#she seems ready to go hunt down some easter eggs!

[plushie-lovey]

I was trying to figure out who looked good in the dress since Rescue got put in the service dog vest since it was hers first and I really like how it looks on Storm, plus she’s the only other one it fits on and she’ll likely wear the other dress once it arrives since this is the fancy events dress! I switched her tag to the silver one rather than the dark blue since it matches her collar better! Plus my Wonder Woman backpack shipped so I’ll be able to take all three of my favorite plushies to Easter!

Sooo cute. I agree the silver tag looks better! Storm looks very cute and ready to party in that dress :D

[mellowsadistic]

Easter Bunnies - Part 1

Melony and her boyfriend meet up with their friends for a garden party, but the girls are acting more like toddlers getting ready for an Easter egg hunt, and Melony's boyfriend expects her to join them.

***

“Are you looking forward to playing with your friends, sweetie?”

Melony scowled at her boyfriend as they walked up the driveway. “Don’t say it in such a patronising way, Peter!” she snapped, tossing back her long black hair. “How many times do I have to tell you not to talk to me like a child?”

“Sorry, Mel,” said Peter, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, baby. I know you’re very sensitive about that sort of thing.”

Melony pressed her lips together. Even his apologies were infantilising! Mostly she liked having Peter as her boyfriend; he was tall and handsome, and decent enough in bed, but he could be infuriatingly condescending at times – even though they were the same age, he sometimes treated her more like a toddler than the twenty-four-year-old woman she actually was. But now wasn’t the time for an argument. She’d save her scoldings for when they got home.

Peter knocked on the front door, and a few moments later it swung open to reveal a smiling, sandy-haired young man. “About time, you two!” George said cheerfully, standing back to let them over the threshold. “Happy Easter! Come on in. Hazel and Oliver are already here.” He shook hands with Peter as he passed and, to Melony’s annoyance, placed his hand on her back to move her along down the corridor, as though she couldn’t do it by herself. “Hazel’s just upstairs with Oliver, being changed into something more comfortable,” he said, “and Jackie’s playing out in the garden.”

Melony clenched her teeth. There was that word again. Playing. Anyone could be forgiven for thinking he was talking about a trio of three-year-olds, and not three grown women in their mid-twenties. And there was something about his smile that Melony didn’t like. But then George often looked like he was laughing at some private joke. It was maddening! She didn’t know how Jackie could stand it.

They were led into the bright kitchen at the back of the house. Double doors opened out onto a wooden decking, and beyond that a large green lawn with patches of brightly coloured Spring flowers. But before Melony could head out into the sun, she heard running footsteps on the landing above them, and then the unmistakable sound of someone rushing down the stairs as fast as they could.

“Hazel!” she heard a man call. She recognised Oliver’s voice. There were more hurried footfalls above them. “Wait for Daddy, silly girl!”

A moment later, a young brunette woman ran, or rather toddled, through the hallway to join them in the kitchen. “Mewwie!” she squealed, coming to a stop in front of them.

“Hazel?!” Melony gasped. Her normally shy, reserved friend was standing in front of her wearing a pair of trainers on her feet, a set of bunny ears on her head, and absolutely nothing in between. Her bare pussy and perky breasts were on full display, though it didn’t seem to bother her one bit. There was a vacant, innocent look in her green-brown eyes, and she was grinning broadly.

“Hazel, what are you doing?!” Melony asked, blushing scarlet with second-hand embarrassment. “Why are you dressed like that?!”

Oliver chuckled as he entered the kitchen behind his girlfriend. “I’m not sure I’d call her dressed at all, Mellie,” he said, winking at her. “My little lady was more comfortable in her birthday suit, but I insisted on shoes.” He patted his girlfriend’s bare bottom. “And of course, she absolutely refused to go without her pretty bunny ears.” He kissed Hazel on the cheek. “Didn’t you, baby girl?” he cooed. “You wanted to be Daddy’s nakie little bunny rabbit!”

Hazel giggled delightedly. “Nakie bunny!” she echoed, bouncing on the spot and making her boobs jiggle about.

“But she has to tell Daddy when she needs her potty,” Oliver said, “because we don’t want to leave any puddles on George’s floor, do we, baby?”

Hazel nodded seriously at her boyfriend. “Tell Daddy,” she agreed. “Don’t need puw-ups!”

“Not during the day at least,” said Oliver, bending down to give his girlfriend another kiss, this time on the forehead. “You’re Daddy’s big girl, aren’t you?”

“What the fuck is going on here?!” Melony demanded in a shrill voice. She realised she was breathing very fast. A part of her was sure this had to be some bizarre joke, but the blank look in Hazel’s eyes was telling her otherwise. She looked around at Peter and George, but neither of the boys seemed to think there was anything wrong with the situation. In fact, George looked like he was trying to hold back laughter as he took in the sight of Hazel standing nearly nude in front of him, prattling like a toddler. Peter was looking at her, however. There was a smirk playing around his lips, and an almost hungry look in his eyes.

Melony suddenly remembered that George had said Jackie was out in the garden, and she rushed to the back doors. Her heart dropped into her stomach when she reached them. Jackie was indeed playing in the garden. She was prancing about awkwardly like the littlest of toddlers, giggling and trying to catch butterflies. She wasn’t naked like Hazel, but Melony almost wished she was. She wore a pale pink dress, all frills and lace, and so short that it did nothing whatsoever to hide the enormously thick nappy she wore beneath. Even as Melony watched, Jackie bent over to peer at something in the grass, and her diapered bottom was thrust high into the air. The padding was sagging and discoloured. She’d clearly wet herself. A moment later, she straightened up and turned around, smiling even more vacantly than Hazel. Her blonde hair had been tied into a pair of pigtails, and she too wore a set of bunny ears.

Melony felt sick to her stomach. Something was very, very wrong here. Hazel and Jackie needed the hospital, or a psychologist, or something! They couldn’t be allowed to just walk around humiliating themselves like this! They needed help! Before she could get over her shock, however, Peter had walked up behind her and slipped a pair of fluffy bunny ears onto her head.

“What? What are you…?” Melony spun around, confused and angry, to see her boyfriend grinning at her. She lifted her hands to her head, feeling the soft ears, ready to rip them off, but by then it was already too late to stop the warm, fuzzy contentment spreading through her body from the top of her head to the tips of her toes…

[starlightrows]

4 — The New King

The Queen of Tatooine Masterlist

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Pairing: Boba Fett x reader

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: Discussion of losing parents, mention of disordered eating, bed sharing

Summary: Saved from an untimely death by starvation and exposure, Boba offers you a place in his palace

*This chapter contains an Easter Egg for an upcoming series that severely deviates from canon*

When you wake up your head is throbbing and you feel sick to your stomach, you’re so hungry. But the one thing you don’t feel, is cold. In fact you’re actually quite warm and comfortable at the moment. You crack your eyes open and are confused to find yourself wrapped in a worn blue blanket, laying in what looks like a large storage closet with a mattress on the floor.

You peer out the open door and see you’re on a ship. How did this happen? Who’s ship is this? Suddenly your stomach growls loudly… you smell something… something good. It doesn’t matter who’s ship this is, you have to eat whatever it is that smells that good.

You clamber out of the sleeping closet and see Boba turning off a hot plate and sealing a bag that surely must contain dehydrated food. He turns when he hears you.

You stare at him, at the food. You’re confused and starving. Having no idea what to stay you just stand there.

He offers you a hand, a gesture to approach “It’s not the most flavorful or healthy dining option” he says “but it’s hot, and will be ready in just a few minutes”

You step closer cautiously and look up at his face “How did you find me?” You ask in an unsteady voice

“I went back to the inn and saw what happened to it. And the town. Followed the road, I figured you’d take the shorter path with water even though it would be uphill and colder” he explains, handing you the sealed bag and a long handled spoon. You open the bag and dig in, not even caring what it is. “Eat slowly Princess, you’ll make yourself sick”

He’s right. You’ve seen it before. Travelers who haven’t eaten in days… weeks even… come to the inn and eat a lot of food in a short period of time… they land up retching in the woods behind the inn. So you slow down and actually taste the food as you eat it.

You make it about half way through the meal before you feel a little sick. You don’t normally eat this much food to begin with. So you set aside the bag of food and let your stomach settle. Boba is eating from a similar bag of food. You study your current meal companion and apparent savior.

“Why did you come back? Why did you come after me?” You ask

“I told you I would” he says “I came back to extend you an invitation, to come to Tatooine”

“You want me to go to Tatooine with you?” You're surprised by that. Sure he’s said it the last time you’d met, but you didn’t think he’d meant it. Men who pass through little towns like yours generally don’t keep promises to return.

“You don’t have to by any means” he says “But the offer is on the table”

“I can’t exactly refuse, can I? My home and businesses are gone…” This is coming out all wrong. This man just saves your life and you’re treating him like he planned this all out “I’m sorry… that was rude and ungrateful”

“You are not wrong” he points out “Put it another way. As you have said, you can’t go back. So I’ll offer you a choice, Princess. Come with me to Tatooine, or tell me anywhere you’d like to go and I will take you there”

“You would really do that? Just ferry me anywhere in the galaxy or take me back with you to Tatooine? That is a kindness I can’t repay”

“You already have. You saved my life that night in the storm. And I did promise you I would come back for you”

“Why?” You ask in a whisper “why would you come all the way back here? You owe me nothing… even if I did let you come in that night”

“Because you made an impression, little one. I found myself thinking about the sweet innkeeper at the edge of the universe often. Even before you saved my life. I always planned on coming back for you, I only wish I had done so sooner”

You let his words sink in. I always planned on coming back for you. You can feel your heart beating in your chest and your cheeks flushing with heat. “I’ll go with you” you say softly “back to Tatooine… Let me work in the kitchens or something to be useful in your household”

“We can talk about that later” He chuckles. “I know it isn’t flavorful, but I want you to eat and get more rest. Replenish your strength”

Your stomach is full, given that you usually don’t eat heavily on a regular basis. But he’s right, you know you need to eat more. Not just right now to recover from hypothermic exposure, but in general. That’s always been a struggle for you. But you do try. The food is right there, and he has been kind enough to offer it you freely.

Boba returns to the cockpit to manually fly his ship, you force yourself to eat at least a few more bites of the rehydrated food he prepared for you. You take the blanket from the cot where you woke up with you, and climb up into the cockpit to sit with him.

He doesn’t turn when you slide into the seat next to him but he does when he notices you wrapping the blanket over your shoulders.

“Apologies Princess” he says “This ship was not built for comfort”

“It’s alright. Just a little cold” you run the edge of the blanket between your finger tips

“You won’t be cold when we reach Tatooine” he chuckles

“No, I suppose not. I’ve heard Tatooine’s binary suns make it so that nothing grows” you can’t imagine it. A world where nothing grows. You grew up in the greenery of a forested planet, at the base of a mountain with rich soil for growing vegetables.

“Tatooine is rather desolate” he admits “Most of the palace is actually built underground to keep cool”

“The palace” you muse “And how does being king suit you so far?”

“The Hutt’s left that place a mess. The palace and their business affairs. It’s all been a nightmare cleaning it up” he admits “My partner Fennec and I have only been able to clear out a few rooms, the business affairs take precedent”

The word partner pulls you up short. Your heart sinks. Partner… your mind immediately jumps to significant other. If that’s the case, then why is he inviting you into their space? Does this person know Boba has made this journey to see you? Do they know he’s bringing you back with him? Your mind races, and you feel a bit measure of panic setting in. What if this partner has no idea, and gets angry? What if this situation turns sour and you have to figure out somewhere else to go?

“You’re awfully quiet” Boba observes “Have I said something to offend you?”

You figure you may as well ask… better to know what you’re walking into rather than go in blind. “Your partner” you swallow the waver in your voice “What are they like?”

“She’s a former bounty hunter like me” he says

Oh no… now you’re really in trouble…

“Hmm… and she’s just fine with you flying off to the edge of the galaxy to visit an innkeeper?” you try not to make the question sound like an accusation.

He turns to look at you with the ghost of a smile on his lips “You misunderstand little one. Fennec is my business and hunting partner. She has no influence or opinion over my personal affairs”

Relief floods your heart, followed instantly by embarrassment. “Oh, that’s… that’s good I suppose. I just didn’t want… I didn’t mean… I just don’t want to cause problems”

“You’re not causing problems. I offered this to you, and to be honest I am glad you accepted,” he admits

That makes you feel better, a little more at ease. In that moment, you realize why you’d reacted so suddenly and severely in your mind. You like him.

You haven’t had many crushes in your life, not a ton of opportunity for it. When you were young there were a few other kids your age in the settlement, maybe one or two of them caught your interest, a few secret kisses in the barn or behind the one roomed school building, but it never lasted, and for good reason. The people who passed through your inn were never really the type you had interest in either. Until now…

Hours pass sitting in the cockpit next to him, chatting about your life in the settlement and his traveling on his own since the age of ten.

You don’t want to pry, but you do make a comment on it “Ten is quite young to be on your own”

“You said yourself you were young when your parents passed and left you with the inn” he points out

“Suppose loss like that makes a person independent” you sigh

“Would have been nice if we didn’t have to be independent so early in life” he said curtly

“I would have liked to have brothers or sisters” you say wistfully “At least things seemed to turn out well enough”

“I think if my father had lived longer, I would have had a younger sibling” Boba says “I think my mother wanted a another son or daughter”

“Your mother never found love again?” You ask sympathetically

“No idea, I haven’t seen her since the beginning of The Clone Wars” he says, starting the command sequence to drop out of hyperspace

Since the beginning of The Clone War… over thirty years ago… “That’s very sad” you say quietly

“It’s better this way. I don’t think she would be proud of some of the things I’ve done” he says “But maybe someday I’ll find out what happened to her” You take that as a queue to drop the subject.

The ship drops out of hyperspace, and Boba starts the landing approach sequence. Tatooine is a massive planet. Even from space you can see it’s yellow sand and rock formation topography. It’s a wonder how any species manages to live there, given the prominent lack of water or greenery.

As the ship flys down closer to the surface you find that the chill of space dissipates, and heat radiating off the planet's surface permeates through the reinforced walls of the ship. You shed the blanket that had been keeping you warm before even touching down.

The palace is massive. The biggest structure you’ve ever seen. Three cylindrical towers built into the cliffs overlooking The Great Dune Sea.

Boba engages the ground security protocols, and lowers the ramp and escorts you to the intimidating durasteel door. There are no guards, no one patrolling to prevent entry. Boba opens the door with no indication of announcing his entry. The entryway is a short sandy strip of a room leading to a descending staircase.

He offers his arm to you “Careful Princess, these shifting sands make these steps more slippery than you’d expect”

You accept his offer, and place your hand in the crook of his arm and start down the staircase. He’s not wrong, loose sand on stone is slippery and you are glad to have his arm for stability.

The staircase ends and leads into a large space clearly meant to entertain groups. The room is in disarray. It is clear, based on the drag marks and blood splatter in the sand, Bib Fortuna and whoever else of Jabba’s entourage remained died at the hands of Boba and his partner. Outcropping in the stone walls lined with low couches, pillows, tables and chairs. Many of which are broken or knocked over. A large grate in the center of the floor sits at the foot of an elevated platform. A throne.

Boba lets your arm go, freeing you to move about the space and explore. He ascends the shorter staircase to reach the throne and sits, quietly observing you. After a moment you turn to him, and take in his regality. He’s intimidating with his emotionless helmet and solid stanced posture. A king in every right.

You smile at him and give a small curtsy “My lord”

He chuckles behind his mask, so very contrary to the stoic picture he paints with his armored silhouette. “Come, allow me to show you the rest” He rises from his seat, and extends a hand for you to take.

He shows you down a hallway lined with doors, explaining they’re private rooms previously used for guests. “Most of them haven’t been cleaned in decades”

“You would think with all the credits the Hutt’s had, they’d pay for cleaning services” you shake your head

“Unfortunately I haven’t had the time to clear out many of the private quarters. Just the Master’s chambers and a single guest room Fennec uses” he tells you, turning down a hallway with an ornate door at the end. Clearly the Master’s chambers he was referring to.

The room is bigger than the footprint of your inn. High ceilings to let hot air rise, an en-suite fresher with a deep soaking tub, a massive bed is the only furniture left in the room. It’s beautiful despite not being decorated or well maintained. But you could imagine it was much worse if this is what Boba describes as “cleaned out”.

“If you are comfortable, I would like to invite you to stay with me in the Master’s chambers” he says from behind you “At least until a room can be cleared out for you, if you so choose”

You whip around to look at him. An offer to share a bed with a king. He must see the touch of fear in your eye because he quickly speaks again.

“I have no intention of asking favor of you. I only wish to make sure you’re comfortable here. You have my word.”

You soften at his promise, and give a silent nod before thinking better of his hospitality. “Thank you”

Later that day you finally meet Boba’s infamous partner, Fennec Shand. She’s got a sharp eye, quick wit and a taste for good spotchka. It’s an interesting tale to hear how they came to meet and land up in each other’s company.

As there are not yet staff or guards in Fett’s employ, dinner is some kind of hunted desert beast Fennec killed yesterday. It’s actually not too bad, but not like the game hunted on your homeworld.

“In time we will get this sorry excuse for a capital back up and running” Boba says when the meal is finished “Full staff and guard and reopen trade”

“I can help begin clearing out the palace” you offer “Make suitable accommodations for your staff and guard, and any allies that may come to stay”

Boba looks to you “You are not obligated to do so little one, but your help is appreciated”

“I enjoy having projects” you admit with a smile “Things to work on and keep me busy”

“Then you make take the task, for so long as you choose” he smiles at you.

Despite his haggard appearance, Boba has a nice smile. It softens him, brings out the light in his eyes. You find yourself returning the smile, and unable to wipe it from your face.

The evening comes to an end. Fennec excuses herself to return to her own bed chambers. Not without casting a sidelong glance between you and Boba, still chatting away. Eventually Boba leads you back to his own chambers. True to his word, he takes his robes into the fresher to allow you the privacy to change into borrowed sleeping clothing.

“I’ll buy you new clothes tomorrow” he promises, climbing into the oversized bed beside you.

Your impulse is to thank him politely and decline the offer, but given that you are his guest and no longer have property of any kind, it’s a kindness you have to accept.

“Thank you” your cheeks burn with heat, a little embarrassed to be needing so much from him at the moment. Borrowed clothing, a place in his palace and in his bed.

You get down under the blanket on the bed. Night time in the desert is quite cold, and sandstone walls that keep the palace cool during the day turn the air chilly when the binary suns set.

Boba turns towards you, laying on his side, he looks as if he wants to say something. Ask you something. But instead he just stares, with his dark soulful eyes and seemingly perfect hint of a smile

“Goodnight Princess”

Tag List: @cannedsoupsucks @otterly-fey @paige6768 @littledragonlady @star-hoes @aeryntheofficial @xx-small-town-witch-xx

[spencersawkward]

switchblade faith//spencer reid - chapter 7

summary: one month after joining the BAU, Clea is still settling in. between solving murders and getting acclimated to DC, the only comfortable thing in her life is her friendship with Dr. Spencer Reid.

relationship: Fem!OC/Spencer

word count: 4.3k

idc if i've used this gif before it's AMAZING and i love it.

masterlist

somewhat unfortunately, Halloween rolls around. between the most intense case of my career and the rest of the ones that have come in, the meaningless holiday has barely crossed my mind. it's only Penny's eager reminder to find a costume that brings it to the front of my mind. I could half-ass it and pick something stupid, but then I would feel bad. everyone else in the office is just so excited about it, I don't want to be a sour influence. 

plus, we deserve to have some fun. 

I decide on a simple costume and on the 31st of October, I find myself in Penelope Garcia's bathroom with a tube of cherry red lip gloss and a somewhat reluctant expression. 

"oh, c'mon." her voice is muffled through the door.

"quick question," I tighten the scarlet string around my neck, looking at myself in the mirror. "how full-out did you go?" 

"baby, you know I only go to the extreme." she quips. I roll my eyes playfully, then open the bathroom door, stepping into the purple hallway with what can only be feigned confidence. 

it's not that I don't look pretty; I think I look good. but it's the sheer silliness of it that makes my walk a little less than proud. I stopped dressing up for Halloween before I hit twelve. and now I'm twirling (at Penelope's command) in a short dress. 

"I'm not even joking, Little Red: you look hot." she says, eyeing me up and down. there's an enormous purple seashell clipped in her blonde curls, sparkles all over her skin. she looks exactly like herself-- beautiful and whimsical in every aspect. 

"thanks." I blush. 

"come show us!" JJ calls from the living room. Emily would be with us, but she said she had to run an errand beforehand. I glance at Penelope once and widen my eyes. why am I so nervous? I'm acting like a child. 

"go on, then!" Pen practically shoves me forward and I stumble a bit in my heels before walking out of the hallway and making my grand entrance by the couch. JJ is holding an enormous bowl of popcorn, dressed like Britney Spears. her jaw drops. 

"do a spin!" she squeals. I do so, and the red cape flutters around me like the petals of a blooming flower. she sets the bowl down, claps. "I love it!" 

"thanks." when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror on her wall, my cheeks are rosy. my hair tumbles over my shoulders and the cut of my dress is a bit low, but the cleavage is actually kind of a good addition. red ribbon falls just to my décolletage, a slight tease. 

"we should head out soon, though," JJ checks her phone. "wouldn't want Hotch to leave by the time we arrive."

"is he even coming?" I ask. 

"said he would. Pen made quite the case for herself." JJ pops a kernel into her mouth and I look to the tech analyst, who has a mischievous smirk on her candy pink lips. she raises an eyebrow. 

"I told him I'd bring candy corn."

"seriously?" I can't keep the surprise out of my voice. didn't realize someone that serious could be plied with the promise of candy. 

"yes, now come on." Penny scoops up her purse, which is shaped like a giant pearl, and goes to her cabinet to grab the candy corn. before long, we're out the door, chattering aimlessly on our way to the office. 

when we get there, I start to get nervous. although I'm not sure why, I get self-conscious about my dress and hood, about the secret black garter around my thigh. it's my personal secret, something I wore for myself. 

there are a few decorations up. some people from around the office are talking, and everyone is dressed to the nines. Garcia opens the door for me and I head straight for Emily's desk, where the rest of the team is gathered. Rossi works his way through a handful of hard candies in his palm. Emily is stunning in her black cat costume.  

"hey, you guys." she breaks into a grin when she sees JJ and Pen and me, the rest of the group parting to look at us. my eyes snag on Spencer, with his Frankenstein mask resting on the top of his head so he can talk normally. even Hotch is pleased to see the three of us. 

"thanks, Garcia!" he cheers as she hands him the bag of candy corn. 

"you know, you're lucky he left the house for that." Rossi raises his eyebrows and points at the unit chief. 

"oh, we know." JJ smirks. 

"you look great!" Emily gives each of us a hug. she smells like something slightly spicy and warm, a nice scent that makes me want to hold on tighter. I don't know how to explain it; Prentiss has a very calming presence to me. I always find myself hanging around her whenever I need to decompress after cases, even if it just means talking about regular life. 

"you do, too!" I grab a handful of caramel corn from the bowl she offers. "it looks pretty nice in here, actually." 

"don't sound so surprised. think we couldn't handle a few decorations and snacks?" Rossi questions. it's getting easier to be around him now, honestly. despite my initial hesitance about his seniority, he's never made me feel small for my lack of experience in this specific field. 

"she's against the whole holiday." Garcia makes a face as she berates me. Spencer shakes his head like I'm insane.

"that's not true!" I protest. "I never said I was against it, I just don't get why people are so excited about Halloween every year." 

"because it's fun." Spencer speaks up. I roll my eyes. 

"I'm not convinced." 

"well, I'm glad you said so, because I've actually planned a little activity for us!" Garcia is practically bursting with excitement as she says it, like she's been holding it in the whole evening. she probably has. 

my stomach twists. to be honest, I had been hoping for a relaxing evening and then an early night. an "activity" sounds like it'll interrupt those plans. but she's so elated that I can't help smiling. 

"what is it?" Prentiss feigns wariness. 

"well," Garcia simpers in a way that makes me think we're in for an interesting night. "I took the liberty of hiding certain candies around the office last night before we went home." 

"hiding them?" JJ repeats with a smirk. 

"in little plastic pumpkin cases. they're absolutely adorable, like Easter egg size--" 

"you're sending us on an Easter egg hunt?" Rossi looks at her disbelievingly. I let out a nonplussed noise. Penelope is ready to defend herself, however, pointing a finger at him and sounding as firm as she can manage. 

"it's going to be cute, dammit. whoever gets the most candies gets a special surprise at the end." 

"what's the surprise?" Emily asks. 

"it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, now would it?" Penelope replies. 

there's a silence in the circle as we all try to figure out how to react. it's childish, for sure. nobody is arguing that point; but it also sounds kind of not that bad to me.

"oh come on, guys!" she addresses our lack of enthusiasm. "we've had a hard couple of weeks. let's at least try and have some fun." 

JJ starts to laugh, putting her arm around the tech analyst's waist while she snuggles into her shoulder. 

"if it'll make you happy, Pen." 

"it will!" Garcia nods vigorously and turns to us. I catch myself breaking into a smile. there are much worse things than going on a Halloween candy hunt, especially given the usual circumstances of being in the office. 

"alright!" I throw up my hands and Emily is next to concede. Spencer has been quiet this whole time, but he straightens up from his usual slouching position and tries to hide the grin spreading over his lips. Rossi and Hotch glance at each other. 

"alright." the Italian shrugs. 

"what do we have to do, then?" I ask. 

"well, there are a bunch of pumpkins hidden all over. you'll know them when you see them." she clasps her hands together. "I'm timing you, too, so you're going to have half an hour." 

"wait a second," Emily frowns. "what if some of the other people who aren't in on it find the candies first?" 

there's a sound of general assent from all of us. we aren't the only employees here. Penelope doesn't seem bothered by this, however. 

"then I guess you'd better move fast." she pulls out her phone and presses a button, and we disperse with a quickness that really does make me feel like a kid again. I never did Easter egg hunts as a child, but this is a welcome distraction. low stakes competition. 

I start to wander around, starting at my desk. there's a pumpkin behind my computer monitor, and one in my desk drawer, although that's it for my personal workspace. my feet carry me to other place around the office, my fingers trailing over the tops of cabinets and under desks. Penelope sits in Prentiss' chair with a sucker-- a smug, luminous mermaid as she watches all of us scramble. 

"you got Hotch to search for hidden candy. impressive." I pass her on my way to Anderson's desk. she hasn't hidden anything in too private a place, but maybe there's something in his paperclip dish. 

"I'm a witch." she wiggles her brows. 

"I thought you were a mermaid." I wink. she grabs the hem of my dress and tugs on it. 

"just go find your candy, silly." 

"is there anything in Hotch's office?" I nod towards the almost intimidating room. her eyes flicker around to see who might be around us. fortunately, everyone is too wrapped up in their current task to even look our way. I look like I'm just wasting time. 

"you didn't hear it from me," she whispers. "but yes." 

a sparkle of satisfaction burns in my chest.

"love you, Penny." I make my way towards the office. the door is shut and the actual usual inhabitant of it hasn't gone inside, so he must have overlooked the idea that Garcia would hide candy in there. I'm sure they'll be easy finds, too, since she's terrified of crossing any boundaries with him and wouldn't press her luck by touching his things. 

I head over to the couch by the door and see a plastic pumpkin resting on the table next to it, nestled between the wall and the surface. 

"ha!" I snatch the thing up, then keep poking around. there's another one on the bookshelf. without anywhere else to put them, I put the found objects in the hood of my cape, dropping them in before moving onto the next. 

I'm under the desk when I hear the door get pushed open slightly more. my head pops up from the inconspicuous spot and there's Reid, pockets stuffed while he peers around the space. 

"hey." I say. he jumps when he sees me kneeling on the floor. 

"oh, hi," he frowns. "why are you on the ground?"

I grab the little orange pumpkin package that's tucked against one of the desk legs, then show him smugly. "winning." 

"how many do you have?" he pretends to be curious, but I can sense an undercurrent of competitiveness. I stand and shrug. he eyes my costume to see if I have any spots that hint at a candy stash. he doesn't think to check the hood of my cape. 

"that's for me to know and you to find out." 

Spencer squints briefly. "are you secretly good at this?" 

"am I?" I raise my eyebrows. "don't try to profile me, Reid." 

"I'm not profiling you!" he lets out one of those rare laughs, the musical sound that lives in his throat. I wish he would laugh more; there's something kind of cute about his face when he does. 

"mhmm." I say doubtfully and come to stand in front of him. "let's see it, then." 

"see what?"

"what you have so far." I say the words and he immediately places his hands over his pockets. 

"no way! you didn't show me yours." he protests quickly. I wrinkle my nose. 

"oh come on, Reid." I roll my eyes. "if you show me yours, I'll show you where I keep mine." 

he watches me skeptically again. "why?" 

"because I think we could be allies." 

there's a silence after the suggestion. truthfully, the idea just popped into my head. we could win pretty easily, though, if we coordinate.

"really?" the corners of his lips flicker upwards. he's unsure whether or not he should give in.

"are you kidding? with your smartness and my generally conniving nature, we could really do some damage." I tease. he giggles. 

"I've never heard someone describe themselves as conniving." 

"call it self-awareness," I smirk. "are you in or not?" 

he glances behind him at the bullpen, our friends still searching for the pumpkin packages while Garcia twists a pen between her fingers. when she wants to, she can look intimidating. I raise an eyebrow and wait for Spencer's response. his face turns to mine. those irises are such a pretty shade. 

"okay." 

"alright, boy genius!" I cheer, then reach up to undo my cape. he looks slightly panicked for a second as I undo the red ribbon, but relaxes when I grab the hood and show him the stash of pumpkins. "see?"

it’s crammed with orange packages.

“that's pretty smart." he admits with an impressed smile.

"right?" I agree. "come on, then. I think I've practically swept this place clean." 

he follows me out the door in our search. 

...

by the time the thirty minutes are up, Spencer and I have made shocking progress in consolidating our supply. we've decided that if we beat everyone, we'll share the surprise. if it's something we can't split, we'll rock-paper-scissors for victory (two out of three, of course). but I'm not too concerned about it. 

when we wander over to Penelope's spot at the desk, we're practically strutting. 

"someone's confident." she notes. I take my cape off again and slam the thing down on the surface. Spencer has an amused look on his face. 

we ended up spending a lot of time arguing about the best spots to hide candy, though I mostly let him take the lead— in terms of hiding places, he's been here longer and knows more than I do. and, unrelated, but he's pretty funny when he's not busy thinking about a case. his references are a little nerdy, but I kind of enjoy listening to the explanations. 

"we kicked ass." I cross my arms over my chest and Spencer nods. everyone around us is suspicious; JJ points between us. 

"did you two team up?" 

"maybe." I glance at Spencer, who's already looking at me to gauge my reaction to the question. 

"that's cheating!" JJ laughs. Spencer shakes his head. 

"actually, Garcia never laid out any formal rules for the game."

"mhmm!" I nod in agreement, grateful to have him there with his factual authority. JJ sighs, but nobody can stay mad at Spencer. we share a grin before Emily eyes the separate piles on the desk. 

Garcia went out of her way to hide a lot of treats. that said, it's clear that the combined amount from Reid and me beats out everyone else's. we high five once she announces us the official winners. 

"what's our prize?" Spencer asks as everyone lightheartedly boo's our victory. 

"a gift card to that new fried chicken place that we ordered from a while ago." Garcia presents a shiny plastic card to me. it's a great treat, honestly, becuase I'm hungry and takeout is one of my favorite things in the world. 

the team congratulates us on our win and things start to wind down. Hotch makes an excuse to get home and Rossi muses about a pack of cigars that await him. I feel the energy in the office start to dissipate, but now I feel like I'm on a bit of a victory high. I got all dressed up and now everyone wants to leave? disappointing.

as Prentiss and JJ shrug on their coats, I run my fingertip over the edge of the gift card. Spencer is packing some extra books into his bag. he told me to keep the gift card and that it wasn't a big deal, but I don't feel right not sharing. especially not when we didn’t rock-paper-scissors for it.

"Reid." I walk over to his spot, lean against the desk. he glances up in surprise. 

"yeah?"

"do you wanna share this with me?" I wave the reward in the air. his brows draw together for a fraction of a second. he seems confused. 

"right now?" 

"sure, why not?" I gesture to the bullpen, which is emptying quickly. "it's not even that late." 

he checks his watch as if to confirm my assertion, then stuffs his slim wrists into his pockets and stares at me for a second. I start to get the sense he’s going to say no, and something in me sinks. his tongue darts out over his bottom lip. he's got his mouth open a lot. "y-yeah, that sounds fun." 

I nod at the good news. "okay, cool. I'm too lazy to actually drive there, so I'll just order delivery?"

"okay." he gives me a small smile while I pull out my phone to call the place. I'm a little bit glad that it's just us. 

...

"try it." I pop the plastic cover off the sauce cup before setting it next to him. 

"that looks gross." Spencer shakes his head quickly through a mouthful of food. my jaw drops and I snatch the sauce right back, dipping the chicken into it and taking a hefty bite. 

"it's literally the perfect combination of salty and smooth." I protest. Reid looks dubious, however, and leans his head back against the side of the desk. we started the evening in the swivel chairs, but we're both fidgety at heart and now we're on the floor. 

he takes a swig of his drink. "I never knew lemonade could taste so good." 

"same." I laugh. "can I have your sauce thing, then?" 

he responds by dismissively pushing the thing over to me. we're sitting side-by-side, and somehow I think that's easier for him. we don't have to look each other in the eyes as we talk. 

"I'm proud of us." I announce. Spencer snorts. 

"why?" 

"we found so much candy! which we can now eat for dessert." I reach up to grab my cape off my desk, and the hood thuds to the ground. 

"we're a good team." he says it lightheartedly. Spencer is right, though; we work really well together on cases. it makes sense that it would translate into candy hunts. he's way smarter than I am, but it functions well. 

"we should do the Amazing Race." 

"I don't think either of us would like that." he takes a bite of his fry and I finish up the last of my chicken. 

"you wanna hear a secret?" my head turns to his. 

"what?" he reciprocates. his features appear especially delicate right now, almost suspended. I can see a darkness in his lids that contradicts the youth of his mien. I'm so close, I could kiss his nose if I wanted to. I don't, but I could. 

"aside from the team aspect, I don't really know what the Amazing Race is." I giggle. Spencer breaks into a laugh and turns away again, filling the office with the sound. I blush.

"then why did you bring it up?" his voice gets slightly high-pitched when he tries to speak through it. 

"I don't know, I feel like people say that all the time." 

"nobody has ever asked me to be in the Amazing Race with them." Spencer is still giggling when he looks over at me. I bite my lip before asking the thing that plagues me. 

"so, what is it?"

"the Amazing Race?"

"no, Newton's Laws." I deadpan. "yes, the Amazing Race." 

he throws his hands up and I chuckle. he straightens. 

"it's a reality game show where they race to travel the world." 

"that's it? no stats for me, genius boy?" I gesture for him to elaborate. Spencer shrugs. 

"I don't really care about reality shows." 

"you don't--" I blink exaggeratedly, as if the fact is shocking. "you don't care about reality shows?"

"we get enough reality here as it is."

"oh, Spence...." I sigh. "there are few things faker than reality tv."

"why do you like them?" he's genuinely curious. I see the glimmer of the Work Spencer with which I've become familiar. always trying to get under the surface, digging for answers even when they don't seem immediately relevant. 

"I like to turn my brain off sometimes, you know?" I close the lid of my food and take a drink of my lemonade while I wait for him to respond. although he doesn't look at me as he nods, I can tell he understands what I mean. if anything, he knows the feeling better than I do. 

"yeah, I get that." 

"everyone just acts really stupid and they care way too much about things that usually, like, don't even matter. it's sort of comforting in a weird, depressing, god-I'm-glad-that's-not-me way." 

"that's interesting," he peeks over at me for just a second. "you know, there's actually been studies done that show people with higher annual incomes suffer from higher levels of depression and anxiety."

"I believe it." I make a noncommittal sound and reach into the hood of my cape to grab a piece of candy. with the movement, I shift and the hem of my dress lifts enough to expose the garter on my thigh, and the object tucked within it. Reid's eyes pass briefly over me, but he does a double-take when he sees the thing. 

"is that--?" he points at my leg. I hitch up the garment a little so I can remove the knife that's been pressed to my thigh the whole evening. 

"a weapon? yeah, technically." I chuckle. Spencer's jaw drops in disbelief. even as I hold it in my hands, he seems afraid to touch it. 

it's not really a weapon. I got it from one of my friends as a gift a while ago, a lovely little resin dagger that's filled with red flower petals and gold flakes. it glints under the office lights. 

"you're really not supposed to have that in here." he gulps, glances up at the corners of the room, where I'm sure security cameras are mounted. I hand it to him, pressing the blade into his palm. 

"then stop looking at all the cameras so suspiciously." I scoff. he turns a bit to look at the thing, tilts the edges under the glow to examine it with a strange expression. his long, elegant fingers move over the handle.  

"where did you get this?" 

"it was a present. it's not dangerous." I shrug. the edges are pretty dull; it's more of a decorative piece. I would equate its actual risk level to that of a particularly pointy pen. 

"why did you bring it?" he hands it to me gingerly, our hands touching briefly before I slide it back into the garter on my thigh. his eyes follow my movements, and something in my stomach flips unexpectedly. 

"I collect them." 

"knives?" he doesn't seem taken aback, only interested, judging by the way he frowns quizzically. I nod and face him.

"yeah. I started as a kid, but I have a whole variety of them-- antique, new, ornate, plain-- I love 'em all." I explain enthusiastically. Spencer opens his mouth and I realize that he must have a million questions. he always has a million questions. 

"why knives?" 

I pull my mouth to the side of my face. it's not like there's some deep, dark reason behind my predilection for collecting sharp objects. and I’ve tried to answer that question myself, always coming up empty. some things people just... like. "I don't know." 

like I've put a damper over the conversation. 

"o-oh." Spencer's eyes drop into his lap, where he's been fidgeting with his hands for the past couple minutes. he thinks I'm withholding, that he's crossed some sort of line. my heart sinks. 

"I'm serious, Reid-- I don't know." I laugh it off. "I just think they're cool the same way that you think math is cool." 

"math is cool." he looks up for a second to smile. I nudge his shoulder with mine. his slight frame means he almost tips over and I laugh.  

"hard disagree, but sure."

Spencer stretches his legs out before him, and I'm reminded of how tall he is. he's prone to slouching, so it's easy to forget that his body is actually pretty lengthy. when he taps his Converse together absently, I notice the different colors of his socks. one has watermelon slices and the other has the Road Runner on them.  

"I like your mask, by the way." I compliment. 

"oh, you mean this?" he tugs the thing down over his face. it's gruesome, really, tinged green with baggy skin below the eye holes. I make a disgusted face and push his shoulder away from me.  

"ew!" 

"something wrong?" he uses a funny monster voice when he says it, wiggling his fingers playfully. I cackle. he’s never done that.

"god, that thing is ugly." 

Spencer removes the mask again, a ghost of a grin on his face. for all of his shyness, he's enjoying himself right now. 

we sit there in silence for a bit, cracking open the plastic pumpkin packages that Garcia has stuffed with all sorts of candy. we trade jelly beans like currency, blue raspberry for orange and anything remotely citrus-flavored that he loves. he doesn't mind taking them from my open palm, which fills me with a strangely warm feeling. 

I realize that there's more to Spencer's anxiety than germs, a thin layer of something that he lays between each person and himself. we don't talk about weighty subjects; we aren't friends like that-- not yet, anyway. but I'm glad that he feels alright with this kind of proximity.

[breadoffoxy]

Hope

Summary: It’s quite an event watching all the kids hunting down colorful Easter eggs with your chaotic friends. It’s even more of an event when Hoseok has something special planned just for you.

Written for the BTS Ghosite Marathon. Prompt: Theme: Holiday

Drabble: 3/30

Pairing: single mom Reader x Hoseok, Yoongi x Jimin

Genre: fluff, humor

Warnings: Cute, plastic eggs being used as projectiles, chaotic Jinkook, fxm, mxm, gay married couple, someone gets spanked with a spatula 

Word Count: 1,272

The sun was blaring, feeling more like summer than spring, as you and your friends watched as kids ran through the expansive backyard, looking for pastel colored Easter eggs. They’ve been going at it for a while, especially since Jin and Jungkook decided to hide some in more difficult spots. The two chaotic men lean against the railing of the wooden porch yelling out confusing hints. Most of the kids have learned to ignore them by now, but they still have Namjoon’s son running around in circles, much to their amusement and Namjoon’s displeasure.

Namjoon sighs, glaring at his friends, and steps down into the lawn to help his son. He holds his son’s hand and walks around with him, looking carefully for eggs. It makes you smile when your daughter, Harin, skips by in her purple dress and offers some of her eggs to her friend. She obviously picked up on your competitive spirit as her bucket is nearly overflowing. You’ll have to give her an extra treat for being so nice and sharing. 

Your eyes shift to the other man down in the lawn as your daughter joins the circle of kids surrounding him and the egg filled tree. Hoseok’s white button up shirt, rolled up at the sleeves, stretches across his toned body as reaches up to gather eggs in a tree that are impossible for any of the kids to reach or climb safely. He hands them one by one to the excited kids with a beaming smile. Your daughter is last and after receiving an egg you can’t help but smile softly at the sight of Hoseok fixing the bow in Harin’s hair that’s come loose after all her running. Your daughter then shows off her basket to Hoseok with a grin and the two start talking about something but your attention to the scene is cut off when your friend steps up next to you and bumps your shoulder. 

“Your eyes are basically hearts right now.” Yoongi smirks at you before taking a bite out of the skewer in his hand. 

“Like your one to talk. You’re the mushiest when it comes to your husband.” You nod your head back towards Jimin who’s at the grill, keeping an eye on the food while talking to his best friend Taehyung.

Yoongi turns to look and you visibly see him soften as he gazes at his husband. “That’s true.” He looks back to where his best friend is crouched before your daughter listening to her talk enthusiastically. “Just like Hoseok is mushy towards you and Harin.”

“Please,” you frown back at Yoongi. “He’s only being nice.”

“He’s not like your ex. Hoseok really loves Harin and…” Yoongi hesitates, a rare phenomena as he’s always sure of his words before he speaks, “he cares a lot about you too.”

It’s been a rough few years since your ex left you, not ready or willing for the responsibility of a child. It broke your heart and you poured everything you had left into Harin. It was a blessing when Yoongi introduced himself when you were picking up Harin one day from school. She was walking out of class with a boy the same age as her who happened to be Yoongi’s son. After a couple successful play dates you and Harin were effectively pooled into Yoongi’s family and friend group. That’s how you met Hoseok, who’s been nothing but kind to you and a literal ray of sunshine in your life. 

It’s hard for you to believe that someone as well off and successful as Hoseok would want to settle down with someone with a kid and so much baggage. Maybe you can believe it but just rather not so your heart, and more importantly Harin’s heart, doesn’t get broken again by a person who decides later they are just done with you. Hoseok though has never been like that though, always offering and never wanting anything in return. He’s broken down your walls and built up so much trust in their place. 

“Mommy, look! Hoseok found an egg for you!” Harin’s excited yell breaks you from your thoughts. She dashes over to you with a toothy grin and a silver egg held tightly in her hands. 

Your eyes fly to Hoseok, and your eyes meet his. He’s standing with his hands in his pockets and is slowly heading your way. Hoseok’s still smiling but he seems nervous, as if wondering what your reaction will be to his surprise.

“Did he now?” You take the egg from Harin’s outstretched hand and stare at it for a good moment. 

“If you won’t open it, I will,” Yoongi threatens, staring at the silver egg with a grin. 

“No.” You bring the egg in closer to your body and turn slightly so he can’t see what’s inside. Ignoring his disappointed groan, you twist off the top and nearly gasp at what’s inside, but your hand does come up to your mouth in surprise. 

Atop a shallow bed of confetti lays a beautiful necklace with a silver heart attached to a smaller one. Each heart has a gem attached to the center where the heart dips in. The larger one has your birthstone while the smaller one carries Harin’s. 

“Do you like it?”

You just have stared at it longer than you thought because Hoseok’s now standing next to you with a crease in his brow. Yoongi and Harin are staring at you expectedly, and the other adults are looking over curiously as well. 

“I-“ your finger traces the smaller heart, “I love it, thank you.” You grin at Hoseok, whose shoulders relax and his beautiful smile turns even softer at your answer. “I can’t take this though, it’s far too nice of a gift, you didn’t need to get this for me.”

“But I wanted to.” Hoseok plucks the necklace out of the egg and walks around you. You feel his breath hit your neck and his hands come over your head to place the dainty chain around your neck. Once he has it clasped he circles back around to see you tracing the heart again. 

“Beautiful.”

Despite your embarrassment, you can’t help but stare at the kind man. Feeling a hand tug at your clothes you look down and give your daughter your hand to hold. The smile she gives you makes your heart realize that maybe it was time to move on to a new chapter. 

“Thank you, Hoseok.” 

“Woooo, go Hobi!!” Jin shouts while Jungkook drums enthusiastically on the rail. The moment effectively shatters, but at least all the kids find them hilarious. 

Yoongi glares at his friends before yelling over to his son, “Shiwoo, remember that thing your dad and I told you not to do?”

Shiwoo nods at his dad while Jimin nearly brandishes his spatula as a weapon. “Yoongi, no.”

“Forget what I said, go all out.”

Jimin grows under his breath but watches in amusement as Shiwoo expertly aims his eggs at the chaotic men and throws with a strong arm. Jin and Jungkook yell and duck for cover as all the other kids want in on the action.

“You’re welcome.” Yoongi grins, taking another bite of his skewer. He heads back over to his husband where he gets smacked hard with the spatula on his butt. 

You swear even the adults are children, but all of that is quickly forgotten when a large hand reaches for your own and entwines their fingers with yours. Looking at Hoseok, you give his hand a squeeze, allowing hope to enter your heart for something more with this man.

[carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory]

The Hunt Is On! Eggs-traordinary Animals That Hide Their Eggs

by Shelby Wyzykowski

Just once every year, an eggs-tra special day rolls around when a certain long-eared, fluffy-tailed fellow comes hopping down the bunny trail to your home. He brings with him all of the egg-ceptionally tasty springtime goodies that he knows will satisfy your sweet tooth. Your basket gets filled to the brim with chocolate rabbits, pastel-colored confections, and chick-shaped marshmallows, just to name a few delectable treats. It’s a holiday candy lover’s dream! But then you may just notice one thing that’s missing…where are all the eggs? No, the Easter Bunny didn’t forget them. He’s giving you a bit of a challenge this year. He’s remembered an old German tradition that started hundreds of years ago. It was so long ago that he had a different name…Osterhase! Osterhase would secretly lay eggs in the back garden so children could enjoy the outdoors and hunt for their Easter eggs. So, like long ago, you get to look outside (virtually) for eggs too! But as you search and discover egg after egg, little do you know that, beyond your garden, there are many more eggs concealed in secret spots. In fact, they’re all over the world…in mountain forests, on ocean shores, and in steamy swamps. But they’re not hidden by the Easter Bunny. All sorts of animals hide their eggs too! Let’s take some time to eggs-plore the planet and learn more about these eggs-traordinary creatures. Let’s go on an egg hunt!

First let’s search out West for the eggs of a plump, short-tailed bird called the American Dipper. They love to live in and around pristine mountain streams ranging from way up in Alaska and all the way down into Panama! That’s a lot of places for them to hide their eggs, so, for now, let’s just focus on one of the Dipper’s favorite spots in Montana’s Rocky Mountains. Dippers are the only songbirds in the United States that love to routinely swim. And they have several adaptations that make dunking and diving quite easy for them. At the base of their tails, they have what is called a uropygial (oil) gland. They use their beak to collect oil from this gland and, when they preen, it makes their feathers waterproof. They also have nictitating membranes (extra eyelids) and flaps of skin covering their nostrils that protect their eyes and beak when they’re submerged.

But all these swim-friendly features can also help immensely when Dippers nest. To keep their eggs safe from predators, they sometimes build their nests in hard-to-reach spots like cliff ledges, on boulders, and under bridges. But there is one very special, watery way that Dippers like to raise their chicks…behind waterfalls! It can get wet if you live behind a waterfall, so a Dipper nest is specially designed to withstand such damp conditions. The dome-shaped nest is about the size of a soccer ball and has multiple layers of moss, bark, leaves, and coarse grass. The thick, outside shell of moss absorbs moisture so the inside, lined with grass, stays cozy and dry. After around two weeks of incubation, the clutch of four to five eggs hatch. Mom spends a lot of time on the nest, but both parents feed the sparsely-downed chicks up to twenty times an hour! They must fly back and forth through the veil of falling water to get to and from their hungry babies.

After a little over three weeks, the fledgling Dippers are old enough to leave the nest. So, they must bravely make their first trip through the curtain of cascading water. Then they watch and learn from their parents how to wade, swim, and dive in the stream to hunt for food. Sadly, the Dipper’s preferred meals (crayfish, tadpoles, fish eggs, and aquatic insects) become scarce when streams are tainted by humans. Poor practices in logging, mining, and farming can cause these birds to abandon polluted areas. Luckily, for now, they do manage to find new locations with clean, cold, rushing water that they can happily call home.

Now let’s travel a few states over to Florida, one of several Southern states where the American Alligator glides through the waters of slow-moving rivers, lakes, and sweltering marshes. In June and July, the female alligator creates a huge nest out of mud, plants, and sticks. It can be up to two to three feet high and as wide as seven to ten feet! The nest needs to be this big because the mother alligator lays as many as thirty-five to ninety eggs. Once the nest is filled with eggs, she completely covers them up with more vegetation. As the eggs rest hidden and undisturbed for several weeks, an interesting process occurs within the massive mound.

Photo credit: Rene Ferrer from Pexels.

Alligator embryos do not have chromosomes that determine gender, so the temperature of the nest determines how many of the young are girls and how many are boys. If, for example, the nest is located on a sunny riverbank (somewhere around 91 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit), the offspring are mostly male. The temperature of a nest in a cool, shady spot might hover around 86 degrees, and that environment produces mostly females. Around the end of August, the baby gators, still safe in their eggs, start making high-pitched noises. This lets their mom know that they’re ready to break out. She uncovers the nest for them to hatch. When the hatchlings are tiny, they hang out in a small group called a “pod”, but mom is always close by keeping a watchful eye on them. Unfortunately, climate change is beginning to affect the behavior of temperature-dependent species like the alligator. They are beginning to nest earlier and earlier in the year to preserve the correct male to female ratio. The alligators instinctively know that they need to keep a gender balance to allow their species to successfully thrive!

Our last stop covers a wide area, so get ready for the toughest challenge of our hunt! We’re going to search for the eggs of the Loggerhead Turtle. They like to swim in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea. But between late April and early September, the females leave their aquatic homes to nest on the beaches where they themselves hatched decades earlier. Safely under the cover of darkness, a female Loggerhead will use her powerful rear flippers to dig a hole in the sand. After she lays around one hundred eggs, she once again uses her flippers to expertly cover up her eggs. She does such a thorough job that she erases any sign of her nest…it’s a safe and cozy hiding place for her eggs! They need to be well-hidden because the mother Loggerhead does not watch over her nest. Instead, she returns to the sea, leaving the concealed eggs to develop on their own.

Like alligators, the gender of sea turtle embryos is temperature dependent. A nest in warmer sand produces more females (this biological fact concerns marine scientists because global warming will disrupt the proper male to female ratio). After about two months of incubation, the baby turtles hatch and wait for nightfall. Then in a joint effort, they all climb out of the nest together and make a mad dash for the ocean waves. But their journey is fraught with danger.

Predators such as birds, crabs, dogs, and even raccoons are anxiously waiting to make these little turtles into scrumptious evening snacks. And the hatchlings have another, more insidious hazard to deal with…artificial light. To reach the ocean, the hatchlings use the natural light (the moon and stars) horizon to guide them. But beachfront lighting, highway lights, and campfires can disorient them and lead them in the wrong direction. It’s true that the odds are stacked against them, and even though it’s a treacherous trek to the water’s edge, many do make it. And then the real adventure begins for these little ones in their new ocean home!

Now that we’ve finished our egg hunting eggs-pedition, and you’ve fervently feasted on your Easter treats, your once-filled basket contains only some crumpled foil, a clump of Easter grass, and one squashed jelly bean. And, unfortunately, the only thing that you’ve got plenty of are the pangs of an eggs-cruciating stomachache. But while you’re laying back in your favorite comfy chair recovering from the day’s egg-citement, think about all those creatures out there in the world that work so hard to hide their eggs in the most interesting of places. And that leads you to wondering that maybe, just maybe, there might be one more egg still hidden in your garden. It might be hiding behind the daffodils or under the old wheelbarrow or in the tulip bed. And when you feel better, and you go back outside and find that last egg, it seems to me that would be an egg-cellent way to end an eggs-tra special day.

Shelby Wyzykowski is a Gallery Experience Presenter in CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

[sh1tbird-shantytown]

Can i get some sweet stommy with the party + Johnathan and nancy?

Also some nancy and tommy sort of getting along?

I hope you have a good day :)

oh yes, yes, you can!! and i hope you’re having a wonderful day.

...

It was the Easter of 1984 and Tommy was straightening his tie in Steve’s floor length mirror. They were both getting ready for their holiday invitation to the infamous Byers house.

Tommy craned his neck to check for collar creases, “Remind me again why we can’t just stay here and eat discounted chocolate. Alone.”

Steve’s voice echoed back from where he was in the open bathroom, “Because, my father is somewhere in Cuba and he won’t let Diana come back home until their deal is done. Apparently the business man’s wife has taken a liking to her and he wants the extra tool.”

Tommy squinted at himself, “I always forget about that little thing your mom and you do. It’s odd you know.” Steve stepped out and Tommy spotted him through the mirror. Pleased with Steve’s laid back look. Light trousers and a tucked in pastel pink button up. He was folding the cuffs up to his elbows and smiled up dashingly.

“What’s odd about it? She doesn’t like being called mom so it’s like our own inside joke.” He laughed to himself and stopped walking when he was right behind Tommy. He seemed to admire Tommy’s own getup. Light green dress shirt and smooth pants. His tie was striped like an easter egg with greens and purples and pinks. Steve had been the one to dig it out from the lost pile of presents he’d gotten from lackey aunts over the years. “You look nice,” Steve leaned his chin on Tommy’s shoulder.

Tommy grinned, “Well someone’s got to be the star of the show when we get there.” Steve pouted but gave him a hug from behind and left after a smooth kiss to the shoulder.

“Meet me downstairs when you’re done, I have to go get all the eggs in the car for the egg hunt,” he called as he trotted out of the room.

Tommy groaned in response, “I still can’t believe you signed up for that!”

“I’m a dedicated man!”

===

Joyce had immediately given Tommy a tray of deviled eggs. Said something alike to ‘make yourself at home’ and dragged Steve off to hide easter eggs. Mike stared at him from the couch, Will Byers and Nancy Wheeler upon it with him.

“Why are you here?” he asked disdainfully, face pinched up.

Tommy moved the tray around so it was better secure in his arms, “I came with Steve. I was invited,” he spouted defensively.

Mike shook his head, “I don’t even know why he was invited in the first place either,” he muttered. Will frowned and Nancy and Tommy scolded him together accidentally.

“Hey!” they looked at each other and then back at Mike, “Don’t say that!” they looked back with glares.

“Stop copying each other,” Mike stood up and Will frowned at him, looking away from his and Dustin’s conversation. “It’s weird,” he walked over to the hallway and Will only stared a moment more before looking at Tommy with a small smile.

“You’re welcome here, don’t mind him.” Will put a hand up to cup his mouth as though he was sharing a secret, “He doesn’t like new people.”

Tommy scoffed and rolled his eyes, “I can tell.” When Will looked uncertain, between a smile and even more hesitation. He smiled at the kid and stepped forward with the plate, “Can I take a seat with you?” he looked between the two. Nancy rose an eyebrow but gestured to the empty spot Mike has left. He took it after Will gave an enthusiastic nod.

Dustin noticed quickly, luckily not as judgmental as the younger Wheeler, “Hey, can I have one of those eggs?” Tommy glanced down at the full tray and held it out.

“Help yourself, kid,” he encouraged. Dustin smiled and Tommy didn’t mention the odd formation of it. Just set the tray back in his lap when Dustin seemed satisfied with the amount he’d grabbed. Nancy coughed lightly to get his attention, to which he gave politely.

“So you and Steve are...” she hung off the last word.

Tommy stared blankly for a long moment until it hit him, “Would that be a problem?” he asked in the same tone she had used. Only a little mocking.

She sat up straighter, “No, no! I support you and him completely! I’m so happy he’s finally found himself,” she spoke quieter.

Will tugged on his sleeve, “So you’re actually with him?” he asked and Tommy grinned.

“Jealous?” he teased, and Will went bright pink before laughing. Lucas wandered into the room with another tray, decorated with pigs in a blanket instead. Nancy took one eagerly when he offered the plate to her. Lucas held the tray back after and eyed Tommy speculating.

“You’re cool now right?” he held the plate out to him too.

Nancy tapped at his foot with her stout heels and he nodded, “Cooler than a cucumber,” he answered cheerily. Kept back a cringe at himself.

Lucas nodded sympathetically, “I’ve heard Hopper say that one too many times. Steve say it too?”

Tommy nodded, “He won’t stop.” Lucas laughed and left the plate on the coffee table before joining Dustin.

Steve came back into the room and sat on the floor in front of Tommy’s legs. He had a few grass stains on his knees and Tommy knew they came from his determination to find the best hiding spots.

Dustin took notice of his appearance fast, “Hey, man, Lucas and I want a third player for rummy. You down?”

Tommy leaned forward before Steve could answer, “Can I play too?” he asked eagerly. Didn’t even try to hide it.

Dustin stared at him, a bit wide eyed in shock, but nodded nonetheless, “Sure. You know how to play?”

Tommy smirked proudly and puffed his chest a little, “I’m my family’s champion.” Lucas took a pack of cards out from his jeans and started shuffling them.

Will watched for a short while but then stood up, “I’m going to go talk to Mike,” he explained. Tommy expected Steve to get up and take the open seat, but he didn’t. And no one questioned why he didn’t after he leaned his head against Tommy’s knees comfortably.

Nancy knocked on the table as Lucas prepared to deal, “I’m in too. I wanna give Hagan a run for his money,” she nudged him playfully with her hand.

Tommy laughed and shook his head, “Too bad for you, I didn’t bring my wallet.”

Steve grumbled, “Awe, I was gong to make you drive home.”

Tommy pressed his lips onto the top of Steve’s head unceremoniously, “Just kidding, Honey.” Steve smiled and handed Tommy his hand from the pile on the table. When the game began, he didn’t tell Steve that he could see all his cards. And Steve either didn’t care or didn’t realize. Knowing him it really could have been either.

Nancy cackled femininely when he put a three of diamonds down. He smiled at his cards and watched over them as she took up half the discards. Steve frowned and his shoulders slumped as she put down a lengthy row of numbers.

“Nice move, Wheeler,” he complimented.

She smiled, “Thanks, Hagan. I could give you some pointers,” she offered in mock seriousness.

“I’m good,” he deflected with a laugh of his own. Dustin continued the round and put down a few points of his own. Johnathan joined them not too long after at the side of the couch beside Nancy. He pointed as though he was giving her alternative options and opinions of his own.

Tommy looked down at Steve’s mess of a hand. He felt badly for him. Steve wasn’t good with card games, with good luck strategy. And his hand really had started horrendously. He tapped on Steve’s five of hearts and then pointed at the discard pile. Something that didn’t match any of the other suits. He was met with Steve’s upside down face, beaming brightly back at him.

It was a few more turns later that Tommy picked up the whole entire discard pile. Everyone gasped, even Johnathan. Tommy felt a small thrill and smirked.

Nancy clicked her tongue at him, “So you’re one of those people.” He simply focused on his overflowing hand of cards and then put down half of them in one go. Nancy pursued her lips, “I see how it is.”

Dustin threw his hands up, almost loosing his cards, “What the hell, man!”

Steve snapped his fingers, “Language!”

Lucas shook his head at them and grinned at Tommy, “You could teach us a few things, couldn’t you?”

Tommy nodded back and started organizing his cards after discarding, “After I leave you all in the dust winning. Sure.”

It was yet again a few more turns later, and Steve’s first couple actual plays set down, when Mike was dragged back out by Will. They sat by the open side of the coffee table on the floor.

Mike watched as Tommy played and then opened his mouth slowly, “I’m sorry for being so rude to you.” Will nodded along and smiled at Tommy. Tommy looked down to see Steve grinning proudly and nodding along to Mike’s apology. Although he continued on, “Even though I think you deserved it.”

Tommy nodded and Mike rose a brow at him just as his sister had prior, “Probably,” he agreed plainly. Nancy discarded an eight of spades and he looked down at his last three cards.

She looked at her brother, “I think Hagan’s okay.” Steve turned his head and pressed his lips against the side of Tommy’s knee sneakily.

Dustin was rearranging his hand, “Yeah, Mike. Give him a chance.”

Lucas eyed Tommy’s hidden cards as though he could tell what was to about happen next, “I think Steve’s made a good choice in bringing him today.” Mike crossed his arms and Will nudged him perkily.

Everyone sighed, except Steve, when Tommy picked up Nancy’s discard and set down a small set and his final discard.

Nancy laughed with him through his victory cry of, “Rummy!”

[sairenharia]

Kai With And Without Memory

So here is my rant about Kai and his character and the differences Memory Makes.

Hollow Season 2 spoilers

The beauty of amnesia plots, especially when it’s not ‘sudden villain has no memories and is a good person’ variety is it shows off just how different a person is due to their circumstances. The Hollow does this well because there are definitely differences between season one and season two for Kai, Adam, and Mira. (And the other team, but they were being complete asshole gamers the first season.) The differences weren’t very overt, but that makes sense.

Because when someone loses their memory, they’re not going to ‘know’ things they didn’t before. Kai never heard the ‘in the same boat’ phrase before, so of course amnesia Kai wouldn’t know it. This also applies to personality. If there was never the potential for that personality, it wouldn’t suddenly spring from nowhere. Primary things are going to be primary. Mira wants to make friends with wildlife and mediates fights even when she doesn’t want to. Adam is take charge and has a temper.

And Kai is insecure and wants to be useful.

Kai between season one and season two seesaws between these two traits, with one being stronger than the other depending on the circumstances.

At the very start, Kai is insecure in season one. He is scared, and more than that, he doesn’t know how to help. He tries. When they’re trying to get out of the bunker, he’s looking for ways to pull out bricks, ready to slam the type writer into the wall. None of his ideas work through, and thus begins The Whining.

Here’s the thing about most of Kai’s whining. It’s very much owning up to his own weaknesses. He’s scared, he doesn’t know what to do, he doesn’t have powers. This seems to be a defense mechanism of sorts. If HE’S saying what’s wrong with himself, then he doesn’t have to hear it from anyone else. He doesn’t have to hear how people think he’s useless if he just SAYS it.

When Adam is trying to free Mira in Toros’ lair, Kai doesn’t help. He doesn’t even try to help, even if he comes back after being called. When he thinks Toros is caught up, he just wants things over. He gives up quickly. Even with the WItch, he is hesitating with the bone, he’s scared.

But Adam saved him and he has to help. More than that, this moment came AFTER Kai was Right about something. (I also have thoughts about the Witch thing, but later.)

He was right about three witches too. And he starts to get a little more bold. He demands to see the map, to try and help, and he’s right. The more times Kai is RIGHT, the less he whines. The less he runs from the others.

Then Kai finds out he can fix a ship. As soon as Kai figures out he can fix things, he is fixing ALL THE THINGS. Everytime he sees something broken, he offers to fix it, he’s sure he can. Ships, lighthouses, carts, spiders. He is confident, he’s assured.

But he also knows he can’t help in a fight. He can’t really save them in a pinch. He can fix things, but you can only fix things so fast, and he whines about powers. He doesn’t have powers, he can’t fight, he’s saying it so NO ONE ELSE CAN.

Then we get to the fire. And Kai was ready to abandon Benjamini because what can he do? He’s not a superhero, he can’t do anything to help him, and he doesn’t want to die. He’s ready to run like a coward like he did at the beginning. He even owns up to being willing to leave him behind...but he also doesn’t add how he doesn’t when he realizes what he can do. It’s not just he clears a path for him and Benjamini. He picks him up and carries him out of the fire.

Because Kai has figured out he’s useful, he can do something, so he does it. And Kai doesn’t stop. From then on, Kai is ready to fix things, he’s ready to fight, he’s ready to defend, and most of the time, he’s on top of doing those things. The reminders to start are rare, getting some advice mid-battle a little less rare, but the fact is, Kai is Very Active.

The time it changes is when he’s around Vanessa’s team. Vanessa is talking him up, but Reeve isn’t, and Skeet is on the fence, but there is a constant tension in the team. Kai knows he was lied to, but he’s still going along with them because of the praise he’s getting. But he’s withdrawn. Kai may not be good at identifying being used, but he knew he wasn’t apart of the team. Without Vanessa’s reassurance, he would have probably realized something was wrong. And in the fight with the ice monster, he messes up. He forgets to use his powers, to fight against something he should be awesome against.

Not that Kai is completely beaten down. He still says he can beat Reeve, but it was after being confronted, after a lot of muttering to himself. Different how he was with Mira and Adam. When he had a problem with Adam, he pretty much said it to his face.

What it comes down to, Kai without memories is still insecure, but he wants to be useful, and when he is useful, he is going to EMBRACE IT without hesitation. He knows he’s got skills, he’s got abilities, and Mira and Adam need his help.

And then season two happens and the thing that seemed most distinct was how Often Kai needed to be given direction when he was with the others. He had to be reminded to use his fire a few times before he consistently did it. He completely forgot about his engineering genius for the most part. And the more people around, the more he seemed to shut down.

But how often did people shout out Kai’s name this season for him to do something? It happened. A lot. Kai had been so proactive in season one, but season two, he was more reactive. He knew things he had to do, but he seemed to always need that guidance.

Season one Kai would have been at those train controls in a second. Season one Kai poked around at things a lot. Season two Kai didn’t. He just let people lead the way.

So about that witch. Here is the thing that’s interesting about the witch. Mira it makes sense she approached. Mira was always up to saying hi first and dealing with fallout if it went awry. Adam, however, was distrusting of near everyone without some evidence they might help, or being so goofy it was hard to distrust. Yet he was willing to trust this weird woman in a cave, while Kai was not.

Mira and Adam were willing to trust a motherly figure. Kai was not until hunger won out. Even then, he wasn’t trusting her, just accepting food. I don’t know if the writers knew Kai’s home life for season one, but if they didn’t, it’s a pretty big coincidence the person Kai gets most paranoid about is the picture perfect housewife.

Kai has a bad family life. He has parents who fight all the time. He had an ulcer as a toddler. He’s been asked to pick sides in fights at Thanksgiving. He has a full on PTSD flashback to an Easter Egg Hunt. We know Kai isn’t adverse to confrontation itself as a natural inclination, he argued plenty with Adam and he laid into Vanessa quite a bit. He was conditioned to shut down when intense arguing happens around him. Arguing that his parents tried to drag him into.

His need to fix takes a kind of sad turn. It makes me wonder if the secondary powers really aren’t selected and they come from some secret desire, like Mira wants to talk to animals, and Kai wanted to fix things.

Season one made it apparent that Kai was desperate for some kind of affection. Vanessa played him like a fiddle because she made Kai feel valuable and important. She responded to his emotions, she made him feel seen. It seemed like simple insecurity.

In season two, we learn it’s outright being affection starved. Kai wants people who he’s sure like him, who treat him normal. Miles might be his friend, but Miles is also not subtle he likes the tech. Whether or not he likes Kai as a person is questionable, but to Kai, it would be easy for him to assume it’s about his money. His parents aren’t home, and when they are, they’re fighting.

Kai has Davis, but the thing is, he asks Davis to be his friend in Hollow Life. This isn’t a thing Kai did in real life. Kai, desperate for people to care about him, never asked his butler to be his friend. It’s even questionable if Real Davis would have responded the same way, or that’s just the way Kai liked to think he would and that’s what the game copied.

But either way, it was the first time Kai did it in his life. He wasn’t so bold before.

Kai when he first wakes up is proactive. He goes out, trying to figure out what happened, observing and poking things. He meets up with Adam and Mira and he’s trying to help. Then the nightmares hit.

He can’t face Mabel for himself, but he could do it for Adam. He was able to save Adam. He was able to help them figure out to face their own fears. Mira and Adam are his FRIENDS now and they seem more befuddled by his riches then in awe, and Adam shares a deeply personal thing with Kai and forgive him for his actions in The Hollow about crushing on Mira.

He just fought his nightmare, and Adam and Mira are trusting him, being close to him.

Of course he thinks it’s a dream. Because Kai was a replacement on their team. He was selected for his skills at best.

When he figures out it isn’t a dream, he goes with Adam and is trying to figure out what happened because they’re all in this together. Of course, they can do this, it’s fine. But Adam is angry at Mira, he’s snapping at Kai. Mira had run off on her own, and that wasn’t the Mira Kai knew. The Mira Kai knew was the one who made sure Adam knew why she had to go get the medicine and didn’t want to leave him on the ice.

Kai starts regressing. He struggles to move the desk and almost gives up until Adam pushes and he helps. He forgets about his fire in the castle. Kai desperately tries to figure out the riddle.

He accuses Adam of only seeing him as a replacement because if HE says it, Adam can’t say it first. Adam says they still won, he wasn’t just a replacement, but it’s not the emotional thing Kai really needs.

He’s hesitant. He’s not helping as much. He’s always there when he’s called on, but he has to be called on a lot. Not always, but far more than the proactive Kai he had been.

He gets more withdrawn. Not as bad as the hostility with the other team in season one, but it’s noticeable. It’s why he forgets that when they were on the train, he should have been the one looking at the machienry. He shouldn’t have needed to be told because he always jumped on it in season one.

Which gets even more interesting because of how often Kai will do the sacrificial play.

He’s absolutely ready to fight Reeve and Skeet after he figures out the betrayal. In the ocean, he tells Mira to leave. Kai who had run away the first few confrontations was willing to possibly die in the ocean so Mira could get Adam to safety. He goes to be on his own with the spider king to try and earn their trust.

He runs distraction for Colrath (and there is one moment where it did look like he was pondering flying into the glitch wall to get the dragon, but that’s interpretation.)

And in season two, we see this more. The times where Kai is the boldest, the most proactive, is when he’s alone, or when it’s just him and one person. He actually beats Reeve in a fight. He finds the spell room and Kai? Kai has no personal stake in either Reeve or Vanessa. Neither one are his friend. Adam got shocked and gave up, albeit to look for another way. Kai didn’t.

Kai freed them both because it was the right thing to do. He even used a pickle fork to pick Vanessa’s lock. And he doesn’t even make a big deal out of it. They freed them, that was all that mattered.

He also tried to fight the snail on his own earlier to protect Adam and almost drowned in slime for it.

Then he’s alone with Vanessa. And he lets Vanessa know he’s still angry, he doesn’t trust her, and he’s still hurt. He’s right to, but it also shows Kai really isn’t afraid of fighting, just the tearing family apart level of fighting Reeve and Adam were reaching and how his parents were like that.

But Vanessa breaks down and confesses. To Kai. Vanessa shows she trust Kai on some level, and needed help, and he was the one she went to. Vanessa allowed Kai to try and help, to fix the situation. Something he wasn’t really getting with everyone else after the team dynamic fell apart after episode two.

And because of that, Kai was being a little more proactive. He scouted with Vanessa, he offered to help with the goat, he was getting bolder again. But there was still this air about him.

Kai doubts his place amongst his friends. Now that Reeve is back, he’s not as important to Mira and Adam anymore, and so he pulls back, and overcompensates. At the pyramid we see this. Adam is trying to get through, Reeve is disbelieving, so Kai helps Adam. Shows he’s there, he’s support.

He still matters.

Of course Kai matters to his friends, difference memories or no. Mira and Adam just needed to figure out their Reeve drama, but it was also a tentative friendship for Kai. A friendship he really valued. He almost died with these two over and over and it’s probably the closest relationship he’s ever had with another person, let alone two. And then he was dumped back into memories where he didn’t matter so much.

He was left alone.

He was used to try and win arguments.

He was wanted for his money.

He couldn’t even ask his butler to be his friend.

Someone who wanted to fix, but couldn’t.

More than likely, Kai was told to sit down and shut up, to stay out of the way. So that’s how he responds.

He wanted to believe he was as important to two best friends as they were to him, but it’s hard to put those two things together. Does he matter? Was he a replacement? Is he an asset, or in the way?

On some level, he knows he matters. The fact he thinks he could make the speech he did means he knows it on some level, but knowing it and believing it emotionally are different things.

All because what he remembered put into doubt just how capable he was without.

[byakuyasdarling]

2 and 8 for the domestic life asks? ^^

Thank you so much for the ask ^//v//^ I hope you’re having an amazing day <33

All under the cut :D

2. What’s the wedding like? Who attends? (Domestic Life)

I detailed a lot about their wedding in this post [here]! But I’ll insert some paragraphs here form that post to summarise :)

“Byakuya would prefer to keep things small and rather private, however, it appears he’s going to get the opposite of what he would like. His family and S/I seem to want a large wedding (because you know, this is kinda massive for the Togami family, especially considering how famous they are. S/I’s Ultimate would also put her in the position to garner fame too). S/I is MASSIVE on family, and invites all members of her very large family too.”

Not only both of their families will attend (Byakuya doesn’t have many family members there as his exhiled half-siblings don’t count to him as “they lost their right to the Togami name.” — so, most of his family would come from his mother’s side), but S/I has an extensive guest list of friends she loves and cherishes that will also be there. Easily over 150 people in total. Much to Byakuya’s dismay, she wants to share her special day with everyone — and I mean EVERYONE.

To be fair, this is the one thing Byakuya could never really have direct control over — he easily recognised this is in his family’s interest too, so he won’t be too argumentative over it. He loves S/I so dearly as well, he’s inclined to give her what she wants since she has been excited for her wedding ever since she was a little girl (a rhetoric she tells him all the way up until the wedding day). The honeymoon is where Byakuya will be pleased though; he finally gets all that privacy he wanted with her.

“It’s all very lavish. Definitely held in one of those really fancy venues with the high glass ceilings. Lots of white, black, and gold with a hint of wine red regarding the colour theme for the wedding”

8. How do they celebrate holidays? (Domestic Life)

Valentines Day:

Very much just a day they have to themselves. S/I implores him not to get her anything on the day (as they’re both very aware it’s just a day for companies to capitalise off — Byakuya is more aware of that than anyone), but he always buys her a bouquet of roses, especially because he knows red roses are her favourite. He’ll take her out for dinner too! S/I is thankful for all of his efforts; she tends to cry a little bit since she really doesn’t have anything for him in return. He doesn’t ever say it directly, but for him: the gift of tangible happiness she has always given to him is more than anything he could ever ask for — he really didn’t know the feeling before her.

Easter:

Byakuya never celebrated Easter until he was with S/I. Assuming they take a flight back to S/I’s family together for the Easter holidays, they get to celebrate the joys of Easter together. S/I gets all the egg hunts ready for all her little cousins at her grandmother’s house. Family members too old for the hunt will give each other bags of chocolate goodies :) S/I helps her grandmother put up all the Easter decorations around her house and helps her with Easter breakfast (Eggs Benedict!).

Byakuya is very much on the sidelines for all of this and doesn’t talk to her family too much (especially her father. The two clash a lot — Byakuya tends to be very aggressive towards him knowing everything he knows about S/I). He is happy for S/I though. He loves seeing the pretty smile on her face when she’s genuinely happy (even though he doesn’t vocalise that).

Halloween:

Growing up in Australia (which is not very big on Halloween, my area is so dry on that holiday), S/I never really cared for it. She went trick-or-treating once in Grade 4, but that’s about it. Byakuya just sees the holiday as another opportunity to fork money from people’s pockets (as the business man does). Suffice it to say, they don’t dress up (Byakuya would despise that), and they don’t go out for any parties or anything. They are invited by close friends to parties, but Byakuya really despises them and prefers to be alone with her for the the night; so she decides not to go.

They stay in and watch horror movies though! Byakuya manages to recover a packet of Minties for her; he has to police them though otherwise she’ll eat the whole packet in one sitting (one thing she definitely misses about Australia is the Minties). Poor S/I gets so scared though, she clings to his arm a lot — he does secretly enjoy that a lot; he’ll always let her lie on his chest and rub her back a little to comfort her though (despite the fact he does tease her a bit about it).

Christmas:

🎶it’s the most wonderful time of the year🎶

S/I LOVES Christmas with all her heart. Everything about it: the carols, the decorations, the gifts, the family spirit, nothing is bad on Christmas Day!!

It’s the time when Byakuya’s mother’s side of the family gets to meet the very extensive family of S/I’s. S/I’s family is flown down to Europe in Byakuya’s mother’s manor to spend the next two weeks celebrating.

S/I’s grandmother brings all her Christmas decorations to fill their accomodation — S/I is ecstatic to set all the special decorations up (I really can’t imagine that there’s going to be a year where we won’t be setting them up together. I’ve been doing it ever since I was a little — I mourn for the day I’ll be setting them up by myself and hosting Christmas instead). Anyway, Byakuya watches her set up the trees happily. There’s a lot of times he’ll just walk up and hug her from behind while staring at her handiwork. If she asks what he’s doing he’ll just gently hum and give her a kiss. Christmas makes up a lot more of his positive memories: he’s a bit more detached from his grumpy self around this time.

God forbid if anyone from S/I’d family is driving because every time they see a roundabout with a Christmas tree in the middle, they’ll drive around it as much as possible before while singing “O’ Christmas Tree” and try and beat their previous record. Obviously they’ll stop if there’s too many cars (our family record is 27 laps if you’re wondering). Byakuya finds this VERY obnoxious.

Again, family breakfast! Eggs Benedict! Cooked by S/I and her grandmother; they also make the pudding! They have awesome lunches and get the evening to themselves.

S/I always makes something special for Byakuya, while she is swarmed by gifts he bought for her. He pays attention and takes note of the things she expresses interest in and buys ALL OF IT for her. Even though the things she makes for Byakuya may seem a lot smaller in comparison; he adores all her gifts. He has all the money in the world, but he can’t buy the things she makes for him: they’re one-of-a-kind.

Byakuya loves Christmas evening with her. He gets exhausted (ironically) catching up with all of S/I’s family activities, he is in such a good mood by the end of it though (mainly because of how happy she has been though). They’ll put on some Michael Bublé Christmas songs and cuddle up and read for the rest of the day. He gives a lot of affection that day; it’s one of those very rare times of the year he’s detached enough from his own ego and family expectations that he allows himself to openly express all the love he feels for her (a lot of it usually being bottled up — grumpy man <<333).

———————————————————————

Ahhh, I’m so sorry this is so long! I just love talking about them, and I love talking about Christmas! (So naturally, that section is very long). Thank you so much for the ask, I promise next time I won’t ramble as much, ahaha <33

Have a great day 💙💙

[haloshornsinkstains]

Devildom Easter Egg Hunt

A little late, but the idea came to me at like 11pm last night and I'm old and suck at staying up late these days.

Anyway, Easter in the Devildom. With my MC Kore, because I missed writing about her.

Warnings: Female MC, Not a reader insert, polyamory, way too much description of baskets of chocolate, that's it.

“What the hell are ya wearing Kore?”

“Everyone come to the council room after classes, it’s important.” That’s what the text had said. The one sent from your phone to all of the brothers, and all three residents of Purgatory Hall. It was more than a little suspicious, for one Kore never wanted to stay longer at RAD than she really had to, and secondly she was usually much more polite when requesting a favour. But to use the council room she must have gained Diavolo’s permission so it couldn’t be anything too bad right? At least, that’s how they reassured themselves before turning up. Whatever scenarios they had planned out, none of them came close to what greeted them in the council room.

She looked down for a moment, before grinning back at Mammon. “You don’t recognise it?”

“I believe what Mammon means is why are you wearing that?” Lucifer sighed, shaking his head at the younger demon who had been momentarily rendered speechless.

“Well…” She started, still smiling happily at them all, “it’s Easter in the human realm, and since I already had the bunny costume on hand from that serving job we did, I thought I could share some of the festivities with you all. Technically I’m a bit late, Easter was yesterday, but I wanted Dia, um, Lord Diavolo to be able to join in and he wasn’t back until last night.”

The Prince in question was standing behind her beaming happily, nodding along with everything Kore said. “Now now Lucifer, no need to look so grumpy. I think it’s wonderful Kore wanted to bring something from the human realm to all of us!”

“But, that doesn’t explain why yer wearing that!” Mammon huffed. “Anyone could see ya like that!”

“Mammon… everyone already has seen me in this? And you’re all here anyway.” She shrugged. “In the human realm there’s an easter tradition where a rabbit brings chocolate eggs to kids. I know you’re not kids, but it seemed like fun. I organised an egg hunt and everything!”

“Did you say chocolate?”

“Yes Beel, chocolate eggs. The ones for the egg hunt aren’t, because it would give you an unfair advantage, but the prizes are chocolate eggs.” She laughed, pointing to the small pile of baskets behind her. “No touching until we’re done.”

Beel pouted a little, but stared determinedly at the baskets. Levi frowned beside him.

“So, this is a game? Are there clues?” His eyes flashed with interest, games he could do.

“Not really, I can give you some if you’re stuck though!” Kore laughed. “So, I hid 60 eggs, with Barbatos’ help so he’s going to stay here and keep me company guarding the prize baskets. He isn’t allowed to tell anyone where they are, including you Dia, and you agreed to not ask him.” Diavolo nodded. “So, the rules are; no magic,” she nodded towards Solomon and Lucifer, “no stealing from other people, if they found the egg it’s theirs,” a few sideways glances towards Mammon, “and no fighting. Everyone got that?”

There were assorted nods and murmurs of acceptance from the gathered Demons and Angels.

“Don’t look so pouty Luci, you don’t have to join in if you don’t want to. You can still have a basket of chocolates.”

Lucifer huffed. “Of course I’m taking part. But you neglected to tell us where the eggs had been hidden, unless you mean for us to search the whole Devildom?”

Kore blushed and shook her head. “Sorry! They’re in RAD, the Castle and their grounds. I would have hidden them in the House of Lamentation and Purgatory Hall but I didn’t get time between classes and Barb had duties to fulfill.”

“Then can we begin?”

She nodded at Lucifer. “The inaugural Devildom Easter Egg Hunt is go! Good Luck!”

Kore leaned back against the table, watching with amusement as the group scattered, most heading for the door to scour the school. Simeon and Luke stayed back, opting to look around the council room first instead. Simeon glanced down at Luke, standing on his tiptoes to try and peer over one of the taller plinths and sighed.

“Kore?”

She glanced over at the angel. “What is it Simeon?”

“Would it be permissible to work in teams for this game?” He nodded towards Luke, expression fond as ever.

“Of course Simeon! It’s not really as serious as all that, I only put the rules in place so no one spoiled the fun by magicking all the eggs to them or getting into a fight. It’s just for fun.” She giggled, patting one of the prize baskets. “Besides, I’d put money on Beel and Belphie already teaming up. Even if it’s just from Belphie’s laziness.”

As if on queue a shout echoed through the room from the corridor. “Oi! Ya not allowed to work together like that!”

“Kore never said working together was against the rules!”

“Mammon, let them be. Belphie isn’t likely to be much help when Beel is carrying him.”

Kore burst into laughter, shaking her head at their antics. “Well, I would wish you luck again Simeon, but I don’t think you’re in the most need of it.”

He chuckled in response, heading over to the younger angel to guide him out of the room. “Indeed, come on Luke. See you later Kore.”

She nodded, in response, leaning back and listening to the echoing voices through the halls as Barbatos came to sit beside her, letting her lean her shoulder against his.

That was how they found them two hours later, when all of the eggs had been collected and the hunters returned to the room, Kore tucked against Barbatos’ side giggling at something he’d told her while his arm rested around her waist.

“Ah, I’m glad to see you weren’t too bored while we were searching for eggs!” Diavolo boomed, chuckling at the sight before them.

Kore flushed bright pink, head shooting up to stare at the gathered group with wide eyes. Her gaze shifted quickly over Mammon and Levi, smiling softly at them to try and ease the tension from them. There would likely be time for a discussion later, but she was pleased to see neither jumped to chase Barbatos away from her, polyamory was hardest for the two of them but they were growing, learning.

“You should know already that Barbatos is excellent company.” She chuckled, shaking her head. “Go on then, how many eggs have you all collected?”

They handed over their eggs, letting Kore note down how many each had carefully before the next person handed theirs over. She paused half way through, looking at the ones Beel and Belphie handed over with a small frown.

“Um, Beel, why is this one half of an egg?” She asked, holding the slightly mangled object in her palm.

Beel rubbed the back of his neck, refusing to meet her gaze. “I, um, forgot you said they weren’t chocolate and I got hungry.”

“It was lucky he didn’t swallow it whole.” Belphie grumbled.

Kore giggled and nodding, noting down their score.

Once all the eggs were counted Kore jumped from the table ready to announce the scores.

“Alright gentlemen, the scores for the inaugural Devildom Easter Egg hunt are in! I’ll be going in ascending order of score, last place to first okay?” There were a few nods. “Okay, last place with two eggs is Asmo,”

“I knew I shouldn’t have stopped to fix my hair.”

“6th place is Solomon with three eggs, not bad, joint 5th place are Satan and the team of Simeon and Luke with five eggs each,”

“Well done Luke, you found most of those for us! I’d have been last without your help.”

“Damn, if Lucifer hadn’t beaten me up that tree using his stupid wings…”

Kore paused. “Wait, you climbed a tree Satan?!”

“Don’t worry Kore, I have it all on video. I may not have found many eggs, but I did capture most of the best moments on camera. Satan was very cat-like.”

“Thank you Solomon, I’ll be getting all of those from you later.” She grinned, looking back to the list. Okay, so 4th place is Lucifer with seven eggs. Then in joint 3rd place we have Mammon and Diavolo with eight eggs each, congratulations both of you,”

“I guess third place ain’t too bad. At least I beat Lucifer.”

“Oh excellent! I think that was very good for my first Easter Egg Hunt, don’t you?”

“Yes Dia, that’s a very respectable score. In 2nd place with ten eggs is Levi,”

“Damn, I guess it’s not bad for a game that involved physical activity…”

“Which means in 1st place is the team of Beel and Belphie with twelve eggs. Congratulations you two.”

“It was pretty much all Beel.” Belphie yawned. “As soon as he knew there was food on the line I mostly just napped.”

“Honestly I’d have been very impressed if anyone beat Beel in a competition that involved winning something edible.” Solomon chuckled.

“Alright, so Beel, Belphie, you get first choice of the Easter baskets.” Kore smiled, gesturing towards the table behind her.

“Are they not all the same then?”

“No Luke, they’re all the same value but the contents differ slightly. Different shops and types of chocolate. Some just have big eggs, there’s a couple with lots of small things, some are a mix of everything… you know? Also Barbatos baked a couple of treats, so there’s one in each basket too.”

“You put a lot of thought into this.” Diavolo hummed. “It’s very impressive Kore.”

She rubbed the back of her neck, looking down at the floor. “Well, Barb helped a lot, and… um, I just wanted to make sure it was fun?”

“You did an excellent job on your own, I merely offered a helping hand.” Barbatos sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Do not sell yourself short Kore.”

“Ah… Thank you. Okay guys, pick your baskets.”

Beel, to the surprise of no one, picked a basket full of large eggs, Belphie went for one with small sheep shaped chocolates. Levi picked a basket with a mix, including some small pink flower shaped chocolates that looked just like ones from an episode of the anime he watched the week before. Mammon’s basket also had a mix, mostly white chocolates dusted with golden sheen. Diavolo picked a basket of large eggs, dark, white and milk with intricate decorations across their surface. Lucifer’s basket of choice was filled with the darkest chocolate, more bitter than sweet and perfect with coffee. Simeon and Luke picked matching baskets, large and small chocolates in marbled milk and white. Satan’s basket was small chocolates, full of unique flavours and combinations. The final two baskets were fairly similar, a mix of sizes and types, though Asmo’s leant more towards fruity flavours than Solomon’s. With all the baskets collected Kore grinned at them.

“Happy Easter everyone!” She paused, glancing over at Barbatos. “Oh, Barb, your basket should be in your room.”

[kitkatwinchester]

So...considering we’re on the home stretch of the greatest show of all time--a show that has been a huge part of my life for the last eight years--I figured now was probably a good time to start doing reactions and reviews. I’ve seen a lot of Tumblrs do this, and I want to join in on that.

So basically, I’m gonna start by just doing a bullet point list of reactions as I go. Fair warning, I get very excited and very into this show, so the list’ll probably be pretty long. But hopefully you enjoy it! And, even if you don’t, this gives me something to look back on years down the line. XD

Also, my mom is watching it with me, so I might include some of her reactions/our discussion in my list too!

And, because I can, at the end of all of it, I’ll give a much more concise review/reaction based on how I feel after the whole episode’s over. Because why not. XD

Enjoy my watching! XD <3

Oh we’re starting!

...did I miss the “then” title card?

Oh wait there it is.

Dude we’re going FAR back on this “then”. I wonder what that means?

My poor baby crying again. :(

DEAN’S APRON OH MY GOD I’M DEAD! XD XD <3 <3

“It was. In the 50s.” Point taken.

My poor baby. :( :( :( :(

Oh so killing Amara is officially a plan? Okay then.

“I’ve killed Hitler.” I can’t believe he’s still talking about that! XD

Actually I can believe he’s still talking about it, I take that back.

DEAN WITH THE MARIO BROTHERS OMG!!

Okay, I know this episode has something to do with them celebrating holidays because of a fairy or nymph or something like that, and this is already feeling like a light-hearted, fun, domestic Winchesters episode. I hope it stays that way. <3

Have you tried turning it back off and turning it on again? Hit reset.

HE READ MY MIND!

MEAT MAN!! XD XD

Ummm...okay then.

Also SCOOBY-DOO UNDIES!!! DEAN YOU DORK!! XD XD <3

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, Jack is my favorite and Dean is my second-favorite.

“Language!” “That’s it I’m getting my gun.” XD XD

I can already tell that so many of my reactions are probably just gonna be me quoting and then laughing. XD

They don’t seem very concerned? Shouldn’t random people not be able to get in?

This lady is such a mom omg.

Mrs. Butters? XD

Wood nymph. Got it.

“Shouldn’t you be in the woods somewhere? Nymphing?” XD XD (P.S. That was my mom’s favorite line in this episode. XD)

You what now?

Necessities of life?

Hmmm….I like her, but she weirds me out. Something is off.

Dean’s “oof that’s awkward” face. XD

“2020.” Hearing that year said out loud just feels...oof. Just oof.

Poor nymph…

Wait, haven’t we seen those symbols before? Maybe I’m making that up.

HA! “It’s kind of been one apocalypse after the other.” He’s not kidding.

OOOOH!! HERE COME THE HOLIDAYS!!!

WAIT WHAT IS THAT TELESCOPE THING?

WAIT WAIT WAIT WHAT??!! A MONSTER radar??!! Dude WHAT?! Man, they’ve needed something like that for YEARS!

Wait wait wait...relatively nearby….it’s not gonna ping because of Jack is it?? SHE’S NOT GONNA HURT JACK IS SHE??!!

Oh okay nevermind. Just a vamp nest.

Say what now?

We can...that just...umm...okay then??

“Heck...heck yeah.” XD XD XD

Yeah I’m with Sam on this one. She seems innocent, but, like…

Dean does have a point though.

But also things like this never last. It’s too good to be true.

MY BABY!!!

“She’s probably harmless, but just in case, watch yourself”?? Dean that was a terrible way to do that but okay.

Snickerdoodles. XD

My poor baby looks so lost. :(

I mean...Dean makes a good point there. But also the son of Satan is adorable and she’s suspicious. But anyways.

“Ignoring your trauma doesn’t make you healthy.” SOMEONE FINALLY SAID IT OMG!!! XD XD XD <3 <3 <3 <3

...Jack is hiding something? IS JACK HIDING SOMETHING?!

...do we know what Jack is hiding??

The only thing I can think of is that he knows about Cas’s deal with the empty, but he had a soul when that happened, and it wasn’t really eating at him then. Is it eating at him more now for some reason??

IS JACK HIDING SOMETHING??!!

Jesus christ this is gonna bother me…

Okay but when has that ever actually worked, Dean?

Awww….

I’m guessing they didn’t tell her he’s a nephilim? If they don’t really trust her--which they don’t--they shouldn’t. Is there a chance she knows already? I feel like she wouldn’t be acting like that if she did.

Vamps watching a movie with vamps. Classy. XD

...ew…

At least they’re drinking from bags instead of from humans I guess?

Nice slicing at the same time, boys.

Huh. Well. That was easy. Too easy?

CHRISTMAS! XD <3

THE TRAIN OMG!! XD XD <3 <3

Their faces. XD

HER DANCE!

Okay she’s kind of adorable not gonna lie.

“We are so keeping her.” XD XD

DEAN’S LITTLE EXCITED HANDS ON THE RAILING OMG I’M DEAD!! XD XD <3 <3 <3

If I can’t get adorable Jack right now, I’m okay with adorable Dean. XD <3 <3

Sam is still suspicious, but Dean is totally into it.

“Enjoy the world you’re fighting for.” That was really quick and so subtle, but d*mn that’s a good line.

MY BABY!!!!

HIIIII JACK!!! I MIIIIISSSSSED YOOOOOUUU!!! <3 <3 <3

Uh-oh. I don’t like the way she said “what are you”. DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH MY BABY!!!

“He’s a millennial.” XD XD

DEAN IN THAT NIGHTGOWN OMG!!! I know it was in the promo photos, but seeing it in the context of the episode is even funnier. XD

Sam’s gagging at his bro’s “down there” bits lol.

Oof. She is VERY absentminded by Jack and whatever he is. No likey.

...hmm. I still don’t trust her with Jack.

“Poppycock”???

HA!! “I’m worried about your cholesterol.”

And Sam and Jack’s little smiles at that omg. <3 <3 <3

“We got one!” IS THAT A HILLYWOOD PARODY REFERENCE/GHOSTBUSTER REFERENCE??!! Because IT FEELS LIKE ONE!!!

The way they’re running to their rooms to get ready omg.

And that cut to them being dressed and going.

LUNCHES!! XD

Their faces! XD

The cinematography in this episode is AWESOME. Go Serge Ladouceur (and yes, I looked that name up. XD)

No crusts. Blessed knives. “I just waxed it.” She IS a mom!

Wait no. Take Jack with you. I don’t trust her with him.

“What shall we do with you.” LEAVE HIM ALONE IS WHAT!

Oh. They’re doing dishes.

WAIT DON’T TELL HER THAT JACK!

...I don’t like the way she’s talking to him.

Oof. Mary. *gags*

Jack you’re adorable and I love you but please stop being so gullible and stop sharing so much personal information.

WAIT NO! I know you feel guilty, but DON’T TELL HER YOU KILLED HER!

...dangat.

...oh. That was actually super sweet, and honestly the EXACT thing Jack needed to hear. ...maybe she’s not so bad?

...wait what? She just...pulls those out of thin air?

Ha! Another hunt

THEIR FACES WITH THE LUNCHES! ESPECIALLY DEAN’S!! XD

Aww! Thanksgiving! <3

Where is Cas during all this? Talking to his angel friends I guess?

That finger gun at Sam omg.

It’s so EASY for them wow.

Halloween! Fitting given our current season.

Their little smiles awww!!

THE BEERS TOGETHER HOLY FRICK!!! IT’S JUST LIKE WHAT TEAM FREE WILL 2.0 DID WHEN JACK CAME BACK! AND what the boys and Mary and John did in Lebanon! NEVER GETS OLD!! I LOVE THIS FAMILY!! <3 <3

...I still don’t necessarily trust Mrs. Butters. BUT I LOVE SAM AND DEAN AND JACK!

Those faces for the lunches just get better and better.

GRENADE LAUNCHER!!

MJOLNIR OMG NO WAY!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE HE STILL HAS IT!!! THIS EPISODE HAS SO MANY EASTER EGGS OMG!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Also that is an AWESOME shot.

BIRTHDAY!! Awww… <3 <3

OOF. Poor Dean. XD

Jack’s laugh and then immediately being like “oop” and bringing his head down but still chuckling when Dean glares at him I CAN’T. XD XD

I LOVE THIS FAMILY!! <3 <3 <3

AWW!! She made extra for him!

Okay, I like her. But I’m still cautious.

Oh. THERE it is.

What’s she doing??

Jack’s got you lady.

My mom is wondering why she has to walk away to make another smoothie when before she was just producing them. I’m wondering if maybe she has to near the ingredients to whip it into a smoothie magically, but that seems weird...continuity error?

Get her, Jack. My smart boi. <3 <3

My Mom: “You better hurry it up there, Jack.”

Oh it’s evil Men of Letters dude. NOW I get why we went that far back.

Oh! AND the Thule. NOW I get why Dean mentioned killing Hitler again. Wow. Nice connections on this episode all around. Go writers.

...she did what now?

WTF??!!

HOLY FRICK!!!

HOLY S*** HOLY S*** HOLY S***!!!

Do NOT ask about tea or cookies after you just pulled sh** like that.

On a more positive note, the way Jack just said “son of a bitch” out of nowhere like that is so adorable because he, like, NEVER swears, but also that’s Dean’s saying and it just proves that he’s taking after his dads and just already growing up and AHHHH I LOVE HIM!!! <3 <3 <3 <3

Also Jack please go tell your dads what you found.

Okay so during the commercial break, my mom and I looked up wood nymphs and had this big discussion and here’s kind of what we came up with:

So we were trying to figure out if wood nymphs are supposedly evil, and we didn’t find much, but they do have super strength (which explains her ability to rip off that dude’s head…), and the ability to control wood and nature, which might explain why she can pull smoothies out of thin air.

So then we saw on the SPN Wiki page for this episode that part of the description mentions that the wood nymph would do anything for her family, and that makes me wonder if she has, like, ulterior motives to protect her wood nymph family? But also, she said the Men of Letters were her family, so that translates to Sam and Dean now, right? So theoretically, she wouldn’t hurt them, she’d be trying to protect them. Which means they should be fine, because she only hurts threats. But then my mom pointed out that maybe she considers Jack a threat and that’s a really good point, so now I’m worried all over again. She’s still acting weird with him, and even though I did like that little advice she gave about second chances, maybe it’s all an act? My mom thinks she, like, poisoned his sandwich or something with anti-nephilim juice in order to try to hurt him, but that was before she knew he was a nephilim, right? I don’t know. I think my mom makes a really good point. I hope my baby winds up being okay. :(

Okay. Back to the episode now. 

Ahhhhhhhh noooooo. Where are the boys when we need them?

Wait, DATE?? EILEEN??!!

No. He isn’t. Go away.

Sam look at yoooooooouuuu. <3

But also please take a moment to notice how uncomfortable your son is and ask him what’s wrong please and thank you. (And yes, I will keep saying son thank you very much.)

Ha! She wants him to get a haircut just like Dean does. The joke’s about Sam’s (and, by extension, Jared’s) hair will never not be funny.

Ha! “Language.”

YES!! EILEEN!!!

YES SAM!! GO GET YOUR GIRL!!

DEAN! XD

Okay the Sam and Eileen thing is adorable, and Sam and Dean’s banter is hilarious, but guys...look at your son please and thank you. :(

I’m so torn between wanting Sam to just be happy and enjoy himself and wanting him to help Jack ahhhhhh.

Sam can go on his date. I’m sure Dean can handle it.

Roses! Nice touch.

Ha! Dean with the supportive big bro action.

Such. A. Mom.

“Boys.”

Wait nooooooo.

Okay but Alex’s acting right there...tip top. So subtle. Jack is trying so hard to be sneaky and warn Dean about what he saw, and the way Alex is conveying pure panic but also showing how sneaky he’s being is AWESOME.

Also that little “sh*t” or “da**it” or whatever it was that he mouthed? Somehow so cute and makes me so worried at the same time.

“The Dean Cave”?? XD XD

Dean I am BEGGING YOU, please take a cursory glance at your son.

...da**it...

The subtitles say “suspenseful music plays” XD XD

Wait Jack noooo. Don’t go after her alone! Chase Dean instead!!

NOOO!! NOT IN THERE!!!

She’s totally gonna trap him in there.

...what?

She’s being so condescending shut the fudge up.

What? No.

Does he still not have a soul? Is that what he’s hiding? That wouldn’t make sense.

Oh wait. I get it now.

HE IS NOT!!! SHUT THE FUDGE UP LADY!!

LADY STOOOOOP! HE DOESN’T NEED YOUR SH**!! HE ALREADY FEELS GUILTY WOULD YOU QUIT IT??!! :’( :’( :’( :’(

HEY! NOT COOL!

I HOPE SOMEONE RIPS YOUR HEAD OFF B***H!!

They’re not. They know he won’t now.

SHUT UP LADY!!

HEY!!! STOP IT!!! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!

TAKE HER DOWN JACK!!!

He IS family!

...ummm...what??

GOD DA**IT!!

...my mom literally just said “told you so” about the poisoning. ...which also explains why she walked away to make another smoothie, because she WANTED him to find the video, says my mom. And yes, my mom was right, AND I HATE IT!! SCREW YOU LADY!! LEAVE MY BABY ALONE!!

It IS safe you B**CH!!

HE’S NOT A MONSTER!!! :’( :’( :’(

DA**IT!! DEAN PLEASE DO SOMETHING!!

Ha! He’s so excited about the sandwich and it’s adorable.

But also save your son!!

...wait what?

She’s...she’s really just gonna out herself like that?

Ha! YES!

Aww...Dean’s so disappointed. :(

BUT! He’s sticking up for his son! Because even if he’s mad at him for everything that happened to Mary (but also get over it, because she sucked anyways, Dean XD), of course he’ll still protect him.

Ha! The way he just takes it away…

Aww...poor baby. :(

He’s so disappointed. He deserves better. I feel bad for him. :(

HE IS NOT! SHUSH!

Aww...looking at the sandwich, but making the right call.

AWW! He’s trying. Best of both worlds.

Take the deal, lady.

DA**IT!!!

SERIOUSLY?!

SERIOUSLY???!!!

Screw you, lady.

HEY! NOT FAIR!

He is NOTHING like his father, thank you very much!

Well...now what??

Oh thank god, Sam’s home. He’s smart. He’ll find a way to get them out.

Her calling him Samuel is both hilarious and annoying, somehow. I think it’s only annoying now because I hate her with what she just did to my boys. XD

OOOOF.

She gonna out herself again?

Sam’s face when she said that about good news and bad news. XD

I suppose the benefit of having a bad guy who thinks they’re doing the right thing is that she’s not trying to hide it. So hopefully, if she outs herself again, Sam can deal with it a little better than Dean did, knowing Dean was not very successful lol. Dean let his love of her food get in the way. XD

She DID out herself!

Ha! “You were always the smart one.”

YES! Good job, Sam. Starting off strong. <3

YES! GOOD JOB SAM!! Nice manipulation.

Ha!

Can’t believe she’s asking about the date.

Actually yes I can. XD

Wait, why don’t WE get to hear about the date? I WANNA HEAR ABOUT THE DATE DA**IT!

Well, DUH, Sam, you think they don’t know that?

Dean OMG!! XD XD

SUPPORTIVE BIG BRO!! XD XD

In Dean’s defense, he knew she’d wait for Sam, so...it’s not like they were REALLY in danger.

Do NOT try shooting her. Are you kidding me right now?

...really Sam? REALLY?! You’re going to try to SHOOT her?? You’ve seen what she can do, and you’re going to try to SHOOT her? She got the jump on JACK. POWERED UP Jack. Really? Call me crazy, but I feel like that’s not gonna work.

Yes. Yes he is. ...so much for Sam being the smart one.

I want to be mad at them for getting distracted by the holidays, but also I can’t exactly blame them given their childhoods, so…

Ha! The way they both react to the Boxing Day breakfast. Such brothers. XD

There ya go. Good plan. MUCH better than shooting her. Thank you boys.

WAIT WAIT WAIT!! Is this where we’re gonna get the “you sure this is gonna work” “let’s say yes” scene from the promo?? I THINK IT IS!! (Okay, so I MAY have watched that particular five second scene a million and one times because it had my boys in it, but I love them okay?? Sue me.)

Hey. Chill, Dean. Don’t yell at him.

Aww baby. :( :( :(

He doesn’t think you’re a monster. He’s just upset. :( 

...uh oh. This convo is gonna be bad, isn’t it? :( :(

:’( :’( :’( :’( :’(

WAIT! “For a while” YES! THAT’S A GOOD THING!!

Oh wait. “Still am a little bit.”

“Evil Mary Poppins” XD XD

AWWW!! SEE JACK?! He DOES love you!! <3 <3 <3 <3

OKAY NEVER MIND THAT CONVO WAS ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD!!! I need to break that down for a second.

That convo was short and subtle and to the point, but it says SO much about Dean and Jack’s relationship.

First of all, the fact that Dean decided to be honest with Jack instead of continuing to pretend everything’s fine shows how much he really does care about Jack and how much he still trusts him and loves him. He doesn’t open up often, and I’m glad he finally did.

Second of all, he may have been blunt, but there was so much affection hidden in the way he addressed all of that. I mean, he tells Jack that he used to be really mad, and he still kind of is, but then he reminds him that just because they’re in a rough patch right now doesn’t mean he wants to lose him. Yes, Jack made a mistake, and yeah, Dean’s finding it hard to get over it, but Jack’s family through and through, and that means that, no matter what, Dean’s going to look out for him. It’s the same way he treats Cas and, more notably, the same way he treats Sam. He’s giving Jack the family treatment. And THAT is a BEAUTIFUL thing.

All of that said, between all of the OG Team Free Will, Dean’s relationship with Jack will always be my favorite (probably mostly because they’re my two favorite characters, but also because they’re amazing together), so this convo makes me so freaking happy. <3 <3 <3 <3

Sam you are being not very sneaky. 

SERIOUSLY SAM??!!

I take that back. Sam is not being smart about this. *eye roll*

UGGGGHHHHH.

WHERE IS CAS WHEN YOU NEED HIM?!

Actually quick side note, one that I’m adding now that I’ve finished the episode: not having Cas around TOTALLY makes sense. Explanation included in the review.

“Because you are my favorite.” XD XD XD 

She shouldn’t still be making me laugh, but dangat she’s too funny. XD

Wait noooo. No torture allowed.

I KNEW IT!! I TOLD YOU!! I CALLED IT!! SCENE FROM THE PROMO!! XD XD <3 <3 <3

I LOVE DEAN AND JACK SO MUCH!! <3 <3 <3

Ha! Fixing his hands.

YIKES!

...but did the cuffs break at least?

HA! She actually converted him to not swear.

I love how Dean makes a point of swearing extra loud after he realizes what he did. I love him. XD XD <3

Oh frick, that didn’t break the cuffs? Are you kidding me? Stupid powerful magic…

OOH! Dean’s got an idea!

THOSE LITTLE SMILES I LOVE THEM!! <3 <3 <3 <3

OH SHUT UP LADY! Are you still talking??

...okay so...trauma.

Please listen to Sam.

YES HE IS SHUSH!

Just because he has blood on his hands doesn’t mean he’s not a kid. Just saying.

Okay so I kind of feel bad for her knowing what she’s been through, but also that does not excuse her behavior. However, I will take back what I said about someone ripping her head off. I suppose that isn’t really necessary.

That said, someone please do something. :( :(

WOULD YOU QUIT IT WITH THE FINGERNAILS SUPERNATURAL??!! I STILL HAVEN’T GOTTEN OVER IT FROM THE CHRISTMAS EPISODE IN SEASON 3!!!

My mom and I are both turning away owwwwwww.

STOOOOOOOOOOP!!!

Jesus Christ lady!!

“Pain is just weakness leaving the body.” Dean what?! XD XD

HEY! Smart! Way to go you two!! <3 <3

And still helping his son up YES! <3 <3 <3

Okay that could not have been a more in character moment between Dean and Jack right there. Between the “not so bad” and the helping him up and the helping him walk down the hall and Jack just following him along and I just...I LOVE THEM OKAY!! <3 <3 <3

AHHH!! SHE TOOK OFF SO MANY FINGERNAILS JESUS!!

SHUT UP LADY!!

YES!

...Dean honey that was the reset button…

There’s no way that did the job. Too easy.

Problem not solved!! Problem DEFINITELY not solved!!

Creepy green eyes!!

Oh she looks maaaaad. That’s not good.

HEY!!! What happened to not hurting family??!!

LEAVE THEM ALONE!!

Which family??!! Cause YOU’RE the one destroying them!

No he won’t.

“You hurt him, you hurt us.” GREAT line!! YES SAM!! <3 <3 <3

Oooh!! He’s getting to her!! <3 <3

Oop. There’s our backstory. Mr. Cuthbert wouldn’t let her go back. Not that I’m surprised, given what he did to Dean all those years ago.

Yes. Yes he did.

YAY! Dean jumping in to save his son. <3

NICE! Good call, Dean! <3

THAT FACE!! Jack’s face!! <3 <3

YES!!!! YES!!! GOOD JOB BOYS!! <3 <3 <3

Awww….poor Mrs. Butters…

Okay now I feel really bad for her. And a little guilty that I called her a b***h. I’m still kind of mad at her, but...her motives make sense.

Hey yay! She healed him!

Wow, this nymph is POWERFUL. Now that she’s nice again, can we, like, actually keep her? Cause that’d be an awesome ally to have.

Aww...Jack being the one to voice their forgiveness. So pure, especially since she was after him all that time. <3

Awww….Dean wants her to stay. He’s so upset. XD

But he also gets it. :) <3

OMG!! That shot with all three of them looking at her and those sweet little smiles they give her as she’s talking about home. There was just so much...genuineness in that! I loved it! <3 <3

Jack being the voice again. <3

Okay, she looks hecka cute in that outfit.

Oof. That makes sense lol. It would be way too easy if it didn’t revert back.

...inter what now?

Oh shoot...that just proves Chuck destroyed all the worlds...lovely….

Awww!! <3 <3

Ha! Her little words of wisdom to them! To reiterate: SUCH. A. MOM. XD XD <3 <3

Sam and Dean’s smirks at each other when she tells them to do the same things they’ve been telling each other to do for years--eat your vegetables and cut your hair. XD

Awww….that little extra nose crinkle and smile at Jack when she tells him to save the world. <3

I also just realized that this breaks my theory that anyone who meets Jack instantly falls in love with him because of how adorable he is. Though, I guess she’s a little different given that extra little motivation to protect her family in the only way she knows how. Plus, trauma.

Oof. Bye bye extra magic.

Aww...this convo between Jack and Sam. <3 <3

Aww Jack… :( :(

You weren’t stupid, baby. You all fell for it. :(

Aww….he’s looking for faith from Sam.

And Sam just gave it to him. <3

I know the line seems desperate, and in a way, it is, but the way that Sam gave him a little smile shows that it’s more than that. They are desperate, and Jack is their only hope, but also, Sam knows Jack can handle it, because he does have faith in him. It’s a short convo, but it says so much.

That tin has a birthday cake for Jack, made by Dean. Calling it right now.

“He loves that apron.” XD <3 <3

I KNEW IT AND I LOVE IT OMG!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

THAT’S SO ADORABLE!!! And that is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT Dean’s way of telling Jack that he still loves him, and that he forgives him. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

THEIR LITTLE SMILES!! <3 <3 <3

I’M SCREAMING!!! ALL OF THEIR SMILES AT EACH OTHER I FREAKING LOVE THIS FAMILY!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

I SERIOUSLY LOST ALL FUNCTIONALITY JUST NOW TO THE POINT WHERE I’M ADDING THIS COMMENT LATER BECAUSE AHHHH!!! <3 <3 <3 <3

AWESOME ending shot. It’s a great way to end a much more light-hearted episode while also setting us up perfectly for knowing that things are about to get heavy and serious. I bet whatever Jack wished for, it has something to do with taking on God.

Okay, so...those reactions were a lot longer than I was anticipating, and I want to apologize, but also, I did warn you. XD That said, review time!

I loved this episode! It was absolutely hilarious, but also sweet and touching. It mixed some crazy and fun moments with some of the most subtly emotional ones, both negative and positive. I absolutely loved all the Easter Eggs, and I loved watching the boys have a chance to celebrate holidays in a way that they never have before, especially with Jack. The facial expressions in this episode killed me. Between all of the little smiles and dorky excitement, I was laughing and smiling right along with the characters. Some stand-out moments/things for me: 

That convo between Dean and Jack. I already broke it down above, but seriously, I love how they did that. As a huge fan of Dean and Jack and their relationship, the way that those two interacted this episode was beautiful and really sets up the fact that they’re going to need to lean on each other for support as a whole family in the coming fight, and I loved that. <3 

Sam going on a date with Eileen! <3 Initially, I had a theory that Sam and Eileen would end up together at the end of all of this, but when she left a few episodes ago, I threw that idea out the window and it made me sad. So the fact that they went on a date and got to see each other again--even if we didn’t get to see it--makes me so happy and brings back my hope that they’ll end up being together. <3 That said, I am 100% going to write a fanfiction of that date, since Supernatural chose to keep it from us. XD

The acting really stood out to me in this one. Maybe it’s just because it’s been so long since I’ve seen them doing something new, but I honestly feel like J2 and Alex nailed it even more than usual. I mean, their facial expressions were seriously so amazing in this episode. Between the really dorky moments and the subtle emotional moments, I felt like their faces were always saying so much and I loved it. <3

One thing I want to address is the lack of Cas. I know a lot of people were upset that he wasn’t in it, especially since the boys were celebrating so many holidays with Jack, and while I agree that it would’ve been beautiful to have him there, it makes perfect sense that he wasn’t there based on the trajectory of the episode and everything that happened. For starters, if Cas had been there, the wood nymph business would’ve been solved INSTANTLY. Cas is always extra suspicious of people, so if she didn’t trust him because he was an angel, the odds of her getting the jump on him would’ve been slim. And yes, she did poison Jack with the smoothies, but, as this episode continued to point out, Jack is still a kid, so he’s still much more naive and gullible. Plus, he’s upset and guilty and confused and just generally vulnerable now that his soul is back, so it was easy for him to trust and be manipulated. But if Mrs. Butters had tried to do the same thing to Cas, (and I’m picturing that one scene with the milkshake in Peace of Mind here) there’s no way he would’ve fallen for it. More importantly, with how worried he is about Jack, he would’ve been really vigilant about the way she was talking to him and everything, and he probably would’ve caught the poisoning long before it could really hurt him. And you can argue that Sam and Dean probably should’ve picked up on it, which is true, however, even they admit that they get distracted in the fun of it all. While it would’ve been great to see Cas in on the festivities, he wouldn’t have been quite as distracted by it as the boys were, and with his vigilance, there’s no way any of them would ever have gotten hurt. He’d be watching Mrs. Butters like a hawk, and the second she did something suspicious, she’d be gone. That said, I can understand if people want to say that’s dumb, because if they didn’t want Cas to defeat the villain so easily, they shouldn’t have had a villain that could be so easily defeated by Cas, and I’m sure some people feel like that’s a stupid excuse. To which I also offer this. After seeing those convos between Dean and Jack and Sam and Jack, and knowing that the episode ends with the three of them celebrating Jack’s birthday, Cas’s absence makes even more sense: this episode wasn’t about him. I love Cas, but it didn’t need him. See, Cas already has an undying love for Jack. While Cas definitely saw Mary as family, he never had the same emotional connection to her that Sam and Dean did--for obvious reasons. But he definitely had--and still has--a very strong emotional connection to Jack. He’s always been the most involved in being Jack’s father--again, for obvious reasons. But even after the Mary incident, it was Cas who went to find him, who tried to help him, and who wanted to protect him. Cas always loved him and always trusted him, and he always will. But Sam and Dean lost a lot of trust for Jack after what happened to Mary...and this episode fixed that. Because Cas wasn’t around, it gave Jack a chance to prove himself to Sam and Dean again. Sam had already pretty much forgiven him, but Dean was definitely on the fence. He even says it. But the fact that Dean had that conversation with him and said everything he did proves that Dean still loves him, and it gave Jack the reassurance he needed that, while Dean is still mad, he doesn’t hate him, and he doesn’t think he’s a monster. And while Sam and Jack were on pretty good terms, Jack was still worried that Sam couldn’t trust him--that Sam didn’t have faith in him anymore. But when Sam tells him that he knows he can defeat God, Jack gets confirmation that Sam does still have faith in him. And after all of that, after celebrating all of those holidays together, and having both of those conversations, to then end that with Sam and Dean celebrating Jack’s birthday? That’s what this episode was about. Sure, it was a silly monster of the week episode. Sure, we got some adorable and hilarious moments. And sure, we got to see them celebrate things that they never got to celebrate in a real way before. But underlying all of that, we got to see Jack become part of Sam and Dean’s family again. We got to see them bond. And knowing that this is right before they all prepare to take on God--Jack needed that. The boys needed that. They needed to all trust each other again. And the fact that they celebrated his birthday at the end proves that they do. They’re a family again. They have each other’s backs. They trust each other. And they love each other. And as much as I love Cas, and as much as I would’ve loved to have seen him be a part of their holidays, he didn’t need to be. But those three did. And that’s why Cas wasn’t in the episode. So, frankly, full points to the writers for making that happen. While they gave us a fun episode, and they may have left out a fan favorite character, it created an underlying theme that’s really going to matter as we get into the big stuff of Season 15. And that’s awesome.

All in all, I thought this was a great episode, and I’m so glad that this is how we get to jump back into the season. Not only was this episode hilarious and fun, but it was also a great set-up for the coming battle and for all the hard and serious things that are bound to come in the next several episodes.

Rumor has it that this was the last “silly” episode of the show, and while that’s a sad thought to think about, it totally makes sense with what they did with the episode, and frankly, I think it’s a beautiful silly one to have ended on and a great way to lead into everything that’s coming next.

My Rating: 10/10

[fleckcmscott]

Bewitching Hour

Summary: October has been a blissfully busy month. With Halloween around the corner, Arthur and Y/N have some planning to do.

Warnings: Swearing

Words: 4,665

A/N: Special thanks to @hhandley80​ for this request! You've been so supportive and sweet. I truly appreciate you and hope you enjoy it!

On a side note, my oneshots will be more sporadic. I'm still writing but life has been life. Also, I've finished the first draft of another multi-chapter featuring Arthur and Y/N. It's going to take time to rewrite the subsequent drafts and edit, edit, edit. The chapters will go up once the story is ready. Thanks for your patience and support! 🙂 I heart you all!

If you have any thoughts or questions, please comment, feel free to message me, or send me an ask! 

Arthur's suggestion that they make plans to celebrate Halloween should not have been a surprise. He loved starting traditions with Y/N, and she prized adopting them with him. "It's been awhile," he'd said as they'd walked arm-in-arm to the laundromat. "I think it'd be nice."

Holidays had been a source of merriment most of her life. The beauty of red and green decorations at Christmas. Turkey and mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving. An egg hunt and chocolate rabbit at Easter. The togetherness of family during them all.

Halloween, though, wasn't a favorite.

As a child, she'd had fun trick-or-treating, riding her bike from house to far-flung house. And she hadn't minded escorting her little sister as a teenager. Y/N's homemade witch costume had been passed down. She could still recall the sleekness of the ribbon between her fingers as she'd secured the pointed hat under Mabel's chin.

But the magic had fallen away. When married to Jeff, she'd had to attend his boss's annual party. After receiving an apologetic shrug and kiss, she'd be relegated to hanging out with the other wives. They'd included her in their recipe swaps, in their exchanges of mild gossip. Her natural friendliness made chit-chat easy, far easier than having a good time. Those evenings had been spent nursing a glass of wine and willing the clock to go faster.

During the period she'd cared for her father, she'd tried to hand out candy. She liked being a good neighbor and imparting kindness in the form of bite-sized sweets. As his health had declined, the porch light had gone dark. Random rings of the doorbell would result in shouting and swearing. Repeated attempts to explain the door's lock wasn't broken. Festivity would transform into drudgery. It hadn't been worth the trouble. Instead, she'd watched terrible TV specials while her thoughts wandered to a future far from Boonville. A future she'd doubted would ever be.

"I don't know if it's your thing," Arthur had continued, bringing her back to the present. "But you might enjoy it with me." The response he longed for was evident in the worrying of his pocket, outlines of his knuckles visible through the tan cloth.

Everything they'd experienced together had soothed the sting of those wasted years. The hesitancy lurking in her was silly. Unwelcome. Less than either of them deserved. She'd met his keen eyes and half-smile. The sudden mental image of him dressed as a cowboy or pirate, eyepatch and all, prompted a laugh. Convinced her as she dug out her dry-cleaning stub. "It isn't my thing," she'd said. "But you are."

Relief had relaxed his wrinkles, save for his crows feet, which had deepened as he'd returned her happy expression. A slender arm wrapped around her waist, drew her against his solid frame. Once the clerk disappeared through the swinging doors to retrieve their clothes, Arthur grasped her chin and kissed her. The tender explorations were soon sloppy, and she'd giggled, his enthusiasm becoming her own. Their noses had met, his lashes resting on his wide cheekbones. "I think you're the sweetest treat, Mrs. Fleck."

Currently, Donahue's Department Store, Gotham's number one retail emporium (if the ads were to be believed), was bustling with last-minute shoppers. Weary mothers escorted their babbling children through the aisles. Clerks swapped out displays for the changing blue light specials. Lines went for yards. Patricia and Y/N sought refuge at a corner table in the café on the top floor. The warm glow from the pendant lamps provided a relaxed ambience, one that matched the hot cider and pumpkin spice cake they were savoring.

"I've got my grandson on Sunday," Patricia said between bites. "My daughter's going to a party with a medical records tech from Gotham General. Met him when she missed the bus. They split a cab and hit it off." Chuckling, she lifted her mug. "Speaking of, how's married life been so far?"

Memories of the past week quickened Y/N's heart, until she thought it might stop. How Arthur had gripped her replacement Social Security card, just to read her new name. The way he'd grab her for a twirl whenever they were in the kitchen. The reverence in his gaze when they'd lay together after sex, a look that both thrilled and made her blush. "The bills for his medication and appointments will no longer make us cringe," she deadpanned. She lowered her fork. "When we met, I was kind of blindsided - I'm not the type to fall in love quickly." The corners of her lips tugged up. "Being married to Arthur feels like a habit. A habit I should have learned twenty years ago."

"I'm glad you found each other." Patricia reached across the light brown table and covered Y/N's hand, gave it a squeeze. Then she wiped frosting from her mouth and nodded in the direction of the escalator. "Now let's find a costume that'll drive him nuts."

Beyond the colorful cosmetics and pungent perfume counters, they sorted through racks of vinyl smocks and plastic masks. Pop culture icons and princesses. Vampires and spooks. Knockoffs of classic movie monsters. Most were poorly made and decidedly uninteresting. Y/N pawed through accessories in a nearby basket, a cigar here, a patched hat there. "How about a hobo? I could steal Arthur's tie."

"This was his idea. Give him something a little exciting." After a roll of Y/N's eyes, Patricia held out a plastic display bag. "Found it."

The white font on its blue label declared she should "Create a unique look!" A woman in a leopard-print leotard and bow-tie wore black cat ears and a tail, the only two items included in the set. Y/N's nose wrinkled. "I don't think so, Patricia." She rummaged through another bin and examined a hockey mask. "I don't show a lot of skin."

"You show Arthur." Patricia ignored Y/N's glare, continuing to shove it at her. "Every man loves a woman dressed as a cat. Our next lunch is on me if I'm wrong."

Patricia could be relentless, but Y/N had to admit she was usually right. She arched a brow as she eyed the costume. Maybe she could find a solid body suit instead of animal print. The kit was only $2.98. And her friend had made it a challenge. "You're on. But I'm not wearing a bow-tie." She crossed her arms across her chest and tapped her mouth. "Your turn. Would Robert like you as a French maid or a go-go dancer?"

~~~~~

It was a busy season for performers. Arthur remembered HaHa's talent agency being booked solid for October by the end of August. Myriad functions at nursing homes, parties, and children's organizations took place throughout the city. Amusement Mile had a series of special events, allowing Arthur to work extra hours before the slowness of winter dragged in. Once the holiday was over, he'd buy make-up and props on clearance.

He'd always assumed he would like Halloween - if he'd had the chance to celebrate it properly. It was about connection, something he'd never managed. The customs gave him a pretense, a template to meet people, rather than leaving him wondering how to go about it. Provided a hiding place for his seeming inability to act normal.

Recollections of the day were few but vivid. When he'd been around eight, there'd been a party at school. The teacher had made brownies and given the students a half-hour respite from lessons. (A welcome relief, since he wasn't very good at most of them.) But he hadn't had a costume. Hadn't known how to reply when the other kids asked where it was. Not wanting to be left out, he'd pocketed a watercolor pallet and sneaked to the bathroom.

The teacher (he wished he could remember her name) had walked in as he'd smeared green and blue on his face, a pathetic attempt at a turtle. Fear of punishment had caused his laughter. But her kindness as she knelt, wiped away tears and pigment with a scratchy, brown paper towel, had calmed him. "Wait here," she'd instructed. It had taken all his courage not to run home.

After some minutes, she'd returned, an old white sheet in one hand, black marker and pair of scissors in the other. "The nurse won't miss this." She'd traced eyeholes, helped him cut them out. She'd asked questions. About his mother and what it was like at home. Questions he was at a loss for how to answer. Finally, she'd draped the cloth over his head. "There," she'd declared. "Gotham Elementary has its own ghost."

Even as he'd gotten taller and the sheet no longer went beyond his knees, that costume had remained his go-to. He'd venture out to the rest of his building, knocking on paint-chipped doors and pushing broken buzzers. Having learned to stay away from doors that yelling or funny smells emanated from, he hadn't gotten a lot of candy. What he had collected he'd shared with Penny. The wax lips became a free toy. He wasn't sure his memory of startling his mother and being tickled until he couldn't breathe was real or imagined.

At twelve, he was told he was too old to go trick-or-treating. He'd starting scrounging for change to buy hard candies at Helm's Pharmacy. They weren't particularly appetizing, but they'd been what he could afford. Only a few kids rang, a number that dwindled further every year. Most neighbors kept their distance, likely aware he was troubled. Cinnamon discs and butterscotch drops had loitered around the apartment for months. He'd sucked on them in an attempt to cut down on his smoking, just to save money. It hadn't worked.

Y/N hadn't spoken about the holiday, not the way she had other special occasions. At first, he'd thought it had slipped her mind. Work, planning their honeymoon, completing the red tape required to meld all aspects of their lives had taken up much of their time. But, given her reluctance to talk in detail about her past heartache, he'd come to assume her Halloweens had been unpleasant. He was certain he could change that.

Sitting on the dingy, dark green plastic seat of the train car, he giggled to himself, chest puffing up as he straightened. They'd been man and wife for eight whole days. Movies and songs said love was supposed to be somewhere between serendipitous and fated. A happy accident that was meant to be. Lying awake at night, he would find himself wondering where they were on that scale. If the emotions swirling through him - the excitement of belonging, the fear of fucking up - were what every newlywed felt. Then Y/N would snuggle closer in her sleep, murmur nonsense into his skin, and for a few minutes he'd be at peace.

Years had been spent trying to figure out who he was. Trying to find an identity, his role within the world. While he was still searching, it had been far easier to become accustomed to the role of "husband" than he'd dreamed.

Teaching his wife about events across the city had been a delight. Gotham Village's Annual Costume Extravaganza was a parade that went all the way to Gotham Square. He'd participated a couple of times, never formally registering but slipping into the clown section. It had been exhilarating. Had allowed him to pretend, for a little while, that he was being seen. That the crowds lining the sidewalks were cheering for him. Signs for extravagant balls were plastered on billboards and lampposts throughout the streets; he'd have gladly attended and shown her off. A haunted house was being held in a building in his old neighborhood, a fundraiser for the orphanage. He hadn't brought that up.

In the end, once he'd explained trick-or-treaters went from apartment to apartment, they'd decided on a cozy evening at home. The details had been left to her. Whatever she'd plan, he'd love it. He wondered what she'd disguise herself as. Would she be a sexy devil or nurse, like he'd seen on a sit-com? The notion sparked a fire in his cheeks.

Given how busy he'd be, he'd stay dressed as plain, old Carnival. Part of him regretted accepting two gigs, especially on a Sunday. He would have preferred her company. But he wanted to put the money towards the wedding band he'd put on layaway. (Even though they had one account, he wasn't going to let her chip in for it.) He should already be wearing it for all of Gotham to see.

The lurch of the subway prompted him to rise and grasp the pole grip. His stance widened as it came to a halt, knees bending with the instinct of a man who'd ridden public transportation since he was a boy. As soon as the graffiti-covered doors parted, he stepped out onto the platform and ascended the stairs, eager to share his new insurance information with Dr. Ludlow.

~~~~~

Scratchy violins and the hum of a theremin. Shrill shrieks and cracks of thunder. A cackle resounded, then a pipe organ, playing a melody in a minor key.

There was no doubt about it. Halloween spirit had saturated 4A.

NCB's Movie Marathon Mayhem had begun at 10:00 AM. Y/N had had it on since getting out of the shower, hoping to catch a horror classic while she decorated the apartment and prepared Bloody Mary mix. As she hung cotton batting between the television's rabbit ears, creating a long, narrow spider-web, she realized they were only playing cheesy B-movies. Giant insects threatening buildings. Science experiments gone wrong. Alien invasions. Oh well. At least she wouldn't have to pay much attention to get the gist of the plots.

The orange plastic platter, black bats along its edges, had been an impulse buy. She thought its array of sugary skeletons, candy bracelets, and Jolly Jack chocolate bars would be well received. But having seen only one or two kids in the lobby, she had no idea how many children lived in their building. She hoped she'd bought enough.

The cardstock window decorations she'd found were festive and matched Arthur's sweet nature. One portrayed a warted, green witch flying on a broom past a full moon. On the other, a ghost and mouse shared a pillowcase of candy and wished a "Happy Halloween." She held the tape dispenser between her teeth as she stuck them to their white front door.

Just then, the elevator dinged. Glancing to her left, she saw Arthur stroll down the cheerfully lit hallway. Buoyant expression on him, despite his white, blue, and red make-up being streaked from sweat. Striped prop bag on his shoulder and carved pumpkin cradled in his arms. "The store owner was going to throw it out," he explained with a half hug. "But he let me have it as a tip."

Classic, triangular eyes evoked the annual carving contest her parents had taken part of back home. Her father had been well-known in the community, being the town's only doctor. Entering the competition had been expected. They'd never won but enjoyed it all the same. Y/N had picked out the patterns and scooped out the squash's slimy innards. Her mother had baked the seeds. Peals of their laughter echoed in her ears, and a lump formed in her throat.

She swallowed hard against it. Dammit, Y/N. Get it together. This was supposed to be a special night for Arthur and her. She needed to distract herself. One of his curls peeked out from under his bald-cap and green wig. She twirled a strand around her finger. "With that toothy grin, it just might be your twin," she said. He pecked her temple, the kiss sticky from greasepaint. She lit the half-melted candles using his red lighter and put the jack-o-lantern just outside their door.

While he freshened his paint in the bedroom, she slinked into the bathroom to change. Arthur's and her routines were closely aligned; keeping her costume hidden had not been easy. The headband holding the furry cat ears was quite stiff, its teeth a tad sharp on her scalp. Once it was in place, she hid it under her hair. The lint on her form-fitting stretch top and leggings reminded her why she rarely wore all black. She retrieved her brown eyeliner from the nearby shelf and started in on her whiskers.

Arthur's footsteps neared, heavy due to his clown shoes, and Y/N turned to lean back on the sink. His thin lips parted as he scanned her body, forehead furrowed in pleasant surprise. His reaction planted a seed of bliss in her belly, one that bloomed every second they regarded each other. The lunch she'd have to spring for was well worth the pink shells of his ears. Eventually, she held out the fluffy, wired tail and a safety pin. "Would you pin this just below my waistband?"

Fingers grazing hers, he took it and sat on the toilet lid. He cupped her hips and pulled her closer, positioned her until the dampness of his breath hit a bare sliver of her back. "Hold still," he murmured, his voice sending a tingle through her. At his gentle ministrations, the spandex of her leggings felt snugger. "Did you- Did you read my journal?"

A faint click of metal as the pin closed. "No." She colored the tip of her nose, frowned at how lackluster the shade was. "I'd never do that. Even if I'm dying for a preview of your material. Why?"

"No reason." A soft huff, his shy smile clear in his answer. "I have an idea." He handed her a washcloth and hurried out of the room. She was patting her face dry when he returned, a fine tipped brush and pot of black greasepaint in his hand. "This'll look better."

Her brow arched. She'd only had her make-up done once; Patricia had invited her when they'd first met. Such an outing was not her preference, but Y/N had accepted, being new in town and wanting to learn about her colleague. There'd been champagne at the counter, which she'd sipped until she'd spent too much on eyeshadow and apricot scrub. The next morning, she'd put the products and a note on Patricia's desk: "I'll never forgive you. Thanks!"

The heat radiating from Arthur prompted her to close the gap between them. She craned her neck towards him, slid her palms to his yellow vest until she held him just below his ribs. His forefinger curled under her chin, lifted it slightly and angled it to the right. The cool, wet brush met her fevered skin. The dusty smell of the greasepaint blended with a whiff of stale cigarette smoke and traces of his sweat. She licked her lips.

The vibration of his chuckle was felt before heard. "I really like your costume," he said lowly. Two more ticklish caresses of the bristles on the apple of her cheek. "If you're not careful, I might werewolf and go wild."

She stretched closer to him, the fervor in his tone going straight to her center. Though he'd been growing bolder, his cocky side wasn't often revealed. She wanted it, thirsted to see more of the wild horse kicking inside him. Her touch ran over his chest, until she dipped under his black suspenders and pulled. "Are you going to gobble me up?"

Teasing strokes on her nose. "Maybe." Then his thumb whispered along her jaw and guided her face upwards. His kiss was supple, slow, a drag of his mouth as his tongue sought entry. She yielded, the simmer of anticipation bringing her to her toes. He groaned deeply and palmed her thigh, then fondled the curve of her rear-

The ding-dong of the doorbell halted them. He lifted his head and laughed, gaze sparkling. "I got paint on you."

She twisted in his arms and looked in the mirror. The whiskers caught her eye, embellished at the ends with dainty curlicues - his skill never ceased to impress her. Red brightened her lips and streaks of white were on her cheek. "It's all right. They'll just know I've been necking with a clown."

~~~~~

The sound of the bell continued. Over and over and over. More than it ever had in Otisburg. There were mummies, ghosts, a couple of skeletons. A superhero proudly displayed his red cape and blue tights, and a kid in her karate robe went on about her yellow belt. A tiny clown, too young to walk, was brought by her sister. As Arthur made funny faces, the baby cooed and tried to take his red, foam nose. Arthur parted with it gladly.

Only one member of the Wayne family appeared, slicked back hair and pompous pout making the disguise complete. The man accompanying the boy introduced himself as their upstairs neighbor and shook their hands. After one look at Y/N, he nudged Arthur's bicep. "So, she's the one keeping half the building up at night. Good on you, pal." Arthur blinked in confusion as she ushered the guy away, red-faced and muttering about his nerve.

Arthur was overly generous, giving out fistfuls of sweets while taking a few extra seconds to gather his nerves and compliment the costumes he liked best. It felt good to interact with strangers without constantly second guessing himself. Y/N would rub his arm or kiss his shoulder and tell him what a great job he was doing. "Kids are easy," he said, refilling the candy dish. But he reveled in her praises, anyway. And the knowledge that meeting the neighbors was going well.

Clean-up required little effort. The jack-o-lantern sat on their kitchen table, flames flickering as the wicks burned away. The door decor was packed safely for use next year. His plaid blazer was slung over the back of a dining chair and his wig was off. Y/N's decision to leave her whiskers on pleased him - she made a damn sexy cat. He pocketed the last few pieces of candy to snack on during the remainder of the evening.

The Sunday Night Special Presentation she'd picked out, a made-for-TV horror movie, began at 9:00 PM on GBC. Most of its airtime was punctuated by her tipsy snickers and legal wisecracks, which was typical when they watched something stupid. Yet, as the show went on, she grew quieter, barely speaking between sips of her third cocktail. As they sat on the sofa, her posture stiffened. Forearms crossed over her breasts. Her nails dug into her upper arm.

The change started two-thirds of the way into the show, when the plot about a doll running amok twisted into a story about a professional woman trying to assert herself against the demands of her mother. Against the expectations of availability. To fight for the simplicity of having dinner and peace and quiet. It resonated with him, which felt weird. Especially when the film cut to black, the implication being the mother would meet a violent end at the hands of her possessed daughter.

A cheerful jingle came on. Puerto Rico was a direct flight from Gotham Airport, it advertised, a flight that lasted "two hours and fifteen tropical minutes." They should get out while the weather was still good. The juxtaposition of mood broke him out of his ponderings. He flicked off the blaring television with the remote. Then he heard Y/N sniffling.

She set her glass on the coffee table, a slight tremble in her hand. "I need some air," she whispered as she rose, then went out onto the fire escape.

Arthur rubbed his thigh and pressed his lips together. He wasn't used to seeing her cry. Not from sadness. Should he follow her? Give her time? Both had worked previously, depending on the situation. But he wasn't sure what had upset her, what situation they were in now.

Exhaling sharply, he grabbed her glass and dumped the rest of the drink down the kitchen sink. Rinsed their dinner plates and put the slow cooker in the fridge. When he'd finished making decaf coffee ten minutes later, she still hadn't returned. He ambled towards the ajar glass door and stepped out.

Moonlight outlined her shapely figure and reflected off her hair, the silver a contrast to the orange glow of the streetlamps illuminating her face. Her stare seemed fixated on the street below. He followed it to see a group of ghouls and goblins spraying shaving cream on a shop window. A couple, one he'd see occasionally when out for a cigarette, walked down the sidewalk. A woman was half-carrying a drunk man towards a bus stop.

Upon clearing her throat, Y/N spoke. "I may not look like it, but I had a great time with you tonight. The movie just got to me." Relieved, Arthur sidled next to her, wrapped his arm about her back. Her head fell to his shoulder and she smoothed her hand over his stomach. "I don't mean to hide from you. Someday you'll know the details of my earlier life." She scoffed. "When I'm ready to think about them." He entwined their fingers and kissed her hairline, avoiding the wired tips of her cat ears.

Shivering, she took a shaky breath. "There are no skeletons in my closet. Only disappointments." Her voice cracked as she beamed at him, cupped his cheek, and pressed her face to his. "Knowing I'd get to have you would have made those years so much easier."

He held her tightly, massaging between her shoulders. She'd been speaking about herself, but he couldn't help thinking it was about him, too. His years with Penny. His stints in Arkham. The loneliness, the isolation, the endless anger and yearning to be more than a speck of dirt no one cared for. His journal was full of questions about where the hell his one and only was. If he'd known she'd be real, tangible instead of a figment, would existence have hurt less?

Wincing, he tried to push through those thoughts. To focus on her instead of himself. What mattered was that Y/N needed him. Perhaps a joke would cheer her. "I was thinking the other night of how easy it is to smile around you," he said. "You tickle my funny bone." Amusement bubbled in her throat, music to his ears. She released a contented sigh and nuzzled the crook of his neck.

Peaceful stillness ensued as the minutes passed. Though the breeze was chill, goosebumps forming on his pale skin, her affection kept his heart warm. His fingertips rubbed circles into her lower back, and she offered a pleasured hum. Across the way, footsteps pounded. He glanced to see a kid darting up the street, plastic pumpkin pail in tow. The boy's scream was filled with boundless energy: "Happy Halloween, Gotham!"

Snorting, Y/N took Arthur's hand and led him inside. The cheap tail she wore bounced with every exaggerated swivel of her hips. "I've behaved all evening, which your werewolf comment made extraordinarily difficult." She looped her arms around him and flashed a come-hither stare. "May I have a goodie?"

The scrape of her nails on his scalp coiled a knot in his abdomen. "Aren't you supposed to say 'trick-or-treat?'" he asked huskily.

"Your pussycat needs a petting or two." She closed the bedroom door behind them. "Maybe even a mauling."

His brows shot up on a hitched giggle. Then he palmed her hip while she started in on his buttons. Before she got too far, he traced a whisker with the pad of his thumb. Let their foreheads meet and pecked her eyelids. "Only if you give me something good to eat." He pressed into her, his enjoyment relentless, not waiting for her reply before devouring her mouth.

~~~~~

Tag list (Let me know if you want to be added!): @harmonioussolve​, @howdylilflower​, @sweet-nothings04​, @stephieraptorr​, @rommies​, @fallenstarsabyss​, @gruffle1​, @octopus-plasma​, @tsukiakarinobara​, @arthur-flecks-lovely-smile​, @another-day-in-chuckletown​, @hhandley80​, @jokerownsmysoul​, @mrscarnival​

[ngame989]

“Friends” - TGG SVTFOE Fanfic Collection Ch. 12

Writing: @ngame989​​

Art: @toxicpsychox​​

Editing: @ubercelloczar​​, @seddm​​

Alternate fic links - FFnet, AO3

Summary: Ludo needs help making friends and turns to Star and Marco for help, but things quickly spiral out of their control.

Comic Page

Masterpost

It's been an incredibly trying month for me and I'm unsure about a lot of things in my personal life now, but this isn't one of them. I'm so happy to finally be getting back to my feet so I can make more of the Starco content I want the world to see. Hope you enjoy, and thanks for your patience. (Also, fair warning, there’s one ever so slightly steamy Starco scene here)

“Have you ever wondered why heart thingies are hearts?” Marco stopped chewing on a bite of his burrito as he turned his full attention to Star. It wasn’t the most confusing thing she’d ever said, but it was up there. “Like, why does this symbol mean hearts and love and stuff?” she clarified, holding up a piece of heart-shaped candy from the post-Valentine’s Day shopping spree Eclipsa had taken her on weeks ago.

“Dunno,” he responded. “Maybe it’s what people used to think hearts looked like or something.”

“None of the hearts I’ve seen on hunting trips with Dad ever looked like this. Although one was made of chocolate.” She shrugged and popped the treat into her mouth, dumping some more from the bag into her mouth soon after. Her cheeks were puffed out, stretching her heart marks wide and Marco couldn’t help but giggle at the sight. “What?” she mumbled, still chewing. He pantomimed the sight in front of him, pointing to his own puffed-up cheeks. Star quickly grabbed two more candies, licking the backs of them before sticking them to Marco’s face, smiling quite smugly at her handiwork. “Now we’re heart twinsies!” She scooted around the table next to him and leaned in, snapping a selfie. “The kids will love this one.”

He swallowed the last bite of his burrito, thanking the heavens for the new Taco Baco location on campus. The other food options there were… lacking, to say the least.

“The Valentine’s Day Chocopalooza was a smash hit, but I have no clue how to follow it! I can’t have peaked after half a year, Marco!” The memories came flooding back: brownie batter as far as the eye could see, melted chocolate inflicting its goopy wrath on every surface in the kitchen, and so much frosting that he still didn’t want to even look at the stuff.

“I think they just like spending time with you. You’re really good with kids, Star. Besides, the only other holiday coming up is Easter, and you’re terrified of it.”

“It has a giant rabbit that lays eggs, Marco! How do you not see how horrifying that is?”

A loud cough from the bushes behind them might normally have only caught Marco’s attention for a passing moment, but another voice frantically shushed it. “Dennis, quiet! The giant bunny schtick is too good!”

“Ludo?” Star and Marco said in unison.

“Hello, Star and Marco!” Ludo exclaimed with an emphatic wave. “So wonderful to see you again! How’s your kid?”

“She’s not… she’s fine,” Marco relented, estimating that it wouldn’t be worth the hassle. “So… how’s it going?”

“Things are fine, family’s good. Bird and Spider told me to say hello.” He seemed even twitchier than Marco remembered. Dennis prodded his brother with a wing, clearly trying to be surreptitious about it and failing spectacularly. “Ahem, well, there is one teensy tiny issue… I ran into Bearnicorn a few days ago. I totally froze up! Things were pretty awkward last time I saw the whole gang and I think I’m finally ready to try again, but I have no idea how to do that. You might not know this, but I have some issues getting over things,” he stated earnestly. Star and Marco exchanged a bewildered glance - he couldn’t be serious, right? Wait, what were they thinking, Ludo could totally say something like that seriously. Ludo took a deep breath and continued, “But Dennis suggested that I come to you two for help, since I had actually managed to work everything out with you.”

Star munched on another chocolate heart as she mulled over what he was saying. “So you want our help to… make friends?”

The edges of his beak-mouth turned up in an ecstatic smile. “I would like that very much!”

***

“You’re sure about this, Star?”

“He’s not hurting anything, Mom.” Star didn’t glance up from the piles of clothing she was rummaging through at the sound of her mom’s wary question; it wasn’t an unfair one, considering the history involved. Even though he was friendly now, Ludo was too much of a wildcard to completely discount as harmless. Still, though, Star saw no reason to suspect any tricks up his sleeve (though there were probably some bugs there). The nostalgia of reconnecting with Ludo was oddly calming for Star, and considering how quickly Marco agreed to help Ludo with his issues, despite the craziness of midterms approaching, she guessed he felt the same. Drawer after drawer bore no fruit in her quest to find the sweater for Marco’s all-important psychology ensemble - the book and glasses had already been secured.

“Though I didn’t say anything, I admit I was initially hesitant about you two sharing living quarters like this, but I must say Marco’s organizational skills seemed to have rubbed off on you,” Moon said with a snicker. She bent down and checked under the bed, pulling out stray bags of cereal and bottles of soda that Star recognized from her and Marco’s late night movie marathons slash cuddle sessions. “...somewhat.”

Think Star, think! When was the last time you saw that dang sweater? Let’s see… he wore it on our Valentine’s Day date so it can’t be that hidden - it was a bit snug on him which made it extra adorably handsome. He’d said he’d wear it more if I wanted, and I fell over laughing when he wore it just last weekend before we… oh corn. Star now recalled where the sweater would almost certainly be as a wave of horror washed over her. She slammed the dresser drawer and whipped around for a mad dash to the nightstand, where- pegasus feathers. Moon had just found the sweater, which was great, and with it was the exact last box she wanted anyone else (and especially her mom) to find, which was... greeeeeeat. Star generally felt she had a solid, trusting bond with her mother, but she’d never been - and still wasn’t - the first person Star blabbed to about her personal affairs.

“Mom, I can explain-”

“Star, sweetie, I’m not upset. What you do with Marco is none of my business, you’re a grown young woman who is more than capable of making her own decisions. If anything I’m simply relieved that you’re taking such sane precautions. I may be old, but I’m not ready to earn my place in the Grandma Room quite yet.” Despite her embarrassment, Star had to admit she was eased by her mom’s understanding,. “And don’t worry,” Moon said softly, “I’ll handle the subject with your father for you, if you’d like.” And just like that, any comfort was washed away by a tidal wave of beet-red cheeks and incoherent sputtering.

Marco poked his head in, causing Star to yelp and jump off the bed. “Hey, you almost ready?”

“Yep! Totally, totally, totally ready and not discussing anything about our personal lives with mom!”

“Uh-huh…” Marco responded. “Well, I’m ready down there if you are. Oh hey, there’s my sweater. Good, we’ll need it... I, uh think we have our work cut out for us.”

Star was worried, but also kinda happy to have an excuse to leave the current conversation as soon as Mewmanly possible. She handed the sweater from her mom to Marco, who put it on as they walked downstairs to where Ludo was curiously poking around the living room.

“Oh, hello Star! I was just admiring your lovely castle. Bit small for my tastes, but what do I know, haha!”

“Yeeeeeeah…” She then leaned over to whisper to Marco. “So, like, what did he say so far?”

“He said that he tried practicing talking to people with garbage dolls.”

“Weird.”

“I don’t even know where to start, really.”

“Hey Ludo,” Star called out, walking over and sitting on the couch next to him. “So, bud, whatcha need us for here, exactly?”

“Ah, yes, well… I’d like to be able to talk to my old friends again without being their boss. You know, the whole scheming to defeat you… steal the wand… take over Mewni and rule it with an IRON FIST-” He had gotten so worked up that he was on his feet jumping up and down on the couch, but stopped and took a deep breath before chuckling. “Aha, see, there it is again! It’s usually not like this, it’s been months since I’ve even once brought up the wand in a game of cha-rads…”

Yeah, this might be a liiiiiiittle tricky. She tented her fingers as she came up with a plan. Could I… nah. Would it…? Mmm, no go. Wait, Star, duh! “ Alright, Ludo, it’s time for some patented psychomological work from Star Butterfly, H.P.D. We need to see what’s going on in your head.”

“Ooo, sounds fun! So for starters I think there’s some lice-”

“No, no,” she responded calmly, “I mean we need to find what’s making you tick.”

“Yup, I’ve got ticks too!”

Marco put a hand on her shoulder, his worried expression clear even to her peripheral vision. “Are you sure he should be in the same house as Mari-”

“Not now, Marco,” Star hissed, swatting his hand away while keeping her gaze trained on Ludo. “Why are you having trouble talking to your old friends again? What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say ‘Boo Fly’?”

“Messenger.”

“Buff Frog?”

“Excellent spy.”

“Lobster Claws?”

“Putting his claws on the wand- oh, wait, I see now! This is like cha-rads but with just words! You almost got me!”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re getting it! OK, one more… Toffee.”

“Candy! It’s so delectable with chocolate-”

“You know what, that one’s probably for the best,” Star murmured. “Well, Ludo, it seems to me like your biggest problem is that you aren’t even thinking about your old crew as regular people. Try this. Think of doing something you’d normally do with your brother.”

“Picking the worms out of our feathers to eat-”

“Yeah, no,” Star cut him off. She wanted to help, she really did, but she had a million other things on her mind and now was just not a great time for endless Ludo shenanigans. “I was thinking something less gross…”

“Basketball?” he cheerily offered.

“Sure. Imagine yourself playing basketball with your brother…” She paused a moment as he started miming out dribbling in his seat. “Now imagine doing the same exact thing but with Bearnicorn there instead of your brother.” His arms twitched a bit.

“Keep dribbling, man!” Marco called out encouragingly. Ludo shut his eyes in concentration and after a moment got back into his awkward, gawkish basketball form.

Ludo’s bulbous eyes snapped back open, frantic with glee. “Aha, yes! I think I see it now! Oh, thank you, Star and Marco! I’m off to go find my friends again!” With that, he bolted out the front door and scurried down the road until he was out of sight.

“You think that’ll work?” Star asked hopefully.

Marco sighed and hugged her from behind. “Not a chance.”

***

“Alright, we have a few minutes left in class so if anyone has any questions on the graded midterms I just passed back, let me know. Otherwise you’re free to leave. Have a good weekend!”

Marco hunched over in his chair as he quickly scanned through the multiple choice questions and short answers. A few stupid mistakes here and there, but still an A - he’d even gotten a smiley face next to his essay assessing some example personality type or another. All in all, things felt right. Karate, sword-fighting, and adventuring were important to him but he’d always felt the most fulfilled helping others with their problems - psychology just seemed right.

A high-pitched, squawking voice interrupted him. “Hey, dude, what did you get for number 12?” Marco looked up at another student - Matt, if he was remembering correctly - who was hovering over him at an uncomfortably close distance. Even with how much life had changed in the past few years, his academic reputation stayed the same.

“Uh, C,” Marco responded absentmindedly.

“Oh, that makes sense. And what about 13?”

“B.”

“And… 14 through 35.”

“Just talk to Mrs. B, man,” Marco irritatedly replied, shaking his head. Normally he enjoyed helping classmates if he could, but he had promised Star he’d helm the planning for the daycare’s Easter party on account of her phobia - well, that, and he’d heard Matt bragging about how he’d blown off studying to play the new Super Slash Sisters game all night long. He looked back down to check over one last page and grinned to himself. The final essay prompt hadn’t been for a grade, but instead asked a simpler question: Why are you here? Without context, it might have seemed odd or downright rude, but the teacher had spent the first few months of the semester encouraging all the students to reflect on their goals and what they hoped to gain from the psychology program. The blunt prompt had caught him off guard, but after realizing what it was asking, he’d spent probably about as much time as he had on the rest of the exam combined describing his experiences and motivations on Mewni that drove him to help and support others.

Of course, he couldn’t help but talk about Star at length as part of that. His adorable, brave, compassionate best friend that inspired him to be more. Where would he even be now without her? He could still be at college, he supposed, but that wasn’t saying much. It was humorous to imagine: waking up, being driven to college by his mom, waving hello to Jackie every day (his foolproof plan to woo her had involved eventually moving past nodding, after all), getting straight As, working fruitlessly towards a red belt after classes, then… what? The world had so much more to offer him, and vice versa, and Star was the one who’d helped him realize that. The words had just flowed right out of his pen, paragraphs and paragraphs of glowing praise and affection, enough to leave his chest feeling as warm as it did when she was physically there.

“Hey, Marco, I have a question-”

Stirred from his contemplative state, Marco wheeled on the figure that had just tapped him on the shoulder, ready to tell Matt off for interrup- oh.

“Ludo? What are you doing here?”

“Oh, well, I was in the neighborhood and I thought I’d just drop in! But also, please help me. I did what you said but then I dribbled Boo Fly on the ground and he got really upset and-”

Marco sighed. Hope Star’s fine with me being late.

***

Most days, Star loved everything about her job. It was hard work, but it was so satisfying bringing smiles and warmth to the faces of the kids in her care and seeing them light up with stories to tell their families at the end of each day. Her hours were flexible, she got to spend time with Marco, and Antonio was a wonderful boss.

Today, however, was not most days.

Of freaking course Easter was Antonio’s favorite holiday.

The kids seemed to be enjoying his antics as he pranced around in a bunny costume, but for the life of her she just couldn’t understand why. Is it a normal rabbit or a person-sized one? No one even seems to know what it is! Does it lay bird eggs or rabbit eggs? Both are pretty horrifying if you ask me! If you get chocolate eggs in your Easter basket, does it lay them too? I’m not eating any soft brown rabbit droppings, Marco! They didn’t even get any days off for it, so Star was convinced the best thing to do was ignore its existence as a holiday entirely. Her incredibly valid concerns had largely been met with amusement, even by Marco, but Antonio had at least offered to let her keep her distance and work behind-the-scenes for the party they had planned, which was now going on in the main playroom.

Packing baskets with candy was easy enough. Chocolate, gummies, cookies, donuts. Candy corn for the humans and candied corn for the Mewmans - as much as the humans liked Mewman corn, they hadn’t quite accepted it as a valid dessert yet. There were a few special ones marked down as well. Some marshmallow mice for the Septarians, a ribeye steak for the Johansen - her third cousin or something like that, she wasn’t even sure exactly whose kid he was - and some dried bugs for the kappas… wait, since when were there any kappas at the daycare? She yanked the full list out from underneath the pile of sweets and quickly scanned it. 105? Aren’t there only 104 kids in the program this semester?

She almost missed it at the very top of the list: “Manudo Avarius”. She vaguely remembered hearing about a sibling with that name at some point… maybe they just joined? Something still seemed off to Star but she pushed it aside and finished the last of the baskets just in time for the end of the party. As the kids left, Star cheerfully handed out the baskets to the tune of joyous squeals from the kids and careful warnings from the parents to not eat too much at once. Pffftt, come on, I eat cake for breakfast and I turned out fine!

Curiously, she hadn’t spotted anyone that resembled Ludo yet even as the remaining crowd dwindled to almost nothing. Antonio had already begun to put away decorations when she finally spotted the figure, taking the basket over to them. But when they turned around, showing a braided beard… oh pegasus feathers.

“Star Butterfly! So good to see you again.”

“Hey Ludo,” she said. “Are you picking up Manudo?”

“Why would Menudo be here?”

“Well the paper said Manudo-”

“No, no, that’s not how it’s spelled, but besides, I’m here by myself. A large man with a magnificent beard asked me for my name and told me I was missing a party with lots of sweets! He kept calling me a child and I said I was a man and that my name was Ludo, but who cares when there’s free chips, am I right?” He reached into one of the five chip bags in his arms and stuffed a handful into his beak.

Man-udo. Dangit, Antonio. “So… good to see you, but what brings you here?”

“Well, I talked to Marco just the other day because it still just wasn’t working, but then I tried something else and that still didn’t work, so now I need your help again. It all started on Tuesday-”

Star slumped down into a beanbag chair and reached into the basket, deftly avoiding the bugs as she searched for cookies to nibble on. This is going to be a while.

***

“So what did you say this place was?” Tom asked as he glanced around the restaurant. The vibrant cherry-red booths and soulful singer crooning over the speakers created a very different atmosphere than anything in the Underworld, but he liked it.

Sitting across from him, Marco downed another fry and took a sip of his water before responding. “Diners are the best places to go for comfort food. Burgers, onion rings, waffles, all that kinda stuff. Emilio’s is the best in town.”

Next to Marco, Star was wolfing down onion rings by the handful. “The secret is that he hired a bunch of Eclipsa’s old chefs, so they make great Mewman and monster food too. Don’t tell Mom but their Mewnipendence Day pies are the best I’ve ever had - though they don’t call it that anymore.” She was still chewing when she spoke, but after so many years of knowing Star he had no trouble understanding her garbled words. “It’s really cool that Emilio was able to get back on his feet after the incident.”

“What incident?” Tom asked, eliciting an irritated groan from Marco.

“So basically, a few years ago, Ponyhead and I-”

“Oh boy, a Ponyhead story,” Janna sarcastically said, rolling her eyes, and Tom elbowed her side.

An older man with olive skin approached the table. ““Does everything taste alright? If your dining experience isn’t absolutely perfect, please let me know, I can get you anything. More to drink, dessert, maybe some mushrooms...”

“It’s great, Emilio,” Marco mumbled.

“Good, good…” Emilio was smiling a bit too hard as he backed away, his eyes lingering on Marco’s meal.

Marco caught Tom’s curious gaze and buried his head in his hands. “Look, it’s a long story. There was this pizza, then spiraling alcoholism, then a bit of arson…”

Janna’s hand, resting on Tom’s leg, unconsciously twitched as she perked up. “Woah, OK, now I actually do want to hear this.”

“Too late, no take backs.”

“Aww, you’re no fun.”

“So anyway, we picked the restaurant this time so have you two decided what we’re doing after?” Oh crud, we forgot to plan. Tom’s initial instinct was to claim a beginner’s mistake, since it was only the second of their monthly double dates and their first time planning the after-dinner entertainment… except the actual reason was that he and Janna happened to get into their first major makeout session the night they had set aside for planning, burning thoughts of accomplishing anything else to a crisp in the process. Star and Marco were the last people that would be squicked out by romantic affection- that wasn’t the problem. After years of slacking on responsibilities and having any kind of social life at all in a misguided attempt to chase after Star, he couldn’t help but feel extra guilty over this specific lapse.

Janna leaned in, whispering in his ear. “Can’t we just hit up the Sands of Eternal Torment?”

“For the tenth time, Jan, no,” he hissed through his teeth. “There’s, like, a 25% chance you’d all have your souls violently ripped from your bodies.”

“Only 25? Ew, nevermind, just let them pick.” She leaned in even closer, her breath hot in his ear. “If it’s somewhere boring, we could always just sneak away and-”

“Good evening!” Tom squeaked and quickly turned his head at the sudden boisterous call from his other side, almost smacking Janna in the temple with his horn in the process. It was an incredibly short bird creature with a thick grey beard - a kappa, if Tom was remembering correctly. It wasn’t their same waiter from before, but hey, what did he know about how Earth restaurants worked?

Tom held out his glass, but the supposed waiter ignored it. “Yeah, can I have a refill on the demonade, please?” Star and Marco glanced over at the waiter, their eyes opening wide before they both groaned and smacked their faces on the table in unison. Alright, maybe he’s not a waiter then.

***

“Star...” Marco uttered. Star removed her wandering lips from his neck and propped herself up to look lovingly at him, shivering slightly as she abandoned the warmth of his bare skin. It had been probably over a year now since they’d first become more intimate like this, but the fire still burned just as hot. Heck, it was better now than those first forays, Star reckoned; with time came confidence and experience that let them enjoy themselves and each other to the absolute fullest. They’d both had busy lives the last few months or so, and with the end of the semester fast approaching Star knew they would be even busier soon, but none of that seemed to matter in this time they’d taken for themselves. Even after a break for a shower and snacks, their present cozy state under the blanket with nothing between them still felt as radiant as any proper afterglow could.

“Mhmm?” A devious thought crossed her mind, but she tried her best to feign innocence as she slowly slithered down his body, leaving fiery trails of kisses down his chest and sweet, sweet abs.

“Not that I don’t like, you know, doing this but I don’t, uh, know if I have it in me for another rouuuuuuuu-” His voice shot up an octave and his whole body jolted as she blew raspberries on his belly button and snuck her arms up to tickle around his armpits. “Star, please- I can’t- I’m- can’t breathe-” he sputtered out between hysterical bouts of laughter.

She was laughing too by the time his flailing pushed her off of him. Before he’d even collected himself, he lunged forward, trying to catch her with a determined-but-still-goofy grin on his face. Star dodged and backed away from the bed entirely as Marco grasped at her limbs. He finally gave up, lying on his stomach while resting his head on his chin and staring up at her. Even though his tush was right there for the ogling, Star was instead captivated by his enamored gaze and dopey smile.

“Dangit, Marco, you know I can’t resist that look,” she huffed, allowing him to take her hands and pull her next to him on the bed.

“I know,” he said smugly. “You’re not the only one who can weaponize being all lovey dovey.”

“The student has become the master,” she quipped, their hands still joined between them as they lay on their sides.

“But I do mean it, Star. I love every single part of you, and that’s not gonna change. Things have been hectic lately for both of us, but stuff with the daycare, what you want to do for a living, Ludo… we can figure that all out. Just reach into your pocket if you need me.”

She gently patted his head, running her fingers through his freshly shampooed hair. It was alluring to smell, to hold, to feel brushing up against her. Though the problems they faced now were of a different kind than the forces of evil that they’d spent their earlier years tackling, his presence was still what she needed most to ground her and make everything feel alright. Her face dipped in for a kiss, initially short and sweet but quickly succumbing to a familiar hunger. She pounced on him but miscalculated her momentum, rolling the whole way over him and pulling him with her so he lay on top. Not complaining, she thought as she hugged him close and indulged in the sensory bliss of his skin on hers.

He lightly rested his forehead on hers. “Do you, um, mind if we maybe don’t, y’know…” he trailed off sheepishly.

“Marco,” she crooned, holding his face in her hands. “How many times do I have to say it: I don’t want to do anything if you’re not comfortable with it.”

“I-I can try that, um, thing again, though, instead if- if you want?” Oh sweet, sweet Marco. Even after years together, he still couldn’t rest until he was sure he’d done everything he could for her.

“Yeah,” she implored, breathy with the mounting anticipation as he began a trail of kisses downward.

“What thing are you two talking about?” Time seemed to stop as any building pleasure completely evaporated. Marco grabbed the crumpled bedsheet and pulled it over the two of them as the couple stared at the window in complete incredulity to where Ludo was standing on a flapping Dennis’s back. “Well, anyway, I need some more advice-”

“GET. OUT!”

***

Marco rested his chin in his hands while Star paced in front of him. Three months. Three months of Ludo showing up at the most inopportune times, three months of Star trying and failing to feel satisfied with her efforts at the daycare, three months of a semester so intense that they were both at their wit’s end with all of it. Ludo had once again come to the college for advice after his 26th attempt to regain his old friends failed just as catastrophically as the previous 25. He was persistent, Marco had to give him that, and the old monster crew had even been pretty supportive when Star and Marco had tracked them down themselves and explained the situation. The issue seemed to be entirely from within Ludo’s own mind, which made it a dozen times harder to solve. It was the last day of the semester and they’d been haunted by thoughts of every minute of summer vacation spent throwing themselves at the brick wall of Ludo’s psyche, so they’d made a pact that today was all or nothing. Neither wanted to ditch Ludo, he wasn’t a bad guy, but enough was enough.

“Any ideas?” Star piped up, sounding entirely lost and uncertain as her gaze kept nervously darting over to Ludo who was brushing his beard and snacking on its droppings in the empty playroom. “We’ve tried psychology, reverse psychology, pep talks, reverse reverse psychology, all-you-can-eat chips, ygolohscysp-”

“Which still isn’t a thing,” Marco interrupted.

“Well I’m sorry, I’m not the one with a fancy degree, Marco!” she growled, tossing her arms out. “Ugh, sorry, this is just so frustrating. Doesn’t he have, like, a thousand brothers and sisters he could hang out with? If he can’t relax around the monsters, why does he always have to pester us when he could-” Her pacing instantly halted as her eyes opened wide. “Oh crud.”

He stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly, unsure whether her apparent epiphany was a good or bad thing. “Star?”

“He came to us for help becoming comfortable around his old pals again because he already was comfortable around us.”

“Way too comfortable,” Marco muttered with a wince that Star mirrored. They were still a little bit traumatized from the shower incident. “But that means-”

“He never needed his monster pals, he just needed… friends,” she said just as he had the revelation on his own.

Marco smacked his forehead and sighed. “And he spent so much time fixating on this one thing, and we spent so much time just trying to solve his problem and shove him out the door, that we never tried just… being his friends.”

They both looked through the little window into the playroom, where Ludo saw them and waved with a giant smile.

Star buried her face in her hands, messing up her hair like she was prone to do whenever she was feeling frazzled. “Ugh, I feel terrible.”

“Same, but… we can’t be his only friends, though. I feel bad for him, but I don’t know if I have it in me to be his BFF.”

“You’re right, you’re right, but who else could even handle that? Who? The guy’s so hyper and weird, ugh, he reminds me of me as a kid, except way less cute.”

“...a kid.” They both mumbled simultaneously. It was as if a single lightbulb had gone off above both of them at once as all the pieces fell into place. “That’s it!”

Star bolted out the door to gather the handful of children that hadn’t been picked up yet while Marco got Ludo. A few minutes later, they met up at the rec center basketball court where Antonio helped them set up some kid-sized hoops. It took a bit of coaxing, but after a few minutes Ludo was having the time of his life tossing the ball around. The kids seemed to enjoy it, too, as he regaled them with tales of his adventures on Earth (and a few about a space princess with a cyclops and robot for friends that Marco was pretty sure he made up). Star and Marco had joined for a few games but both decided to just step back and watch from the bleachers for a while.

As they observed the scene, listening to the ecstatic wails of everyone on the court as they ran around with the ball, there was a smile on Star’s face that was more content than Marco had seen in a while. “See? You made their whole week just by giving them someone fun to play with,” Marco said, lacing his fingers through her hand. “They like you a lot more than they like balloons and candy.”

“Even I don’t need candy with you here being so sweet,” she cooed, nuzzling into his shoulder, neither taking their eyes off the courts. Ludo passed the ball to Trevor, who spun around and passed it back in a fluid motion that allowed Ludo to score. The blissful, carefree sight was soothing after the intensity of Marco’s life lately. Just some kids and a small bird man having fun playing a game together… life didn’t always have to be so complicated. The serene moment abruptly ended when Ludo’s beak caught on the rim, leaving him dangling above the ground and shrieking for help. As Star squeezed Marco’s hand, sighed, and stood up to go help the poor kappa, Marco knew it could never be truly simple either.

[newsies-of-corona]

Corona’s Easter Extravaganza!

It was a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning in Corona. Pastel streamers and banners were hung up everywhere, and everyone was bustling about making preparations and packing eggs for Princess Rapunzel’s Easter Celebration!

Rapunzel was walking around town, admiring the decorations that she and the kingdom had made the day before and saying hello to all of her subjects.

“Isn’t this great Pascal?” Rapunzel said excitedly to the chameleon on her shoulder. “We’ve never celebrated Easter this big before, and I’m so excited! I have to say, painting some of those eggs and banners was hard work, but I’m so glad we could get everyone together to do something fun!”

Eugene walked beside her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You did great, Sunshine. The place looks amazing!”

“Aww. Thanks Eugene,” Rapunzel said, smiling. “That reminds me, I have a surprise for you!”

“Great! I love surprises! Is it another portrait of me? That last one you did really brought out my eyes.”

“Yeah, they looked even more horrifying than they normally do,” Cassandra said coming up behind Eugene and making him jump.

“Agh! Great. The witch has returned! Blondie, no offense, but that’s the worst surprise ever,” He said glaring at Cassandra.

Rapunzel laughed.

“Come on, Eugene. You haven’t seen each other in months! Can’t my two favorite people at least pretend to like each other? Just for today?”

“Raps, I just traveled for 3 days to be here in time for your celebration and now you’re telling me that I can’t do the one thing that brings me joy?” Cassandra said punching Eugene on the arm.

“Ow!”

Rapunzel looked at both of them and sighed. “Fine. I’ll give you an hour. Hash it out all you want, but then you need to be nice to each other. Please? For me?” Rapunzel said smiling sweetly.

“Anything for you, Sunshine,” Eugene said. “But just to be clear, we have an hour? Because I have been dying to use some of these insults.”

Rapunzel nodded and laughed.

Eugene pumped his fist in victory and ran over to Cassandra.

“I know that Eugene doesn’t like to admit it, Pascal, but deep down I know he misses Cass,”

Rapunzel was cut off by yelling behind her.

“No wonder crime is running rampant in Corona! They chose an idiot to be captain of the guard!” Cassandra laughed.

“Oh you want to play it that way, huh? As I recall, you were half of the problem!” Eugene fired back.

“Ooo touché.”

“Ah. There’s the arguments I’ve always missed,” Rapunzel sighed.

The princess continued walking around until she was nearly knocked over by her Royal Engineer.

“Rapunzel!”

Varian skidded to a stop, dropping half of his compounds and solutions in the process.

Rapunzel laughed and knelt down to help him pick them up.

“Varian! What’s the rush?”

“Oh n-nothing. I’m so glad I found you! I was just wondering if I could borrow Pascal for a thing...” Varian said, putting his hand behind his neck.

“A thing? Varian you’re going to have to be more specific.”

“Haha...uh...well you see Ruddiger was-was lonely! So I was hoping I could borrow Pascal to keep him some company?” Varian laughed awkwardly and looked up at Rapunzel.

“Well..okay,” Rapunzel said slowly.

“Thanks Princess!” Varian said taking Pascal and starting to run off.

“Well that was weird,” Rapunzel said to herself.

———————————————————————

Varian ran back to his lab in the palace as fast as he could, Pascal hanging on to the stripe in his hair so that he didn’t fall.

“Okay,” Varian gasped, “Let’s get to work.”

He tried to find Pascal, looking on his shoulders and on the ground to see if he dropped him while he was running. After a few minutes Varian noticed the little chameleon clinging on to his hair and gasping for breath.

“Woah! Sorry Pascal, I probably shouldn’t have run so fast, heh. I just had to get this done before the competition starts.” Varian said, setting Pascal down on his desk that was cluttered open science books and a basket full of blue, handpainted eggs made by Rapunzel.

Pascal eyed Varian suspiciously. “Okay, so technically I didn’t need you for Ruddiger, but he’s over there if you guys want to catch up?”

Pascal looked at Ruddiger who was chewing an apple and then looked back at Varian.

“Fine. Yes, I lied to the princess, but it’s for the sake of science! I’ve been studying chameleons and how your species is able to blend into your surroundings, and I believe I can develop a serum that can make anything, for my sake, eggs, blend in to their surroundings! I’m almost finished, but I just need to examine how you’re able to do it so I can find a compound that might react the same way.”

Pascal still looked unconvinced.

“Okay, so you know the princess is having an egg hiding competition? The prize is being able to design the lanterns for Rapunzel’s next birthday! I’ve been working on some lantern designs using Flynnolium and other chemicals, but I won’t be permitted to use them unless I win. With this formula, no one will be able to find my eggs! It’s genius! And...I had to lie to her because it doesn’t exactly say in the rules that there isn’t any science or alchemy allowed, but she might think it’s cheating...” Varian trailed off.

“But just for the record, I don’t think it is.” He said quickly crossing his arms.

“Come on, Pascal. We’re buddies right? Can you please do this for me?”

Pascal thought about it, and then chirped reluctantly in agreement.

“Thanks Pascal! I owe you one. Now don’t worry, all I need you to do is that thing where you blend in to your surroundings,” Varian said taking out a magnifying glass.

Pascal chirped and then faded into the background.

“Fascinating,” Varian said examining the reptile.

He rifled through his bag and took out a vial of green-ish solution.

“I believe this should do the trick!”

He poured it in to the existing the solution on his desk and Ruddiger and Pascal backed up and covered their ears, waiting for an explosion. The solution bubbled for a minute, and then settled down and almost seemed to turn invisible.

“Yes! It worked!”

A bell chimed in the distance meaning that the competition was about to start.

“And just in time too. Come on Pascal! Let’s go hide some eggs.”

Varian poured the solution on top of the eggs giving the illusion that the basket was empty, and ran outside, Pascal in tow, dropping invisible eggs along the way.

He met up with the rest of the crowd surrounding Rapunzel just as the bell stopped ringing.

He ran up to Rapunzel and gave her back Pascal, who chirped, happy to be back with his owner.

“Thanks, Varian! I hope Ruddiger had fun!”

“Oh..y-yeah. Definitely!” Varian said smiling awkwardly and running to join the rest of the crowd.

“Welcome everyone to Corona’s first Easter Extravaganza!!”

The crowd applauded as Rapunzel went on.

“This year we decided it would be fun to have a kingdom-wide Easter egg hunt! To add on to the fun, we’re making it a competition! Kids 12 and under will compete in trying to find eggs hidden by our adults! Whoever gets the most eggs will win a huge candy bar provided by Monty’s Sweet Shoppe!”

There was a resounding applause as Rapunzel unveiled the candy bar.

“But the fun isn’t over! Our egg-hiders will also compete on who can hide their eggs the best! The eggs will be color coded, and whoever has the least amount of their color eggs found at the end wins an opportunity to design the next floating lanterns!”

There was another set of applause and murmuring in the crowd.

“If you signed up to hide the eggs, you already have your eggs and your color, and you can start hiding them! You have 1 hour to pick some hard to find spots! All the other kids participating in egg-finding, meet me in the palace for some more Easter-y fun! Good luck everyone! Ready, Set, Go!”

———————————————————————

Eugene grabbed his egg basket filled with green painted eggs and ran to the outskirts of the castle. He went around the back and climbed up the castle wall, being careful to not spill any of his eggs.

“Didn’t think I’d be doing this again. Haha man, the nostalgia!”

When he was on the palace roof, he walked around placing 2 to 3 eggs on the tops of the towers and putting the rest of them on different places of the roof.

“There’s no way that anyone’s gonna find these. Lanterns with me and Blondie’s face on them? Check!”

———————————————————————

Once Rapunzel finished her speech, she went into the palace to make sure the kids were occupied, then grabbed her baskets of lavender and pink eggs and headed outside.

“Knowing our friends Pascal, they’ll definitely be hiding their eggs so that no one can find them, and since I can’t win the prize, I figured I should put some eggs in easy places so that the kids can actually win,” Rapunzel said placing a pink egg in the plain sight by a bush.

Rapunzel laughed, “I just hope Eugene doesn’t go as far as putting them on a roof or something.”

Rapunzel put one of the baskets of eggs on the ground so that Pascal could help her, and 30 minutes later the streets were littered with beautiful lavender and pink eggs.

Cassandra walked up and examined Rapunzel’s handiwork.

“Raps, I’m not sure if you understand the whole hiding concept of hiding eggs.”

“Hey Cass! Did you and Eugene have a good time fighting?”

Cassandra laughed, “As much as I hate to admit it, I missed making fun of that over-confident, egocentric husband of yours.”

“Aww I’m glad you guys had fun! Oh I almost forgot,” Rapunzel reached into her purse and pulled out 5 sets of pastel bunny ears. She handed 2 to Cassandra.

“Can you give these to Eugene and Varian if you see them? I just think they’re so cute and festive and they’d look so adorable in them.” Rapunzel said excitedly.

“Oh I can definitely do that,” Cassandra said with a laugh.

———————————————————————

Eugene climbed down the roof and came face to face with Cassandra holding 2 pairs of bunny ears.

“Oh no. Don’t tell me Blondie wants me to wear these?”

“Oh yeah. It wasn’t even my idea! This day just keeps getting better.” Cassandra said holding out some blue fluffy ears to Eugene.

Eugene put them on, grumbling something under his breath.

Cassandra bursted out laughing, “Now your ears are even bigger than before, Fitzherbert!”

“Oh yeah, laugh it up. You’re probably next.” Eugene grumbled.

Just then, Rapunzel ran by wearing a pair of lavender bunny ears, with Pascal wearing tiny white ones, and handed an extra pair to Cassandra.

“I forgot to give you yours Cass!” Rapunzel said. “And awww look at my little Eubunny! Eu...rabbit? Eu...”

Eugene cut her off .

“No, we are not making that a thing.”

“Awe, Okay,” Rapunzel said giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Bye guys!”

Cassandra put on the ears, frowning, then looked at Eugene.

“Eubunny,” she said under her breath.

“Cassandrabbit.” Eugene said back.

———————————————————————

Varian was busy hiding his invisible eggs when he saw Cassandra standing in front of him wearing purple bunny ears.

Varian started laughing until she held out a light teal pair to him.

“Join the squad, kid.”

Varian took the ears and then looked at Cassandra.

“Did Rapunzel-”

“Yep.”

“Do I have to?”

“Yep.”

He put the ears on and try to ignore all of the laughter coming his way, eventually giving in and laughing with Cassandra.

“So Varian, how have you been? It’s been a while.”

“It has,” he laughed nervously. “I’ve been good, how about you?”

“Same here. It’s been different, not having all of my friends around and not hearing explosions every two seconds.”

They both laughed.

“I’ve missed you, kid.”

“I’ve missed you too, Cassie. Varian said smiling. “I’m glad we’re still friends after...everything, heh.”

“Me too, Varian. So tell me, why does it look like you’re hiding a basket full of nothing?”

“Haha, um well... I guess I can tell you. But you have to promise to not tell anyone else.”

“You got it,” Cassandra told him.

Varian looked around frantically, making sure no one was listening and then told Cassandra his whole plan.

“Wow, Varian. That’s pretty intense for just an egg hunt,” She laughed. “Don’t worry though. You’re not the only one doing shady things to win. I just saw Eugene on the palace roof earlier.”

“Heh. Well I admire his creativity but it is no match for the power of science!”

Varian pumped his fist in the air, breaking open 3 eggs he forgot he was holding which splattered all over him.

Cassandra laughed, “Well hopefully the ‘power of science’ will help you clean up this mess. See ya later kid!”

“Ew. Why did she have to paint them raw?” Varian said to himself. “It’s okay I can just use this cleaning formula I made and...”

Varian poured the formula on himself which cleaned up the eggs, but also burnt holes through his shirt.

“Great,” he said sarcastically.

The bell sounded in the distance that it was time to stop hiding the eggs, and Varian quickly placed his remaining 5 eggs by a bush and ran back to join the crowd of people starting to gather.

———————————————————————-

Eugene saw Varian in the crowd and walked up to him.

“Hey Var- woah! What happened to you?”

“Oh you know,” Varian laughed nervously, “eggs.”

“You hid eggs too? Well sorry kid but you’re looking at the winner right here.” Eugene said, cockily, pointing to himself.

“Haha, I don’t think so. There’s no way you can outwit my alchemical methods,” Varian said.

“Well make sure to be using your ‘alchemical methods’ when you see lanterns with my finely crafted face in the sky.” Eugene taunted.

“And make sure to be using that ‘finely crafted face’ to look up and see my alchemy lanterns when I win the competition.” Varian smirked.

“Well we’ll find out won’t we?” Eugene said staring down Varian.

“Yes. We. Will.” Varian said with a glare in his eye.

———————————————————————

After the bell stopped ringing, kids started running out of the castle, and scrambling to find eggs. All of Rapunzel’s purple and pink ones were in plain sight, but Angry wanted more of a challenge. She ran around the back of the castle where she saw Eugene climbing when he was hiding eggs, and started climbing up the roof herself.

Catalina decided she wanted more of a challenge as well, but not as much as Angry. She looked up and found orange eggs in the trees, which she quickly grabbed.

———————————————————————

Eugene was walking around when he saw Lance placing one last egg in a tree.

“Lance! You’re hiding eggs too? Good spot, but unfortunately you’re not going to win.”

“Oh really Eugene? Nice ears by the way. Who’s going to think to look for an egg in a tree? It’s a hard to reach spot and what kid’s going to climb a tree anyways?” Lance looked down at Eugene with a triumphant look.

“Lance. You do realize you live in a tree house with two little girls who adore climbing things, right?” Eugene said with a smirk.

“Thank you!” Catalina said grabbing the egg next to Lance and jumping to the next tree.

“Fair point. Well where did you hide yours Eugene?”

“Only the most hard to reach place in all of Corona!” Eugene said, gesturing to the castle roof which now contained a 12 year old girl holding up a green egg.

“Found it!” Angry shouted down.

“Oh come on!” Eugene shouted.

“Kiera!! You get down from there!” Lance scolded her.

“Come up and get me, why don’t ya?” Angry taunted, laughing.

“Ughhh! What is the matter with you Eugene!” Lance yelled running after Angry.

“Don’t worry buddy, it’s good exercise!” Eugene shouted back, laughing.

He started walking back until he realized he was going to lose and started running after Lance.

“Wait! Don’t take all my eggs!”

————————————————————————

The bell rang again symbolizing the end of the hunt, and the kids flocked to the throne room to turn in their baskets full of eggs to be counted.

When the counting was over, Rapunzel called everyone out to the courtyard to announce the winners.

“Hi everyone! Great job to all of our egg hunters and egg hiders! The results were very close but I have our winners right here!”

Rapunzel pulled out a paper and the crowd went silent as she read it.

“Our winner for most eggs is...Catalina Schitz! Come on up and get your prize!”

Catalina and Angry both went up to pick up the chocolate bar because it was bigger than both of them. The audience cheered but Lance yelled the loudest making the girls blush.

“Everyone else did a great job as well! There’s candy for all of you in the throne room!” Rapunzel said.

“And now for the winner of the best egg hiders, give it up for Varian with 0 eggs found!”

“What?!” Eugene yelled.

“Yes!” Varian shouted.

“None found? How does that even happen?”

Varian leaned over to Eugene and whispered “alchemy.”

“But we’re not done yet!” Rapunzel went on. “We have a runner up for this competition! Give it up for Eugene Fitzherbert with 2 eggs found!”

“Only because they caught me before I grabbed the rest.” Angry said.

“And their prize is they will be working together to design the next lanterns!”

“What?!” Eugene and Varian shouted in unison.

“Great job boys!” Rapunzel said, “and Happy Easter to everyone!”

Rapunzel went up to Varian and Eugene to congratulate them on winning.

“I can’t wait to see what you two come up with together!” Rapunzel said.

“Yay...” Varian trailed off, pretending to be excited.

“I mean you two are so creative!” Rapunzel went on. “Sneaking off and lying to me so you could hide the eggs in impossible places and even disguising them using Pascal’s abilities! I have to say I’m impressed.”

“But how did you-” Eugene started.

“Eugene, I saw you on the roof from miles away and I stepped on at least 5 of Varian’s eggs.”

Eugene and Varian looked down and mumbled “sorry.”

“I forgive you. And this should be punishment enough for you. Plus the rabbit ears,” Rapunzel laughed.

Eugene and Varian looked at each other and eventually started laughing.

“Team Awesome?” Eugene asked, holding out his fist.

“Team Awesome.” Varian replied bumping Eugene’s fist.

“Oh and Varian, good luck finding all of your other eggs!” Rapunzel said handing him a basket.

“Yeah, I guess I deserved that,” Varian said laughing nervously.

“With my help, of course,” She said smiling at him.

“Don’t worry, kid. I’ll help you too,” Cassandra said coming up next to him.

“I’ll help you too, Goggles. We both cheated after all.” Eugene said.

“Thanks guys. I promise, Rapunze,l to make it up to you Eugene and I will make the best lanterns ever.” Varian told her.

“Awe. I bet they’ll be great, Varian!” Rapunzel said, hugging him.

The princess looked at the kingdom splattered with eggs.

“Wow what a mess. But it was a great Easter with all you guys! I believe our first Corona Easter Extravaganza was a success!”

———————————————————————

The group spent the rest of the day cleaning up eggs until the courtyard was clean again, and then raided the throne room for the rest of the candy. Varian had a massive sugar crash and passed out on the ground and Cassandra woke him up and put him to bed. Eugene and Rapunzel had a boat date where Eugene got rid of the bunny ears once and for all by throwing them in the water. Lance, Angry and Catalina spent the rest of the day eating their giant chocolate bar at their treehouse.

It was a great Easter for everyone.

———————————————————————

Hi guys!!! Thank you so much for reading! This was originally supposed to be a short oneshot but I think I accidentally wrote an entire episode 😅😅😅

A special thanks to everyone in the Just Varian Things chat for giving me ideas! Especially @tangled-lover-165, @princess-pathetic-112898 , @letthemsayfuck, and @panpervinca!!!

Happy Easter Everyone!

One more thing before I go, as much as we all love the eggs and the bunnies and the pastel colors, behind all that is a Savior that really died a brutal death for our sins and rose again on Easter morning so that we can live in paradise with Him. Whatever you’re going through, He’s always there and He loves you more than anything else. 💙

[d-l-dare]

“Mixing Drinks”

Something meant to be a special treat for adults, alcohol is a delicacy. Often times, this drink gets abused, causing erratic behavior in the people consuming it. The ending results are something far worse than you would ever allow for your sober self to do.

Easter was upon us and I had family over. There was my wife and I with our two kids, Kate and Lars. My brother and sister both tagged along for the weekend with their significant other and their kids. We had plans for a barbeque tonight and the egg hunt in the morning after we went to church.

Nightfall was upon us and the kids were all on their way to bed. We had already done our cooking on the grill, having burgers and hotdogs until we felt our stomachs would explode. We adults were gathered around in the living room. We talked amongst each other, catching up on how our lives were going and the many good things, and bad things, going our ways.

I didn't know it, but my brother had decided to bring alcohol along. Of course, he couldn't bring it out until the kids were asleep. We didn't want them getting ahold of it, nor did we want them to witness their parents intoxicated. I didn't blame them, I've seen my brother and sister drunk, it doesn't look pretty.

My brother and I chugged down a few beers while our sister only sipped on hers. My wife didn't want any, she says the taste of alcohol makes her want to throw up. She's been saying that since our wedding night. She drank some wine, but threw up not too long after. We found out later it was because she was pregnant. Not too long later, we all were getting too tired to remain functioning, so we decided to get some rest. We had a big day ahead of us tomorrow after all. I had found myself passed out on the couch after telling my wife I'd meet her up stairs.

***

That night I dreamt that my brother had met me down stairs, trying to negotiate with me about something. I was unsure of what we were even talking about as our words faded into basic sounds through the airwaves of my dream. Whatever we were talking about, I found myself very agitated. I was unsure why.

I found myself standing up from the couch and punching my brother in the face. He tried swinging back at me but I blocked it and only punched harder, twisting his arm in the process. This was no play fighting, it seemed like I really wanted to hurt him.

That was the last thing I remember from my dream before I heard the ear-piercing ringing of my alarm clock.

*** I opened my eyes to find myself laying in bed. I guess I must have woken up in the middle of the night and crawled into bed with my wife. That or my brother had carried me up here. He was the only person in the house that was capable of doing so.

My wife and I got dressed and headed downstairs. My sister and my brother's wife looked worried as her kids ran around the house, laughing in their church clothes. They looked like they were having fun.

"Have you seen Dave?" my brother's wife asked. Dave was my brother's name, I'm only now realizing I forgot to mention.

I shook my head. I wanted to say I hadn't seen him since my dream last night, but I didn't want to get into detail of what all had happened in the dream. We only went under the assumption that he must have headed out to buy something before the rest of us woke up. Though it seemed like he had been gone for a while.

Soon enough, we had gotten everything set up and were ready for the Easter egg hunt to begin. We stood outside with the kids and counted down. When we hit zero, the kids took off, screaming for joy as they headed in different directions to find their eggs.

As the kids were busy hunting, I found myself rubbing my knuckles. Why did they feel so sore?

A scream could be heard from the other side of the house. Everyone dropped what they were doing and took off toward the child that had screamed to make sure they were okay. As we turned the corner, we stared in horror at the dead body of my brother. His face was bloody with fist indents.

[giggly-goose]

Easter Games

Word Count: 1397

Summary: Y/n and Tony play some competitive Easter games with a twist.

“I have 29 Easter eggs! How many do you have?” You asked Tony when you came across him in the kitchen.

Both of you were running around the Avenger’s Tower trying to find the most eggs. Steve had hidden 100 eggs in many different hiding places and the game lasted 20 minutes. At this point, 10 minutes had passed. 

You thought that you were winning and you were proved right when Tony answered, “Only 15, how did you find so many already?”

“I will never tell my secrets!” You yelled while running out of the kitchen and into the living room. 

By the end of the 20 minutes, you were looking in the library and you had found a total of 63 eggs. You knew that you had won because you had gotten more than 50% of the eggs and this made you extremely happy. There were two more Easter games to get through and you really wanted to be the overall winner. The punishment for the loser was perfect if you were to win because then you could get Tony back. This was finally your chance to give him a taste of his own medicine, you just had to win 2 out of the 3 games.

You met up with Tony and Steve in the living room. They were counting the amount of eggs that Uncle Tony had found. 

You laughed because you had been keeping track the whole time and you already knew that you won, “No need to finish counting, I have 63 eggs which means that I win!”

Steve congratulated you while Tony said, “Don’t be so happy, kid, there are still two more games and I am going to win both!”

You glared at him playfully while Steve started to explain that the next game was an obstacle course that had to be completed by bunny hopping the whole time. 

The both of you raced all around the tower with Steve jogging beside you. He was calling out different places to go to make the race longer and there were some obstacles along the way. 

Suddenly, he yelled out the final part of the race, “First person to my room is the winner!”

At that moment, you were all in Bruce’s room which was five doors away from Steve’s room. You felt how close you were but unfortunately for you, Tony was closer to the door. By the time you had gotten out of Bruce’s room, Tony was about to enter Steve’s room. You tried to catch up but it was no use. 

You were sad that you didn’t win but you didn’t let it stop you. The final game was your specialty. A scavenger hunt. For as long as you had been an Avenger, you had always won this game against the group.

Tony seemed to notice this too, “A scavenger hunt?! Y/n is the best at this game. She always wins! Can we choose a game that I always win instead?”

“Sorry Tony, I already planned this out, so you will just have to deal with it,” Steve replied to Tony while chuckling. 

Steve gave you and Tony the list of items that needed to be found and immediately said, “Go!” 

You ran away from them while reading the list. All the items were normal things like Peter’s favorite coffee mug and you found them easily. When you had all of your items in the bag that you were carrying around, you looked over the paper to read the last instruction. To win the scavenger hunt and the overall Easter competition, you needed to go in front of the Avenger Tower and touch the gigantic Easter egg that was set up for Easter decorations. 

You raced to the elevator and immediately went to the first floor. When you go there you started running outside. You didn’t see Tony anywhere but you still sprinted to get to the egg as if you were racing someone. You slammed your hand against the egg and started squealing in excitement.

You headed back inside and saw Steve standing there, “Good job, Y/n! You won! Go give the loser his punishment.”

“Oh I will, don’t worry,” You replied and got in the elevator to go upstairs. 

When you got upstairs, you walked into the living room right when Tony ran in. He immediately stopped when he saw you and looked at you for a second. 

You were sure that your happy and excited state already told him what he wondered about but you still yelled, “I won! I beat you! Get ready for your punishment, loser! I’ll make sure that it tickles like hell!”

“Fine, fine. You win, I guess,” Tony said looking a little disappointed.

“Aww, don’t be sad Tony, I’ll cheer you up!” You said while you marched over to him and pulled him to the couch. You pushed him down on the couch and straddled him. 

He was looking a little scared which made you giggle. He had done this so many times to you and you were finally going to get him back. You just hoped that you could hold him down. Tony was a lot stronger than and that had helped him with your previous tickle experiences against him. 

When the both of you had settled into your positions you didn’t give Tony enough time to speak, you just dug your fingers into his armpits. He started laughing but not very hard. He squeezed his arms to his sides, trapping your fingers in his armpits. This caused you to vibrate your fingers. 

Tony started laughing a little louder and said, “Ihaha aham dahahone! Sorry, kid!”

In the middle of what he was saying, Tony had flipped the both of you around so that you were against the couch and he was straddling your waist.

“What- What are you doing, Tony? You lost and tickling was your punishment!” You were struggling to get out from under him when he grabbed both of your wrists in one hand and them above your head.

“Exactly, it was and you were doing really well for the 5 seconds that you were tickling me but I think it’s your turn. Now, do you have all your ribs?” Tony didn’t waste any time and started gently scratching at your ribs. You started giggling immediately. He hit a weak spot on your upper ribs and you started squirming more.

“Tohahany! Nohoho!”

“Darn it! You messed me up! I’m going to have to start all over. One... two... three... four...” Tony kept going on and on. For every rib he would try a different technique. Some of your ribs were counted with vibrating fingers while others were squeezed. 

It tickled so much and you couldn’t really comprehend what was happening. Weren’t you supposed to be the one tickling Tony? The Easter competition didn’t seem to matter anymore as Tony was the one that was tickling the laughter out of you.

When Tony was done “counting” your ribs his fingers started creeping up into one of your armpits. Your arms immediately started pulling against his grip on your wrists. Tony’s grip on your wrists didn’t loosen at all and you could only squirm on the couch.

You squealed when Tony got to your armpit and started laughing, “Nah- Ahahahaha, plehahahahaha! Stohahahaha!”

“I’m sorry, Y/n. I can’t quite understand what you were saying, can you repeat yourself?” You heard the teasing undertone of Tony’s words but he said it with a serious face. Your laughter increased when Tony started tracing his fingers lightly in your armpit. The lightness was sending tingling sensations through your armpit.

Like all the other times Tony tickled you, the feeling was unbearable. But also like the other times, you didn’t hate it. You actually liked it but you would never tell Tony that. 

You were still laughing when Tony suddenly moved his hand to the hem of your shirt and pulled it up to show your belly button. Your death spot.

“DOHAHA-” You started to protest but your laughter quickly turned silent when Tony started tickling your belly button. 

Tony kept tickling you for a little while longer until he finally stopped and got off of you. He let you sit up and catch your breath. 

“TONY!” You shrieked, “Why did you do that? I was supposed to tickle you!”

“Sorry, kid.”