#not really christmas themed bc i don't really celebrate but the vibes are there

[harlequinalis]

It's finally December and while it never snows here bc i live in a desert i can still draw evertree characters in cute winter clothes 😌🌈💖

[inkedinshadows]

santa is back!!! hope your week has been filled with the magic of the holidays (it's almost halloween, right?) I have a couple more questions for you (there's kind of a lot this time, sorry!):

do you prefer canon or au fics? is there a specific kind of au you like? a specific part of canon you wish was explored more?

what's your favorite thing about elain? about azriel?

we've talked a lot about mythology! are there any myths that you feel like fit with acotar beyond the classic hades/persephone trope (personally I feel like that IS elain and az)

how many holiday vibes should we put into this baby? hallmark-level decorations? solstice like we see in acofas? some vague winter celebrations? no holiday at all?

what is your favorite part of the end of the year? I've been loving the cold weather and dirty pumpkin chais--does it get cold where you live? do you like fall holidays or winter holidays more?

hope your week was stress-free and that your weekend is blissful :)

xoxo,

santa

Ahhh hello Santa! I have so much fun answering your questions that I giggled when I saw this!

The answers are below the cut because it's a bit long oopsie

I actually tend to stick with canon fics. I do enjoy some good AU fic from time to time, but I usually cherry-pick them, while I read pretty much anything within canon. As for a specific part to explore... there's so much that we still don't know that I can't choose. But if we narrow it down to Elain and Azriel, I'd say maybe their powers? We still don't know exactly how either her visions or his shadows work and I think it'd be interesting to know more about that.

My favorite thing about Elain is probably her quiet strength. She's often underrated and regarded as boring because she's not as "loud" as her sisters are, but I love quiet, introverted people as one myself (until you get to know me and then I overshare lol). Elain's not a talker, she's a listener and an observer, and we see that multiple times. She's not a fighter, but it doesn't mean she won't grow claws to protect those she loves. I always thought that if I were an acotar character, I'd be Elain. Maybe that's also why I like her so much and I can't wait for her book to see what happens inside her head.

And about Azriel... where do I even start? If I had to choose, I'd probably say his kindness and thoughtfulness. It's not something I take for granted, especially considering how he spent the first few years of his life and how he was treated. Yet he makes sure not to appear threatening in front of the priestesses, he gets his friends meaningful gifts, and he makes time to teach Feyre how to fly and later on to train the priestesses (when we know he's a workaholic and there's a war going on in both stances). And I love his humor lol.

I do have a few myths, actually. Sticking to Greek mythology, I think there are many similarities between Feyre and Tamlin's story and Eros and Psyche. Oh and I can see some parallels between Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus and Azriel, Elain, Lucien. Also, the Valkyries. I believe they're going to play a bigger role in the next books because they were really important in Norse mythology. (If I were a theorist, I would probably also come up with something about Elain and the cursed prophet Cassandra bc I thought about it a couple times, but I don't really engage in theories)

I love Christmas sooo... as many holiday vibes as you like! You won't hear any complaint form me eheh

It's winter holidays for me. Also because Halloween is not really a big holiday here in Italy. It became more popular in the last few years under American influence, but I never once dressed up, went trick or treating, or even went to a theme party. Last year I simply watched Nightmare Before Christmas lol. But Christmas is my favorite holiday and time of the year in general because I love the music, the decorations, the atmosphere, the snow (though it hasn't snowed enough to make even just a single snowball in years).

Unfortunately my week had a lot of ups and downs, but hopefully the weekend will be better ✨️ and I hope you have a lovely weekend too 🩷 and so sorry for yapping, I got carried away!

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

alright i wont lie, i do feel kinda weird abt answering some Clarifying Questions abt what constitutes as non-offensive holiday-themed fan content of an indigenous character. im a white USAmerican and i was raised catholic, and i am in NO WAY an authority on what respectful Māori representation looks like. the only reason i was comfortable making this post is bc i know enough about history to know that writing or drawing an indigenous character (who is played by an indigenous jewish man) uncritically celebrating christmas in 1717 is Very Bad

however, i made this post, so i guess i'll address the parts of your questions that i can. i'll try not to stick my foot in my mouth but you should absolutely take what i'm saying with a grain of salt.

i'm gonna start with something i do know and feel confident saying:

SECULAR CHRISTMAS IS NOT A THING. im gonna speak from an american perspective here, so i apologize if ur not american, but i know for a fact that here in the USA there are people who celebrate christmas and decorate their house and buy presents and don't think about the religious significance of the holiday at all. that doesn't make the holiday secular. what this means is that christianity has become so pervasive in (american) society that its presence in national holidays and its importance in cultural norms go unquestioned. hanukkah movies aren't playing on almost every television channel for a month. shopping malls and big chain stores aren't decorating for ramadan. kids don't get a week off of school to celebrate yom kippur. yes, christmas in america is mostly about spending hundreds of dollars on presents and getting time off to go visit family, not about the birth of jesus, but there's a reason that it's a christian holiday that gets to be such a huge cultural ordeal in american society.

now, a generic "winter solstice" type celebration miiight be a step in the right direction??? but personally that kind of fan content always gives me the vibe that the fan just wants to make christmas content but doesn't want to be #problematic, so instead of doing any research into other customs they just take the aesthetics of christmas and are like "they're not celebrating christmas, they're celebrating Generic Gift-Giving Winter Holiday!" which like. it's a little better??? but it's still just christmas with more steps

(that being said i don't think ive ever seen ppl criticize that kind of Generic Christmas Knockoff holiday before so maybe this is just a me problem, idk)

if you really have your heart set on making some sort of winter holiday-themed modern AU fanwork for ofmd, i think you gotta start doing some research, look into Māori holidays and how those are celebrated. do they have any winter celebrations? have any of their holidays been impacted by the overwhelming cultural power of christmas the way that some celebrations from other cultures/religions have?

and i know ed's religious beliefs aren't specified in canon (but are implied to be Not Christian), but taika waititi is also jewish, so hanukkah could be an option.

(i do also imagine that stede celebrates christmas, so like, married couple ed and stede would most likely have some cross-cultural celebrations going on. just remember that focusing only on how they both celebrate stede's cultural traditions would be Pretty Bad)

tl;dr don't make "secular christmas" content bc secular christmas is not a thing, but other than that i don't really know. creating respectful holiday content for ofmd is going to take more research than just asking me, a random person on tumblr, what i think

ofmd fandom holiday psa

if i see any fanart or fanfics of fictional gay pirate edward teach celebrating christmas i am going to blow up this whole fandom

[yoonpobs]

POBBIEEEE

First of all, Merry Christmas to one of my favorite people ever here on tumblr!! I hope you celebrated the holidays well and happily surrounded eith people and things you love ❤💚🎄💜

Second,, i have no words for that Christmas drabble im gonna cRY IT WAS PERFECT. Tbvh i dont usually like Christmas themed fics bc i dont really celebrate it fully and indont feel for it much but this drabble (thats pleasantly long ^^) might just change my mind. IM SO SOFT UGH back burner is def my fav series from you aaahhh i want to see them get married and have kids so bad 😭 i had a good Chrostmas eve and Chrostmas day and this is definitely the cherry on top!! Ugh i just love it so much!!

I hope you're always doing well!! Rest when you can and when you need to!! Take care always!! I love u!!!

i'm almost three months late, but this ask has been sitting in my inbox for the longest time & it always brings a smile to my face whenever i'm briefly on here. i love you ❤️ this is so sweet.

i have so much love for the back-burner couple, and i'm glad the drabble brought some semblance of a festive vibe! i totally understand the sentiment w/ Christmas themed fics bc I don't personally celebrate myself — but I thought it'd be cute for bb!oc & yoongs hehe.

i hope you're doing well too 💕 take care of yourself always!!!

[thatwasthenightthingschanged]

hey sarah! after discovering artists like maisie peters or conan gray because of you (and absolutely LOVING them), I really started trusting your taste in music. therefore, I was wondering what other musicians you’d recommend, maybe even some songs of those artists (ones you really really like)? wishing you a wonderful Christmas (in case you celebrate!) and a wonderful 2022! 💗

ahhh it always makes me so happy when people find my fav artists bc of me so thank u🥺🥺💕 I will, in fact, put together a playlist of my favorite songs I discovered this year in a couple of days but until then:

1. wrabel: seriously HE'S SO GOOD. especially if you like gut-hitting sad songs. he made a lovely song about trans experience a couple of years ago ("the village") which is great! this year I absolutely fell in love with his debut album ☺️ my fav songs from on there are probably "london", "wish you well", "cars", "let love in" and "love is not a simple thing to lose"! he also got a Christmas ep!! I love "sometimes Christmas is hard" from there because I feel like we need more songs abt how Christmas is not always great if u got struggles in your family & this song is really soothing for that 🥰

2. Katelyn Tarver: (it's a theme here: sad songs agkslh) you might still know her from her role of Jo in Big Time Rush ☺️ my fav songs of hers are Never Fade, Don't Let It Change You and Somebody Else! I also recommend her project with the front singer of the band Parachute (their duo is called REAVES) and especially the song Never Was by them!

3. luz: if you're looking for a small wlw artist! she doesn't have that many songs out yet but I rll love "the author", "I'm lonely" & "permanent +1"!

4. Sody: yes somehow I love British female artists ahmslhs her song "Bitch (I Said It)" is a certified bop for all of your anger, but I absolutely love her songs "Whole", "Charlotte" (!!), "butterfly" and "time again"!

5. Violet Skies: known for my fav song I discovered last year, "This Could Be Love"! but this year I listened a lot to her EP "Lonely" and the songs on there are also rlly good!!

6. Maude Latour: for your Lorde vibes! my fav songs are "Lovesick" and "Block Your Number"!

7. Oh Wonder: they're the cutest little couple duo! with their songs it's kinda luck whether I like them or not but some of my favs are "Hallelujah", "Lonely Star", "This Christmas" (BEST CHRISTMAS SONG EVER IMO) and from their newest album "Don't Let the Neighborhood Hear"!

happy holidays and hope u have a great new year too, anon! 🥰💘

[papercupids]

omg that's really nice!! happy birthday in advance!! and me neither LOL i haven't watched gose since the best friend eps and yea for sure!! it's just enough content to be fed but not overloaded!!

doyoung is swag and i think it's so funny how he just keeps swearing when cameras are rolling and pretending to be shocked bc ain't that a mood LOL mark and johnny are so funny they literally don't feel like idols if u get me HAHAHA

ooo ist!! that works for me!! i might just reveal when it's 12am 25 dec my time since it's pretty close to yours!!

oooo your choice and semicolon both bang but may i propose attacca and going seventeen 👁 i'm a sucker for their older stuff HAHAHA ooo dwc and fallin' flower are super iconic so 100% valid yasss bittersweet and gam3 bo1 and hhu unit tracks <33333 my fave!!

random question but favourite holiday or time of year? i hope u had a good day!! - sss

thank you!! also yes same i havent caught up w it after the best friends ep but i think i'll get time this weekend so we bingeing 🍿‼️

doyoung is literally so cute n relatable at the same time, i love his brain (lets pretend this isnt a weird thing to say but yes) and his insta feed is literally to die for 😵😵 like look at those aesthetics man.

and reveal whenever you feel like it lol im pretty much online a lot 😭 i really cant escape tumblr

omg yes attacca was literally so good i cant believe i got to witness it like every fucking track was such a banger like you see the title track was so good??? they literally dont make good ones like those now!! and then crush??? and then i cant run away??? and imagine having a track like 2 minus 1 as a bonus track!!!!!! i literally for a minute thought that it'd be my song of the year, i looped it so much.

but about the older stuff, i relate yes, going seventeen was literally a no skip album; the thing is svt's discography is so vast and just it has a song for every mood 😭 i love their discography ok 😭

as for favourite time of the year, its the time thats going on which is like the november/december part. we dont celebrate christmas because we're not christians but my mum loves the vibes of the festival and makes me watch hallmark movies and all those christmas themed romcoms so much!! and its just i love the winter so its all things meshed together so yes its basically winter, i love winter!! <3

whats yours 👀👀??