Sometimes you roll out of bed "look[ing] like Nick Nolte after Mardi Gras”, as our Lord and Saviour Oliver Putnam once said. And that's okay.

Crystal Springs Chapter 18: now up on ao3!

Time for Jack to confront the MOMMY ISSUES! Read all about it HERE.

Chapter 18: Market Day

Winter and Jack make a ruckus at the annual holiday market. Jacqueline visits a fellow Legate.

A very fun, and very LONG chapter! We've got BLAISE AND JACK CHATS! JACQUELINE BEING A POUTY LIL MIDDLE CHILD! WINTER SLAYING! JACK AND WINTER CAUSING TROUBLE! OTHER CHRISTMAS SPIRITS! A GR8 FIERA ONE LINER! A MARKET (I love me a good market, holy HELL) WE MEET SANDMAN'S LEGATE, XANDER?!?!?!?

AND, OF COURSE, JACK AND WINTER FINALLY TALKING! WOO!

For tonight's excerpt, I give you my favourite part! I love Winter. She's so funny 🥰🥰

"And given the year you've had, I can see why," Winter said, with a sad smile. "Oh, my poor baby boy." "Mom, stop! I'm not a baby." "You're my baby," Winter emphasized. "I know," Jack admitted, grumpily. "But I wasn't completely alone this year! Santa was really very kind when he really didn't need to be. And Carol, oh, she's been an absolute sweetheart, really! And, y'know, the elves warmed up to me and the Council was very supportive too. And I lost count how many times Mother Nature went up to bat for me. You'd think, given his fluffy nature, Easter Bunny'd be a little bit nicer." Winter laughed. "That's why he's so fluffy. He's full of spite." "Oh, that's good!" Jack laughed. "I've gotta remember that one for the next council meeting." He paused for a moment as they entered the clothing section, thoughtful. "And you know, from what I've heard, parents usually make the worst mistakes with the first one. So when number two, or, y'know, three AND four come around, they don't repeat them. I mean, seems like they turned out a lot better. And I'm sure they have you and Dad to thank for that." Winter laughed. "Oh, they were troublesome in their own ways. I don't know how Jacqueline had so much energy all the time. And she had this horrible feud with one of the school teachers, that was a rough go! And I don't even want to think about what nonsense she may have run into while she was out and about amongst the ordibeings." Jack chuckled. "You really don't." "And the Twins! Lady of the Springs, those two are always causing trouble. Wild animals in the house at any given time; far too many fires for me to keep track of. They're very sneaky. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that they may not be as bad as you were, but they've had their moments," she said with a fond smile. "You've all had your moments, the four of you. Don't go singling yourself out, Jack dear," Winter finished, wagging her finger. "I'll try not to," Jack said, stopping at one of the stalls and browsing the spools of thread. They were very vibrant; he was fairly certain that some of the colours weren't normally seen by the ordibeing eye. And they looked sturdy—that was promising. "But you need to stop being so dismissive of yourself! You've been plenty supportive since I got home," Jack continued, moving over to the next stall as Winter followed steadily, letting him browse. "Don't think I didn't notice the matching outfits yesterday. Or all the times you defended me from the other seasons. Or how you tried to delay them coming over. Amongst other things." "Oh good! You noticed!" Winter said, cheerful. "I was having such a rough time telling, I figured I'd try showing, first. I'm always here for you, Jack dear. Even if I can't say it." "Thanks Mom," Jack said with a soft smile. "I appreciate it." "Of course," and, before Jack had time to process, she pulled him close in a very, very, very tight hug. "I've missed you very, very much Jack," Winter said, squeezing tighter. Jack smiled softly, squeezing her back. "I've missed you too, Mom." "This is all very touching, but could you maybe take it somewhere else?" the stall keep in front of them said, disdainfully. Winter whirled on the man, absolutely furious. "I haven't seen my son in fourteen HUNDRED years," she said, sternly, jabbing an accusatory finger at him. "So I will damn well hug him wherever I please! Understood?" She glared so hard at the shop keep that his clothing was beginning to look a little frosty. "Yes ma'am!" the shop keep squawked, jumping back. "I'll take a spool of the black and white each, please," Jack said, trying to bite down the laughter as he watched the shaken elven looking fellow rush to grab the spools for him, as though his life depended on it.

Want to see what ELSE these two do at the market? READ ON TO FIND OUT.

Want to start from the top? Here's the Prologue: An Encounter on ff dot net and ao3! Story summary below the cut (as per the ush):

It’s been almost a year since Jack Frost thawed and things are looking…well, not so great. Jack’s powers are seemingly gone. Without them, the Dome that keeps the North Pole safe from the cold and its magic controlled is melting, putting everything and everyone magical at risk.

Unable to hide his power shortage any longer, Jack is forced to admit the truth. Thankfully, there is a solution: enacting the Legate Law, bringing Jack and the sister that he hurt so many centuries ago back together again. But when Jacqueline starts experiencing destructive blackouts, the pair are forced to head back home to Crystal Springs, bringing Jack face to face with the rest of the family.

Needless to say, between getting his powers back, helping his sister figure out what in the FROST those blackouts even were, reconciling with his parents, meeting the two even younger siblings he didn’t even KNOW he had, NOT TO MENTION the ancient threat that’s had it out for the ENTIRE Frost family finally making a move?

Saving Christmas (regrettably) is looking to be a little bit…complicated.

ALSO. IF UR STILL HERE.

Hey, hi, how's it going?

ONE MORE THING I wanted to mention! Befana in this chapter was plopped in there with Belsnickel about a month or two before the series actually aired. I got the chapter out JUST BEFORE it started airing, bc I feared what they'd do to Befana and wanted to have my own interpretation of her.

Surprisingly, they did an okay job with her! She's not TOO different from my portrayal, lol. anyway, that being said, ur absolutely welcome to picture her as she was from the series, but please know sahe's not QUITE the same iteration :3

Anyway! Enjoy!!!

I love your sona and Bernard ship it's adorable! ❤🦌.....i know it's like March but would you draw them again...maybe easter themed🐰🌸?

And if i may ask....can you please draw a couple Jack Frosts❄in your style.....(I'm shamelessly obsessed with him even if it is mid March lol)

soo sorry this is so late my asks get buried a lot!! but I am here now and OMGG SHOW YOURSELF ANON I NEED YEAR LONG SANTA CLAUSE MUTUALS !! 🗣️💥

like I said this is late buut here they are spring themed!! so happy you guys like seeing them, it makes me more comfortable with posting them outside of christmas 😅

and I'm still working on drawing jack in a way that I like, rn he's looking a bit like the joker tbh buut i hope you stick around anon because I would love to practice some more LOL ❄️

Hello Elves,

The kitchen is behind on lunch orders.

Somehow, several of the ovens have been frozen shut, and we are working on fixing the problem.

On a completely unrelated note, if you see Jack Frost walking around, please tell me so I can beat him with a staff- Sorry, I mean inform Santa of his visit.

Yours, Bernard

Consider: Elven Prince Bernard and Elven Knight Bethina / Betty (they're hard to sketch so excuse the oopsies).

I think after Disney didn't even manage to successfully nostalgia-bait me (and I'm someone who likes the Star Wars sequels and Season 5-8 of Winx Club so this really says something), we should have a medieval fantasy AU as a treat!

Ideas for what I might draw next / brainrot about:

Witch Sandra — like with a pointy hat and everything! Perhaps with Befana giving her advice but I don't think my skills are good enough to pull that off help

Alternative idea: Disney Princess Sandra who attracts little woodland creatures when she sings (her singing is awful for comic relief purposes and it still makes the finches flock to her)

Court Jester Cal "Do you think Riley will like me in this outfit?" Calvin

Noblewoman Riley

Court Jester Noel — in solidarity with Court Jester Cal

Royal Advisor Edie

Curtis as whatever the male version of a handmaiden is + handbook

Roy Enchantix! — like with big ass fae wings

Snow King Jack. Like, Elsa but shadier.

Mother Nature (we really need to give her a proper name. come on, this fandom is like 10 people, we can make it happen!) as a gorgeous nature spirit! Or maybe as a goddess? Both would work 🤔

What do we do with Scott? Do we just make him the king because the previous king died in his front yard? Can you imagine that?

I think Charlie would work as a knight

I know this isn't medieval but we can slap a Victorian dress onto Carol and have her beat someone up with a high heel but I'm not sure I can draw that 😂

Laura and Neil as regular citizens from some backwater village who don't believe in magic until Elven Prince Bernard plunders their fridge

Magnus Antas as like,,,, Tom Bombadil. A very evil, slightly more feral Tom Bombadil.

Curtis and Jack going to see Barbie, all dressed in pink, lookin cnt 💅 and they run into Bernard, Carol, and Scott going to see Oppenheimer

Bernard gives them the “🙄😒 ugh ofc ur seeing that trash, you two have no class” and he walks off, meanwhile Scott and Carol follow after him shooting these 🥺🥺 back at Curtis and Jack like “please take us with you”

This just came across my twitter feed and I’m dying

You can’t tell me it ISNT them 😤

ASK GAME SPAMERO AYO! (ahem)

Let's see #s 1, 7, 8, 13, 15, 18, 25, and 30 :)

(yet another artist friend who is gonna have to deal with SOO MANY QUESTIONS haha, sorry not sorry, I AM ENDLESSLY CURIOUS AND MUST KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT MY ARTIST FRIENDS AND THEIR PROCESS AND SUCH! 🎊🎊🎊

PLS DON'T APOLOGISE, ASKS MAKE ME V HAPPY INDEEDY! 🥰☺️

This is much more… ex-art student orientated than character design/TSC/CS/ML orientated, I'm sorry! But it was quite nice to reflect on my uni degree and the body of work that I produced during that period of my life!

To make up for it, however, here are a couple of doods :D — a rather surly-looking Jack (wip; you can just about see Lucy in there too) and an adult!Fiera! (I need to update her design, this is just a prototype!)

Art programs you have but don’t use. Adobe Illustrator! I learnt to use it at uni (I studied Illustration and Design) but am much more disposed to Photoshop and Procreate.

A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate. Like a physical medium? Hmm… I’m going to say pastels. There are very few mediums I don’t work in (when I’m actually producing art, that is, lmao). I love oils, acrylics, charcoals. Pretty much everything. But pastels… I’ve never really taken the time to get to know them. Maybe I should!

What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in? During my final year of uni I wrote and illustrated my own children’s book. I am, to this day, quite proud of it and hope to one day finalise the illos. …Maybe. Possibly. I wouldn’t therefore say that I’ve “lost interest” in it, necessarily, but it’s certainly fallen to the wayside (it has after all been four years). 

A creator who you admire but whose work isn’t your thing. This is very tricky bc I’m hard pressed to think of any creators whose work isn’t “my thing”. If it’s artsy then I’m gonna enjoy it, no matter what! With that in mind (and if it’s okay?) I may have to amend this to, “a creator who you admire but whose work you could never emulate”, and that creator is Georgia Lowe (@georgialowpapercuts on insta). She makes the most sublime paper cut outs — stunningly intricate, extraordinarily delicate! I adore them! I’m not sure I could ever have the patience to make something that time-consuming.

*Where* do you draw (don't drop your ip address this just means do you doodle at a park or smth). In my flat. Typically while sitting (pretzel-like) on my sofa. I’m very boring! Although I have been known to take a sketchbook to the V&A or the Tate Britain, every once in awhile. Or on a walk around Hyde. It’s not a common occurrence, though. I don’t like to draw in public spaces lest someone ask to see what I’m working on! I’m extraordinarily shy about my work. 

An estimate of how many art supplies you’ve broken. Countless, lmao. I am a clumsy bean and shit happens. The most frustrating was when I tore a newly bought canvas. A very big canvas at that. Oh and when I dropped a bag full of chalks and charcoals — makes them so much harder to use! I also snapped a paintbrush once, because I didn’t realise how badly I was bending it while pouring over an exam piece. 

Something your art has been compared to that you were NOT inspired by. One of my editorial pieces was once likened to Escher's work, which — while enormously flattering — had not been my intention!

What piece of yours do you think is underrated. Looking back, there are several pieces I submitted as part of my overall body of coursework which I deeply disliked at the time (having been staring at them for months) but am now fairly fond of! One charcoal image of a horse, in particular, springeth to mind.

Who had ‘Tim Allen stars in arguably one of the cringiest and most poorly-written sequels to a beloved Christmas movie franchise you’ve ever had the misfortune to watch that it makes The Santa Clause 3 look like a fucking masterpiece’ on their bingo card

*to the tune of The Candyman Can*

Who can take a rainstorm?

Turn it into hail.

Make them big as golf balls, breaking windows ‘til they wail.

Jack Frost can.

Who can take a dew drop?

Turn it into to frost.

Take away the warmth until all hope and joy is lost.

Jack Frost can.

Art dump? Sort of? Basically, a few of the things I've neglected to post over the last few months/millennia.

Inspired by this lovely post, and this lovely follow up post! I was so bowled over by the fits that I decided to alter/update an old Diteline sketch to match!

Finally managed to establish a consistent character design for my pathetic little wet mop of a daughter. Huzzah!

AU in which Jack either a) never leaves or b) leaves but comes back almost immediately.

More bb Cold Front. Jack would almost certainly not have been wearing pinstriped trousers that far back, but they were easier to draw than something period appropriate! The difference in foot size is making me weak at the knees.

Meant to post this on Valentine's Day. 😅 Some Bernelle, Blinter and Diteline, as well as Jucy. Figured if anyone could get B-Man jivin' it was Miss Elle (property of the lovely shittyelfwriter).

Theym, or something. In ch. 4 of ML I mention that Lucy has blonde highlights. I've since decided that they're not so much highlightS as one big streak, that she uses to cover up a lil grey area (if I can be going grey at age 27 she can be going grey at 35). I think she also dyes it pink every so often, for funsies; as she has in the upper lefthand pic. She looks v NYC Grunge in that one, as an aside. Apart from the Bears cap, that is, which is decidedly Illinoisan. The coat was borrowed (stolen) from her dad and the hoodie is her old varsity one from Harvard. Oh, and her earrings are teeny planets, bc yay space!

Jack's Sexypedia page is weak, guys. Look at this shit! Where do I even begin! Oh! right fucking HERE:

OF ALL THE IMAGES TO USE. THAT'S THE ONE THAT'S UP THERE???? THAT ONE????? GEEZUS H CHRIST. IT'S A STANDEE! So you scroll down to the gallery bc maybe there's better photos there, right?

WRONG

I'm like. I need to go through the movie and screenshot some gr8 Jack pics and literally make a fandom wiki account JUST TO FIX THIS GODDAMN PAGE! NONE OF THESE PHOTOS ARE SEXYMAN VIBES! THEN THERE'S THE MEAT

this needs a rewrite and several edits. maybe eightral edits. maybe a second rewrite. my god.

AND THE ARCHETYPES. LIKE.

YOU CAN TELL WHEN THE WRITER GAVE UP! SIR, THE PINSTRIPES! THE PINSTRIPES! LUCY THAWED HIS WHOLE ASS HEART, NOT JUST HIS SUIT! I'M LIVID! I'M GONNA DO SOMETHING CRAZY!

Oh, and also, a fun bonus:

White Hair

Yeah.

Hi Tumblr I made this. That’s all I want to share.

So @herbalsingularitea made a post talking about the concept of Jack as Sandra's mentor and the one who's teaching her magic and I absolutely loved the idea so I decided to integrate it into the medieval fantasy AU sjdjsnjdjs

Add Befana to the mix and you have a homebrew disaster magic school. Scott's probably like "uh what exactly are you two teaching my kid???"

I’ve never played Baldur’s Gate 3 but my internet experience has been forcibly injected with Astarion content cause ofc it has,,

And every time I see him I can’t help but think of Jack Frost

Like not just how he looks but his mannerism, his snark and sass, his fruity swagger, it’s all SO Jack,, especially @lmelodie ‘s Jack, it’s so himmm