#and... at least christmassy in spirit. if not in letter.

[dreamcrow]

[Writing Prompt] :3c (Stricklake) Walter and Barbara celebrating Christmas and/or them trying to figure out what to give each other as a present :D (Also, happy holidays!)

yes i know it doesn’t snow in socal… did i write about stricklake taking a walk in the snow regardless? hashtag can’t be tamed, babes.

795 words | it crimiss.

“Well.” Her voice fogs up in the light of the moon, punctuated by the soft crunch of snow beneath her boots. “It’s not quite The Lion in Winter. But I guess a romantic moonlit walk with my boyfriend is pretty okay.”

“I assure you, my dear, your historical commentary was scintillating.” She’s got one hand wound through his arm, the other holding their thermos. The scent of mulled wine perfumes the air between them, all cinnamon and citrus and soft, floral honey, and she’s so close to him, and so warm, and oh, he’s got it bad. “And—we don’t need to stay out long. I really had forgotten.”

She flashes him a quick little smile, before darting her eyes away. But she tugs his arm a little closer. “This is important to you,” she says, like that’s an entire explanation. “So it’s important to me, too.”

“I don’t want to give the wrong impression,” he insists. “It’s not—religious, not the way you think about it.”

“But it's—what did you call it. I don’t know. Cultural, right?”

“Hm. Something like that.”

She’s been asking more often recently. Not that he minds, exactly. The feeling of—being scrutinized, of being observed. Except that’s not exactly it, is it? It’s not the kind of watching he’s been vigilant against for as long as he can remember. It's—it’s not being watched like a specimen, like a curiosity, not the feel of eyes trickling like cold water down his back, but—like someone she wants to learn from.

It’s. A novel sensation. 

But—well. It’s a holiday, or something like it. He’s trying not to be maudlin.

They keep walking for a bit in the companionable quiet, just enjoying the sounds of the nighttime forest. When the path they’re following turns sharply up the hill, he pulls himself up first, and offers her his arm. 

“You holding out alright?" 

"Oh, babe. I’m a regular snow bunny out here.” She only stumbles a little, climbing up the embankment, before flashing him a soft smile. “What about you? At least I’ve got a jacket.”

His cloak is actually quite warm, though he suspects she knows he’s thinking it. So instead: he simply shrugs. “Compared to my usual solstice plans, this is a considerable improvement.”

“Are you really cold?" 

Her voice turns so worried, though, he almost regrets the teasing. That is, until realizing it offers the excuse of pulling her close in to his side.

"With you around? Never.”

She tries, and fails, to stifle a laugh.

“Man. That was smooth, Strickler.” She leans her cheek into his arm, and he’s faintly surprised that he doesn’t actually spontaneously combust. “I guess it’s really true what they say, huh? Cold hands, warm heart.”

“How can anyone be cold around you?”

She almost snorts. “I’ve got a whole list of exes who could probably answer that question.”

“Barbara. Their judgment is clearly defective—”

Then, the path they’re following pulls into a clearing. The entire world is lit by the soft, blue light of the moon; the stars overhead gleam, a sea of diamonds scattered on blue velvet.

Barbara gasps. It’s a sound so quiet, he only notices by the little cloud of her breath.

“This is—this is beautiful,” she says. 

“Wait until we get to the overlook." 

"You can see so many of them!”

She looks so enchanted: it makes him feel so warm. “Have you never been outside the city at night?”

“Not like this!” She dashes ahead, gleeful. “Look, that's—Orion, right? And the bright one, that’s his hunting dog—oh.” She turns around, a little sheepish. “‘Excellent night vision,’ right?”

He gives a little half-smile, despite himself. “Elliptical pupils, my dear.”

“Do—do trolls—” She fumbles with the words, for a moment. Uncharacteristic as it is, he can’t help but grin at the wonder on her face. “You know—Jim told me, sometime recently. They’ve got a whole different set of stars? I mean—they’ve got the same ones we do, they just—read them different.”

He hums a soft sound of agreement. Trollish astronomy—most of which humans, especially Barbara, would actually probably call astrology—is a venerable, uninspiring subject, at least as it was taught to him. 

But. Ah. 

“Once I—once we’re done. With this.” He gives her a quick, sideways look. Just gauging—he doesn’t want to pressure her, especially since she knows she takes the cold harder than him. “Well—I could show you our constellations, if you like.”

Changeling constellations. His constellations. He’s still not used to sharing such things with her so freely, to so willingly letting himself be seen. 

But she looks—intrigued. Excited, even.

“Well.” She shoots him that little grin, and—his heart is so warm. “A romantic moonlit walk with my boyfriend, plus stargazing? Twist my arm, why don’t you.”

“I am nothing if not indulgent.”

[nottodayjjk]

dirty little secret ~ knj

❆ summary: one fateful night in december, you come to acquire santa's naughty or nice list by accident. together with your neighbour and best friend namjoon you uncover the dirty secrets of your neighbours plunging everything into chaos. bringing mischief about is all fun games, until your own little secret appears on the naughty and nice list.

❆ pairing: namjoon x female reader (minor appearance of other idols)

❆ word count: 10,4k

❆ genre: humor, romance, fluff, smut

❆ fic warnings: oral sex (f. receiving), language

❆ rating: 18+

❆ notes from the author: this fic is part of a hoeliday well spent from the christmas in july collab hosted by @kookdiaries​, @kithtaehyung​ and @xiaokoo​ and is loosely based on the hallmark channel-movie ‘naughty or nice’ (2012). i had a lot of fun writing this! big thank you again to @kookdiaries for creating this incredible banner and for @minigum for being the most wonderful beta reader <3

❆ tag list: @shameless-army​​ @writtenwhalien​​ @shrimpmsg​​ @moonchild1​

In the dark of the night, snow was falling softly and covered the street in peaceful quietness. Christmas decorations and flickering candles adorned the lit windows and lights were beautifully draped around snow-covered bushes. Sparkling reindeers pulled Santa’s carriage and inflated snowmen waved happily at cars driving by. Christmas time had just begun.

A few lamps illuminated the street with their yellow dimmed light as a dark, giant shadow slipped past. Quiet footsteps could be heard in the stillness of the cold winter night, wading through ankle-deep snow in heavy black boots. They were on their way to the sturdy apartment building on the left side of the desolate street, determined to fulfil their quest. They took another look around before they slipped through the glass door, the red fabric of their clothes gleamed under the flickering light of the broken lamp of the entrance lobby. Then, the night was quiet again.

You had been out with your best friend and next-door neighbour Namjoon whom you knew a few years by now. From the first day you had set foot in the small apartment building, he had been a helping hand, mainly through helping you carry a myriad of small boxes and things all the way up to the 6th floor where the both of you lived. The elevator had, of course, been out of order on that day. But he hadn’t complained at all! And because he had gone way out of his way even though he had only met you that same day, you had invited him to a take-away pizza and a bottle of cheap wine from the supermarket right around the corner. You had not expected your first night in your new home to be like this, to be so much fun. He had stayed until the morning, the two of you talking about anything and everything until the birds had chirped good morning outside. And the bond between the two of you had only grown from there on out.

You had visited a local Christmas market together, drinking a whole lot of eggnog and relishing in the joyful spirit of Christmas. You had never been someone to celebrate Christmas before you had met Namjoon. In your first year, he had basically dragged you to the market and filled you up with all kinds of different Christmassy drinks and snacks, bought you several gingerbread hearts, and even got you to ride one of the many attractions with him. The next day had been awful, the hot chocolate with rum had come out the same way that it had gone in. Still, it had been the most joyous Christmas time you had ever had.

Ever since then, he always did something new with you every Christmas. Buying a tree, seeing a Santa Claus show in the city centre, or writing letters with long wish lists to Santa. But it had never come down to actually spending Christmas eve and morning together, to your disappointment. He usually drove to his parents, a three-hour ride from where you lived, leaving you on your own to sulk in loneliness until he came back for New Year’s Eve.

Well, this year he had bugged you until you had agreed to go décor shopping for your apartment with him. It had made him sad to see your living space so empty during a cheery time like this. He got you all the basic things: fairy lights, cute little snowmen that had the friendliest smiles, a whole lot of candlesticks with red candles that smelled like gingerbread and cinnamon, hell, even glitter balls and bows for the small tree he also had gotten you.

After putting all the decorations up and “to celebrate your joyful shopping spree”, as Namjoon had called it, he had once again persuaded you to go to the Christmas market, letting no feeble excuses count. He had been in too good of a mood anyway for you to turn him down. You found it cute when he was all excited and giddy like this.

He had ordered eggnog after eggnog. His infectious enthusiasm had only gone up, not down a tad as you had hoped. But after the third eggnog, you hadn’t minded anymore anyway. Namjoon had entertained you all through the evening, making you laugh and enjoy yourself after a long week of studying and learning. Even though it had just snowed the other day, the eggnog had held you warm through and through, your cheeks feeling hot. Maybe it had also been a little bit because of Namjoon and how he had scooted closer and closer to you throughout the evening, ‘to keep each other warm’ as he had stated.

You had stayed until the booth had closed and the owner had hushed you to finally head home. Given both of your inebriated states, getting home had taken twice as long as it did when you’d left from home to go out.

As you had reached the door, waving a last goodbye to Namjoon who had stumbled clumsily into his own apartment, it had taken you a few minutes until you finally had gotten the key into the hole. You hadn’t even bothered to brush your teeth, only changing into comfy pyjamas – which had been quite the task – and slipping into bed. Dreamland hadn’t waited long to come, and you had fallen sound asleep.

So, to no one’s surprise, you didn’t hear when soft but heavy footsteps approached your apartment in the middle of the night. Didn’t spot the broad shadow that could be seen through the small gap under your door where the light fell in. Didn’t notice when a thick package wrapped with packing paper was pushed through the letter slot of your apartment door.

The package fell to the ground with a gentle thud. The towering figure hummed a merry tune before taking off again. You only turned around in your sleep, mumbling, “No more eggnog, Namjoon”, before it was quiet once more.

The rest of the night went uneventfully, and the package laid peacefully on your door mat until morning came.

A pounding headache. That was what had woken you up. The eggnog hadn’t been a good idea from the start, and you had told Namjoon several times. But even though he had listened to you, he had ignored your reasonable request. He hadn’t really given you a choice to begin with. And you hadn’t wanted to complain. At least he had paid and that was all that had been needed to convince you.

While Namjoon was already producing his own music, you were still a university student majoring in Art. You got by fine with the money your parents sent you and what you earned from your part-time job at the library, but you were still glad for every penny you could keep and save for after university. You dreamed of opening your own business and, heck, you needed a lot of money for that.

When Namjoon had heard of your ideas, he had been in immediately, supporting you in every way possible. Even if it meant paying for your drinks or your museum visits on the weekend. As long as he got to spend time with you, it was worth all his money.

You desperately grabbled for the nightstand. Luckily, you had prepared pain meds and water in advance, even a small piece of toast. Your nights out with Namjoon usually ended like this, so you are accustomed to it.

Sitting up a little, you popped the pills into your mouth first before chucking the water into your throat as if your life depended on it. Once you’d dealt with that, you reached towards the toast, munching on it until it was no more.

You felt better immediately as the medicine worked its way through your system and the toast soaked up the remaining alcohol in your stomach. Slowly the turns in your stomach lessened and until there was one thing overtaking your needs. It was time for coffee.

Slowly, you got up, swaying a little back onto the bed but overall, it was not as bad as you’d had expected. Sure, the eggnog had made your stomach a little weak, but you felt certain it could handle the coffee. Otherwise, you couldn’t make it through the day. Coffee was vital right now.

On the way out of your bedroom, you snatched your long silk gown, putting it on. You headed straight to the coffee machine, pushing the little blinking button so it started grinding the black beans. The soft smell of freshly ground coffee filled the air as you grabbed a big mug from the sink. You sighed and leaned one hip on the counter.

As you waited for the coffee you looked around and your gaze fell onto an exceptionally cheery snowman on your coffee table. You had never been keen on Christmas decorations. They were too bright, too colourful, and too cheesy.

Well, jokes on you. All the things the two of you had bought, the fairy lights, red candles, a few reindeers and snowmen, and some green fir branches, were now spread around your apartment, the small tree chilling next to your TV in the corner. It was hard to say ‘No’ to Namjoon’s puppy eyes. He usually got his way with you.

It had also been his idea to not only put the lights on the curtain rods but to wind them around them, too. 

He had held you safely by your waist as you had stood on the ladder to reach up there. His long, slender hands had felt so warm through your clothes that your heart had stuttered for a second and you had gotten the job done rather quickly to get away from this weird feeling that had erupted in your chest. Because you couldn’t admit it to yourself. You couldn’t admit that Namjoon had become more than a best friend to you over the last few years.

But you had to confess; the lights were very very pretty. You even thought about keeping them up there after Christmas. They brought a soft glow around the room that made it feel unbelievably cosy and romantic.

As you absentmindedly grabbed for your finished cup of coffee you couldn’t help but remember the way Namjoon’s skin had glowed in these lights. How mesmerizing he had looked. How hard you had had to keep yourself from putting a hand up to one of his cheeks and caressing his soft skin.

You lost yourself in the memory for a second before you noticed something very peculiar from the corner of your eye. Something very square and brown. It was a package. On your doormat. ‘What in god’s name,’ you thought to yourself as you eyed it in curious suspicion. The post usually never came that early. Especially not on a Saturday. And why had no one rang the bell? It was odd, to say the least.

You left your coffee on the counter, steam still rising in puffy clouds from the cup. Cautiously, you made your way over to the mysterious package that read your full address, but no sender. It was quite big, now that you had gotten closer, and it had you wondering how it had fit through the narrow letter slot. Maybe Namjoon was pulling a prank on you?

Before you picked up the package, you opened the door and checked the hallway, frantically looking left and right. But no one was there, not even Namjoon to cheekily grin at you.

Closing the door behind you, you took the brown package and laid it down on the counter next to your coffee. You eyed it once more while taking a long sip from the beverage. Should you open it? What if there was something… bad or deadly inside? You had heard of such packages before on the news. People sent them to get revenge on ex-partners or enemies. Well, you had no such things… and Namjoon seemed to be out of the picture as well.

After some more staring, curiosity finally got the best of you, and you carefully ripped open the brown packing paper. It revealed a heavy book that was edged in red velvety fabric that had golden ornaments engraved. Imprinted on it was the lettering “Naughty or Nice”. Wait- what?!

Snorting laughter erupted from your chest. This had to be a prank, right? ‘Namjoon’s good,’ you thought to yourself. ‘Keeps hiding until I actually look at the book. Not a very good prank, but alright…’

As you were about to open it, you could hear a key jingling in front of your door and some mumbled curses. ‘Speaking of the devil.’ Namjoon strode through the door in his pyjama and a long gown, his hair looking dishevelled and eyes still half-closed. He had your spare keys which gave him the possibility to let himself in whenever and you didn’t mind. At this point, it had become commonplace.

You watched with an amused grin as he immediately scuffed over to the coffee machine, grabbing another cup from the sink, and turning it on once more. He inhaled the smell just like you did before he turned around to face you.

“Morning, Y/N,” he hummed, and a lop-sided grin adorned his lips. Hell, how did this sleepy look fit him so well? “How is your stomach?”

You crossed your arms and leant back on the counter. “Better than I thought. You?”

“Same, same. I just really craved your coffee. This machine is a literal angel!” He turned back around to grab his coffee and take a big gulp before letting out a satisfied sigh.

“Very funny, by the way.” You pointed at the book behind you, still laying unopened on your counter. “You never have Christmas-pranked me before so that’s a first. But it isn’t one of your best ideas, if I can be honest with you.”

There was a moment of silence. You had expected him to laugh at you or make a clever remark about how he had gotten you to open it. But… nothing. He just blankly stared at you. “What?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Making this book look like Santa’s Naughty or Nice list? Very funny, Namjoon, very funny!” You chuckled a little at him pretending not to know what you were talking about.

He spied over your shoulder, reading the lettering. And shook his head. “Y/N. I… didn’t prank you. This–“ He pointed to the book. “–is nothing I came up with. Though I must say, I think it’s a pretty good idea!” He snickered a little and took another sip of his coffee.

“But–“ You turned around to the book. “–who sent it to me then? I don’t know who else would try and prank me…” Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, taking another look at the packing paper. Still nothing but your address.

“Have you opened it yet?”

“No, I was just about to when you came through the door.” You put a hand on the binding. The velvet fabric felt soft under your fingertips and the golden lettering glittered in the glim of the fairy lights. It looked so… real.

Carefully, you opened it, coming face to face with a blank page. Maybe the others? You browsed to the next page. And the next. And the next. But they were all blank, not even a tiny little bit of ink to be seen. ‘Weird…’

Skimming through the rest of the book, you looked for anything peculiar. Nothing. “It’s empty,” you told Namjoon, while going back to the first page and leaving it open.

You heard shuffling on the floor and suddenly Namjoon leaned over your shoulder to look at the book. He stretched out his hand to skim through it as well. He was so close. You could feel the heat radiating off his body and his breath on your neck as he let out a confused huff.

When he stepped back from you after inspecting the book, you wished him back closer behind you. ‘Stop that,’ you scolded yourself in your head. ‘He is your best friend!’

“Well, it actually looks like someone pulled a prank on you,” Namjoon stated while making himself another cup of coffee. He usually runs on three. On a good day. That you knew his coffee consumption so well said a lot about how regularly he came over in the morning to use your coffee machine.

“Apparently…”

Loud bass suddenly disrupted the morning, booming through the wall to your left. ‘No, not again!’ It was your other neighbour… Jungkook. He kept it down on most days. But he always pulled this on a Saturday morning, and you were sure he was doing it on purpose just to annoy you. You had banged on the wall a few times before. On some days he even turned the music down after your knocking complaint. But today, it was on a whole other level. As if he knew you had been out late and had a mild hangover.

“Ugh, I’ll swear I’ll punch him some day,” you mumbled while pinching your eyebrows in frustration.

Namjoon knew you weren’t kidding. Jungkook had been getting on your nerves ever since he had moved in next door. Before him, there lived a nice and quiet lady who occasionally baked chocolate cookies for the two of you and had always put something nice in front of your door during Christmas time. Now, there was Jungkook. Student, party animal, and the type to listen to music so loud you couldn’t hear your own thoughts.

“I wouldn’t mind,” Namjoon said. “But I also don’t want to have to visit you in prison during Christmas time.” He chuckled lightly, running a hand through his hair before chucking down his coffee.

Suddenly, you heard a rustling noise of paper coming from the counter. The book! It was turning its pages on its own. “Holy-“

You stepped in front of the counter, Namjoon following closely, eyes as wide as the moon. “How is that possible?” he whispered while peering over your shoulder again.

A golden light bloomed from the Naughty or Nice book and the two of you just stared at in great awe as sparkles danced around the room. “I’m usually not one to believe in magic,” Namjoon muttered under his breath. “But this is a whole new thing…”

The turning stopped and the pages gently dropped down. Beautiful, curved letters emerged, writing your neighbour’s name. They shone golden in the light. “What is happening?” you hissed while intently watching the book. Namjoon just shrugged his shoulders, speechless.

 Jeon Jungkook: always leaves his trash in front of Mrs. Kim’s apartment door

Underneath was a moving picture, showing Jungkook looking around frantically before putting his trash bag on Mrs. Kim’s doormat and a more detailed description of what was going on. You gasped out in disbelief. “Mrs. Kim is always so nice! How dare he!?”

Namjoon let out an angry huff. “You’ve got a good point but-“ His forehead crinkled in confusion and scepticism. “How does it do that?”

You shrugged, turning the page to see if it had a built-in display. But… there was nothing. It was just a normal page like any other. You turned back to the picture of Jungkook where he had gotten caught in the act. By whom? You didn’t know, could only guess… But no, this was not possible. Santa didn’t exist. But… an idea came to your head.

“Hmm, let’s put this to a test,” you said as the pounding bass continued to boom through the wall. You left the book open, the image of Jungkook engraved in your head, as you turned on your heels and made your way over to the door.

“You actually gonna go over there?” Namjoon trailed behind you, not sure if this was the right thing to do. You definitely had a reason to be angry at Jungkook. But what if this was all just a scam? Well, it felt far too real for that, but Namjoon wasn’t yet ready to call his beliefs into question. This was insane.

You nodded and opened the door. “He has been getting on my nerves for a few weeks now. It’s time to put this to a stop.” You gave him one last determined book before stepping out into the hallway.

Namjoon shook his head in amusement at your vendetta and stopped at your doorstep, leaning against the frame watching you. This was your fight. He wouldn’t get between the frontlines. He knew your anger all too well.

You rapped viciously on the door; quite sure Jungkook wouldn’t hear any of it. And of course, the door didn’t open and the music blared on. So, you resorted to a more effective method. You pressed the button of the bell and held it down. ‘I will have you answer your door even if it takes the whole freaking day.’

It took a few seconds, but you heard the music fading and someone swearing behind the door. It worked. A malicious smirk adorned your lips. You weren’t even nervous, more excited to try the spicy information you had acquired about him. The keys jingled in the keyhole and an annoyed face appeared in the ajar door. “What is it?”

You crossed your arms and put on your most intimidating look. The secret from the book gave you a hell of a confident boost. “Jungkook,” you started, “I’ve told you many many times to quiet it down.”

He rolled his eyes and huffed. “I know. I’m sorry but-“

You cut him off immediately. “No buts. You’re either gonna tone it down from now on or…”

“Or what? You’re trying to threaten me?” He laughed and threw his head back. “That’s new. Well, you’ve got nothing on me, Y/N.”

You squinted your eyes at him, and a smile grew on your face. “You sure?”

Jungkook leaned against the door frame while looking bored. The arrogant look on his face gave you the rest of the encouragement you needed. “Well,” you swirled one of your hair strands around your finger, “I know you’re putting your trash bags on Mrs. Kim’s doormat, so you don’t have to take it out yourself…”

It took a moment for Jungkook to realise what you just said. But when he finally did, his jaw almost dropped down to his knees. “How-“

“The poor woman. I think she deserves to know…” You turned around, feeling the power pulsating in your hands. It was electrifying! You slowly strode over to your apartment.

“Y/N!” Jungkook called out after you, desperation apparent in his voice. “I-“ He dropped his head in defeat, all pride and arrogance had left his body. “If you don’t tell her, I promise I’m gonna tone it down from now on,” he caved in.

“You better,” you just answered and walked away, leaving a speechless Jungkook by his door.

Namjoon snickered as you entered your apartment again, finding the whole situation very amusing. “Have you seen his face? He was so stunned!” Both of you burst out into a fit of laughter, needing a few seconds to calm yourselves down again.

You went back to the still open book. “So it tells the truth…” you stated while tracing the letters with your fingers when they suddenly started to disappear. “Oh! They’re vanishing!”

“Probably because you called him out on that,” Namjoon assumed, looking at the now empty page and then at you. “You know what that means… right?”

You turned it over in your head for a few seconds before you answered Namjoon’s gaze with a mischievous smile. “Let’s discover some secrets this Christmas!”

And so, the two of you went on to discover the hidden secrets and misdeeds of all of your neighbours. The book was never wrong. Not when it told you that Mrs. Kim had a secret fling with Mr. Sung from floor 5 and they were acting like giddy teenagers, that Mrs. Lee let her dog pee on Mrs. Park’s door mat once in a while because they couldn’t stand each other, that Soonyoung from second floor liked to bathe in pure milk occasionally, that Yeji from first floor stole Mr. Chew’s newspaper now and then because he was rude to basically everyone in the building, that Taehyung from fourth floor had sang Christmas carols in the middle of the night for Yeji because he had been out to drink, and many many more.

Some of them you used for your amusement, but most of them were kept between the both of you. You felt closer to Namjoon than ever before. Sharing and keeping secrets about your neighbours bound you together. And Christmas time was a blast, for the both of you! You went out once in a while to the Christmas market again but usually you kept your noses in the Naughty or Nice book, awaiting the next secret to appear. So, Christmas time went by in a happy blur.

After coming home from another one of your merry adventures, you began to realise that this might all be over soon. Actually, Christmas evening was tomorrow already and Namjoon would probably be off to his parents. You didn’t want to stop discovering all these secrets with Namjoon. You had spent a lot of time together; it had been so much fun. And you liked being around him, you knew that. You weren’t ready to admit it, but you had fallen in love with him even more by now. Even after all these years, his way of living and his wisdom still amazed you to no end.

Your thoughts were suddenly disrupted by Namjoon as the both of you reached your apartment door. “Y/N?”

“Yes,” you answered, shaking yourself out of your thoughts. Namjoon stood in front of you, nervously wrenching his hands. You had never seen him skittish before. Had something happened?

He took a deep breath before he began to speak. “I was… wondering if you wanted to spent Christmas together?” Namjoon nervously scratched his head. “I-“ he stumbled over his own words for a moment. “I don’t want you to be alone for Christmas. And my parents won’t be at home anyway. So, I was wondering- I mean-“ He rambled on and gestured wildly between the both of you.

To stop him, you gently put your hand on his arm. “Yes,” you answered simply and smiled at him happily, not able to contain your excitement at his request. Your heart was beating in your chest. Spending Christmas with Namjoon was a dream come true.

“I... would love to.” You rubbed your arm awkwardly while not being able to meet his eyes. You were sure he would be able to read your confused feelings for him right there.

He let out a small huff of relief. “Good, good… We can go grocery shopping together tomorrow if you want. So we can pick something to eat that we both like.”

“That sounds like a great idea. Meet in the morning as usual?” you asked, fidgeting with your jacket sleeve.

Namjoon nodded. “I will cook of course. You will be my guest! Also, your cooking skills might be a little insufficient for Christmas…” Mischievousness gleamed in his eyes and you just shook your head, laughing a little.

“I think my cooking skills are fine as they are. It’s not my fault you don’t like the food that I cook!” you exclaimed and hit his shoulder playfully. “Also, your food might taste better than mine. But you’re definitely more chaotic than I am!”

“Okay, okay,” he put his hands up in defeat. “You’ve got a point. I’m still cooking though.” He took off his beanie to run a hand through his hair. He stretched his arms out, motioning for you to give him a goodbye-hug.

Your skin tingled as you obliged. His hands rested on your back as he tugged you close. “Good night, Y/N,” he whispered into your ear, eliciting a shiver running down your back. Gosh, his voice and his soft lips were hovering right next to your ear. It created images in your head you shouldn’t be thinking about in the proximity of your best friend, but you couldn’t help yourself.

You swallowed a big lump in your throat. “Good night to you too,” you whispered back with a hoarse voice, heart still fluttering. He could hear the rapid beating for sure.

Both of you stayed in the hug longer than necessary, thinking about what would become of your adventures once Christmas was over. You were sure the book would disappear, that its owner would come to get it.

You sighed before stepping away from Namjoon, giving him a small smile before pulling out your keys. He went over to his door, a jingling noise reaching your ears. You looked over your shoulder before entering your apartment.

“Sweet dreams, Y/N,” Namjoon called over in a hushed voice before he disappeared behind his own door. Little did you and he know what effect these last few words would have on you…

Wanton sounds escaped your mouth as your hands grasped fiercely for your sheets. Waves of pleasure rolled through your body as you felt a desperate mouth latching onto your clit, tongue poking out to gratify your little bundle of nerves. Your eyes rolled back into your head. It felt… overwhelming.

You couldn’t hold in a lewd moan as the tongue worked magic on you. “Please–“ You couldn’t form a whole sentence without being interrupted by your own moans.

You felt a hand softly caressing your thigh. “Y/N,” a familiar voice reached your ear, making you perk up. Was this… real? You lifted yourself on your elbows to see if you were right with your guess.

Looking up from between your legs was a tousled Namjoon, cheeks red and lips glistening in the light of your fairy lights. He looked like an angel with his skin glowing golden and his hair illuminated.

It felt like a dream come true…

It wasn’t the morning light waking you up nor the loud traffic noise from the street in front of your apartment building. No. What woke you up was the growing wetness between your legs. Your heart beat loudly in your chest, a light film of sweat covered your forehead. Well, that had been… hot.

You had had dreams of Namjoon before. Funny ones, sad ones, even ones where the two of you had been dating. But with things like this, you had only been daydreaming about thus far. It had you all riled up, a little embarrassed, but first and foremost horny.

His head between your legs and his tongue on your clit had felt so real. Oh, what you’d give to actually get to feel that. But you were sure that it would remain something that stayed in your daydreams, when you had to release some friction behind your bedroom doors.

You sighed, pushing the thick blanket to the side. You had to take care of the mess between your legs and there was only one place that always helped: the shower. You had to get this dream out of your head before Namjoon would come over. Otherwise you wouldn’t be able to look into his eyes without thinking of the sinful scene that repeated itself again and again in your head.

‘Let’s get this over with,’ you pushed yourself to get out of bed and into the shower. As if you didn’t enjoy this…

As you sat down by the book again with a big cup of fresh coffee, you were actually wondering if you’d ever appear on the list. Or Namjoon. And which secret of yours it would be. So far, it hadn’t spilled any of yours. But it would be merely a matter of time until the pages would reveal what you had kept from one another. Even though there were barely any secrets between the two of you. Only this… this was kind of a major one.

Absent-mindedly, you browsed through the book again. What secret would reveal itself today? Maybe about this dude all up on floor 7 that was always wearing a beanie and sunglasses or that girl from over the street that was walking her dog up and down the street.

Someone was entering the apartment. Namjoon rounded the corner and came into your view. He was also still in his morning clothes, his feet hidden beneath two slippers. Your gazes met shortly, a quick nod exchanged and gentle smiles, before he made a turn.

“And?” He strolled over to the coffee machine, slippers scratching on the floor. “Anything new?” He nodded towards the book sprawled out in front of you.

“I haven’t really checked yet, give me a second.” You concentrated back on the book, pages sliding through your fingers as you looked for a new secret until you found it. You didn’t really pay any attention at first. But then you read your name in big, curved letters. A quiet gasp slipped past your lips.

Checking to see if Namjoon was still making coffee, you hoped he was not aware of your little slip up. He happily worked away, putting coffee beans into the machine, whistling ‘Jingle Bells Rock’ to the puckering sound of the milk frother.

Then, you turned your attention back to the book. When you read Has naughty dreams of their best friend in small letters, your heart sped up and your breathing got ragged. Underneath it was, like it had always been the case before, a more detailed description of what had happened. And a picture of you writhing and moaning beneath the sheets. No, why today?!

The words in front of you blurred as you tried to fathom the consequences if Namjoon came to read this. Your friendship would be over. He would never speak to you again. Hell, what would he think of you?!

You couldn’t let that happen. He was the only thing in your life that kept you sane. That could not all be thrown away. You quickly closed the book, thinking of something to distract Namjoon.

Unfortunately, the loud thump startled Namjoon. He turned around as he heard the sudden noise. He eyed you for a second and then noticed the closed book under your hands. He put down the coffee spoon he was holding. “Uhm… Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Your eyes are like… this wide.” He put a fair distance between his thumb and his pointer finger.

Quickly shaking your head, you scrambled for words. “It’s nothing. I-I thought I…” Yeah, what did you think? It was hard to lie when Namjoon looked at you like that. Your brain couldn’t come up with anything. Instead, you just gulped heavily.

Namjoon’s coffee was now forgotten, its owner too curious about what you had read and seen. He had, of course, noticed your nervous behaviour, growing suspicious of what you were trying to do. His slippers scraped along the floor again as he casually made his way over to you. With his gaze never leaving your face, he followed your every move.

Clambering for the book, you secured it in your arms before Namjoon could reach for it. He couldn’t find out. Not about the dream. Not about the feelings you held for him. But especially not about the dream. The sinful scenes replayed themselves in your head again and you felt your cheeks heating up once more. “There is nothing in there,” you exclaimed, trying to sound as convincing as possible. But there was a crack in your voice. And you could see it in his eyes. He knew.

Scrambling to sit up right on the couch, you shook your head ‘No’, keeping the book tight in your clutches. Over your dead body would it fall into his hands.

“If there is nothing to see, why are you keeping it from me?” He tried to reason with you, stretching out a hand towards the book that you kept clutched in front of your chest, your arms wrapped around it like it was the most precious treasure you had ever possessed.

Namjoon was not one to accept a ‘No’, you knew that. You could spot the determined look in his eyes already. There was nothing that would keep him from finding out. And that had you scared like hell.

You could only stare at him, not having an answer for his very true and logical question. He would always catch you with his well thought-out reasoning. It made you want to tear your hair out every time. Right now, though, you were paralysed by fear.

“Well, you leave me no choice,” he approached you slowly, trying to read you, trying to calculate which escape route you would take. Because whatever stood in that book, had you all jittery and he had to know why. Though he knew that you would never show him voluntarily.

Panic, your brain screamed. And your body scrambled up from the couch, trying to get away from Namjoon. You still clutched the book in front of your chest with both hands.

“No, no, no!” he lunged forward, reaching for you. “You’re not getting away!” He got your left foot before you could escape safely from the couch. Your body fell back onto the cushions, knocking the breath out of your lungs. But you didn’t let go of the book, no matter the pain it would cost.

In his haste to prevent your escape, he knocked down a few wooden reindeers and snowmen from the coffee table. Luckily, there was no glass there. You had told him right in the store that you would not be buying any glass decorations if he would be around. With his clumsiness, he would knock them down within mere seconds. Hell, he had almost dropped something right then and there in the shop. But you both had other things to worry about right now than your Christmas decorations.

“Namjoon,” you shout out anxiously. “Let go of me!” But his grip on you didn’t ease up.

“Not before you show me the freaking book, Y/N!” And he kept his word, his hands desperately trying to seize the book from your tight grip. But you wouldn’t give up so easily. You once more tried to get away from him, grasping for the armrest and pulling like your life depended on it. But he was just too strong, with one hand grabbling for the book and the other holding down your legs.

While fighting him off, you didn’t notice how he’d crawled up your body, getting in nearer reach of the book. And suddenly he was way too close to your face, hovering above you in such an intimate way he never had before.

There had been moments of course. Where he had caged you in a little at your door, when he had leaned in too close, when he had pulled you into his warm embrace… But that had been something different.

Now he laid on top of you, covering your body with his. His chest heaved against yours as he tried to catch his breath from fighting with you. His grey-dyed hair fell in streaks into his eyes and once more his skin glowed in the warm fuzzy light of the fairy lights that framed his head. For a second, the both of you just... stopped.

He looked deeply into your eyes; his pupils overshadowed with an emotion you couldn’t grasp. Your heart beat even faster and your brain felt like it would explode any minute. Your senses were heightened, and you could feel his skin burning on yours. It was… ravishing. Your body couldn’t get enough of it already.

Suddenly, he snapped the book out of your hand, forcing an evil laughter out of his mouth and the moment was gone. He had shamelessly used your messed up state to his advantage and now the book was in his hands.

He scrambled back up from his position on top of you, quickly getting away from you and taking the book with him so you wouldn’t come up with the idea of snatching it back from him. Well, you had resigned already anyway. There was no way you could stop the inevitable from happening now. You said your last goodbye to your friendship. He took one last look at your dishevelled and defeated state before he plopped down on the armchair.

Thump, thump, thump. You could hear your heartbeat in your ears like the drums of that one Christmas song that they always played on the radio, and your stomach took a heavy leap. No, you couldn’t watch this. It was just too much to handle. You grabbed for the plush Santa Namjoon had gotten you as a joke last year, and hid your face in the red fabric of his cloak. You peeked out anxiously, watching Namjoon.

Pages rustled as Namjoon slowly opened the book. His heart beat just as fast as yours as he searched for the right page. Not because he was anxious, but because of his excitement as to what he would get to read on that page. And then he finally found it.

He was not surprised that it was about you. He had actually predicted that. Why else would you react that way if this didn’t reveal something about you? But the content had him gasping out in astonishment.

To actually believe it, he had to read it more than once. It beat all of his wildest dreams. Not only had you caught feelings for him, but he had of course caught feelings for you as well. And quite some time ago too. He had wanted to confess more than once but he hadn’t had the guts. He was very afraid of losing you as well so this came as a very pleasant surprise to him.

Unable to help it, he read the passage once more and let his gaze on the image of you linger a little longer, feeling arousal crawl up his body. He had caught you staring at him here and there, when going for a swim in the summer or when he read a book, when you didn’t think he would notice. He had never given much thought to it though. He would have never guessed that you had thought about him, dreamed about him.

He needed a few to gather himself, to brace himself for what was to come. He couldn’t let this slide just like that now that he knew that you felt the same for him. Now that he knew what you were craving. And he wanted to give you exactly that. All night if you wanted to. He wanted to give you the pleasure that you deserved, see you writhing underneath his fingers, calling out his name so that everyone could hear what he did to you.

A mischievous grin passed over his face. He would take care of that wish of yours, as a Christmas gift. That he promised to himself and gathered all of his confidence for. His heartbeat was going through the roof but he didn’t want you to know, and tried to keep a calm face.

You peeked out once more as he closed the book. You tried to read his face, but there was nothing to work with. Had your friendship been ruined already? Would he just leave and never say a word to you ever again? You expected the worst, already feeling tears prick in your eyes.

Namjoon slowly got up from the armchair and now you were sure he would leave the apartment. You felt embarrassment, shame, and regret overwhelm you. But there was something in you that fought back. Your eyes grew big, you couldn’t just let him go like this. “Namjoon, I-“

But he cut you off mid-sentence. “Y/N, Y/N, Y/N.” He shook his head, putting the book down on the table and shoved it over towards you. Your gaze fell back to the image of you, a moaning mess in the bed. You couldn’t handle looking at it and instead gazed up at Namjoon and being met with an expression that you hadn’t expected at all.

He looked like a boy who had gotten the biggest present for Christmas, but there was also something a lot less innocent in his eyes. Holding your gaze, he came back over to the couch and crouched in front of you.

“You’ve been –“ He swallowed visibly, nervousness getting the best of him for a second, before he proceeded with confidence “–a very naughty girl, Y/N, haven’t you?” He cocked an eyebrow while putting both of his hands next to your legs that rested on the edge of the couch.

A shiver ran down your spine at his words. Never had you imagined that Namjoon would speak like this to you. You could not say much, your throat going dry, and just slowly nodded your head.

“Hmm, thought so,” he answered while letting his gaze wander over your form. “Well, what do we do about that? Naughty girls need to be punished, right?” His eyes drifted back to your face, satisfied he took notice of the effect he had on you. How your legs unconsciously rubbed together at his every movement.

With the heat rising from you, he felt drawn to you.

“But I think you’ve been pretty nice this year. I think we leave the punishment for another day and instead–“ He nodded towards the book, referring to the description of your dream under the picture. “– keep working on this.” He turned back towards you. “What do you think, Y/N?”

His words were music in your ears. This was more than you could wish for. You pinched yourself for a second, making sure it wasn’t another dream of yours, that you hadn’t just fallen asleep again in your bed. But it was as real as it could get. Arousal is already pooling in your panties, Namjoon’s deep voice resounding in your head.

By now, he was drawing small, soft circles on the skin of your thigh, patiently waiting for your answer. He wouldn’t do anything about it as long as you hadn’t given your consent. There was still a little voice inside of him that wasn’t sure if you really felt the same. He had no time to think too much about it though.

You cleared your throat, the effect he had on you clear as day. “I’d… love that.” You shyly answered, carefully putting a hand on Namjoon’s cheek. He leaned into your touch immediately, closing his eyes for a second to enjoy the feeling of the gentle action.

He pushed himself up a little, his face hovering in front of yours. You held your breath, excited for what was to come. He was even closer than before. You could feel puffs of his hot breath gently caressing your lips. His eyes kept yours caged, his pupils blown looking like black holes that swallowed you to take you to another dimension.

With his hand moving up to the side of your neck, it gingerly brushed against the skin and he left it at the nape of your neck. His face inched closer, barely any space left between your lips now. Your thumb grazed over his cheek, the skin underneath warm and tender. You could stay like this forever.

“May… may I kiss you?” Namjoon asked, gaze drifting between your shining eyes and your tempting lips. You took his breath away, making him weak in the knees. Why hadn’t he confessed to you sooner? He could have had it all already. You had both missed out on so much. But there was still so much time to make up for it all.

It took all of your willpower to not kiss him right then and there, but to answer his question first. You looked deep into his eyes, “Yes, I beg you to.”

And that was all that was needed for Namjoon to desperately press his lips against yours without hesitating for even a second. Both of you closed your eyes, relishing in the moment of the first kiss shared between the two of you. It was not at all how you had expected it to feel but so much more. Your heart took a leap at his soft lips that moved so lovingly against yours while his thumb stroked your neck, goosebumps rising on your skin.

Namjoon had to take a break to catch his breath, soft laughter escaping his lips. His hand remained at the back of your neck and so did yours on his cheek. But this break didn’t last long because both of you were already hungry for more. Your other hand went into his hair while your mouth landed back on his.

Tugging a little at the strands, he couldn’t help but let out a quiet moan, his lips opening to the kiss. His tongue darted out, tapping against your lower lip and begging for entrance. You let him stew a little until both of your tongues met in a heated battle.

Slowly, Namjoon could feel himself getting hard. Your sweet lips got the best of him and he couldn’t do anything against it when his mind imagined them wrapped around his cock. He could feel it twitch in his pyjama pants, begging for attention. But Namjoon wanted for you to cum first. The outlook of getting to taste you with his tongue between your folds was too promising.

In fact, he didn’t want to wait any longer. As much as he enjoyed making out with you, he wanted to dig into the real fun. He broke the kiss, pressing his forehead softly against yours. This time you had to catch your breath.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Y/N?” Namjoon whispered softly, asking for your permission to go on.

You pecked his lips adoringly. “I mean I’ve been dreaming about it.” Both of you chuckled lightly, caressing each other’s skin. “I couldn’t wish for more this Christmas.” You had to stifle a laugh. This was the most interesting Christmas you had ever had. And you loved it.

Namjoon made his way over to your ear with featherlight kisses to nibble on your earlobe before he hushed into your ear, making you shiver at the nickname he used for you, “I want you to tell me if you feel uncomfortable, baby girl.”

“I will,” you breathed back, enjoying the shivers that ran down your spine as Namjoon’s breath tickled your skin. You buzzed with excitement, awaiting his treatment.

“Okay, baby girl,” he moved down from your ear to your neck, nipping at the skin and grazing his teeth over your shoulder a little. “I can’t wait to taste you.”

While your breathing got heavier at these few words already, he gently pushed your thighs apart with his hands, his upper body moving in the space in between to have better access to your neck. His hands wandered over your inner thighs, setting your skin on fire and your blood boiling.

Another quiet moan escaped your mouth. It all felt just too heavenly. And it made Namjoon proud to know he was making you feel good. You deserved it and he was ready to give it to you for the rest of your life if it meant he would hear your sweet little moans.

As he nibbled lightly on your neck, his hands crawled up your shirt, pushing it up over your chest. His mouth unlatched to attach itself again to one of your nipples immediately, drawing sloppy circles around it. While one of his hands held up the shirt, the other sweetly caressed your other breast, brushing against the sensitive bud and making it stand up, aroused.

Throwing your head back, you pushed your upper body into Namjoon’s face. The treatment he blessed you with was paradisiac. If it was up to you, he could do that for the rest of eternity. Still, there was one place where you needed him a lot more…

“Joonie.” His nickname left your lips in a faint, breathless hush. He let out a breathy moan against your nipple. God, now his mind would forever replay this moment and your needy plea whenever someone would call him by this nickname. You were his rise and his fall.

He pecked your nipple one last time before looking up from in between your breasts with hooded eyes. “Yes, baby girl?”

“I need you,” you breathed out, hands still playing with his soft hair.

He cocked his head, one of his eyebrows rising. “Need me how?”

You let out a quiet, frustrated sigh. He knew exactly how, teasing you in a vulnerable moment. With your cheeks heating up, you looked away for a second. This was still very unchartered territory to you.

Feeling one of his hands back on your cheek, he tilted your head to look at him. Eyes full of genuity, he softly told you, “You don’t need to be ashamed when you’re with me. You can freely tell me what you want because I want to make you feel good.” He took your hand and pressed a lingering kiss to your temple, softly muttering against your skin, “I want you to feel safe with me.”

It was easy to tell he was being serious and honest. How did you deserve this man? You mouthed a quiet ‘thank you’ to him, feeling more at ease now. And it gave you the confidence to state your desire.

“Joonie… I need your mouth on me and your tongue in me, please,” you begged as you didn’t break off the eye contact. His eyes lit up at your words and he nodded eagerly, pressing one more kiss on your knuckles before he let your hand go.

“If you need something to hold onto, my hair is as good as anything else,” Namjoon told you, winking at you saucily before levelling his head with your clothed core. You held in a breath as he put a featherlight kiss to your inner thigh before nipping on the smooth skin.

His hands wandered over your lower legs towards your waist where they played with the hem of your pyjama shorts, ghosting over your skin. He could smell your wetness and it drove him crazy. He was just as riled up as you were.

He looked up from between your legs, giving you a very similar view as your dream had. You still couldn’t believe that this was all actually happening.

“Baby girl? Could you do me a favor?” His hands slipped back under your shirt for a second, drawing soft circles on your lower back.

You nodded eagerly, willing to do anything as long as he’d continue his exploration down your pants.

“Could you lift your hips for me a little?” He nodded towards your hips. “We need to get these out of the way.”

You obeyed his request, leaning back while lifting up your hips from the couch. All you wanted was his mouth on you.

Namjoon sucked in a breath, preparing himself for the view he was about to get. He had dreamed of that moment many, many times. In the shower when the thoughts of you got over his head, in bed when he had had another vivid dream of you in his arms.

He gently pulled down both your pyjama shorts and your panties, dragging them slowly over your legs to fully enjoy this moment. The clothing items in question hit one of the snowmen in the face as Namjoon carelessly threw them over his shoulder.

You felt the cold air hit your sensitive skin, dragging in a breath as it came in contact with the rough material of the couch. You needed release desperately right now, even little things like these throwing you off. You sank back into the couch a little.

Heartbeat strumming in his ears, Namjoon’s gaze wandered between your legs, laying eyes on your glistening folds for the first time. It was a sight to behold, at least for him. “Fuck, Y/N,” he muttered under his breath, dragging one hand through his hair while lowering back down between your legs.

“Let me make you feel good,” he whispered while pushing his arms under your legs and pulling them up on his shoulders so he could get better access. You relaxed your upper body on the backrest while shifting your hips up to the edge of the couch so that not only you were comfortable, but it would also be easier for Namjoon.

He gave you one last smile before pressing his head between your legs, his hair pleasantly tickling the inner skin of your thighs. You could feel hot puffs of breath hitting your sensitive folds, making you shiver around him. He hummed lightly, pleased at your reaction.

With his hands gently holding down your thighs, he pressed soft kisses around your pussy, nipping at the skin here and there and biting down softly. He closed his eyes, savoring the last moment before he would get to taste you.

With one hand holding you up, you entangled the other back into his hair, threading through the strands. Your soft gasps filled the air, encouraging Namjoon on.

Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore, dropping a sloppy kiss onto your pussy. Tongue darting out between his lips, he took a long lick along your glistening folds. You tasted so good, he was glad that you would be the first meal of his day besides the coffee.

A strangled moan reached his hair and he opened his eyes to watch you throw your head back in pleasure. You looked like a goddess in the dim light of the morning and the fairy lights, the sinful image burned into his mind forever.

One of his hands reached around your leg to spread your folds for him, your clit coming into view. He latched his mouth onto it, sucking it in like a starved man.

Waves of pleasure rolled over you, feet pressing down on Namjoon’s back. If he kept this up, you would be falling apart in mere minutes. Your hands tugged on his hair, urging him to continue his treatment of your pussy. “Don’t stop,” you breathed out.

He replaced his lips with his thumb, caressing your bundle of nerves while his mouth moved further down. His tongue hungrily lapped at your walls, desperate to catch every taste it could get.

Your hips moved on your own as they pressed themselves against his face willingly, desperate for a release. You could feel your orgasm slowly approaching as Namjoon worked his magic on you.

As his tongue found your entrance, he slowly pushed it inside, before swirling it around a little. You gasped for air as you could feel it massaging your walls, back arching up from the couch. After letting you adjust to the feeling of his tongue inside you, he started darting it in and out at a rapid pace, thumb still fumbling your clit.

His nickname fell from your lips like a waterfall, wonderful music to his ears. You begged him not to stop, promises of you being close spurred him on, going down on you even faster. He could feel his rock-hard cock straining against his pyjama pants, begging to be released. But it was not yet the time.

He needed you to cum all over his tongue first and, hell, he would make sure of that. Feeling your walls contracting around his tongue, he put a little more pressure on your clit, circling and rubbing it gently with his fingers, trying to take you over the edge. You were almost there, he could feel it.

“Joonie, fuck, I am-” The sentence got lost between a heavy mess of moans and whimpers as you finally came with one last stroke around Namjoon’s tongue. You closed your eyes, orgasm blazing through your body in pleasurable waves.

Namjoon lapped up everything he could get, guiding you through your orgasm. As the moans and the whimpers lessened, his mouth, albeit grudgingly, detached from your folds, pressing one last kiss to your inner thigh before he looked up about you through his lashes.

As you looked down, you were met with a very vivid image of your last night’s dream as Namjoon’s skin glowed from your juices that were smeared all around his mouth. His hair had fallen into his eyes, not able to hide the playful glint in his eyes. His cheeks were a flushed red, chest heaving for air.

“That was… amazing,” you whispered as you cupped his cheek, thumb caressing the hot skin. You leaned over him, stealing a kiss and tasting yourself on his tongue. “Thank you.”

Namjoon chuckled lightly, taking pride in making you feel so good. He nuzzled his face in your neck, breathing in your delicate scent. “I think we both actually have someone else to thank.” Both of your gazes fell onto the book that still laid open on the coffee table.

You grinned from ear to ear at his words. “Well, thank you, Santa, I guess then? For helping us idiots?” Both of you couldn’t hold in your laughter at the situation. What a naughty Christmas it had been for sure!

Quietness settled over the two of you for a minute as you enjoyed each other’s company. As Namjoon slowly got up from his kneeling position, you noticed his hard manhood through his pants. Licking your lips, you felt yourself getting wet again. Your hunger for Namjoon had only just awakened.

“How about… a shower?” you proposed, cocking a head at Namjoon. “I think it’s time I’ll take care of you.” Pushing yourself up from the couch, you let your hands roam freely over his upper body.

Namjoon snaked a hand around your waist, pulling you against him. “As if I could say no to that.” You could feel his cock through the soft fabric of his pants pressing against your thigh. Namjoon leaned down, his lips against your ear.

“Merry Christmas, Y/N,” he whispered as he softly started kissing you again under the shining lights of the fairy lights and a mistletoe magically grew down from the ceiling. Santa has his way in fulfilling wishes…

© nottodayjjk 2021 - all rights reserved.

[trashyswitch]

The Adorable Slimy Stranger

Chapter 2: Holidays With The Sides (& Pumpkin!)

The sides are nearing Christmas, and are getting ready to celebrate and share the joy with their new companion, Pumpkin!

This fanfic was suggested by an anonymous user! Thank you for the prompt for a sequel!

And this fanfic is also dedicated to Pumpkinpaw! Love you sweety!

Pumpkin had become a regular household companion within the next few weeks. When deciding what pronouns to use, the sides had put down papers that said ‘Boy’, ‘Girl’, and ‘both’, to mean they/them.

“Do you wanna be a girl? As in, a good girl?” Patton asked, pointing to the pink card.

“Or perhaps a boy? A good boy?” Logan offered, pointing to the blue card.

“Or maybe you wanna be both! Maybe ‘buddy’, or ‘good pumpa’?” Roman asked, holding up the purple card.

Patton gasped. “That’s such a cute nickname! Pumpa! I love it!” Patton cheered, hugging Roman.

Pumpkin looked at the three cards curiously for a few seconds. Right as someone was gonna speak up, Pumpkin picked up the pink card, pointed to it and tried to gurgle the word ‘girl’ as best as it could!

Patton and Roman both squealed excitedly, while Logan smiled proudly. “Girl it is. Pumpkin shall now be referred to as a female, until she shows us otherwise.” Logan declared.

“I’m still gonna call her lil’ pumpa tho! It’s perfect!” Patton added, giving Pumpkin a big hug.

“And she has at least 1 new nickname.” Logan muttered proudly with a chuckle.

To make things greater, it was nearing Christmas and EVERYONE was getting into the christmas mood!

Patton has been watching all the Hallmark movies and decorating the house with all the tinsel and lights he could summon. He also took time to hang up the advent calendars and had an elf hat on his head every second of the day!

Logan has been drinking out of christmas mugs, determining the holiday board games they could play together, and has been listening to different christmas music covers to determine the most beautiful and/or most classic versions. Using that knowledge, Logan successfully came up with the most christmassy playlist he could make, which also included songs from classic christmas films! And let’s not forget Bing Crosby and Pentatonix!

Roman has been singing christmas carols himself and wrapping up endless amounts of presents to fill the bottom of the christmas tree. He’s also spent lots of time making ornaments to add to the tree and was even sewing up adorable christmas outfits for Patton and himself! Remus even got an early Christmas outfit, which included a ‘King of Naughty’ original Grinch shirt.

Meanwhile, Virgil has been enjoying the heck outta the christmas sweaters that came out each year. This year? Thomas’s brand new Virgil-themed sweater merchandise Thomas came out with! Well...minus the scarf. Virgil found the scarf to be too much with the sweater. So, he gave it to Patton. Virgil has also been enjoying the holiday slippers! This year, Virgil was sporting a pair of hilarious shark slippers! Sometimes, Virgil would joke that ‘The sharks are hungry for feet!’

Janus has been enjoying watching the christmas baking shows and has been playing lots of christmas flash games that are always around. Super Santa Kicker, Christmas Race, Christmas Shopper Simulator (10/10, Best game of 2014!), Tattletail, Santa’s Rampage, even that crappy christmas wii game called ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’! All of those games were common-place.

Last but not least, Remus has been doing the elf on the shelf this year (with a small list of rules, of course.) and has been surprising people with singing and dancing christmas decorations everywhere! There was the animated singing rudolph, the twerking Santa Claus toy (Yup...Of course…), the singing and jingling christmas hat, that cringey but funny dancing/singing poop toy, an animated dancing tree, the animated singing santa in the bathtub, and everyone’s personal favorite: The Snoopy dancing plush toy that wobbles back and forth!

But everyone found that Pumpkin was ALSO in the christmas mood! The sides enjoyed seeing her reactions to the dancing toys the best, and even danced along with the toys sometimes! She waddled along with snoopy, danced left and right with the dancing tree, and sang to the Rudolph song while Rudolph sang the classic song!

Meanwhile, Patton had sewed up a christmas hat for Pumpkin. The hat had a more burgundy red color, a traditional white bottom and a white pom pom on the top. When Patton first gave it to the orange blob, Pumpkin placed it on her own head and let the pompom flop onto her face. Upon seeing the pompom, it looked as if her eyes could’ve dilated and she started playing with the pompom like a kitty. That was the best reaction they could’ve gotten from her!

One of the days, Pumpkin was sitting in the living room with the sides, watching The Polar Express on TV. This was a holiday classic that the sides loved to watch together. So joining Pumpkin in on the fun was a must! The train had just been saved from falling into the ice, and the train climbed up the spiral to the high road to the north pole. Pumpkin had slid herself over to Roman and Patton, and snuggled under the extra blanket that was beside the boys. Pumpkin was also wearing her santa hat!

Watching the pretty lights in the sky over the sea, Pumpkin watched curiously as the big conductor man talked to them about them and then uttered the following words: “There...is the north POLE!”

Pumpkin ran as quickly as her body could to the TV and reached up to the north pole on the TV. She backed up a little and held her hands on her chin as the train approached the Santa Village and The Polar Express song started playing! The song was so quick and fun, and it didn’t take long for Pumpkin to start bouncing up and down to the song while she watched the camera move under the twisting train road arches.

“Oooooo!” Pumpkin reacted to seeing the Santa city for the first time.

Patton’s heart was all warm and gushing at Pumpkin’s reactions. Roman was visibly excited about the village as well!

The christmas spirit went uphill from there. Pumpkin learned about the big old man in red known as Santa and his big bag of toys, his deers with horns, and about the big man’s magical powers! He especially loved the amount of joy that filled the sides when they talked about the man wearing red. Whoever this red-coated man was, made the sides so happy! Almost as happy as she makes them! And not only that, but the man in the red suit had a hat just like she did! She was bouncing around and clapping about that!

But excitement soon turned into disappointment when she found out she had to wait for the man in the red suit to come. She didn’t want to wait for the happy old man to come! She wanted to see him now! NOW! She whimpered and paced around the house as she struggled to wait for the old man to come. So while they waited, Logan grabbed a paper and some crayons and let Pumpkin draw a picture for Santa. While that happened, Logan wrote a short christmas letter out for her which read:

[Dear Santa Claus;

Hi Santa! My name is Pumpkin! I just found out about you and the elves in the north pole, and really wanted to see you! I’m sad that I have to wait for you to come, but I’ll try to find fun things to do while I wait for you. For Christmas, I would like lots of candy! Candy is so yummy! And skittles are my favorite! I also love Patton’s crunchy gingerbread cookies! That day, I discovered icing! And it made me bounce off the walls! I would also like for everyone to be extra happy this Christmas. I’m making people happy everyday, but now I can let you make everyone happy too.

Love; Pumpkin! ]

Logan put the letter down, and looked at the picture Pumpkin drew. It was a picture of herself tickling Santa Claus’s belly. Logan couldn’t help but giggle at how Santa’s belly in the picture made him look like he was pregnant. He also giggled at the big smile that was all spread out on Santa’s face. Logan praised her on a drawing well done, and decided to add something to the letter:

[P.S: Your belly looks very big and ticklish!]

Logan grabbed the drawing Pumpkin made, photocopied it, and put the copied version of the drawing in the envelope along with the letter. With everything ready, Logan sealed it shut. “There. Off to the North Pole!” Logan declared to Pumpkin!

Logan mailed it off in the post office a day later.

With Christmas on its way and Pumpkin stuck in a bit of an antsy wait for the magic, Pumpkin started to tickle people a little more often than usual. Any other time of the year, Pumpkin would tickle at least 1 person a day. But with Christmas around the corner and Pumpkin growing hyper, Pumpkin had started tickling all the sides at least once a day! So her tickle attacks jumped from 1 or 2, to 6 every single day!

“NAHAHAHAHAHA! PUHUHUMPKIHIHIHIHIN! NAHAHAHAT MYHYHY AHAHARMPIHIHITS! TOHOHOHOO TIHIHIHICKLIHIHIHISH!” Roman laughed hysterically!

Pumpkin tilted her head curiously, and chose to remove her pods from the armpits like he begged. Roman quickly tried to gain back his breath, but Pumpkin still wanted to hear laughter! So, she made her pod super thin like a pencil and dipped it into his belly button.

“aAAAAEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHE! *snort* HAHAHAHAHAHA! *snort* NOHOHOHO FAHAHAHAHAHAIR!” Roman yelled through his laughter.

Pumpkin playfully stuck her tongue out at him and started to playfully nibble and ripple her blob-like body all over his belly.

Roman’s snorts grew more frequent and his laughter turned cackle-like. It was so ticklish! He was struggling to properly breath! But it was so fun! Roman had been tickled many, many, MANY times by Patton in the past. But THIS!

Holy cow!

Patton’s tickling was NOTHING compared to this!

Pumpkin decided to give him another ticklish, jiggly raspberry to get him squealing. And squealing, she was rewarded! Roman squealed so loud and so high-pitched, that Pumpkin stopped immediately just to process the strange sound!

Roman was a laughing, snorting mess after the squeal. And Pumpkin was loving every millisecond of it. As much as she was enjoying it however, Pumpkin knew when to give the man a long, giggly break. This would involve cuddling her ticklish victim and gently tickling a much less ticklish spot on their body to keep them giggling, but also let them breathe. For Roman, this was his neck.

“Ohohohohohokahahahahahay. Thahahahank yohohohou Puhuhumpkihin!” Roman told her.

Pumpkin smiled and gave his neck a tickly kiss on the neck. Roman giggled more from that, and calmed down the moment her ‘lips’ moved away from his neck. Pumpkin kept up her giggly tickling for a little bit longer before she went for Janus next.

Now, Pumpkin didn’t quite know Janus nearly as much as she knew the rest of the sides. She had even grown to know Remus quicker, than compared to Janus! The half man half snake in yellow, was more mysterious and...preferred his lonely time. So, she gave him his lonely time for the most part. She did come around to see if he was up for a tickle or two, but often walked away empty-handed, yet gaining some progress.

Finally, after weeks and weeks of trying, Pumpkin finally gained the courage to tickle Janus for the first time. She walked up to Janus’s side very quietly...geeently snuck her pod hand under the snake man’s shirt...and gave it a quick tickle.

“eeEEP! WHAT-” Janus turned around and immediately calmed down. Pumpkin made a surprised yip sound, and backed up a little to give him space. “Hi Pumpkin. Sorry about that. I...totally heard you come in.” Janus told her.

...Oh yeah...and then there was the strange way he talked to her and the other sides. He said things backwards. Like just now: if he actually heard her come in, then why was he so surprised and jumpy?

Things like that didn’t make sense to her. But what did make sense, was his calming face. “You tried to tickle me today. You...finally tried and tickled me. And it worked.” Janus told her.

Pumpkin didn’t really know what to do. She was confused. Was anything he was saying, supposed to be backwards? Or normal? Pumpkin couldn’t tell. But all that thinking went right out the window when Janus held his arms out for her. He wanted a hug from her! There was no saying no to THAT! Pumpkin quickly slid up to him and hugged him tightly.

“Wow! You have a very snug and firm hug for a jello being.” Janus admitted.

Jello? Like that blue jiggly stuff that Logan made once?

Pumpkin let him enjoy the hug for a bit. She wanted him to feel safe in her grasp. And perhaps, she may not get any tickles in today. But the only thing that mattered now, is that Janus could be hugged now.

“...Aren’t you gonna tickle me more?” Janus asked.

Pumpkin widened her black eyes. Wait, REALLY?! HE WAS GONNA LET HER TICKLE HIM?! This was what she was waiting for! 16 days of working up to this! And now, she can tickle him!

Pumpkin happily started skittering her pods all over his sides and ribs almost immediately! “Ohoho bohohoy! Hehehere wehehe gohohohoho!” Janus giggled and let go of her so she could get more access to more exposed ticklish spots. Pumpkin happily took the offer and made more pseudopods so she could tickle more spots at once. This was like a special attack that Pumpkin would pull on someone. “aaAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YOHOHOU’RE SURPRIHIHISIHIHINGLY GOHOHOOD AHAHAT THIHIHIHIS!” Janus reacted in surprise.

Pumpkin gurgled happily to Janus and continued to tickle Janus wherever she could reach. The upside to having such a jiggly form, was just how well she could kneed the soft spots on her humans! This included the sides and his belly the most. Janus held his fists against his chest as his giggle fits, squeals and laughter filled his bedroom.

Pumpkin absolutely loved his laugh! It was much more bubbly and higher than she expected! It was such an amazing laugh, that Pumpkin chose to give him jiggly raspberries as well! He seemed like the kind of human that would love them! Pumpkin blew a raspberry on his sensitive belly and let her blobby, jello-like body flubber and jiggle to increase the ticklish sensation.

Janus fell into long fits of cackles! He couldn’t stop cackling! Now that he had reached the cackle-stage, there was just no going back! His laughter somewhat reminded Pumpkin of Patton’s laughter: bubbly, childish, and the musical representation of happiness. Though Janus’s wasn’t exactly like his, it was close enough.

“OHOHOKAHAHAHAY! CAHAHAN IHIHIHI HAHAHAVE AHA BREHEHEHEAK PLEHEHEHEASE?” Janus asked.

Pumpkin nodded her head and stopped tickling him almost immediately. As much as she enjoyed the sound of his laughter, she didn’t wanna overdo it. So Pumpkin snuggled herself into Janus and cooed softly.

Janus giggled at this and wrapped his arms around her. “Growing tired?” He asked.

Pumpkin nodded and snuggled herself even further into him.

“That’s ironic, considering I was the one getting tickled.” He joked.

Pumpkin let out a giggly little gurgle as she slowly succumb to her sleepiness. It didn’t take long for the tiredness to start dripping right off her and onto Janus, effecting him as well. Now Janus was growing more and more tired by the second. Janus decided he minus well cuddle himself in and get himself comfy.

It didn’t take long for Janus to fall into a full and deep slumber. It lasted a long while too. Janus didn’t expect to wake up to the smell of garlic or the sounds of something boiling. The garlic was an obvious thing to put together: garlic bread. But boiling? That could be anything!

This boiling sound would end up revealing itself to be spaghetti noodles in a deep pot. As it turned out, Patton was making spaghetti with garlic bread on the side. For Pumpkin, she was gonna have gummy worms with a new little christmas treat for Pumpkin: a Peppermint Pattie! Patton gave her one to try, and had a few unwrapped in a bowl in case she loved it and wanted more.

Pumpkin picked up the peppermint pattie first. She looked at it curiously, split it into two pieces, and ate one of the halves hesitantly. But the moment she chewed on it and actually tasted the pattie, her eyes widened and a HUGE smile grew onto her face!

Remus giggled as he spun his spaghetti. “Ihi think Pumpkin likes the peppermint pattie!” Remus told him.

Patton looked over and sure enough, Pumpkin was standing below him and eagerly reaching her pods out for more peppermint patties! Patton laughed and happily put more peppermint patties onto her dinner plate. Pumpkin happily bounced in place as she ate the gummy worms and enjoyed the taste of the brand new holiday treat.

[punkscowardschampions]

Jude & Jac

Jude: [okay so my idea is that like Jesse is doing some kind of little christmassy gig at Pete's record store and cafe moment because why not] Jude: You ready to 👀 the 🎄🎅 classics get 💀🔪🎤? Jac: You usually have to be famous before you sell out for Christmas royalties Jude: he's not NOT famous rn Jac: 🙄 you get a badge for signing up Jude: I should get a blue peter badge for rigging up his lil stage & backdrop Jac: if he was famous, he'd have roadies for that Jac: not unpaid family members Jude: 💻⭐dom for you Jac: This country fame for you Jac: it means about 10 people outside of Dublin have heard of you but EVERYONE here knows you Jac: so fun Jude: 🤣 by that I'm a star too & without a single 📀 Jac: Reputation doesn't imply any skill or talent Jude: 😜✌ Jude: coming or what? Jac: obviously not Jude: Jess'll be 😒💔 Jude: probs inspire him to belt out silent night with a well new twist 🎻🎻😭 Jude: 👍 or 👎 tbc Jac: I doubt that Jac: but he's welcome for the make or break Jude: 🏆🥇 Jac: whatever accolades he does or doesn't get are his business Jac: I'm going out Jude: Where? Jude: can I come? Jac: out Jac: and no, you have prior obligations Jude: Who with? Jac: Jesse, clearly Jude: Nah, who are YOU going with Jac: nosy Jude: tell me then Jac: 😂 Jac: why Jude: Why not? Jac: because it'll annoy you, is the easiest answer to that Jude: either it's top secret & that's just fun or it ain't and I'll see whatever 📷 clues on my feed in a bit Jude: I can annoy you loads more with my qs before that, like Jac: if you're such a fan of discretion you wanna work a bit harder at it yourself Jude: ?? Jac: when you said you had loads of questions, I thought you meant more than marks Jude: 😝 Jac: and I'm the poor conversationalist Jude: you're the mute Jude: Jess is the shit conversationalist Jac: who could get a word in with you around Jude: Lucky we all know sign language Jac: for my uni application Jac: nothing else Jude: be a bit rude if you singled out uncle Bob as the 1 person you did talk to Jac: bit fucking weird Jude: that too Jac: not gonna come for your gig on that either Jude: you'd have a job to Jac: thanks for the unintentional compliment Jude: welcome Jac: did you take my good pair of tights? Jude: not gonna go rob the place Jac: guess I'll just freeze to death Jude: RIP Jac: thanks Jude: 1. might be more helpful if I knew where you were going 2. welcome again 3. tis the season ⚰💀��� Jac: 1. the north pole, to see santa and his pals 2. no need to stand on formalities 3. you're thinking of easter Jude: 1. say hey from me 2. I don't do formal 3. nah, I was thinking of how busy the 📞s are & how many people top themselves Jac: Cheery, aren't we Jac: you need some carols Jude: I can read a room Jac: laughable Jude: wish you would Jude: you a need a laugh Jac: if anyone can make it happen Jac: it wouldn't be you Jude: 🤡🤡🤡 Jac: seeing if Jameson still cries might make me crack a smile Jude: there you go, that's the spirit Jac: ugh stop Jude: ?? Jac: you aren't a fucking samaritan Jude: haven't made it official Jude: probs too young Jac: I haven't looked into it Jac: do you really want to be responsible for loads of losers offing themselves though Jude: when you put it like that Jac: you haven't got the temperament Jude: I heard you ain't looked into it Jude: but alright Jac: I've known you long enough to know you'd push a sane person over the edge Jude: whoops Jude: 🤪 Jac: hmm Jude: You gonna gatecrash Izzy's bday? Jude: I'm so coming if you are Jac: Why would I do that Jac: time how long it is before she has a breakdown? Jude: you did it for Millz' bday Jude: & she didn't FULLY have a breakdown though the gays ain't over it still Jac: Isabelle's life is already ruined, no need to do anything Jude: her ma would probs chuck you out anyway Jac: the role reversal would be nice for her no doubt Jude: as priorities go, doubt it's top of hers for what'd be nice Jac: 'cos giving a shit about her daughter clearly is, alright Jude: why are you going off on her ma? Jac: just because they're poor doesn't mean you can't say anything bad about them Jac: if her mum was about then none of it would've happened Jac: she can't even be arsed to take time off work to give Is time to heal Jude: & if her da was about, her ma might be able to afford to Jude: they're skint, you just said it Jac: if she knew who he was, he might be Jac: don't give me that, as if you know her Jac: she's a shit mum, always has been, and that's what happens Jude: alright Jac: so no, I'm not going to her sad party Jude: you should at least 🗨 Jac: no Jude: Come on, she's having a shit time Jac: Good Jude: 🥶 Jac: I didn't like her before she got felt up Jac: I don't like her now Jude: Bollocks, you were mates for time Jac: yeah, ask her how good of a mate I was Jac: or Amelia Jac: it meant fuck all Jude: 🙄 lies Jac: if you wanna lie to yourself, sure Jude: if you do, crack on Jac: evidence is in my favour so I'm fine with it Jude: Nah Jude: Amelia wouldn't still be 💔🎻😭 if you were such a shit mate & she was chuffed to be rid Jac: Amelia has her own angst to worry about Jac: as you mentioned Jude: yeah & part of it is you Jude: 🗑ing her off Jac: only when her girlfriend cheated on her Jude: & before Jac: you lez off with her if you're so fucking interested Jac: precisely 0 people will be surprised Jude: girls don't do nowt for me Jude: especially ones I've grown up with Jude: 0/10 interest tah Jac: sure Jude: Yeah I am Jac: probably stop going on and on about her then Jude: Touchy Jude: barely said anything Jac: you saying a word is a word too many for me Jude: 🤐 Jude: g2g as it happens Jac: 'tis the season Jude: +353 1 671 0071 Jude: 📞 it if you wanna 🗨 to someone else Jac: fuck off Jude: Love you too Jude: 👋 Jac: nope Jude: my declaration of 💘 isn't a q Jude: soz but not soz Jac: the too makes it false Jude: nope Jude: you love me Jac: no, I don't Jac: go away Jude: yeah, you do Jude: see you later Jac: go jump off o'connell bridge Jude: you're the only one freezing to death tonight, mate Jac: always next year Jac: he must not have got my letter in time Jude: next year I'll probs be ☕🤗 too Jude: defs is the season for that Jac: if you're not going to talk like an adult, then doubly don't bother Jude: 🤣 Jac: I cannot be clearer than fuck off and die Jac: I'm trying to get ready Jude: I'm getting ready too Jude: it's obvs doable Jac: you'll look a state Jac: I don't plan to Jude: funny Jac: just my honest assessment Jude: your snaps tell a different story of the state of you but alright Jac: first I need a laugh, the next you blast me for having one Jac: it's almost like you say whatever bullshit is floating around your head at the time, with no thought or feeling behind it Jude: don't sound like me, that 😜 Jac: not even slightly funny Jude: idc Jac: that's evident Jude: 👍✔ Jac: have fun hanging around your own brother like you wanna fuck him Jude: even less funny Jude: we're proper scraping the barrel now Jac: you'll be hearing that your whole life Jude: 💔 Jac: exactly Jude: 😭 Jac: just do it quietly Jude: can't & won't Jac: it's pretty much white noise at this point Jude: have you got with Raf? Jac: who? Jude: [some boy's profile like it him] Jac: oh Jac: maybe Jac: can't remember Jude: 👌 Jac: why Jude: Jess asked Jude: she's 🤔💭 about it Jac: lovely Jude: can't have been if you don't remember it Jac: she doesn't need to send my regards Jude: obvs, she wanted to know if he's worth bothering with Jude: there's her answer Jac: like anyone is Jude: so dramatic Jac: *not gonna get used all my life Jude: 🙄 Jac: my thoughts exactly Jude: 👋 fr then Jude: leave you to your 💭 Jac: yeah, foreign concept to you Jac: later Jude: ✌️

[profoundnet]

Thank you to all these amazing people for participating in the Profound Bond’s Winter Exchange 2018! I hope everyone enjoyed their amazing gifts. The next round opens up at the end of January, so keep an eye open on that! And special thanks to @foxymoley for doing another wonderful banner for us! 

If you’d like to join the exchange, then head on over and join our discord! Information can be found on the wiki which you can access here.

List of creations below the cut.

Shall Yourselves Find Blessing by prolixdreams for lunavva

Castiel gets in over his head in a pocket reality created when he accidentally takes a sip of a drink intended to help angels focus on what's most important. Dean won't have it. He's going in.

Teen Rating Tags: Christmas, Hallucinations, Substance Use, Love Confessions, First Kiss

Christmas Treats and Angel Heats by @malmuses​ for Wargurl83

Angels don't have a sex, or gender, nevermind a secondary gender—right? At least, that's what the Winchesters have been led to believe. It's Christmas, and Dean misses his angel friend. He's been AWOL for days, and the Winchesters are worried. When Cas returns to the bunker on Christmas Eve, very clearly in heat, a few of their assumptions are going to have to change. Oh, and Dean is going to have to hide his feelings for Cas in the face of the news that the angel is an unmated omega, who desperately needs their help. Merry Christmas, Dean!

Explicit Rating

Tags: A/B/O, AU - Canon Divergence, Alpha Dean, Omega Castiel, Wing-kink, Mating Bites, Endless Fluff, Christmassy Smut, Heat, Hurt/Comfort

Good Things by @neonbat666​ for Crypto

Dean and Castiel are on a case when it goes a bit south thanks to a blizzard. With the monsters apparently dead they find a hunter's cabin and hunker down for the night to lick their wounds and enjoy a relatively successful evening together.

Explicit Rating

Tags: Human Cas, post empty, cabin trope, hunt, new relationship.

Underneath The Tree by turningthepages for robotsnchicks

All Castiel wants this holiday season is to know for sure if Dean Winchester loves him in return and Castiel hopes after Charlie's annual White Elephant gift exchange he'll have his answer.

General Rating

Tags: Roommates, Friends to Lovers, Misunderstandings, Jealousy, Pining, Happy Ending, Fluff

Silent Prayers by firefly124 for secretlyjensen

With the bunker to themselves, Dean and Castiel take tentative steps towards each other.

General Rating

Tags: Fluff (Also can be found on DreamWidth)

Out of the Blue, It would be you by @leafzelindor​ for WaywardAF67

Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak have known each other since college. They live together, they share everything, so it's not hard to pretend it's more, but is it just pretend?

Teen Rating

Tags: Alternate Universe, They were roommates!, Fluff, holiday setting, Dean is a dork

The Curse of the Ugly Sweater by canadduh for shaes_bae

If Dean knows anything in life it’s that ugly Christmas sweaters, basements, and witches do not mix.

General Rating

Tags: Witches, magical roofies, Drunk Dean, Friends to Lovers, Drunk confessions, body switching, Sharing Body Heat, Fake Dating, Drunk Castiel

Come and Save Me Tonight by @braezenkitty for delicious-irony

“Baby, you’re my angel Come and save me tonight”

Dean is a superhero who needs saving. Good thing his Angel is close by. Now if only Dean could figure out why he seems so familiar…

Teen Rating

Tags: alternate universe - superheroes, first kiss, secret identity, identity porn (Pillowfort)

Under the Mistletoe by @snarkysnartes for Alessariel 

He was a celebrity, kne that Dean's daughter fawned over. It wasn't like Dean to get star struck.

General Rating

Tags: Fluff, celebrity au

Feel My Pain by @saywhatjessie for Shannon-Kind

Mary Winchester hadn’t been exactly surprised when her four year old came toddling up to her in tears, confused why his knee hurt when he hadn’t even fallen over. Or a universe where you feel your soulmate's pain.

General Rating

Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmates, Soulmates identified through pain

Sure As The Stars by @nox-lee for turningthepages

It’s Cas and Dean’s first Christmas together in their new house. The decorations are hung, the cookies are made, and Dean can’t wait to spend the holiday season with Cas. But when he starts coming home late from work, Dean worries that Cas might be keeping something from him.

Mature Rating

Tags: established relationship, miscommunication, modern au, christmas

Winter Wonder Walk by @shannon-kind for canadduh

Dean begrudgingly agrees to be his roommate's Plus One at a charity event, since Benny can't bring his girlfriend who will be volunteering. Of course Benny ditches him first chance he gets. And there's this one volunteer with messy dark hair and bright blue eyes who seems to have a problem with everything Dean does.

Teen Rating

Tags: Meet Cute, Winter Holidays, Christmas Fluff

All I want for Christmas is Yule by @robotsnchicks for MalMuses

Zachariah frowns. “Let’s not forget the reason for the season, Castiel. It's Merry Christmas, not Happy Holidays.” When work makes it hard for Cas to keep his Yuletide spirits high, he finds comfort in the latest anonymous letter left on his desk. Now if only he could convince his mysterious correspondent to reveal themselves.

Teen Rating

Tags: Librarian Castiel, Wiccan Castiel, Professor Dean, secret admirer, two person love triangle, yule traditions

(Pillowfort)

A Warm Safe Place by @waywardaf67 for waywarded

Sam was going to be out of the bunker for a few days and called Cas home to ensure Dean wouldn't be snowed in alone. The pair got to spend a quality night together where they gorged themselves on snacks, watched Dean's favorite movie, and oh yeah Cas accidentally recreated the northern lights. Dean was very impressed.

Teen Rating

Tags: Fluff, First Kiss, Wings, Northern Lights, Snow Storm, Sam Ships It, Cuddling & Snuggling, Angel Wings, Dean’s POV, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence

In All Senses of the Word by @surlybobbies for exceptcas

“Jackass,” Dean said, though the twitch of his mouth gave his affection away. “What if I died tonight and you never wished me a Merry Christmas?” “Of all the things to regret not saying, ‘Merry Christmas’ is hardly on my list, Dean.” Dean raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? What would you regret not saying, then?” Cas looked at Dean’s face - at the arch of his brow and the faded freckles across his nose. And he thought about saying it. Cas had thought about saying it for months now. But he looked down at his shoes and smiled instead. “I’d regret not asking you for your apple pie recipe.”

General Rating

Tags: Fluff, Christmas, Holiday, Friends to Lovers, New Year's Eve

Wooing for Dummies by @tobythewise​ for Morrigan 

Dean Winchester has a plan to finally woo his best friend while snowed in his family's cabin. Too bad Castiel is the either the most oblivious person in the world, or he's just not interested.

General Rating

Tags: High School AU, Attempts at Wooing, Snowed in, Love confessions, Oblivious Cas

(Pillowfort)

Learning to Trust Again by @tobythewise​ for boy12

Dean might be a catboy, sought after as nothing more than a glorified sextoy, but he was also a fighter, unwilling to go down without swinging. Will his new owner be able to break down his walls? Or will Castiel pine after Dean in silence forever?

Explicit Rating

Tags: Catboy Dean, Owner Castiel, Falling in love, Angst with a happy ending, Hurt/Comfort, Mating Cycles/Heat, Bottom Dean, Top Cas

(Pillowfort)

I’ll Watch Over You by waywarded for noxlee

Cas and Dean are trekking through a wintry forest, Dean is tired but too stubborn to rest, so Castiel makes him.

General Rating

Tags: huddling for warmth, bamf castiel, protective castiel, sleepy dean winchester, winter solstice

The Morning Kiss by @artbloggouinetteparletrop​ for deadly-kitten-kay

A destiel soft kiss's digital painting with some impressionist vibes

SFW

Tags: #destiel #destiel fanart #the profound bond #destiel fluff #destiel kiss #castiel #dean winchester #casdean

(Pillowfort) 

Snow Blind Date by @delicious-irony​ for Gouinette parle trop

Charlie insists Dean go on a blind date to get over his monumentally massive crush on his obviously straight roommate Castiel.

Teen Rating

Tags: No Archive Warnings apply; fluff, pining, they were roommates!, miscommunication, blind date

(Pillowfort)

Saturnalia by @honeyedsam​ for braezenkitty 

Dean and Castiel get stuck in a one room cabin with no heat while hunting a snow nymph. Cas opts to keep Dean from freezing to death instead of going after the nymph.

Explicit Rating

Tags: Snowed In, Huddling For Warmth, First Time, Mutual Pining, Canon Compliant, Blow Jobs, Mutual Masturbation, Biting, Nipple Play, Frottage

Shattered Glass by @elizasugarcane for surlybobbies

Dean has a bad day, Cas is there to help.

Teen Rating

Tags: flashbacks, hurt/comfort, panic attacks

(Pillowfort)

Cancelled Flights and Coffee by @insertbottomdeanpunhere for LeafZelindor

Dean is flying home for Christmas when he meets a handsome stranger. When all flights are cancelled due to a snow storm, they're presented with the chance to get to know each other better.

General Rating

Tags: meet-cute, stuck in airport, coffee shops, first meetings

For A Special Someone by @usarechan for haikuhamster

Cas finds a christmas gift for Dean

SFW

(Ao3)

The Magic of the Season by @kazshero for prolixdreams

Castiel works what magic he can.

General Rating

Tags: In the Bunker, Christmas Fluff, First Kiss 

Lights Shining Brightly by @exceptcas for kazshero 

"Is that mistletoe?" Jack asked, pointing to a spot above Dean and Cas. Cas looked over to Dean, eyes wide, cautious all around. There was, in fact, mistletoe right above them. It was a bundle of green, wrapped in red string.

General Rating

Tags: Chrsitmas Fluff. Doctor Castiel. Single parent castiel. Mistletoe.

Adventures in Problem Solving by @blueeyesandpie for snarkysnartes 

Dean and Cas have been living together since freshman year and despite their many differences, that's how Dean wants to keep it. Then senior year rolls around and Castiel reminds Dean that his student visa expires soon after he graduates. Dean has a mad plan, but can they keep up the charade long enough for Cas to stay in America where he belongs, or will Dean's growing feelings get in the way?

Teen Rating

Tags: College AU, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Idiots in Love, Russian Castiel, Project Keep Castiel in America

(Pillowfort)

Operation Holiday Queer by haikuhamster for JessJessTheBest

For three years since coming out, Castiel had spent every Christmas sitting around a dinner table hearing passive aggressive comments, ridiculous misinformation, and some occasional slurs. So when Castiel’s aunt so kindly suggested that he bring a girlfriend, the solution was obvious to him. Bring a boyfriend instead. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a boyfriend to bring.

Teen Rating

Tags: Fake Relationship, Homophobia, Salty Castiel, Soft Dean Winchester, First Kiss

A Promise at Solstice by @alessariel for BinJLG

'Statue NOT for sale!’ And smaller underneath: 'Quit it, Crowley!’ Dean had put the not-for-sale sign up a month ago. He’d thought it should be easy enough to understand but now he was starting to wonder if he needed to make a larger one. Possibly one with some profanity on it, to really scare people off. A human-sized statue with wings suddenly appearing on one’s roof apparently attracted a lot of attention, especially one as impressive as Castiel. Yet no matter how many strange people tried to bribe or threaten him, Dean vowed to always protect Cas and never stop searching for a way to bring him back.

Explicit Rating

Tags: Explicit, Wingfic, Handprint Kink, Gargoyles, Magic

(Pillowfort)

[onemilliongoldstars]

lexa works at the local kinkos and clarke is mass printing joke christmas cards to give out (bonus points if the cards involve a really embarassing/revealing outfit)

“I don’t know what I did!” She stares down at the printer, which is beeping so loudly that most of the store has now turned to stare at what’s happening, and feels herself flush under the weight of their gazes. The staff member sighs heavily, looking down at the screen and pushing unsuccessfully at a few of the buttons.

“Did you pull the paper?” The staff member asks, voice bored and Clarke feels herself ruffle, snapping.

“No! I’m not an idiot, I followed the instructions to the letter!”

The girl in the lurid yellow polo shirt and wonky elf hat gives her a disbelieving look and Clarke barely holds herself back from snapping again as elf-girl sighs again, very heavily, like Clarke has ruined her entire day or something, and prods at a few more buttons. The beeping intensifies.

“Did you finish your printing?”

“No,” Clarke snaps, gesturing furiously, “It’s stuck in there, it got halfway through printing.”

The girl groans and then says, “I’ll have to get someone who knows more about the machine.” Pulling her radio from the clip on her belt, she presses the button until it crackles loudly and then says, sounding bored, “Can someone send Woods down to the printers?”

There is a moment of silence and then a crackling voice. “On my way, Madison.”

“Thanks,” The girl looks at her with barely contained disdain. “She’ll be here in a minute, so you can get your… whatever.” With that, the girl turns and marches away. The jingling of the bell on the end of her hat is a stark contrast to her foul mood and Clarke listens to it ring away across the shop floor with growing ire.

Pulling out her phone, she snapchats a picture of her feet to Raven and Octavia with a quick summary of what’s happened and an angry face.

Moments later, she gets a response from Raven, her mechanics essay on the screen with the words all this for one lousy bet, huh griffin.

The reminder only makes her angrier and by the time someone turns up with a bag of tools, she’s glaring so hard at her phone that she could burn a hole through it.

“If you looked at the printer like that, I’m not surprised it got scared.”

The words jar her head up and she blinks at the woman in front of her. She too is decked out in the lurid polo shirt, but she seems to have escaped the Christmas headware fever that has gripped the rest of the shop. Instead, her dark hair is pulled up in a dark braid down her back and green eyes glint with mirth as she introduces herself.

“I’m Lexa, here to fix the printer.”

She undeniably gorgeous, so when Clarke opens her mouth to reply and lets out a squeaking sound, she wonders whether she can magically manipulate the printer to eat her on the spot. Instead she swallows and tries to gather herself enough to say. “Clarke, the printer breaker apparently.”

Lexa laughs, peering over the screen and pressing a few buttons until the beeping mercifully falls silent. “Don’t worry, they’re temperamental at the best of times, so imagine what they’re like around a pretty girl.”

Her breath catches and she tries not to let on how flustered she feels as Lexa leans down to grab a screwdriver from her tool kit.

“So it is at least partially my fault?”

“I suppose so,” Lexa shrugs, glancing at her with a smirk dancing along the edges of her lips. “Can’t help being pretty though, can you?”

“I suppose not,” Clarke fidgets, trying to press down the pleased smile that’s blooming across her cheeks. “I’m sorry for messing up your printer though.”

“Not your fault,” Lexa shrugs again, unscrewing a panel at the front to look at a new collection of buttons. “What were you printing? Something for a class?”

“Um, no,” She hesitates and Lexa gives her an open smile.

“I thought you might be artistic, you look like the type.”

“Oh,” She tugs at her scarf awkwardly, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. “I probably wouldn’t have pegged you for a mechanic.”

“I’m not,” Lexa laughs, shaking her head and offering, conspiratorially. “I’m just the only one who’s read the manual.” At

Clarke’s laugh, she thinks she sees Lexa’s smile widen, “Don’t tell them though, being able to fix this makes me practically unfirable.”

“Is that how you got away without the Christmas hat?” Clarke cocks a curious glance at her and Lexa shakes her head.

“No,” She grimaces. “I just hate all of that Christmassy consumer stuff.”

“What?” Clarke touches at the Christmas jumper hidden under her coat protectively, “How can you possibly say that?”

Lexa shrugs, putting the panel back and carefully screwing the bolts down again. “I guess working in retail makes you hate it? It’s all out for so long,” She casts a disgusted glance to the tinsel that seems limp under the fluorescent lights.

“I guess,” Clarke glances around at the miserable workers in their hats and the elf shaped post it notes in mouldy green. “It’s not the most inspiring in here.”

“I’ll pass your feedback on to management,” Lexa laughs and Clarke rolls her eyes, but continues.

“Okay, but you can’t take this as the norm. There are places in the city with way more Christmas heart than this.”

“Christmas heart?” Lexa wrinkles her nose. “No way.”

“There is,” She can feel the competitive spirit flaring up and the words escape her before she can stop herself. “I bet you.”

Lexa pauses where she’s peering inside the printer, and green eyes meet hers curiously. “You bet me?” She echoes.

“I bet you I can take you somewhere that will make you feel Christmas heart.” Plucking a mouldy green elf post it up, she grabs a pen from her pocket and scrawls her number, sticking it to the outside of Lexa’s tool bag,

Lexa eyes her with interests tilting her head, before saying. “Okay, deal.” She pulls something sharply and drops the top of the printer back down again. It begins to make a whirring sound and then paper begins to emerge from the end. “There, all better.”

“You fixed it!” Clarke beams, but both of their attentions turn when the poster sized print begins to emerge in glossy colour. “Oh, no don’t-”

Clarke tries to step forward to stop her looking, but Lexa is already peering over her shoulder, amused and curious.

“Wow, what’s that?” Lexa eyes widen and Clarke knows the moment that her mouth drops open that she’s seeing the picture of Clarke, decked out in a racy elf costume and surrounded by a particularly festive background, the words Happy Holidays emblazoned beneath her in swirling script. “Wow,” Lexa says, her voice a touch rougher.

“Um,” Her cheeks are almost as red as the fluffy trim on her costume and she finally offers helplessly, “I lost a bet?”

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #459

Top Ten Christmas Elves

It’s the last one of these before Christmas! And yet Christmas is still ages away really! Maybe I should have done the Christmas one next week! That’d be Boxing Day! Is that more Christmassy! Who knows! Woohoo!

Ahem.

Right, every year I try to do one of these that’s something about Christmas because, well, Christmas. Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. Just once I’d like a regular normal Christmas. Eggnog, a chuffin’ Christmas tree, a little turkey. But I’ve got to right these mother flippin’ lists all the time. And the more of them I do, the more I use up all the easy lists! Three years from now, what on Earth can I find to tie into Christmas? I’ll be ranking the Christmas specials of The Vicar of Dibley.

(That’s not a slam on Dibley, by the way, which is obviously in a particular style but can be devastatingly funny, and the recent specials have been quite moving, touching on the death of Emma Chambers. Anyway, there’s a Dibley Digression for you.)

Anyway, here’s another one that you kinda thought I’d have already done, and one that you’d kinda think would be pretty easy: best Christmas elves. Except when I sat down to write, it transpired that although there are a lot of Christmas movies, and a lot of movies featuring Santa Claus, elves are comparatively thin on the ground. Especially as I’m talking about real Christmas elves here; so Tony Cox in Bad Santa does not count.

And so, across movies, TV, and literature, and with a hearty “ho ho ho” in our hearts, and with no further ado, here I present my favouritest of favourite festive elves; a veritable cavalcade of Santa’s Little Helpers. Merry Christmas everybody! Be good – and what’s your favourite colour?

Buddy (Will Ferrell, Elf, 2003): I mean, it’s got to be, right? He’s the embodiment of Christmas spirit, he’s kind, he’s attentive, he throws a mean snowball, and he brings down the Elf Choir by a whole octave – in a good way! Elf is slight film, but a really enjoyable feel-good one, and Buddy is just so damn nice. He really is the best elf.

Bryony (Ashley Jensen, Arthur Christmas, 2011): a spikier, fast-talking elf, who seems so much tougher than Buddy (check out her two-tone hair and facial piercings). She’s got no time for any shit, but she is above all else just a top-notch wrapper.

Patch (Dudley Moore, Santa Claus: The Movie, 1985): a nice guy in the Buddy mould, but simultaneously more of a sadsack and more of an egotistical bellend, whose performative strop almost ruins Christmas. I’m being unduly harsh, of course: Patch is a sweetheart; naive and maybe a bit needy, but full of ideas and just wanting to make everything better. Has a sweet car, too.

Bernard (David Krumholtz, The Santa Clause, 1994): another fast talker who takes no guff, Bernard is suitably business-minded, caring only about completing Christmas satisfactorily, and giving little heed to the mental gymnastics poor old Scott Calvin is having to go through now that he’s murdered Santa in a cold-blooded attempt to seize the throne, Lannister-style. At least, I think that’s what happens. Anyway, Bernard is cool and funny, like many Krumholtz characters.

The “Santas” (Rare Exports, 2010): a sinister and slow-burning mystery surrounds the naked old men who show up during an industrial digging expedition in Lapland; is it Santa? But there’s more than one! The truth is shocking and, frankly, hilarious; a superb little pitch black comedy. The naked old men are grimy and gruesome but you wouldn’t want it any other way.

The Elves (The Christmas Chronicles, 2018): coming across almost Gremlin-esque (especially in the sequel), these CG critters are a fun and fresh take on Christmas elves. They’re part Minions, part Mogwai, part Attack of the Clones’ Yoda; leaping about in a dervish to help deliver Christmas.

Wiser Older Elf (David Graham, Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom, 2008-2013): Graham’s Wise Old Elf is one of the best things about Ben and Holly (a show I’ve regrettably not had cause to talk about for far too long – it’s awful when kids stop watching the best shows, isn’t it? I really miss this and Hey Duggee being on all the time in our house); giving him an older (twin!) brother who has the more “important” Elf job of running Santa’s workshop is suitably hilarious.

Ian and Wolf (Dan Starkey and Nathan McMullen, Doctor Who “Last Christmas”, 2014): they’re supporting characters – barely more than cameos, really – in a one-off Christmas special of Doctor Who; their very existence is all wibbly-wobbly. But they’re delightful fun, especially when they sarcastically chide Clara for not believing in Santa. And while we’re at it, Moffat’s writing of Santa in this episode is exemplary, one of the finest screen Santas.

The Forest Spirits (Klaus, Grant Morrison and Dan Mora, 2015): another excellent and rather post-modern take on Santa and Elves. In this comic, Klaus is betrayed and left for dead, but saved by mystical and mysterious “spirits of the forest” who may or may not be aliens. They grant him strange powers and eternal life, in a way that marries Christmas folklore with superhero mythology. It’s another intriguing idea from Morrison.

The North Polar Bear (The Father Christmas Letters, J.R.R. Tolkien, 1976): what? He’s not an elf! He’s a bear! But Tolkien’s accounts of Father Christmas’ life at the North Pole are rather interesting in that there’s not really a great deal of elfishness about them. Various clans of elves do crop up – especially during the wars with the goblins or if there’s a party, which feels typical of Tolkien Elves – but really for the most part the role of “elf” (as in “Santa’s Little Helper”) is given to the North Polar Bear Karhu. Intensely helpful and good-natured, but also incredibly clumsy and thin-skinned, he’s probably responsible for more chaos than anything else, but he’s sweet and adorable and the friendship between him and Father Christmas is genuine. He’s a truly terrific character, and although he’s not technically an elf, I think we can afford him honorary elf-hood for the purposes of this list.

[millennialmoderator]

10 Great Seasonal Marketing Ideas from Real Brands

Whether we like it or not, our life is organized around seasonal events to a great extent..

Originally published on millennialmoderator.com

Seasonal marketing is a professional response to those culturally long-established occasions and is an excellent example of the skillful taking of every opportunity to keep the business successfully running.

Marketing is the art of attending to the needs of many, while good marketing is the talent to professionally use every significant public event to spice up promotions. The seasonal events are the perfect opportunity for marketers to bring something new on the table by merely implementing all the ready symbols and topics of the particular holiday.

Holidays - an inexhaustible source of marketers' inspiration

The first holiday to sprang up in everyone's mind when talking about holiday marketing is, with high probability, Christmas. So let's cite an example without further ado. In order to prepare content for the Christmas campaign, marketers do not have to face a tremendous obstacle of reinventing the wheel; the set of ready-made, time-tested ideas, marks, and symbols is right here at their disposal. We are talking here about traditional red and green colors, brightly wrapped presents, good old Santa, Rudolph, Christmas miracles, cookies, family reunions - you name it.

The list goes on, giving the perfect, fertile ground for marketers to generate fascinating ideas. Easter, Halloween, Valentine's Day, St. Patricks Day - seize these opportunities of driving more interest to your business, thus boosting the revenue! Customers will not only lose track of their wallets, but also get inspired by festive spirit and, quite often, really enjoy the mastery of marketer's merry-making campaigns.

We have put together a list of great seasonal marketing ideas from real marketing craft professionals - get inspired for new campaigns and do not waste your seasonal opportunities!

Let's Hear it From the Real Brands

1. Grammarly's guide to the faultless Valentine's Day.

Nowadays, it is more than ever difficult to imagine the actual communication percentage that has moved to the online world. And as we all know, written communication leaves a lot of room for error. This unfortunate truth is particularly embarrassing when it comes to a romantic relationship that strives online. Grammarly, a software company that runs an English language digital writing tool, has got you covered. The company's specialists have a campaign each year to come up with the top tips on making a beautiful romantic gesture and not to embarrass yourself with their app's help. What a great idea! If you set out on a quest to write the perfect love note - Grammarly can help.

2. Nintendo's launch of Luigi's Mansion 3 on Halloween day, what a treat!

Halloween presents yet another excellent opportunity to stand out among the competitors. Some brands really know how not to miss this train. We are talking about universally recognized masters of all things scary — video game companies.

On the 31st of October, 2019, Nintendo presented their fans with a spooktacular Halloween gift - the new game's launch, loudly promoted using all the famous Halloween-related codes. The company celebrated the launch with special offers, thematic rewards for users, and impressive social media campaigns. The launch later turned out to be a sweeping success, chartered as the best ghostbuster game ever released. Well played, Nintendo!

Seasonal marketing does not exclusively include holidays; Johanna Bohm, the Head of Marketing at Adsy, shared. There is one big annual marketing event that all the professionals anticipate. And it is, absolute beyond comparison, Black Friday. Both small and big businesses introduce time-sensitive sales to boost their revenue. Make sure your content marketing campaigns are working a few weeks before the biggest sale of the year; for example, by submitting a guest post to Adsy.com and reap the results.

3. Opt outside with REI on Black Friday.

While we are on the topic, there is one intriguing campaign we cannot omit to mention. REI, an American retail and outdoor recreation services corporation, launched a campaign to protest the annual rise of consumerism associated with Black Friday, inspiring people to spend this day outdoors. All the current and potential customers and users of their services were encouraged to share their outdoor adventures on Instagram with the hashtag #OptOutside.

This bold marketing move, which rang true to the brand's values, formed the outdoor enthusiast's; community, loyal to the brand all year round.

4. Virtual Easter egg hunt with Freefly VR

There is no Easter without an egg hunt, and, in this day and age, comes the time to finally test intriguing, ultra-modern approaches to this festive activity from childhood. Freefly VR, a company dedicated to offering robust, highly engaging virtual reality products, knows how to use the time of year to its advantage and set a festive mood for its customers.

The company came up with unique promotions around Easter, announcing a virtual Easter Egg Hunt where customers can find eggs around the website for the chance to win prizes and special offers.

5. HotelTonight: Visit. Don’t Stay.

This is a unique example on our list since it does not relate to any of the seasonal events in particular. At the same time, it applies to all the holidays that involve family gatherings. HotelTonight took a different approach to the joy of family reunions, stressing sheer uneasiness of staying with the family under one roof. We find this plot absolutely brilliant since almost everyone can relate.

The campaign presents the message across many formats, including various visual ads, social media posts, and offers to take part in a competition to win a stay at one of their hotels during the holiday season. Such a brilliant and concise storytelling! They definitely managed to engage human emotions, quickly making people want to share their experience, and, in a joking manner, reevaluate their housing decisions.

6. Hinge - find someone special to share holiday joy with (or maybe even your life journey).

Around Thanksgiving, this dating app sent out an email inviting people to reconsider their everyday dating habits and concentrate on finding someone special to build long-lasting relationships with. Family and loved ones' importance is usually highly stressed in the media and other cultural narratives around Christmas, so Hinge marketing professionals decided not to let this beautiful opportunity of sentimentally reminding their current and potential users of what is truly important leak away.

Within the letter, they recommended to stop swiping the perfectly retouched portraits and instead concentrate on starting a new meaningful relationship, of course, with the help of their service.

7. The Body Shop is sending Kisses!

This deserves a spot on this list because it is an excellent example of how a simple campaign, presented at the right time, still may get the desirable brand exposure and increase revenue around holidays.

Marketers at the Body Shop decided to act by employing an effective method of user engagement. They promoted Valentine's Day launch of a new lip balm by encouraging the audience to share a photo of them blowing a kiss to someone special with a hashtag #SendingAKiss. The campaign went international and included prizes for the most ingenious photo ideas. Needless to say, thanks to perfect timing, the company’s marketing goals were achieved.

8. Macaulay Culkin stays Home Alone again for Google Assistant.

Opening our Christmas-related great seasonal marketing campaigns is the most famous child (well, not anymore) to have spent Christmas alone at his home. Google marketing team members are well aware that seasonal events are fantastic opportunities to provoke positive emotions connected with the particular holiday, and skillfully extrapolate them onto your product. And they couldn't be more right about picking the hit Home Alone as a set for the sentimental setting of Christmas atmosphere to remind what Google's voice-activated gadgets can do.

Being at home alone around Christmas time, the actor uses a Google Home Hub, his phone to check the calendar, set reminders, order pizza, and adjust the house temperature. We think it is a perfect case of skillful appropriation of festive emotions brought around by this iconic classic.

9. Starbucks’ holiday marks.

The company is well-known for its highly professional and diverse seasonal brand amplification. Starbucks lavishly spreads festive cheer, whether it's Halloween o'clock, aka pumpkin spice latte season, or hot cocoa in annual reddish holiday cups around Christmas. Moreover, the company takes many other paths to make the most significant winter holiday their perfect marketing actor.

As mentioned above, one of the time-proven and most popular with the customers marketing ideas is encouraging user-generated content, such as photo competitions. In one of the annual winter holiday campaigns, the company encouraged its customers to design their red cups and share them on Instagram with a specific hashtag. The winners got valuable prizes; the company acquired the desired promotion.

10. Coca-Cola's Holidays Are Coming.

Last but not least, the long-running ad that, with the years, grew into one of the most recognizable marketing Christmas campaigns - Coca-Cola's Holidays Are Coming. The famous trucks have become unquestionable Christmassy icons since they were launched on TV in 1995. Since then, spotting this ad somewhere around the beginning of November marks the sweet starting point of anticipation of the marvelous winter holiday.

Each year, Coca-Cola adds something new, like social networks integration, new outdoor activities, decorations, prizes, and ads that viewers already perceive as mere Christmas family and friends reunion stories. All the ideas mentioned above work perfectly, boosting positive engagement with the brand.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are numerous options to choose from. Your main goal is to opt for those most applicable to your niche. Do not worry if you currently find yourself out of brilliant ideas; look for inspiration within ready-made ones that have proven to be effective in the past. Our list above is a great starter pack to get inspired by real brands and unravel your own creative potential.

If you enjoyed this Mod, you might like to read more about these How to Start a Dropshipping Business! Please share this Mod using the social links below. Any questions or comments? Let us know on Twitter!

Originally published on millennialmoderator.com

[peachhplum]

A special Dulux Merry Christmas

If ever there was a celebration or holiday that lends itself to crafts and making mini masterpieces for the house, it’s Christmas, particularly for people like me whose hearts are warmed by a homespun look and feel. It’s a season steeped in nostalgia and bringing out handmade decorations year after year and remembering when they were made and who by is a major part of the fun. And, with December seemingly being a month of endless opportunities for my children to inhale sugar, bringing our paper, paints, clay and cookie cutters is pretty much the only way to get them to sit at the kitchen table and indulge in a more calming activity for an hour or two. Try it. But hide the glitter - no good can come from handing a pot of glitter over to a five and eight-year-old, trust me. A couple of weeks ago, Dulux challenged me to get creative with their brand new Colour of the Year Love palette (available in stores from January 2019) and conjure up a colourful, Christmassy creation. A joy of a task, for sure. My head spun with ideas but I finally settled on painting large papier-mâché letters to spell out MERRY CHRISTMAS above the fireplace. With Dulux Pure Brilliant White matt emulsion being my go to paint for walls, I knew it would provide the perfect backdrop for the more enriching colours in Love palette.

I almost don’t need to write a guide to recreating this Dulux Love palette Merry Christmas, but I do have a few hints and tips to share with you that I picked up along the way. First up, plan your colours in advance. Think about where your letters will be positioned - in one long line or one word on top of the other - and which colours you want to sit alongside each other or above and below. I chose not to follow a colour pattern/rotation and decided to have Teal Lux (my favourite colour) and Love Letter/Velvet Cake stripes (like a candy cane) feature three times and the other colours twice. I wrote the order on a piece of paper before starting and ticked each letter and colour off as I went along.

When it comes to painting the letters, to avoid smudging and getting paint all over your fingertips, pop your letter on top of one the tins using a large piece of sticky tac. That way, you can rotate the tin rather than the letter and get an even coat over the top and sides. And talking of coats, one gives good coverage, two really brings out the depth of the colour. Pictured below is Writers Desk, a deep olive. I was unsure about it in the tin but it’s completely grown on me since seeing it on the wall. I’m determined to find another project to use it in.

If you’d like to recreate the candy cane stripes, I used two coats of Love Letter, left the letters to dry overnight and then masked off the stripes using low tack tape before getting busy with the gorgeously warm Velvet Cake. My top tip would be not to put too much paint on your brush to avoid any bleeding under the masking tape. Go slowly but surely.

Once your letters are dry and you’re ready to put them on the wall, it’s time to invest in a couple of packs of Command poster strips. Two per letter will see them firmly stuck to the wall, three if you’re a little cautious like me. The good thing about them is that they peel off without taking the paint with them so when you’re ready to take the letters down, the wall behind should be completely unaffected.

To position the letters on the chimney breast, I measured the total width of the MERRY and the CHRISTMAS and compared those to the width of the wall to understand how much of a gap to leave at the beginning and the end of the words in order to have them positioned evenly in the middle. We live in a very old house with very few straight lines - I’m yet to find a wall, floor, window or ledge that doesn’t look at least marginally wonky - but I still used a spirit level when sticking the letters to the wall. Attention to detail, right?

And then it’s just a case of standing back and admiring your work. It’s amazing what you can do with papier-mâché letters and several small pots of great-coloured paint. It’s really brightened up a plain wall and added the wow factor ready for Christmas.

If you’d like to recreate the exact look, here are the paint colours I used: M - Teal Lux E - Love Letter base with Velvet Cake stripes R - Fragrant Herb R - Auburn Flame Y - Spicy Paprika C - Writers Desk H - Love Letter base with Velvet Cake stripes R - Spicy Paprika I - Teal Lux S - Writers Desk T - Fragrant Herb M - Love Letter base with Velvet Cake stripes A - Auburn Flame S - Teal Lux

What do you think? I’m so happy with the way the letters turned out. The colours are amazing. Now I’m wondering what I could replace MERRY CHRISTMAS with once the festive season is over. HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY perhaps?

This post was written in collaboration with Dulux. The colours included in my creation are from the Colour of the Year ‘Love palette’ and will be available in stores from January.

[lovelettersfromthebarn-blog]

Advent 1987

This was a mass Christmas/New Years letter sent out by Gabriel to friends and family. It is, in my opinion, the least Christmassy letter possible. Nell’s family was included on his letter. At the top of the typed page, there’s a handwritten note from Nell: 

“John [Doctor Fisher]--I included this and the following page as an introduction to Gabriel for you. Nell.”

Dear Friends,

Sundry Christmas-ish thoughts, loosely considered and freely shared:

On crowded inns: not just an unfortunate circumstance of space and cordiality truncated or denied; no, an attitude, an inability to accept disruption, the stranger. Hospitality shrunken to commerce. Halls decked with festivity that masks self-closure and secure boundaries. Who’s in, who’s out, who pays the tab. What might it mean to give refuge, to allow one’s life to be interrupted, to welcome possible angels or messiahs?

On the coming of kings: could this be the real reason the countless city councils ban public creches--that they read the story all too well, picking up the subterfuge politics--who’s really in charge here? An astute Herod can spot a threat anywhere, even in an obscure infant out in the boondocks of the Empire. Our modern Herods are somewhat less astute most of the times, but they know how to domesticate the most troublesome of tales.

On one sharp Jewish teenager: she should never have been elevated (debased?) to blessed virginity. The great revolutionary spirit, far more potent than anything from Marx, was diminished in the process--and so was much of the spirit of women throughout the ages. But it’s not too late to reclaim either. Just read the text, boys.

On understanding angels: I’m not sure I do, but I suspect they speak in secret codes. You must listen between the lines, and you must respond with something deep within. Not pinhead mathematics but manifestos of a new world and how to be part of it. To learn the language you must first unlearn your own.

On the possibility of snow on a chilly Philadelphia night in mid-December: some are without shelter in this demented inn of a city. Some will feel the cruel bit of the night air. Some will celebrate the hibernal spectacle. The snow, of course, is completely innocent. Not so, us. The snow needs no Messiah--it has no victims. It will be beautiful nonetheless, worth wishing for. It’s unto us the child is born--and it’s up to us whether that’s good news or an indictment.

I’ve never fully understood Christmas, but, as you see, I’m trying (no comment on how successfully). Something is afoot, and it’s worth seizing the moment to rekindle the bonds, evoke the love, celebrate the good news of who we are to each other.

If my musings are a bit cryptic, that’s due in part to my new circumstances, explained by the enclosed flyer. Editor’s Note: I will not be including the flyer. Gabriel is here referencing a group that he co-founded to work for social transformation via scripture study and social analysis. This group worked on community development--and political resistance. 

Other things in my life: still working for [magazine name omitted]  which continues to be challenging and fulfilling. This past summer, I travelled to the Middle East to explore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; my article should soon be published. I have also been involved in work with the homeless as well as in much faith-based peacemaking work with various folks in town. And making music as time allows. And occasionally enjoying, occasionally despising life in the big city. It all evens out in the end, and it’s all worth it.

And waiting for the King, making sure I will be appropriately hospitable.

A bit of rambly letter this year, as the weeks have been busy. My prayers go out to all of you, and I ask your prayers for our undertakings at [group name omitted]. Be of good cheer, and may you learn the language of angels.

Much love,

Gabriel