aren't you scared?

Merry Christmas! 🎄🕸️

What’s better than eating gingerbread cookies shaped like your old insufferable pal? Oogie Boogie and his henchmen are getting ready for the holidays!

Finally found time to finish this. Still feeling the comic booky style from yesterday.

@crystallizedtwilight's designs for older Lock, Shock and Barrel are so cute I had to draw them!

@gonnadieoffright

He tried not to smile, but it was almost impossible when she was smiling like that. Grace had that effect on him, softening his edges just enough, and he rolled his eyes as he looked away, a slight smile pulling at the corner of his mouth in spite of himself.

“I can stay. But can we do something inside? I think I’m going to burst into flames if I get anymore sun.” Maybe if he’d relented slightly from that black jeans and black t-shirt ensmble, he’d be doing better, but introducing color into Lock’s wardrobe was going to take more persuasive power than even Grace might possess. Worse, it might make him look friendly, and then he’d never get anything done.

He hesitated to answer that question. The Hallows trio’s idea of fun ran largely to raiding candy stores, pranks that occasionally edged the line into being actually dangerous, and hanging out in cemeteries trying to scare each other with ghost stories or wake the dead, or both. Somehow, he doubted most of that would appeal to Grace, but she’d surprised him before. It might not hurt to see if there was a little bit of overlap between their worlds. “How do you feel about pranks?” he said finally. “I owe my brother and sister one.”

She couldn’t stop the glee she felt in hearing that he could stay with her for a bit longer. She really did enjoying hanging out with him, and it it gave her more opportunities to try to get him to actually have fun and enjoy himself, then Grace was all for it. Perhaps it was his constant stoic expression, but she’d made it a mission for herself to get him to smile as much as possible. Hopefully she wasn’t being annoying in the process. “Inside it is! Besides, I’ll probably get a sunburn if I stay out any longer in this dress, so I get it.” She nodded, already thinking of things they could do that didn’t involve being cooked by the sun. But his suggestion made her pause, a considering look on her face. “As long as no one gets hurt, I’m in! What did you have in mind?”

"I wouldn't hurt them," he murmured offhandedly, more of a reflex than an actual protest. Lock and his siblings might taunt each other and play tricks, but he was fiercely protective of them. That loyalty ran deep. The implication that he wouldn't necessarily hesitate to hurt other people was lost on him.

He gave a thoughtful hum as he considered the options. "We could replace their candy stashes with …granola bars. Or dental floss." He narrowly avoided saying razor blades. Lock might personally find that funny (and BARELY harmful at all), but since her one request was not to hurt anyone, he thought better of it.

“I’ll take it,” Grace gasped in triumph as her smile grew, if possible, wider in her excitement. They’d always been quite the opposite in their friendship, which she didn’t mind in the least. But to hear him admit that he had had at least a little bit of fun during their day was enough to make the entire trip worth it. “Do you need to leave or can we hang out a bit more? I’ve got loads of other fun ideas for us.” Grace hesitated for a fleeting moment before promptly adding. “Unless there’s something in particular you wanted to do?” After all, she didn’t want him to think that she was bossing him around or making him do everything that she wanted. That wouldn’t have been fair at all.

"I can stay. But can we do something inside? I think I'm going to burst into flames if I get anymore sun." Maybe if he'd relented slightly from that black jeans and black t-shirt ensmble, he'd be doing better, but introducing color into Lock's wardrobe was going to take more persuasive power than even Grace might possess. Worse, it might make him look friendly, and then he'd never get anything done.

He hesitated to answer that question. The Hallows trio's idea of fun ran largely to raiding candy stores, pranks that occasionally edged the line into being actually dangerous, and hanging out in cemeteries trying to scare each other with ghost stories or wake the dead, or both. Somehow, he doubted most of that would appeal to Grace, but she'd surprised him before. It might not hurt to see if there was a little bit of overlap between their worlds. "How do you feel about pranks?" he said finally. "I owe my brother and sister one."

He slowly shifted the ever-present lollipop in his mouth to the other side while he contemplated the question. He’d never outgrown candy--it was in his pockets, his backpack, his car, and stashed in various other hiding places--and it kept him from worse vices. Usually. "Alright. Maybe like an M&Ms worth of fun," he allowed.

Lock couldn’t give a fuck about Christmastown. He held a grudge because kings were supposed to protect their people, and Jack had failed spectacularly at that when it came to the Hallows. If he’d done something about Oogie when he first started gaining power, or even noticed what was going on once he did, he would never have gotten his claws in them. Anything that hurt his siblings was on his shit list, pretty much for life.

He rolled his eyes even though they couldn’t see it. He was sure he’d heard every possible joke about his name. He was halfway listening to the commotion in the kitchen and halfway dozing when they returned, but he shoved his feet onto the floor and got himself mostly upright in time to accept the plate. “Thank you,” he murmured, reaching out to ruffle their hair. “Want half?” He peeked between the slices of bread (check your candy) before he picked it up and took a bite.

Originally posted by malecloveforever

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They pouted a little at the loss of their originally positioned pillow of his leg but leaned a little into the ruffle of their hair. Peering skeptically at the sandwich, they leaned over to peek when he separated the pieces of bread. It didn’t matter that they had made it themself, they still looked because the rules. Promptly, they stuck candy back in their mouth in answer with a look that clearly said that was a dumb question. 

Turning on the couch, they sat sideways on it, watching him with an unblinking gaze. They had to learn new rules for their humanish when it became clear that they weren’t getting close to what they were before, not enough. Often, all of the Hallows were tired, worn thin and not as bright as they were supposed to be. 

Food could be a perk though, and he tucked into his sandwich and chips once he was sure there was nothing dangerous in them. He didn't really think Sam would poison him, but their idea of a joke could be rather morbid. "Stop staring at me, weirdo." He opened his mouth to show them the chewed up food, since they were so interested in watching him eat. It wasn't even creepy so much as awkward, although Sam kind of defaulted on creepy. In a good way. He found the remote and flicked the movie back on.