Friends-giving 2017: The Wishbone

Puns. I just can't "let go" of them, can I? First Dolloween, and now Friends-giving? Seriously, Elsa? Yes, seriously. This is seriously the first year we're celebrating Thanksgiving after the one time the house almost burned down. And, like any other holiday, our knowledge of it first came from the humans.

***

It was that time of the year again. Christmas was upon the world, and with Christmas came relatives. And with relatives came a feast, complete with a wine-colored tablecloth, flickering candles, and savory smells from the kitchen. But if it was Christmas, then where was the tree?

"I think you're looking too far ahead, Elsa," Loki laughed, watching me mutter under my breath about the nativity and stockings. "It's still November. Have you forgotten another day the humans celebrate during this time?"

I blinked. No, I have an excellent memory. But I didn't remember such hustle and bustle last year. The humans must have spent the time visiting family instead.

Loki didn't answer me on that. Instead, he was too focused on spying with the rest of us. Moana, Anna, Loki, and I were all watching the humans from the upper balcony of the house, which gave you perfect view of the dining room, where all the commotion was going on. Humans ran back and forth, dusting and vacuuming and washing windows like there was no tomorrow.

"It looks like they're preparing for some sort of celebration." Anna remarked.

"Yep. There's a holiday coming up." Loki was delighted with our incompetence.

Moana was brave enough to ask. "What do the humans call this holiday?"
"Thanksgiving," Loki explained. "It's a time for everyone in the family to come together to share good food and give thanks for the year's bounties."
"Thanksgiving..." Moana's brown eyes sparkled with curiosity. I, too, felt the same surge of energy. Her strong fingers curled around the banisters in want. "We should have one."
"The last Thanksgiving I remember celebrating was when the turkey started smoking the oven and we all thought I had to go freeze the fire. Remember that, Loki?"
He glared at me. "It wasn't so funny at the time, Elsa."
"Maybe that's why we didn't celebrate it the year after. But now that the past is behind us..."
"We can have Thanksgiving again." Anna finished.

We periodically had to dart back into the Room She Lives In to avoid humans, and when we came back out again on a certain instance, there was a large lacquered turkey sitting there on the dining room table, ready to carve up and eat.
"Why aren't they throwing that bone away?" Moana asked, pointing to an odd fork-shaped bone one of the humans had apparently pulled from the turkey to put to dry in the sun.
"That's the wishbone," said Loki. "It's tradition for two humans to fight over it whenever it dries out. Each human holds on to one end, and they pull in unison while making a wish. The wishbone breaks, and the person left with the biggest half gets their wish granted. The wishbone originally meant good luck, but it evolved into a Thanksgiving tradition."
"Weird tradition," Anna commented. "It might be fun to do, though."
"The wishbone is for the humans. Unless if they decide not to break it and it gets thrown away. In that case, we can go down and get it ourselves."
None of us bothered to argue with the wait. We were surprised Loki let us do such a thing, and there was no way we were going to change his mind about that.
Later that day, family stopped by and filled the house with talk and laughter. The turkey was served, drinks were poured, and toasts were given to those who needed a good year. Since it was Olaf's finding day, we all stayed up in the Room She Lives In and used her laptop to watch "Frozen". I'm biased when I say I love the movie, but I'd experienced it so many times, and Thanksgiving was something new and exciting. The concept still called to me after family had left and everyone had settled down for bed.
But I wasn't the only one. Just as Moana's character was called to the ocean, our Moana was being called to do something. Something besides passively waiting for the occasion to be over. She knew I was feeling the same way, too. Halfway to sleep, she shook me back into reality halfway through the night.
"Elsa, I can't stop thinking about the wishbone." She whispered.
"It's just an old bone, Moana," I said, trying to muddle my own nerves. "Go back to sleep."
"You think you can make one out of ice if the humans break theirs?"

That wasn't a bad idea. "Sure. But not right now. Tomorrow."
Moana must have been satisfied with my answer, because she didn't even question how I was going to make such a thing out of ice, and instead went back to bed. It was harder for me to do the same. I stayed up most of the night brainstorming different tactics for how to freeze water in such an unusual shape. We just had to hope that the humans weren't going to break theirs.
I guess I was eventually able to get some sleep, because the next morning I was awoken with a whisper. "Go get her. You know what to do." It was Anna's voice, so I wasn't worried.
The sound of little boots on the wooden surface of the dresser stormed towards me, and I felt equally little hands grab my face. "We're making today a perfect day for you," Nessa sang into my ear. "Happy finding day, Elsa."
I sat up, delighted. I'd almost forgotten about my own finding day, but luckily, I had some great friends that wouldn't let me forget.
"You get to decide how the day is spent," said Anna. "So what'll it be? A visit to the computer room library like Loki, or a movie on She's laptop like Olaf?"
So many ideas, only one day to spend doing them all. I wanted to take Steve out for a private lunch, I wanted to have a snowball fight in the living room, I wanted to make a doll-sized birthday cake. But if I was going to get any amount of sleep tonight, there was only one answer I could choose.
"Actually, I was hoping we could get that wishbone."
Anna sighed like she had been expecting my answer. It was a boring one for her. "Moana will want to go with you."
"I know. But don't worry, as soon as we're done, I promise you we'll do something fun."
"Yeah, maybe after, we can raid the garbage for more old bird bones," Nessa griped. "Come on, Elsa, it's your finding day. We should celebrate."
"Breaking a wishbone is celebrating," I insisted. "Where's Moana?"
Anna told me that she was already looking for it, and that the humans had not left so long ago to take their visiting family back to the airport.

And Anna was right. As soon as I entered the kitchen, I saw Moana standing victoriously by the sink, Magneto at her side as always, and Loki watching from the floor, trying to give her directions for a safe path back down to the floor.
As soon as Moana saw me, she smiled and waved the wishbone in the air like a stiff, curving flag. "Hey, Elsa! Look what I got! I heard the humans saying this morning that they were going to throw away the wishbone this year, so now we get to break it!"
"Why are they throwing it away?"
Moana wrinkled her nose, trying to remember. "Something about one of their guests bringing over another turkey. So this wishbone is just an extra. They were going to throw it away."
"So we get to break it, then?"
"Wanna break it now?"
"Yeah," I prepped my battle face by raising my chin and lowering my eyebrows. "It's on."
Moana flashed a battle face back to me, but hers looked more monstrous and threatening. When she saw my shock, she narrowed her eyes smugly and said, "That's my haka. A warrior face used to strike fear into your opponents. I've been showing Magneto how to do one. Show her, lolo."
"Magneto has a permanent haka," I laughed. "Now come on, let's break that wishbone!"
Moana completely ditched Loki's advice and just jumped down from the counter, wishbone in hand. I took the other side in my hands and Loki counted off for us to begin the wishbone tug-of-war.
At first, she was stronger than me, but I was bigger than her. It was a even match, but I was determined to win.
"Give it up, Elsa, you know you can't win!"
"Don't make me use my powers!" I threatened, giggling.
"Then I'll have to use mine!" Moana shot back. Magneto eye's flashed her direction, looking peeved.
"You have powers?" I asked, my guard let down. Moana used this to her advantage as she gave one last enormous pull on the wishbone.
"Powers to defeat you!"
With a popping noise, the wishbone snapped in two, and I was thrown back onto the floor. Moana was left standing with half the wishbone in her hands.

"Did you win?"
"It's broken in two. Completely even halves." Moana lifted my side of the wishbone, which I had dropped on the floor before falling. When she fit the cracked pieces together again, they mirrored each-other perfectly.
"I didn't think that was physically possible." Said Loki.
"It's not physically possible for a doll to have ice and snow powers, either," Moana reminded him. "What did you wish for, Elsa?"
I wrinkled my nose at her indignantly. "I'm not going to tell you. Then it won't come true."
"Oh," Moana closed her mouth quickly. She had probably been preparing to share her wish with everyone. "Does that mean we both get our wish?"
For once, Loki was without a definite answer. "I guess so."
I was slightly disappointed. There was our Thanksgiving fun, gone and done right there in the wishbone. I don't know, I expected something magical to happen, silly as it sounds to say now.
"Hey, isn't it your finding day?" Magneto asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"Yeah, it is. Right after Loki's and Olaf's."
"Congratulations."
"For what?"
"For... I don't know... making it this far?"
"Thanks?"
Finding days, along with romance, made little sense to me. You get rewarded for another year of life, and you impress people by your ability to look good and be nice to them. But here I was, three years old and dating somebody today. The world is a little weird that way.
Loki asked me the day's plan, like I had one. Planning and I were like oil and water, so I told him I didn't know, and he suggested an ice skating rink. Of course, I am always up for any opportunity to use my powers, so I flipped my switch and went over to the living room, ready to release a blast of ice when Steve entered the room.
He nodded a "good morning" to the others, then found me. There was something behind his back, and I knew what that entailed, but this time I was for sure it was a better surprise than a toxic vanilla drink.
"Happy finding day to best girlfriend a guy could have."
I blushed, looking at the floor to hide my face. "Oh, I doubt that. Thank you, though."

Steve smiled, saying nothing, and passed me the thing that he had been hiding. It was a small piece of paper, a letter, actually, with a "To Elsa" on the front, and "you are cordially invited" introduction on the back, in Idina's handwriting. The last time I got one of these, it was an invitation to Anna's house (from the Just Anna blog) but the note was obviously from somebody here if Steve had hand-delivered it.
"What's this?"
"Did you read it?"
"Yeah..."
"Then come on. They want you upstairs." Steve took hold of my arm and I happily obliged as he led me away from the living room and to the stairs.
"Us, too?" Moana called out.
"Yeah, it's for everyone. Idina's treat."
"Idina's treat? I guess it's not a finding day surprise party, then?"
"If you want it to be, then it is. But we figured that this would be more rewarding."
I frowned, trying to read Steve's eyes. Unfortunately, his words nor his eyes gave me any clues. He knew this, too, as he smiled again.
"Be patient, Elsa. You'll find out soon enough."
"I think you know me enough by now to agree that I am the opposite of patient," I said, then got confused when Steve steered me to the right when we got to the upstairs hallway. "Um, She's room is to the left."
"I know."
He stopped me in front of the guest room door instead. The last time I was in here was the conclusion to Moana's Easter egg hunt, but this time things felt different. Maybe it was the wonderful scents wafting over from inside the room.
Not waiting for a "go ahead" from Steve, I jumped up and twisted the handle, the door swinging open in reply.

The first thing I noticed was the overturned shoebox by the guest bed, a placemat set over it as a makeshift tablecloth. The doll-sized porcelain tea set was there, along with the color-changing candles from the one day the power gone out in the humans' house. Paper napkins had been cut into smaller squares to fit our needs, and it appeared everyone had a setting prepared for them. All seventeen of us, and most of them gathered around the hostess. Idina stood at the hand of the "table" smiling proudly and overlooking all the food that had been borrowed or made.
When Idina saw my surprise, she said, "Eet iz Thanksgiving, iz it not? Sit down, we're waiting."
Steve guided me to my place, where I was sandwiched between him and Anna. Moana, Magneto, and Loki soon followed, where they, too, had no idea such a thing was going on, but hurried to get comfortable so that we could dig in. Magneto said a quick blessing over our food, and the silence was gone, interrupting by so much voices talking all at once, all happy, all eager to get some food onto their plates.
"Ah-ah-ah! No food until everyone says what they are thankful for!" Idina demanded.
"Since when was that a rule?" Kristoff muttered, already spreading butter onto his helping of biscuit.
"Since I said so. Why don't you go first, Kristoff?"
"Fine," Kristoff set down his bread, getting serious. "I'm thankful for this food. It smells great, and Anelle and I haven't had any since we left our previous owner's house. When Anelle and I came here in July, we didn't think we'd be welcomed the way we were back out our old home. But every day still feels like we never left."
Anelle looked pleased with her not-brother. "And I'm thankful for this chair you guys gave me. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. Oh. And for the food, too, of course."
Everyone shared similar gratitude. It was definitely a feast to be thankful for, and an unexpected one at that, which made it even better. Once everyone had gone, the first course was passed around: an appetizer of buttermilk biscuits served with your choice of butter or jam. Second course was stuffing or salad, and the big entree was a doll-sized turkey Idina had somehow painted with an authentic scent. For dessert, we had a choice of either applesauce or cranberry jelly. Or both, if you knew how to sneak it past Idina. By the end of the meal, we had been overwhelmed with so many smells that we had hyposmia, something Napoleon taught me that meant a decreased ability to smell things.

When the food had all be taken, nobody really wanted to leave, so we stayed and continued to talk until our voices grew horse. Napoleon spouted more facts, this time about the first Thanksgiving with the pilgrims coming to America; Loki, Nessa, and Elphaba explained the premise of Thor: Ragnarok to Steve; and Idina got showered with compliments on the Thanksgiving feast. Steve made the mistake of mentioning to everyone that it was my finding day, which caused Nessa to hop up on the table and conduct an off-key rendition of her invented song, "Happy Finding Day To You".
The song sounded awful, but it still warmed my heart. "Thanks, guys. I definitely have something to be thankful for this year."
"Is it that bone you've been carrying around all day?"
I'd hardly remembered, much less noticed, that I still had my half of the wishbone with me. "No, I was going to say my all of you as my family and friends-"
"What is that bone for, by the way?" Olaf interrupted.
"It's a wishbone, Olaf," said Moana, stepping in to explain. "It's a Thanksgiving tradition for two people to break the wishbone. Whoever gets the bigger side gets a wish."
Loki was satisfied that some of his information had been retained in someone else.
"But... it doesn't look like anyone has a bigger side at all."
"We know. So we both got to make a wish." Moana passed her half of the wishbone down the table for the others to see. It reached Olaf, and he began to study it like there was something he was missing.
"What did you wish for?" Olaf asked.
Moana twisted one foot around the other. "Well... we're not supposed to say. Or it won't come true."
"Since when was that a rule?" Elphie said, repeating Kristoff from earlier.
Loki glanced Elphaba's way, but said nothing. He caught Moana's eye and shrugged. Guess the rule didn't matter anymore.
"You first, Moana," I injected, picking up on their unspoken language. "What was your wish?"
"I wished for your wish to come true, Elsa," Moana answered bashfully. "Since it was your finding day, I thought it was only fair."
No one knew why I was laughing until I said, "And I wished for yours to come true! You seemed much more invested in the wishbone than I was, and I thought it was only fair."
"What a coinkidink!" Olaf exclaimed.
"Olaf, I think you mean coincidence."
"Oh. Right. That's really funny."
Moana and I had to agree, it was weird how our minds had been in sync in that moment. Or maybe it was just the mood affecting us. Thanksgiving, as we had learned, was not only a time to be grateful for what we have, but to give what we are able to those around us.

Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving,

Queen Elsa

Moana and the Shiny Heart

Aloha, makamaka! Moana's back on the blog again with another adventure. I like to keep my intros short (unlike Elsa at times) so I'll just tell you that this post about my quest to save all the dolls from an indoor winter and find the heart of Te Fiti.

***

November had arrived where the humans lived, bringing a sense of winter along with it. It seemed warmth and light had gone and died long ago. The leaves had fallen quickly and steadily, like raindrops during the wet season on Motunui. The sun refused to come out of its hiding spot behind gray clouds, and everyone's moods began to take a toll because of it. The lack of heat could have helped with our glum moods, too. Although I love the heat and am tolerant to the cold, I had to wear my warmer celebration outfit for a few days while the humans were getting the furnace fixed. (The furnace wasn't completely broken, it still kept us from shivering, but it wasn't pleasant heat.) Idina was in the process of making/finding me a cape, but I hoped the house would get warmer before then. I didn't want her to go to all that trouble.
On one particular day, it was especially miserable. Sleet pounded the metal gutter outside She's bedroom window, the sun had taken another off day, and every doll was huddled on She's dresser like penguins, keeping together for comfort and safety.
Something, probably the sleet, was causing the power lines to wiggle. Every time the wind started howling, the lights in the house started to flicker. It was very much like being in a haunted house, when I had only learned existed when She visited one for Halloween. The darkness would not last more for a millisecond, but every time it happened, hands and throats got squeezed a little tighter.
Olaf and Idina screamed in unison, both of them trying to jump into each-other's arms. Due to size, Idina was successful and Olaf was not.
I felt bodies scrambling around me in the newfound darkness, looking for some familiarity to hold onto. A friend, a partner, the dresser, anything. They were desperate and afraid. I was afraid, but not  willing to hug, unless it was my pets. Both Pua and HeiHei were already snug in my arms for protection from the dark.
"Just a power outage," Loki said. He didn't have to try to act calm and collected. He just was. Almost always. Maybe he had been expecting it? "Don't worry. It'll be back on soon."

"How can you be sure?" I asked.
His eyes glimmered blue in the sudden darkness. My own eyes still had to adjust. "It's common for these sorts of things to happen when it gets cold and stormy. Nothing unusual."
"Okay, but... we could still use some light."
"Aren't there candles in the living room?" Steve asked.
"Fire? No, no! No fire. Please." Olaf begged.
We all had to suppress a sigh. That may have been our only chance at light, now gone.
"Alright. Okay. No candles, then. Flashlights."
"Like we know where those are." Elphaba groaned.
My mind was spinning. Everyone was arguing all at once, and it looked like we were going to be without electricity for a long time with the humans gone. Was it starting to get colder in here? Was that my breath I was seeing? If only we had some light, then we could find a way to stay warm. I clutched my necklace in desperate hope.
Wait... my necklace.
I remembered that when I first arrived last December, I had come in a box with two Moana character necklaces. One was for me to wear, and the other was a larger one for a human. She never wore it. She had outgrown the stage and size of costume jewelry. But She still had it. It was still in my box, and I had seen that last week, but where? No matter. I would figure out the details later. All that mattered was telling the group, because the human-sized necklace wasn't ordinary. Inside the faux abalone shell locket, the manufacturers made a Heart of Te Fiti replica, and they made it to glow. It might not be as bright as a flashlight, but it was something. Something I had to tell everyone else about.
"Hey guys? Guys? I have a- oh geez," Politely raising my voice wasn't working. I cleared my throat, preparing to yell. "Hey! I got something shiny for ya!"
Loki raised an eyebrow. "What was that, Moana?"
"I have something that could help us. A replica of the heart of Te Fiti." I took off my necklace, holding it out for everyone to see, if they could in all the darkness.

"Well, that would be great, if only we knew what that was." Kristoff murmured, his mood off-kilter from the unsettling atmosphere.
"It's a glowing green stone from my movie. I'm sure it will provide enough light without using fire or electricity, and once I get it, we can all find means of keeping warm."
I felt Anna touch my arm. "That's a great idea, Moana, but where is it?"
I looked down at my feet, a little embarrassed. "I don't really know. Not off the top of my head. But I'm sure it's in my box. That's easy enough to find. And when I do, I can bring you all the heart and we can use it to help from there."
"Do you really think it'll work?" Olaf whimpered.
"I think we should at least try," Elsa fought for me. "Just be careful out there in the dark. And be back soon. We'll be worried about you."
Loki folds his arms behind his back, appearing proud. "So Moana offers herself up as tribute. I have to say I'm not entirely surprised."
"Is that an offense, or a compliment, or...?"
"A compliment from Loki is almost unheard of, but I'd say that it is," My lolo, Magneto, stepped up behind Loki, pushing away his cape. "Let me go with you, Moana."
I smiled thankfully at him. "Of course. I could use the help."
Magneto followed me to the edge of the dresser closest to the door. Everyone speaking in my ears, their voices blending together into a grateful coo. Some dolls patted me the shoulders, like, "congratulations" and other tugged at my skirt, like, "good luck and don't forget about us." Some of them were already shivering a little. Anelle wanted to make sure I wouldn't.
"Here, take this," she offered up her cape, taking it off the dresser and draping it over my shoulders. "It's getting colder. You'll need it."
"Thanks," I fastened the velcro clasp at the neck, and immediately my shoulders were bathed in happy warmth. And as bad as I felt taking it, Anelle, like most Frozen dolls, came with winter clothing, and I, like most Moana dolls, did not. "We'll get things fixed. I promise. Take care of Pua and HeiHei for me, will you?"

I grabbed Magneto and fastened his key-chain clasp on my oar, then jumped from the dresser and down onto the floor. A chilly, light-absent hallway stretched before us, then the great unknown. I wasn't sure where exactly my necklace was, but I had a good idea of it's location. Besides, I'm always up for a challenge.
"Bring back sum-mer! Bring back sum-mer!" Anna and Elsa started to cheer, and the other dolls took that on as well. The crowd was really roaring for me.
"Mo-ana! Mo-ana! You're so amazing!" A little voice inside of me cheered along with them. For a second I was so caught up in the praise, I wondered why we were even needed to go on this quest, because I was feeling warm and glowing all over. I was a light.
"Moana? Ready?"
"What? Oh, um, yeah. Let's go."
"Caught up in the glory, are we?" Magneto smugly crossed his arms, then rubbed them to drive away the chills.
I stuck out my chin. "No."
"Careful not to let them get to your head. It might make it bigger." He clocked my knee with his fist.
"Hey!" My knee buckled and I hit him back, harder.
"Now that's just great. We're trying to productive here and you just gave me a concussion."
"Sorry," I said. "But you're right. We need to get to work."
My best guess was that the box was on the house's first floor, so we started with the stairs. But there were at least five different rooms down there. It's an awfully big house for someone less than a foot tall.
"Where should we start?"
"The dining room. There's a cupboard by the table. Maybe one of humans put my box in there."
"Doubt it," said Magneto. "But this try's as good as any."
"Exactly. I'll check in there. And you're what- two inches tall? You can sneak around the floor and check under the table."
Magneto began to grumble. "Yeah, I'm sure a giant tattooed box will be just, you know, stuck to the bottom of the chairs."

"I'm desperate, okay? Just look."
Unfortunately we were unsuccessful in finding the box, but I didn't think we'd find it in there anyway. The cupboard contained nothing except placemats and table centerpieces for traditional dinners, and the only think I thought might be of use were the placemats. If worse came to worst, we could use them as blankets for the smaller dolls.
"Okay, no luck," said Magneto, but not in a ticked-off way. "Where next?"
"The parlor," I decided. "There's not much in there. Anything large would be easy to find."
It was just across the way from the dining room and past the stairs. I was right about the parlor- it didn't hold much, just a bookshelf, a sofa, and an heirloom sewing machine. On the wall were a few pictures outlined in black frames, and on the side with the doorway, a white box with a plastic cover.
Magneto saw me studying it. "That's the thermostat. It monitors the temperature throughout the house. There's two buttons, and up arrow and a down arrow, for creating more or less heat."
"I wish it were working." I muttered.
"Wishing gets you nowhere," Magneto said matter-of-factually as he crawled under the sofa. "But action could get you somewhere."
"Right," I said, mostly to myself, clutching my necklace for good luck as I hoisted myself up the bookshelf and continued climbing until all the levels were certain to be box-less. "Nothing here." I called.
"Me neither. Unless you count dust bunnies as a good source of light. Although," Magneto came out of hiding just enough so that only his head was showing. "It's nice and warm under here."
"Great, but that's not what we're looking for yet," I grabbed Magneto and carried him to the next room, the living room.
The living room was a wide, open space, and the room most used by the humans. Many family portraits, sitting places, and wilting potted plants were organized around, which would have felt homey if it hadn't been for a freezing draft coming from somewhere unidentified.
"It's as cold as your heart in here." I smirked.
Magneto growled. "Not in the mood for jokes, Moana. No matter if they're good or not."
I pulled my cape closer around my body. "Where's that breeze coming from?"

"The fireplace. The humans didn't close the flue after last night's fire."
"Can we close it?"
Magneto shrugged. "You can try, but I wouldn't bet on your chances. The thing's ancient. Sometimes even the humans have trouble moving it."
"I think we should try." I ripped off my cape and tossed it to Magneto so I could work and move freely if need be.
He wrapped himself in it and snuggled up at once, like how the dogs do when they're going to bed. "Take your time." He said, his voice relaxed.
I approached the fireplace with caution. I knew nothing about the ins and outs of working a house, and the flue was certainly darker than everything else. I knelt at the bottom of the flue, the surface dusted with black soot and charcoal from the logs burned last night. My knees were pierced with the rougher pieces, but I payed them no mind. Besides, the chill was a big enough distraction of pain. That would stop soon enough if I could help it.
From feeling around in the chimney area, I found some fresh logs, an ash grate for holding them, and a set of three candles. Unfortunately, they were the battery-operated kind on a timer, so I couldn't turn them on. Guess we'd still be looking for the heart.
But there was also a lever up in the flue, a cast iron one that felt stubborn to move. Apparently I had to pull back on it to close the flue and block the wind from coming down the chimney, so I put my feet up against the other side of the wall to thrust my entire body weight into the pull.
Creak-creak-creak... clunk.
The lever shifted forward and I was thrown backwards onto the floor.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," I groaned, rubbing the ash off my legs and hands. "I don't know if it worked. Looks like it got stuck halfway through."
"At least you blocked it a little bit. That'll still make a difference. Now is your box in here?"

I turned around to face him, unhappy. "Didn't you check whenever I was working on the flue?"
"No, I didn't move at all. It's warm in your cape, okay?"
"Give that back," I snatched it from Magneto, leaving him to grovel on the floor. "And it's Anelle's cape. Look under the furniture if you want to be warm."
I guess Magneto knew he was in trouble, because he obeyed. But while I was checking behind the entertainment center and coffee table, I started to hear him sneeze over and over.
"You okay?" I repeated.
"There's a peanut butter treat under here that one of the dogs left," he moaned. "I forgot I'm allergic to peanuts."
"Are your allergies bad?"
"Not sure. Rather not risk it, though. I'm coming out."
"Okay. I'm not finding anything either. Let's check the kitchen."
Magneto sneezed again and wiped his nose. "Oh perfect. The place you're least likely to find peanuts."
"Calm down. We'll keep you away from them."
I could feel my temper growing short, as well as the cape as I kept wrapping it tighter. It was helping, but not enough. I could only pity Magneto. First this sneezing spell, but he was also shivering uncontrollably. We had to finish soon.
"Not- achoo!- here."
"You're not doing so well, lolo. Why don't you go back upstairs?"
"And let you continue the search alone? Achoo! Never."
"But you're ill. And freezing. You need help," I said. Savoring my last bit of warmth, I whipped off Anelle's cape and blanketed it over Magneto. "I'll be fine. Go."
"No. I'm not leaving." When Magneto tried to follow me but ended up just falling over the cape, I scooped him up in my arms and started to carry him around, my eyes darting left and right, cursing the humans for hiding the box.
"Why are you so stubborn?" I scolded.

"Because- achoo! I remember now- I know where the box is," Magneto sneezed. "And you're one to talk about being stubborn."
What? He had known all along? Why was he playing games with me? "Where is the box, Magneto?" I growled through clenched teeth.
"You're funny when you're mad. Your box is in the basement. That's where everyone else's was kept, right from the day they were found."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I cried. "Stay here, lolo. I'm going to find it alone."
I dumped Magneto by the end of the basement stairs, knowing full well from the day Nessa got frozen that he couldn't do steps. Now I knew what Nessa felt like.
"Moana! You can't go down there! The basement's always been degrees colder than the rest of the house! Without Anelle's cape, you'll freeze."
"Not if I'm fast." I said determinedly. I began taking the basement steps two at a time, no longer afraid of the secrets that were held down there, only the cold. My only regret was that I left my oar upstairs with Magneto.
Maybe it was my imagination, but I could have sworn my breath was visible in the basement, looking like mist that clung to the bay on early mornings on Motunui. Or at least I imagined it to be that way. This was not the beautiful kind of mist that promised a smooth day of sailing ahead, this was the kind of mist that told you your time was running out.
Looking around, I found a shelf that contained a bunch of rectangles at different sizes- our boxes. Not caring that I made a mess, I ran over and began pushing them all aside. Elsa's box. Steve's box. A box that belonged to someone I didn't recognize, nor took the time to fully look at.
At last, there was mine at the very bottom. Some items were still inside, but it didn't look like much. I could only hope to see the necklace. Find the necklace, and I'd find the heart.
I picked up the box and dumped out all of its contents. I didn't exactly have the time to poke around inside. A couple of things bounced out. Twist ties that held me in place to the packaging. Assorted shells She planned to make into crafts. A doll-sized basket.

And no heart of Te Fiti.
I felt like crying, if dolls could. My foggy breath came out in short, shallow gasps as I started to panic. I got on all fours and began feeling around for the necklace, wishing more than ever that my fingers might cross over something large and textured... but they never did. I began throwing boxes left and right out of frustration. Maybe, just maybe, if I cleared a large enough spot, the necklace would come out of its hiding place. My powers to control the ocean weren't helping me now, but if only I had Magneto come down with me, he could have. The necklace contained traces of metal to give the heart its greenish glow. I could have ordered him to use his magnetic powers to find it. I could have, I could have, I could have...
But I didn't.
I cleared out the entire shelf. Boxes were strewn all over the carpet, and the humans would be sure to notice. I didn't care. Let them find me. Let me break the Code of Dolls. I was no hero to them anymore. What would they think of me if I returned to them empty-handed?
"Gah!" I heaved another box at the wall and buried my head in my hands.
Clink.
I removed my hands and opened my eyes. There was a shine in them, so I blinked once, twice, wondering if dolls really could cry.
But when the shine was still there, and it was green, I realized that wasn't me.
Something had fallen out of the box I had thrown.
I crawled over to it and picked it up. It was a capsule, a blue and white one, with ridges all over like ripples in the sea. When I closed it, the green shine went away, and when I lifted the latch and opened it again, something inside pulsed with a bright green light. Wait... pulse? Wasn't that like a heartbeat?
"I got it! The heart of Te Fiti! It's here!" I called.
Magneto didn't yell back, so he must not have heard me, or maybe I didn't hear him from the invisible crowd cheering in my ears again. Hope, once lost, and now found, was the color green.
I hurried to put back my mess and went to the bottom of the basement stairs, holding up the heart triumphantly. "Hey, lolo! You up there?"

"Achoo!"
"I'll take that as a yes. Look! The heart of Te Fiti! We got it!"
There was no other response. My smile began to crumple. "Lolo?"
"Moana..." Magneto coughed.
"Magneto!" He sounded really bad. I had to get to him.
When I came up the stairs, I saw him shaking there in a ball on the floor. How long did I leave him up here for him to be acting like this?
I crouched down and picked him up. "Oh, lolo, this is all my fault."
Magneto whimpers, the weakest he's let himself be seen. "No. You were trying to help. You told me to go upstairs."
"Yeah, but I also know that you can't climb them," I sighed, feeling defeated all over again. I pulled the human-sized necklace chain around my body like a satchel and opened the locket for Magneto to get a glance. "Look. The heart of Te Fiti. Now we'll be able to save everyone." But I didn't save you, I wanted to add, but thought it was too depressing to say.
I was about to start our trek up the stairs again when Magneto poked my shoulder. "There's one way I think you can help me- achoo!"
"How so?"
His kakamora eyes flashed. "Use your powers. I'm sure a good submersion in water will clear out my nose and get rid of these allergies."
"But then you'll drown."
"I think we should at least try."
I bit my lip. Magneto wasn't thinking. He was sickly, and he was cold. I was cold, too, and desperate to get the heart up to the rest of my friends, but the rest of my friends weren't having allergic reactions to peanut butter. I decided to give it a go. I would just have to make sure the ocean wouldn't let Magneto drown.

Calling upon my powers, I summoned water to flow from the faucet in the kitchen down to a water glass on the floor. Once it was filled to the brim, I shut it off, proud that the ocean had obeyed and only a few drops were split in the process.
"Good work, ocean. Thanks," I whispered, then turned behind me, reaching for Magneto so he could get his bath. "Alright, lolo," I said in a louder voice. "Time to go in the dunk tank."
But Magneto stood there by the glass. His smirk let me know he was no longer sick.
"What? How?" I stammered.
"I just wanted to see you do your powers again. I'm perfectly fine."
"But your peanut allergy..."
"Isn't that severe. Did you really think I would rather risk drowning than sneeze a little?"
Suddenly I was feeling very stupid. "Why you...!" I threatened, pointing my finger at him, but I couldn't think of anything to say. "Just for that you get to carry this necklace upstairs. And I want you to use your powers to do it."
Magneto looked fearful. I got the hint that this wasn't him acting this time. "I can't. If I take the necklace upstairs, everyone will be there waiting, and then my powers will mess with all of their magnets. You have no idea how dangerous what I have can be."
"Oh." I guess he was right, but I also didn't think to question it. Why would everyone have magnets inside of them? And I had seen him do his powers before and I wasn't affected, so what did that mean? Maybe it didn't matter right now anyway. We had had a big adventure, and I was ready to just call it a day and go upstairs.
"Whatever. I'm going to need that cape back."
Magneto handed it over, and I took up my oar in the living room and fastened his key-chain clasp to handle.
"Think we should bring up a few of those placemats in the dining room?"
"Yeah. I saw those earlier." When I went to grab them, I was still thinking about all that had happened, all within the span of probably a half an hour. "Hey, you're Marvel, right? Why don't they call you the 'trickster god'?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm no god. Loki's character is."
"He's barely that," I rolled my eyes and selected a few more placemats for the trip. "A trickster, I mean."
"Well, we're not exactly like our characters, are we?" Magneto said. "For example, you've definitely got more of an ego than the real Moana."
"Shut up," I teased. "You've never even seen my movie."
"No, but maybe I should."
"She owns it. Maybe once we get this whole power outage thing behind us, we can all pick a day to watch it."
Magneto gave his approval, and I gave him the placemats to hold onto. We got up to the room quickly, but when I got up there, something was amiss. When I pushed open the door, I saw everyone gathered on the bed, sitting close together, talking and shivering, two color-changing candles lighting their deeds.
"Hey, Moana! Great to have you guys back! Come on in, we found these rainbow candles for light while you were gone. They're battery operated and not even on a timer! How cool is that?"
"So much for the heart of Te Fiti," I said under my breath. "Well, Magneto and I brought these placemats that we can use for blankets."
"Oh, awesome! We're freezing in here."
We joined the party and passed out the placemats, the bigger dolls getting one each and the smaller dolls sharing one together. Magneto was now freed from my oar, but he still insisted on following me.
"You gonna tell them about the heart?"
"Maybe one day," I said. "But I think I'd like to see their surprise when one of them goes to open it and they find a glowing green orb inside."
"You sure you're not the trickster god?" Magneto asked.
"Yup. Here's your blanket. Enjoy." And with that, I threw a placemat on his head, covering him completely. I liked to think it took him a long time to get out of that.

Iohini makamaka,

Moana of Motunui

Magneto's Critique of Thor: Ragnarok

Warning: The following will contain spoilers for the new Thor: Ragnarok movie. If you have already seen it or just don't care, then read ahead. Otherwise, I might want to skip this post for now. (Note: This review will not be in the same format as the previous one. Magneto's Critique of X-Men: Apocalyse was done a similar style to A Doll's Life File with character's names and a colon with their speech following. I have decided to change that to the regular style for this review, and possibly for future ones as well.)

***

Loki had been muttering to himself all morning on November 3rd. He sounded like he was mad, but judging by the way he paced around and refrained from talking to the rest of us, he was only mad at himself. The problem is, we didn't understand why, and that worried us.
Finally Nessa had gained enough courage and compassion to pull him aside and ask him what was wrong. She came back to us with a report a few minutes later, but instead of being concerned, she was exited.
"There's a new Marvel movie coming out!" She shrieked.
"Then what's the problem?" Elphaba asked.
"He doesn't like it... I guess? It's apparently a Thor movie."
My heart sank a little. "Oh." That was why. Loki was a fan of the Marvel films as much as anyone from that franchise could be, but the Thor series always left him feeling uncomfortable. From his Doll's Life File interview, I learned that he was treated poorly by the other Thor dolls in the store in which She found him. They led him to believe that he would never be good for anything but evil, and because of this, Loki has always resented Thor. The movies didn't help, either, especially since this was the one rumored to be about an apocalypse that Loki's character had caused. He was probably worried that She might think differently of him after seeing the film.
"I don't know. I think he's just being a big baby. Maybe we should all go to the movies together, and then when he sees it, that will change it mind about all of this! What do you think?"
"You and Loki going to the movies?" Said Elphie. "Sure that's not a date?"
Nessa stuck out her tongue. "I'm sure. I'm just trying to make him happy again, that's all."
"Then if it's not a date, can I come?"
Nessa was not the one who answered. Magneto was intrigued by the topic of a new Thor movie and just had to stop by. "Sure, but only if I'm invited, too."
Nessa wrinkled her nose. "You? Last time we saw a movie was months ago."
"That's right," I remembered. "Magneto's Critique of X-Men: Apocalypse. That was the first and last movie review done on the blog."
"Then I must go. It is my duty to serve the people."

"Since when did you care about people?" Nessa asked. "This is about Loki. Now you and Elphie both want to come? I hate to rain on your parade, but I don't think we'll all fit in She's purse at once."
Elphaba grew a devious grin. "Well, what if She takes a backpack this time?"
"Elphaba, I was just thinking that same thing." Said Magneto, adopting the same sinister smile.
"Then let's grab Loki," Nessa decided. "We've got a few hours before She needs to leave for the movie."
"Do you really think he'll go with you guys?" I wondered.
"Oh please, Elsa, do you even know me? I can talk my way in and out of anything." Suddenly all three of them were smiling mischievously.
"Okay. Be careful." I warned. I didn't have such a good feeling about this.
She left for the movie a few hours later, and Nessa had been sure that all of them were tucked safely away in the backpack. After that, all we had to do was wait until it was over and they returned home to give their critiques of the movie. And it was the longest wait of my life. I think it happens that way when you're worried.
Hours passed. The outside world turned to night. The dogs barked to welcome She's entrance. She slunk up to her room and put her backpack down on the bed, then went off to the bathroom to get ready for bedtime.
"How was it?" I whispered eagerly, quiet enough so the humans wouldn't hear.
Elphaba was the first to roll out of the bag. She looked exhausted, and her flyaway bangs were all in knots. "I'm not going to get any sleep tonight."
"Why not?"
"I don't know why I wanted so badly to go. I forgot I can't see any late-night movies. Now I won't be able to fall asleep because the action scenes keep playing over and over in my head." She began to untangle her hair using her own stubborn fingers as a comb.
"What did the others think of it?"
"Why don't you ask them?"

"Sure. But it'll have to be quick. She will be going to bed soon."
"Puh-lease. Her showers take centuries. Come on out, guys!"
The other three tumbled out of the smallest pocket of She's backpack. Nessa was first, and she sprawled out on the bedspread without a care in the world. Her glistening aqua colored eyes were wide, but focused on nothing in particular. Then, she started rolling around a laughing unceasingly.
"Um... has Nessa finally lost it?" I asked.
"That was such... a... funny movie," she panted, trying in vain to stand, only for more bouts of laughter to keep her down. "I wasn't expecting any of it. I mean, it's about the apocalypse. So... what the heck?"
The corners of Elphie's mouth pricked upwards. "It was pretty funny."
"What's that strange movie She likes? Where there's no plot and people keep cracking jokes all the time? Makes no sense? Rosenstern and Guildencrantz?"
"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead."
"Yeah. It was like that. But with a plot."
Magneto crawls out next, and immediately said, "Hey, what's that one Disney movie where there's an arrogant main character who keeps talking to himself? People attempting to keep their homeland from destruction? Female villain who looks like a spider?"
"Um... The Emperor's New Groove?"
"Yeah. It was like that. But with Marvel characters."
"Has Loki got something similar to say?"
The little elf-man crawls cautiously out from the backpack. He looks around, appearing dazed.
"That was... a trip." He said. This must have been one life-changing movie.
"Elsa, are we allowed to curse on the blog?"
"I'd prefer you didn't. But for today... I'll let it slide."
"Then I'd agree with Loki. That was one Hela a movie!" He chuckles to himself, something uncommon for Magneto. "Get it? 'One hell of' a movie?"
"Hela was one of the characters," Elphie said. "I'll find you some pictures if I can. The film just came out, though, so I can't guarantee anything good."
"Hela's the one who looks like a spider. Only sometimes, though. She's actually got hair... somewhere under the spider..." Nessa's voice trailed off.

"Found the spider lady." Elphie presented me with She's iPod, an image of a dark-eyed, dead-looking woman with a headdress pulled up on screen.

"I prefer her not the look like a spider," I commented, flipping through some of the limited photos Google images had. "So who is Hela?"
"Loki? I think this is your department. Care to share?" Nessa asked, trying in vain to pry Loki from his shell.
He stepped forward reluctantly. He faced me like he was on trial. I wasn't having such a good feeling about this.
"Hela is the goddess of death. She caused Ragnarok. And... she's my sister."
"You have a sister?!"
"Believe me, Elsa, I reacted the same way," Nessa crossed her arms in agreement. "She was Odin's firstborn, but then Odin had a change of heart. Whenever he decided to stop pillaging other realms and instead started to make peace with them, Hela was enraged, so he just kind of hid her away. Then he had Thor, called him firstborn, and adopted Loki from the frost giants."
"Why haven't I ever heard about Hela?"
"In case you haven't noticed, I don't like to talk about my character's family much. Besides, I was found before Ragnarok was even a thought in the directors' minds. So I didn't know her."
"I heard she's a new character. How did you feel about her?"
"She's not... ideal," Elphie began picking at her braid. "She wants to rule Asgard, then seize all the realms and put them under her control. She is Ragnarok."
"Yeah, and the giant fire skeleton with the tiara."
Loki turns away and rubs at his mouth, but it's too late to hide his amusement. "I'll admit, it was a funny movie."
"That was Surtur. He's Asgard's most powerful enemy. He technically wants the same thing as Hela, but he actually ends up getting what he wants in the end."
"Asgard is dead?"
"Yup," Loki nodded. "It blew the heck up."

Elphaba presented me a picture of a fire demon with what looked like one massive eyebrow.

"Here's the Hulk with Surtur. He's in the movie, too."
"Where's Moana? I'm getting Te Ka vibes over this."
"He's not in the movie much. He's at the beginning, then shows up at the end to kill Hela... thanks to me."
"Is that good?"
Loki was trying again to hide a smile. "I'm surprised. My character was done justice in this movie. At the end of Thor 2, I knew he seized the throne to Asgard and shapeshifted into Odin, and the audience assumed the old king to be dead. But we see him enjoying his final moments on a pleasant beach in Norway, so Loki was merciful, in a way. Of course, that still makes him king, and what does he do?"
"Sit around in his bathrobe watching theater and eating grapes!" Nessa finished his sentence with a laugh. "Loved it."
"I did, too. Not to mention that giant shining gold statue with the curvy-horned helmet." Loki allowed Nessa to fall onto him, the two of them laughing.
I beamed. This really was a life-changing movie.
"I wouldn't do anything like that... but for my character, it's funny to see him be so lazy."

"Oh, this is Odin." Said Elphie. She had mostly given up on trying to explain and turned to She's iPod in search of more photos.
"Wait- didn't you say he died?"
"Yes. Unfortunately. Although I think it had to happen."
"I'm sorry, Loki."
"He's not my real dad. And he was only good to my character half the time, if that."
"I'm sorry... sorrier."
"Odin really messes stuff up by dying, though. First Hela is released, then Thor gets epic lightning powers with glowing eyes. Well... at least the one eye still glows," Magneto tugged at his collar. "Spoilers."
I pretended to ignore that last comment. I probably wasn't supposed to know that yet.
"Hela messes up the most stuff," Nessa argued. "First, she breaks Thor's hammer like it was made of glass. Then she sends them to this trash planet, where Loki gains favor with Mr. Almighty Blue Makeup, and Thor has to get a haircut from Stan Lee and thrown into a Colosseum-style dogfight tournament. That's when we meet the Hulk, 'cause they have to fight."
"I was quite impressed about that. Not the Hulk, but the fact that they chose to highlight Loki's people skills. He's shown to knows how to influence people and gain their trust, a weapon for both good and bad," Loki scrunched his brow. "But he isn't shown to be so bad in this movie. He's more of an ally to Thor here, and the two of them act more like brothers than enemies. I liked that."
"Not to mention the new clothes you got. They're blue, for some reason. And your hair's curlier, which is different, but it still looks nice, I think. Did you like that, too?" Nessa covered up her babble somewhat successfully.

Loki shrugged. "Green's more my color."
"Maybe we should start from the beginning before we get any more sidetracked," Magneto said, taking charge of his own series. "It starts with Thor, trapped in a cage, in a underground fire hellpit. Surtur releases him and gives his villain trope speech about regaining his power and bringing Ragnarok, or the fall of Asgard, while Thor hangs there by a chain and spins around."
Nessa and Loki start laughing again.
"Guess I missed out on a great comedy." I said.
Magneto kept on. "But Thor escapes by summoning Mjölnir and defeats Surtur and his army, then straps his tiara-wearing skull to his back and flies from the hellpit to the surface, where it appears to be just another layer of the hellpit. But a giant rat beast is still hot on his tail, so Thor has to call for help from Heimdall to bring him back to Asgard."

"This is Heimdall, by the way. He's the sentry to the Bifrost in Asgard. The Bifrost is like a portal to the other realms, but it can only be opened by the sword which Heimdall possesses. That's important. Remember it."
"He's got scary eyes."
"Don't worry, he's a good guy," Elphaba reassured me. "He's like an oracle. He's able to see everything, even the future."
"For having such an important power, he's barely seen in the film. Which didn't annoy me at all," Magneto said sarcastically. "His job is to give Thor vague advice sometimes, slay members of Hela's army, and hide fearful Asgardians in a mountain."
"Heimdall's a cool guy. He's basically everyone's dad," Nessa said. "For once, I'll have to agree with Magneto. He should have had a bigger part here."
"Yeah, but whenever Thor gets summoned back to Asgard, Heimdall's not in the Bifrost. Instead, he's replaced with the tattooed hoarder named Skurge."
"And he's got two guns from Tex's ass! He named them Dess and Troy. Put them together, and they destroy!" Nessa trilled.
Loki nods, finally allowing himself to smile. "Funny movie. Funny movie."
"This is Skurge's first appearance in the Thor movies that I'm aware of. Since Loki is now king and Thor was stuck in the hellpit cage, Loki put Skurge in charge to replace Heimdall. Later, Scurge gets roped into becoming Hela's executioner, then has a change of heart in the end and turns against her, sacrificing his life to save the Asgardians."
"Noble guy." I stated.
"And a dummy." Said Loki.
"Hey, you put him in charge of the Bifrost!" Nessa exclaimed.

"I've got to warn you, he's not very photogenic," Elphie snorted. "Not to mention the devil horns tattoos he's got on his head."
"Anyway!" Magneto sighed, frustrated that the conversation derailed again. "Whenever Thor comes back to Asgard, he knows something's up because Heimdall was apparently apprehended by the king and quote unquote fired. Thor knows that Odin would never do such a thing, so he launches himself right across the rainbow bridge and into a Shakespearean theater show, relaying Loki's death in the previous Thor film and exaggerating it to make him look braver and Thor much dumber."
"Hilarious show, by the way. Tom Hiddleston, the actor who plays Loki, did Shakespearean theater, so it's quite clever of both the directors and the character Loki to conduct such a thing."
"I'm surprised you're so pleased with this. I thought you were going to hate this movie." I blurted.
"It may be a Thor movie, yes, but I believe everyone was given some redemption in my mind."
"Well, that's good, isn't it? Does that mean you would want a Thor in our house?"
"I don't know if I'd go that far, Elsa." Loki rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. I don't think he would mind that anymore. Maybe we had to start dropping She a few hints in the future.
"That's when we see Odin sitting around in a bathrobe and eating grapes, which enrages Thor furthur since the other realms are apparently in chaos. War, oppression, starvation, you name it, is going on elsewhere and Odin isn't doing anything about it. Thor is onto him, so he seizes Odin by the throat and holds his hand behind his head, which will summon Mjölnir, and nothing will stop Mjölnir from getting to Thor. Odin realizes this and steps away, revealing himself as Loki the whole time. Surprisingly, the crowd is shocked by this. I don't know. I wouldn't be. Especially not with the amateur plays made to kiss up to him."
"Excellent amateur plays. Very honorable."
"Yeah, to honor your fake death," Magneto challenged. "How many times has your character fake-died by now?"
"The real question is, how many more times will I in the future?" Loki smirked. "After I, or Loki, is shown to be a fake Odin, Thor demands to know where their real father is, so Loki swears to take him to the last place he was seen. On Midgard, in a retirement home, which is being demolished."
"Ooh! Ooh! Elphie! Show her the picture of how they look on Midgard!"
"Oh, please, Nessa, it's not anything remarkable."

Elphie showed me anyway. Personally, I think they both look great.
"This is where Doctor Strange comes in. She hasn't seen it, so we haven't either, but he's only got a small scene for him to mess around with teleporting Thor around and spilling a beer. Eventually, Doctor Strange transports Thor and Loki to a field in Norway, overlooking a wide spans of ocean."
"The use of Norway as a location was a great choice. Thor did originate in Norwegian mythology, after all. But this is where Odin becomes a softie and actually admits to loving the sons he was so hard on, then he dissolves into stars and goes off into the sky, similar to how Frigga went into Valhalla, or the afterlife, in Thor: Dark World."
"Who's Frigga?"
"My mom."
"I'm... sorriest." I apologized.
"It's only a movie."
"Come on, you were a little upset." Nessa coaxed.
"At first Thor blames Loki for this, but that's just instinct for Thor, since Loki is prone to messing stuff up," Loki continued, ignoring Nessa. "But in a later scene, the brothers have a heart-to-heart, where Thor learns to trust Loki, or as much as he's able to. It's not exactly trust, it's just more acceptance that he will always have to expect the unexpected from the trickster god."
"So you own that title now? You despised it before."
"I'm sure it wasn't intended to be so harsh. I just must have interpreted it way after getting bullied at the Disney store. But now I can see its benefits."
"Well, that's very good. What happens next?"
"Hela appears almost immediately after Odin vanishes, and I will admit, it's hard to take her seriously with that spider on her head. But she does mean business, because when Thor swigs Mjölnir her way, all she has to do is get a hold on it before it falls to pieces."
"Most upsetting scene." Elphaba muttered. "You know, Mjölnir, right?"

"Very sad." I confessed, witnessing Thor's precious hammer in shambles.
"Then Loki, in an act of desperation, calls up to bring him and Thor back up to Asgard, and Skurge actually listens this time, but Thor knows this is a bad idea, since Hela will be brought up with them. Unfortunately, it is too late to do anything. Loki and Thor try to fight Hela in the rainbow bridge, but they get knocked out instead, leaving Hela to arrive in the Bifrost, where begin to take charge of Asgard with Skurge as her pet. Meanwhile, Thor, and presumably Loki, end up on the trash planet Sekaar, where Thor is captured and kidnapped by a druken pilot and taken through a Disneyland theme park ride to the Grand Master of Sekaar." Said Loki.
I was taken aback. "Wait, what?"
Elphie patted my arm halfheartedly. "You're not gonna understand. Just write it down."
"It's not actually certain that the drunken pilot has a name, but it is later revealed that she was a valkyrie, part of a woman's warriors that fought for Asgard, but she gave up that life and instead became a bounty hunter and trainer for the Grand Master. It pays her well, and it helps her to forget a troubled past."
"The drinks help, too, I'm sure." Magneto nodded.
"Of course, it's my character's job to give her a change of heart by bringing up these old memories and emotions. I don't mean to brag, but it's an awesome power."
"So we're assuming her name is Valkyrie." I stated.
"Yup," Elphaba noted. "Here's a pic."

"Aside from the whole drinking problem, she's pretty cool." Nessa cooed. "I liked her better as a fighter for Asgard than a drunken pilot trainer on Sekaar."

"And the Grand Master?"
"Ooh, yes, this is Mr. Almighty Blue Makeup. Show her, Elphie!"

"He looks fun. A little scary, but fun."
"If you can call a dictator prone to using his 'melt stick' on people, then sure, he's fun." Magneto added. "He's all fun and games. Especially in his favorite game, which involves Thor being forced to fight the Grand Master's high champion in a bloody arena for all to see."
"Loki bets against him, of course. In addition to being lazy, he's also a bit of gambler," Loki makes a noise like water hissing on a hot stove. "Thor is fitted to fight and possibly die in the process, which includes cutting off all the long blonde hair he so loved by a Stan Lee cameo," He smiled wickedly. "I enjoyed watching that scene. But whenever he goes in to fight, the high champion ends up to be the Hulk, Thor gets over his fear, but still ends up getting beat. Literally. Beaten into the ground. He's not dead, though, and vows that he will get off this planet and escape with the Hulk in tow to save Asgard."
Elphie tapped my arm to show me a picture of the new Thor. With the war paint and short hair (not to mention the lack of his hammer), he looks like a totally different character.

"A lot of other stuff goes down, the Hulk turns back into Bruce Banner, and Valkyrie has a change of heart thanks to Loki. She takes the three of them to Asgard, and Loki gets left behind, paralyzed due to this, like, electric dog collar implant that Thor put into his back. Luckily, Loki is found by a band of monstrous misfits that Thor befriended in the arena, and they all end up in Asgard to fight for the safety of their home."
Magneto continues Nessa's speech. "On Asgard, Hela is attempting to stop Heimdall from loading all of Asgard's citizens into a giant airship. That is, until she gets distracted by our heroes' arrival. Thor confronts her in the palace and She tells her backstory. It's basically a revenge plot against somebody who didn't do anything wrong to her. Apparently she's not the wisest goddess of death. She manages to gouge Thor's right eye-"
"Ouch!" I grimaced.
"And he looks near to being defeated, until a near-death pep talk from Odin brings him some god of thunder powers, and he proves his worth even without Mjölnir, by blasting everything with his sparkle fingers. Whoopee."
"He means lightning," Loki said, rolling his eyes Magneto's way. "Odin inspires Thor to become the stronger king than he father was, which causes his remaining eye to glow and triggers his newfound lightning powers. Back at the rainbow bridge, Valkyrie reclaims her title by slashing up some members of Hela's dead army, Skurge gains redemption by becoming a last-minute good guy and destroying the enemies with Dess and Troy, Heimdall rushes to get everyone to safetly, Loki arrives with the misfits in splendor, and Banner Hulks out to take on Hela's giant wolf beast."
"Whoopee," Nessa finished. "How on earth did we make that conclusion sound so deadpan?"
"It's not over yet," Magneto reminded her. "Loki takes a risk, and Thor's orders, to go and retrieve Surtur's skull from Odin's relics, and place it on the eternal flame, which will bring him to full power. They know that Surtur will destroy Asgard, but it is better to summon him because at least he will only take Asgard, and not the other realms like Hela would. And because Hela was set on taking Asgard herself and Sutur wasn't having none of that, he straight-up slays her with a fiery sword, which is honestly a little disappointed since she was undefeated until now."

"You said she wasn't the wisest goddess of death. But Thor still isn't, either, because even though all the Asgardians are safe and migrating from their home, he assumes Loki is long gone. Asgard did blow the heck up after Surtur took over, but I was surprised that he was surprised whenever my character shows up alive and well again."
"Whatever, that's Thor for you. And now he has an eyepatch! I think it was supposed to be a parallel to Odin, who also had one over the same eye. And now he has the Asgardian throne! Because, after all, Asgard's not a place, it's a people," Nessa smiled up at Loki. "Did I get everything?"
"Well, I sure as heck didn't. I think I fell asleep at one point," Elphie slurred. "And speaking of which, I'd much like to go back to sleep now. Though I doubt that will happen." Elphaba got up shakily, saluted the group, and went over to climb the dresser and crawl into the box-bed she and Nessa shared.
"Sweet dreams, sis," Nessa called, then leaned in and whispered, "She didn't really fall asleep. She was immersed the whole time. But then, it was hard not to be. It was so epic! And active! And funny. A little weird to have the apocalypse be funny, but humor is appreciated in any case."
"Good film, yeah," Magneto agreed. "I'll give it a seven out of ten. No cameo from the X-Men, so that was disappointing."
"Any words from you, Loki?" I questioned, fingers at the ready over the keyboard.
He started by shaking his head, I guess still taken aback that he was actually delighted by a Thor movie after all the bad memories he's had with "Thors" in them. "No, I really did like it. I didn't expect to. Thor was funny. He was emotional. He was relatable. He was arrogant, dumb, stubborn... he was Thor. Loki was clever. He was charismatic. He was someone you rooted for. He was deceptive, sneaky, untrustworthy... he was the unexpected that you expected. The new characters, although some didn't seem to have a point at first, made sense to bring into the world of the series. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the next Avengers. Now that one is going to be big."
"Good words." I said quietly, typing away. After all these years, I didn't think Loki would ever change his mind about Thor, much less be comfortable talking about the character without a terrible grudge. The movie was, needless to repeat, life-changing.

"I can see your smile, Elsa. You don't need to rub it in."
"Sorry." I covered my mouth politely with one hand, the other continued to work on this post.
"Hey, did you see the trailers at the beginning? There's going to be a Black Panther movie in February. Wanna go?"
"Like you know anything about Black Panther." Magneto was done, and he, too, was heading towards the dresser for bed.
Nessa stuck out her tongue. "Touché, sir," then she turned to Loki. "So? You up for another one in a few months?"
One last smile. "I'll think about it. But for now, we need to make sure we don't break the Code of Dolls."
"Right. Bedtime," Nessa started away, but then looked behind her. "That was really fun. Um... goodnight." She turned on her heel, toppling over her cape but catching herself midway. "I'm okay. Goodnight. Again."
At last Loki and I are left with a moment's silence. It's been nearly three years since we were found; him, Olaf, and I, in that order. I'd known him forever, ever since he opened by box and I comforted him with a nervous-sounded version of "Let It Go". We'd come far together. Olaf got a girlfriend and a fair amount of courage. I got a blog, a boyfriend, a sister, a second sister... the list goes on and on. But for Loki, he's always been sort of stagnant. Not like he refused to change, there just wasn't much of a reason to until now. Even if the only thing that changed was his opinion of Thor.
"Did you really have a good time?" I whispered.
"Yes. I did. I actually did," he nods, looks at the ground, smiles a little. "Maybe I wouldn't mind She getting a Thor sometime in the future. Maybe not anymore."
"That's great to hear. Goodnight, Loki."
"See you in the morning, Elsa."
Loki started off to bed, and I had to pack up quickly so everything in the Room She Lives In was the same as it had been before her shower. I'd have the finish the post a little later than November 3rd. But it would be out soon. After all, it was a life-changing movie I was writing about.

Hope you didn't mind the (albeit mild) swearing,

Queen Elsa

Dolloween 2017

Since October 2015, every year Nessa and I had a scheme to create what we called a "Dolloween", or a doll Halloween celebration, but something always held us back. In 2015, we weren't sure what Halloween was, so what was the use of participating. And in 2016, the humans stayed home to hand out candy, and they were frequently coming and going from the house, leaving us with not much time to function. But this year was different. This year, Nessa and I planned ahead and recruited the help of Idina to create a Dolloween costume party for everyone. So, in the style of my fiftieth celebration post, I will be showing you pictures of each of the dolls and including some dialogue, this time for Halloween.

***

Magneto was the only doll who refused to dress up, so he picked a dark pair of sunglasses that were just his size to become a "Cool Guy". 

Although it did make his snarl look more like a smile, we weren't sure if the glasses made him any cooler. We played along anyway. 

Dorothy, of course, had to be a baker. The outfit came with a tiny chef's hat and a spoon from the kitchen, and she kept her basket stocked with candy to share.

A red rubber nose and a frilly pink necktie was all that was needed to make Olaf a clown. He told jokes the whole night, each one more (less) funny than the last.

For Nessa's costume, she used a couple of props borrowed from Bell and a new hat, which Magneto had a good time making fun of.
"Who are you supposed to be, Nicolas Cage?" He waved his hands around, his tone changing from mocking to an impression of the actor. "Ooh, I'm Nicolas Cage, and I'm going to steal the declaration of independence."
"You wouldn't dare!" Napoleon said, holding out his American flag like a sword.
Nessa frowned and straightened her hat. "Nicolas Cage doesn't wear cowboy hats. I'm a pirate."
"Pirates don't wear cowboy hats, either."
"This is the best I could do. I'm a new-age pirate, how's that?"
"I'll settle for that." Magneto agreed.

Per Nessa's request, Loki was an ice harvester, complete with a sled and scarf to match his dark green cape. I created him a little snowball with my magic, and his costume was done.

Bell was not the only one making jokes this year. For Dolloween, she wanted to be Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. Her glittery yellow pom-pom shoes added her own personal twist to the look. I can imagine many other little ones were Belle this year because of the new live action Beauty and the Beast film.

We're starting to think that Sven is smarter than he looks, because when we were talking about what costumes we would wear for Dolloween, he kept nudging us with his nose and whimpering like a dog. That inspired me, and we were able to dress Sven up as dog, using a thick red hair tie from She and one of the real dog's bone toys. Here Sven is displaying his "puppy dog eyes".

Idina, like Bell, went for another Disney character for Dolloween. She made a great Blue Fairy from Pinocchio.

The most creative costume award, if we were doing awards this year, would have to go to Napoleon. He was a dolphin trainer, made complete with a bucket of faux fish and a cardboard dolphin prop. His height makes it easier for you to see the skeleton Mickey shirt we used for a backdrop.

Elphaba took a pointer from the book Wicked, and became the character that inspired her name. With her matching blue witch hat and a broom raised triumphantly in the air, it looked like she was ready to "Defy Gravity".
"Alright, now I can believe Elphaba's a witch... but Nessa as Nicolas Cage?" Magneto questioned.
"For the last time, I am not Nicolas Cage!" Nessa cried, outraged.
Elphaba smirked, but knew better than to say anything.

The non-existent "most unusual" award would have gone to Benny for dressing up as Waldo from Where's Waldo. Apparently there is some history to this. For those who are British, his name is Wally, and he ended up getting his own television show inspired by the search-and-find books. But for Americans, we know him as Waldo. Either way, he's famous for wearing a red-and-white striped shirt and hiding in the most frustrating of places.

Moana was the most proud of her original costume. She decided to go as a koa, or Hawaiian warrior, for Halloween. With Bell's help, she fashioned herself a doll-sized spear out of paper, tape, twine, and beads. She wore the feathers-and-shells arm bands from her celebration outfit, and put her hair into a half-bun with a brown scrunchie. Of course, she couldn't forget her favorite necklace and animal friends.

Steve was a little snapped on creativity for what to do.
"I'm already a superhero. That's a costume in and of itself."
"And a popular one at that," Loki piped up. "Everybody wants to be Captain America."
"You can still be a hero. We just need to change things up a bit," said Anna. "Anyone know where She keeps the computer paper?"
Taking some tips from Bell and Moana, we were able to create a similarly made weapon for Steve, this time using one other ingredient: dental floss. It made a worthy string for his bow. We paired it with a brown bag filled with Q-tips to be arrows, and Steve was made into an archer.
"Am I Hawkeye?" He asked.
"Sure, just lose all your powers and make a couple of bad jokes." Said Loki.
"I don't get it." Said Olaf.
"Moving on!" I decided. "Where's Anelle and Kristoff?"
"Zey are not ready yet," Idina sighed. "I don't think zey like zheir costumes very much."

"Fine, Anna and I will go next," I pulled on her arm and handed Steve She's camera for a picture. "Come on, Elsa." I was referencing our costumes, which just involved a quick switch of clothing. I donned Anna's skirt, bodice, blouse, and boots, and she took my ice gown, cape, and Norwegian slippers.

"Does that make you Anna?" Anna asked.

"For tonight, yes." 

"And does that mean I get your powers?"

"Do you want to build a snowman?" I laughed.

Steve snapped the picture right when the She's bedroom room creaked open. We almost ran for the hills, but it was just Anelle and Kristoff that came through... dressed in attire set for a wedding.

Nessa's jaw dropped. "You guys are getting married? Right now?"

Kristoff covered his face with the hand not holding onto Anelle. "No, we're not getting married at all. This was Idina's idea."

"You remember, Elsa. You were there, right?" Said Anelle, looking less unhappy than Kristoff.

I recalled what had happened only a week or two ago. We had brought up the idea of a Dolloween costume party, and Idina loved that. Idina had ventured into the basement for the first time, but I guess she had forgotten to be afraid because of her love of fashion, and all the doll clothes and usable fabrics were down there. Idina had taken Anelle, Kristoff, and I into the basement with her so she didn't have to be alone. This gave her an idea.

"We need to do costumes dis year. We never do anything for Hallaween."

"Okay, what do you suggest?" I had wondered.

"Ev'ryone can reuse things that we find down here. But..." she had glanced sideways over at Kristoff and Anelle. "Some things I can help with."

Anelle and Kristoff exchanged looks and shrugged. They weren't sure where Idina was going with this either.

Idina began sashaying around, selecting different kinds of ribbons from a sewing bag. "Hallaween is my faf'rite time of the year."

"Really?" I hadn't expected that from Idina.

"Not for de spooks. For de costumes," she went back to her work, grabbing a small pair of sewing scissors and snipping away at the ribbon. "And dis year ever'one is going to be someone. Yes?"

None of us were brave enough to answer. I think we were all afraid of what would happen if we did.

"Anelle. Kristoff. Dis is your first Hallaween, yes?"

"Um, yes." Anelle stuttered.

"Then you must be the stars of the show. You will be bride and groom as ze costumes."

Kristoff pulled down on his eyelids. It had become very silent.

"You are close, yes?"

"Um, no thanks, we're really not..." Anelle tried to say.

"Yeah, we're just friends." Kristoff finished her statement without any trouble at all.

"Hallaween is supposed to be scary," Idina said, already taking their measurements. "You will be scared to marry each-other, yes?"

Two slow nods.

"Then it works. We haf a tuxedo already for you, Kristoff, and some shoes as well. Just hope zey will fit. And for you, Anelle, I'll take care of the gown."

Anelle's mouth opened and closed in protest, but the words never came out.

"We haf orange and black ribbon, and one with little spiders all over. Maybe I will make Hallaween outfits, or maybe not. We'll see," Idina beamed. "Oh, it will be magnificent!"

Magnificent, however, was not the word that the couple had thought of. Nightmare was more like it, or embarrassing, or horrible, or...

"Terrifying." Anelle gulped.

Kristoff finished with, "I get to marry my fake sister. Weird."

But there was no arguing with Idina. We didn't have a clue on how long she had been planning this, possibly since Anelle and Kristoff were first found, but it was hard to tell. Idina is not very open with her secrets, or with any words at all. But she was open with her talent. And when Kristoff and Anelle were finally ready to fight embarrassment and show off their Dollaween costumes, that much was obvious.

Idina had reused a doll-sized tuxedo top from the treasure trove of clothes in the basement for Kristoff. It was a shiny black satin blazer with white polka dots all over, and a hot pink undershirt beneath that. Anelle's gown was a pleated, snowy white at the top and a classic long skirt at the end, with a matching hot pink ribbon to accessorize. A classic tulle with white beads was used both as a veil and a mermaid tail finish to the gown.
"You made that?" Olaf whispered. "You're good. I always knew you were, though."
Idina blushed happily. "I am quite proud of it, as much as zey liked to protest."
"Gosh, I love weddings," Anna said wistfully. "Idina, can you make a wedding gown for me, next?"
"You're not getting married." I reminded her.
"One day I will. And when that day comes, I'll be asking for Idina to make my dress."
Nessa pointed a finger back and forth at each of them. "So... you're not getting married. Is that right?"
"No, we're not getting married. But you do look pretty handsome in that tuxedo, Kristoff..." Said Anelle, her voice trailing off into giggles.
"Yeah, you too," Kristoff shook his head frantically. "No! Not handsome. Pretty. I meant pretty. You look... pretty pretty, too. Ugh, what am I saying?!"
I crossed my arms and looked smugly down at Idina. She's got her secrets, sure, but I think we were starting to share one. For Anelle and Kristoff, there may be something there that wasn't there before. And that was the scariest thing of all for this Halloween.

Happy Dolloween,

Queen Elsa