#my secret Santa

[huntquinlan]

HELLO BESTIE!!!

Hope you are enjoying the crispy autumn temperatures and drinking your fill of hot cider / pumpkin spice lattes / whatever fall beverage you prefer!

One more ask for you before we REALLY get to work on your present this holiday season...

When you close your eyes and imagine the PERFECT cozy wintry inn... where is it? In the middle of a forest? On a mountaintop? By a lake? In rolling hills? Kind of many of the above?

That's all LOVE U!!!!!!!!!

HI BESTIE!!!!!

does this work?!? i love the idea of cozy inn deep in the forest, insulated by snow and trees. Maybe there are some mountains and lakes/streams nearby (for swimming if they’re hot springs or skating and ice fishing if not).

i am enjoying (slightly) cooler autumn temperatures! not cooler by much unfortunately 😅 but that’s southern life 🥲

& i know it’s early but HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! 🎃🧡

[entirelysein-e]

Introducing myself in October!? Oh my!

Everyone knows that Santa starts EARLY and I am your designated elf who will be delivering your extra special gift. I’ve received your list and my is it JUICY!

Baldur’s Gate 3? Wind Breaker? Demon Slayer? I think you’re after my heart with those choices. How ever will I choose what to gift you?

I can’t wait to get pick your brain about what you truly like over the next few weeks!

- Your Elf

IS THIS MY SECRET SANTA OH MY GOD I ALMOST SPAT OUT MY TEA HELLO 🥹🥹🥹

Please don't stress yourself over anything with me I'm already super happy that you're thinking about me 🥹 so choose what makes YOU happy please!!

But if you'd like i can unscrew my head and let you peep at and poke my brain for some funny brain tingles!

Smooching you, if I may 🫶

[corcracrow]

Hello, your Secret Santa here!

I have a musical question, which has only marginally to do with your gift, but still serves as a little Easter egg (?)

I wanted to ask you your opinion, lyrically speaking, on Taylor Swift, Lorde, Lana Del Rey and Marina.

Have a wonderful day 💕

Hi Santa! It’s lovely to hear from you!

I like Taylor Swift and Lana Del Ray! Lorde and Marina I do enjoy, but I don’t really know much of their music. (for some reason I only know music from electra heart? I don’t know how that happened lol)

Generally though I like music by lyrics, and artist doesn’t matter as much.

I hope you have a wonderful day too! (and a good spooky season if you enjoy that)💜

[shallyne]

SECRET SANTA ARE YOU HERE

[cxffecoupx]

okay secret santa fic update! I'm giving yn my trauma of losing class president elections to some more popular korean guy oops but TRUST ME ITS FOR THE PLOT!! THE ENEMIES TO LOVERS WILL EAT TRUST ME!!

anyways I wish it snowed where I live... 💔 the weather didn't even start lowering from 100° until mid October 🤧 I've only ever seen snow once when my family and I drove up to the mountains a couple year back and it was so pretty... how often do you see snow??

okay I'm crawling back to my hole goodbye 😕

-🍒🌟 <33

oooo the plot thickens!!!

so so in waiting to read your story I CAN SMELL IT BREWING OMG

honey, I've never seen snow😭😭 it doesn't snow where I'm living (or most places in our country) but i wanna see snow sooo bad🥹🥹 but the temperatures been dropping we've had 19°, 17° celsius the past few days. mornings find me cuddled up in the super soft blanket that I would happily die in. I love the cold so much even tho its tough when you don't have anything to keep you warm, but I really really love the cold.

I'm glad I could talk to you today; see you later!! take care!!

[goforth-ladymidnight]

❄️ Hello!! It’s me again! ❄️

Very excited to tell you that I officially have a clear idea for your gift 🎁. It may end up more fluffy and romantic than angsty but I looked through your works and it seems like you enjoy that vibe so I hope it’s ok!!

I’ll be popping into your inbox every now and then to update you and ask you some silly questions because I really enjoy reading your replies 🤭.

Fun questions of the day:

-What are some of your favorite books?

-What do you think tamcien’s love languages would be?

Have a good weekend!!

-🎅🎄

Oh!! Hi Santa! I am so excited!!! 🤩

I know I went on and on about angst, but fluffy romance is right up my alley! I can't wait. 🥰

I am so glad to hear from you so often, and I'm so pleased that you like hearing my answers! ❤️ I don't often get the chance to ramble that often, so thanks for letting me! 😙

Fun answers of the day:

Favorite books? This is one of my favorite topics. GAH! Are you ready for this? Buckle up, Buttercup!

I discovered both A Wrinkle in Time and The Chronicles of Narnia when I was a pre-teen, and they are still my go-to classics when I need to read something cozy in bed. ("It was a dark and stormy night", my beloved.)

Because I liked to collect "Accelerated Reading points" for my reading classes in school, I discovered some classics that I might not have otherwise read. (I'm not sure where you're from, but essentially A.R. is a program where books with a higher reading level were given more points that you could cash in for prizes like stickers, pencils, or even T-shirts. I rocked those T-shirts as a pre-teen. Just sayin'.)

I read things like A Scarlet Letter, Animal Farm, and Moby Dick, all without being assigned by a teacher! Some I liked better than others (Moby Dick's Whiteness of the Whale, my beloathed), but I was a voracious reader, just the same.

While I never did fall in love with Pride and Prejudice like my friends did, I adored The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy! It basically laid the groundwork for such popular heroes like Zorro and Batman, and no, I'm not kidding.

Accelerated Reading was not emphasized as much by the time I reached high school, so I started reading more fantasy novels. I still prefer The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings, for example, but the inverse is true of the movies, haha.

I tend to prefer fairy tale retellings over original fantasy, just because I like to know what I'm getting into. That's one reason I picked up ACOTAR! Well, the first reason is I discovered the Adult Coloring Book in a local bookstore, but I was intrigued by the artwork and the excerpts I read.

One such retelling that I recently fell in love with is "Heart's Blood" by Juliet Marillier, which is Beauty and the Beast set in ancient Ireland. I don't normally go for Historical Fantasy (since I prefer fantastical settings), but I was intrigued by the mystery of ✨The Enchantment✨. And the way the author wove it into the magic of the mirrors around the castle just blew my mind when I first read it. It felt like such a fresh take on the classic fairy tale, even though I've read at least five different retellings of the story so far.

One of those that I still dearly love is "Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast" by Robin McKinley. It's definitely a slower read than some of the more modern retellings, as it came out in the 1970s, but I am convinced that Disney took notes from this work, since McKinley's Beauty is an avid reader, and so is Belle. I don't recall any prior adaptation that made her interested in books.

That being said, one of my absolute favorite Robin McKinley books is "Sunshine", which I'm reading now, in fact. I try to reread it every October. It's got Vampires, Cinnamon Rolls the size of your head, and a character who's trying her hardest to be normal after being kidnapped by said Vampires. What's not to love?

I could go on, but I think that's a pretty good start. However, my list of Honorable Mentions includes: the short stories of Peter S. Beagle (who wrote "The Last Unicorn"), Sherwood Smith's "Crown Duel" duology, and Garth Nix's "Sabriel". The worldbuilding in all of these is just top-tier. I love them all.

Now, finally, onto your second question. 😅 Tamcien's love languages, an exploration:

First, Tamlin:

Words of Affirmation: Yes, he struggles with compliments (Exhibit A: "Your hair is... clean"), but he seems to do better with the written word when composing limericks. When he whispers an "I love you, thorns and all" late at night, you know he means it. Still, this is probably not his number one love language. It's supposed to be something that comes naturally, after all.

Acts of Service: He gave Feyre a fully furnished painting studio, and he enlisted Nuan's help to fix Lucien's eye, but I can't think of that many examples, to be honest. He does hunt down creatures like The Bogge to make sure they don't terrorize his people or his lands, but these acts could also be boiled down to his duty as High Lord.

Gifts: Again we have the painting studio as evidence, but traditionally, it's the smaller just-because-I-was-thinking-of-you gifts that indicate the strength of this particular love language. I'm not convinced.

Quality Time: Now we're getting somewhere. The glen, the pool of starlight, the meadow with the singing willow, all of these special locations are places where Tamlin can just let his hair down and relax. He doesn't need to talk, and neither does his companion. He's just content to lie back and bask in their company.

Physical Touch: This one is tricky, because my first thought is that this one would be it. However. I think he gets "touched out" more often than not and needs to recharge. His main power is shapeshifting, which already takes a toll, but he's also expected to participate in the Great Rite every year, so it's less about intimacy and more about duty. That being said, I think he is definitely touch-starved at this point in the story, and it will take a lot of time and trust to let anyone get close to him again.

Final answer: Quality Time.

Next up, Lucien:

Words of Affirmation: At least in Book 1, Lucien is sassy and snarky, but when he gets called on it, he has been known to resort to overt flattery (Exhibit A: "Your eyes are like stars, and your hair like burnished gold"). Later on in the novel, Lucien admires Feyre's Solstice attire and says she looks "positively Fae", while Tamlin's comment is more sincere: "You look beautiful". I would therefore say that this is not Lucien's first love language.

Acts of Service: Lucien helped Feyre multiple times during her stay Under the Mountain, but it was, as he said "for Tamlin's sake". We do learn that he truly does care for Feyre later on, but this does not seem to be his primary love language, either.

Gifts: Like Tamlin, gifts from a faerie seem to come from a sense of obligation, rather than "thinking of you". The ruby dagger was something he gave up to reward Feyre for freeing the Suriel when she didn't have to. So I would say that Gifts isn't it, either.

Quality Time: He tags along with Tamlin and Feyre on many of their outings, but more than once he makes excuses to let them be alone. He seems too impatient to just sit and linger.

Physical Touch: I think this might be it, actually. Although it's never shown in the text, it is implied that he enjoys dalliances with other faeries while out on patrol. When Feyre has a nightmare in Book 3 (or pretends to), his method of comfort is to embrace her. Interestingly enough, I think he is more self-conscious about his scar and his eye than he would like to admit, and so he uses snark to keep people at arm's length until he decides they're allowed to approach. While Tamlin seems to be afraid of hurting people because of how strong he is, I think Lucien is more afraid of being hurt, like he was by Amarantha. Is there any correlation to your love language being used to wound you? I think so. For Tamlin, who seems to value Quality Time, his worst nightmare is to be left alone, even if he thinks that's what he wants. And for Lucien, it would be physical abuse, since a pat on the shoulder or a fond embrace seems to come so naturally to him.

Final Answer: Physical Touch.

Now I know that I relied a lot on canon to come up with these answers, and Tamcien's relationship is nothing but platonic in the series, but I can't help but think the same answers apply to their fanon pairing.

Imagine Lucien braiding Tamlin's hair while he lies back and relaxes (I think @/lucychanart has a piece depicting this, actually). Or Tamlin brushing a kiss against Lucien's scar, to remind him that it doesn't change how he feels about him. Or the two of them putting their heads together as they pore over a map in Tamlin's office. Lucien putting a hand over Tamlin's when his claws threaten to come out, and reminding him to take a deep breath.

That's not to say that they wouldn't also express their love in other ways, like the aforementioned "I love you"s or giving one another gifts once in a while, but for the common, everyday expressions of love, it's got to be Quality Time and Physical Touch. ❤️

Thank you for letting me ramble! This was a wonderful exercise. 😊

I hope you have a good weekend, too, Santa! I look forward to hearing from you again, whenever that may be. 🥰

[rookdaw]

[sleepysebris]

:) 🖤

@mlsecretsanta gift for @thequeenofspace! happy belated holidays and apologies for the delay, had a serious family emergency followed by sickness! I had so much fun making this though, was so excited to finally draw these two 🖤 hope you enjoy!!!

[schsas]

aged up christmas reveal with a baby!! happy holidays to the world's coolest person @frostedpuffs!!!

comic about frostedpuffs' minibug au (<- read more) for ashville's secret santa

⚠️ADRIEN ISNT THE FATHER! Minibug's father isn't important to the story.

[noonaracha]

LOOK WHAT TSU MADE FOR ME

I’M SO IN LOVE

THANK YOU MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS 💜💜💜💜💜

Ho ho ho @noonaracha ! Here I come with my gift to you~ hope you enjoy it and thank you for the friendship ❤️

[huntquinlan]

HAPPY HUMP DAY JADE!!!!!

hmmm, what's that sound? oh right. it's the elves clocking into work so we can get the north pole in order for the ACOTAR gift exchange. ✍️✍️✍️

i know you're dying to find out what kind of present i'm leaving under the tree... but you'll have to answer a few this-or-that questions first. didn't expect homework? trust me when i say the payoff will be sweet... or spicy, if that's what you prefer 😉

THIS or THAT elain:

wistful gentle dreamy elain OR exasperated spiky i've-had-enough elain?

elain in a place we know and love (prythian) OR elain in a new place for her and for us? (AU)

elain detangling her magic OR elain detangling the drama of her relationships?

THIS or THAT lucien:

lucien making hearts beat faster with his outrageous charm OR with his secret pining?

the lucien you wish would go to therapy OR the lucien you wish was your therapist?

meeting lucien through his brother OR his good buddy OR his kind-of-shitty 'friend'?

THIS or THAT kind of elucien:

on 🌶️: close the door and give them some privacy OR jam the door open with a good seat and a bowl of popcorn?

sweet OR spicy vibes? (regardless of rating)

appreciating lucien's 🍑 OR lucien's 💪 (okay, which one FIRST)?

too hard to choose? feel free to leave more notes... provided, of course, you don't get too distracted 👀

XOXO,

your secret santa 💅

THIS or THAT elain:

1. wistful gentle dreamy elain OR exasperated spiky ive-had-enough elain?

-> BOTH i love an otherworldly soft elain but also an exasperated, flustered elain (because lucien is the only one who get under her skin that way). it’s her DUALITY.

2. elain in a place we know and love (prythian) OR elain in a new place for her and for us? (AU) (the continent🤔)

3. elain detangling her magic OR elain detangling the drama of her relationships? magic because i could care less about graysen or azriel

THIS or THAT lucien:

1. lucien making hearts beat faster with his outrageous charm OR with his secret pining? something about lucien’s unending devotion and longing that makes my heart go crazyy

2. the lucien you wish would go to therapy OR the lucien you wish was your therapist? listen. love me some stability for lucien but also i need him a little broken. for reasons

3. meeting lucien through his brother OR his good buddy OR his kind-of-shitty 'friend'? if jurian or vassa or tamlin are involved i am 100000% down

THIS or THAT kind of elucien:

1. on 🌶️: close the door and give them some privacy OR jam the door open with a good seat and a bowl of popcorn? FRONT ROW SEATS BABY

2. sweet OR spicy vibes? (regardless of rating)

3. appreciating lucien's 🍑 OR lucien's 💪 (okay, which one FIRST)?

okay so BECAUSE elain is delightfully repressed it needs to be his ass first. it needs to SCARE her how attracted she is to lucien’s perfect 🍑 and then she can notice later just how perfect her biceps are when she rests her head on them post cuddles. or mid thrust. whatever works 🤷‍♀️

LOVE U BESTIE ❤️

[entirelysein-e]

Ho Ho Ho!

Two visits in less than 24 hours? Someone get Santa a raise!

Question for you Luma: In your selfships, do you like when they yearn for you? Or is there such a thing as too much yearning? Is it character-dependent? Or are you anti-yearner?

- 🧑‍🎄🎤

Santa once again 🥺🫶

Oh I'm a very clingy lover. I love love and being loved so I don't think there's such thing as too much yearning... but it does depend on the character I think??

Like Toji for example would be in absolute denial of it. Him yearning? Never. He does but would never admit it out loud.

But yeah. Yearning makes me feel wanted and loved 🥹

[onebadnoodle]

GEMINI ★

secret santa gift for @nokonyu

[deadeery]

“You guys—! I love you both so much!!”

My gift to @fishfishfruit ! your wish, ‘Zoro and Robin competing to be Choppers best big sibling’ such a cute idea and in time for his bday too ^_^ happy birthday chops 🎉🩷

and happy holidays to u!

[cxffecoupx]

hehe glad to know you'll be getting excited over it, I'm combining the roommates and enemies to lovers tropes for this one 🤭 it will be fluffy after they realize their true feelings or some shit trust

also gl with your exam!!! I believe in you!!

-dubbing myself 🍒🌟 cause cheol + star in another language is my online name (help im fr gonna give myself away before I'm supposed to 😭)

excited is an understatement at this point cause HOW CAN YOU JUST CASUALLY DROP THAT ITS ENEMIES TO LOVERS AND ROOMMATES?! It's better to just end me rn I'm not even kidding i WILL not survive this is actually getting serious😭😭

thank you so much for your wishes😭😭 I hope it goes well too

Alsoooo, okay then-

Hii 🍒🌟!!

also trust me, I'm too dumb to decipher it I'm telling you I'm clueless af😭😭

[goforth-ladymidnight]

Hello!! It’s your secret santa again!

I know it’s a little early but I’d love to get to know you a little so I’d like to ask you some questions; just to get to know your taste so I can start planning the perfect gift for you !!

-What are some things you like to read in fanfictions (fav tropes,dynamics,AUs,etc)?

-What are some of your favorite tags that you look for in fics?

(Could be general or tamcien specific)

And if there’s anything specific/niche you enjoy, tell me!! I’m here to make ur dreams come to life 😌!

-🎅🎄

Hi Santa!!

Would it surprise you to know that I don't read that much fanfiction?? 🫣 This is my first fandom, so while I write a lot, I'm still learning about tropes and tags and... well, everything else. 😅

That being said, here are my answers, and I hope they're helpful!

When I read (fanfiction or otherwise), I like feeling that shiver of ✨magic✨ that you can only find in fantasy. As much as I like ACOTAR Book 1, it didn't quite go far enough into Fae territory, for my taste. I've written essays complaining about that, if you want to go looking through my pinned masterlist, haha.

When it comes to tropes, Fluff is always nice, but I don't usually make that my focus. It's just a nice layer in the fanfiction sandwich. I write a fair amount of Angst myself, but I'm not sure how much exactly I can handle for the holidays, haha. I won't tell you NOT to write angst, because this is your gift. I promise I will love it no matter what. ❤️

Come to think of it, Fluff and Angst isn't really a trope, is it? Only One Bed is, though, and I think that's cute. Pining is good, Hurt/Comfort is actually really good... (Did I say I didn't want Angst? Forget that. Add as much as you want. I will EAT IT UP WITH A SPOON.) It just needs a happy ending. Nothing bugs me more than a great story that ends too soon, in ANY medium.

Not that you asked, but my interest in Tamcien started when my Tamlin Week co-mod Reyna planted the seed in my brain. I think my first foray into Tamcien territory was writing how Lucien lost his eye (in canon), and how Tamlin comforted him afterwards. Best Friends to Lovers? Yes, please!! (And here I thought I didn't know anything about tropes...)

I'm also slowly coming around to Modern AUs, because while I do love Fantasy (see my first bullet point above), there's something really special about: "I will find you in any universe", and this universe just so happens to have Christmas in it. 🎄

Coincidentally, I have a list of holiday movies I like to watch every year. I like sprinkling in that kind of pine-scented nostalgia into my own gift fics, fantasy or modern. I won't require that of you, though. Just choose what comes naturally to you! (I say this because while I wrote my modern Tamcien AU as a gift fic for my friend Reyna, it's also a gift to me. I added a LOT of Christmas stuff to it, and I didn't realize until after I published it that Reyna doesn't really celebrate that holiday. Haha... Woops!! But she's told me many times how much she enjoys it, and I choose to believe her. 😁)

Anyway, enough rambling for one night. I hope this is enough to get you started! I'm already looking forward to hearing from you again! ❤️Thanks again!