quickattackjack | 37 days till Halloween [video] [action]

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37 days till Halloween [video] [action]

_{[Who missed having a screen-ful of cheerful old guy face?]

[Anyone?]}

Hello, everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it? Would you believe me if I said I lost my gear in the sofa cushions?

..._{because I did.}

ANYHOW who's ready for Christmas? Me. I am. I am ready for Christmas. Do you suppose Sandyclaws will come back? He left me a Houndour egg last year. Or someone did. I like to think I've been good this year. _{[If you don't count pranking the breeding center and possibly kidnapping people while dressed as a pirate on Halloween shhh.]} I bet this is going to be a first Christmas for some of you! Let me tell you, it's going to be wonderful!

...so long as nothing explodes. But that's a given. I think.

_{I really do hope nothing explodes.}

============[ACTION]==============

_{[Jack wanders the streets of Goldenrod in an overly puffy coat because adsfdsklgg cold. Under one arm are a few boxes that have already been wrapped and in his other hand is a list. He furrows his brows as he looks at the names on it and pauses every few stores to see if he can spot anything his friends might like.]

[But then he sees something else.]

[The poor ex-skeleton finds himself in the shadow of the biggest casino in town.]

[DB NO. MUST....RESIST. SHINY GAMES. AND LIGHTS. AND MUSIC.]

[He plants the list against his face and just sort of stands there on the street corner for a while.]

[A long while.]}

Jack, old boy, we can beat this.

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Doesn't matter.

_{[Jack nods to himself as if he suddenly has the authority to say so. He has the ability to talk himself into just about anything. This was becoming of growing importance to the skeleton.]}

No one is going to get you here. I don't mean to speak ill of your wife, but you seem awfully frightened of her.

_{[8[ What was this lady LIKE?]}

[This frightening man has a point, and he knows it. But he feels like he'll be such a let down, which he is anyway because he's said so much. He doesn't want to hurt her emotionally; he knows her 'real' side, he knows that she can feel things... He's been told that she can feel things, but whether they were lies, like every other one that she's told him to make him obey her.

But then again, Jack is... his friend? That is the right word, he thinks. He's never had friends, just a wife and children and the neighbours that he never really interacted with... oh, and the mice. The Other Father knows how friendship is meant to work, and that he's meant to trust them. Trust is important.

He did stick up to her to help Coraline, he did get that courage. He has his Pokémon now too. And Mother isn't here, and he's finally beginning to think that she might not be coming; Mother would have been here straight away, surely? Maybe... No, he doesn't want to think that she might not care about him. He loves his wife. But...

He keeps his voice low, slow, disappointed, as he stares into nothingness once again, forgetting the full use of his eyes. The Ditto slides up onto Jack's shoulder.]

Mother scares us all.

_{[Jack closes his eyes and makes a sort of 'hnn,' sound through his nose. It wasn't an answer he wanted to hear but it was one he expected. He didn't like it.]

[Where he came from, there were monsters. There were all kinds of monsters. There were monsters that lurked in the dark, that drooled, that gobbled up little children and grown men alike who went into the woods at night. And those monsters were okay.]

[But there were other kinds of monsters. Monsters he did not rule over and monsters that he did not like.]}

I can tell. Well. She isn't here. And you don't have to be afraid any more.

[She isn't here. But he feels so horrible. He's a bad husband, and yet... now he's started to talk, now he's been convinced, he can't stop himself from talking. Mother isn't here. Mother isn't here.]

Mother said we'd be a family. She told me their real fathers treated them badly.

[She told him so many things to make him say what she wanted.]

She caught them in her web and made them like us. The Buttons...

[He's just staring at blank space, thinking about it all, about what she made him do, about how much guilt he feels about this. Mother gave him free will, and that was where she went wrong; now he's learnt to feel emotions, over the span of the four children, he's gained a sense of right and wrong, who to help and who to fear. It's the first time he's faced his thoughts aloud in Johto- no, in forever.

It's also the first time he's faced his thoughts being human, and as he stares at that blank space, concentrating too hard on his thoughts and in turn forgetting about his eyes, remembering only buttons... It's the first time he's ever shed a tear.]

Mother made me.

_{[Jack doesn't understand what 'the buttons' means, but the other cryptic words he said set his backbone all out of line. This poor man.]

[The king puts a hand on the Other Father's shoulder because just...what the hell else could you DO? Vincent Price alive, this poor, poor bastard.]}

She can't make you any more.

_{[Though it felt almost cruel. A bitter taste in the back of his mouth told him that there was the possibility of bad blood breaching Johto's barriers, wherever they might lay. He'd seen it happen to others.]}

No one can make you do anything.

I love her. I love my children.

[And in turn, he'll do anything for her.]

She made me.

[He can't help how cryptic he's being, because it's coming through in little bits for him. But 'She made me'? It isn't cryptic, it's as plain as that: the Other Mother made him from a pumpkin in the garden.]

_{[There are so many things Jack doesn't understand concerning the strange man's origins or what the 'web' was and the like. All he knows is that he's scared and not in the good way.]

[He's not sure what to say to that so he keeps his hand on the man's shoulder. He does glance over to the Ditto. Do you have any ideas, chewing gum with a smiley face?]}

[The Ditto glances back at Jack before sliding to his other shoulder, down his arm and onto the Other Father's shoulder. It approaches his ear and gives a soft cry.

The Other Father blinks, his frown still there, his expressions barely changed, but he moves his eyes towards Jack.]

Mother made me from a pumpkin.

[But, the Other Father is a kind, fun-loving man, as always said... he can see the amusement in that statement; Pumpkin and Pumpkin King. A small smile creeps as the man tries to cheer up.

He is however, quite confused at why his face is wet.]

_{[Jack's brows lift up. The man was a vegetable?]

[The skeleton leans a little to get a better look at him. Well...he was wearing orange. But who in the world was he to doubt something like that? He was the Pumpkin King and even if it wasn't his exact role, he was going to keep an eye on the gourd.]}

You're a very talented pumpkin.

[Now that he has to smile at. Funnily enough, Jack's also the first person to cheer him up, too. This is all so new to him.]

As long as I'm a good Father and husband, no other talent matters. But it's a magnificent compliment coming from the king. [He lets out a little chuckle. Luckily, he's used to cheering up from times like this quickly, he's used to changing his mood to hide his thoughts; he has to for the the kids.]

... Thanks, Jack.

[And a little 'Ditto!' of thank you, too.]

_{[Jack's grin returns as well, though it's not as strong a grin as he would like.]}

Do what makes you happiest, but never do anything out of fear and don't let anyone push you around. That'll spoil you faster than anything.

_{[He was sure that was something a vegetable would understand.]}

It's going to be a brand new year soon. Everyone says that's a good time for a fresh start.

[He nods. He already knows this, but making the decision is far easier said than done.] Think I'll avoid the spoiling.

Y'know... I've never seen a New Years. Or a Christmas. [He's heard everyone talking about Christmas, but he's not even sure when it is.] Time had a mind of its own, where I'm from.

We-ell then! It looks like this'll be your first. That makes it special!

_{[Finally, Jack's grin returns to full force. He takes his hand off Father's shoulder and tugs the list out of his coat pocket along with a pen.]}

What would you like for Christmas? Pick anything!

Something for my kids. [Nope. Not getting away with giving him presents.]

_{[ >8I LE SQUINT. Oh, well. He'll get something whether he wants it or not. Shh.]}

I'll see what I can do. How many do you have?

[He pauses to mentally count for a moment, using fingers as markers. Then he realizes that he can't count every child in the world!]

How many kids are there in Johto that don't have a good father?

O-oh.

_{[Well then.]}

I'll...buy some candy. How about that.

Perfect! Thanks.

What about you, your Majesty?~ [Chuckle. He's gotta go buy so many presents.]

_{[Nobody's called him THAT in a while. Jack doesn't bother correcting him. The guy could call him what he wanted.]}

Uhhhmm. Hmm. I've never been very good at this. How abooout a whistle? The kind you wear around your neck.

[The Other Father's a smooth-talkin' man and names can be boring if you use them too much. Your Majesty seems a lot more fun.]

If that's what you want.

[The Ditto blobs on his arm again, sliming around and up onto his head.

He just realized he hasn't named him yet, and nothing was decided earlier... He reminds him of himself, and he's forever changing from what he's not...]

Like the name 'Pumpkin'?

[The Ditto gives a cry, blobbing into different shapes as to put forward that he's pretty happy with this.]

I think a whistle would be pretty useful.

_{[He plans on doing a little exploring once the weather allows...and those ledges...you just never know when you might need help.]}

Ha ha, I think he likes it!

_{[ He...she...8I WHATEVER. It was gum with a face.]}

A little hard to make music with, o~hoo.

[Father knows nothing about the ledges, sadly; maybe one day, he'll find out? |D He's careful, so most likely not.]

Pumpkin it is. [Look at that Ditto gleam. After hearing his story, it can figure that it's close to his heart.]

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37 days till Halloween [video] [action]

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I replied to this before. ;-; Silly LJ. 11 DAYS LATER.