#Visual Advent Calendar

[liliths-den]

Unveil the Magic: Day 18 of the Visual Advent Calendar Reveals an Unseelie Secret!

The mystery deepens! On Day 18 of my exclusive Visual Advent Calendar, it’s time to explore the darker side of winter. Dive into the world of the Unseelie as we reveal an enchanting, mysterious surprise. What magical treasures and secrets await today? Step into a foreboding world of Christmas and fae enchantment and discover something special that will ignite your RP adventures and bring winter…

[ctrl-alt-tahu]

December 2nd

I really enjoyed last year's Bionicle Advent Calendar, when I wrote at least a snippet of fanfic every day, but I just don't have the time this year. Most of last year's was written in the slow times at work, and this year there just aren't any slow times. But I wanted to do something again, so you're going to get pictures and probably some descriptive/explanatory text. (Talking endlessly isn't "work" like writing fiction can be. Though, if we're lucky, maybe we'll get SOME ficlets later on.)

Today we're going back to the beginning! Onewa was my first Bionicle, the one who started it all. He wasn't even mine--not fully. My brother and I split him.

We were LEGO fans, solidly entrenched in it ag that point, but we had minimal Technic or interest in it and had passed on Throwbots and Roboriders completely and though we would do the same with Bionicles. The comics were kind of cool, but we were System fans, minifig fans. It just wasn't for us.

But our Mom knew we loved all kinds of LEGO and that we weren't very discriminating about it, so when she was Christmas shopping (this was October 2001), she found a marked-down Onewa in the clearance section and figured two or three dollars was worth a flier.

Onewa had been marked down because he'd been opened and one of his 5-module axles was missing. We stole a 4-module axle somewhere in our System sets and he was good to go. Our entire perspective on Bionicle flipped with him in our hands. What had looked (in our narrow, childhood judgement) as "weird" in the magazines and catalogues now looked really cool and fun in person.

A couple weeks later, we were sold on Bionicle enough that I "bought out" my brother's half and he put the money into buying a Turaga Matau. We also split a mask pack: a brown Pakari (mine) and a medium blue Ruru (my brother's). We were hooked, and we'd remain that way until about 2004: the colour change and the shift to Metru Nui matched a belated growing up, but it would still be a long, slow slide to my true Dark Ages, starting around 2009ish.

Because Onewa was the first and because we didn't really absorb all the media pre-movies, and because the Turaga had less real development as characters before 2004, I never pictured Onewa as the abrasive a-hole we got in LoMN. He was more of a Gandalf mentor type, and he's still kind of there for me. Reconciling him to LoMN has been a fertile ground for fiction for me.

Another big thing that LoMN contrasted with in our games was that Onewa had been the leader of our Turaga! If it was supposed to be clear, before 2004, that Vakama was the team leader, it was lost on us. I don't think we thought the Turaga HAD a leader, and Onewa, wise and strong (and the first one we had), got to be the team leader.

[cluepoke-archive]

The drawing of calendar town is on a book that's also a calendar- is that a metaphor or do they actually live on a giant calendar?

A bit of both!! They live on a giant calendar but it's not exactly a simple visual like the illustration cuts it out to be, theirs various gimmicky portions in the dictionary that allude to Calenders various flora and anatomy that is very polyester in nature, but it kind of breathes a bit of a linear state of being simmilar TO a calendar... I'm not sure!! The answer is yes and no!! Very confusing

[the-slumberparty]

December Daze Challenge

Welcome to our festive challenge for Winter 2024.

We are posting this challenge a bit early so that y'all can be ready as we intend for this to be a creative advent calendar!

What this means is that for each day you will use THIS GENERATOR to get a prompt and create a piece based on it. This can be written or visual. We encourage writers to worked ahead if that works best for them and you can make a copy of this handy calendar to do so.

✨Rules✨

🌲This challenge is open to all fandoms and characters.

⛄Dark creations are accepted but we will not accept underage, incest, or bestiality. Please don’t forget to add warnings to your works appropriately.

❄For written pieces, there are no word count limits, but we do ask that you add a “read more” beyond 500 words.

⭐We hope that creators can create an inclusive work and encourage writers and creators to use appropriate tagging, ie, f!reader, etc..

🕯 For this challenge, we will accept sequels or continuations to previous works. Please be sure to link the original work in your submission.

🎇if you generate a prompt and do not find it inspiring, feel free to try again. You do not need to do this as an advent/31-day challenge and may still submit single pieces.

🛷Be kind to yourself and to others. We are here to support and include each other.

🎁This is an event for the December only, with a final due date of January 6 for late submissions.

!Tag this blog in your submission so we see it!

[jollyhunter]

24 Kinky Days with Dean x reader - Day 3.

⚝‿︵‿୨♡ ⚝ ♡୧‿︵‿⚝

Pairing: Dean Winchester x fem!reader

Warnings: NSFW - MDNI! - includes explicit sexual content and mention of sex toy. It's a kinky writing challenge, so expect anything at this point, (nothing freaky, don't worry) but it's a surprise calendar so I won't spoil it! (Also, English is not my native language) Contains brief reference to Dec.1 (Sunshine)

Advent calendar includes: headcanons, snippets, one shots, imagines, blurbs etc.

Words: 900 (blurb and bullet points and a bittersweet-wholesome ending scene)

⚝‿︵‿୨♡ ⚝ ♡୧‿︵‿⚝

A/N: Woop I'm early today! Happy 3rd Advent sweeties! If you want to be tagged for the next parts, just let me know. And tell me what you think! Now enjoy! 🦊

⚝‿︵‿୨♡ ⚝ ♡୧‿︵‿⚝

3rd Dec. - Lights Out

It’s the 3rd December, Dean’s coming back from a repairing session on Baby just to find the light switch of his bunker’s bedroom not working.

“Close the door,” You command in an unusual voice of authority.

Dean’s skeptical at first, the thought of not seeing you is one thing but you know him better than that; what really makes him nervous is the fact that he’ll have no control like this - and that’s exactly your goal.

After a sultry “Come on Dean, today’s my turn to surprise you...” he finally closes the door behind him, plunging the room into complete darkness, “Babe, it’s totally dark in here, I can’t see shit…” he chuckles in mock-annoyance.

“Yeh, that’s the point of the game.” You reply with a mischievous smile on your face, “This’ll make things more interesting again.”

Now that you’ve got Dean’s attention, the thought of not being able to see at all is suddenly strangely arousing to him and he licks his lips before he replies with a warning, “Watch out you little minx, I’m gonna getcha.”

You feel excited and tingling from the lack of visual; the unpredictability and how your senses are heightened.

The sound of your or Dean’s breathing in the silence is the only help in trying to pin-point the others location

The deep and raspy voice of Dean makes you shiver as you try to guess his whereabouts

When he stands close to you, you can feel the heat of his body in the darkness

You feel the air shifting and his presence near you, the slightest change in breath or movement of him feels much more intense than usual

You can hear your own heartbeat increase, hammering in your ears

With your sense of smell heightened, his scent is almost intoxicating

You smell all the different scents that cling to him; worn leather, a hint of whiskey, a faint aroma of musk and sweat, a lingering trace of the cheap motel shampoo from the other day and a mix of motor oil from Baby, gunpowder and rock-salt.

Even though Dean knows your body like the back of his hand by now, he explores your skin with a newfound excitement now that he’s completely reliant on his other senses

You feel Dean’s calloused fingers run over your body, tracing your skin over every inch, slow and deliberate as if he was to map out the smallest detail

The first touch of his fingertips on you leave a trail of goosebumps on your entire body

You’re so hyperaware that every touch to your skin feels like a spark

You feel Dean’s stubbles graze the inside of your thighs, slowly moving upwards

Coordination is a real challenge without seeing anything and you soon find out the hard way that you need to take it slow or one of you will definitely end up knocked out

Dean accidentally knocks his knee into your ribs and you tumble over the edge of the bed with a loud groan as you both hit the ground and he lands on top of you

Dean grunts in pain as you in return give him a blow to the jaw when you jolt your head back - but despite the pain he chuckles in a little strained voice, still amused, “Careful, baby… I need my pretty face for hunting.”

“You wearin’ your pretty little gift, sunshine?” (Are you?) “Ya know, chances are, I’ll end up picking the wrong hole in this darkness,” he jokes huskily, his hands gripping and squeezing your hips as he grinds against you from behind

Every sensation feels like a surprise and ten times more intense as you rub against each other

Dean’s pleading for more as he can’t anticipate any of your next moves and only feels your hot breath on his thighs and cock

Dean moans as loud as ever when your lips just as much as graze the tip of his cock

Dean pulls you back by the foot as you try to hide from him

Dean pins your wrists or ankles down, in a desperate attempt to keep some form of control

Dean’s surprisingly sensual and slow going as he pounds into you, both of his hands constantly running up and down your sides

Dean teases you by stopping mid-motion once every thrust, enjoying the small whimpers of you as you can’t anticipate his next harder thrust that makes you whine and tremble

Meanwhile he maps out your body with wet kisses and tongue swipes while he listens to your smallest change of breath and increasing moans

Time seems to stand still as you both fall over the edge with the most intense orgasm you’ve ever had

The experience leaves both of you dizzy, exhausted and panting as you crawl on top of Dean to rest your head on his chest, his heart beating against your ear.

Snuggled up to his chest, Dean thinks you’ve finally fallen asleep. He strokes your hair gingerly, his chin resting on your head when his features grow pensive and he murmurs against your hair, “Ya know…I’m attracted to you like a moth to light. I’ve always been. That’s why I believe we’ll always find back to each other, even in the darkest times… My own little sunshine.”

⚝‿︵‿୨♡ ⚝ ♡୧‿︵‿⚝

Masterlist of opened windows:

1st Dec. - Sunshine 2nd Dec. - Spell Book 3rd Dec. - Lights Out 4th Dec. - Tickle 5th Dec. - Dirty UNO 6th Dec. - (TBA) 7th Dec. - Candlelight 8th Dec. - Hex Play 9th Dec. - Whip Stroke

⚝‿︵‿୨♡ ⚝ ♡୧‿︵‿⚝

Tags:

@deaniemyboo @deansjacket @literallylexa

[museenkuss]

Marie Museenkuss Advent Calendar

For this advent season, I've prepared a selection of little treats - recipes, things to read or things to watch that I enjoy (or wrote) and am excited to share with you over the next few days. Each day, I'll 'open' another door to reveal the treat. I hope we can celebrate and have fun together!

[💎] To start, a cosy Christmas crime classic: Hercule Poirot's Christmas

[🦊] One of my all-time favourite fairy tales, Allerleirauh, can be read on this website! If you'd like to turn pages and see an illustration or two, you can also read it in the Green Fairy Book via archive.org, but beware - that version is censored!

[🪞] An all-time classic of a different kind, maybe just in time now that the New Year is slowly seeping in: Joan Didion's Essay "On Self Respect"

[💌] Feelings inspired to write? I’ve got some shimmering, cool, delicate december prompts ready for you!

[🗝️] In the spirit of the censored Allerleirauh: Read my thoughts on death, mutilation and the gruesome in fairy tales

[👢] On the morning of the sixth, German children will find little treats in their boots that Nikolaus left for them the night before. Let's use some of them (apples, marzipan(optional), nuts) to make a traditional German christmas treat - the Bratapfel. Rezept. Authentic English recipe.

[🏮] Let's take a virtual trip to the Tate and look at Sargent's Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose in two short videos that focus on description and technique!

[✨] The nostalgic excitement of entering a theatre and watching the other guests before the show - Chanel's A/W 2024/25 Haute Couture Show blends Opera and High Fashion.

[☕️] Today (very appropriate for the temperature drop), we're learning how to make French hot chocolate: [written recipe] [video]

[🦢] Do you have an hour to spare? Enjoy this charming little volume on perfume from 1928, a love letter to fragrance filled with anecdotes from all over the world and illustrated by the wonderful George Barbier: The romance of perfume by Richard Le Gallienne

[🌹] A Renaissance princess and her baroque prince... Here's a magical performance of Sleeping Beauty by the Bolshoi Ballet

[12] 🎪

[🍰 ] With eleven days left, there's still more than enough time to make the Fortnum&Mason Christmas Cake in time for Christmas! [the official F&M christmas cookbook has a very similar recipe for a fruit cake, but without the soaking and with a layer of fondant on top. let me know if you'd be interested in that, I'll post a pic]

[💋] today, let’s read one of my favourite sensual poems for winter: Francis Jammes — Tu Seras Nu (You will be nude), translated by Kenneth Rexroth

[🖋] This sunday, let's write! Or, alternatively: Let's daydream! Here are some brand new prompts for inspiration.

[🎞️] In the spirit of daydreaming: You and I by Papooz, Weak for your Love by Thee Sacred Souls, Mystery by Raveena are three extremely different but visually stunning music videos to songs I absolutely adore. To start this week, take a little moment to watch and listen, dream and dance.

[🍷] Easy poached pears in red wine with vanilla - a gorgeous, ruby-coloured dessert. I've made (regular) poached pears before and they are just as easy as this title suggests. But I'm SO eager to try (and share <3) this variant!

[18] 🎠

[🐻] After a long, tiring day of Christmas shopping (or Christmas stress), let's relax with a whimsical film! Panna a netvor (Beauty And The Beast) from 1978 <3

[💫] Imagine a zine, except more whimsical and more complicated - today, we're learning how to make a Victorian Puzzle Purse! They're so pretty, perfect add-ons for a christmas gift - or adorable presents in their own right.

[🩰] I feel like Christmas is the time where we can truly reconnect to the magic of childhood. So today, let's put on our (imaginary) ballet slippers and do a little 5-min Nutcracker ballet choreo in our living room! Whether we're dancers or not honestly doesn't matter - nobody is watching us, this is all about enjoying the fantasy of a snow-sparkling night. We're playing pretend! And if you'd rather improvise to something more dramatic, I used to whirl around to Borodin's Polovtsian Dances.

[🕰️] During this cold, dark evening, I present to you one of my favourite poems, caught between romanticism and irony: Heine's Old Chimney Piece (in translation).

[🎟️] About a year ago, Joel Haver made a video looking back on 4 years of uploading weekly short films. It's one of my favourite videos, visually, in its tone and regarding its message, and I feel now that the year is coming to a close, it might be a really inspiring watch: it's been fun.

[🎄] I wish I could invite you all over to show you the illustrated edition of E.T.A. Hoffmann's Nutcracker that my parents gifted me in 2001. Instead, I offer you a very nice translation: Nutcracker and the King of Mice - and, if you're the audiobook type, I found a good translation with Tchaikovsky's music here. The story is haunting, delicate, glittering, unheimlich. It starts on Christmas Day and infuses the following days and nights with magic. It was such a joy to share this Advent Calendar with you and I hope that with this, I can share some of my Christmas festivities with you, too, since they're so entwined with this story (and since the first chapters also somewhat accurately depict how I celebrate Christmas, too - on the evening of the 24th, after decorating the tree). Lots and lots of Love, darlings! I hope you have a magical day, a magical evening, and a very Merry Christmas!

[adafruit]

🎄💾🗓️ Day 18: Retrocomputing Advent Calendar - Commodore 64🎄💾🗓️

The Commodore 64, released in 1982, is one of the ones we keep hearing got many people their start in their own computing history. Powered by a MOS Technology 6510 processor at 1.02 MHz and featuring 64 KB of RAM, it became the best-selling single computer model of all time, with an estimated 12.5–17 million units sold. Its graphics were driven by the VIC-II chip, capable of 16 colors, hardware sprites, and smooth scrolling, while the SID (Sound Interface Device) chip delivered advanced audio, supporting three voices with waveforms and filters, making it a lot of fun for gaming and music.

Featured a built-in BASIC interpreter, allowing users to write their own programs out-of-the-box. The C64’s affordability, large software library, lots of games, productivity, and educational applications made it a household name. It connected to TVs as monitors and supported peripherals like the 1541 floppy disk drive, datasette, and various joysticks. With over 10,000 commercial software titles and a thriving homebrew scene, the C64 helped define a generation of computer enthusiasts.

Its impact on gaming was gigantic, iconic titles like The Last Ninja, Maniac Mansion, and Impossible Mission. The C64 also inspired a demoscene, where programmers pushed its hardware for visual and audio effects. The Commodore 64 remains a symbol of computing for the masses and creative innovation, still loved by retrocomputing fans today.

Check out the National Museum of American History, and Wikipedia. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_334636 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64

And…! An excellent story from Jepler -

== While I started on the VIC 20, the Commodore 64 was my computer for a lot longer. Its SID sound chip was a headline feature, and many of my memories of it center around music. Starting with Ultima III, each game in the series had a different soundtrack for each environment (though each one was on a pretty short loop, it probably drove my folks nuts when I would play for hours). There were music editors floating around, so I tried my hand at arranging music for its 3 independent voices, though I can't say I was any good or that I have any of the music now. You could also download "SID tunes" on the local BBSes, where people with hopefully a bit more skill had arranged everything from classical to Beatles to 80s music.

Folks are still creating cool new music on the Commodore 64. One current creator that I like a great deal is Linus Åkesson. Two videos from 2024 using the Commodore 64 that really impressed me were were a "Making 8-bit Music From Scratch at the Commodore 64 BASIC Prompt", a live coding session (http://www.linusakesson.net/programming/music-from-scratch/index.php) and Bach Forever (http://www.linusakesson.net/scene/bach-forever/index.php) a piece played by Åkesson on two Commodore 64s.

Like so many things, you can also recreate the experience online. Here's the overworld music for Ultima III: https://deepsid.chordian.net/?file=/MUSICIANS/A/Arnold_Kenneth/Ultima_III-Exodus.sid&subtune=1 -- the site has hundreds or thousands of other SIDs available to play right in the browser.

Have first computer memories? Post’em up in the comments, or post yours on socialz’ and tag them #firstcomputer #retrocomputing – See you back here tomorrow!

[doodledraw]

It wasn’t something they used to do off the ice. It was a routine so embedded into their cellys that for a long time it was odd to bring this particular routine off the ice. Especially as…charged as it was. And then, as they started to get more comfortable with their relationship, in the company of their teammates and close friends, and this particular routine started to creep out. It was grounding, and it was something that was specifically them, something that differentiated their relationship from a friendship but in a not obvious way. And it never failed to make Pete’s heart stutter, because he’d started to recognize the particular look that Tom got when he was coming over to press their foreheads together, and he started to look forward to it, to press his hand into his wingman’s shoulder or nape of his neck in return. He wouldn’t be mad if it transferred into the privacy of their shared spaces, either.

This is something I drew based on the prompt for day 19 of the Fightertown discord server’s advent calendar! The lovely @oathkeeperoxas mentioned that the prompt hadn’t been taken and….well…in my icemav hockey au brain I just couldn’t help but make some associations and draw this!

it’s actually the visual opposite of another piece that I will be posting in a couple days so there’s that to look forward to.

Serie, I hope you like this doodle and drabble combo <3 happy holidays!!

[catastrophic-crisis]

We've looked back on the records of 2024, so here's a sampler of games that you can play right now for the low price of free:

Beetle Ninja (a hero-for-hire RPG set two weeks before the end of the world, built for repeated playthroughs) / Grimm's Hollow (a spooky and sweet RPG set in the afterlife where you play as a Reaper hiding your ghost sibling)

Remember Places? (locked inside, an AI is your only friend) / Liminal Dreams (a game about exploring bizarre world and meeting strange strangers)

Drown the Bride (a point n' click adventure visual novel about meeting your friend's fiancee in a historically themed fantasy world) / MAMA (a visual novel where you pass out at a yuri convention you were attending with your girlfriend, and awake to find yourself in your childhood home making certain... connections about your mother's actions in the past)

Slider (a tile-based sliding puzzle adventure to find your cat via manipulating the world around you) / The King is Watching (defend your kingdom against an army; buildings are only productive when your gaze is upon them)

Rental (a short and spooky game about renting a cabin, reminiscent of classic survival horror games) / Illusion Carnival (a lost soul wanders a 2.5D pop-up book-like amusement park, evading the attacks of the anomalies that would love to eat them up)

HavE (a visual novel set at a ski resort vacation goes awry in ways that may be supernatural) / Zodiac Paradigm (a murder mystery visual novel arises when twelve animals are called to be a part of the Emperor's council, yet thirteen arrive)

Bad Manors (a point n' click visual novel on Halloween where your friend can't make it to an escape room with you, so a helpful stranger goes in his place) / Reaper's Goodbye (five patrons of a food stall tell their tales while waiting for the midnight train)

SWOLLEN TO BURSTING UNTIL I AM DISAPPEARING ON PURPOSE (a weirdo RPG in which a flying saucer crashes into the town of "Vomit", but you have packages to deliver) / Until Biglight (technically a demo, a sample of a cancelled project of poverty, cats, mice, violence, words like "hyperreality", and planning an assassination)

C.H.A.I.N. / C.H.A.I.N.G.E.D. / The Madvent Calendar (Three anthologies from the Haunted PS1 community. A game of game development telephone, a branching path telling a tale of time travel and family, and a haunted advent calendar.)

[queerprayers]

Hi! This advent I really want to honour my faith rather than just celebrating christmas in a secular sense. I found your post about advent and the liturgical new year inspiring, and I was wondering if you could point me towards some ideas or resources for advent practices or ways to go about worship specifically for this period - everywhere I've looked just talks about lighting candles, which I'm not able to do in my current housing. Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you for your blog and everything you write here, and I hope you have a wonderful new year <3

Happy Advent, beloved! Candles are great (including fake ones or felt/crafted ones)—or you could recreate a similar weekly/daily thing, like hanging another star in the window. But that's not your only option. Here are some thoughts! (I also said some similar things last year you might find interesting.)

One of the most meaningful things about my Advents growing up was the fact that it was visibly not-quite-Christmas. We put up our tree maybe a few days before but we didn't decorate it until Christmas Eve. We didn't listen to Christmas music till Christmas—we listened to Advent music. We put our nativity set in the window, but gradually—we would set up Mary and Joseph traveling to it, and I remember waiting to unpack the baby Jesus until Christmas Eve. (The wise men were on the bookshelf until Epiphany.) I've put a painting of the Annunciation on my altar, but Christmas stuff will wait. 

It's very important to me to make each season distinct materially. The things around me, the music I listen to, the books I read, the prayers I say, change tangibly—in Advent and Lent especially. My emotions come and go, what I'm thinking about is different every day, but it's Advent because I am doing Advent—and not yet doing Christmas, no matter what the music in the grocery store or the parties I'm invited to tell me. (I don't refuse to find joy in them, I'm just conscious about the fact that I'm in a different season. It's not as big a deal to me as the Lent/Easter divide, though, which I will defend with every part of me.)

I love liturgical colors for this reason, too—my church isn't very extravagant and mostly looks the same throughout the year, but the altar cloth is a different color. I know exactly what season it is just from that. (Our Advent is blue to honor Mary, but most people's is purple like Lent with maybe a pink Gaudete Sunday.) My home altar also changes color, so I have that visual in my room as well.

So do it on purpose, candles or no. Maybe wait on a few Christmas-y things, like ornaments or music (don't worry, Christmas has twelve days and then you can keep doing it all through the Epiphany season if you want). Make it Advent, whenever you start! 

Historically, Advent traditions have been very similar (or identical) to Lenten ones. The Orthodox church calls Advent the Nativity Fast. It's been a penitent preparation. Things we may associate with Lent, like going without things or structured prayer, can find a home in Advent as well.

Secular celebrations and consumerism have affected Advent as well as Christmas, with countless calendars and just in general by filling our lives with Christmas themes that might make us forget Advent has its own themes. (To be clear, I support anyone celebrating Christmas—once a religion evangelizes/colonizes/rules, it has no right to accuse people of appropriating its holidays. I am simply talking about how the cultural practice differs.) Advent has themes of peace and love and hope, but it's got more specific themes than that, scarier stuff than that. It's about Christ's coming in the Incarnation, but it's also about Christ coming all around us every day, and Christ's promised future coming.

Spend some time with Isaiah, spend some time with meditations on Mary (I just read some of Catherine of Siena's words which are here as a reading for March 25.). From the poem I posted, you can tell I spent some time with Joel last year. Here's the Revised Common Lectionary daily readings for these seasons—you could start a habit or do it for a season or explore some passages every once in a while. You can find the Book of Common Prayer's traditional Advent prayers here (The Collects >> choose Traditional or Contemporary language >> Seasons of the Year). The ancient "O Antiphons" accompany the Magnificat starting Dec. 17 (here's a booklet with commentary & Latin chant). Forward Movement has several podcasts, if you want to pray daily while commuting or taking a walk or right before bed.

There are a million Advent devotionals out there—you can find one from an author you like, or search your/a denomination + "advent devotional" or "advent prayers" and you'll probably find something. For some social justice oriented ones, I've found Red Letter Christianity's Reflections from Bethlehem (by Palestinian authors), Justice Unbound's Boundless: An Anti-Colonial Advent Devotional, and the UCC's Abolition Advent Calendar. Cole Arthur Riley (Black Liturgies) is doing an Advent series on her Patreon. Jan Richardson posts art and poetic blessings throughout the year.

In terms of books, I recommend:

Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas

Preparing for Christmas (Richard Rohr)

Celtic Advent (David Cole)

WinterSong (Madeleine L'engle & Luci Shaw)

Advent for Exiles (Caroline Cobb)

If you want poetry: Accompanied by Angels (Luci Shaw). 

I'll tell you a secret—most devotionals are meant to be read every day, but no one will know if you don't do that. You can start them at any time and read as much as you like whenever you like. Don't not start one because you don't think you'll be regular about it. 

And of course, you don't need a book to say "Advent" on the front for it to be an Advent book—or music or anything else. I'm about to start God Hunger: Discovering the Mystic in All of Us (John J. Kirvan) which I picked up at a book sale but it's on the Internet Archive! I'm drawn to poetry and Marian hymns in this season, and things that talk about the end of the world and prophecy. Whatever Advent is to you, surround yourself with it—and anything you're just starting to think about, you can explore.

The beautiful news is? The years spiral on, and Advent returns. Every year we're confronted with it, and every year I never do exactly what I wanted. But I've found some stuff to bring with me, some books to reread, things I know further my practice and things that don't. And when the spiral returns to this distinctive place of waiting for something already in our hearts, of hoping for something we don't understand, of inviting in someone who has already snuck in like a thief in the night, we can try again.

So happy Advent, and may yours be visibly, tangibly, purposefully Advent. May you be the impractical kind of hopeful and the holy kind of scared. Christmas is a miracle slowly being tended (rather than Easter's miracle erupting from the ground)—not that there's no blood, no surprise, but that for nine months Life itself grew quietly. So keep watch. Make your life a womb, make your Advent a narrowing toward the humanity God enters. Tend the darkness and bring in some light—a candle is just a way to do that, but there's so much light in the world. Here's to finding it.

<3 Johanna

[simlicious]

It's the 11th day!

🎄Visit the Advent Calendar 2024🎄

🕯️Alt Link (with animated door)🕯️

Why multiple links? Well, the calendar has launched a new editor this year, but due to a formatting issue on my end, one had visual problems, so I switched to the other instead. But I since fixed the issue, and you can now choose which link you want to use.

One link has an animated door which makes it obvious what door to click for the day, but you might prefer looking for it yourself. The images might display a bit differently too, so just try both and see which one you like better.

Depending on your time zone, you may have to wait a bit for the goodies to unlock that day! Already unlocked doors will stay accessible throughout the event.

I will release a full collection of everything after the event has finished as well. Since I'm filling the calendar mostly on a day-by-day basis, sometimes the download might be a bit delayed.

This also means that on some days, I might be especially stressed or worried if things do not go according to plan, so kind words, feedback, or a tip are huge motivational boosts for me.

Enjoy 🎁

[liliths-den]

Day 15 – Behind Today’s “Door” Lies a Frost-Touched Toadstool Holding the Keys to Untold Secrets

Welcome to Day 15 of The Winter Children Visual Advent Calendar! Ever curious and brave, the Winter Children find themselves before an ancient wonder deep in the frost-bound forest—a towering toadstool dusted with snow. Hanging from its cap, they spot a glowing lantern, mysterious keys, and faint footprints leading into the unknown. What secrets could this frozen marvel hold? The children’s…

[ofmdrecaps]

12/17-18/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Happy birthday Jes Tom!; Galaxy Con Columbus OFMD Panel; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Con O'Neill; Nathan Foad; Vico Ortiz; Samba Schutte; Ruibo Qian; Alex Sherman; Anapela Polata'ivao; Adam Stein; Articles; Fan Spotlight: OFMD Buys Boats; OFMD Advent Calendar; Love Notes;

== Happy Belated Birthday Jes Tom! ==

One of our wonderful writers, Jes Tom, had a birthday on 12/18/2024! Happy belated birthday dear!!

Source: Jes Tom's Bsky

= Cast & Crew Birthdays =

I've been trying to collect cast and crew birthdays that I could find - Birthday Calendar and there's a few more coming up soon!

Dec 28th - David Fane

Dec 30th - Nathan Foad

Jan 1 - Ruibo Qian!

If you happen to know more that aren't on the calendar yet, please feel free to reach out to me! I've been trying to add them as I find them but I'm sure I'm missing many! <3 (I'm happy to credit you of course too!)

== Galaxy Con Columbus ==

Good news! The OFMD panel is now available on Youtube!

Source: Galaxy Con Youtube

= Rhys Darby =

A new Bad Jelly Trailer is out!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Badjelly (@badjellytv)

Source: BadJellyTV

A little quote from Rhys about Bad Jelly!

Source: SphereAnimation

There was an article about Rhys in BMA Magazine with this lovely spread!

Source: BMA Magazine

= Taika Waititi =

Hey! Wonderful news! Taika is going to be Honored with the Norman Lear Achievement at the 2025 Producers Guild Awards. "The Norman Lear Award recognizes a producer or producing team for their extraordinary body of work in television. It has been awarded to individuals whose leadership and creativity have made profound contributions to the television industry" - Producer'sGuild.org Article here

Source: Producers Guild Instagram

= Con O'Neill =

There's a new SAS Rogue Heros Trailer!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Theo Barklem-Biggs (@barklembiggs)

Source: Instagram

= Nathan Foad =

Nathan is sending some love to one of our crew members-- apparently they made this lovely scarf for Nathan's Mom! Who was this!? Let me know! I'd love to credit you!

Source: Nathan Foad's Instagram Stories

= Vico Ortiz =

Vico is working on a new project! Today in Gay is going to be available Monday Through Friday with a daily dose of queer news -- and good queer news! It'll be hosted by several queer icons, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Nay Bever, Vico Ortiz and Bex Taylor-Klaus. "Lauren Klein joined as Executive Producer, Editor, and Composer. Hannah Nobrega is our behind-the-scenes Researcher and Jax Ko, our Co-Producer and Creative Director, has done all of our visual design. Kalie Chebib is our Social Media Manager and our Supervising Producer is Maritza Navarro. Linh Nguyen keeps us all running as our Executive Assistant! We are all proud members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and we’re all here to make your day a little more gay. "

Today In Gay Is Your New Go-To Daily News Podcast Article!

Today in Gay Substack

Source: Vico's Bsky

= Samba Schutte =

Samba received some lovely gifts from our dear crewmate @amuseoffyre! He sent lots of love their way on his Instagram Stories!

More work by Samba -- Parallel Episode 3 is out on Amazon and there's a new Trailer!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Seasick Studios (@seasickstudios_)

Source: Samba's Instagram

= Ruibo Qian =

Just a quick shot of our Pirate Queen <3

Source: Ruibo's Instagram stories

= Alex Sherman =

Alex Sherman is still raising funds for the Experience Camp he has volunteered for in the past! It helps kids who have lost family members get a fun week away to help to process their feelings, and have a great time. Check out the donation page here if you're interested / able to help out!

Source: Alex Shermans Instagram

= Anapela Polata'ivao =

Our Auntie, Anapela Polata'ivao was selected for Story Camp Aotearoa 2025! "Story Camp is a residential feature film development lab that fosters craft, voice and vision with a programme designed to meet the development needs of each writer and project. Over the week, the participating writers and their collaborators workshop their feature film projects with exceptional local and international advisors. Congratulations to the filmmakers whose feature film projects will be developed through Story Camp Aotearoa 2025 ✍ The Factory Anapela Polataivao and Vela Manusaute - Co-Writers"

Source: Script to Screen

= Adam Stein =

Our producer and actor, Adam Stein, was spotlighted by Management LA this past week!

"Adam is currently a Consulting Producer on Apple TV+’s THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME. Previous to that, he was an Executive Producer on Max’s TOKYO VICE and OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH. Other recent shows include SEE (Apple TV+, Co-Executive Producer), DESIGNATED SURVIVOR (Netflix, Consulting Producer), THE EXORCIST (Fox, Co-Executive Producer) and UNDER THE DOME (CBS, Supervising Producer). He got his start in television on FX’s DAMAGES, and began his career as a writer doing features for GQ magazine. He has written pilots for Amazon, ABC, AMC Studios, FX and others. Currently, he’s playing Lucky in a production of Waiting for Godot at the @geffenplayhouse through December 21!"

Source: Adam Stein's Instagram

== Articles ==

Many thanks to our friends over at @adoptourcrew for keeping us up to date with every article under the sun featuring our show!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Instagram

== Fan Spotlight ==

= OFMD Buys Boats =

The Tiny Crew Big Raffle team is posting the final numbers for donations to the various non-profits by cast member over the next several days!

Lindsey Cantrell - Inner City Arts - US $865.80, £312.88, €15, CAD$12.45

Megan Vertelle - Sheldrick Wildlife Trust - US $901.95, £105, €215, CAD$20

Such wonderful work crew! Well done!

Source: OFMD Buys Boats Instagram

= OFMD Advent Calendar =

ANNNNND OFMD Advent Calendar is still going strong! Thank you so much to @tillychmo (as well as the fun door images!) for hosting this wonderful even! You can follow along on bluesky on @ofmdadventcalendar.bsky.social!

The 12th door features some very sweet artwork by the fab @intheblanketfort! aka @intheblanketfort.bsky.social!

The 13th Door features beautiful work by @kuuttamo.bsky.social!

The 14th Door features an ADORABLE lego surprise by @politestmenace.bsky.social!

The 15th Door features a super cool OFMD Holiday RPG by @alimasin! aka @alimasin.bsky.social!

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies! Well getting two out in one day didn't work out, so I will try to make sure I'm catching up with 2 days at time as much as I can over the next few days! I have a very important question to ask you-- and that is, have you laughed today? Did you know laughter can reduce anxiety, and stress, stimulate your lungs, heart and muscles? It's actually pretty damn awesome how much a good old fashioned guffaw can make us feel better. Is there something you know for a fact will make you laugh? (For me it's silly cat videos, or Stede boarding the tiny fisherman's boat in the pilot of the hit series OFMD). Maybe it's stand up comedy-- or puns, or dark humor. Whatever it is that tickles your funny bone, I would request that today you go and just partake in some giggles. They can be small, or big, but do something that makes you laugh <3 Below are some things that have given me some giggles in the past. I hope if nothing else they give you a smile. Sending so many hugs lovelies. I'm thinking of you <3

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Яхты Визы Паспорта Бодрум Стамбул (@alsubodrum)

Source: Instagram

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hippo (@hippo_lover_life_)

Source: Instagram

[cookiewoli]

Gift 2: Onyx

For @florisam

Hanging out with Onyx at Martle's Oasis

You just met her gaze-

You're a great artist and visual novels writer!! You always work hard and you're there for everyone in the OTAS server! I love all your OC and hesitate a lot between Onyx, Lev and Carina

But since I discovered you with Onyx, I chose her!

All your work are awesome, but don't push yourself too hard!

Hope you like this gift, and Merry Christmas!

Advent calendar index

[vetteltea]

Daniel Ricciardo and Putting on Snow Gear [no warnings]

Day 6 of the Vetteltea Advent Calendar

Note: Dedicated to one of the most amazing people in my life, @lxnceclercs. Kay is such a sweet human being and it's a genuine pleasure to share our love of F1 together. ALSO GOOD LUCK WITH FINALS! YOU'RE GOING TO DO AMAZING!

There are some sounds in life which are recognisable from their tones alone; a baby crying, the sound of wedding bells. More importantly, Daniel Ricciardo’s laugh. 

Of course, it was audible before it was visual; the sound of his laughter as you stood in the center of the bedroom, the dark ski suit which you had bought on a complete whim less than three days ago, currently stuck around your waist, huffs of annoyance only growing stronger as you tried to shift the stupid garment.

This entire trip had been a complete whirlwind; Scotty had approached Daniel less than a week ago, insisting his best friend came to Switzerland; Red Bull were hosting an event day for all members of the sporting family and who would Scotty be, if not to invite his best friend and soon-to-be Red Bull coworker? (Alphatauri was a baby step, his place was already secured for the future.)

Your boyfriend is spontaneous, it was one of the things you cherished about him. However, being told you had less than four days to find and buy skiing gear, warm clothes and something formal for the fancy dinner the entire group would be happening. You had been rushing through the airport less than twelve hours ago, Daniel’s warm hand laced with yours as he pulled you both to the right terminal, already knowing too well he had forgotten half of his own things and would have to purchase them when you tapped down in Switzerland. 

The first day had been elating; walking through the blankets of snow with your boyfriend, his hands gently resting on your waist as he guided you to the half-pipe, eyes wide as you watched Scotty take to the ramp, both yourself, Chloe and Daniel cheering when it was time for him to perform. The event had made you excited enough for the next day, when you would be able to try out snowsports yourself. 

At this rate, you wouldn’t make it out of the hotel, let alone to the ski slopes. Daniel’s laughter was beginning to grate on you for the first time in its existence. 

“It’s not funny.” You huffed, attempting to wiggle the suit into a more comfortable position. It didn’t assist the matter; if anything, you felt yourself getting further tangled, the laughter only growing at your stubbornness. Part of you, a tiny part of you thinks that you will stay like this for the rest of the day. It’s only lifted when you feel two warm hands through the thick fabric, adjusting the suit until it sits comfortably on your body, the hood flopped over your face. 

One hand reaches up, pulling away the hooded garment and revealing the sound of the laughter. Daniel’s face is always calming; his bright smile and warm eyes. Gently, one tanned hand reaches to cradle your cheek, the other matching in synchronized movement as he leans forward, pressing a chaste kiss to your nose. 

“My little snow bunny is so cute!” He teases. “You look so adorable all wrapped up!” Daniel pulls you closer to his chest, looping your hair behind your ears and pressing a soft kiss to your temple. He’s giggling now, it’s almost as if he can’t help it, sometimes. Your eyes flicker, looking up, head cocked in confusion. 

“Why are you laughing now?” You mumble, watching as Daniel unloops himself from your body, stepping back to the bed in the center of the room, his fingers slipping up and picking your hat from the bed. His eyes are soft, pressing the hat to your head, his hands trailing down and holding your face in his touch. 

“You’re so perfect.” He mumbles, closing the gap and pressing his lips to your own. He’s warm, even through the body of your thick snow suits. Your kisses become frantic, his head tilting to deepen the kiss. Your hands wander, tracing around his neck and pulling him into your lips. Weight is unevenly distributed, Daniel gasping as he falls back onto the bed, laughing as you land atop of him. 

The laughter soon dies down when your lips find his again, one warm hand tracing underneath the ski suit he had previously spent his time fixing for you. You’re both so lost in the moment, you don’t hear the door to the hotel room open, Scotty’s voice echoing through as heavy footsteps skip into the bedroom.

“Where are you-” He’s immediately cut off, the only sound present is Daniel’s lips leaving yours, looking up with wild eyes to his best friend.

“Get out.” He snaps. Scotty doesn't need telling twice, the loud slam of the door echoing around the hotel room. This time it’s your laughter which echoes around, Daniel only joining in when his lips return to your neck, hands trailing to unravel you from the Ski Suit once again.

He would be all too happy to help you put it back on, after all. 

[bestsynthpop]

Depeche Mode December

Stay tuned for a synthpop advent calendar, 24 days of Dave, Martin, Fletch and the lads.

Sorry, I didn’t get the hottest synthpop poll running. Since most people just submitted band names, it was going to be too much work to gather up all the visual propaganda. I think in January, I’ll put up a smalller B-sides tournament along with opening up submissions for the electropop/new synthpop tournament.