#Christmas stories

[chibistarlyte]

every year on christmas eve, my boyfriend and i go over to his paternal grandparents' house and the whole family gathers and exchanges gifts and eats dinner, you know, the usual. and as the years have passed, his grandma's level of patience has dwindled as the family has grown.

so a couple years ago, after a few hours of visiting and eating and opening presents, she was tired of socializing and wanted everyone to go, so she announced to the whole room, "i've enjoyed about as much of you people as i can stand" and made everyone leave

i can't think of a holiday moment more iconic than that

[schweizercomics]

Companions of Christmas, Day 2: Mrs. Claus

Mrs. Claus was once better known by her given name, Alba. She was the nymph of the silver fir tree, a captain in the retinue of the Greek goddess Artemis, and she first met St. Nicholas when he came to do battle with her Lady.

Nick was on a campaign to destroy Artemis's shrines and temples in his Asia Minor diocese in order to keep the Christians in his flock from “backsliding” into paganism. In these attempts, he frequently had to fight Artemis and her retinue, including Alba.

Over the years, Nick and Alba often ran into each other on the same errands of mercy, coming to the aid of a child or creature in peril. Although both were pledged to see the other undone, they found themselves allies in these ventures, first reluctantly, then enthusiastically.

Over the course of many decades and many encounters, Alba came to fall in love with Nick because of his kindness, generosity, and, above all, his fierce devotion to and protection of children, which mirrored her own. And Nick fell in love with Alba because of her unwillingness to stand by while the weak were harmed, the patience with which she sought to understand those who were different from her (patience and tolerance both being virtues that Nick clearly needed a lot of help learning), and the unmitigated joy she took from the natural world and its wonders.

Alba brokered a peace between Nick and Artemis (who presented him with her famous flying deer as a sign of peace and a means by which to better undertake his mission), married Nick, and now stewards the great fir forests of the North Pole, acting as protector and champion to the many creatures who find sanctuary there.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Happy December, friends! Each year around this time I post up drawings of Christmas and other winter holiday figures, along with narratives to explain the practices with which folklorists and holiday buffs might be familiar. When stories exist, I use them; when they don't, I do what I can to piece together what folklore surrounds them to fill in the gaps (or, in some instances, defer to the theories of my friend and fellow narrative reconcilianist Benito Cereno). I hope you enjoy them!

[oldtvandcomics]

It is once again time to celebrate my favourite assassination attempt in literature history.

[lumosinlove]

Christmas Eve Will Find Me

Four: Finn

Somewhere Between Christmas Markets and Heartbreak

Athens, Greece

Christmas was waking back up all around them. Finn felt Sirius’ eyes on him as he went up to an old woman heating pots of spicy smelling tea while another woman set up their stand. Her smile was rather toothless and her eyes were the sparkling kind of joyful. She gifted Finn a cup with a small spoonful of sugar, pushing away his money and putting a hand to his cheek.

You can charm anyone, Finn heard Logan say. Mon Rouge…mon bijou. Une perle.

“Sad,” the woman said in English, swiping a gentle thumb beneath Finn’s eye—he was sure he looked terrible then. Sleepless and red-eyed. “No more.”

Finn’s throat closed up all over again. “Thank you.”

He turned back to their group, watching his breath mix with the steam. The tea was good. Not to sweet and full of clove and cardamon. He felt it try to thaw out the center of his chest that rung with who are you, who are you?

There wasn’t really any point in denying it. For whatever reason, Logan hadn’t known who he was. He hadn’t recognized the number—or he had? Logan had called Finn. He had called Finn, only to ask who is this? Who is this?

Finn wasn’t sure what they were looking for, or how walking around the city was going to help them find Logan and Remus—especially if Logan and, maybe, Remus, didn’t even know them. Finn had to stop walking and close his eyes against the swaying, sickening sadness. He just wanted him back. Before, it had been the most horrible need, but now it might be even worse.

“Warm enough?” Leo asked, falling in at his side.

Finn didn’t bother opening his eyes right away. Leo had already seen.

“Yep,” Finn said. He sighed and looked over at him. “Yeah.”

“The tea is good?”

Finn nodded. He took a sip and let the spices give that chunk of ice another good knock. Nothing.

“I’m sorry none of us could have prepared you for that.”

“What,” Finn began. “The love of my life not knowing me?”

“Well—yes.”

“I’m not sure anything could have prepared me for that.”

Leo’s mouth pulled to the side. “Right…”

“Le,” James called. He was standing with Sirius by a cafe table and gazing up across the street. Finn followed their eyes. A security camera.

“This is where Sirius saw…” Finn began.

“Possibly,” Leo said. “Be right back.” He put a hand on Finn’s shoulder. “And don’t wander.”

Finn watched him cross. Guilt tugged at him. Leo had pressed himself all along Finn’s back last night, trying to stop him shivering. It seemed useless. Finn had shaken himself to sleep, gripping onto Leo’s hand. It had scared him, the tremors. He’d accidentally called Leo—

What’s wrong with me, Lo? he’d said through clenched teeth.

It’s shock, Leo had whispered. He hadn’t commented on the mistake, just held Finn tighter. Maybe he’d been holding Finn together. Finn hadn’t even woken again when Leo slipped out of bed for his turn to go on watch.

Finn too another sip of tea. Another attempted thaw. He caught a glimpse of his wedding ring and then couldn’t seem to look away.

The church was hushed as they entered together. Finn was glad he was holding onto Logan’s arm, glad he had Logan to lead him, because he couldn’t take his eyes off Logan’s face. In his dark green suit, he was gorgeous. Winter, Christmas, green, frozen pond, strength.

Logan’s mouth had fought a smile. “Don’t trip us up.”

Finn couldn’t even remember what music had played. Only holding Logan’s hands at the alter. His brother Alex’s happy brown eyes as he’d handed them the rings. A squeeze to his shoulder.

They knew Logan had—died. God, what would Finn say now? He shook himself, he tried to hold onto the memory. Logan’s hands had been so warm, leaning down to kiss the ring he’d just slipped on Finn’s fingers and drawing awes from the audience. Finn felt tears in his throat. He brought his own fist, the cold gold, to his lips.

In sickness and in health. For better and for worse. For richer and for poorer.

In memory and, what? Forgetting?

Until parted by death. Finn had done no such thing. No part of him had been severed from Logan when he’d thought he was dead. He’d simply been dragged, by his very soul possibly, there with him. It didn’t matter that he had been walking around and talking. He felt very much, upon hearing Logan’s voice, that he’d just taken his first breath in months.

Leo had told him not to wander, but Finn needed to look at something else other than his own mind.

Down a very narrow street, just a few steps away from where the others were gathered, a small bookshop rested, closed just then. It looked like it had been built right into the city’s stones itself. Finn walked towards its window display and crouched to read the Greek titles. Beautiful typography, even if he couldn’t read it. He could see the way the shelves turned and folded into a maze within. If he looked past his own faint reflection in the window—God, he did look horrible—he could see him and Logan there. He could pretend. He could turn the shop lights on in his mind and feel Logan’s hand in his. Logan would have let him drag him around the shelves. Would have pressed him up against one and kissed him. What Finn would do to feel the way Logan kissed again.

And then the memory snapped. The lights turned off and Finn shivered.

Something cold was pressing against the back of his head.

Finn didn’t know how, but he knew it was a gun.

“I told you to stop trying to find me.”

Logan’s voice was right behind him. Finn’s mouth parted. His eyes unfocused, shifting away from the shop’s interior and zeroing back in on his own reflection. His own surprised brown eyes. He looked up. Up, slow, up…

Standing behind him in the window’s watery mirror, there he was.

After months. Months of thinking he was dead. In the pale, grey light of the window, Logan looked unreal. A ghost, completely imagined. No hat, brown hair curling against his neck. Even like this, his eyes were vividly green. Black coat. His gun against the back of Finn’s neck, where Logan had kissed him so many times. Finn dropped the tea. It burned his knee through his jeans but he could hardly feel it.

Slowly, Finn began to turn his head.

The gun dug into his skull. “Don’t move.”

But Finn did. He dropped to his knees. He put his hands up and he turned. Logan could shoot him if he really thought he should. But in that case Finn needed to see him one last time.

“I said stop,” Logan said, but he let Finn turn. The gun was right at his chest now. Logan. Logan had a gun on him, and he was looking at Finn with an expression that Finn had never seen before or at least didn’t remember. Logan hadn’t looked at Finn like he didn’t know anything about him since that first handshake back at college. Ten years of knowing each other inside out and suddenly there was this. Tanned skin, broad shoulders.

“Logan,” Finn said. He didn’t know where this courage was coming from. Logan didn’t recognize him. For all Finn knew, Logan would shoot. “It’s me.”

Hesitation. At least Finn could still read that on Logan’s face.

“You’re Logan,” Logan said. “The phone number. I…I see your phone number.”

Finn shook his head. “No. You’re Logan. Logan Tremblay.”

The gun wavered. If Finn was really smart, or had any sort of training at all, he would try to get rid of it entirely. But it didn’t feel real. For the amount Finn had been around guns—never—it looked like a toy. In Logan’s hand, his Logan, it looked like a toy.

“I’m—I’m Logan,” Logan repeated haltingly. Questioningly.

Finn nodded. How didn’t he know his own name?

“Who are you?” Logan asked.

“Finn. I’m Finn.”

Logan seemed to remember the gun. He raised it back to Finn’s chest. “Why do I see your number?”

“Because you gave it to me.”

“No. No, I didn’t know where it would go.”

“Yes. You gave it to me for emergencies. So we could keep in touch in case… In case anything happened.”

“Why? Who do you work for?”

“I’m a professor of English Literature at King’s College. In London. I moved there for you.”

“Why?” Logan fired the questions like an interrogation, but Finn could see how curious he was.

“For your work.”

“No, why did you move for me?”

Finn thought of Sirius. There had been something said about not saying too much. That it was too much too soon. But just then, Finn couldn’t help it, he couldn’t stand it.

“Logan,” Finn said softly. His hands were still raised, and he hoped Logan would notice his ring. “Lo, we’re married.”

The gun flagged again. Logan just stared at him. His eyes flit to the gold on his left hand.

Finn eased that hand forward, palm up. “We’ve been married for five years. Lo, something’s happened to you—”

Finn broke off when Logan dropped the gun. It rattled on the floor. Logan’s face twisted up in pain. His hands went to his head and he dropped to his knees right in front of Finn with a low cry.

“Lo?” Finn reached for him. Logan sagged against his chest, gasping for air. “Oh God—Logan, what—”

Logan didn’t seem like he could support his own weight. His eyes were closed, teeth grit.

“Logan.” Finn gathered him close, cradling his back, getting his legs under him to pull Logan into his lap. He didn’t care if Logan didn’t know him, he wasn’t going to let him lay on the cold ground. “Logan, can you hear me?” He looked up, searching for Leo or Sirius.

“Finn.”

When Finn looked back down, Logan was staring at him. Finally, a shade of green he knew. A shade that knew him. Logan reached for him. “Finn. Rouge.”

Finn felt his eyes fill with tears. “It’s—It’s me. Oh God—Lo, it’s me.”

Finally, it felt like when Logan was looking at him, he actually saw him. He gripped onto Finn’s jacket and touched his face. Finn leaned his cheek into Logan’s palm.

“It’s me, it’s me,” Finn whispered. “Lo—”

“Listen to me. Listen to me. Salazar—” Logan said, and his face screwed up in pain again. A sound of pain broke in his throat and his back arched in Finn’s arms. He grabbed Finn tighter. “No, no, no, listen Finn, listen—”

“Logan.” Finn held him tighter. “You’re scaring me, you’re scaring me—”

Logan’s nose began to bleed, a thin red trail down his cheek bone, but his eyes opened again. “Tell Leo…” Logan’s fingers dug into the skin of his neck, but Finn didn’t care. He only cared that Logan was looking at him, talking to him.

“What,” Finn said. “Tell Leo what?” Finn’s voice went high through tears. He wiped the blood from Logan’s nose. “Baby, what’s wrong? What happened to you, why didn’t you come home, what can I do—”

“Pascal,” Logan said, and then his entire body went limp in Finn’s arms.

“No—” The word came out strangled. “Logan, Logan—”

“Let go of him, O’Hara.”

Finn’s head snapped up. A man was standing there. Sandy-hair and with a severe face. He had a gun trained on him, held with two hands.

“Throw the gun,” the man said, not lowering his own. “Get up. And no one will get hurt.”

Finn held Logan closer, tilting his face, the blood drying across his cheek, against his chest and away form the cold wind. “Who are you?”

“I said let him go.”

Finn picked up Logan’s gun and aimed it. “Don’t touch him. Who the fuck are you?”

The man just laughed. “You don’t even know how to point that thing correctly.”

“But I do.”

They both turned to see Leo standing there. He had his gun raised at the man, but his eyes went wide when his saw his face.

“Jack?” Leo said. “What the hell? What are you doing here?”

“Stay out of this Leo,” Jack said, and turned back to Finn and Logan. “Tell him to hand over Tremblay.”

“Jack,” Leo said again. “Put the fucking gun down! He’s a civilian.”

“Then he shouldn’t be handling a service weapon,” Jack said. He cocked his own gun. “Let go of him, Finn. Set him down and step away.”

“No,” Finn said. “No.”

Jack grit his teeth and fired a shot into the air. Finn flinched down, curving his body over Logan’s. He’d never heard a gunshot in real life before. At least not like this. His own hand flexed around the handle of Logan’s gun. Jack was right. He didn’t have a clue how to shoot this thing. What if he needed to and nothing happened? Wasn’t there a safety mode?He heard cries of shock from the distant main street at Jack’s shot and tried to imagine someone getting scared because of him.

“Get up,” Jack said.

“No.”

Another single shot rang out and all three of them, Finn, Leo, and Jack flinched. None of them had fired it. Jack looked around wildly and Leo raised his eyes towards the rooftops.

Sirius and James rounded the corner on each other’s heels with their guns raised.

“Jack,” Sirius said, then saw Leo with his gun and raised his, too. He flitted his eyes to Finn and stopped hard when he saw who Finn was holding. “Logan…”

“Who the fuck was that?” Jack demanded, rounding on Sirius. “Who are you working for? What did Lupin say to you?”

James was positioned just out of view behind the street corner, but Finn could see him. “You’re not making any sense, Archer.”

Jack Archer. Finn carded his fingers through Logan’s hair, trying to think if he’d heard that name. Too much of his mind was bleeding bleeding Logan bleeding to remember.

“Remus?” Sirius called out hesitantly, eyes also towards the sky. Had the shot come from the roof? Finn couldn’t tell. “Is that you?”

“We have to go,” Finn said, locking eyes with Leo. “He’s hurt. He’s…” He looked back down at Logan’s face. It was relaxed now, peaceful even, but Finn couldn’t get the feeling of the way his body had contracted in on itself. “Please don’t die,” Finn whispered. “Please, Lo, I can’t, I know I can’t without you.”

There was no reply from above, and Jack fired off four shots, making Leo scream at him to stop. When he didn’t, Leo ran up behind him and disarmed him cleaning in three deadly hits to his shoulder, and elbow.

“What’s going on, Jack?” Leo asked, holding both guns now, pointing them towards the ground.

Jack scowled, eyes on his gun.

“What would Remus have told us?” Sirius asked.

Jack began to back up. “Like I’d give up what we know.”

“Did you know he was alive?” Sirius strode forward fast, gun raised. “Did you?”

Finn didn’t think of Sirius as calm exactly, but he did think of him as collected. He didn’t seem either one just then. He had a snarl to his voice. He looked like he was seriously considering killing Jack if he answered yes to that question.

“Did you?” Sirius shouted, and fired a shot of his own, just beside Jack’s head. It sent Jack running, with no weapon of his own.

The last thing Finn saw of Sirius was the flash of his gray eyes as he gave chase.

“Finn.” Leo’s voice. Finn realized, as he stared at his hands gripping Logan to him, that he was shaking again. Leo’s gloved hands covered his own. He’d put his gun away and he was staring at Logan. Blue. God, his eyes were so very, very blue. Finn had always been a little struck by that. Like water, though water wasn’t blue, was it? Like the sky in water. Though the sky wasn’t blue. Like light.

“He wanted to shoot me,” Finn heard himself whisper.

“What?” Leo said breathlessly. Slowly, he took the gun out of Finn’s trembling hand. Finn let him. “Shoot you?”

“And then he knew me,” Finn said, and Leo’s eyes widened.

“He did?”

“For a second.” Finn stroked the blood off of Logan’s cheek. “For a second, he knew me. He said tell Leo…”

“What?” Leo’s hand tightened. “Tell me what? Tell me what?”

“Pascal,” Finn said. Logan’s eyes moved beneath his eyelids. Delicate. Alive. “And now he’s…” Alive. Alive alive. “Now he’s like this. He said Pascal.”

[slytherhys]

12 Days of Christmas - ACOTAR Edition

In the spirit of the Holidays, I will be writing & posting short stories about the ACOTAR characters for the next 12 days. Please note that some will be shorter than others and that this is simply meant to be a fun time for everyone that loves these characters as much as I do!

PS. I'm open to requests.

You can also find this series on AO3 - as well as all my other stories.

8th day of christmas - gingerbread house

CW: Explicit Sexual Content

No Crying Over Spilled Icing (Elriel NSFW)

Elain eyed the gingerbread house in front of her with something akin to misery. Only twenty minutes ago, when she had first taken the dough out of the oven, she had been immensely proud of herself – it had been baked to perfection, neither too dry nor too moist, with a beautiful golden-brown colouring and a smell so sweet Elain had fought herself not to eat the whole thing in one go.

Buttercream had been used to make intricate, delicate patterns on what would be the walls, as well as cute little tiles for the rooftop. Candies, too, had been used aplenty. It had looked promising. Beautiful even.

But that had been before she had realised one of the walls was cut too short – something Elain hadn’t noticed until she started setting everything together – giving the house a sort of crooked, haunted look that made it resemble more a Halloween decoration than a Solstice treat. The icing, of course, hadn’t helped either. The walls barely stuck together, and the rooftop was slowly falling to its demise. Elain watched it all unfold, unblinking.

A great architect Elain did not make.

When she had first told Feyre she’d be bringing her own gingerbread house – and not one of those sets the bakery sold every Solstice – she hadn’t been expecting a building made of dessert to be so damn infuriating. She was set to leave in an hour and a half, and she doubted she had the needed time to try it all over again. She doubted she could find the will to do it in the first place.

“What are you doing?” A deep voice startled her, her eyes finally turning away from the baked mess in front of her.

“A gingerbread house.” If it could be called that. It definitely didn’t look like one.

Azriel tilted his head, eyeing the house with a stoical expression. “Are those the ones from the bakery downtown?” His eyes flickered to hers. “Cassian had mentioned how he wanted to try and build one.”

Elain huffed, suddenly affronted. “Of course not.” Maybe she should have though.

He gave her a sheepish smile. “Right. Dumb question.” He narrowed his eyes, eyeing the eyesore with curiosity. “Why is it…slanted, though?”

“Well, first the icing melted,” She explained, hating the way her voice wavered. “And then the wall on the left was too short.” Azriel nodded along as if she was making perfect sense.  “And it smelled really good, so I might’ve eaten one of the windows and now it looks weird.” She dropped her eyes again. “By the cauldron, it’s barely salvageable.”

“Why not just take the side of the roof that’s slipping away? It could probably stand, even if it’d be a little crooked.”

She bristled. “Then it’ll be a gingerbread box.” He gave no indication whatsoever that this information alarmed him. “Az, no one wants to eat a gingerbread box.”

Azriel smirked. As if it were funny. “Calm down, princess.” He looked at the mess in front of them, going around the counter so he could stand by her side. “We can fix this.” He said, and Elain watched from the corner of her eyes as he came to stand right behind her instead, his arms going around her as he reached for the gingerbread in front of her.

“What are you doing?” She gasped.

“Why, helping you, of course.”

She highly doubted he was that innocent. His scent surrounded her, the heat from his body resting upon her skin as a gentle caress. It was all Elain could do to keep her eyes open, to follow his hands as he gently studied her creation. She could hear his steady breathing, quickly realising just how close he was to her. His lips were by her ear, his front pressing against her back every so often.

“Maybe we could do a tent instead?”

Elain frowned at the suggestion. It could work, even if it felt lazy to do so. She felt his hands on her hips, caressing her as she mumbled, “I suppose so.”

He seemed pleased by her quick acceptance, the feeling of his lips so faint against her skin, it was nearly unnoticeable. “Or just accept the defeat and do something else instead.”

 Elain hadn’t realized she had closed her eyes, but at the sound of his lewd proposal, she snapped them open, promptly stepping closer to the counter and stepping away from him. “You’re distracting me.”

“Am I?” He stepped closer once again, pressing his nose against her neck, his lips a breath away from touching her fevered skin. “You smell good.”

Elain nearly whimpered “That’s just the gingerbread.”

He pressed his mouth against her shoulder, nibbling softly as if he couldn’t help but taste her. “I’m pretty sure it’s you.”

She turned around, ignoring her erratic breathing. “I still need to bake another batch-” She gasped as she felt his hands on her waist, raising her so she was sitting on the counter before she could finish her sentence. “Azriel, we don’t have enough time for that.” Truth be told, she was doing very little to push him away.

Azriel, of course, noticed that as well.

“I think we have more than enough time, princess.” He said, voice raspy as he stepped even closer. Elain wasn’t sure where her body ended and where his began, but as he kissed her jaw, the corner of her mouth, it felt like the most urgent thing that he stepped even closer.

Elain nearly whimpered as he pulled away, panting as he grabbed the hem of her skirts, pulling them up at an agonising speed.

Elain, however, wasn’t to be deterred. “Someone’s cocky.” She said, far too breathy for it to mean much.

He raised an eyebrow, scarred hands trailing up her legs. “Is that a challenge princess?”

Elain ignored the goosebumps raising all over her skin, ignored the craving that seemed to throb with her every heartbeat. “If you’re up for it.”

“Let’s find out, shall we?” A smirk was all the warning she got before Azriel pressed his face between her legs. Elain cried out, mindless with want. Her legs quickly wrapped around his shoulders, pressing him closer to her at the first touch of his tongue against her center. She was vaguely aware of leaning back on her hands, accidentally spilling what remained of the icing on the counter.

She couldn’t bring herself to care – she reached for his hair with her other hand, moaning as he devoured her. He moaned her name against her core as if he couldn’t get enough of her. He was a man starved, licking her, and fucking her with his tongue as if this was both the first and the last time he ever got to do this. The feeling of his large, scarred hands pulling her thighs apart, the scratch of his beard against her sensitive skin, it was all too much. Azriel had barely pushed a finger inside her before Elain was tumbling over the edge, his name on her lips as she bucked against his mouth over and over and over again.

“Sweetest fucking thing in the world.” He growled, more to himself than to her. He was panting, eyes dark as he took her in. She probably looked like a mess, panting, hands covered in icing, legs opened in a lewd display of her arousal. Elain felt herself blush under his scrutiny, but any embarrassment quickly faded as he took her mouth, his tongue seeking hers. “Turn around, princess.” He mumbled against her lips, helping her get down from the counter before lightly slapping her ass. “We’re on a schedule.”

Funnily enough, that was the furthest thing from her mind. Nothing mattered – not the party, not the spilled icing, not even the gingerbread house that had somehow ended up splattered on the kitchen floor. There was nothing but him. Not as he pushed inside her, his length stretching her as if it were their very first time together. Her every nerve-ending was on fire, her body craving him even as he filled her again and again. There were only the sounds he made as he rutted into her, the gentleness in his hands as he pulled her by her hair, the wantonness in the way he kissed her.

“You’re making such a mess, princess.” He panted against her ear, pulling down her corset, his hands quickly grabbing into her bare tits.

“Please.”

“Are you close?” Elain could do nothing but nod. He had barely pulled out of her when she was being turned around, her eyes quickly finding his as he pushed back inside in one swift move, as if he had never left. “I need to see you when you come.” And then he was wrapping her leg over his hip, filling her even deeper.

He wrapped his lips around her nipple, nibbling on the sensitive skin as his cock kept pounding into her. The feel of his mouth, of his cock… All Elain could do was scream out his name as she crashed, coming around his cock just as he spilled into her.

“Fuck.” He panted, hips still bucking against her.

Elain giggled, high on his touch. “Think I still have time to bake something?” She asked, shamelessly pressing her lips to his chest, his throat, his lips, taking them between her teeth and pulling gently. He hissed.

“Not if you keep doing that.” His gaze roved over her before finally settling on her eyes with a mischievous glint. “And I don’t think that gingerbread cake is salvageable anymore.”

Elain supposed not, but she wasn’t a quitter.

In no time – and with a lot of effort – Elain was kicking Azriel out of the kitchen, scrubbing every nook and cranny of the counter and busying herself with something else. Something quick that wouldn’t raise any eyebrows.

Or so she had hoped.  

“Where’s the gingerbread house?” Feyre asked only a few minutes later, eyeing the plain gingerbread cookies Elain had managed to bake in the measly thirty minutes she had been left with. Azriel, at Feyre’s question, gave Elain a heated stare, a smirk blooming on his lips as he casually strolled into the living room without a care in the world. Elain felt her cheeks heat up, pointedly ignoring her sister’s knowing smile. “Had a change of heart?”

Elain cleared her throat, squaring her shoulders as she made her way to the kitchen. “Sure,” she said. “let’s call it that.”

[1dchristmasfest]

🎄🎅🏻 2023 Posting Schedule 🎅🏻🎄

We are thrilled to announce the posting schedule for the 2023 1D Christmas Fest! This post will be updated as fics are added to the collection.

We will add links to the fic when publishing begins on 1st December 2023. Fics will be released at around 5pm GMT daily, so do look out for posts and share the love!

🎅🏻 1st December: You Don't Have To Be Lonely Tonight by @neondiamond

🎄 2nd December: A Very Louis Christmas - Basic Beautiful Chaos by @silverstuff50

🎅🏻 3rd December: Does It Ever Drive You Crazy? (How Fast the Night Changes) by @loveyourmum

🎄 4th December: you're my favorite gift by tiredwinter

🎅🏻 5th December: its a holidate by @disgruntledkittenface

🎄6th December: Weather the storm by Evie_LT28

🎅🏻 7th December: Cat Got Your Tongue? by @yoursolosong

🎄8th December: Stuck in Midnight Traffic by @letthemusicmoveyou28

🎅🏻 9th December: Now my life is sweet like cinnamon by @lunaticcat009

🎄10th December: Good Things Come (To Those Who Listen) by a_momentwitme

🎅🏻 11th December: A Christmas At Home by @parmahamlarrie

🎄 12th December: Touch Me (Like Nobody Else Does) by goldensweetmemory

🎅🏻 13th December: Elf on the Shelf Surprise by @megz1985

🎄 14th December: Bah, Humbug by 5secsoflarry

🎅🏻 15th December: jingle all the way by @louisushis

🎄 16th December: Lights! Camera! Love! (Christmas is for Us) by SullenLarry

🎅🏻 17th December: The Twelve Dates of Christmas by celticsky

🎄 18th December: Apparently By Chance by @sweetcreature-taym

🎅🏻 19th December: You are my home, Harry by LouAndHarryAreMarried

🎄 20th December: The Busker by @chelsea-frew

🎅🏻 21st December: Baby, Please Come Home by tiredwinter

🎄 22nd December: Reverse Psychology by heartbreakwthr

🎅🏻 23rd December: You're Already Home by ladylondonderry

🎄 24th December: Have yourself a larry little christmas by enchantedlandcoffee

[ladykissingfish]

Sasori: So I’ve been reading some of these Christmas story books that Deidara gave me, and I have to say, they don’t make a lot of sense.

Kakuzu: I agree. Hidan had me do the same thing. Have you read “How The Grinch Stole Christmas”?

Sasori: Yes! Good lord, never before has a book had me so angry!

Kakuzu: Right?! The Grinch recognized the greed and stupidity of the citizens of Whoville, and sought to correct their self-destructive ways by taking away all their unnecessary material possessions. How could anybody find fault with that??

Sasori: Not only that, but he was clearly suffering from a variety of medical conditions that likely caused the majority of his “bad attitude” and subsequently being ostracized from the community.

Kakuzu: Exactly! The green skin? Clearly advanced hyperbiliverdinemia; the man’s liver was failing!

Sasori: And his heart being too small? Neurocirculatory asthenia? Switching rapidly to Cardiomegaly? It’s a wonder the final scene of the story wasn’t at his funeral.

Kakuzu: And don’t get me started on the citizens of Whoville. The deformed facial features, the errant speech patterns? I could wager that their town was built on a nuclear waste site, possibly one where the radiation levels actively affected all live births in the area.

Sasori: You know, we should re-write the story so that it makes sense. One where the Grinch and everybody else receives adequate medical care to correct their issues.

Kakuzu: A splendid idea! And then we can re-write more of these inane tales as well; I’m sure the brats will thank us for our efforts.

Sasori: Come, let’s go into my lab and we can begin outlining a proper plot synopsis for —

Deidara and Hidan:

[holy-shit-comics]

[taraross-1787]

TDIH: Jimmy G. Stewart's Medal of Honor

During this Christmas week in 1942, Jimmy Stewart is born. No, not that Jimmy Stewart. True, both Stewarts served in the Army, but this Christmas baby would go on to earn a Medal of Honor in Vietnam.

Jimmy Goethel Stewart was born in West Virginia, but he was living in Ohio by the time he was a high school student. He enlisted in the Army after graduation and was soon dispatched to Germany.

He met his future wife while overseas. The young couple had two boys together, but Jimmy’s life as a father was cut short when he made a “daring one-man stand” in May 1966.

The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-jimmy-stewart-moh

[slashyrogue]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Mænd & høns | Men & Chicken (2015), Basic Instinct (Movies), Hannibal Extended Universe - Fandom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Elias (Men & Chicken)/Adam Towers Additional Tags: Fluff and Angst, Meet-Cute, Christmas, Hugh Dancy/Mads Mikkelsen Character Combinations, Sibling Deaths, Friends to Lovers Summary:

Adam knew he was the smartest and best looking person in every room he entered which made it much easier to reject the advances of anyone he didn’t deem worthy.

And the minute he met his newest neighbor he knew there couldn’t be anyone less worthy than him.

[runnning-outof-time]

K’s COUNTDOWN to CHRISTMAS - 12 days…12 fics

In order to kick off the official countdown to Christmas, I’ve decided that I will be posting a short story/blurb every day from December 14th to December 25th. In total, there will be 12 stories that will have around 1,000 words each.

You can find the list of these stories and their summaries below the cut.

I will fill them in on here as I post them!

I hope you enjoy and that these stories will help to get you in the holiday spirit! 🎄🎁🎅🏼

12/14 - Snow In the Country - Arthur Shelby

In which Arthur, (Y/N), and their son Billy experience snowfall in the country for the first time. Of course a snowman will be made.

12/15 - Home for the Holidays - Tommy Shelby

In which Tommy finds out that (Y/N) - a.k.a the one who got away, happens to be visiting Birmingham for the holidays, and he hopes that she won’t get away this time.

12/16 - The Great Snowball Fight - pre-war!John Shelby

In which (Y/N) and John push it to the limits during their annual snowball fight…and maybe they get a little more than they bargain for.

12/17 - A Kiss Under the Mistletoe - Arthur Shelby

In which (Y/N) finally manages to make a move on her feelings for Arthur…and finds the perfect way to do it.

12/18 - All I Want for Christmas is You - Modern!Tommy Shelby

In which (Y/N) tells Tommy that she doesn’t need anything materialistic for the holidays this year, and instead she only needs him.

12/19 - The Christmas Market - John Shelby

In which John falls in love with (Y/N) all over again as he watches her go around the Christmas market; filled with joy.

12/20 - The Perfect Tree - Arthur Shelby

In which Arthur and his family wait until the last minute possible to find their Christmas tree…will it still be perfect?

12/21 - Back From Business - Tommy Shelby

In which Tommy surprises his family by coming home from business just in time for the Christmas festivities to begin at Arrow House.

12/22 - Baking With the Boys - John Shelby

In which (Y/N) realizes that maybe baking cookies in a house full of boys wouldn’t be as easy as she thought it would be.

12/23 - A Silent Night - Modern!Arthur Shelby

In which Arthur and (Y/N) are able to spend a night by themselves; away from their children and the other craziness that the holdiays bring.

12/24 - Better than Last Year - Tommy Shelby

In which Tommy, (Y/N) and their children spend Christmas Eve at Arrow House the year after the vendetta is finished.

12/25 - The Greatest Gift of All - John Shelby

In which John and (Y/N)’s little family grows by one on one of the merriest days of the year.

———

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

[schweizercomics]

Companions of Christmas, day 6: The Krampus

The Krampus was a rural giftgiver who would deliver presents to good Alpine children, but the naughty ones? Well, he'd stuff them into his basket and take them back to his lair, where they would be forced to spend the next year making toys for good kids.

They'd be released the following Christmas, but even so, a year spent toiling away in the clutches of the Krampus was a pretty terrifying prospect for the children of western Austria, southern Germany, northern Italy, and Bohemia.

When word of this Santa Claus fellow started getting around, kids in these regions, terrified of the Krampus, started writing Santa letters asking for his intercession, and Santa obliged. He and the Krampus had a rumble, and Santa successfully shackled the Krampus with the chains that had once held St. Paul of Tarsus.

Bound by the magic of this holy relic, the Krampus was forced to accompany Santa for the next few years, and in observing his captor came to see that his punitive approach to kids wasn't the best way to ensure their good behavior or long-term character betterment after all. Thus reformed of his kid-beating, kid-stealing ways, the Krampus was released by Santa, but he asked to retain the chains so that they would always remind him of how the best way to put right kids that are straying from the path of goodness, kindness, and charity, would be to practice those tenets himself.

He still has his avuncular sense of humor, and likes to put milder scares into wee ones, so expect to get a light whap with his bundle of switches, and a short ride around the room in his basket.

[niamhpoppleton]

The Frog's Discovery Of Christmas

As ice danced across the plains and a sea of white blanketed the ground, a frog awaited Christmas' arrival. He wasn't quite sure what it was he was waiting for. Whisperings of "Christmas" as a concept had drifted through the winds about him, and yet to what exactly it pertained he did not know. So, with wide eyes and a thick, red scarf bundled around his neck, the frog sat and waited.

A hedgehog had once mentioned something to do with a "Santa" but had never gone into much more detail on the matter and so what a Santa was the frog could not say. Though, if only for the reader's amusement, it must be noted that he created the image in his mind that a Santa was quite similar to what we call a cracker. So, keeping his eyes as wide open as possible, like an eager child, the frog sat and waited.

He had once heard a snowman singing a song called 'White Christmas' and soon came to the conclusion that Christmas could only come about on a snowy day. This explains as to why the frog chose to sit out in the snow to wait for Christmas, even though he was experiencing a temperature so cold that he had not even believed it to be possible. For days upon days, underneath the snow's motherly nurture, the frog sat and waited.

As night fell across the world, and stars began to dance through the sky, the frog remained awake. Moonlight beams danced across the snowy grounds and rested around him creating an almost sacred glow about him. Around midnight - not that the frog knew of the time - a shadow overcame the glowing orb in between the darkly painted canvas above; one could say it was shaped like that of a shadowy figure within a vehicle that was a cross between a flying car and a horse drawn carriage. With a shout of "Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!" a small red parcel drifted down to the snow-covered ground before the frog, as the shadow dashed away into the night.

Carefully, the frog unwrapped the small gift, and found within it a snow globe that portrayed the predicament in which the frog found himself and when the snow globe was shook it would cause small porcelain balls of snow to float around the glass sculpture. In the snow globe it would be Christmas every day, for the frog had no clue of how to track the date or time and as far as he knew a snowy day was Christmas Day.

While one may say that this incident was only a figment of the frog's imagination - a hallucination caused by that of sleep deprivation and conditions ferocious enough to give you frostbite - the snow globe sat upon the frog's mantelpiece for years to come, and there it still remains to this day.

[slytherhys]

12 days of Christmas - ACOTAR Edition

You can find all the stories I wrote for this series down below.

Enjoy and happy holidays!

1st day of christmas: christmas decorating - New Traditions (Modern Elriel AU)

2nd day of christmas: hot chocolate - Sweet & Spice (Nessian Drabble)

3rd day of christmas: mistletoe - Unsuspected Kissing (Feysand)

4th day of christmas: ice skating - Better Safe than Sorry (Elriel Drabble)

5th day of christmas: cookie decorating - It's just cookies (Archeron Sisters)

6th day of christmas: ugly christmas sweater - Proof of Love (Nessian AU)

7th day of christmas: christmas shopping - Frozen Fingers (Feysand Drabble)

8th day of christmas: gingerbread house - No Crying Over Spilled Icing (Elriel NSFW)

9th day of christmas: solstice - A life by your side (A Feyre Archeron Celebration)

10th day of christmas: gift giving - Nyxmas (Drabble)

11th day of christmas: secret santa - On pretty daggers & ambigous flowers (Elriel)

12th day of christmas: christmas dinner - A Blessing. All of it. (Rhys Drabble)

[autumn2may]

Check out my latest YouTube Let's Play of Christmas Stories: Nutcracker! 🥜🎄🌰

I'm posting it a bit late (recorded in 2021), but who's counting right? XD