#*tts : holiday series

[hanfourz]

― scream | h.ts 𓆩⚝𓆪

first installment of the 'tis the season drabble series !

pairing・ghostface!taesan x fem!reader

genre・smut, mostly pwp (fluff towards the end), established relationship

warnings・MDNI, mask kink, unprotected sex (Do Not.), dom!taesan, profanity, fingering, big dick!taesan

word count・2.3k (!!!!!)

note・uh we don't talk abt how long this took me or the fact that this is a halloween drabble in december... it's fine (the end's kinda trash sry lmao) - 🪼

[ networks : @onedoornet ]

series m.list | main m.list

halloween was your favorite time of the year. all the spooky decor, scary movies, and candy made your eyes glow with excitement. and this year you’d get to spend it with your boyfriend. last year, you two were supposed to celebrate together but you came down with something so he’d come up with a brilliant plan of staying in and watching scary movies to your heart’s content. and as fun as that was, this year you were determined to make halloween count. 

“dongminie, hurry or we’re gonna be late!” you heard a deep sigh before he muttered out ‘okayokay’. you two had a party to get to in exactly 2 hours. a party you may or may not have convinced forced your lovely boyfriend to go to. truthfully he wasn’t all that upset about going to this party, one of his friends was hosting it so he knew he was going to have to go anyway. it was the damned costume you’d practically begged him to wear. you two were supposed to be characters from one of your favorite thrillers, a movie that taesan personally didn’t care for. you’d made him watch every single scream movie last year and told him you wanted him to be ghostface this year. he didn’t really think you were serious until he saw the mask sitting on the bed and your overly excited smile as you pulled him into your room to show it to him. he’d be lying if he said your excitement wasn’t kinda adorable and that’s what ultimately won him over. (that and the fact that he was completely head over heels for you) 

“babe!! come here, i need help!” you whipped around at the sound of taesan’s voice coming from your bedroom. when you got up and made your way over, you opened the door to the sight of him standing at the foot of your bed. he’d had the mask on most of the way but was seemingly struggling to get it to fit comfortably. you giggled under your breath and when he’d heard you, his head perked up in your direction. you stepped towards him and helped him adjust the mask over his head, stepping back once you’d both got it fully on. now with the mask settled over his head, you got to see his full costume. he opted out of the long dress in favor of black jeans and a black t-shirt, fake knife in hand. in truth, he just looked like himself with a mask on. so you’re not sure why you were getting so hot all of the sudden. you stood there and staring in stunned silence. when he tilted his head at your silence, you swore you felt your gut tense up. unbeknownst to you, taesan could absolutely tell you were turned on right now, you really weren’t that hard to read. and suddenly things clicked in his brain, the way you were so eager to get him in this costume, the glazed over look in your eyes when you were talking about seeing him in it. 

“what’s wrong, baby? how does it look?” he asked, feigning innocence but slowly stepping closer to you. your eyes widened ever so slightly, if he wasn’t intensely staring at you through the mask he wouldn’t have even noticed. but he did and it caused the tiniest of smirks to cross his face. 

“looks good, ‘minie… we should- uh we should probably get going.” you tried to answer normally but his presence, the way he loomed over you, was intoxicating. your eyes couldn’t stay focused on where to look, darting around his frame. and when he pressed closer to you, you felt your knees grow weak a little. you don’t know what was coming over you but taesan was enjoying every second of it. his large hands found your waist and yours came to press on his chest. “we’re gonna be late-” you were cut off by him sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling you down into his lap in the process. your mouth hung open in shock but taesan wasn’t even paying attention to you. instead he had turned his upper half to snatch up his phone and was seemingly texting someone. 

your brows furrowed as you stared in confusion. “what’re you doing?” you asked tilting your head to see he was texting jaehyun. 

“telling him we’re not coming.” was all he said before he turned again to place his phone on the dresser.

his hands were on you in seconds. your mouth opened to protest but you were cut off again by his hands trailing up your shirt. you let out a shaky exhale, watching as he stared intently at the skin he was exposing the more his hands went up. once your shirt was pushed up to expose your chest, you reached to yank it off. taesan chuckled at your eagerness, hands groping over your bra causing you to keen into his touch. if the mask wasn’t getting you so worked up, you would’ve taken it off so you could kiss him and he would’ve taken it off so he could wrap his lips around your tits. but this would have to do for now. 

“dongmin, please.” you whined, not even fully sure what you were pleading for. he hums, not giving you what you want and continues to trail his hands over your torso. 

he stops at the waistband of the skirt you’re wearing, teasing at the skin there before sliding them back up to your chest. his pace is agonizingly slow as he unclasps your bra, your breath catching in your throat as the cold air causes your nipples to perk up. taesan groans lowly at the sight, pinching and rolling the sensitive buds between his fingers. you whimper, grinding yourself over his thigh that’s nestled between your legs. taesan watches you for a while mesmerized by the desperation in your movements. but then he’s quickly moving you, laying you down on the mattress whilst pushing your legs apart. he slots a leg in between your thighs, hovering above you as you whine impatiently. he doesn’t say a word as he shimmies your skirt off your hips, leaving you in just your lacy panties. the constant switching from feverish impatience to slow deliberation is making your head spin as he takes the time to admire your figure below him. his hands caress your thighs, pulling one up at the knee and pressing two fingers to the wet spot forming on your panties. 

you sigh at the feeling, hands reaching towards the band of your panties before he pushes them away. you let out an indignant whine but keep your hands away for the time being, allowing him to do as he so pleases. he starts to circle your clit with his fingers, occasionally pressing harder onto the bud. he watches as you arch into his ministrations and he feels it as you grow even more wet. he pulls your panties to the side, continuing to play with your clit. he watches as you clench around nothing, breathing ragged underneath his mask. 

“dongminie, please. want more.” you moan out, hands reaching for the one pressed to your cunt. he only pushes your hands away again, a frustrated whine leaving your lips. but then he actually takes your panties off, sliding them down your legs and throwing them to wherever your skirt went. and though you’re completely bare while he’s completely clothed, you don’t feel shy. no, if anything it turns you on even more. 

without warning, he plunges two fingers into your wetness causing a gasp to fall from your lips. he watches as they disappear into your hole before he brings them out and pushes them in again, setting a fast pace. your legs threaten to close but he presses a hand to your other thigh, forcing them open as he fucks you with his fingers. something about the dominance radiating from him in this moment makes you feel so much closer to the edge than normal. you’re whimpering and moaning loudly as his thumb starts to rub over your clit. he doesn’t say a word but you can hear how heavy his breathing has gotten and it drives you crazy. 

“‘min, i’m close. oh my god, please.” your back arches off the bed as you feel your orgasm fast approaching. he decides to press another finger into you, you moaning loudly at the feeling. he drinks in the sight of you falling apart for him, pussy clenching around his fingers and moans tumbling from your lips. when you come, your entire body tenses and you’re left scrambling for something to hold on to. he slows his fingers, letting you ride out your orgasm before pulling them out. 

as he turns his hand, he watches his fingers glisten with your essence and can’t resist pushing the mask up to lick them clean. the sight has your jaw dropping and pussy clenching once again. you trail your eyes down his form to see his very visible bulge. before you can even think of doing anything, he places both hands on opposite sides of your head, looming over you again. you take the opportunity to trail your hands over his clothed chest, feeling his breath shudder before he’s pulling away to be kneeling over you. he very quickly undoes the buckle on his pants, pulling them down enough so that he can push his boxers down. his hard length stands tall against his stomach, precum leaking from the tip. you watch as he pumps his length a few times, your breathing labored as your hand starts to trail down to your aching pussy. but taesan catches the movement, grabbing your hands and pinning them above your head. you whine and try to squirm free but to no avail. he holds you there until you stop trying to fight against him, tilting his head at you when you huff in annoyance. and even though he hasn’t said anything, you know that means you’d better keep your hands there if you wanted to cum again tonight. 

he pulls away when he’s sure you’re done and reaches for your legs, pulling you towards him whilst simultaneously spreading you open. he rubs his cock over your pussy, tip bumping your clit and causing little whines to leave you. once he feels he’s teased you enough he lines himself up with your entrance, pushing in slowly. no matter how many times you two have had sex, his cock always stretched you out so deliciously. you could feel it as he pushed every inch into your fluttering walls. you heard him sigh breathily when he finally bottomed out. just like he did with his fingers, he pulled out slowly before fully plunging back inside you, watching the way your pussy swallowed him. he felt so deep as he fucked into you, his hands snaking their way up to your chest. his fingers toyed with your tits while his hips snapped into yours. your hands were fisted tight in the sheets, moans of his name and incoherent blabbering falling from your lips. you chanted his name like a mantra as you felt his cock hit that spot inside you that had you seeing stars. 

he repositioned so his hands were placed on opposite sides of your head again, you bringing your legs to wrap around his hips. at this angle, you could feel him even deeper and you cried out his name. your hands found purchase on his shoulders as he rocked into you. now that he was closer, you could hear the soft pants and groans he was letting out behind the mask. you could feel that familiar tightening in your stomach, thighs clenching around him. you were letting out pleas and ‘yes’s’ and ‘feels so good, don’t stop’ and taesan knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. you could tell too, his thrusts getting sloppy and his head dipping into your neck. 

“gonna cum, dongminie, fuck ‘so good.” you moaned directly into his ear and that was his undoing. he groaned as your pussy clenched around him, both your orgasms washing over you. 

he thrusted into you a few more times before practically collapsing on top of you. you let out a laugh of disbelief, pulling his head up and immediately removing his mask. his hair was sticking to his sweaty forehead, lips swollen from biting down on them, and a blissed out look in his eyes. you had a dopey smile on your face as you pushed his hair back from his forehead. he sighed before sitting up, pulling his softening cock out of you and readjusting his clothes. you whined at the loss of contact and he chuckled. 

“be back, babe, hold on.” he murmured as he got up, grabbing a damp towel and a water bottle. he came back, wiping you clean (chuckling once again when you whined at the feeling) before opening the water bottle and giving it to you. once you were done with it, you gave it back to him and gave him a pointed look. he sighed and drank some water before settling it back on your nightstand. when he came back to lay with you, you immediately pulled him down into a heated kiss. 

“can’t believe you deprived me of your lips this entire time.” you pouted as you pressed your lips to his again, him smiling into the kiss. he hummed as he pulled you over so that you were on top of him, bare chest pressed against him. he kept you there as your lips moved in tandem, your tongue swiping across his bottom lip. it felt like hours before you two pulled away from one another. 

“you’re amazing, baby.” he said softly, his hand running through your hair. you just smiled at him, leaning to kiss his nose before you got up to get clothes to put on. 

“didn’t know you had a thing for masks though.” and even though your back was turned as you bent over, you could hear the teasing smirk in his voice. 

[twotangledsisters]

Happy Christmas!! :D

Merry Christmas to everybody, but ESPECIALLY merry Christmas to @the-writer1988

I didn't have time this year to make and send a physical card, but I thought it'd be a nice digital card to re-draw last year's :D

So enjoy some New Dream under the Mistletoe!

Here's last years btw :D

[king-of-colors]

@alchemicalwerewolf merry christmas/happy holidays!

[adventuretolkienlover]

MERRY CHRISTMAS GUYS!!! Have Zachary Levi singing Go Tell It On A Mountain.😁❄️🎄🎅

[sungbeam]

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: thank you to @petrichor-han for tagging me in her lovely wrapped post!! i had so much fun putting this together, and my spreadsheet tracker can finally be used for something bahaha 💀 i'll be talking more about my experiences this year later in the post!

some no pressure tags: @gluion @winterchimez @winwintea @polarisjisung @thepixelelf @sorryimananti-romantic @diamonddaze01 @jinkoh @blizzardfluffykpop @sohnric @from-izzy

first fic of 2024: daybreak ☆ ju haknyeon

posted january 5th

i remember writing this in bed while being in an awful spot, mentally. in an effort to save myself from disaster, i wrote this very short fic to focus on describing something comforting.

last fic of 2024: what we make of it ☆ wen junhui

posted december 1st

i also wrote this one in bed (i've written a lot of these in bed...)!! and it was after much mental simpery over wen junhui and the pics from his new drama that i gave into the idea of general!jun (i've also been dying to write something historically adjacent).

longest fic: incantations ☆ ji changmin

i remember conjuring about four ideas for the dbn halloween event before ultimately settling on yet another demon au TT like there was a cultish monster hunter au, a fallen angel reincarnation au, and a zombie apocalypse au... i honestly didn't know if i would make it or not lol and i had @justalildumpling proofing while i wrote the ending haha i can't say if i'm completely satisfied with it, but i can say that i think my world building and plot building skills have def improved, and you can see it in that fic

most popular fic: leave the window open ☆ choi san

tbh i thought this fic was gonna be a flop at first bc it wasn't until maybe a day after i posted it that it started to get traction? i also had the idea for it haunting my brain for MONTHS and i was so glad to finally get it out into words haha suffice to say, i am still so surprised by how well it did, but pleasantly so!

personal pick: creature ☆ ji changmin

i could talk about this fic, this series, this CHARACTER for DAYS. at this point, nt!changmin is a completely different entity to the changmin you think you know LOL creature is my self-indulgent character study of a demonic being who loves a person so much that he doesn't know what to do with himself

pretty self-explanatory — i honestly have no idea how i wrote over 300k last year, but i'm still pretty happy with how much i was able to write this year! i took a lot more breaks, and more time to write, and this def doesn't encompass just how many words i've written that are still in drafting stages and not published :')

i bet at least one of these surprises you >< (it's changmin right? jkjk)

ji changmin: ~51,900

— find him in: casino royale, subtle poetry, creature, and incantations

txt choi line: ~21,600

— find them in: bird hunt

jeong yunho: ~12,600

— find him in: bedfellows and something to give each other

to my friends, mutuals, and readers, thank you so much for being by my side this year! it's been brutal out here, not gonna lie, and i wish i had been able to post and write more this year. alas, life happens. i also find that writing longer fics that are more fleshed out just satisfy my creative needs a lot better—meaning that i will likely not produce as many fics, quantity-wise, as i used to.

on that note, i hope to at least give you some idea of what you can look forward to in the new year! i have several ideas for my superhero collab, including (but not limited to): mutant angel!jeonghan, scarlet witch!minghao, and venom!changmin. i'm also actively plotting out ventures with our sebongs, particularly a dokyeom knight fic and a fake dating dino fic! as for my current ongoing wips, i am hoping to get more finished for terra nova (high sci-fi/fantasy ateez fic), birds of prey (mafia hongjoong), and other secret projects 😌

that's all from me, friends. happy holidays and see you in the new year 💖🥂✨

[burningaurora]

We're back for year 2 of the 12 days of (pod)ficmas!!! 12 days of decidedly not Christmas fics to brighten your holidays and spread horny Yuletide cheer.

A huge thanks to all the writers who have given me permissions to bring their fics to life with voice, the artists who have graciously allowed me to use their fan art for the covers, AND to @kaleanakg and @flowerhawk-highinthesky. The series would not exist without you two.

AO3: 12 days of (pod)ficmas 2024

Downloads: BurningAurora Podfics

[tangledbea]

If TTS had a full on Halloween episode, how do you think it would go down?

The thing is, I don't think TTS would have ever had an episode with a one-to-one parallel with any of our holidays. After all, their Valentine's Day episode (which aired in August) was about The Day of Hearts, not Valentine's Day, which doesn't exist in the Tangled universe. So I don't think a Halloween episode would have been about Halloween.

People like to say that "The Wrath of Ruthless Ruth" doesn't count, because it's not actually Halloween, but the elements are all there: it aired in October, a dark and stormy night, autumnal iconography like pumpkins and grey skies, poltergeist activity, possession, being trapped in a location, the characters feeling terror and panic, a corporeal ghost... I'm not sure why it doesn't count to so many people when none of our holidays are represented as we literally celebrate them in the entire series.

[nctsworld]

GIFSETS: 148 FANFICS: 3 FOLLOWERS: 10K+ STATE OF MIND: SURPRISINGLY GREAT!

this will be a modified version of what people have been tagging me as i'm inconsistent with posting and i'm a hybrid cc.

thank you so much to @bethereforme (lia's year in review), @jjsungie (angi's year in review), @lee-minhoe (mel's year in review), @ambivartence (siyuan's year in review), and @fadedinmysong (n's year in review) for tagging me! love you all ♡

TOP GIFSETS THIS YEAR:

mark on expectations for him vs. his brother - nct 127: the lost boys ep. 1

mark + the compression sweater // mix&max choreo-record

xiaojun // nct nation: tokyo

xiaojun // i'll pick you up [the show 230704]

johnny on taeil's role in nct 127 - nct 127: the lost boys ep. 2

johnny x longines x esquire korea

doyoung in the black turtleneck for anadktfab series

mark - golden hour || favourite lyrics

j³ + glasses // dream loop: the last midnight #1

jaemin - areanahomme+ china behind

SETS THAT DESERVE MORE LOVE:

jeno x the black tank top // nct nation 2023

johnny + yangyang + jaemin from nct connection 2023 (it never showed up in the tags T_T)

mark's birthday set

best nct 127 album

quick workout with jaehyun!

that one renjun fancam for anadktfab series

NOTES ON GIFSETS THIS YEAR:

as y'all can tell, i make the most sets during my break time from work LMAO i cannot believe i've made almost 150 sets this year! during summer, i'm pretty sure i made almost 1-3 on average a day haha. as many have mentioned, it's disheartening to see the notes on the sets, but we do it cause we love to, right?

FICS THIS YEAR:

fever pitch - pro!baseball player mark

at your earliest convenience - in which haechan asks convenience store clerk!reader on a date

8:38pm - dance and college au with jisung (pwp)

NOTES ON FICS THIS YEAR:

i am so happy that fever pitch got so much love because it took me two years since beautiful mv came out to finish it. it's now officially my second most popular fic on this blog! i'm also pleased people enjoyed ayec; it was just a cute little fun fic. i really hope i continue writing the connection series and i hope to post at least one christmas fic soon! (i also have a slytherin!yangyang fic in the works too...)

LAST NOTES:

a big thank you for all of you who follow me and support me, whether it be for my gifs or stories or both! i can't believe i hit 10k followers this year - that's crazy! i know i had the celebration, but i honestly had only 2-3 requests, so it was a bit disheartening and a little embarrassing for me to want to do it TT nonetheless, i love you all! have a safe, happy holidays and i wish you the best for next year ♡

TAGGING (if you've done this already, ignore my tag + on the flipside, if you decide to do this, please see the other year in reviews i linked for a different version!):

@huangrenjuns @hyuckworld @hy-ck @neocitycafe @neoneun-au @sehunniepot @twiceland

[ssuperficialspacecadett]

Hi!!!!! I hope ur finals are going great. I still like to think of this series and reread certain aprts, but i think im due for a total reread soon. <3 have a happy holiday, whichever onesyou celebrate!

HELLO !!

i have been AWOL as fuck but im back !! my finals went amazing and as a result i graduated uni !! I think im personally due for a reread as well so i can get in the TTS headspace again because its time for me to dust off my brain and throw myself into this story again !!

sending u so much love for always reaching out and sharing kind words (:

[mable-stitchpunk]

Help Stitchpunk, I’m a month in GHIAB and I’m already close to the end, it’s so good ahhh TT Also, you have no idea how much I like suffering secondhand embarrassment from Charlie instantly loosing braincells to Baby XDD

Other than that, Happy Holidays and soon enough a Happy New Year!

No worries! These will be the LONGEST twenty-one chapters of the series. 83 ...Or, at least, it feels like it. Not in a bad way or anything. ;)

And yes, Charlie is currently in a fun sort of hell. XDD

Happy Holidays and New Year to you too! 8D

[lost-in-azalea-forest]

hey! a little last gift for today. figured it would be about time to send it as there is approximately an hour for the day to end. I really finished this while we were on a call jxhshs hope you dont mind it, you are drawing right now and everything is really nice and relaxing. I hope you could smile a lot today and eat some tasty stuff, remember to drink water and it's been a pleasure to spend another bday with you, ily and thank you so much, I hope the holidays are nice and the end of the year too, and you know you got here a bro to rely on any time you need it

(love the way you color man that Neuvas illustration is turning out amazing)

fjksdjdk now its only half an hour until midnight, but thank you so much for this series of gifts TT i love you and i am really grateful for birthday spent with you (and im glad youre liking the illustration 👀)

all your messages were really so nice and reassuringggg i love you, and i hope your birthday are spent in equally loving atmosphere 🫂🫂🫂

oughh and i would love to have some soft moments with Nadia or B.lade rn .///. thank you again for everything, bro, please spend another year of my life with me

[hanfourz]

― pretty boy | p.sh ୨ৎ

°˖➴ sungho always loved watching you do your makeup and what better time to ask him to do his than right before you had to leave for your family's annual xmas party?

second installment of the 'tis the season drabble series !!

pairing ・ sungho x gn!reader

genre ・ fluff, suggestive, established relationship

warnings ・ kissing, marking & mentions of hickeys, reader wears makeup (but so does sungho lol), lots of terms of endearment, pls lmk if i missed any!!

word count ・ 2.3k omo...

note ・ ohhh this has me so deep in the sungho feels TT everyone say thank u cherry - 🪼

wanted to include my birthday a little cuz why not hehe - 🍒

[ networks : @onedoornet ]

series m.list   |   main m.list

“sungho baby, can you come here a sec?” you hear your boyfriend’s footsteps as he approaches your bedroom, him letting out a concerned ‘hm?’ as he reaches the doorway of the bathroom. you’re currently stood in front of the mirror, his oversized tee and face mask on, frantically searching for something.

“yes love, what’s wrong?” he asks, worry at the urgency in your tone pushing his voice a little higher than normal. 

“have you seen my makeup bag? i can’t find it and i swore i left it under the…” your voice trails off as you crouch down to look under the sink for the nth time. sungho visibly relaxes now that he knows your life isn’t in danger.

“god babe, you scared me,” he lets out a soft chuckle, “hang on, i think i saw it earlier.” 

you hear his hurried steps as he walks out your room and comes back. “there you go,” he murmurs as he hands over your makeup bag. 

“omg, you’re my hero! thank you, babe,” you say relieved and give him a small peck on his cheek. 

“you’re welcome, darling,” he chuckles softly as he watches you search through your makeup bag through the mirror. despite the mask on your face, he can still see the way your brows furrow and your tongue pokes at your cheek as you dig into the depths of your unorganized makeup bag. he makes a mental note to maybe get you a bigger one at some point. 

“you look gorgeous, by the way,” sungho whispers lowly as he wraps his arms around your waist, resting his chin on your shoulder. 

“thank you baby, you look very handsome as well.” you smile slightly as you lift your gaze to his in the mirror. your heart rate stutters a bit at the way he gazes at you so lovingly.

“now let me go, i need to finish my makeup!” you laughed and try to push him away. he huffs a laugh and pulls away, going to finish getting ready himself. 

once he’s done he comes back, peeking in from the doorway to your room. he pauses in his tracks as he watches you stand in front of your mirror. you’re now in your outfit, doing the finishing touches to your makeup. you must have stopped to get your clothes on when he left—you always did say you needed to remember to dress first before you did your makeup, but you somehow always forgot. he watches you as you lean forward to apply your lip combo, soft smile resting on his lips. you pause in your movements, shifting your gaze to see sungho leaned up against your doorway in his suit. you smile at him as your heart skips a couple beats. he looks amazing as he pushes away from the wall to join you. 

“you almost done, love? you look gorgeous, did i say that already?” he questions in a teasing tone, now standing behind you. you chuckle and roll your eyes slightly, capping your lipstick and turning around to face him. 

“you’re so cheesy, you know that?” you smirk as you step towards him, brushing out the wrinkles of his suit jacket. he just smiles down at you, dopey lovesick smile plastered on his face. his hands find your waist as yours rest on his shoulders, gaze locked on yours. 

“you look very handsome, mr. park,” you almost whisper like you only want him to hear despite you two being the only people in the room. you push a strand of his hair behind his ears. suddenly, an idea pops into your head as your eyes trace over his features and sungho can tell, if the little smirk on your lips is anything to go by. 

“you should let me do your makeup, prince,” you say, tacking on the nickname you know always makes him fold. 

he sighs and shakes his head but you watch the way his ears turn red slightly. “baby, we don’t have time for that,” he tries to convince you unsuccessfully as you pout up at him. he can feel his resolve crumble as you bat your long, mascara-covered lashes at him. 

“pleaseeee? it’ll be quick, i promise, sungie.” you don’t let him get off that easy, making your voice sickeningly sweet. he sighs and concedes as you giggle happily and push him to sit on the toilet seat, since his height would be a bit of a disadvantage for you.

he chuckles at your enthusiasm as you go to rustle through your makeup bag. you pull out a couple products, slotting yourself to stand in between his long legs. you place most of the items on the edge of the sink, keeping the blush and a fluffy brush in between your fingers. sungho tilts his chin up as you gather some of the pink dusty product on the brush and tap it over his cheekbones. he keeps his eyes on you the entire time, endeared by the concentrated look on your face. you pull back after you’re satisfied, placing the blush down and grabbing a nude eyeshadow palette.

“stop staring at me and close your eyes,” you say in a teasingly stern tone as you gather a very light pink shimmer on the application brush. you try to sound unfazed but sungho knows you too well, he sees the way you won’t meet his eyes and the hesitancy in your movements. you’ll never know it but deep down he secretly loves to get you flustered, finding the way you try not to react cute. 

“why? can’t I look at my beautiful lover?” he asks, before suddenly pulling you onto his lap. you let out a yelp, hands flying to grip his shoulders. he holds your waist and tucks your hair behind your ear, gaze still locked on yours. you’re shocked by the intensity you see in his eyes. 

“you look so beautiful, almost want to keep you for myself,” he murmurs into your neck as he starts to leave kisses there, lips trailing to your jawline up to your cheeks and back down again.  

“sungho…” you whimper softly, already forgetting about the limited time you both have. “kiss me…please.”

 “of course, darling.” his lips gently press against yours as his hands roam your waist. the kiss was tender at first, soft exploration filled with love and gentleness. you melted into him, feeling the warmth of his body against yours. the way his hands found their way to your waist, pulling you even closer. no space left between the two of you as you all but mold into one another. all thoughts about the party you had to attend fade into the background as you become consumed by him.

the kiss deepens as sungho moans into your mouth, your world starting to become blurry. you sigh as your fingers weave through his neatly done hair, both of you too lost in one another to really care about not messing up each other’s outfits. 

the kiss was passionate yet soft, a mix of longing and yearning in your movements. you could feel your heart stutter when his lips trailed to your neck and he started sucking on the spot he knew was sensitive. you whined into him, letting out pleasured gasps as he continued to kiss at your neck and shoulder. he reveled in the way you responded to him, loving to see the effects of the pleasure he was giving you no matter how miniscule. 

finally, you pulled back, completely breathless with your saliva still connecting you, your foreheads resting against each other. sungho looked into your eyes, his expression a mix of contentment and disbelief, as if he couldn’t quite believe what had just happened.

“wow,” he murmured, a smile breaking across his face.

“yeah,” you chuckled breathlessly, still feeling the warmth of his lips on yours. 

suddenly the loud, incessant buzzing of your phone broke your trance, your eyes widening comically as you remembered the family dinner you two were supposed to be at in approximately 30 minutes. it was a dinner your family had planned for months, a joint celebration of your birthday and christmas. your family was very serious about the holidays. 

you scrambled off of sungho’s lap, him standing and straightening out his clothes. he grumbled at the very slight bulge in his dress pants, half hard from your kissing. while he tried to calm himself, you grabbed your phone cursing as your sister’s caller ID flashed bright on your screen. you picked up, clearing your throat before saying hello. you wince as she immediately launches into scolding you for not being ready on time again. you can’t do anything but sigh and apologize because she refuses to let you get a word in. you make eye contact with sungho, who’s now fixing his hair in the mirror, and roll your eyes. he just chuckles and shakes his head, knowing how your younger sister was. once she was finally done, ending her spiel with telling you to ‘hurry your ass up before we give the dog your plate!’ you hang up. 

“she’s going to jump straight through my phone and grab me by the ear one of these days,” you sigh as you walk over to your dresser, fishing for the jewelry you wanted to wear. sungho fully laughs at that, the sound making you chuckle slightly. you hurriedly touch up your hair and makeup at your full length mirror as sungho fusses with his hair in the bathroom. 

he finishes before you once again and joins you just as you’re now fiddling with the earrings you want to wear. there’s a frustrated furrow to your brow and pout on your lips as you try to get the hook through the piercing. sungho thinks it’s adorable as he watches you struggle a bit, you so absorbed in what you’re doing you don’t even notice him approaching you. you startle as you feel his hands on your waist, head shooting up to look at him through the mirror. you lean into his touch finally done with the earrings as you turn to look at him. 

“i have something for you,” he says softly, pulling his hands away to reach into his pocket. your head tilts in confusion as he pulls out a long silver box with a bow wrapped round it. you look up at him questions in your gaze as he places the box in your hands.

“baby, what’s this? i thought we were doing presents at my parents’ house?” you inquire, bewilderment in your tone as you twist the box around watching the metallic sheen in the lighting of your bedroom. 

“we are but… i wanted this one to be special. a little birthday present” his voice drips with love you couldn’t put into words if you tried. “open it, doll.” he whispers, trying to play off his nerves. 

your heart beats wildly in your chest as you pull the top off the box, a gasp leaving your lips as you see the pretty necklace nestled in black velvet. he takes the lid from your grasp as your mouth hangs agape. the necklace is simple, a drop-shaped gemstone hanging from a dainty chain, but you can tell immediately that the gem is your birthstone. your eyes well up with tears as you remember the first gift you ever gave him was a bracelet of both of your gemstones that he refuses to take off. sungho smiles as you look up at him, cooing when he sees the glassiness in your eyes. he pulls the necklace out the box, placing it so it’s in the palm of his hand and holding it out towards you. 

“we match now, my love.” your brows furrow as he says that, gaze darting back to the necklace. it’s then you finally notice a silver plate hanging behind the gemstone with the letter S engraved into it, his gemstone a small dot next to the letter. 

“oh sungho, this is beautiful,” you say, pure adoration in your voice. you look up at him, sincerity in your gaze. “thank you, for everything. i love you so much.” the sincerity in your voice has his heart melting in his chest as he wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you into his chest as the two of you embrace. 

“i love you more, darling,” he murmurs into your hair, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “can i put it on you?”

you nod with a smile as you pull away, turning around and pulling your hair out the way. you shiver as his lithe fingers graze your shoulders when he pulls the necklace round your throat, clasping it at the nape of your neck and letting his hands drop back to your shoulders. you watch with bated breath as he leans forwards and places featherlight kisses over your neck, his hands sliding down your shoulders as he does so. he trails his lips slowly over the curve of your shoulders, feeling the goosebumps that raise in his wake and the shiver you can’t control. he looks at you through the mirror, something catching his eye. he lifts his head slightly to see the very faded reddish purple splotches on your neck, evidence from his passion the night before. 

“i almost forgot about these, shame they’re barely noticeable anymore,” he says as you look in the mirror to watch him press his fingers lightly over the spots. 

“maybe you should make them noticeable again,” you whisper, his eyes flicking up to your face. he hums appreciatively, pressing his lips over the fading hickeys as you sigh and lean back into him. 

you two get lost in your own world again, too blinded by your complete adoration for the other to really care about anything else. the rest of the world fades into white noise when you’re with him and he’s with you. and the sound of your phone buzzing with notifications doesn’t even faze you as you let your pretty boy kiss you breathless.

[rebeccalouisaferguson]

Rebecca Ferguson criticized after the TV4 interview: "Called her later and apologized"

"Was told by my team that I was going to meet an angry journalist, and went into defensive mode"

Rebecca Ferguson is back as Ilsa Faust in a new action-packed "Mission: impossible".

"I've had ten fantastic years with these people," says the Swedish world star to TT.

When TT speaks to Rebecca Ferguson, the American actors' strike has not yet been called, and Ferguson still has a full schedule at the moment. She is waiting for her husband outside Ikea, a first stop on a short holiday break in Sweden before duty calls again.

In addition to an executive producer role and lead role in the TV series "Silo", Rebecca Ferguson works to promote her latest blockbuster "Mission: impossible: dead reckoning part one", in which she plays Ilsa Faust alongside Tom Cruise for the third time. It's a darker, rawer "Mission: impossible" film compared to before, says Rebecca Ferguson.

— It's the same energy, explosiveness and awesome stunts. But it is darker and heavier. Before filming, director Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise talked a lot about delving into the dark emotions of the characters. It's a balancing act, how deep to go in it when it's an exciting thriller at the same time.

For ten years, the "Mission: impossible" franchise has been part of Rebecca Ferguson's life, a journey that, at least for the moment, seems to be coming to an end. Ferguson feels great gratitude for the career she has gotten because of "Mission: impossible," she says.

— It's been great fun, and I've had ten fantastic years with these people. I have made three awesome and exhausting films.

"Not a choice I have made"

Ilsa Faust and Tom Cruise's character Ethan Hunt have grown close over the course of the films, and audiences have wondered if they would become a couple in the new film. Rebecca Ferguson says that she has received many questions about love and infatuation between Ilsa and Ethan after the film's premiere - a narrative about their relationship that she is not entirely on board with.

— I see a film where Ilsa has become very emotionally attached to Ethan, and it's not a choice I've made. In my eyes, she becomes a damsel in distress and weaker because of it. Their relationship was, to me, so much bigger than a sexual relationship. To me, their relationship was based on equality.

— We get the story told to us, and film the scenes in different ways. But we don't own stories. What I'm trying to say is that it's hard for us as actors to have control over the final product. As an actor, I have to trust the director and producer, and hope that their choices are the best for the production.

The storm of criticism

Rebecca Ferguson recently got into trouble in Sweden when she appeared in an interview with Efter fem in TV4 in April. Then she did not want to speak Swedish and questioned the journalist's language skills.

— I was told by my team that I would meet an angry journalist, and went into defensive mode. I got so stressed and cocky. But I'm not that person.

A storm of criticism followed, and Rebecca Ferguson was noticed, among other things, by the Instagram account "Dyngbaggegalan", which celebrates uncomfortable moments from Swedish television. Rebecca Ferguson says that she was saddened when she heard about the criticism after the interview, and that she did not recognize herself.

— That interview is evidence of a person who feels very vulnerable. I apparently reacted with attitude, which I have never done before. I called her later and apologized.

Want to be a producer

After a long career in Hollywood, Rebecca Ferguson can long for smaller productions with greater freedom, she says, and she would have liked to do something in Sweden again. Above all, she wants to feel that she has her own voice, which makes the role of producer all the more attractive.

— I enjoy being a producer, and am eager to do it more with a good team around me. I like the creative part of being a producer, and want to create characters, both in larger and smaller productions.

When Rebecca Ferguson now looks ahead, there is much from the action-packed years with "Mission: impossible" that she will carry with her.

— I look at it with joy and I have learned so much. I will bring a lot of that into my own productions.

Translated from swedish for @rebeccalouisaferguson

[wordforwordbiblecomic]

JANUARY NEWSLETTER: New Year, new book, new kickstarters, new projects

This month:

New book in development

Exciting side project

Great Commission Card Game Update

Next book release

+ more

Happy New Year! I’ve been waiting for the new year to announce the next books that’ll be part of the Word of Word Bible Comic and an exciting side project I hope you’ll be excited about too!

In March we will be launching a new Kickstarter for the Epistle to the Galatians. This will be a great chance to showcase how the comic will work for those scriptures which are not purely narrative. I’ve added the Kickstarter page to their “Coming Soon” previews, so please head there and hit “Notify me”. Not only will you be notified but the project will show the number of followers which makes an exciting stat and social proof for people browsing Kickstarter.

If you can’t wait until then, become a patron today and see the pages as they are released exclusively on Patreon. Plus you can get access to videos explaining the illustrations and scriptures on the pages, and add your comments while the book is still in development!

Skies of Belief TTRPG

In other news, I’ve been working in my free time on another game, this time a Tabletop Roleplaying Game. Its foundational elements will be akin to Narnia and Lord of the Rings, but will be an all-human low fantasy setting. I’ve joined forces with Chris Lowry and Beyond Cataclysm (a UK indie RPG and book publisher) to create this project which I believe many of you will find exciting.

In this world, there are ten human nations, each moulded by their distinct environments and remnant supernatural talents. The players explore unique cultures, strange lands, as well as diverse philosophies and religions. 

They play Heralds of the Republic who need to understand what various people groups believe and their priorities to try and create diplomatic solutions. The philosophies and theologies integral to the setting reflect complex real-world ones so they are not just flimsy fantasy constructs. The setting has some supernatural elements but is more like an alternative historical setting than a high fantasy.

Read more about it and the system mechanics here: beyondcataclysm.co.uk/skiesofbelief/

We are not doing the Kickstarter for this until Autumn, but I’d like to build up the following now in anticipation! So, please follow the project here:

https://bsky.app/profile/skiesofbelief.bsky.social

https://www.facebook.com/skiesofbelief

https://www.instagram.com/skiesofbelief/

https://x.com/skiesofbelief

https://www.threads.net/@skiesofbelief

Great Commission Game: Update

Over the holidays during Twixmas, we got two 4-player playtesting games going. It was a great chance to see what problems might arise from having most of the cards in play at once. We caught a few little glitches and now the rules are smoother than ever, with revisions and a few fiddly rules exceptions sanded off. NEW TTS VERSION: These revisions are being added to the digital version of the game by Paul as we speak and the new Tabletop Simulator edition is just around the corner. It includes automatic deck creation and setup up buttons too. Fancy! So if you were a Kickstarter backer keep an eye on your KS updates or the exclusive Discord for access to that in the next week.

Lastly, thanks so much to everyone who has already played the game on TTS and given their feedback, you are making the game better!

Next Release: Esther NIV

In March the new version of The Book of Esther will hit the shops worldwide. This edition features the NIV translation and is the same size and colour as the other NIV editions in the series (in case you have a WEB version). Yesterday I received the delivery, and we’ll being giving you early access to buy the book early next month so stay tuned! Esther is possibly my favourite book we’ve done so far, with the colourful palace and clothing, the connections to “300” and it’s just a great self-contained story.

Prayer Requests

Gospels into Prisons: This month we’ll be offering more books to the Prison Chaplains. Please pray they read the email and access the offer allowing us to get more Gospels and bible books into the UK Prisons.

Other Languages: We’ve had slow progress selling the rights to other languages so far, please continue to pray with me that the Portuguese version and Spanish Kindles will be successful and be the first dominos in releasing many other languages around the world!

Audiobible Idea: We’ve got some ideas to create content involving the use of an audiobible alongside the comic. Your prayers are already starting to make the situation more positive. Please continue to pray so we can get these ideas off the ground.

[astroosamu]

Imma just leave this here as like..a bio type thing✨️

It'll be edited and added to I the future so-😅

Feel free to ask questions🌸

This is just somethings I think you should know about me when interacting😁

Do what you will with this🦋👍

Name: Astro! I do not go by any other name unless you ask or it's been established (like on discord)

Pronouns: it/they/them! Either works just as well, I'll often say they/them but I like 'it' 👍

----------------------------------------------------------

Fandoms!

(I will miss some)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Current~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Varian and the 7 Kindoms!!! (Hyperfixating)

Bungou Stray Dogs!

The Owl House!

Little Nightmares!

Star vs. The Forces of Evil!

Metal Family!!

Helluva Boss!

Epic!!

Arcane!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Over All~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gravity Falls! RiseTmnt! Eddsworld! Undertale! CampCamp! Hazbin Hotel! TTS! Steven Universe! Ducktales!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Want to get into~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She-Ra! South Park! Adventure Time! Amphibia!! Miraculous!

----------------------------------------------------------

FAVORITES!

Animal: Raccoons!! I LOVE Raccoons sooo much!

Color: Purple! Specifically a color called Dioxazine! It looks a lot like this;

Drink: Orange juice or Cranberry juice!

Food to Make: (Chicken) Fried rice!

Comfort Food: : (Chicken) Fried rice! That's why I learned how to make it. 😋

Fruit/Vegetable: Zucchini. Raw Zucchini. I don't know why. 🥒

Desert: Chocolate Lava Cake! ���

Scent(s): Eucalyptus/Mint!

TV Show: I'm loving The Owl House and Varian and the 7 Kingdoms rn! 💜

But I am forever loyal to Gravity Falls! 🤞

Book: The Maze Runner series! Also happens to be my favorite movie series, but they are VERY different story lines. 😅

Game: Little Nightmares! I'm waiting on the next game 😭

Season: Winter! I LOVE the snow, it usedto be so pretty ❄️❄️

Quote: "I will not water myself down to make myself more digestible for you. You can choke." (Oo so edgy🤫)

Sweet: I like center Brownies, and LOVE chocolate lava cakes!! 😋

Holiday: Halloween!🎃 I think you could tell🥲

----------------------------------------------------------

Fun Facts!/Things you may wanna know

1. I have Adhd, and am trying to get an autism/'accommodations necessary' diagnosis

It leads to a bunch of my other personality traits 😅

2. I am constantly changing my romantic preference

I don't have a good reason, I just cant figure it out 😅

Segway

3. I'm incredibly indecisive

If you ask me something, I will have the hardest time answering you, all of the time, give me a few minutes, I swear I'm thinking

4. I'm am incredibly passive

I will do anything to avoid conflict 🥲

If it means not answering, I probably won't.

Not if you asked me directly, I'll answer that, but I won't put in my ideas on if you weren't talking directly to me, and I'm not supper sure of my answer

I will also keep very passive tones to the words I choose, and use emojis a lot so I'm not misunderstood like; 🌸✨️🦋✌️👍🌈👏❄️💙

5. I have a starch love starch

Pasta, rice, potatoes, (when I was a kid, paper), and more, are my absolute favorite things to eat. I used to eat straight corn starch, and it was delicious 🥲

6. I like to;

draw, paint, act, sing, play volleyball, do cosmetics

7. I have a cat

He's an orange tabby, aka a velcro cat, he is the most loving cat I've ever seen, he's also very fat (not unhealthy, but a chunk of a child😌😙)

8. I LOVE lights

The sky, the stars, holiday lights, lightning, etcetera💜

9. I have two older siblings🐄🦊 and other people I love a lot

Jay🐄💜, Brooke🦊💜, David🍉💜, Amata🐺💜, Noct🦦💜, Kia🐼💜

They know who they are, just wanted to mention them💜 I love you guys so so much!

----------------------------------------------------------

This is important here, not sure how to link it the right way though so..😅❄️

LINKS!

https://www.tumblr.com/astroosamu/769453104695574529/i-use-these-tone-tags-alot-i-have-problems-with?source=share

----------------------------------------------------------

That's all I have for now! Thanks for listening to me yap✨️🦋

[sebeth]

Christmas With The Super-Heroes #1

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

The next offering in the “A Very DC Holiday Collection is the 1988 Christmas With The Super-Heroes #1. The cover features Black Canary, Green Arrow, Wildfire, Batman, Superman, Robin (Dick Grayson) and Wonder Girl (Donna in her original outfit) gathered around a Christmas tree. DC didn’t put much effort in the 1988 holiday special as the six stories are reprints. Two of the stories – Batman: Wanted: Santa Clause – Dead Or Alive!” and the Legion of Super-Heroes: “Star Light, Star Bright…” were from the DC Special Series #21 that I covered in a previous post.  In

We are three years in the post-Crisis era in 1988, but all stories come from the pre-Crisis era of DC Comics.

We begin with Batman in “Wanted: Santa Claus – Dead Or Alive!” (1979). I covered that story in the previous holiday post, so I’ll skip the story.

The second story is the Justice League in “The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus!” from Justice League #110 (1974) by Len Wein, Dick Dillin, Dick Giordano, etc.

The third story is the Teen Titans in “The TT’s Swingin’ Christmas Carol!” (1968) by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy.

The fourth story is the Legion of Super-Heroes in “Star Light, Star Bright…” (1979). I love the Legion but this story was covered in the previous holiday post, so I’ll skip the story.

The fifth story is Superman in “Twas The Fright Before Christmas!” (1984) by Len Wein, E. Nelson Bridwell, Curt Swan, and Murphy Anderson.

The sixth, and last, story is Batman in “The Silent Night of the Batman (1970) by Mike Friedrich, Neal Adams, and Dick Girodano.

The Batman story was covered previously, so I’ll skip to the Justice League.

The Justice League story begins with Superman meeting with Batman to assist Santa Simpson in handing out presents to orphans. Santa Simpson is changing into his outfit when an explosion occurs! Santa Simpson has been murdered! Batman deduces the skeleton key in Santa Simpson’s hand is the “key” to finding the murderer. The World’s Finest are on the case but the duo decides to call in the entire League to solve it. Cue the World’s Finest interrupting the various Leaguers:

The Flash: Barry Allen and his wife are spending the holidays with Iris’s parents in the 30th century, so he doesn’t answer the call

Atom: Ray Palmer is exploring a submicroscopic universe and doesn’t receive the summons

Elongated Man: Ralph Dibny and his wife Sue are scuba-diving off the Caribbean coast. Ralph left the JLA receiver in the hotel so he isn’t even aware of the call

Aquaman: Arthur and Mera are presiding over Atlantis’ Festival of Lights and can’t answer a summons that isn’t a true emergency

Red Tornado: John Smith is strolling with his “lady friend” (and soon to be wife) Kathy Sutton in Central Partk. Kathy isn’t aware of John’s true identity as he has to resort to the ol’ “I’ve just remembered an emergency that must be dealt with immediately!” that numerous heroes have used to ditch their significant others.

Green Arrow and Black Canary: Oliver and Dinah are having a makeout session. Oliver is not amused by the interruption.

Green Lantern: Saving the best for last – Hal Jordan is in the shower, leaves to answer the summons, slips on soap, and knocks himself unconscious! All hail the greatest Green Lantern of all time! Hal’s ring promptly ditches him. Why? Hal is only unconscious, not dead. Is it out of second-hand embarrassment? The ring finds John Stewart who is conversing with friends. The ring informs John, the “alternate Green Lantern of space sector of 2814 – you are needed” and whisks him away without his consent. The rings must find the murders of Santas as serious business! I hope those unnamed friends of John were aware he was a Green Lantern or he will have some serious explaining to do upon his return.

The group – minus John – have gathered at the satellite. Batman decides to start the meeting: “Looks like we’re the only members who are going to show for this meeting”. Cue John’s dramatic entrance. Most of the League respond with a “Who are you?” but Oliver has been told of John by Hal.

The power ring states “…I’ve been programmed by my master…were he ever too incapacitated to answer your summons to secure John Stewart and deliver him to your presence in my master’s stead. John informs the team that “the Green Lantern regularly scheduled for this time has one monumental headache and you have me in his place”.

Hal owes John if he didn’t reveal the details on the cause of the “monumental headache”. Oliver and Bruce would never have let that go. And if Guy Gardner had ever heard the story! The shower incident reveals the true tragedy of the Crisis. Remember the post-Green Lantern Rebirth era when Hal and Bruce kept snarking at each other. Batman could have ended those exchanges with one simple “you knocked yourself unconscious leaving the shower”. But we’re post-crisis, so it never happened. Guy would have even more fun with the story – if Hal taunted him about the “one-punch knockout”, Guy could respond with the shower incident.

Oliver is pouting as it is a “miserable way to spend Christmas Eve”. Red Tornado doesn’t understand the problem. Oliver’s response is less than tactful: “How do ya explain something like that to a doggone machine?”

Red snarks back: “If you are unequal to the task of answering my simple query, merely say so and I will understand!”

Oliver wants to fight (you’ll lose, Ollie) but Batman intervenes.

Batman explains why the Santa-murder requires the Justice League: “The problem of this key…unless we find the lock it fits before the stroke of midnight, an entire block of innocent people will be blown to pieces!”

I assumed the story was taking place in Gotham or Metropolis, but no we are in St. Louis, Missouri. I am unsure why Batman and Superman were handing out gifts in St. Louis of all places but okay.

The team splits up to find the lock that matches the key. The group reassembles and falls through a trap door, resulting in a miniature yellow sun heading towards the team. The sun is yellow so it neutralizes John’s power ring. Shouldn’t Superman or Red Tornado been able to handle the problem in seconds? Never mind, the sun radiates primary red radiation but the valiant Superman sacrifices himself to save the others. Again. Red Tornado is right there – couldn’t he create a mini-tornado and hurl the min-sun far away. Maybe Superman can’t resist a valiant self-sacrifice?

The second layer of the death trap reveals itself when poisonous fumes flood the room. Red is again sidelined as “The room is sealed shut- no way for my super-whirling to dissipated the poisonous fumes!” How about you use your tornado powers to level one of the walls of the room? Just a thought. And the mini-yellow sun has been destroyed? Shouldn’t John Stewart be back in business? Instead the Black Canary “sings a silent ultrasonic melody that forces the choking fumes away from the gasping JLAers”. I’m not sure how that would work but go Dinah! The rest of the League flees the room but Dinah stays behind to keep the poisonous gas contained. Valiant but unneeded self-sacrifice is the theme of the story.

Oliver is irate over Dinah’s self-sacrifice. Batman orders Oliver to “pull yourself together. There’s nothing you can do for the Black Canary!” Exactly! I mean it’s not like you have a Green Lantern, a Red Tornado, and the World’s Greatest Detective standing next to you! There’s nothing you can do, Oliver!

We next see the villain behind the plot. It is…drumroll please…the Key! Shocking, huh? He refers to his henchmen as “Key-Man #1”, etc.

The key is in full villain monologue: “How do you expect me to rest until the rest of the Justice League of America is dead – or I am! And, my friend, when the Key slithers off this mortal coil, he’s taking as many as he can with him!”

Death trap layer #3 consists of giant-size Christmas ornament globes hurtling at the Leage! One absorbs Batman! Oh, no! Oliver sacrifices himself to save John and Red from the evil Christmas ornaments?

Death trap layer #4 sees the John and Red battle Tin Soldiers. The soldiers turn yellow, neutralizing John. The walking tornado remains ineffective.

The Key gloats: “I swore I’d have my revenge on those witless fools, swore I’d outlive them all. Well, most of them, anyway, and I have, by thunder I have.”

This story took place in 1974 – were there any notable League casualties by this point? I can’t think of any. Barry’s death and the Detroit League massacre were 10 to 12 years after this story. If I remember correctly, one of the JLA/JSA crossovers involved the death of the original Mister Terrific but 1) he wasn’t a member of the League and 2) I don’t remember if that crossover took place before or after this story.

The Key reveals that after his last encounter with the JLA, Superman was going to place in in a state of suspended animation in the Fortress of Solitude. The plan was stopped as a judge ruled Superman’s suggestion as unconstitutional and instead sentenced the Key to twenty years in prison. A prison doctor discovered the Key was dying since “the various psycho-chemicals you’ve injected with yourself over the years have destroyed your cellular balance”.

“The Justice League of America was responsible for the only defeats I’d known in my life! How could I leave them alive to witness my final defeat- my death? The murder of that dime-store Sanca Claus – the key-clue that led the Justice League into my specially-prepared death-maze, all the result of months of planning and preparation. All part of my unique Christmas gift to myself, my last gift, the destruction of the…”

The assembled League – all alive and kicking – interrupt the Key’s glorious monologue. How did the League survive? The Phantom Stranger! He’s only supposed to observe events, but much like Uatu the watcher, he intervenes when he wants. I’m guessing the Phantom Stranger was suffering an acute bout of second-hand embarrassment watching the League fail and intervened to end his suffering.

The Key manages to escape even with the assembled League and the Phantom Stranger present. The group does not pursue the Key so they can focus on stopping the impending explosion. Some buildings are lost in the explosion, but John rebuilds the buildings with the aid of his power ring and from his experience as an architect. Lower-income individuals were using these buildings as shelters so John adds a few improvements along the way. Oliver finally calls John the “Green Lantern”, saying he’s earned the title.

Batman is bummed the Phantom Stranger continues to ignore the League’s suggestion of joining the team.

Back at the satellite, the League gives Red a Christmas gift: a new more colorful outfit.

Rating: 10 out of 5 stars. Absurd death-traps! Villainous monologues! Batman defeated by a super-sized Christmas ornament! Hal knock himself unconscious by leaving the shower! This story was ridiculous in all the best ways! Loved it!

Next is the Teen Titans story. The story begins with Scrounge, an Ebeneezer Scrooge stand-in, sending his employee, Bob Ratchett. Unknown to Bob, his wheelchair-bound son (Tom) is going to visit him at work. Tom overhears Scrounge having some shady business deals.

The henchmen of a “Mr. Big” have a gun that turns “junk imported from overseas” into “brand-new expensive stuff that he can sell at big profits, without paying any duty!”

I have to say, this “Mr. Big” is smarter than the average comic book villain. He doesn’t put on a costume or pick fights with heroes. He stays under the radar and makes money. Smart. The only dumb thing is not paying taxes. Why risk all the easy money? This story was written in the 1960s, but can you imagine if someone invented that device today? They’d be trillionaires. And a big hero of the climate change/going green movement. He could recycle all types of used materials into new objects. Instant money maker and savior of the planet! He’d be set for life!

Tom informs his father who confronts Scrounge. Scrounge threatens to fire Bob if he utters a word of the scheme. Bob stays silent but the son informs the Teen Titans (Dick, Donna, Wally, Garth) who decide to investigate.

Garth: “Mumbling Mantas!” Do Mantas mumble?

Scrounge is confronted by Jacob Farley who sears to make the “old sod” pay for what he’s done. Wally breaks up the confrontation. It’s revealed that Jacob was Scrounge’s business partner. Material they sold was defective, people were hurt, and Farley took the fall.

Garth: “Mumbling Mantas!”

Later Garth: “Howling wolf-fish!”

Garth is providing quite the oceanology lesson: mantas mumble and wolf-fish howl.

Wolf-fish are real. Sadly, they look nothing like wolves.

The Titans have realized they are in the midst of a real-life “A Christmas Carol”. The group decides to use the story to scare Scrounge.

Garth: “Howling hogfish” and “Suffering Sticklebacks”

Let’s give bonus points to Garth for creativity. Why have one catchphrase when you can have twenty?

Garth: “Moaning Mackarel!”

Wonder Girl frequently says “Hola!” Hola may have a Greek root but its more known as Spanish for “Hello”. Nor sure why the non-Hispanic/Spanish Donna keeps saying “Hola” during fights. You do you, Donna.

Scrouge goes straight in the midst of the fight and assists the Teen Titans.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (mostly for Garth’s catchphrases)

The Legion story is next but has been covered before so, next!

Next up is Superman. Superman stops a young teenager from robbing a Santa outside of a department store. Superman realizes the boy is hypnotized and using a gun that emits a “concentrated bear of low-grade radiation at its user” while appearing to be a toy gun. I haven’t read this story before. Should we take guesses on the villain before its revealed? I’m going with Toyman.

Superman takes the boy to the Fortress of Solitude where he can de-hypnotize the boy and question him on how he obtained the gun.

Superman asks the boy (Tim) where he got the gun. Is that you, Tim Drake? Maybe he took time out of stalking Batman to stalk Superman for the holiday season.

Tim reveals “…it was hidden in the hall closet with all my other presents. My folks still like to pretend Santa Clause delivers ‘em on Christmas Eve but I’m too old to believe in Santa so I snuck in early to check ‘em out early. I remember a blinding flash when I tried the dart gun and then I don’t remember nothin’ till I woke up here!”

Well, that rules out Tim as Tim Drake. That is way too much effort for the Drakes to accomplish. You know Tim’s presents came from Mrs. Mac.

Superman hypnotizes Tim for further information: “…and when you have rescued all the money from the evil grinch disguised as Santa Claus, you will deliver it to your local Big Shott Toy Store. Then our little game will be over and you will remember nothing!”

Has to be Toyman!

Superman: “I should have known he was behind this! It has insane imprint all over it!”

Superman locks up the fortress with the massive key and returns Tim home.

While heading home, Superman is hit with a ray from a toy starship Tim is holding and drops like a rock. Clark protects Tim on the way down, but the duo didn’t make it far from the Fortress of Solitude. Superman is unconscious and Tim is surrounded by snow, strong winds, and freezing temperatures.

Don’t worry, our duo is rescued by elves. Elves that complain that Superman weighs a ton and should consider going on a diet. How dare they! The total disrespect to a man who has saved the planet a hundred times over!

Back in Metropolis, the villain is revealed as…Toyman! Called it! Or the “Terrible Toyman” as he calls himself.

Superman wakes up surrounded by Tim and the elves. Oh, and Santa Clause. Clark’s reaction can be summed up as “WTF?”

Superman is still weakened by the ray blast but not to worry, Santa has a room filled with computer screens, one of which is monitoring the Toyman.

Santa is prepping to deliver toys across the world. Clark tells Santa that he could do it faster. Santa informs Clark that no, son, you cannot.

Santa drops off Superman and Tim in Metropolis.

Superman, with an assist from Santa, defeats the Toyman. Superman finds a list of customers who bought gimmicked toys from Toyman and quietly retrieves them throughout the night.

Superman returns Tim to his home. Clark returns to his apartment only to find a Kryptonian holo-toy in a pocket in his cape.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. The story was goofy fun.

We end with Batman. Jim Gordon has summoned Batman via the Bat-Signal to sing Christmas Carols? Batman decides to join in and belts out a few tunes, with Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, Silent Night, and We Three Kings being standouts.

Batman spends all night caroling with the officers as not one crime has been called into the police station. Batman leaves the station at 6 am.

That’s it, that’s the story.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. There’s not much to the story but I miss this version of Batman. I do not like the psychotic, abusive to his family, man-child that has stalked the Batman titles of the past thirty or so years. Give me this version any day.