29.

Elle wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the most recent changes in her life.

Granted, no matter which way she looked at things the last year of her life had been full of hectic and stressful changes; but these most recent ones weren't like the others. They were good changes, and it took a lot for her to not keep looking over her shoulder for the loophole that was going to come and take it all away from her. Because, truth be told, for the first time in a long time, she really liked where her life was headed. It was a strange, dizzying realization, but after what she'd been through, very welcome.

Still, she was at a bit of loss. The first few days of waking up at the Pole made her realize that she wasn't dreaming and in fact, this was her life now. Just what that meant was still a bit unclear, though. Sure, she was an elf again, and Bernard had told her that her position as number two in the workshop was still written in, but that didn't give her a whole lot of peace of mind. Regardless of how much she wished she wasn't, she was struggling with finding her sense of self in the wake of all that had happened. Between her initially becoming an elf and losing her family, to what Jack did, to the whole other life she lived in the alternate timeline, and back to Bernard and how she'd come to be ele—no, for the next few days at least, twelve years into the past, she had a lot to sort through. Somewhere along the lines, she had lost track of which version of herself—of Elle Connelly—was the one she wanted to be.

It was a complicated idea, and a train of thought she'd never thought she'd be exploring.

Luckily, Bernard didn't seem too keen on giving her a whole lot of free time on her own to brood, which was probably for the best. She wasn't exactly sure what to call what they had, and she didn't want to ask for fear that he already knew and she was somehow not catching on. But it was her biggest comfort (and excitement, honestly,) because it meant that this time, she didn't have to go through whatever came next alone.

Besides the few days she'd had with Bernard in the alternate timeline, she'd never had him all to herself like this before. Granted, it was different now anyway. They weren't being hesitant anymore, they were moving forward, together, growing a bit closer each day. Knowing that that was an okay thing to be doing—even the goal, really—was a new mindset for Elle especially, but she definitely wasn't complaining. Bernard was her one constant in all the chaos, and just then she felt very grateful she'd ended up by his side in such an intimate capacity.

That was a funny way of saying "in love with him", she thought, but saying that still came as a bit of a shock.

Taking things slowly definitely helped though. In spite of the Emissary Clause looming in the foreseeable distance, they had both agreed to take their time to feel comfortable with being in a relationship with each other. So far, it was going splendidly. Since it was still the Christmas/New Year's vacation period, they had plenty of free time to spend doing whatever they pleased. Unsurprisingly they gravitated towards each other, and found a great deal of their time was spent tucked away either at Bernard's house, or in Elle's suite.

It didn't really matter what they were doing; whether it was watching something (Elle felt lucky that a great many of her favorite shows had started earlier that year) or reading to each other (Bernard had a really calming voice? Or maybe she was just really prone to naps after the events of the past few weeks, but she was inclined to believe it was the former) or even just sitting together, talking about whatever came to mind. Elle felt a calm happiness that she'd never have guessed was possible, and from the way he seemed to be enjoying himself as much as she was, he must have felt it as well.

Cuddling was pretty great, too.

Carol had joined Santa in visiting the in-laws that year, so there had been no time to discuss what had happened during his delivery hours. It was two weeks after Christmas before he came back to the Pole, seeming quite refreshed but ready to get back to planning for the new year. It was at that point that Elle realized her happy little intermission was coming to a close. It would have made her a little panicky if Bernard hadn't sensed her anxiety and calmed her right down.

They'd dealt with the explanations together, kept things as simple as possible, and in the end Scott seemed quite satisfied with the answers. He reassured them that if he needed more details, he'd try to ask Father Time. "You two have been through enough at this point," he said. "I think it's time to let it be for a while, don't you? Let's put some space between us and everything that's happened before we talk about any of this again. And who knows? I'm hoping we won't have to."

"Definitely, sir." Bernard had sounded very relieved, and Elle could only nod in agreement, the weight of the complicated situation finally lifting off of her shoulders. Of course, the subject of Jack hadn't been approached, but that was alright for the time being. Elle had been a little worried about Bernard's temper with the matter, since he'd yet to give the legend a piece of his mind and was therefore still a bit steamed. That was a whole other discussion, for a time when they'd had a chance to really catch their breath.

With these heavier topics finally laid to rest for the foreseeable future, Elle finally felt calm enough to think clearly. Oddly enough, one of the first things she began to really think about again and again was the idea of finding a place of her own to live. She missed her flat in Seattle, and no matter how she tried to ignore the idea she kept thinking that she really did want a place like that here, for her own. Some place she could decorate according to her own tastes and make home. Not that she wasn't happy in the suite she'd been given in the workshop's guest space, or even at Bernard's house when she spent time there. But being in the suite reminded her of her sisters a little too much to be comfortable considering the circumstances, and well…it was far from time for her to move in with Bernard, now wasn't it?

So she threw house hunting into the mix of her new routine. She needed routine, Elle knew that about herself. Having a schedule kept her from going nuts from boredom or her thoughts closing in on her, twice as much so since she'd become telepathic. Since the Workshop was still on break she found she had more time for things like doing her own laundry (oddly cathartic) and going to the gym (Elfsburg absolutely had a gym, though she hadn't known about it before. She worked out a lot of tension there on the punching bags.)

Eventually (inevitably, really, with how much time they were spending together) Bernard found out what she was doing. "Classifieds?" He asked one morning over her shoulder at breakfast, and Elle hummed in agreement. "Yeesh, that's not even the fun part of the paper. You looking for something?"

"My sense of self worth," Elle joked, getting a serious and mildly concerned look from him. She held up a hand and shook her head before he could start giving her a full explanation of why she shouldn't doubt herself so much. "Kidding! I'm kidding. I dunno. I mean, don't get me wrong, the suite is real nice, but…after everything? I kind of just want a space of my own."

"That's understandable. I mean, you're not exactly a guest anymore, are you?" That was a good point. "So…a house?"

"God no. With what money am I gonna buy a house?"

"Your position does pay well enough. You could afford it if you wanted to."

"Does it? I never really paid attention to it before." Elle sighed, propping her cheek on her fist as Bernard sat down beside her. "No, a house is…too much. Too empty, for me, right now…" She stared down at the newspaper, the black and white text swimming before her eyes. She felt a hand on her back.

"S'okay, I wasn't trying to upset you, sweetheart. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." She scoffed softly. "I've been through this enough times now, I guess I thought it'd be easier."

"I'm not sure it's something that gets easier, at least as far as having to go through it from square one again. But, time will tell."

"True." Sensing the conversation was about to take a turn into the more depressing side of things, Elle quickly shifted back on topic. "Anyway, no house. I'm thinking more like the situation I had on my own. My college flat?"

"In Seattle?"

A nod. "That one. I'm thinking something like that, maybe a little more livable since that place was a little rough around the edges…"

"I might know of a place."

"Really?"

"Mhmm. A couple, now that I actually think about it. There's a loft over one of the gift storage warehouses, that has the same kind of feel as your old place. I think it might get pretty noisy when some of the bigger items are getting moved around though."

"Are you talking about the ones kind of on the western outskirts of town?"

"Yeah, but it's one of the closer ones. And since you can teleport, there's really not a worry as far as commuting goes."

"Good point." Elle drummed her pen on the newspaper. "What are the others?"

"There's one in town near the market district, I think it sits overtop a bakery? I'm not sure it's quite as big or if it's for all intents and purposes a open air loft of the sort you had. I think they were making it more livable a while back. I'm not sure it's free anymore either, we'd have to check."

"We?"

"Well, yeah." Bernard shrugged, a puzzled look on his face. "You don't think I'd leave you to figure this out all on your own, do you?" He smiled, then looked mildly worried. "I mean, unless you'd prefer to find a place by yourself. That's okay too! I was just trying to—"

"Bernard." She reached out and set a hand on his. "It's fine. I'm happy to have your help."

"Oh." He seemed relieved, but also like he was trying to hide the fact that he'd been worried in the first place. "Okay then." He went on to mention more potential places, but Elle has begun to think back to when she'd gotten her first flat. Even though Elle had chosen to keep the location of her final choice secret, Jacqueline had been the one to comb through the adverts with her. The thought of her best friend—well, former best friend? Was enough to cause her to lose track of Bernard's words, until he caught her attention again.

"…Elle?" He was watching her with concern, the way he'd taken to doing whenever she grew melancholy while thinking of her family. "You alright?"

"Yeah." She watched his thumb run back and forth over her hand and squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Sorry, I just…"

"You don't have to explain. I can already feel it." He tapped the side of his head. She nodded, having forgotten yet again the extent of their mental and emotional bond. It took some getting used to—indeed, it seemed that the more they opened up to each other, the stronger it got.

'She's not really angry with you, you know.' Elle looked up, mildly shocked. Bernard fixed her with an earnest look. "Jacqueline, I mean. In spite of what happened, I know she's not really as angry as you're thinking she is."

"I don't think she's angry, B. I think I ruined our friendship. The things I said to her…comparing her to Jack! I just…" Elle sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Maybe if I hadn't remembered yet, it could have been forgivable. But I knew what I was saying, I knew how messed up Jack was and comparing her to him…how could I do that? How could I try to deliberately hurt her like that?" Her eyes stung, and she looked down at her lap.

"Elle." She heard Bernard's chair scoot closer to her over the wooden floor, and then saw him take her hands from her lap. "Elle, look at me."

She took a breath and looked up, regret etched all over her face.

"You didn't know that Jacqueline wasn't like Jack. After what happened…it may have been wrong to say those things, but it was an easy misconception to have."

"She was my best friend. I should have given her the benefit of the doubt at least. I owed her that."

There was a long pause, and Bernard weighed his answer carefully before replying. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Listen, Jacqueline may be upset by what you said, but she's still your friend. She still knows what you were going through and with any luck, she doesn't blame you for what you said. I mean, I wasn't exactly feeling terrific when it happened, but if I remember correctly she said some things too."

"I deserved them though."

"Don't say that! Don't even think it. Neither of you did. It's just a big misunderstanding." He sat up, taking a deep breath. "You know, all this worry and fuss could be avoided if you'd just talk to her."

Elle scoffed. "How? My connection to her is dead—or at least, well buried. Even feels a little too frosty, for good measure. And I doubt she's kept her phone now that she's, you know. Her frozen self again. She barely kept her phone when she wasn't allowed to use magic."

"We could go visit her."

"What?" Elle physically recoiled, her chair scooting backwards.

"Jacqueline lives with her family at Frost Mansion, in Crystal Springs. It's a magical province, not too far a trip. We could stop by, see if she's willing to talk…"

"No!" She shook her head furiously. "No, no no. I'm not…I'm not ready. I…" A glass on the table started to shake a little, perhaps as a side effect of her mental turmoil. Bernard frowned.

"Alright, alright. Not yet, I hear you." Elle clasped her hands together in her lap, nodding in agreement. She hated how easily emotional things could still get under her skin, get control of her powers. She already felt weak one way, was it necessary for her to feel it in her telepathy as well? She knew Bernard just wanted what was best for her. She knew now that Jacqueline and him had been friends long before she had come around, and he probably didn't like to see her estranged from her friend anymore than she herself did. But it didn't make her feel any more ready to confront—or face, whichever the case—Jacqueline.

Not just yet.


A few days went by, during which Elle spent some time going through the items that belonged to her in the suite. To her surprise, there were things there from both timelines, the original and the one she'd just come from. Her boots from the farm, some of Annise's books, the dress she'd come back in, one of Dottie's sweatshirts. Her phone from Seattle. Oddly, a great many of the numbers she tried to call were disconnected or didn't exist at all, especially the numbers of her friends in Maine. While that made her wonder, she considered that it could simply be the matter of the year causing the difficulty and let it be.

Going through everything was honestly a lot to face. But it was good in its own way, forcing her to come to complete terms with all that had happened and begin to form some kind of closure. Predictably, the matter that wouldn't settle for her was Jacqueline, but she didn't exactly want to show that. Bernard seemed very sure that Jacqueline wasn't going to hate her quite as much as she expected, and Elle was hesitant to hope for that much. Maybe he was right—after all, by the sound of things, he'd known Jacqueline for centuries. He might know her better than she did, but with all she'd lost, Elle didn't want to open herself up to a possible rejection so soon.

Abby had been the first one besides Bernard to discover Elle's plans to find a place of her own, since she'd walked in on her sorting things and putting them in boxes she'd procured from packing department's overstock. She'd seemed worried Elle was leaving again until Elle quickly explained her plans. That made Abby very excited, since it showed just how much the number two elf was planning to stay. She too knew of the flat Bernard had mentioned over one of the bakeries in Elfsburg (apparently, the Grille sourced a lot of their baked goods from there) and was able to confirm that it was still free. "It's in a really nice neighborhood and isn't too noisy," she'd explained. "Plus you'll be within walking distance to most things."

She even gave Elle some tips on where to go shopping for household items, like blankets and dishes and such. It was a nice idea that this time, Elle would be able to decorate how she liked. With her old flat, she'd never really taken the time to make it feel homey; just functional, since she'd been busy—well, busy trying to remember.

A few days later she and Bernard went round to take a look at the place. It was in a lively but peaceful part of Elfsburg, a few blocks from the town square and a little out of the way but like Abby had said, still plenty close to nearly everything within walking distance. The Workshop was about a ten-minute walk away, if she did decide to actually go by foot. The bakery it was set over seemed to specialize in Austrian style pastries as well as breads (which Bernard spent a great deal of time perusing while Elle was talking with the owner about things like the price of rent and utilities and such.) The loft was connected by an exterior, mosaic tiled staircase the likes of which was seen often throughout town, and led up to a deep green door. Elle found that shade of green very becoming, the longer she looked at it, and thought she might not mind living behind it.

They went inside, and she couldn't help but let out a happy little gasp at the sight of the place. It was more open than she'd expected, the roof high enough to allow a balcony in part of the loft above the kitchen, which the owner suggested might make a good bedroom space. The rest of the loft was quite open, with a large living area and several large windows in what would be the front wall of the building. A few smaller ones ran along the side wall towards the kitchen (which was against the back wall) and there was a nice amount of light in the balcony, which to Elle's delight, came from a skylight. It was light and had an airy feel to it, but remained cozy, with the faintest scent of warm baking wafting up from the shop below. The staff only worked until six pm, she was told, so during the evenings and nights she would essentially have the building to herself, and with it plenty of privacy.

Bernard eventually came up and joined them, a loaf of sandwich bread tucked under one arm. "What do you think?" he asked Elle quietly.

"I like it, B." She was already smiling when the owner offered to give them a little time to think about it and left them in the space on their own. Once she was gone, Elle began excitedly pointing around the room, re-explaining what she'd been told and even adding a few ideas of her own. It was nice to see Elle so excited about something again, Bernard thought, as she took his hand and happily led him around a bit. Maybe this move really was what she needed, to start feeling a real sense of belonging again. He just wanted her to feel like she was home, this time. She'd lost enough already.

Elle trailed off in the middle of her sentence, fixing him with a mildly concerned look. Then her expression grew a little softer. "Hey," she said gently, giving his hand a little squeeze. "I'm already happy here, Bernard. You know that, don't you?"

"I know." Bernard gave a soft shrug, and a softer smile. "I just want you to feel…like you've found what you were looking for."

'You goof. I already did find exactly who I was looking for.' She smiled, leaning in and pressing a kiss to his cheek, then looked around the loft again. "And I think this could be really great too," she added out loud.

"Well you'll definitely have enough space. It's a little bigger than I remembered."

"It's nice! I'll have room to have a painting space again. I mean…" she grew a little sheepish. "I don't suppose I need one…"

"Nonsense! Painting is a good creative outlet for an elf. Not to mention, you weren't half bad."

"You know, with that 'painting is a good creative outlet for an elf' spiel, you sounded a little like—"

"Elle, I love you, but don't test your luck by comparing me Curtis," Bernard said, holding up a hand in warning. Elle shook her head, laughing.

"Whatever you say, Bernard."

They headed down and Elle signed the papers, walking away that evening with a key and a renewed sense of purpose.

"It'll take me a few months to save enough for furniture and stuff after the down payment," she mused, swinging their hands between them as they walked back to his house. She was in an exceptionally good mood considering what a big decision she'd just made. Last time she'd signed a lease, she'd been second guessing and worried for weeks afterward. This time, it just felt right, and she was at ease with her choice. Or maybe it was because she had a very good second opinion. Obviously, Bernard wasn't just going to let her jump into something over her head without having something to say about it, and in this case, he seemed equally pleased with the situation. "Where do people go to buy furniture around here, anyway?"

"There are a few small places, but for the most part, everyone goes to Crystal Springs to shop for big purchases like furniture." Crystal Springs. Why was that name familiar again? "They have a lot of the big box stores you might find in America or Canada there."

"Do they have an IKEA?"

"I think so. But it's been a while since I went furniture shopping last, so don't quote me on that."

"Nice." Elle thought for a moment, frowning. "Might be a little hard to get the boxes up those stairs—they're a little narrow after all…"

Bernard glanced at her sideways. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Am I?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "I didn't count on you of all people to forget you're telepathic."

"Oh." Elle looked taken aback. "Oh yeah."

"Last time you moved you moved alone. How did you get things up to that flat?" Bernard asked, still chuckling.

"It had an elevator, remember? I made a lot of trips, a lot of back and forth. I couldn't exactly use my telepathy in public there."

"Right, that was probably a good choice."

"Granted, I did cheat a little. As long as I made it look like I was moving the boxes, I could use my telepathy to do the heavy lifting. But I was still sore for a week after moving all that. Who knew mattresses are so heavy?"

"I'm still surprised you kept that flat such a secret."

"I really didn't want anyone snooping around my stuff. I needed a safe space to get everything out of my head and onto paper, you know?"

"Sure." There was a pause before Elle realized that wasn't what he'd meant.

"You meant you were surprised I kept it a secret, even from Jacqueline."

"Did I say it like that?" His voice went a little higher, and he stammered just a little, and Elle knew she was right. He tugged at his satchel strap. "Look, I didn't mean it in an upsetting way—"

"I know you didn't. It's my fault, I'm the one having a hang up about talking to Jacqueline and…and fixing things."

Before Bernard could reply, Elle's attention was shifted into the nearest shop window. It was one of the places she'd gone shopping with Charlie, back before all the time shenanigans had happened. But given that it was several years prior to when they'd checked its inventory, the mannequins in the window proved that the stock was completely different—and the main attraction, in Elle's opinion, was a deep emerald green trench coat.

"See something you like?" Elle glanced over to find Bernard looking amused.

"What? No, I just…"

"Come on, Elle. I've seen that look plenty of times in children looking in at department store toy displays."

She raised an eyebrow. "You calling me a kid, B?"

Bernard spluttered. "No! No. But I've seen that expression enough to know when someone really wants something." He gave her a little nudge. "Want to see if they have it in stock?"

She hesitated a moment, torn between the urge to watch her wallet and not make impulsive purchases right on the heels of signing a lease. But the expression of encouragement and warmth on Bernard's face brought her around to remembering that her coat was growing threadbare, and it was only the second week of January.

"Oh, alright," she sighed, with a slight laugh, and he broke into a grin. They went in, knocking snow off their shoes at the door, and the discussion of Jacqueline was again abandoned. Bernard was rather grateful for that, since he knew now that Elle wasn't coming around quite yet. That was alright, he'd keep trying—but for the meantime, maybe it was better to let Elle sort out the rest of her situation, and leave the reuniting for when she had less on her mind.

The sound of Elle clearing her throat brought his attention back to the present. There she was, hands in the pockets of that green trench coat from the window, swishing it slightly to test out the fit. "What do you think?" She asked, the shy smile on her face showing how much she wanted him to like it.

He already knew he liked it, but he thought he'd play along a little first. "Hmm. Can you turn?" He asked, adopting a thoughtful expression. She turned, and he couldn't help but smile behind her back.

"The sleeves fit really nicely too, they aren't swallowing my hands," she said, tugging on the cuffs a little, "and I can button it up just fine, even if I'm wearing one of my thicker sweaters underneath. Do you think it fits me properly in the shoulders?"

"I think it's the perfect coat for you."

"Really?"

He laughed a little. "Yeah! It suits you, very flattering. Do you like it?"

"I think it's just what I've been looking for." She hesitated again. "I dunno, maybe I should wait until next month. My old jacket still works for now—"

"Elle, you've had to resew two buttons this week. And, I know for a fact that one of the pockets is torn almost all the way away from the lining, cause I nearly got my hand stuck there when I was trying to grab the keys to the snowmobile the other day."

"I thought I was going to have to cut your hand out of there," Elle mused, with a slight giggle.

"Pockets aren't supposed to be death traps!" He gave her a slightly stern look, but his voice was gentle. "So, if you don't have a very good reason not to, then we're getting the coat."

For a moment he was a little worried he'd upset her, because it looked like her eyes grew misty. But then she swallowed and nodded, beginning to slip the coat off.

"Okay! I'll take it."

Ten minutes later they stepped out of the shop, Elle's new coat in a bag hanging from her arm. The dome was darkening for the night, and the streets of Elfsburg were beginning to clear out and grow quiet.

"Thank you for all your help today," Elle said. "You didn't have to come and help me with this, but I really appreciate that you did."

"Don't worry about it, I was glad to." Before he could finish, a small group of younger girl elves, no doubt on their way home, caught their attention as they actually giggled at the sight of Elle and Bernard holding hands. A kiss on Elle's cheek from Bernard sent them on their way, a soft chorus of "aww"s going with them. Elle blushed up to her ears, nudging him playfully.

"You troublemaker."

"Who, me?" He tried to sound shocked, but ended up chuckling all the same. "I mean, if they're going to stare, might as well give them something to stare about."

"I think they just want to be sure we're okay, for the most part," she replied, as they rounded the corner towards Bernard's house. "I keep getting lots of questions around the workshop about how we're doing."

"And how do you think we're doing, Elle?"

Elle smiled, taking a deep breath and leaning a little closer, so their shoulders brushed while they walked. It occurred to her for the first time that maybe, she didn't have to pick which version of herself to be. Regardless of alternate universes and the circumstances, maybe the real Elle Connelly was who she was becoming along the way.

"I think we're doing just fine, B."


Hey guys, I'm gonna try to keep this author's note brief, but I d have a few things to say! I've been gone six months so there are a few things I should address.

First of all: this chapter closes the original TEC arc. I know, I drew it out a lot longer than the original, but I felt it needed to be done to give the story the depth and all of the scenes I wanted to put in it. So thank you for sticking with me this far and reading what TEC has become over the past five or so years!

Secondly, I'm not making a sequel. TEC2 was the sequel to the original story, but I've chosen not to follow that storyline at all and instead, to take a new direction with Elle and her family. Instead of a sequel, I'll be continuing Elle's story right here, in TEC:Reloaded. The upcoming chapters will be fun anecdotes and occurrences from the 12 years between this point and when Elle can (potentially) see her family again. I've got quite a lot planned for this part, at least another 13 parts as far as I've planned so far. My plan is to be able to keep last year's December update trend, though it will probably be every two days or three days that I update, instead of daily. We'll see how much I'm able to write ahead of time!

Thirdly, there will be a Jacqueline/Elle reunion. That is in the works, and will hopefully be ready to read sometime in December. So yes, Jacqueline will very much come back into the picture! Don't worry.

Fourthly, I may be changing the name of this story. So if that happens, don't freak out! It's the only thing that's gonna change. I know I want to change it but I'm not sure what to, so if anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears. :)

Fifth, over this year safyresky and I have been making a ton of content for our shitty winter/elf children on tumblr, in the form of art, one shots, drabbles, and au's. Her user name on tumblr is safyresky, and mine has been quite recently changed to shittyelfwriter. Feel free to check us out for more content than we're able to post on this site!

And finally, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Kate, aka Winterfrost15. She previously wrote some incredible works, both with Dani's characters and mine, that we very much loved. A truly gifted writer. The last we knew she was planning a rewrite, and then, very recently and suddenly, she deleted from all platforms without warning. We miss her very much, and hope she's doing okay. Kate, this one's for you, and if you ever need us or feeling like talking, Dani and I are both here to chat.

Wow, this was anything but brief. Thanks for putting up with the news, and I hope to see you all for the next chapter!

As always, feedback, reviews, favorites and follows are always appreciated!

Thank you for reading my work.


Disclaimers:

I am not Disney or Disney affiliated and therefore do not own any rights or credits to any characters, concepts or places portrayed in or from "The Santa Clause 1, 2, or 3". The only thing I own is my own creative work and original content and characters, including the Connelly family, the Emissary Clause and Elle herself.

Many characters and concepts are borrowed/used shamelessly from the works and headcanons of SafyreSky, all rights and credit go to her for coming up with such incredible ideas. These include but are not limited to the Legate concept, Jacqueline Frost and the portrayal of many other non-canon/canon characters.