A Frozen December 2016

It was that time of year again: She's annual cookie decorating party, which always took place a few weeks before Christmas. But based on what happened in 2014, with me being accidentally kidnapped, I had decided to avoid the fun. Little did I know, by passing up the opportunity to spy on the humans with the rest of my doll friends, I was getting myself into a much greater adventure. And it all started with Elphaba.

***

"Hey, we're all going to head downstairs to watch the cookie party. Want to come?" Elphaba inquires. She stands below my dresser, She's iPod in hand so the two of us could stay in touch. I'm lounging in my wicker chair with Steve beside me, the both of us without a care in the world.
"Eh, not really," I toy around carelessly with the end of my braid. "I saw what it was like two years ago. I'm just not feeling very adventurous today."
Elphie blows a stream of air through her lips, obviously frustrated with my mood. "Okay, if you say so." She trudges away, then looks behind her shoulder before passing through the door.
Looking back on it, I guess I wasn't really acting myself. But I didn't really feel like myself, either. Recently Nessarose had been spending more time than usual with Elphaba for their upcoming finding days on Christmas, and I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Nessa, an Anna ornament, had an Elsa ornament, Elphie, as a sister, and both dolls had been here for less of a time than I had. Where was my sister? Didn't I deserve one by now?
At least I had a boyfriend that cared just as much. Steve had declined his invitation to spy on the party earlier to spend the day with me. It was a very kind gesture for him to display, but I just didn't feel like doing anything. So the two of us just sat and talked about what was to come until the phone on She's charger chimed.
Towards the end of the party, had Elphie sent me this text as a warning:

She rushed into her room seconds after Steve and I froze into place, throwing a large gift bag onto her bed before running out again and shutting the door. Though it wasn't completely shut, there was a small gap between the door and the frame, just enough to let some light in from the hallway outside. But it still didn't leave the much-needed fresh air for Steve and I. I was feeling a little lightheaded, but that also might not have been from the lack of air. I was incredibly anxious.
"Uh-oh," Steve chuckles nervously beside me. "You know what that means."
"Do I?"
He held my arm to steady me as I leaned far over the dresser to get a good look inside. The gift bag was a cheery cranberry color with shiny gold dots all over, with thin red and white tissue paper poking out the top. A festive bag, no doubt, but would the thing inside it be equally as inviting or something sinister?
"Yes, I think you do," Steve crooned. "Come on, go and check it out! You know you want to."
The package rattled, and I jumped back, Steve catching me before I could run away.
Steve must have noticed my hands glowing blue, or he can just read me really well, because then he asks, "Is everything okay, Elsa?"
I feel like a little kid, pointing to the bag on She's bed like it was a monster in my closet. "There's something unusual about that bag. I haven't decided if I like it or not yet."
Steve pauses for a moment. "Why don't we go find out what's in it, then? That might put your mind at rest."
I wrung my hands, not taking an eye off that bag. "Maybe..."
"Come on, you like adventure. I'm surprised you didn't want to see the annual cookie party today."
I sigh. "I don't know, Steve. I'm just not feeling it today. Sorry I'm being so weird around you," I looked up into his eyes, my tone changing to playful. "And I don't know why you're so eager to see what's in the package, either."
Steve shrugs casually. "What can I say? Maybe a little bit of your attitude rubbed off on me," he grabs onto my hand, steadying my tremor. "But you don't have to go alone. I can be right by your side and we can see whatever's moving in that bag. Then we'll go right back to normal. Okay?"
I couldn't resist him, but I even more so I couldn't resist my curious instinct.
"Okay, you got me. I have to see what's in there."
"That's my girl," Steve smiles. "Let's go storm the castle."
When I gave him a creeped-out look, Steve quickly explained that it was just a figure of speech and that no one was looking to steal my invisible crown.

Steve, being a Super-Soldier and therefore much faster than a Snow Queen, made it over to the bed first and pulled up a small box to stand on and get a good view inside the gift bag. I required no assistance to see inside, and unless my mind was playing tricks on me, the tissue paper was still fidgeting. By now there was no doubt inside me. The thing inside was a doll. But friend or foe?
"We made it," said Steve. "Should we pull of the tissue paper?"
I backed away by a little. "No, I think they should be able to do it themselves."
Steve's eyebrows moved downwards along with his blue half-mask. "They?"
Suddenly, a desperate hand burst through a sheet of red paper, surprising the both of us so much that Steve almost fell off his box.

"Mmrph mm!" Came a voice, obviously connected to the arm, from inside the bag.
Steve's panicked look mirrored my own, but he thankfully took charge as I tried to calm my nerves.
"Mmrph mm!" The voice came again.
"Um... hello?" Steve asked.
The movement stopped, as did the voice. Realizing his mistake and who we were dealing with, Steve tried again.
"Don't worry, we're dolls, too. And we're here to help," Steve called, practicing his heroic skills. "Could you please remove the tissue paper from your face so we can see who you are?"
With, I'm assuming the hand not reaching out of the bag, the doll inside peeled the thin layer of red away. From inside the box, I noticed a familiar-looking face half obscured by a layer of red tissue paper. What I could see where a large pair of aqua-green eyes, vivid red hair, and skin maybe a shade darker than mine own with a rosy complexion and freckles.

My face twisted as I struggled to remember why I could recognize this doll so easily. Why had I forgotten such a thing?
"Can you tell us your name, please?" Steve continues.
"I-I'm... Princess Anna of Arendelle. That's my name... if it helps you at all."
Little did this doll know that it helped immensely. I flashed Steve a look and he knew exactly what to ask next.
"How tall are you?" He coughed awkwardly, readying himself to fudge in something last minute so I could find out her height. "So we can figure out the best way to get you out of that bag."
"I think I'm... maybe sixteen inches? It's been so long..."
I didn't have a chance to ask what she meant. So long since what?
"Let's get her out, Steve." I ordered, my emotions taking a backseat to a tactical autopilot I never knew existed within me before. Maybe it only came around in times like these, where something really important was about to happen.
Steve nodded, hoisting me upward so I could hang over the open bag and grasp onto a hand that felt so much like mine own, only much warmer. I tugged upward, and the doll stood. I was speechless as she trusted Steve to take her hand and lift her out of the bag and onto She's bedspread. I refused to let go of her other hand until she stood right in front of me, eyes parallel with each-other's.

"It's you," The 16" singing Anna doll gasped, obviously as shocked as I was. "Right, Elsa?"
I nodded slowly, smiling without a word.
Steve was not so caught up in our emotions. Being a Marvel character, that is. "Is this your sister that you've been waiting for?" he asked me. He had stepped back to allow the two of us some much-needed space. "Is this your Anna?"
I could only ignore him, much too focused on how all other time seemed to stop but ours. "Anna?"
"Well, your human hasn't named me yet, but I'm assuming so." the Anna replied, a smile lighting up her face. I think she had realized what this meant.
"Our human." I corrected, and without so much as a warning, I dove forward and wrapped my arms around her in a hug. Fortunately, she took very kindly to this, and pretty soon neither of us wanted to let go. If dolls could cry, my eyes would be welling up with happy tears.

Finally, I caught Steve's eye and I forced myself to break the bond.
"Is this my new home?" Anna asked, stumbling around on the squishy mattress. "It looks so different from the other one."
"Wait, you've had other homes?" I had never heard such a thing before.
Anna looked beaten down by the world. "I was... found on Ebay. And not in the best condition, either," she lifted one of her fraying braids to demonstrate. "But maybe I can have a better life here."
"Here, sit down," I settled into a sitting position, back leaning against the gift bag Anna had come in. "Tell me everything about you." Never had I wanted to know so much about a doll during first impressions since Steve.
And speaking of Steve, he began to realize that it was his time to go, and he muttered something about going downstairs to join the others in whatever they were doing. Poor guy. I'd have to apologize to him later after I got Anna's entire life story.

We sat together on She's bed, still holding hands as Anna explained to me her past life. I don't think either of us minded nor bothered to let go, because for the both of us it was still so much like a dream. I'm sure we were waiting for our sister equivalent since we were put into packages, and now that we had the other, we had to hold on or else the dream would fade back into reality. It was nice though.
I listened intently as Anna got over her nervous stutters and her words washed over me. She explained that she was first purchased through Ebay, a site much like Amazon, only you would buy used things instead of brand new. Anna had come from a house in a place south to where we are, with a small girl who played a little too roughly. But Anna got her lucky break, because the little girl's Frozen phase had only been for so long. Tired of her merchandise, the parents decided to sell their daughter's collection, consisting of the 16" singing Anna doll and a 12" Mattel Anna doll in a padded envelope. Their rescuer had been MyLittleMegara, who apparently had been seeking to get She a 16" Anna doll for as long as She had me. She was purchased over Thanksgiving and arrived at their house in early December.
Unfortunately, Anna had not been in the most sightly condition. Her packaging smelled of cigarette smoke, so she and the other Anna did, too. MyLittleMegara had to air her out, then spray her clothes and shoes with Fe-breeze. She was then given a bath with a cleaning wipe and her hair brushed and conditioned. Once her hair was toweled and air-dried, it was braided again. It was quite a journey Anna had been on.
"Well, you don't have to worry about anything like that happening here. We're not really playing dolls. In fact, we're more a part of a collection."
Anna's eyebrows pushed together, forming little dimples between them. "You're saying I'm being used."
"No, no! That's not what I meant at all! That may have been what it was like for you before, but not here. She is an awesome owner, and when She isn't around, we can do whatever we like just so long as we don't leave any tracks behind."
"So... no hair cutting?"
"Nope," I tugged on the stray strand of bangs that hung above my eyebrow. "Well... except for this thing. She clipped this a bit when She first got me so it didn't curl around."

"It definitely looks better," Anna agreed. "So... no dress pulling?"
I laughed quietly. "No, none of that, either. She even makes clothes for me. I have a set of pajamas, a summer outfit, and a dress based off of the one my character wears in the Frozen Fever short."
"That does sound nice. But no wearing out my batteries by making me sing my programmed song for hours every day?"
"Goodness, you must have had it terrible!"
Anna averts her eyes from mine own. "It wasn't completely terrible. My previous owner loved me a lot, I'm sure, at least until her obsession wore off. I was just played with a little too roughly for my taste. But a life spent here sounds nice so far. It'll be like doll retirement after my first experience."
"It's nice here, I promise," I touched Anna's arm in a reassuring gesture, then I began to pull her up. "Come on, I'll take you to go meet the others."
Anna's eyes grew even wider. "There are more of you?"
"Not exactly. No doll here is the same as any other. It sometimes feels like a very unusual sort of family, but it's great to know that you're unique and cannot be replaced."
Anna beamed, her face softening in a way that let me know she'd be okay from now on. "Okay. I'm ready!"
"Were you born ready?" I joke.
"You bet!"
Anna was about ready to charge out the door, but I had to stop her. "But first- I want to give you something."
I reach under She's bed and dig out a recycled chocolate box that She uses for the things that were made for me. Inside are all of my other clothes, headbands, and accessories, but on top lays a striped green cape that had never been used, but had been here a while.
"When She first got me, She made me this cape. But I've only worn it once, and after that, I think She forgot about it. So I decided to save it for an Anna doll my size in the future."

I help Anna pull the cape over her shoulders and fasten the button at her collar. "Why did you save it when you'd been here for two years and nobody like me ever show up?"
"Because I knew you would one day."
"Well, I guess you were right. I'm here," Anna wrapped the cape around her like a fabric hug. "And it's a lovely cape. Thank you."
"No problem. I'm just happy you're wearing it," I held onto her arm again. "Ready to go?"
Anna nods enthusiastically and she begins to follow my lead through She's door and out into the upstairs hallway. I hear voices, and it appears that all the other dolls are chattering downstairs.
"You've already met Steve."
"Yes, I have. Wait- who was that?"
"Steve Rodgers. He's a Captain America doll from the Marvel Universe. And..." I felt my cheeks beginning to grow hot, either with excitement or the pleasure of having bragging rights. "He's also my boyfriend."
"What? For how long?"
"His finding day is close to yours two years ago in 2014, but he was accidentally put in the human's attic until around Christmastime in 2015. So I would say about a year now." I felt a sudden wave of emotion. Had it really been a year since I pulled Steve back out of that cardboard box? Was this our anniversary?
Anna looks like she's having some trouble processing this. "Man, even you have a boyfriend. Where can I get one of those?"
I laughed. "Who knows? Maybe She will get another male doll for Christmas this year."
"Let's hope it's a Kristoff!" Anna exclaimed.
"Until then, you have us. And there's a lot of us, so hopefully that will make up for your lack of a boyfriend."
We finish the last step on the staircase and round the corner to the living room. Anna is clutching onto me for dear life, but she is also jittering with anticipation. When she sees the other twelve dolls standing about in the room, the air stops in her throat with a choking sound.
"You weren't kidding about the 'there's a lot of us part', were you, Elsa?"
"No, I really wasn't," I turn to the unresponsive group and whistle to call their attention. Eventually the conversation died away and eventually I got everyone's head to look our way. Sort of.

"Guys, this is my new sister Anna. She just arrived today as a Christmas present for She from MyLittleMegara."
Some of the dolls nodded in recognition of the name, but just like I had been, were unable to speak.
"She's here to join our family. So go ahead, Anna. Tell us a little about yourself."
I gave her a gentle nudge forward from the back, and Anna echoed a few words I had heard from her before.
"Well, my full name is Princess Anna of Arendelle. I'm from the Disney movie Frozen..." she blinked at the crowd. "But I guess most of you are."
We heard a few snickers, and that seemed to make Anna more comfortable about public speaking.
"I was purchased on Ebay by MyLittleMegara and given to the human that lives here as a Christmas present. I've heard She is what you call her. I'm sixteen inches like Elsa, and I'm a singing doll as well."
"Ooh!" Idina interrupted, batting her eyelashes. "Can you sing for us?"
Anna and I exchanged glances. "Can you sing?" I asked her.
"Of course," Anna replied. "I just need to turn on my switch. It's just..." she looked a little embarrassed. "My heart glows when I sing. A really bright blue glow."
"There's no reason to be ashamed. My hands glow blue the same way."
Anna noticed that our audience was waiting, so with a quick breath, we flicked the switch at our hips simultaneously and busted out into two different tunes. For Anna, the a version of "First Time in Forever" that was cut out of the original song. For me, "Let It Go". Obviously.

(My right arm lacked a glow since I hadn't really used my switch in a while. I just hope She will notice and replace my batteries soon.)
The other dolls clapped respectfully, but most of them looked bored. I couldn't exactly blame them, either. I thought it was best if we moved on and had each one of them meet Anna one-on-one.
"Napoleon? Benny? Why don't you introduce yourselves?" I called them out.
Like a face character at Disneyworld/land, Anna curtsied and stood patiently as the nutcracker brothers came forward. Benny offered his hand out for a formal shake, but Napoleon launched right into how Scandinavian immigrants impacted America. It was all rather... interesting. Anna tried her best not to yawn in front of him.

Eventually I came to her rescue and pushed them away to welcome Steve next. It was a bit of an awkward re-introduction, since Steve had essentially saved her from her gift bag some odd minutes ago, but I think the two will learn to become great friends through me.

Next came a unit consisting of Idina, Dorothy and Bell (in her Christmas outfit). They said a few kind words about how nice it was to meet her and welcoming her into She's doll family. Due to her height, Anna had to kneel down to properly get acquainted with them, and remained kneeling for her next two visitors.

Olaf (with his Christmas hat) was getting impatient and refused to wait for his turn any longer. He ran straight into Anna and hugged her immediately, and fortunately Anna is good at those, or at least tolerates them long enough to make the other person happy. Olaf exclaimed how happy he was to see that I had a sister like me, and I think that comment just might have brightened Anna's entire day, had it not been that way already.

Sven saw his opportune moment after Olaf, another character from our movie, saw Anna, so he went up next without so much as a warning to Magneto, who was using his keychain clasp to hang from Sven's right ear.
"Aw, well aren't you a sweetie!" Anna cooed, rubbing Sven's head while letting him sniff her other hand. Despite Anna's checkered past, he didn't find her a threat and actually proceeded to lick her arms.

"Excuse me!" Magneto yelled, trying to call attention to himself as Sven's head swung back and forward with pleasure.
"Oh, Anna, this is Magneto. He's a keychain. And..."He's pleased to meet you."
Sven tossed his antlers as pre-punishment to whatever bitter comeback Magneto was preparing.
Dizzy, but not wanting to forgo his own brilliance, Magneto muttered, "Welcome to the madhouse."

When Sven trotted away, I whispered to Anna, "You have to warm up to him."
"It seems like he has to warm up to everyone else!"
I giggled in agreement. "Yes, he does. But he's really a good person at heart."
Loki, who normally doesn't like talking to new people unless he helps them out of a box and they have special ice powers, kept his welcome speech short and sweet, and told Anna she could borrow Sven for his animal companionship anytime she liked. She said she was consider the offer of stealing his pet occasionally, and that was that.

I'm pretty sure Nessa and Elphaba tactically placed themselves last in line. Not that they weren't looking forward to meeting their new friend or anything, but more so that they wanted to be remembered the most. Elphie flocked quietly to my side, but Nessa marched herself right up to Anna's feet as if running a parade.

"Hi! I'm Nessarose. I love your cape!"
"Thank you...?" Anna looked around, confused as to where the voice came from.
"I'm down here. You might have to kneel again."
Anna peered over to meet eyes with Nessa. "Your cape is lovely, too!"
"I'm glad you're here. Elsa's been waiting for someone like you longer than I've been around, that's for sure. It's almost like one Anna doll wasn't good enough for her or something."
A hand flew to my mouth. "I never said that!"
Nessa brushed it off. "I'm just teasing. I have a sister like me, too. Her name's Elphaba, and she's over there hiding."
"I'm not hiding," Elphie bristled, stepping out from the shadows to join Nessa at the front. "Nice to meet you."
Anna went right back to talking to Nessa after Elphie spoke. "This may sound kind of like a weird question, but could I pick you up?"
Nessa's eyebrows knit together, but she said yes, albeit with a waver in her voice.

Anna held fast to Nessa's ornament string and commented on how they were twins, and Nessa was Anna's mini-me. I had never thought of Elphaba as my smaller counterpart as those two did, but now I couldn't resist picking Elphie up and doing the same thing.

Don't worry, we made sure to set them down carefully afterwards.
I'm sure Nessa and Anna could have talked and complimented each-other for hours, but I saw Benny grimace at the analog clock on the wall. "The humans will probably we home soon. We need to get back to our places and get Anna back in her bag until She unwraps her."
As cliche as it sounds, I didn't want the moment to end. I held up She's camera, which I had been using to take pictures of the scene as Anna met each doll. "Um, I thought we could maybe get a group picture under the tree? Or something?"
Loki didn't get the message. "But we don't send out Christmas cards."
"It's for her blog, Reindeer King." Nessa scolded.
Anna turned to me. "You have a blog? I thought only humans did those."
Magneto's mouth turned up in a wicked sort of smile. "Well, only humans are supposed to have them, but our Elsa here is somehow the exception."
I gave him a nasty glare. "Yes, I've had a blog ever since I've learned how to operate She's laptop. You wouldn't mind being on it, would you?"
Anna shrugged. I don't think she cared too much either way. "I'm here. If being a part of this family means ending up on a blog, then that's okay with me."
Despite a few feigned smiles and excuses of claustrophobia, I managed to organize the dolls in such a way that made of think of a traditional Christmas card. I placed Anna in the front, since she was the newest addition, and made everyone circle around her by height. Using a stack of various household items as a tripod, I sneaked into the shot the last minute, and I think the photo turned out pretty good. I would have used it for my December header, but I was unsure whether or not we'd be expecting another doll come Christmas morning. Who knew what was in store for us now?

People are right in saying that Christmas brings good news. Because now we all had a new room mate, a new family member, and a new best friend. And I finally had a sister.

Greetings from our newest member,

Princess Anna and Queen Elsa

Opening the Gates: Christmas 2015

I've got to warn you, this post may just rewrite history. The strange title is there for a reason. In my movie, Frozen, "opening the gates" was a big deal because ever since the original royals died, the gates had been closed for three years, not allowing trade or poor princess Anna to see what was beyond Arendelle. When they are finally opened, there's a chance to experience new emotions. There's a chance to find true love. There's a chance to bring forth old memories and create new ones. But they don't have to be memories. They can be people as well. And... I think that will be enough introduction to get this post going.

***

I was aware that Christmas was looming over us like a snowcloud over the kingdom of Arendelle, but with She doing her finals testing and the family packing for their annual trip up north, I wasn't really in the mood to prepare for the holidays when December rolled around. And I had the right to be so. Snow came down the first week, but it rained later on to cover it in sleek, slippery ice, which didn't make much fun to play in. None of the trees had been set up or decorated yet, and the house never once smelled like baking cookies. Not even the musical stylings of Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra could shake me into the festive spirit. So to avoid the holiday blues, I'd mostly keep to myself, finding a comfy chair in She's room to devour book after borrowed book. And that helped me to escape from everyday life, so that's why I was surprised when I heard a little voice interrupt my living dream and say,
"Come on, Elsa, let's set up the tree!"
"I dunno, Nessa..." I lowered She's Hans Christian Anderson storybook collection into my lap as I looked down over the chair at Nessa, who already had the pink box in tow. As much as I wanted to keep our tradition of the tiny doll Christmas tree alive, I was doubtful that we should. I trusted She in that our tree would be put up like last year, and messing with the humans' things had always lead me to trouble in the past. I had a lot on my mind, and I didn't feel like trouble today.

Nessa pouted. "You're the only one tall enough to help."
"Napoleon is tall, too."
"But I don't want to decorate the tree with Napoleon. I want to decorate with you."
I playfully crossed my arms and turned away. Nessa almost had me on her side, and she knew it.
"It could be our Christmas present for She." she taunted.
I sighed. "Go get the others."
Nessa squealed and ran from the bedroom, and I was left alone to shake my head with amusement and drag the pink box, tiny tree inside, to a place where I thought the tree would work best.
When the entire group of dolls returned, we left the door open for each of us to come and go as we pleased. There was no fear that the humans would be back at the house until about dusk, and the dogs never once bothered us before. Among these dolls were Loki, Magneto, and Olaf.
I dusted off my hands by rubbing them together, trying not to let my heart sink. "Small group this time, huh?"
"Everyone else was content downstairs with the bigger tree," Loki explained, looking down at the box. "Away from the... forbidden project."
"Blame Nessa," I said, waving my hand in the air and using the other to lift the lid. "She wanted to do it for our human's Christmas present."
"Of course," Magneto rolled his eyes. "But I actually don't mind this tradition. Let's get to it."

Loki seemed pretty happy that we were doing something for She, so the two of them jumped right in and helped Nessa and I get the tree into the base, wrap the tree skirt around, and fold the branches outwards. Then came the ornaments. I remembered from last year how they were all kept in a certain box with a picture of a cheetah on the front, and sure enough, there they were. Getting the ornaments on was easy with four more hands than if Nessa and I had just done it alone. We were pretty proud of our final result, but one thing was missing. The Christmas star.
"Should we go get Olaf? He mentioned something about wanting to put the tree topper on this year." said Loki.
"Yes, but, we're not done yet," said Nessa, with some exaggeration on the word "yet". "We're still missing one more ornament."
"Nessa, that's a human-sized star. It goes on the bigger tree." Magneto yawned.
"It's not a star, it's a snowflake!" Nessa insisted, laying the ornament next to her feet. My glass snowflake from last year's tree trimming was nearly as big as she was. "And it's going on our tree this year."
Without any requests from help to any of us, Nessa got up to her tip-toes and reached as far as her arms could to her envisioned perfect spot on the tree to host a snowflake-star. "Almost... got it..." she grunted, reaching higher and eventually forcing the ornament into the boughs of the tree. "See, I told you it looked perf-"
But Nessa didn't finish her sentence, as there was a loud squeaking noise from the plastic base as the tree began to sway. The base gave way and it leaned over, then fell on top of Nessa. None of us were fast enough to stop it, though I could have sworn I had seen a flash of blue dart into the scene at the last second, unless that was just because I was in a moment of panic.

"Nessa!" we cried out, and rushed towards the fallen tree. Loki was the first to lift it high enough off of her so we could assess the damage.
"Are you hurt, Nessa?" I asked, gawking over the Christmas tree to get a good view of my little friend.
Though her pigtails were lopsided and her mouth was frozen open in the dazed absence of a scream, Nessa blinked rapidly to bring herself back to reality. "I'm... alright. I'm alright? I'm alright!"
Loki reached underneath the tree and pulled Nessa out as she hurried to correct her appearance.
"What happened?" I continued.
"Something broke my fall. Something stopped the tree from hitting me completely."
Hm. Could it have been the flash of blue I thought I had seen? Were my assumptions not so far-fetched after all?
"Or someone," said Loki pointedly, with an exaggeration on the word "someone". "Guys, I think the someone that stopped Nessa from being crushed is under the tree right now."
I heaved the rest of the tree upwards in a sudden rush of strength, turning it upright again.

"Oh my..." I heard Nessa say, the last word got trapped in her throat as we lifted the tree and the blue flash from earlier, an Elsa ornament, the same size and kind as Nessa's, crawled out from underneath. Loki did not hesitate the help the new girl up.
"I'm so, so, sorry that tree fell on you. I was just trying to... I didn't mean..." Nessa stammered, twisting the ends of her cape around in her hands.
"That's okay. I'm durable." Came the Elsa ornament's first words as she straightened herself up. She had a wild long braid a little blonder than mine and skin that was a little pinker as well. She wore a glittery blue dress and sleeves, and a cape any Elsa would envy, with snowflake patterns similar to the movie's stenciled on the back. She had the kind of eyes that would stare right at you and get to the point, but not really in a judgmental way and in more of a pro-eye-contact way.
"Well, what's your name, O Durable One?" Nessa wanted to know.
"Elphaba," the ornament replied, spitting out a few thin plastic fir needles. "My name is Elphaba Thropp."
Nessa's hands flew to her mouth, her eyes wide. "Were you named after a Wicked character, too?"
One of Elphaba's fair-haired eyebrows raise. "Yes, I believe I was. Who were you named after?"
"Nessarose Thropp. But my nickname's Nessa." If dolls could cry, I could have sworn that Nessa's painted eyes were brimming with tears of joy.
"Mine's Elphie. Just like the books."
Without any warning to the new doll, Nessa rushed towards Elphie and enveloped her in such a tight hug that I was actually beginning to worry if a doll's figure could shatter with that much pressure.
"Aw, now that's nice." Magneto grumbled.

Elphaba must have heard him, because she turned away from Nessa lightning-fast, turning to face the perpetually grumpy key-chain. "Um, hello?"
I sprang into action to save Elphie from any more of Magneto's commentary. "Um, oh! Hey, Elphie. Welcome to the family. We live together in She's house, some of us in her room, some of us downstairs. And this is Magneto. He's a key-chain."
"...Ah, okay." Elphaba replied, as if clearing up the fact that Magneto was a key-chain made all the sense in the world.
"I'm Elsa. And this is Loki. You've already met Nessa."
"Nice to meet all of you. I'm sure this is a lovely place."
Elphaba's observant blue eyes scanned the perimeter of the room as a slightly flustered Nessa rambled off all the great things in the humans' home.
"I could give you a tour of the house! Ooh! You haven't met the others, have you?"
Elphie's eyebrow raised again. "No, I've only just gotten here. The older humans just bought me from Hallmark. I'm supposed to be a Christmas present for the one you call She," Elphie adjusted her glittery dress and cape. "But, as you can see, I'm here a little earlier than I should be. I can stay outside for now, but when the humans get home, I have to go back in a gift bag until the morning of December 25th," she shrugged. "That's the way it has to happen, according to what two of the humans were saying the car."
"But you can't leave! I've only just met you!" Nessa protested.

"It's only for a few more days, Nessa." I reminded her, but felt a sudden pang of realization within me when Nessa's words seemed to echo my own on the day I found out that Steve had left us for the year. Steve. Even the name, simple as it was, hurt to say, much less think about. It was hard to believe I'd almost forgotten my Captain America. He had sacrificed himself in Benny's place to go up to the attic last Christmas. Now it was only a matter of waiting before the humans brought those boxes back down again and we would reunite with Steve. But instead of joy, I felt dread. What if he wasn't coming back? At least I was sure Elphie would. The humans wouldn't forget about her as easily as they had forgotten Steve. I bit my lip to keep from saying anything that would give way to a flurry of emotions.
"It's only for a few more days." I said again, though this time I wasn't sure if it was directed at her or myself.

***

I knew going downstairs to introduce Elphie to the others would clear my mind of Steve, and it did, only for a little bit at least. Most of the dolls would just welcome Elphie to her life in She's care, shake her hand, and say their names. Sven of course, being unable to speak, only let Elphaba pet the fur on his head as he showered her in happy kisses. Olaf was also very excited to see another Elsa in the house and went to hug her immediately. Elphie, however, was repelled by the overwhelming affection in the room and remained stiff throughout the entire meeting. Maybe she'd just need to get used to Olaf. I know I had to when I first met him, and now we get along great.

After Elphaba had met everyone, Nessa kept her promised by taking her on a tour of She's house. Meanwhile we promised to take Olaf upstairs and let him put the red star on the tree. But besides that, until the humans got home from wherever they were, there wasn't much else to do.
"You set up the smallest tree in She's room, did you not?" Napoleon asked me as we watched Nessa and Elphie skip away.

"We did," I reply, then catching his drift a second later. "Would you like to help us get down the other decorations?"
The leftover dolls jumped at this idea, and since Nessa and Elphaba were long gone, we didn't bother to pull them away from their fun to get some boxes out of She's closet, and maybe poke around in the ones the humans had laid out in the hallway in preparation for decorating the tree. We were only going to unload them anyways, not actually do anything with them. The girls wouldn't miss out on decorating one bit. And they could always join us later.
We followed the familiar trail upstairs and went to work right away. Most of the packages were just for the humans and we didn't bother with them. Halfway through the unpacking, Nessa and Elphaba came back up to join in on the fun. Sort of. They did join us, but I wouldn't exactly call it fun. It was mostly just work. Something that had to be done to achieve the desired result. And that desired result was Christmas. I wondered if it would still feel like Christmas without Steve here.
But it wasn't all that bad. We found some pretty cool stuff in those boxes. Cookie ornaments that smelled like fresh gingerbread, bulbs so shiny you could see your reflection in them, and a doll-sized stringed instrument.
"It's a smaller replica of a cello. She used to play cello a few years ago." said Loki, lifting the "cello" gently from its nest.
When all of us gave Loki a weird look for knowing that bit of information, he turned red and insisted that he'd only "read it somewhere once."
"Can you play it for us?" Elphaba wanted to know.
"Well, I guess I can try," Loki abandoned his helmet and staff-thing and began running his fingers across the strings. "But I doubt this thing has been tuned in ages," He blew a layer of dust off the neck of the instrument. "And I doubt that it actually has sound."
Pluck-pluck-pluck.
Nessa covered her mouth to hold a laugh. Loki, turning even redder with embarrassment, pulled at the strings even harder.

Pluck-pluck-pluck. Pluck. Each string was the same dead note, and no range. Eventually he just gave up trying.
"She made it sound so much easier." he grumbled to himself, leaving it behind.
"Ah, what a pity." Benny tsked, but he didn't look that disappointed. I think he already knew what the faux cello was capable of after having it hang from his tree for so many Christmases past. We returned to our stations, shrugging.
"Oh, I remember this!" I said happily, a while after the cello incident, pulling the garland I made out of a shallow box. It was a bunch of strips of paper, stapled together in links like a chain. The humans did this, I remembered, so I wanted to, during one lazy day in January when I was planning ahead for next year. I counted twenty-five links, alternating between the red and green construction papers. I draped the paper chain over Sven's antlers and he pranced around happily. I hadn't realized that so many things were stored in these boxes from last year. I think we were all just thankful Benny was helping us unpack them, not us unpacking Benny.
Napoleon seemed to be reading my mind and commented on it. "Isn't it magnificent that we only have to worry about tinsel and non sentient ornaments this year?"
I bit my lip. "Yeah... non sentient." It hadn't even occurred to me that Steve might have lost his life during all that time in the attic. There weren't any threats for him up there (that I knew of), but without a human or another doll around him, it might have been easy to give up trying to stay conscious each day. My invisible stomach began twisting with worry, but seeing Nessa and Idina admire the softness of the tree skirt, I remembered that it was their first Christmas here since their finding days. My first Christmas had been so exciting, and my 12 Days series had really kicked off a great start to my blog, so I could only imagine how joyful Nessa and Idina, and even Elphaba, felt. I tried channeling their emotion inside of myself, ignoring the prospect that I might be waiting for a dead soldier to come home. My unfocused mind continued to sort through boxes without a Steve to be found inside them, and I was so distracted in my own thoughts that I didn't even notice the swooshing sound of cardboard scooting across carpet until a new box was halfway into the room.
"Um, Elsa? I think we missed one. It was out in the hallway here," Loki, aided by the nutcracker brothers, pushed a festive red box labeled "Starbucks" into the room. "This one was hiding behind the tree box."

My eyes squinted at the sight of the box, and I approached it with caution. I remembered this one differently for some reason. It couldn't have been the tiny doll Christmas tree box, because even though the previous one was also red (we use a pink one now since a side of the red one ripped), it was not the right size to fir the tree. But maybe it could fit a 12'' action figure?
"What's inside?" Olaf piped up.
I found myself unable to answer, so Idina did instead. "We don't know, Olav. We're going to 'ave to find out."
All my concentration fell on the box like a spotlight. I knew what this box was, and it had fallen right into my hands for a reason.
A very, very, good reason!
Slowly, I ran a shaking hand across the top of the lid. If, and I say if, Steve was in there, I'd have to give him fair warning before taking the lid off his box. My heart thudded and stopped at the same time. Time for fate to take its course. With wide eyes and glowing hands, I took the lid and lifted it upwards, just when I was feeling a pressure push forward at the same time.

I was almost afraid to look, and I shut my eyes as soon as the lid was off. I didn't want to see if Steve was there. If he wasn't, I'd be heartbroken in knowing I would never see him again, at least not until Christmas 2016, and I couldn't wait that long again. And if he was, then what would that mean?
Would he still be the same Steve? The Steve that wanted to ask me out on a date?
I was almost afraid to look until a hand grabs mine. It doesn't alarm me, but I jump back anyways. It's a touch I know, knew, maybe. Once upon a December...
"Open your eyes, Elsa."
I can't resist my own name being said by the man I know I love. The flash open, and there he is. My soldier returned from home. My hero, lost, but not forgotten. My Steve Rogers. A hand flies to my mouth, helping keep the tears at bay, as he struggles to stand. His suit is dusty, and his face looks tired, but his eyes fill with warmth and light whenever he's fully upwards and next to me. The room falls silent, unless that is just me imagining a perfect moment. Once I'm sure the hero can get as close as possible to me, yet not close enough, he speaks his first words since returning but mere seconds ago.
"Next year, I'm replacing Benny," My heart dropped, and it had so far to fall now more than ever, but it slowly rose again when Steve's tired face grew a smile. "With rocks. No one is ever going back up there again."

I'm left unable to speak. Steve was staying. For real this time. Forever. No secret vanilla horchata, no shields left behind, no mourning cloaks pulled on in just the nick of time. No missed goodbyes, because we weren't saying goodbye ever again.

"Elsa," Steve whispers, just to me, though with the whole room quiet, everyone could probably hear it. "Will you be my girlfriend?"
He said it so dearly, so fluidly, with no stutters or coughs that I knew he'd been rehearsing this for a long time. He was certain about being with me for so long that he wasn't afraid to say that he wanted to anymore. And, I thought, neither was I.
"Oh, Steve," I breathed. "I would love to," I let a blush take over my face as I added, "As much as I love you."

And then... there it was. Like the magic you feel on a warm night in a perfect seat with a Disney parks fireworks show, Steve leans forward and embraces me in our first- and my first- kiss. It wasn't anywhere near perfect (like the fact that I had to kneel down to reach his lips), but it was ours, so it didn't really matter. Neither did the "aws" and "ews" from our friends, or the fact that he wasn't even out of the box yet. Nothing mattered but the moment, and in that moment I could swear Nessa's words from last year were right. Dolls had magnets inside of them. And right then, two magnets found their match. Click. We had found our whenever.
We pull away, but not completely. His arm still lingers on my shoulder, and I still feel like melting onto his. So many days during that lonely year I had cursed Steve's name, wishing that he had not gone. But now I think of what I would have missed if he had not left and come back. Things like being his girlfriend and receiving a first kiss that was not to be matched. I would have been content to say "And they all lived happily ever after" right there, but there was still so much to be done. Especially now with Steve back. Especially now that there was a they.
"Steve's back!" Olaf cries, launching himself towards the man in the box, propelling me backwards.
"Steve's back!" Nessa chirps, and pulls a slightly unwilling Elphie into the circle of dolls now gathering around Steve. His genuine smiles and divided chatter brighten a previously empty room. He is bombarded with so many questions all at once, but I hang back quietly, still somewhat speechless and just enjoying the joy and love rushing at me all at once.
"Was the attic different than the real house?"
"Did you miss us?"
"Do you want to see all the changes we've made?"

Everyone kept asking the same questions over and over, poor Steve having to work his brain overtime upon just getting back.
"Yes, yes, and yes! I promise to tell you all everything! But first... I might need help getting out of this box."

A thousand hands reach out to take his, but it's my hands that Steve looks over at. Smiling, I step forward and let him lean on me as he steps out.  When I first met Steve, I helped him out of a box. The second time I met Steve, I helped him out of a box. Life is kind of funny that way. His red boots hit the carpet and I can almost feel the weight leaking from his shoulders, and it shows when it looks up at me. Finally, when he was home. Everything was worth it.

***

Later, when the chaos had died down, it was just Steve and I. The two of us, with the world fading into an ignored background with the rest of reality. When She was fast asleep in bed, we sat and talked in the quietest of voices on She's window ledge, outlooking the blanket of pre-Christmas snow and twinkling lights draped over each tree.
"I'm sorry I kissed you so suddenly earlier. That must have been embarrassing." Steve began.
"No, it was actually quite enjoyable. A little more than enjoyable, actually." I admitted.
"I liked it, too," Steve takes a good long look at me, and I soak in the attention from his eyes that I've gone without for so long. "You were serious about that, right? About wanting to be my girlfriend?"
I blink rapidly. "Of course I was! Why would I say no to being with you, Steve?"
"It's just... you know. I left so suddenly, and before that I slipped you that vanilla extract thing..." his voice fades into awkward mumbles.
"The past is in the past," I remind him, scooting closer. "You did what you had to do. I'm just glad you're not doing it again."
"Yeah," Steve sighs contently."I'm glad to be back."

"I'm glad you're back, too, Steve." I place my arm around his shoulder and he rests his head in the crook of my neck, and from then on until early in the morning, we sat there together, communicating solely through unspoken words that are no longer uncomfortable silences, but the first steps to a budding romance I was ready to take on.
But this was far from the end. By now I was certain of that. Sure, there was still a lot to be done before Christmas, but with Steve here, I felt certain we could accomplish anything now. Even later when I found out he lost the rose I'd given him in the attic. Even later when I returned Liberty. Even when She had entered her room and stared at the tiny doll Christmas tree (now on her dresser) like the thing was possessed. And sure, I was still a little jealous when an Anna got an Elsa and I didn't get mine, but Elphaba, based on first impressions, will be a pleasure to have around and Nessa's happiness gives me hope that one day I will find my sister. But, until then, now that Steve was back, maybe I could wait for my sister a little while longer...

***

P.S. The reason Elphaba did not show up in our "setting up the Christmas tree" post in the actual year of 2015, aka "Lokihow" was because we set up the tree days in advance before Christmas, despite the introduction being written and the post actually getting published on December 26th. However, I will be posting our tree decorating post probably before Christmas if all goes well. As of now, I'm working on about... um... eight or so different posts for this blog. Four are just about mostly done, thanks to Steve's return last year. But now that this one is out, I can get to working on a very special December post and Christmas post for this year in 2016, as well as a few others I've been meaning to publish for a while. Muses of Blogger, if you hear me, I'll need all the help I can get! And finally, from all of us at a Doll's Life for Me (including Steve and Elphaba), Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Opening the gates,

Queen Elsa

Previously Missed Header Pictures (August 2016-November 2016)

Unfortunately I've noticed that I've been a little (okay, a LOT) behind on updating pretty much everything about my blog, especially the header picture. (Since July for both!) I decided to that my neglect hasn't been fair to you guys as my readers, so I'm bringing back the blog, and hopefully I'll keep up with changing the header pictures each month. Since I've missed so many months, I'm going to make it up to you guys by keeping the header pictures of the months where I failed to update A Doll's Life For Me on this post in case you want to look back at them and wistfully imagine what it would have been like for me to have actually used them. These will also be going up on my Previous Header Pics Page. Thanks a bunch for staying loyal!

***

August

Olaf, Idina, and Magneto celebrate the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio with a few backyard sports: basketball, hula hooping, and jump roping respectively.

September

I welcome fall with an apple in hand on a shady evening in She's backyard.

October

October is a big time for Halloween celebrations, and Benny and Napoleon show their spooky spirit with some costumes. This year, Benny is a cowboy and Napoleon is a vampire.

November

The weather outside may be getting frightful, but I think sitting with some hot tea by the fireplace is perfectly delightful!

***

Since the December header picture will be released a lot later this month (just in case She gets some new additions to the family on Christmas), that is all for now. I'll probably be releasing more posts soon. Winter break is coming up, so that could leave some extra time for me to hop on She's laptop to update a few things. Hope to write to you all soon!

Preparing for updates,

Queen Elsa

The Intervention

Sighing contentedly, I closed my final book for the night and placed it on a pile of others I had "borrowed" from She's shelf next to my chair. Ever since the summer, I had gotten much better at reading, no longer stumbling and stuttering on words I didn't know. I could even call myself as good of a reader as Loki now. Maybe. But that was enough for one night. I was tired and I had to get to bed. I checked She's alarm clock. When I saw the green numbers show "1:02", I looked over at my friends' makeshift beds and frowned. Where were they?
A small grunting noise was heard from the bottom of She's dresser. I could recognize that sound anywhere. "Sven?" I whispered, peering over the side. The stuffed reindeer somehow also knew that something was wrong. His brown eyes flicked over from me to the door to She's room, desperately, over and over again.
"Are they downstairs?" I asked.
Sven nodded, tossing his antlers in a panic.
"Well, okay then," with a hopeful glance over at She, I figured She wouldn't be able to hear us if we left if everyone else had been able to sneak out. "Let's go check on them and see if they're okay."
I slunk down from the dresser and spared Sven a ride on his back, as I could be quieter on my own two feet.

At first nothing seemed out of the ordinary except the disappearance of my friends and Sven's sudden nervous nature. My keenness for adventure propelled my forward down the stairs, but I wanted to back out when a circle of mysterious lights I had never seen before alighted the kitchen floor. It was like one of the urban legend fairy rings, but with tea light candles instead of mushrooms in a forest.
"Welcome, Elsa." said a foreboding voice that came from the direction of the light ring.
"Hello?" I ventured, stepping closer to the ring, despite Sven having abandoned me at the threshold of the living room to the kitchen.
"You've left our stories unfinished." said the voice again.
"Is this Magneto?"
A heard a feminine voice giggle, a tired groan, and a throat clear. Once I was fully in the center of the circle of candles, the faces that the voices belonged to became clear to me. In front of me was Magneto, then Nessarose and Loki on the right side of him, with Olaf and Idina on the left. The other dolls were no where to be seen, but they didn't reside in She's room anyways, so I wasn't too worried about them.
"This is not Magneto, this is your conscious speaking."
I blinked Magneto's way, wondering if this was some strange joke. "I can see your mouth moving."
He attempted to cover his face mysteriously with his purple cape. "Nevermind that! You've abandoned us, Elsa."
"I haven't abandoned you. I was reading, I noticed you guys were gone, I came downstairs to find you. I'd call that the opposite of abandonment." I snapped.
"That's not what we mean. Just hear us out," Nessa begged from the sidelines. "Please."
I breathed outwards. "Okay. I'll listen." Though I couldn't imagine what could be so important that they had to create a seance at one o'clock in the morning, but here we were.

"When was the last time you uploaded a post to your A Doll's Life Blog? Because according to this it says July thirty-first of this year." Loki began.
"Is that She's phone?" I gasped.
Loki raised an eyebrow, so I kept quiet once again. "It's been a while since we've had a proper flashback story, too. April first of this year. What's going on?"
"I've been busy," I admitted, my eyes darting back to the staircase behind me. Yeah, I've been busy. Reading, ignoring my responsibility as a blogger, baking, creating snow sculptures, ignoring my responsibility as a blogger, napping, helping to train Sven, and... ignoring my responsibility as a blogger. It's a busy life I have going on here.
Magneto sighed, pushing his cape away. "We thought the Christmas spirit might get you back into writing, like it did for your 12 Days of Christmas series, but I guess we were wrong."
I rubbed my arms, surprised that I could feel the chill in the room. "But it's November."
"Yes, you missed our Finding Day posts." said Loki pointedly, nodding at Olaf and I, reminding me that our doll-birthdays had taken place on three consecutive dates only a few days ago.
"And the Moana release," Nessa butted in. "But it's not like a new Disney princess movie isn't a big deal or anything." The shadows crossing her face let me know what I already knew: it was a big deal.

By now I could see that they were trying to guilt me into getting my blog up and going again, but I wasn't sure why. What did it matter to them if I had a hobby or not? Unless they all liked when I would shut myself out from the world to type on She's laptop for an hour or two. "I was excited for Moana. I'm glad She saw it this week, too. I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't think anything is. But you guys are acting like it."
Olaf spoke up this time around. "It's just that we miss how excited you were to be doing something you felt was worthy. We miss the way you'd light up whenever you had just uploaded a post, or when you'd get that mischievous look when you got a new idea for a new post. You're full of ideas, Elsa, and without your blog to release those ideas, you seemed kind of lost."
"He's right," Magneto continued. "As much as I hate to admit, we miss the way you'd snap random pictures of us with She's camera, or force us into interviews for your Doll's Life Files. It was always interesting because we'd wake up not knowing what the day would hold. It was always something new and exciting when the blog was around. Now it's been near a half a year without it, and by far the most boring half-year of our lives."
"Really?" I asked hopefully.
"I know most doll families don't have a blog about them," Idina peeped. "But this is one doll family that wouldn't want to be without it."

I touched the place over my metaphorical heart. "Aw, thanks guys. It means a lot," but then the realization struck me, and I felt defeated again. "But I can't. I don't know how."
"You don't know how to write anymore?" Loki nearly shrieked. "That isn't even possible."
"No, I still know how to write. Someone just can't forget that. I know how to put words on a paper and I know what those words stand for... but putting meaning to them is a different thing."
"Oh! I see!" Nessa exclaimed, nearly clapping. "Well, that's why we brought this." She left her spot by one of the tea lights to run up and tug on my dress skirts, leading me to the living room chair.
"What is it?"
"Something that may help."
The only chair in the living room came into view. It was a special chair, a big and fluffy one that everyone in She's family seemed to fight over when it came time to watch a movie or say the nightly prayers. Tonight, in the glow of the tiny candles, I saw the chair was fortified with extra comfy pillows, and beside it on the coffee table sat She's camera and a tall mug of something steamy that smelled like apples and cinnamon. But by far the best part of the setup was She's laptop, icon shining like a beacon of joy I had neglected for so long. Somehow, after all these months, it still was welcome to be the vessel for my Doll's Life blog. Even Sven had come around to the chair to wag his little reindeer tail and smile smugly. He must have known the plan all along.
"You did all of this for me?" I murmured, awestruck.
"Do you like it? It was Magneto's idea but Idina did mostly everything else." Nessa explained, finally letting go of my skirt to pose with her arms stretched out towards the chair in a ta-da! sort of way.
Idina didn't want to take all the attention. "Oh, please. I'm much too small to lift all of that up there. Olaf brought everything up there for you. He's stronger than he looks."

Olaf puffed out his chest in pride, not saying anything, probably in fear that he might ruin his moment in the spotlight.
"Well, I thank you all greatly for this, really. But it's one in the morning! And even if I wasn't afraid of making any noise to wake the humans, I wouldn't know what to write about. It's just been too long since I got on my blog. I guess I kind of forgot about it."
"We'll help you remember. Besides, we've got just the thing to write about." said Loki, turning She's phone around to show a very old picture that brought everything back. Especially why I wanted to start keeping a blog in the first place.
All of us smiling, they helped me clamber up into the big chair and I plopped down, heaving the laptop over my legs, the familiar weight sinking in. I breathed in the scent of Autumn Spice tea and let the bright blue light of the screen wash over my face. Whenever I clicked on the orange "Blogger" icon and saw my dashboard, I knew no matter what I would write, everything would be okay. I would get back on my blog and do something, whether a flashback, craft, current day update, or a Doll's Life File. Nessa had been asking for one for a while. Maybe now I could finally get around to doing that.
"Our blogger is back!" Nessa squealed, shaking Magneto's shoulders, much to his displeasure.
"So what are you going to write about as your first post back?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Who knows? I'll come up with something. Sometimes you don't need a plan to get things done."
Loki winced, as he was clearly not the type to make it up as he went along. "Whatever works for you. Come on, guys. Let's leave Elsa alone for a while."

They turned to go back upstairs to finish up their rest, but I interrupted. "Actually- why can't this be my comeback post? It's short and sweet- plus it will make sense as a re-introduction instead of me just suddenly returning out of the blue."
Loki looked to be considering my idea. "Okay. Do whatever you like."
"And you guys don't have to leave me alone. I'll need you for inspiration."
And that's how it ended- basically in the same way it began. I had a laptop, a story, and friends. There was something about my ache for writing that refused to die, and it was a thirst that no amount of reading could quench. There was a complete satisfaction in typing once again, and a fulfillment that no other doll I had known to have. At one in the morning, surrounded by talkative dolls and tealight, I returned to where I truly belonged.

Making a comeback,

Queen Elsa

Magneto's Critique of X-Men: Apocalypse

Everyone's a critic.

And there's nobody I know who better suits that quote than our good old grumpy key-chain friend Magneto. At the start of June, Magneto actually got the chance to get out of the house for once when She hooked him onto her purse and took him out to the movies. Nessa actually got to go to, for some reason. I guess it helps to be an ornament. They came back with She two hours later, with Magneto harrumphing about the film. This is my recording of two differing opinions on it, released about a month later to protect those of you readers who haven't see X-Men: Apocalypse from spoilers. If you still haven't seen it, I suggest you look away and pick another post of mine to read. But if you have seen it or just don't really care whether you see it or not, please read on! It's a pretty interesting story.

***

Elsa(Me): Okay, I've got the laptop up and going. Ready to share your points of view on the new X-Men movie?

Nessarose: Sure! I'm still waiting for my Doll's Life File, by the way.

Elsa: Don't worry, I'll get to you soon enough. Let's just do this one first before any of you forget what happened in the film.

Magneto: *scoffing* I doubt that.

Elsa: Magneto, since your character is in the movie, why don't you begin?

Magneto: Fine. This movie is ninth, I guess, in the X-Men series. In releasing order, it goes X-Men, X2: X-Men United, The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, First Class, The Wolverine, Days of Future Past, Deadpool, and Apocalypse.  Both Deadpool and Apocalypse were released this year in 2016. However, this movie is a sequel to Days of Future Past, and a prequel to the ones set in present day.

Elsa: Wow! That sure is a lot of movies!

Magneto: Yeah, 20th Century Fox just doesn't know where to stop.

Nessa: I don't know why you're being so mean to your own movie. I enjoyed it well enough. And I'm not even Marvel! Why didn't you like it, Magneto?

Magneto: Just because I'm in the movie doesn't mean I'm going to like it. Not all dolls are like their real-life or fictional counterparts. That's just how it is.

Nessa: Geez, somebody's crabby today.

Magneto: *sighs* The acting was admittedly mostly good, though. I'm played by Michael Fassbender this time around.

Nessa: *whispers to me* Who, by the way, is kinda hot.

Elsa: Nessa, you think all Marvel men are hot.

Nessa: *twists her cape in her hands* So what? They are.

Elsa: Could we see a picture of this Michael Fassbender?

Nessa: Sure. Got some up on She's phone.

Elsa: You're right, Nessa, he is kinda cute... but is that weird to say with an actual Magneto in the room?

Magneto: What is he, performing interpretive dance?

Nessa: *swiping on the phone screen* Now check out this one.

Magneto: And now he's singing to go along with the dancing.

Nessa: No, that's when he was blowing up Auschwitz with magnets, remember?

Elsa: What?!

Nessa: This one's a better look at his full costume.

Magneto: And now's he's a cover model.

Elsa: He blew up a concentration camp with magnets!?

Nessa: Oh, yeah. Perhaps we should actually explain the movie, Magneto.

Magneto: If we must.

Nessa: Okay, so the first scene takes place in ancient Egypt, where almost everyone on the street is bowing and worshiping a man in a bird hat, being flocked by other men in hats of other animals like cats or crocodiles.

Elsa: Honestly, you've already lost me at Auschwitz.

Magneto: That doesn't even come until later!

Nessa: Everyone is kneeling to this one guy being carried on a throne-thingy, except for these two people who clearly have something secret planned. Once the cosplaying weirdos enter a pyramid, these two men give a special signal by clamping their hands on their staffs, and then they knock the pillars holding a bunch of heavy blocks down, sending them crashing into the pyramid.

Magneto: Perhaps we shouldn't be going so slow, Nessa. We have a lot of movie to cover. Two hours and twenty-seven minutes of it.

Nessa: *pouts* But I didn't even get to tell her what the bird-people were doing inside of the pyramid!

Magneto: Whatever, tell her that. But we don't have all day.

Nessa: Okay, the bird-people take off their silly hats to reveal like, monsters or something. I don't know what's wrong with them, they just look really weird.

Magneto: I would say that they were mutants, but I thought En Sabah Nur was supposed to be the first one. That's Apocalypse's name in Egyptian, En Sabah Nur. It translates to "The Morning Light" which is a reference to the fact that he is the first mutant on the Earth.

Nessa: Wow, look that all up yourself?

Magneto: *folds his arms* I might've read a bit on Wikipedia, yeah, but so what? The other "mutants" gather around the largest bird-person, and underneath the mask is a wrinkled blue pickle face. They take an innocent Egyptian boy down on a stone table and the previous En Sabah Nur on another, and they soul-swap with gold ink flowing between them. But the pyramid starts falling because of the heavy block plan outside, so most of the other mutants die in the process. The remaining woman is able to save the new En Sabah Nur with a power shield until she is crushed by a stone. The end.

Nessa: No, that's just the first five or ten minutes!

Elsa: *holding head in hands* I'm already overwhelmed. Frozen was so much easier for me to follow.

Magneto: Years later, we've got way too many different scenes with different characters going on all at once, in foreign places with way too many big white texts of where they are on screen. 

Nessa: Yeah, I have to agree on that. Lots of things going on at the same time.

Magneto: All you really have to take away is this. Angel and Nightcrawler are battling in a German dogfighting arena until Mystique, played by Jennifer Lawrence, saves Nightcrawler and takes him to a man with obvious contacts called Caliban so they can get to Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, which is where all the little mutants go to train and grow.

Elsa: All I heard was Jennifer Lawrence. I really like her! I've heard good things.

Magneto: Of course you're a J-Law fan Elsa. I'm really not surprised.

Elsa: Am I supposed to be complimented or offended, or...???

Nessa: You're supposed to look at these pictures of the characters. This is Angel.

Elsa: Okay. Yeah, he looks pretty Biblical to me.

Nessa: And those curls! He can fly, too. Now this is Nightcrawler.

Elsa: He looks like demon.

Nessa: He is not! Nightcrawler is a sweetie! He can teleport and his name is Kurt Wagner, which is actually shockingly normal for... whatever he is.

Elsa: Okay? *Nessa swipes on the screen again* Now she looks familiar.

Nessa: Oh, that's Jennifer Lawrence, remember? She just looks like herself in real life most of the movie.

Magneto: Because that makes sense, right?

Nessa: Oh, hush. And this is her when she's the shape-shifting Mystique. 

Elsa: Very... blue?

Nessa: Just wait until you meet Beast. If we remember to show you a picture of him. *spoiler alert, she forgot*

Magneto: X-Men has quite the obsession with blue things.

Elsa: *chuckling* Is that why you opted for red clothing most of the time? Just to be rebellious?

Magneto: You bet I did.

Nessa: Meanwhile, we cut to Poland where a man named Erik Lensherr is going home from his blue-collar job as a whatever involves a lot of heavy metals. And I don't mean the music genre, but like, boilers and sparks and safety goggles and stuff. He has a beautiful house in the woods, a loving wife and a little daughter who sees Erik the hero in her life.

Magneto: So of course we know that they're both going to die.

Nessa: *slapping him across the arm* Hey! Spoilers much?

Elsa: *sighing* No, it's okay, Nessa. Things like that happen in animated Disney movies, too. You have to establish absolute perfection and happiness in order for it to get crushed so the main character has a reason to fight for it all back.

Magneto: See? I like that quote. Can I use it sometime to demonstrate the hardships of life to the naive?

Elsa: *weirded out* Sure... go right ahead.

Nessa: Okay, so you already know they die. Good.

Elsa: How?

Nessa: Police come to Erik's house because he used his magnetic powers to save a guy from being crushed by a bucket or whatever at his work site, and one of them accidentally shoot both his wife and child in the back when his daughter, Nina, summons birds to attack the police force.

Magneto: Because that makes sense. Nina isn't even Magneto's daughter's name! It's Polaris. Says so in the comics.

Elsa: Ooh, Magneto, you had a child? I didn't know this. Who's the mother?
Magneto: *blushing* I said in the comics, I didn't mean me myself. I don't have any family to speak of.

Nessa: That's not true. You have us, remember? We're all family here, regardless of blood relations.

Magneto: *not one for emotions* And then Erik kills them by taking Nina's necklace and whipping them through all of their necks.

Elsa: Really? Geezes... wow.

Nessa: *shrugs* There wasn't a whole lot of blood. I didn't even have to cover my eyes.

Magneto: We need to tell Elsa about Paul Bettany eyes.

Nessa: Right! Paul Bettany eyes is what She called Professor Xavier in the movie. Based on what she was telling her friend, Paul Bettany plays the Vision guy from Avengers: Age of Ultron. Which I haven't seen. Nor do I know who Vision is. But his eyes must be pretty dreamy.

Elsa: Picture?

Nessa: Coming right up. I'll try not to get one of when they had to shave his head.

Elsa: Again, what?

Magneto: All in good time.

Elsa: Yep, those are certainly some eyes... do they usually have that x-thing around them? And what does this have to do with anything?
Nessa: Not, what, who. Professor X takes his assistant teacher Hank to Cerebro-
Elsa: Who is Cerebro?
Nessa: Not who, what.
Elsa: You're very confusing.
Nessa: -And they look up his previous love interest with his mind.
Magneto: *sighs and facepalms* You couldn't be any more cryptic with this, could you?
Nessa: Moira MacTaggert. Look, I found a jif!



Magneto: That's her name, yeah. Then we see her taking pictures of an Egyptian cult with a viewfinder or something.
Nessa: Did we mention this movie takes place in the 1980's?
Elsa: No... but I'll write that down. *continues to type*
Magneto: The important thing is that the cult is able to go to the old site of the pyramid from the beginning of the movie and resurrect En Sabah Nur, who has apparently been protected in a sleeping state under a rug gallery this whole time.
Elsa: Of course.
Magneto: The cult dies when En Sabah Nur escapes, again by rocks falling on them, but Moira is able to run out of the basement in time.
Nessa: I don't fault her for running. Basements are scary.
Magneto: So now Apocalypse is on the loose and ready for revenge.
Elsa: What is he avenging? *wink wink*
Nessa: *waves it away* I don't know. Look, it doesn't matter, okay? He's just angry at false gods. *shows me a pic of Apocalypse*



Elsa: Ew, he's freaky. His mouth looks like spider mandibles. Magneto? Do you have any explanation for this false god thing?
Magneto: He's just angry because now the weak rule the world instead of the strong, as he was promised. He wakes up in 1980's Egypt and finds a local pickpocket named Ororo and is able to recruit her as a horseman of the apocalypse by upgrading her weather powers. Her alias is Storm.
Nessa: *pulls up another picture, this time of Ororo* She had black hair before Apocalypse turned it white.



Elsa: Very fitting.
Magneto: Basically En Sabah Nur's goal after that is to get more mutants on his side, make them stronger, and fight back for his control over the world.
Nessa: He and Storm go to see Caliban where they meet Psylocke. Ugh, Psylocke. I didn't like her. Her character is really boring and so are her powers, so I'm not even going to show you her picture.
Magneto: You skipped out on Jean Grey and Scott Summers, too.
Nessa: That's not the point. All she can do is create a magenta sword or whip out of her arm. That's really about it. She has nice hair, though. Psylocke then takes them to see Angel, whose wings are severely injured after loosing the dogfight to Nightcrawler. Apocalypse convinces, well, forces, Angel to join after he gives him a sweet new pair of wings with bulletproof metal feathers. Some of the feathers can even become weapons, shooting out at his opponents like arrows. *shows me a pic of new and improved Angel*



Magneto: And then my character comes in! Yay...
Elsa: Wait, I thought you liked Michael Fassbender as you.
Magneto: I do, but he's so wishy-washy. He's almost always hurt or upset or angry about something, which causes him to test his friendship with Professor X and constantly change sides.
Elsa: Sounds like someone I know, hmm?
Magneto: Ugh. Anyway, Apocalypse and the three horsemen are able to stop Erik from murdering his coworkers with a bunch of flickering, swaying lights. They go through a portal to Auschwitz-
Elsa: Ah! This is the part that got me earlier. But someone has portal powers now? I thought that was Nightcrawler.
Nessa: No, Kurt can teleport. Apocalypse can do basically anything, including portal creation, just with a light purple color scheme. Because we all know light purple is the evilest hue of them all... duh duh duh!
Elsa: Light purple is She's favorite color.
Magneto: Huh. How quaint. But they take Erik to Auschwitz, where he first discovered that he had the power to control magnets and metals. Then he lets it go,...
Elsa: HA.
Magneto: ...Tears the concentration camp apart with magnetic forcefields, and then joins En Sabah Nur's team. Then he gets, as Nessa calls it, his costume.
Nessa: What, is it not? It is totally a costume.
Magneto: *sighs for the hundredth time* Now that Apocalypse has his team, Professor X finds out about him through Cerebro whenever he sends all the nuclear weapons into space.
Nessa: Odd. I don't remember that part.
Magneto: The Stan Lee cameo?
Nessa: Oh yeah! That was funny.
Magneto: *grumbling* It wasn't supposed to be. It was dramatic. Terrifying. Breathtaking. Worrisome.
Nessa: But then the reflection of the nuclear missiles shooting up in the air in his sunglasses? Priceless comedy.
Magneto: Sure, whatever. Professor X starts to assemble a team of his own. We have assistant teacher Hank as Beast, Raven as Mystique, Jean Grey as Phoenix, Kurt as Nightcrawler, Moira MacTaggert as... herself, Alex Summers as Havoc, and his brother Scott Summers as Cyclops, a new recruit to the special school.
Nessa: Aren't you forgetting someone?
Magneto: Umm...
Nessa: Only the best scene in the movie ever?
Magneto and Nessa in unison: Peter Maximoff!
Magneto: Even though his name was clearly supposed to be Pietro!
Nessa: I heard it was Pietro in the second Avengers movie.
Magneto: But I will actually have to agree with Nessa this time around. His scene is the best in the movie. Set to Eurhythmic's "Sweet Dreams", Peter Maximoff runs around the school saving everybody except Alex from a fiery explosion caused by Apocalypse and the gang.
Nessa: *on She's phone* Hey look! I found the song!
*We sit and listen to the "Sweet Dreams" song for a while before continuing the review*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeMFqkcPYcg

Nessa: But yeah Alex dies. Oopsy.
Magneto: *angrily* Such casual disregard to human life, Peter.
Nessa: Yeah, but so what? All he could do was... set himself on fire or something. And chest lasers? I don't know. His brother Scott lives and grieves the death of a family member as he cries through his laser eyes.
Elsa: Who were the parents to give both their kids laser abilities?
Magneto: Who knows? Mutants fight and a few smaller characters die. Mutants get captured and mutants escape. Including Wolverine, who is sadly without a single line of dialogue. However, he does get the chance to slaughter all of the bad guys with his adamantium claws.
Nessa: That scene had a lot of blood.
Magneto: *groans* Can we just wrap this thing up?
Nessa: Sure, Mr. Cranky-Pants.
Magneto: The climax of the movie occurs when En Sabah Nur gets the brilliant idea to transfer his consciousness into Professor X's body, because Xavier can see into the mind of everyone on earth, humans or mutants alike. With all of that power over everyone's minds, Apocalypse would be able to take the world over quite easily. Team X-Men obviously tries to resist this, which throws both teams into the battle.
Nessa: Ooh! Can I say this part? Erik as Magneto, not you, of course, tries to destroy the city by bringing all of the metal under the Earth's surface upwards. Basically he's trying to wipe all sources of civilization since the Bronze age. He helps Apocalypse build a new pyramid at the center, where they take Professor X for the soul-swapping session.
Magneto: Right... though it's not a swap. A swap would imply they switch bodies. But no. En Sabah Nur just wants to put his consciousness into Charles' brain. Without his consent.
Nessa: So this guy is evil.
Elsa: I kind of caught up on that already.
Magneto: Whatever. We already know that his team loses and team X-Men wins.
Nessa: Storm and Magneto decide to join in, and Angel is left to brood in his gross old barn as Psylocke flares her nostrils and flees the scene. Moira gets her memory restored but Peter never tells his father that he's his son. And Alex is still dead. Still, the school is repaired from the explosion and everyone else gets a happy ending.
Elsa: I'm still left in the dark.
Magneto: Ness... we forgot to tell her about the Moira and Peter thing.
Nessa: Oh, but that's not a big deal, is it?
Magneto: We haven't even mentioned the memory wipe or daddy issues, but we showed her three different pictures of Michael Fassbender.
Nessa: Yeah, so? That's far more important than any old useless subplot.
Magneto: *getting heated up* Fine. I'll tell her then, you...
Elsa: *holds up hand to stop them* Guys, seriously? The last time we got this defensive about a Marvel movie, or any movie for that matter, was the Civil War we had in She's bedroom. You almost died, Magneto. What do you think will happen now?
Nessa: *testy* It's okay... I'm sure he didn't mean it. Somehow in the previous movie Professor X erased all of Moira's memory of him to protect her. But at the end of this movie, he gave back her memory so they could be in a relationship again. Peter was on a quest to find his father, who left him as a child, and explain to him that Peter was his son. His father was Magneto. So there you have it.
Elsa: And a son, too?
Magneto: *growls or something* Only in the comics, and only in the movie.
Nessa: *Puts her elbow up on Magneto's shoulder* Yep, that was all there really is to say about the movie. I actually had a great time, it's too bad you couldn't see it with us, because our review isn't going to do it justice.
Magneto: Only the strong will survive? No one even died!
Nessa: Except for Alex. And Apocalypse. Anyways, I give this movie an eight out of ten.
Elsa: And you, Magneto?
Magneto: It's a six out of ten. Average action film.
Elsa: Cool. Well, that's it! Thanks, guys. I'm going to put this on my blog as soon as I get everything down.
Nessa: And then can we do my doll's life file?
Elsa: Maybe. We'll see.
The End.



Though I had learned a lot about Marvel that day (though I'm not really sure if I'm ever going to retain that knowledge) I think Disney movies are more my style. Of course I'm going to have to hear about this movie for a month or so more, but I don't think I'll really mind too much. In the meantime, I heard there's a trailer coming up for a new Disney princess Moana! Of course, I've known about this release and have been anticipating it since, well, my finding date, really. Maybe somehow I can convince She to take me to the movie theaters without breaking the Code of Dolls in November. Anybody got a good plan for me?

 Hi from Nessa and Magneto,

Queen Elsa