looking knife in Kovan's hand as she guts and cleans a pumpkin in record time and the Swords huddle around her table to watch. He glares at Roland for an explanation.

"Oh that? I think it's because Palmer likes her more."

"You're a little shit, you know that, right?" He goes back to sawing fruitlessly at the alien cactus.

-

The sun had been shining when the alien cruiser had cast its shadow over your home. There were hardly any clouds in the sky as plasma and beasts with claws and fangs and wicked looking knives on their guns rained down on your city. You were on the train headed home towards the outskirts when an awful roar sounded louder than the alarms to take shelter, when the earth shook and you looks to the sky to see the elevator crumble and split.

The sun was still shining as the dust settled and you coughed and crawled your way out of the wreckage. It shone still as you marched away from where ships battled overhead and buildings toppled like a child's playthings.

Gunfire and shouting meant the UNSC was near. You had little hope in them but beggars couldn't be choosers and you take shelter to wait out the battle. The sun is lower in the sky but it still shines.

It shines through more fighting, more shrieking aircraft, and more screams. It shines as you limp and hide towards Voi. You knew someone there, friends or family or coworkers. Someone would let you in. The sun dips lower and although there's hours of light left, your blood runs cold. The hair on your neck stands.

Something new is coming. It splits the sky like a bomb and a plume of smoke and debris the color of sick follows it. The sun shines as thunder cracks and the smoking thing shakes the earth as it hits where you were headed. A cloud rises from the impact and something in the animal part of your brain tells you to turn around.

A cloud passes overhead, blotting out the sun for a moment and the sudden shade chills you to the bone. Time slows like molasses and the wind picks up. Alarms whine in the distance and you blink at the haze settling over the town. A cacophony of noise, howls and screeches, organic and inhuman all at once swells like a tidal wave alongside the fog.

The sun isn't shining anymore.

-

The autosurgeon stutters and fritzes, but restarts successfully under careful watch. Power fluctuations are less frequent and the reactors are at acceptable levels.

Acceptable.

Many things had become acceptable given the circumstances.

Machinery whines and whirs and the arm of the autosurgeon finishes its neat row of stitches. Another arm comes to prod the limb and test its range of motion. MediGel works wonders as well, closing wounds and healing burns in record time.

He still has access to one of the milder sedatives too. In case.

Things were acceptable. It would work this time.

The autosurgeon lowers the paddles, stainless steel shining in the bright fluorescent light as the machine goes offline and becomes a still skeleton in the corner.

-

Something is wrong.

He wakes from under the heavy fog of drugs, not unfamiliar, but he feels heavier, slower to respond. Speech seems impossible with how his tongue feels stuck to the roof of his mouth and his throat constricts and rattles with a dry cough.

He's cold and hot and cold again, his body and the room temperature seeming to fluctuate as he comes back to himself and takes stock. It's all there, but he feels off. Frustration bubbles as everything comes painfully slowy, both movement and memory.

There were alarms. Something was happening on the ship.

It must be over if he's in Medical.

He usually wakes up in recovery though, not on the table and not still strapped down. There's some complicated tubing hooked up to his arm that doesn't seem to be saline.

Fingers twitch and closing his fist is harder than it should be, fingers stiff and unresponsive. Breathing deep is a challenge too, pain shoots up his spine as he moves wrong with a deep breath. It subsides with shallow breathing and muscles tense from keeping still.

It'll pass. It'll pass.

Acceptable. Nerve pain was never fun but what had he done to earn it this time?

Where was the corpsman to wheel him out of here?

Why was it so quiet?

He shivers on the table. The thin sheet covering him slips slightly and he's greeted with precise stitching on a gnarly looking scar running the length of his torso and disappearing into his armpit. That doesn't look good. Moving his head is hard.

It's too much to think about. It looks clean, feels numb, and the room isn't too cold anymore. Sleep comes easily when it's all you can do.

-

Statenizol gets him right back to unconsciousness. He seemed confused, but vitals were holding steady. Biometrics had changed, but that was to be expected. Shifted, but acceptable.

-

The next time he wakes it's to a steady beeping.

He gets a noise out this time, croaking a question into the darkened room, red illuminating the space around him in time with a distant alarm.

"Nothing to worry about, I have it handled. Go back to sleep, you need your rest." A voice from the ceiling says, voice off. Distant. Faded.

"Wait!" He cries out, holding onto this lifeline. "What happened?"

Silence.

He feels tired again, but it's foreign. Artificial.

He struggles to sit up and clumsily disconnects the drip, sending the pole and bag to the floor even as he stops himself from bleeding.

"What are you doing!?" The voice is back, more alive this time, near manic. "You're supposed to rest and get better! Let me fix this!"

"What's going on? Where is everyone? Why were you drugging me?" He gets louder with every question. The blanket slips more and the room turns ice cold.

Neat stitches from the autosurgeon crisscross his body, an extensive roadmap of injuries. Burns, mostly healed but still pink and covered in MediGel cover large swathes of mixmatched skin. Familiar scars greet him but are crowded out by new details.

The voice is gentle now, trying to get his attention again, but there's a birthmark he isn't familiar with below his knee. His left arm feels too long and his hands don't match.

"-what I had to. It didn't always work, but it's okay now. I'm fixing it."

"What?" It comes out to loud or quiet, he can't tell, but the voice stops.

"I did what I had to." He repeats, quiet, but then continues growing louder until the speaker on the wall explodes into static. "You were dying. The ship was dying. Everyone was dying!"

Voices overlap as static rises like a tide and he can't make out the voice's words until it shuts off. Another speaker hums to life, closer to his level, the one on the holo by the door.

"They died or they left and I didn't know what to do."

[ofpineapplesanddawns]

You were talking about it being spooky season, so. What about Ghost Peter trying to convince Aro about the merits of really cheesy halloween? Putting up some nice pumpkin decorations and very anatomically incorrect bat skeleton around Volterra?

Aro should never have allowed Peter internet access, or access to his bank accounts.

On with the fic!

--

"You do realize that... All Hallow's Eve is not really that big of a deal here, yes? I am older than the concept of the holiday itself, it is not necessary to celebrate it."

"Does this look like the face of a guy who gives a shit?"

"No, because you never do."

"Exactly!"

Aro sighed, rubbing at his eyes as he heard the ghost that had been haunting him for months now rummaging through a box that had been shipped to the villa. The servants knew not to ask questions, and the rest of the clan had not seen the package, as any mail for Aro was sent directly to his private office.

Which was for the best, because Peter had ordered some terrible, tacky decorations and such.

"It's not even that big of a deal here in Europe, isn't it more of an American thing?" Aro asked. "Or for children?"

"God, for an ancient vampire, you're a fuckin' buzzkill when it comes to horror." Peter scoffed and pulled out something that made Aro wince, but the ghost was grinning.

"What is that?"

"A bat!"

"That is... no, that is not a bat."

"Bat skeleton!"

"Bat skeletons do not look anything like that." Aro winced. Yes, his species of vampire were not associated with the flying mammals, however there was a kinship between them and other groups of vampires, so Aro still felt the need to be offended anyway.

The cheap plastic was gaudy, clearly meant to look old but it look like someone threw it in the dirt. The bones were all wrong, as were the teeth, the skull, why did it have ears!? There are no bones in the ears to make them shaped like that!

Peter looked pleased as all get out as he pulled out another object, some sort of little disk that when he activated it, it was flashing multi-colored lights. According to an excited Peter, you put it into a jackolantern.

"You're doing this to make my life some sort of living hell, aren't you?" Aro asked, taking the object from him, pocketing it after he shut it off.

"I deserve to make this place spooky." Peter replied. "I mean, it's haunted now, yeah? Therefore, it needs to match that! I even got those shitty, fake cobwebs that take forever to clean up."

The vampire glared at him, but Peter had gotten used to his dark looks by now, as he seemed unaffected. "Peter, this place has a specific... what did you call it before, 'vibe', to it that must be kept up. We are the highest class of vampires, the most powerful, we do not decorate our home with..."

He picked up something, staring at it. "Plastic spiders."

"I repeat, buzzkill." Peter replied before using whatever ghostly powers he had to tear apart more plastic packaging, then tossed something over himself.

It was some sort of sheet with two holes in it. Aro just stared at him as Peter rose from the ground, floating, waving about his arms under the sheet, making 'oooo' noises.

Aro wondered, not for the first time, if the local priest in this town was willing to do an exorcism.

--

There's the origin of Peter's sheet ghost costume. He'll make another one out of really expensive sheets from someone's room after Aro burns the first one.

Also, I freaking love Halloween, so I am all about the spooky, cheap plastic decorations. Aro has no taste.

[pintakupins]

Oh the smell of HALLOWEEN is in the air! As I get older, I realize it's just better to start getting spooky as soon as possible. I can't wait to go to the pumpkin patch this year! . . . . . . . . . . . #furbys #furbies #furbytoy #90stoys #90s #nostalgia #furby #pingameonpoint #pingamestrong #pingame #enamelpins #pins #lapelpins #oddbodyfurby #spookyseason #halloween #pumpkin #jackolantern #pumpkincarving #furbyart #furbycommunity #furbyfandom #furbylove https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci5SyX-L-HY/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thehalloweencoven]

It’s starting to cool down here and it’s getting me so excited!! • • 📸 owner unknown via @pinterest 🕸 🕸 #halloween #happyhalloween #trickortreat #trickrtreat #jackolantern #pumpkin #thehalloweencoven #spooky #haunted #autumnvibes #smallbusiness #codeorange #halloweencountdown #horror #horrormovies #halloweendecor #instahalloween #halloweenlifestyle #halloweenblogger #spookyvibes #autumn #cottagecore #autumnaesthetic #fallvibes #newengland #witch #fallaesthetic #witchyvibes #vintage #vintagehalloween https://www.instagram.com/p/CibB95XJUsA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[celtichammerclub]

Me flaunting my Celtic Headless Horseman tee in Salem, MA four years ago. I need to go back there 🎃💀🍂 Get your own Celtic Hammer Club Headless Horseman apparel here —> celtichammerclub.threadless.com/designs/the-headless-horseman-1 ➖ #celtichammerclub #headlesshorseman #dullahan #sleepyhollow #salem #salemmassachusetts #haunted #spooky #legendofsleepyhollow #originalart #ichabodcrane #washingtonirving #pumpkin #jackolantern #halloween #samhain (at Salem Old Burying Point Cemetery) https://www.instagram.com/p/CjYzx4KL1bT/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=