#or holiday present i suppose for the people that don't celebrate christmas

[iguessitsjustme]

It will surprise no one to hear that my top artist this year was Stray Kids. But I want to know who y'all think came in as my second top artist. So...

Listen, I know wrapped this year was...well it was. But I do think my top 5 artists are accurate. Also all of the artists listed did appear in my top songs playlist. But only 3 of them listed are in my top 5.

[orangetintedglasses]

Wolfwood doubts that Vash bothers celebrating Christmas, and he can't blame him. He doesn't really either, he just does the gift-giving part. Usually the people celebrating the holiday worship the two Angels, and while Wolfwood will gladly get on his knees for Vash, he'd rather not think of him as some holy deity, thanks. Angelic, yes. An actual angel? Well, he'd expressed discomfort with the idea in the past, so an angel Vash is not. Finding a gift for someone who doesn't ask for anything other than a box of donuts from time to time is harder than it seems. How's he supposed to pick out a gift that fits perfectly between the 'casual' and 'you may as well propose to the guy' categories? He hasn't even had the courage to tell Vash how he feels about him yet either, so maybe this would be a good opportunity to. Maybe. Hopefully. It'd also be a good time to give Vash a different kind of present, but that's neither here nor there. Trinkets of any decent quality are rare finds on Noman's. Rarer still are the ones without any kind of religious inspiration. Eventually Wolfwood finds an eclectic collector's shop with myriad baubles. Immediately, what catches his eye is a whiskey flask with the words "Holy Water" printed on it, so he of course needs to pick that up as a little gift to himself. It'll probably ignite one of Vash's contagious laughs—a brilliant light in an endless dark void. What in the world is worthy of being given to Vash the Stampede? He grumbles over this for some time before the owner of the shop takes pity on him and approaches, concerned. Immediately, she picks him out as a 'boyfriend getting his partner something for their first Christmas' type. As embarrassing as it is, Wolfwood relents, which leads to the present moment, when Vash convenes with him at their hotel room: "I know you… probably don't care about Christmas—I don't really either—but I wanted to get you something," he begins, nervous as all getup. Wolfwood pulls a gift bag from behind his back, then offers it to the blond. "I like to do stuff for the kids, you know? But this time I had to give a gift to you as well. You're pretty hard to shop for, has anyone ever told you that? Jeez…" Inside the sparkly red bag is an instant-print camera and a brand-new journal—oversized, presumably, to fit photos into. "I know you got a photographic memory, but… thought it might be nice to, uh, keep some, I guess. You know, in case you go forgetting stuff again. And also for the sake of those of us who don't have the ability to remember what they had for dinner 75 years ago. Might be nice, is all." He turns away to avoid watching Vash's gaze, but remembers that he's absolutely guilty of wanting to see the way those blue, glassy eyes glimmer with excitement, so he braves the fear and meets them head-on, determined. "I… have another gift for you but I still… need to wrap it. Go get us some hooch or something and come back in an hour." @forgivenpunishment

Well now! Didn't that put his little gift idea to shame?

In a funny way, of course-- Vash didn't actually think of it like that. It was just kind of a funny coincidence that Wolfwood had also gone out to find him something for the whole holiday thing, and apparently had a difficult time of it. Which was fair; he'd been told quite a few times that he was hard to get gifts for in the past. Partly because he didn't really ask for or openly want anything, and party because he was happy with anything people were willing to give him, which apparently just made that even more difficult? But even just thinking about him was more than enough--

This, though, this gift was... not only very sweet, but extremely thoughtful. Both of which had seemingly caught the Plant a bit off-guard as he looked into the bag.

"This is..." even just those two words, ushered out with the tail end of an exhale and barely audible, sounded completely awed by what Wolfwood had found. Vash lifted his gaze from the contents of the bag; summer sky blues positively sparkling with adoration as they caught the light at that angle.

Then Wolfwood mentioned having another gift, and that sent dark brows shooting straight up.

"Something else...? Y-you didn't have to-- I mean, this is more than-- I--" the poor thing blustered, flushed and a bit all over the place (and a little confused: he needed another hour to wrap something else when this had been put in a bag?) now that the situation called for his brain to be put to use. Eventually he caught himself, and just... nodded. Smiled and nodded. Beamed and nodded, really-- "y-yeah, okay. An hour. You got it~."

He did still have to set the gift down for safekeeping (no way was he risking bringing this outside yet!) and grab the rest of his cash before he set off as requested... buuut not before stealing a quick kiss from the undertaker; catching his upper lip in something sweet and warm and, again, quick--

"Thank you. Seriously, this is... really amazing, Wolfwood." he said. Decent as he usually was at withholding his lovesick glances until Wolfwood's back was sufficiently turned, the blond just couldn't help himself this time. His moony gaze drifted slowly from his boyfriend's light blue eyes down to his mouth, then back up again before he finally pulled away to get himself sorted and headed out the door.

The Plant was reluctant to part, but Wolfwood had specifically asked, after all.

"Be back later, yeah?"

[nellielsss]

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Tσʝι'ʂ Bιɾƚԋԃαყ… αɳԃ ƚԋҽ Nҽɯ Yҽαr!

Summary: it's your man's birthday--and the new year! What better to reign in the new year by celebrating both? And at a festival no less! Ft: Toji Zen'in/Fushiguro CW: mentions of child abuse (pertaining to Toji) Note: two fics in the span of a week?! How amazing is that! Also I can't believe 2025 is already gonna be this week!!! Happy birthday to my #1 man everybody ☺️ Also this isn't proofread since I wanted to get it out before I'd be too busy to finish it in time, so there might be grammatical errors!!

To be quite honest, the New Year was yet another one of those holidays that Toji didn't give a shit about. Christmas, New Year's, Golden Week... none of those were anything memorable to Toji growing up. Why would he care when he had more important things to care about, like getting out of his shitty family and his shitty living situation? Why buy presents for people when he had nobody to buy said presents for and could just spend the money on horse racing instead? It was a no brainer for him, obviously. Just get through the week, swallow all those stupid "Happy New Year!"s from the stupid drunkards passing him by, and get on with his day.

And what was so special about the new year? The earth passed around the sun for another year--so fucking what? Everybody dies in the end anyway. People should loathe there being another year, because it means one year closer to death. January was also a shitty month on its own, so there was that.

There was also the fact that it was his birthday.

The painful reminder that he was put on this earth 20-something years ago, that his parents were stupid enough to not wear a condom or pull out that resulted in him being born into this equally stupid world. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid--all of this was so stupid. His birthday, the new year... he really couldn't give a shit.

But that didn't mean you couldn't care about both things!

The way you saw it, it was another year on this earth where the sun didn't explode and there wasn't a nuclear war that destroyed everything; and Toji's birthday meant that he had another year to look forward to being alive. That was just the kind of person you were: uplifting, vibrant, and always seeing the good in everybody and everything, especially your boyfriend.

(You didn't actually see the good in everyone; that was just a figure of speech. Plus, your boyfriend had a lot of good to see!)

This means that, for the past 2 years you've been together, you've gone all out for both holidays, dragging him to holiday festivals and making a day out of his special day, buying him presents when he didn't feel worthy of receiving such thoughtful items.

He's never even had a present from someone who wasn't his handler, and that's because he was contracted to him. All he's received is beatings and hateful words from his family, who made sure to make a nightmare out of what was supposed to be his special day. So, it didn't strike you as surprising when he cried his eyes out when he got his first present, but all of that was another story for another day.

So, here you were, putting on Toji's special black haori that you bought for him on one special day. It went perfectly with the dark green kimono that went perfectly with his dark green eyes. "Don't you look handsome, handsome," you mused, smoothing out the dark fabric.

He rolled his eyes and tried to play the compliment off. "Yeah, yeah, I'm not much of a fan of this kinda stuff anyway. 'Much prefer the sweats and tee I always got on."

"The ones you end up ripping while out on your job?" You teased, poking his chest with a long, manicured nail. "I can't have my boyfriend running around in rags. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I did, hmm?"

Toji snorted in response. "Hey, sweets, I'm the boyfriend here. Aren't I supposed to be the responsible one, spoiling you instead?"

"I guess I'm a fan of both," you shrugged earnestly. You stepped back after his haori was put on, and you went to look at yourself in the mirror with a big, confident smile on your face. The pink flowers on your red kimono went perfectly with all the little hairpins on your head, and the geta sandals you wore almost made you tall enough to not be dwarfed by the hulk of a man that your boyfriend was.

While admiring yourself in the mirror, Toji approached behind you and wrapped his massive arms around your waist, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. "'N I'm a fan of you, sugar," he grinned with earnestness. "This color, especially. And all those cute little flowers you got in that hair of 'yers."

"Don't mess up my hair, Toji," you chastised him when he tried to play with the little pins. "One wrong move, and your 'sugar' won't be so sweet anymore."

He chuckled, shook his head, and walked away from you. "Right, right. Wouldn't want that happenin' anytime soon." He grabbed your purse and handed it to you, then wrapped the fur collar you had laid out around your neck. "And I wouldn't want you to catch a cold, either."

"Why, thank you, handsome," you giggled softly. "You ready to go?"

"Always if it involves you." He took your hand in his much larger one, pressed a kiss to the back of it, and led you out of the closet and the house.

Said festival that you dragged him to was just as amazing as always. The minute you got there, you dragged him to the first stand that you saw and played a game of ball toss (which he let you win, obviously; you didn't stand a chance at beating his assassin aim, and he'd much rather see you win than him), ate some takoyaki, and ran around doing whatever you two wanted to do.

"Let's go play that game next!" Was what you always said after every last game, dragging him around by the wrist with an unseen strength.

"Make sure my hand doesn't get yanked off first, doll," he chuckled simply.

At the dart toss, he decided to show off for you a little bit. What was the fun in simply rolling over belly-up when he can A. flex his biceps and B. show off his aim? He'd trained it for so long, so why not show off a bit? Each dart hit the bullseye, and he won you a giant New Year's special Hello Kitty plushie.

Which he ended up holding for you. You weren't lifting a finger, not while he was around.

Each game, each food stand, each little thing the both of you did only made the night more & more fun. He could definitely get used to celebrating his birthday and the New Year by playing silly little games and eating little delicacies here and there.

"Here, try this one!" You held up a bit of squid for him to try, and you fed it to him with your chopsticks. "Aren't you just the cutest little thing with your mouth stuffed, hmm?"

He narrowed his eyes at you with the food in his mouth and tried to say "shut yer trap" but instead sounded like he was muttering gibberish, resulting in you simply laughing and hugging him quickly.

Around you, the snow began to fall a bit more amidst the glow of the New Years lanterns, and all the little kids started to cheer for the specks of white snowflakes. Now, Toji wasn't a man who was hung up on the idea of starting a family, but it felt like a glimpse into the future that the two of you were going to build.

He didn't even feel worthy of having kids or a happy life in the first place. All those years of trauma, of being hit like a hurt dog & called a shit-stain on this earth had taken root in his brain, and digging them out felt like a job for an expert gardener (of which he was nothing of the sort), but with you, the light of his life, the angel of his salvation...

"Toji!"

You snapped him out of his little thought tangent and smiled at him. "Come, I wanna give you a present."

He grinned cheekily and let you lead him to a secluded area. "Oh? You finally gonna gimme that kiss you've been dangling over my head for so long?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter, handsome," you chided with a little giggle. "It's something much more special than a simple kiss. Besides, haven't I given you enough kisses for the day?"

"Have some sympathy for the birthday boy, dollie," he said while clutching his chest dramatically.

You turned to the side, taking something out of the purse you'd brought with you. "I made this just for you, Toji." You handed him a little book and waited with an expectant smile on your face.

"Y'know I don't read much, sweets- ow!" He didn't anticipate the little flick of the forehead he received for that comment.

"Just open it already," you pouted impatiently.

It was a small book with a thick cover & back--more cover than book if anything, so this was definitely not an ordinary book. Turning the book open, his eyes lit up when he saw the little pop-up that came out of the pages.

In the little pop-up book, there were photos of you together ordered by date and event. There was the first time you met, your first official date, the milestones you'd completed as a couple...

In the back of the book was a small note that contained your elegant handwriting and read:

"Dear Toji, dear my future husband, dear the best thing that's ever happened to me! I'm not very good with words, but to put it simply: I am so incredibly grateful to be your sweetheart. To think that we're already celebrating your birthday again (and yet another new year!) is mind-boggling, to say the least. Time really does flow by when you're with the people you love. Your strength, your resilience, your self-confidence and willingness to grow and change despite all that's happened to you is an inspiration, and I find myself growing and changing along with you. Happy birthday, and happy new year!! Love, your sweetheart."

He didn't even notice the tears that were streaming down his face until the paper got noticeably wetter. He put his hand over his mouth to stop himself from sobbing, and he shakily closed the book. "Dollie, this is..."

"Hey, hey, big guy," you comforted him carefully, knowing how emotional he got sometimes. "It's okay to cry, y'know. It's okay to cry around me."

You encircled your arms around him and let him crush you in turn with his much larger ones, and you let him cry into your hair.

"This is... the b-best gift I've ever gotten," he admitted, muffled by the strands of your hair. "Thank you... thank you, thank you, thank you. I love you so fuckin' much, I don't know what to do with myself sometimes."

"It's alright, you don't need to know what to do all the time," you reassured him, looking up at him when he pulled away from your hair. "You just need to know that it's okay to let others take the wheel, yeah?"

He nodded, wiping his tears with the back of his sleeve. "Got me cryin' like a little bitch here," he said, chuckling chokingly.

"And you're not a little bitch," you reminded him by flicking his forehead. "You're Toji, my Toji. No amount of tears will ever change that."

"Aye aye, dollie," he joked, even saluting you.

You simply raised an eyebrow and snorted. "C'mon, let's go write our wish for the New Year before the clock strikes twelve, 'kay?"

At the shrine in the center of the festival, the two of you took two things of paper and went to the shrine. You both turned from each other to keep things a secret, although it's not much of a secret when you both wrote "a happy life with my future wife/husband" on your papers.

Once written, you both hung them up and walked away from the shrine. "So, what'dya write, dollie?" He asked, wrapping his arm around your waist.

"It defeats the purpose if I tell you what I wrote, genius," you retorted (with another sassy look from your end).

"Guess you're right," he shrugged. He pulled back his kimono sleeve to eye the time, and he realized it was already 11:52 and the new year was about to arrive sooner than he'd expected. "Shit, guess it's gonna be 2025 real soon, ain't that right?"

"Time flies when you're having fun with your man," you giggled cheekily.

He reached around and smacked your ass real quick after you said that. "And ain't that right as well," he replied with an equally cheeky grin.

As the minutes ticked by, you thought about how incredibly blessed you were to have each other in your life. You'd started and were about to end the year with each other, at the same festival that you'd attended last year. He used to hate sameness and repetition, always searching for something to spice things up...

But he didn't need to search for anything when he had you.

Turns out, the only thing he needed to spice up his life was someone who could give him the stability he so desperately craved and needed to survive.

He was so used to turbulence, to not getting a day nor night's rest, that he'd forgotten to stop and smell the roses.

"Five, four, three, two, one!" Those numbers caught him off guard, but he didn't have to worry when you kissed him right as the new year rang in.

"Happy New Year!"

© nellielsss on tumblr - get your own shit bitches | ca. 12/31/2024

[strangemaleswaps]

Strange Christmas Family Swap

Christmas is supposed to be the time of year where you celebrate joy with your family and loved ones. But everyone has that one family member no one looks forward to seeing, and I’m no different. For me that person would be my grandpa. He'd always been a really cranky guy who, I swear, could find something to complain about on literally any topic. I don't know why he even comes over for the holidays in the first place. Maybe he's just lonely? At least my siblings are coming home. They're all older than me and left for college years ago. Sometimes I felt like I was behind everyone just because I was the youngest, but they always tell me to enjoy being young while it lasted. At least I still had my dog, Lucy, to keep me company. 

“Shoot. Ferris, we forgot to buy your grandpa a present,” my mom mentioned while preparing dinner for Christmas Eve.

“Does it matter? He's not gonna like anything anyway.”

“Yes I know. But it's Christmas. The time of year where you need to treat even those you dislike well. Could you quickly go to that gift shop and buy some cheap ornament?”

“Mom, it's Christmas Eve! Half these places are closed or closing soon.” She looked up a store on her phone and showed me that it closed at 5. It was 4:38.

“There's that one hallmark store within walking distance still open. You can make it in time! I just don't want to cause a scene.” I wanted to take the car, but it would take too long to shovel all the snow, so I walked. The store wasn't that far by foot, but it was still an awful time in the freezing cold. When I arrived, there was a single employee at the counter - an old lady with a messy bun. She greeted me and asked what I needed.

“I have just the thing.” She walked over to the shelf and showed me a little Santa ornament that was wearing a galaxy pattern suit instead of the regular red. It was actually a pretty good gift because my grandpa loved outer space, not to mention he kinda looked like Santa anyway, just without the beard.

“This is perfect.”

“Then why do you look sad?” Her response caught me by surprise. “What do you mean?”

“I can tell something’s wrong. It's Christmas Eve. You should be happy!”

“That's probably easy for others. But for me, Christmas means family time and I don't exactly like someone in my family.

“That's a shame. You're lucky to have a family at least.” She looked down at the floor sadly. It was clear what she meant by that.

“But since you still have people in your life I'd like to help you with your problem. Could I have that ornament back please?” I assumed she was about to check me out so I started reaching for my wallet, when she walked into the backroom with the present instead. As soon as the door closed, the power suddenly went out and I was in pure darkness until there was a weird purple glow coming from the door. All of this only lasted about 10 seconds and the power came back on as if nothing happened. Did I just imagine that whole thing? It was weird. The woman walked back out with a big smile on her face.

“Did the power go out or something? And what happened in there?”

“Oh nothing,” she said with a grin. “Merry Christmas!”

“Yeah, Merry Christmas. I guess.” She checked me out and I was on my way back home.

When I arrived, my siblings were already there, as well as my grandpa.

“Hey! It's Ferris!” said my oldest brother Calvin. He had definitely gained a lot of weight since I last saw him, even though he was an athlete in college. Looks like he still refused to shave the messy beard he started last year. My older sibling Sam grinned at me. They looked exactly as they always did - expressing their love of anime with a nerdy t-shirt and wearing ear gauges that have gotten bigger since the last time I saw them. My sister Em walked up to hug me. She was always the one I was closest with, since she was only 2 years older than me.

“I got a present for Grandpa.” He suddenly looked at me, and then to the bag I was holding.

“It's about time you buy me something! Lemme see.”

“Well not until Christmas.” Despite living to see many Christmases, Grandpa was still an extremely impatient person. He'd actually opened up his Christmas presents early before because he just couldn't stand the wait. This was my first time buying one myself for him (even though it was really just my mom sending me) so I guess he was beyond curious.

“Come on. It's basically Christmas anyway.” He got his large ass out of the seat and approached me. He was wearing a tucked in blue plaid shirt that covered the gut hanging over his pants. He stumbled over to me until we were face to face. I could smell the cigarette smoke on his breath, almost making my eyes water.

“Boy, give me the gift.”

“Dad, just wait until Christmas. You're gonna spoil the surprise.” My mom thankfully defended me and started walking over.

“Fine, but I-” He faked content and snatched the bag from me.

“Dad! Enough!” My mom shouted but it was too late. He had taken the ornament out of the bag, but clumsily dropped it. It shattered all over the floor before he even had a chance to react.

“Oh man.” Sam gulped.

“Now look at what you've done! You ruined my present!” Grandpa yelled in my face.

“Dad! Dad! Calm down. I think you need to go to bed now.”

“Fine! But only because your idiot son ruined my Christmas!” My mom escorted him to the guest room and Em picked up a broom. We both swept together as my mom walked back into the kitchen.

“Could he possibly be more…you know…” I started.

“Horrible? Pathetic?” Calvin added.

“Gross? Nasty?” Sam added.

“Your grandfather is just lonely really. His parents - my grandparents - let him do whatever he wanted. He's a real spoiled man. But I don't think there's any changing him now so let's just endure the day tomorrow and you won't have to see him for a while. Got it?”

“Fine.” The rest of the night was much better and I had a great time with my family. Calvin scarfed down the food so fast he almost choked, Em told me all about what college was like, Sam bragged about his new gauges, and Lucy practically flew under the table as soon as my mom dropped a piece of ham.

When it was time for bed, my siblings got settled into their rooms - Calvin and Sam sharing the same bedroom they did growing up, and Em sleeping in the basement because her old room was turned into an office. I looked at the Christmas tree glimmering with lights and decorations, excited to see what the presents underneath it would look like in the morning. It's a shame that Grandpa's present broke and we had to throw it away, but I guess he got what he deserved for being such a dick. I headed into my bed, where Lucy was already snuggled up in, and nestled up under the covers.

The next morning I woke up to the sounds of shouting, which was unfitting for what was supposed to be a peaceful Christmas morning. It was coming from the room next to me and sounded like my brothers, which was weird because my room was across the hall from them. But it sounded so close. I started getting up, to see what was going on, but when I looked around, I realized I actually was in the guest room

How did I get in here? I gazed down to find my stomach seemed swollen in my white tank top. I lifted it up and to my horror, I realized my slim chest was replaced with a flabby belly! How did I get so fat? I know I ate alot last night but this was ridiculous! The gut flopped out, to a bit over my waist. It felt weird knowing a part of my body was just hanging there. I noticed a bit of chest hair, which was foreign to me, but when I noticed they were gray hairs, it finally hit me. I was a fat old guy in the guest room. I somehow switched bodies with my grandpa!

I heard the voices leave the room so I stumbled over to the door, not quite used to the shift in weight compared to my old twink body, and was about to put my hand on the doorknob when I saw someone looking at me in the mirror. I turned my head to find that it was my grandpa…I mean me…staring back.

I really did look disgusting, not just because of my looks, but because I now had the face of an impatient jerk. I tried doing different facial expressions; it looked weird because I rarely had ever seen my grandpa smile at all. I noticed that I couldn't see my own dick past the belly, not that I would want to. It was probably all wrinkly and gross! What was I going to do? I opened the door to find Calvin walking to the living room. He looked pretty concerned, which was unusual for the carefree personality he usually had.

“Hey uh..Grandpa?” Fuck. Looks like I'm not imagining it after all. I hated this. “Sorry for the noise, it's just that…”

“I'm not even gonna try to pretend.” I spoke, but my voice came out gravelly and deep. It scared me a little bit. “I'm Ferris, not Grandpa. I don't know how it happened! I just-”

“Shit! That's great! I mean not because you're Grandpa now. But because I'm not alone! I'm actually Sam.”

“Sam?” It was actually kinda funny, Sam and Calvin switching bodies. They were close but still completely different people. I couldn't contain my laughter and started giggling, even though it came out as my Grandpa's gruff wheezes.

“Oh sure. I'M the funny one when Mister-wheeze-a-lot can't laugh without sounding like he's dying.”

“Hey! Well Mister-” I stopped myself trying to continue the joke. “Wait, how does that work?”

“The gender is all up to the person. Sure the…” they stared down at the new extra pounds they now carried and shook their belly. “...expression might be different, at least at the moment, but I'm still me. BUT the idiot who looks like me doesn't seem to understand.” As if on cue, Calvin in Sam's body appeared, walking in a macho way, something that Sam would never do.

“Check it out Grandpa! I'm an enby!” Sam gave a huge facepalm.

“Calvin my sweet brother, We. Have. Been. Over. This.”

“Hey whatever. I think it's cool. My face feels so empty though. Maybe I'll start growing a bea-” Sam cut him off right there.

“If you go out there without a clean shaven face, I'm shaving YOUR beard.”

“God no please. It took me like a year to grow that!” Calvin pleaded.

“Hey hey, what about me?!” I interrupted their arguing.

“Oh yeah,” Sam started. “That's not Grandpa. It's Ferris.”

“Oh man Ferris. You're a fucking old dude now!” exclaimed Calvin. He then poked my new belly. “Welcome to the chub club! Well…” He glaced down at Sam's slim figure. “My membership is on hold for now.”

Just then we heard a scream coming from my mom's room. We quickly opened the door, already knowing what happened. We found my mom staring at the mirror with a look of pure horror on her face.

“It's ok Em, we're all body swapped too.” She seemed to calm down when she realized that she wasn't alone in all this.

“Weird case of Freaky Friday here. Especially with Em….and Mom,” added Calvin. Just then my mom, in Em's body, walked in to join in the confusion.

“Well this is awkward. Two of my kids in each other's bodies, my own son in my dad's and I'm in my own daughter's body. Could this Christmas get any crazier?”

“Where's Grandpa?”

“Probably still sleeping.”

We headed over to my room, expecting him to still be asleep, only to find him flexing in the mirror - in my body. I didn't actually have any real muscles, being a skinny twink, so he didn't really have anything to flex. That didn't stop him from admiring himself. When he noticed us, he walked over smiling. It was a creepy sight, not only to see my body move on its own, but also knowing it's my grandpa inside there smiling.

“Hello everyone. It's good to be young again!”

“Uh hey Grandpa.” He looked right at me. “No, no! Call me Boris! YOU'RE the grandpa now!”

I felt so humiliated. He was actually…cool…in my body! And I was just the fat old guy that nobody liked!

“Dad, we need to figure out what happened so you can become your old self again. Ok?”

“Hell no! I'm young again for the first time in years. No way I'm giving away this opportunity!”

“I got it!” Em suddenly exclaimed. We all turned around wondering what she meant. She showed us her phone - or rather my mom's phone.

“What?”

“How we all swapped bodies! That ornament that Ferris got! There's an ancient artifact that can take on different appearances. It says it's been known to cause mischief when broken.”

“What kind of ancient thing is meant to be broken? How has it lasted this long then?”

“That's the thing. Everytime it breaks, it finds a new place and takes on a new appearance. But it always takes on the appearance of an object that its next victim will need.”

“Shit. And that's why the present seemed perfect for Grandpa.”

“Hey! I got a much better gift than any of you!” cheered my grandpa as he flexed his arms once agaih.

“But…how do we find it again?”

“Y-you don't. Unless you want to search the whole world for something you don't even know what it looks like.”

There was a deafening silence after she spoke those words. We all realized the truth was that we would never return to our old bodies. I was stuck as an old man forever!

“Hey, it's not so bad,” my grandpa started, seemingly reading my mind. He leaned over and lifted up my shirt, exposing my gut, and slapped it. “The belly is pretty comfy after all. You'll love it.” Maybe he was right. I'm sure I could make the silver bear look work. As I thought about that, I noticed a bulge starting to form. Grandpa turned to look at everyone with a huge smile on his face.

“Merry Christmas everyone!”

[michellemisfit]

WEEKLY TAG WEDNESDAY

Happiest of birthdays to our dear @energievie who created today's birthday themed tag game. WHOOP WHOOP! 🥳

Thanks for the tag @deedala 🎉 @gallapiech 🤩 @vintagelacerosette 🙌

---

When is yours? 1st March

Where were you born? Switzerland.

How do you feel about your legal name? Are you using it online and/or IRL? Michelle is a nice name. I'm perfectly happy with it. I do however absolutely hate the Beales song I was named after. Think it's one of their worst songs. And I regularly forget that I have a middle name, not even cause I hate it or anything, purely because I think it's pointless. It's Aline.

How about your sign? Do you feel it "fits"? I'm Pisces. And I guess so..? I don't really know much about signs, but people who do tell me it fits, and I believe them. @celestialmickey - come and weigh in! haha

What's your earliest memory related to your birthday? Weirdly enough my earliest *birthday* memory that comes to mind is actually my brother's birthday, when he turned maybe 6? And I would have been 3? My parents had a weird thing about getting me small gifts on his birthday, because I was younger and they didn't want me to get upset I guess? Anyway. There's a photograph of him blowing out his birthday candles and me holding a little sheep stuffed toy that I got for his birthday. I remember loving that sheep a LOT! For my first birthday memory I actually don't really have one until about age 6 or 7? I had a birthday party in our party room and my mum made me invite the whole class, even though I wasn't friends with anyone at school. One of the girls gave me a doll as a present and I genuinly just didn't know what I was supposed to do with this thing and had no idea how to react when I unwrapped it... it was very awkward and I'm sure I was less than graceful. Not the best memory lol

What's one of the best gifts you've ever received? When I first moved to London I felt like I was required to go back to Switzerland for birthdays and Christmas celebrations, even though those were difficult, associated with a lot of bad memories, and never ever fun. I moved to London at the beginning of October with a suitcase of clothes and not much else, and we pretty immediately went on the Dirty Pretty Things break up tour, so i didn't even sleep in my new London room very much for the first 8 weeks. Going back to Switzerland for that Christmas was particularly hard because I hadn't been in London for long, I had barely any stuff that belonged to me, and there was a certain feeling of 'maybe it was just a long holiday, and I'm gonna wake up and live in Switzerland again', because I did a lot of extended holidays to follow bands around the UK in the two years leading up to my move so... yeah, it was rough. And then when I returned home to London Ruth and her mum had bought me my own bedsheets (zebra striped), and made up the bed in my room, and put a big bow on it, and I'm basically in floods of tears just thinking about it now. They made me a home that I was welcome in. And I’ll never forget that.

How about one of the best you've given yourself? I honestly can't think of anything that was a "birthday" gift to myself. hmmm. When I quit smoking I put £5 into a jar every day, that I wasn't spending on cigarettes, and then Ruth and I went to New York and attended Elsie Fest with my 'No Longer a Smoker' money, buying VIP tickets that came with awesome seats and a tonne of free booze... that was EXCELLENT! haha

What's your favourite cake flavour? Not a big fan of cake. I like raw cake batter an awful lot better than actual cake. So I now always ask for chocolate mousse for my birthday :)

How about your favourite flowers? Wild Flowers. And I quite like interesting twigs, too.

Have your ever thrown a birthday party? If yes, tell us about your favourite one. Oh yeah, I throw awesome parties. Here's just a few recent ones, or you can check out the Mys in the Kitchen tag for what may get served at my birthday parties... haha Though actually a couple of years post pandemic I wanted to have a brithday party, but keep it small and covid friendly, so I had a Cocktail & Cookie Icing party, which was so much fun!! I highly recommend everyone to throw a party at least once in their life, that includes like a fun workshop element. We had such a good time!

What's the ultimate birthday song?

Because it’s my birthday and people have to let me play it haha

There we have it! Birthday fun! Now it's your turn @deedala @ian-galagher @iandarling @darlingian @celestialmickey @crossmydna @too-schoolforcool @rereadanon @rutherinahobbit @the-rat-wins @tsuga-of-mars @heymrspatel @gallawitchxx x @iansw0rld @ohkate @palepinkgoat @lynne-monstr @loftec @sickness-health-all-that-shit @faejilly @junemermaid @jrooc @mikhailoisbaby @creepkinginc @francesrose3 @callivich @blue-disco-lights @sleepyfacetoughguy @stocious @spookygingerr @lingy910y @suzy-queued @greentealycheejelly @thepupperino

[boolger]

I just want a cowgirl for Christmas

Kate Laswell x f!reader💖 MDNI 💖one shot

Idk how to explain why they’re all in America and all cowboys coded but I can explain that I’ve had the song “cowgirl for Christmas” by Drake Milligan stuck in my head since last Christmas/jul. So like, happy holidays if you celebrate any kind of thing this month or upcoming months. 💖Happy holidays the entire year actually ily all my sinners, y’all have been very loving to me this year for some reason and it has made life a lil funnier in many ways. Anyways, hopefully I’ll be able to post something else than this before jul but who the fuck knows. Kate deserves a lil lady for Christmas, she gotta meet that wife somehow ya know. 💖 I’ve done my best to keep the description vague so we can all pretend to be Kate’s Christmas love. However, reader is described as she/her. Uh, this was supposed to be much longer, but time and mental health - and I have to deal with my family lmao

💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

The bar is almost empty. It doesn’t surprise Kate that much; it’s the 19th of December after all and people need to buy the last couple of Christmas presents if they celebrate that shit. The snow falls outside, giving her boots a nice crunch whenever she moves around in it. Collected by the cowboy hat on top of her head whenever she walks around. But it’s warm in the bar and the alcohol is good as she nurses her second glass, well aware she is gonna have to walk home through that shitty shoe, most likely freezing her ass off on the way.

She is off work, has no responsibilities until next year forces her back in the uniform at the base. In fact, she has no plans at all - on purpose.

“Ya’ look miserable, Laswell,” Alex said, stopping in front of her with a cup of coffee, with a bit of milk in… Kate suspected there were her usual two sugar cubes in.

And that was the truth, wasn’t it? She was miserable and she had absolutely no plans of changing it. A grinch, a sad, lonely woman who purposely drowned her feelings in the local bar, forced to listen to the Christmas songs and people’s chatter in the background.

“I didn’t order this,” she replied, looking up at the man, squinting at his amused smile, “‘nd I’m not miserable.”

“Sure you’re not,” Alex replied, “and it’s on the house - Farah says I have to be nice to you these days.”

Kate huffed, embarrassed over how even Alex’s wife knew of her pitiful behaviour.

“Thank you,” she replied instead of being mean.

“You’re welcome - and you know you're always welcome at ours at Christmas, sweetie,” it was a soft reminder, an offer that you knew he might hope that you would agree to.

“Nah, thanks though,” she managed to give him a smile, instead taking a sip of the coffee, running a hand over the brim of the cowboy hat next to her on the counter, “I’ll stay with the troublemakers at home.”

Said troublemakers were the two horses at her little farm. In truth, it wasn’t those that were a problem - it was merely an excuse to wallow in self pity at home, due to the loneliness that grew in her bones around every Christmas she spent with her friends.

They all had partners by now. Johnny and Simon had their shared wife who was pregnant once more, little Tommy almost three by now. Kyle had been with his girlfriend for three years by now and she suspected one of them would propose soon - probably her, as Kyle seemed to be too shy about it, busy looking for a house to give her. John and Nikolai were close to getting their adoption papers finished, she knew that, so they could give them to their two boys at Christmas, the two boys that they had fostered for the last four years.

It was this - all the love surrounding her, all the joy, all the time they had been together in which Kate had been like now; alone.

She took another sip of the coffee before nursing her whiskey instead - another song starting up and Kate’s eyes flickered close for a moment.

Don't want a set of shiny new spurs

A seat for my saddle, a rope for the herd

Kate huffed at the lyrics, emptying her whiskey before asking Alex for one more, ignoring the sound of the door to the bar opening and closing again.

Santa, I don't need a sleigh full of gifts

There's only one thing on my Christmas list

He filled up her glass, while looking over your shoulder with a grin as Kate listened to the boots moving across the door.

“Hi again, sweetheart,” Alex greeted and Kate finally pulled herself together, looking over her shoulder.

I want a cowgirl for Christmas this year

A cowboy sure gets lonely way out here

Kate had never seen a more beautiful woman in her entire life, wearing cowboy boots, a big coat and jeans as she pulled off her knitted hat, a thin layer of white snow on her clothes.

Wrap her up in jeans and boots

Send her down to me from you

I just want a cowgirl for Christmas

Kate was sure the most perfect being ever existed had just blessed her own sinful soul with your mere presence - Kate wasn’t even sure she was worthy of breathing in the same air as the newcomer.

“Hiya Alex,” oh, lord, even your voice made Kate want to smile, though she didn’t want to come off creepy, so she looked forward again, taking a sip of the whiskey, “can I get a beer?”

I need a little lady, little lady, little lady, little lady, little lady, hoo

I want a little lady, little lady, little lady, little lady, little lady, hoo

“Sure thing,” Alex replied, charming smile on his face as always, “gonna join Laswell ‘ere and mope over Christmas?”

Kate spluttered, sending Alex a nasty stare as he had just betrayed her; pushed her in front of the bus filled with embarrassment and Kate knew her cheeks were growing red. Goddamn Keller.

Ropes and rides right by my side

With starry eyes that sparkle, arms to keep me warm at night

“I am not moping, Alex,” Kate grumbled but she felt herself light up a little, straightening her back as the sound of the cowboy boots came to stand next to her.

“Well, I ain’t really moping too much either,” you said and Kate dared to look over at you as you rested against the counter right next to her, “but I wouldn’t mind joining you?”

That's all I need this Christmas Eve

I just want a cowgirl for Christmas, aha

“Sure,” Kate managed before clearing her throat, “you’re more than welcome to. I - uh, I’m Kate Laswell.”

God she was pathetic at this - she hadn’t flirted with somebody forever and you looked like you had just stepped out of a lesbian cowgirl’s wet dream… perhaps her own.

She offered you her hand and you took it, your fingers a little cold from the outside.

“Nice to meet ya’, Kate,” you replied, your eyes seeming like they sparkled as you told her your name. Kate couldn’t help but imagine your hair against her bedsheets, her fingers running along that pretty body of yours.

“Likewise,” Kate smiled, straightening her back a little as Alex gave you the beer, before he sent Kate a wink. Asshole.

“You new in town?” She added, focusing back on you.

“Yeah,” you took a sip of the beer, a pretty line of white foam laying along your upper lip until you licked it off with your pink tongue, “moved in nearby two weeks ago. Been busy, though.”

“Ah,” Kate nodded along, “explains why I haven’t seen you, then.”

You looked younger than herself and for a moment, she felt like an old pervert. She was 39 and you looked like you were 25 maybe. It both sent sparks of lust through her - together with the feeling of being dirty. Simping, a word Soap had said, for a younger woman.

“Likewise,” you answered, adding a soft “I would have remembered.”

Were you… flirting with her? Kate felt herself blush as if she was a teenager and not a grown up woman. As if she wasn’t much older than you - fuck, it made her feel dirty, in a way she couldn’t describe. Yet it made butterflies flutter inside her stomach, flying around the flowers that had suddenly bloomed.

“ are what doing this Christmas you?” The words almost tumbled out of her mouth, unable to be said in the right order, her lungs filled with a feeling she hadn’t felt for a while, “I uhm- I mean, what are you doing this Christmas?”

You didn’t laugh, but you smiled so sweetly, almost lovingly and Kate was sure she wouldn’t be able to stand with the rush of emotions that went through her at it.

“Not much,” you admitted, your finger playing with the rim of the beer glass, though you didn’t take your gaze of her, “don’t know anybody here - what about you?”

“Not much either,” Kate breathed, “want to uhm - maybe hang out?”

She had never felt as ridiculous as now; in fact she wanted to slam her head into the counter - maybe run away. Even if the town buried her, it wouldn’t be enough. The pure embarrassment of asking a stranger, a hot, beautiful stranger, like that, to spend Christmas with her. Had she gone mad? Perhaps it was the alcohol.

“I’m so sorry,” she hurried to say, “I - you don’t know me, that was inappropriate of me an—“

“I would like that.”

Which such simple words, you made her heart beat a little bit more normal, you made her able to breath again, her throat able to untangle.

“I - yeah?”

“Yeah,” you confirmed with a warm smile and for the first time in years, Kate felt as if Christmas might not be that bad this year.

I just want a cowgirl for Christmas.

[barbielore]

I have never seen any of the Barbie animated films before. But it’s Christmas, and even though I don’t really celebrate the holiday, I love the book A Christmas Carol; and I love A Muppet Christmas Carol. So Barbie in A Christmas Carol seemed like the obvious way to dip my toe in.

My notes from watching are below!

In the framing device scenes of Barbie telling the story to Kelly, Barbie is wearing a silver dress that looks like pretty much the same dress as 2008 Holiday Barbie, even though that wasn’t an official tie in doll for the film.

Instead of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly businessman, we have Eden Starling, an opera singing diva. Her childhood friend Catherine seems to play the role of Scrooge’s nephew but given she also works for the theatre there’s a dash of Cratchitt in there too?

Eden tells everyone not to bother coming back if they don’t come in to rehearse for the new show on Christmas. Even Scrooge only told Cratchitt to be there all the earlier the next morning. 

Aunt Marie (the stand in for Marley) is draped in chains - but these chains have mirrors on the ends instead of cash boxes and ledgers. I presume to represent her sins of vanity instead of financial greed.

The spirit of Christmas past is really cute, like an excitable little elf. 

Little Eden wants to spend time with friends but Aunt Marie makes her rehearse all Christmas instead of seeing other people. Eden sneaks out to go to a party instead of practicing. 

I’m sure it’s in the interests of streamlining the story for Barbie audiences, but I’m a little disappointed the spirit of Christmas past only takes Eden to one place. 

Christmas Present shows the theatre workers throwing tomatoes at a picture of Eden. That’s pretty funny but it’s not much of a lesson. That’s okay - Christmas Present takes her to a second location, presumably so we can meet our Tiny Tim. In this case it’s the reveal that Catherine is working for another theatre as well; or so Eden thinks. Actually it’s an orphanage putting on a Christmas pageant, and our Tiny Tim is a little girl who walks with a crutch and idealises Eden. Catherine lies to her and says Eden is very sorry she can’t come in person but is so proud of all of them. I don’t know why but I got a little emotional about that!

Anyway the orphanage is about to close due to lack of funds. This doesn’t strike me as quite as resonant because Eden is a diva and selfish but none of her sins we’ve seen so far are related to finances.

Alright, time for Christmas Future. The show is a shambles because she fires all her staff for coming in late and their replacements are rubbish so the show is an embarrassment. This means Eden lives in squalor because she lost her career. Her best friend Catherine is now a famous fashion designer, but has got there by being as selfish as Eden is. The orphanage closed down because Catherine had to go out of town to find new work and she never found out what happened to the children.

Catherine indicates she would have adopted Tammy if she had known, but didn't get the chance. The other kids can just miss out I guess?

We the audience don’t find out what became of Tammy, so we don’t know if she died like Tiny Tim. We can assume it wasn’t a great outcome for her, but it’s left to our imagination. 

The red dress Eden is wearing at the end is the one from the tie in dolls! 

Eden adopts (by which I assume she means financially support) the whole orphanage which doesn’t seem really like it suits the arc but sure I’ll allow it. 

At the end of the movie I finally realise that Catherine was supposed to be Barbie’s friend Nikki. Apparently there was a doll prototype for Catherine, but I don't think she ever got released.

That doll I shared above wasn't the only tie-in doll though! There was also a giftset with Kelly dolls dressed as the spirits. Missed opportunity because the spirits were of different ages. I would have liked to see a doll of the Spirit of Christmas Present as seen in the movie!

I looked up some reviews of the novelisation to see if there were any changes, and only then did I realise I missed something -- Catherine isn't supposed to represent nephew Fred at all. The magician who has a crush on Catherine is Fred, leaving Catherine in just the Cratchitt role. That in hindsight makes a little more sense.

I'm not sure if I'll watch any more of the Barbie movies, but that was a good start. (If you think I should watch more, by all means tell me so, and recommend some!)

[joequinnisgod]

(I Just) Died In Your Arms (Part II)

Part I Part II Part III

Pairing: Joseph Quinn x reader (as best friends)

Summary: After that weekend, the group reunites, angst ensues between Joe and you.

Warnings: angst, no smut in this one

Word count: 3.1k

A/N: Soo…it’s been a while since inspiration and I have hung out, but it happened eventually!! :) This is not the final part of our journey, probably part III will be.

Winter soon arrived to London with heavy snow and a low temperature. The sound of the fresh snow crunching under boots followed people's steps everywhere, as the festive lights lead the way alongside with the street lamps in the darkening late afternoon hours.

You were on your way to Jamie and Jess's house to have an early Christmas celebration with the others. As a few of you are going to be out of town for the holidays, the friend group figured you could have an early celebration and play the game of Secret Santa. On a night out you wrote your names on small pieces of paper, put it in a baseball hat and everyone picked one. Praying you wouldn't grab that name, you were quite relieved when you saw 'Jess' written in black ink.

"Hey, come in." Jamie opened the door with a wide smile on his face.

"Hi. This is for the hosts." You held up a bottle of wine with a red bow in it.

"You didn't have to. Thank you." He gestured to the wine.

He helped you take your coat off and after removing your shoes as well, you walked to the living room where the others were already deep in conversation.

"Hey." You placed the present under the tree. "What'd I miss?"

"Nothing, don't worry." Maya smiled as you sat beside her on the couch. Your eye scanned the room, but stilled on something.

On someone.

He already had his eyes on you, but looked away when your stares met. You hadn't seen Joe for the past two months.

In practice, avoiding him was actually easier than you'd thought. Majority of the group got busy with work, – including yourself – so the group chat hadn't been the liveliest. Since that weekend the group had hung out maybe three or four times, most of those occasions declined by you, expect for one; when he declined before you had the chance to.

Theoretically though, it was way harder. He wandered through your mind multiple times every day – the longest time you spent without having him on your mind wasn't more that just a couple hours. At this point he was living in your head. Sometimes, when you thought about it too much, it felt torturous, but a part of you had convinced yourself that you deserved it for rejecting him.

"Everyone's here now, so..how about we open gifts?" Jamie suggested as he walked back into the living room.

Everyone picked up the box that had the little paper with their name on it and sat back down. Wrapping paper was all over the floor in no second as everybody was curious to see what it was hiding. When you took your box in your hands, you noticed the small tag hanging from it saying 'From: Jess'.

"What's the chance? I'm also your Secret San..." You look up at Jess, only to see a different box in her hands from the one you brought. Your eyes scanned the room for the box wrapped in the red Santa hats covered paper. When your gaze caught it, you realised, the pattern of the little hats was being torn – slowly and hesitantly – by hands a little too familiar.

His hands.

Joseph had your gift.

The box with black, fluffy handcuffs and a blindfold in it was in Joe's hands.

By the time you realised what was happening in front of your eyes, it was too late. His head shot up, the confused stare of wide, rounded eyes burning into yours as he saw what was inside the box. The shade of your face started to grow the same as the colour of the santa hats.

"Hm?" Jess looked up as she heard your voice. She saw the uneasy look on your face and followed your eyes.

"That's supposed to be Jess' gift, I'm her Secret Santa, not yours!" You tried to stay as calm as possible.

"It says my name on it." He held up the paper.

"No, it says Jess!"

"No, I got Jess." You heard Maya's voice.

"It literally says 'Joe' on it!" Joseph handed you the small note that quickly became your enemy in a few seconds; it was responsible for this awkward situation.

"That's Jess." You murmured as arguing seemed easier, rather than to just accept the fact that you had actually been Joe's secret Santa all along.

"It says Joe, that's an 'o' and an 'e' at the end!" He followed the line of the pen on the paper, drawing the letters with his finger, growing more and more annoyed with the situation.

"Since when do you have such a messy handwriting? Couldn't you just write 'Joseph'?!" You sighed.

"It's not my fault you can't read three fucking letters!" He stood from the couch.

"Woah, it's okay, calm down." Jamie said as everyone else was too stunned to speak. "You misread his name, it's no big deal. Don't loose your mind over it...Nice gift, by the way." He wiggled his eyebrows with a small laugh, trying to ease the thick tension hanging in the air.

"It's..fuck...I was sure it said 'Jess'."

"Maybe you just wanted it to have 'Jess' on it." He scoffed with annoyance written all over his face.

"What is your problem?" You snapped at his attitude.

"What's my problem? What's yours?!"

"Okay, enough! Go outside and talk it out or stop it. It was supposed to be just a nice gesture, don't take it so bloody seriously for fuck's sake."

You and Joseph just eyed each other for a couple seconds, before he grabbed his pack of cigarettes and lighter from the coffee table and stormed outside, leaving you with prying looks as everyone sat in silence, not daring to move.

"I'll talk to him." Jamie walked to the front door, grabbing his own and Joseph's coat before heading outside, following him.

"What was that?" He stood next to him and held the coat open for Joseph.

"Nothing."

"Well it was quite a big scene for nothing." He humphed. "Seriously, what's the matter? You've been weird ever since she got here."

"I'm just tired."

"Don't bullshit me. What is it? You like her, so why'd you snap at her like that?" Jamie examined his face, only guessing what could have been causing so much tension.

"We, uh...we slept together." Muttered Joseph barely audibly as he sighed, his thumb and ring finger pinching the bridge of his nose as he held the cigarette between his pointing and middle finger.

"No shit." Said Jamie, unsurprised.

"What? How do you know?"

"Oh, c'mon. Even the blind can see something happened between you two."

"Do you think the others know?"

"I have no idea. I didn't say anything to anyone, so...when did it happen?"

"Uh, remember the weekend we spent at that house?"

"You two did it while Jess and I were on the other side of the wall? Seriously?"

"Well, not exactly.."

"My goodness..where?"

"The kitchen.." Mumbled Joe.

"You're kidding, right? In the kitchen? Where we had fucking breakfast?" He chuckled in disbelief, but his face dropped when he realised. "That's why you were there when I went downstairs!"

"Well, kind of..yeah."

"And what happened then? What went wrong?"

"Well..the following day we talked about it. I asked if there could ever be more between us." He stopped and sighed.

"And she..?"

"Said we should just forget it." He said as he ashed the cigarette, remembering how much those words stung when he heard them fall from your lips. Jamie hissed in empathy, only imagining how his best friend must have felt.

"Have you talked ever since that?"

"Yeah, a few minutes ago." He huffed.

They stood in silence, just listening to the busy streets of London as the cold winter air started to creep under their clothes – almost like it was trying to get under their skin, all the way to their bones.

"Let's go back inside. I'm fucking freezing."

"What do I do? I can't just go back in and act like nothing happened."

"You're going to apologise for snapping at her like that and tell them that you're just tired."

The atmosphere shifted from awkward to painfully awkward when Joe and Jamie came back inside, everyone staying silent, unsure about what to say, or do.

"Sorry for snapping at you like that. I'm just really tired." He glanced at your for a second before sitting down across from you, rather avoiding eye contact.

"It's okay." A quiet sigh escaped from you. "I'm sorry for misreading the paper."

" 'S okay." He muttered.

"Tired, eh? You had a long night?" Keery looked at Joe with a grin on his face.

The previous night some of the boys payed a visit to the group's favourite pub. Joseph sent a text to the group chat last minute, in the late evening. He just had a shit day and wanted to blow some steam off before spending a whole day around you with the endless tension. He did chat with a blondie but he found her to be rather tiring with all the talking; chitchatting with her was the last thing on his mind. He ended up leaving the pub alone, with a failed mission.

"What? No, nothing like that." Joe shook his head, not really feeling like having a conversation of that type.

"What happened to that blondie?"

"Nothing happened. It's a long story."

"You kidding me? She was all over you!"

"Whatever." Joe tried cutting the conversation short.

A nasty feeling creeped up on you suddenly by the thought of Joe flirting with other girls and even taking them home possibly. Jealousy flashed its green eyes at you, leaving you frustrated due to not really being able to do anything about it.

Two months have passed since that weekend, during which you were able to think things through. You started reminiscing about your friendship and how you always got along so well with him. Before Jason came along, you actually almost thought you had started liking Joseph, but the thought of possibly ruining your friendship scared you. But now here you were, and the more time passed without seeing him or talking to him, the more you missed him. And now that he was here in front of you, you wanted nothing more than to apologise to him. All evening you looked for moments to get him alone, unsuccessfully. During dinner he sat the furthest away from you, he avoided any interaction with you, which left you somewhat confused and hurt. It might've been cruel to decline him on that weekend, but did it really hurt him so bad?

Everything became suffocating and frustrating all of the sudden and you needed a minute alone.

"I'll be right back." You got up and walked out of the living room, to the bathroom at the end of the hallway. After closing the door behind you, you were met with your reflection in the mirror, which looked different than when you left your home. It was care-worn and anxious now, your thoughts written on your face. You were surprised nobody pointed it out. Deciding to take your mind off the topic for the rest of the night, you took a deep breath.

Upon exiting the bathroom you saw Joseph putting on his shoes and taking his coat from the rack.

"You're leaving already?" Your voice startled him.

"Uh..yeah. I have to..good night."

"Good night." You said hesitantly.

He stilled and looked at you before he walked out and the front door closed behind him with a soft click. Your mind didn't even have time to process what you were doing, and before you knew it, you already had your shoes on, reaching for the doorknob, following Joseph.

"Joe!" You saw him standing in the snow, mid-conversation, facing in the direction of the corner of the front porch, where Jamie stood, smoking. Joe's eyes examined you as you were looking at Jamie.

Your common sense caught up to you, immediately starting to curse at you for going after him.

All three of you stood in silence for a few seconds, just waiting for something to happen. Jamie ended up moving first. He put out his cigarette and walked to the front door, nodded at Joe encouragingly and went inside. Your eyes rested on the freshly fallen snow covering everything, before eventually looking at Joe who stared at you with a surprised, awaiting expression.

"I'm sorry." You barely recognised your voice, it sounded so unsure as all the courage had left you, the sudden rush of adrenaline dying down, letting the freezing temperature slowly get to you.

"You just misread my name, I'll live." He shrugged his shoulders, a tad uncomfortable in the situation.

"No, not that. I'm sorry for saying that we should just forget what happened..between us."

He didn't say anything, just nodded, unamused – not exactly the reaction you expected, so you continued. "This wasn't how it was supposed to go. I really didn't regret it, but it still feels somewhat wrong. I didn't intend to make you feel used…you weren't a rebound."

"Then what was I?" He asked, clearly hurt.

"I don't know, but definitely not just a rebound. Listen, I'm not ready for any sort of romantic commitment yet." It got quiet for a few moments before you carried on, with a voice barely above a whisper. "I miss you. I miss us being best friends."

"And what do you want me to say to that?" He huffed.

"I don't know." You said quietly, completely regretting coming after him now.

"Is there anything you know?" Mockery and disbelief was dripping from his tone, making you feel small, and more embarrassed and frustrated than ever.

"You know what I know? I know that I fucked up and I hurt you, but after two months of avoiding each other I'm standing here, apologising. I said sorry, sincerely, and I also know that in this very moment you're being a jackass!"

"Me, a jackass?!" His eyebrows almost met his hairline in disbelief.

"Yeah, because I'm saying sorry and feeling bad for hurting you and you can't accept my fucking apology! What else could I say to make you believe I truly am sorry?! I never thought you'd get so caught up in this."

"Of course I'm gonna get caught up in this! Just when I finally feel like I might have a chance with you, you reject me!"

"What's that even supposed to mean?"

"It means that I've liked you for fucking ages, for fuck's sake! And I understand that you were confused and the last thing I wanted to do was forcing myself upon you, but you also have to understand that this isn't easy for me! I tried getting over you, but I see you in every woman I talk to!"

You were stunned, to say the least. Silence settled between you – the kind that makes you feel like you're walking on very thin ice.

"You liked me?"

"Of course I did!" He threw his arms in the air in disbelief. "I do."

"Since when? And why didn't you say anything?!"

"For about a year now. And I was gonna tell you.."

"When?"

"When you introduced fucking Jason to us! I was going to make a move on you that night."

You truly didn't know what to say or do at this point. Your thoughts were racing as the eye contact never broke between you two.

"So what now?"

"What now?" He reciprocated your question. "You're flying home for Christmas, I guess?"

"I am." You nodded.

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow, in the early afternoon. I'm coming back on the 28th."

At that moment it felt like everything that had to be, was said. You just stood there, your eyes wandering from each other to the landscape. You both waited for the other to say something, neither of you truly wanting to say goodbye yet.

"I um..I have to wake up early tomorrow." His voice sounded eventually. "So..take care. And get inside, it's freezing."

"Take care."

"Good night."

You said goodbye to him before he got into his car. Your eyes followed the taillights of his car with an upset, distressed gaze. You were truly hoping this tension filled situation would come to an end finally. With a heavy heart you walked back inside, only now noticing the cruelly low temperature outside.

You didn't sleep so much throughout the night. His words kept you awake as you replayed them in your head on an endless loop. The more you remembered him saying he liked you, the more it warmed your heart and made you feel excited. Regret and shame filled every part of your body for doing all of this to him, for creating such a mess – even though you never intended to.

As you were packing your suitcases in the early morning, you were secretly hoping – not even admitting it to yourself – that Joe would show up. The sound of your doorbell – which you usually absolutely despised as it always stressed you out when hearing it – was all you wanted to hear. It would've been the sweetest sound at that very moment.

Actually, you were sure at this point you had forgotten to pack something, but you couldn’t be bothered to care – you just couldn't stop thinking about him for not even a second. Not when you were packing, not in the back of the cab on your way to the airport, but most certainly not at the airport, where all you could see were couples. Suddenly you were the only single person left on the planet, it felt like. It was like a twisted game karma was playing with you, with a nasty grin on its face. Seeing lovers telling their goodbyes while hugging and kissing, squeezing in a laugh or two between their falling tears felt sickening all of the sudden.

When you heard the announcement from the speakers saying that your flight was boarding, you just wanted to cry.

Maybe this was the moment he is going to show up?

Running through the airport, chasing after you to tell you he'll forgive you, and ask you that question again?

But soon you had to get back to reality and realise this wasn't Love Actually and Joe wasn't the older version of Sam, just like you weren't the older version of Joanna.

You sat in your seat on the plane, just blankly staring at your phone's darkened screen, waiting for it to light up with his name written across it. You glanced up occasionally, watching people claiming their seats.

Couples everywhere again.

They just can't seem run out for Christ's sake, now can they?

You waited until the last second, before turning your phone off, accepting the silence.

Taglist:

@plk-18

Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed it! Requests are open. Take care, have a lovely day / night !! :)

[newtthetranswriter]

Birthday Twins?

Word count: 1338

Paring: Gojo x reader

Summary: What was supposed to be a night out alone to celebrate your birthday, turns into meeting another soul alone on what is apparently also his birthday.

Warnings: Forgotten birthdays, mentions of bars, Gojo is probably a little ooc. let me know if i missed anything.

A/N: Happy birthday to the Beautiful Gojo. I feel like at this point this Fic event has turned into celebrating different anime character’s December birthdays, but you know what, that’s fine. Anyway, thanks to [ena] for the idea for this one, as well as the one coming out on Hawks’ birthday. I hope everyone enjoys and remember to hydrate or diedrate.

   Birthdays suck, especially when you've spent every one alone. It doesn't help having your birthday so close to such a major holiday. Everyone thinks oh your birthday’s right before Christmas it must mean double the presents when in reality half the time people completely forget about your birthday. It's all about Christmas and the other winter holidays, birthdays come second.

   This year though I decided it'd be different, I may not have anyone to celebrate with, but I can still have a good time. I planned a night out for myself, going to a nice dinner followed up by a couple drinks at the club. So to start my night of fun, I got dressed in my best outfit.

    When I got to the restaurant, I got a few sad looks from bystanders, who I assume felt bad for me going out by myself. But I don't care, I’m going to spoil myself and have a good night. 

    Ignoring the pity glances, I enjoyed my meal. I had a small chat with the waiter before paying and heading out for the rest of my night.

    Making it to the club, I was greeted by the loud and chaos filled environment which people expect when going out. I weaved my way through the crowd, finding an empty place at the bar, and politely waved down the bartender.

    After I received my drink, the bartender decided to strike up a conversation. “So, what's a pretty thing like you doing out here alone?” They asked. I just rolled my eyes before thanking them for a drink, walking to an empty booth, to just watch the crowd.

     Settling into my seat, I looked at my drink, the bartenders words making me think about how truly alone I am at this moment. Sighing to my self, I raised my class in a mock toast, “Well, Happy Birthday to me.” As I was about to down my drink, I froze, having heard the exact same sentence in a more masculine tone from right behind me. I quickly turned around to see a white-haired man with dark sunglasses looking directly at me as well. Stunned, I couldn’t think of anything to say, the only thing coming to mind was ‘fuck he’s hot’.

     Noticing my stunned state, the attractive stranger spoke first. “Seems like we’re both in the same situation, care to discuss over a drink” He said with a smirk. I jumped, not expecting him to offer company. I guess he took my surprise as an answer and moved from his spot to sit across from me in my booth. “The name's Satoru Gojo. Nice to meet you.” He introduced, while sitting down.

    “Um Y/n Y/l/n, nice to meet you.” I said, still processing the events of the last few minutes. “So it’s also your birthday?” I asked the most logical question to start this conversation.

    Gojo just smiled before responding. “Yup, figured I’d spend it watching people make poor choices.” He said, gesturing to the club full of drunk people. “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you spending the day alone?” He questioned.

    Figuring this was better than drinking my thoughts away, I responded. “I don’t have many friends, and even if I did, they would probably forget about my birthday anyway, everyone always does.” It was harsh, but the truth, forgotten birthdays were extremely common for me growing up. I watched as the man across from me frowned slightly. “So, Gojo, why are you spending the day alone? I’m sure someone as handsome as you, has at least one person to spend the day with.” I said in a slightly flirtatious manner, trying to lighten the mood.

    I watched as he smirked slightly at the complement before responding. “Actually, with my line of work, I don’t have much time to get out. Plus, it’s too dangerous to drag someone into my lifestyle.” Now that piqued my interest, what did this guy do for work that was so dangerous.

   “Well, then what do you do for work? What could be so bad that you don’t have a partner in life? Are you a criminal or something?” I asked, hoping to have not over stepped.

   It was clear that he had to take a moment to decide whether to answer or not, but when he sighed, I knew he made his decision. Finishing off his drink, he started talking. “It’s difficult to explain, the most I can say is that my job is to keep people safe, and it’s agreed upon by everyone in this field that I’m the best. Trust me, I’m not trying to be cocky. It’s the truth, everyone looks to me for help when they can’t fix something.” He said, looking down at the table. I took a moment to process, this guy wants me to believe that his job is so dangerous he can’t tell me much other than the fact that he’s the best. 

   It is hard for me to believe, but the look on this man’s face told me he was being truthful. “Well, if people rely on you that much, you have to at least have some friends to talk to?” I asked, hoping to learn more.

   I watched as a gentle smile took over his face. “Yeah, I do have a couple friends, but the ones I talk to most are my students. I’m teaching them how to do this job so they can take over when the older generation is gone, but sometimes it feels like they’re actually my kids.” He spoke about these students like they were his world. “I honestly don’t know where I would be without them.”

   “So you’re the strongest and a teacher, what can’t you do?” I joked, earning a laugh from the man across from me. “But in all honesty, it’s amazing that you’re teaching the future generation. I may not know what it is your job entails, but it sounds like guidance is a good thing to offer to them.” I smiled, making eye contact with him over the edge of his glasses, taking in his bright blue eyes for just a moment.

   He smirked, noticing that I was amazed by his beautiful eyes. “Thank you. Now, enough about me and what I do, What does the wonderful Y/n do for work?” He asked, shifting the conversation.

   Snapping out of the trance his eyes put me in, I thought for a second. “I just work at the mall. Nothing amazing, just a simple customer service job.” I explained, looking off to the side. Here I am talking with this guy who teaches the next generation of what ever job he does, and all I do is try not to get yelled at by cranky people all day. It’s obvious that he’s way better off than I am.

   “Hey, don’t be embarrassed by that, I don’t think I could survive a day dealing with entitled karens and grumpy assholes.” He said with a laugh. “Plus, without people working in customer service, this world would crumble.” It was clear he was trying to make feel better about it.

   I just smiled in response before thinking of another topic, as work was a boring on for me. “Ok, how about a change of topic, What is your favorite food?” I asked, hoping to smoothly change focus, but still keep talking.

   From the smile on his face, I could tell he was fine with the change of topic, as he went on to explain that he’s a fan of anything sweet and began listing some of his favorites. 

   That’s how we spent the rest of the night, talking about anything from our favorite food, to what shows we were currently watching. Sure, I started today thinking it was going to be another lonely birthday, but fate was on my side and showed me someone to connect with. Hopefully if this goes well then on our next birthday neither of us will have to spend it alone.

[greetingfromthedead]

Patchwork Holiday (Wolfwood x GN!Reader)

Plot: You lend a hand in getting Hopeland's community center ready for the annual holiday celebration. It is a crock pot of old and new traditions and Wolfwood has dragged something horrendous down from the attic to be lovingly decorated. Rating: E Tags: No use of "Y/N", Established Relationship, Fluff, Festive Cheer, Holiday Traditions, Christmas Tree Decorating, Banter, Bickering, Gentle Wolfwood, Playfulness, Physical Tenderness, Shoulder Ride, Mistletoe, Shenanigans, Kissing Word count: 2.5k

"What is this hideous thing?" you ask loudly as you stare at the large triangular monstrosity towering over you. It is scraggly with weirdly bent green appendages reaching out from a center post.

"Sweetheart, that is a tree," Wolfwood says calmly, but with very clear amusement, as he carries another stack of boxes into the room.

"That thing is a tree?" Your outrage grows as you turn to him in disbelief. "You mean to tell me that some lunatics are paying millions to have this ugly things? I know trees are rare and all, but are they worth the effort if they are going to look like a cat that has gone through the digestive tract of a worm?"

To your great dismay, Wolfwood lets out a laugh. He sets the stack of boxes on the cushion of an armchair before stepping over to you. With one practiced motion, his arm reaches around you, holding you by your waist to pull you closer, hip to hip.

"I say we sell this abomination and live comfortably ever after," you suggest, looking up at Wolfwood's stupid grinning face.

"Doll, that is a fake tree. Even if we could sell the community center's tree, we would not be set for life, I'm afraid," he chuckles and only gets egged on by the expression on your face. "Why are you looking like that?"

"I mean, if it is fake, why make it look like an old bottle brush?" You grumble, hiding your eyes by looking down at the floor.

"Darling, you gotta give it a chance!" He laughs even harder than before. He steps closer to the large thing he dragged down from the dusty attic earlier and starts to straighten out the fuzzy appendages that have been squished into strange angles. He bends the branches and fluffs out the bristles until the stem starts to look presentable. "See?"

"I guess…" you admit reluctantly and stand beside him to lend a hand. "Remind me again why we're doing this?"

"The holidays are around the corner?" Wolfwood sounds confused as he peeks over to you.

"Yes, of course, but I mean not everyone has a jumbo-sized pipe cleaner in their house, and I thought we were just supposed to help with some renovations? I understand you know the owner?"

"Well, the renovations were part of this. Every year there is a big party here for the holidays. Local musicians play festive tunes, and craftsmen and traders set up their stalls. Everyone comes by this place. The children from the orphanage especially look forward to this. Each year they put on a play for the entire community." He smiles as he speaks. It's not his regular sly grin, but instead it is soft and gentle. "I guess it's not very common to have a fake bristly tree these days, but it has become a part of the Hopeland holiday cheer along with so many other old and new traditions people bring. From the stories I've been told, this holiday is very, very old; even on Earth it was old. People had different names for it and different customs and different reasons to celebrate. I doubt there is anyone here who could tell us any details from that time, but to me it doesn't matter."

"You love the holidays, don't you, hun?" You swing your hip into him, making him stagger to the side.

"Of course! Food and drinks! Traders with interesting goods!" he boasts, reaching up to fluff another branch. "Only the best time of the year."

"Liar, liar, pants on fire!" you sing, seeing through his facade.

"Alright, alright! I love seeing the children so happy! Everyone looks happy. One special time of the year to take a moment and come together for reasons other than to chase criminals out of town!" he laughs.

"Big softy!" you mutter with amusement while straightening out another branch.

"Hey! Keep your voice down! Don't tell anyone else!" He turns to you with a mischievous grin, and you have the good sense to jump away before he can grab you with his first attempt. "Let's keep this our little secret," he says and manages to grab your waist with one hand and your wrist with the other. He pulls you to him and tilts you back so far that you're parallel to the floor, only kept up by his strong arms. You try to twist loose, but he is too persistent, and he only laughs at your protest of his sudden affections.

"Okay! I won't tell anyone just how mushy you can be!" You exclaim, and Wolfwood pulls you up again. He leaves you dizzy as he gently releases your hand to turn back to where he left off, a satisfied smile lingering on his face. "Lunatic!"

"Better watch out, Doll, or I will put you as the tree topper!" He threatens with a grin, but there is a hint of truth in his voice. "Don't tempt me."

With more playful bickering, you work on making the monstrosity that started out bent and shaggy look full and lush. There is beauty to it; even the imperfections add character. You would take your earlier words of calling it ugly back, but you know you wouldn't hear the end of it from Wolfwood if you did.

"Moving on!" he announces loudly, and you turn around to look at him pulling a tangled string of lights from a box. As he notices the mess, he sighs and mutters under his breath, the initial enthusiasm gone. "Oh no."

With a chuckle you step to him, gently taking one end of the fairy lights, and begin to help him untangle the mess. Wolfwood's face is crumpled with focus and determination as he works on taking the lights carefully out of the box. Step by step, you loop and unhook the bulbs from one another, stretching the cable out across the room until it is finally free of knots.

"Hey! Good job, Doll!" He cheers you on as you return to him, rolling the lights up into a careful bundle that is less likely to get tangled. "Let's get these wrapped around the tree!"

Excitement blooms in your chest with each revolution you make around the tree. You carry the lights, giving slack as needed for Wolfwood to carefully place them on the branches. You occasionally adjust the lights to make sure they are evenly spaced, but more than anything, you keep your eyes on the man you love. He looks more at peace than he has in a long time. He happily reaches to the highest of branches to make sure the bulbs grace them, and you can't help but smile at how content he looks. Even if the lights were turned on, you doubt they would shine as brightly as the spark in his eyes.

Even Wolfwood has to stand on his tiptoes to push the very end of the string of lights against the branches at the top of the tree, leaving you to look on with amusement and slight worry of him toppling over. He has ditched his suit jacket for maximum stretching abilities, leaving him only in the halfway unbuttoned dress shirt. It certainly is a view to be enjoyed.

"Go on, choose a box!" Wolfwood says joyfully and nods towards the stack he brought down earlier. His tone shifts to a lower, more playful one as he sees your hesitation. "Or are you too scared to see what's inside?"

"What would I be scared of with your big dumb ass around?" you reply with a smirk, taking a long step closer to the armchair with the stacked boxes.

You lift them off each other, scattering them on the second chair and a little table; a few you place on the floor. Only then do you peek inside to see colorful and shiny glass balls and figurines inside, each carefully padded with tissue paper. They glint in the dimming evening light that pours from a window. They are unlike anything else. Wide-eyed and enchanted, you take the lid off completely, revealing the different shapes and sizes of the delicate glass objects inside. The beauty is breathtaking, making you shift from one box to the next, unveiling what lies within. More and more ornaments come to light. There are see-through baubles, shimmering stars, and intricate painted figures. But there are also boxes filled with paper garlands and child-sized hand prints made out of clay. It's a mix of both the elaborate and the simple, each one holding its own unique charm.

"We gotta hang all of them on the tree. So, where shall we start?" Wolfwood bows over you with his hands in his pockets, peeking over your shoulder as you squat next to a box on the floor.

"This one," you answer, looking up at him, holding on to the box filled with decorations made by the children of Hopeland.

He grins his wide, stupid smile, the one that makes him look like a know-it-all. As if he knew exactly which box you would choose. He straightens up to give you space to get up with the box. Carefully you put it on a chair close to the tree for easier access and pick out a paper garland. Wolfwood takes hold of the other end, and together you begin to wrap the tree with interlinked paper hoops and little people holding hands. One by one, the hand prints find their spots, and when that box is empty, you pick the next. Layer by layer, the tree gets fuller, the fragile glass bulbs filling in the spaces between the clay decorations. They mix into one beautiful and slightly messy-looking masterpiece.

Most of the top branches are decorated by Wolfwood, as you can't really reach them, but he seems distracted, continuously glancing over to you, watching as you blissfully pick the perfect spot for every ornament. The resulting mess of the higher branches catches your attention, and you drag a chair closer to fix it. Not so much to correct Wolfwood's style, but to make sure none of the precious ornaments would fall off. You take special care of each one, still struggling to reach even with the boost to your height. You stand on the very edge, teetering a bit dangerously when suddenly you feel your knees buckle and your footing disappears. You fall backwards, only for your butt to land on a strong upper back. Wolfwood holds on to your legs that tangle over his shoulders, and instinctively you grab hold of his messy hair on top of his head that pokes up from between your thighs. He laughs loudly, with his whole chest rumbling against your skin.

"Try now, Doll!" he says as he steps closer to the tree than the chair could, amusement clear in his voice.

With Wolfwood carrying you on his shoulders, you can reach with no problems. Carefully you make sure the ornaments are safe, occasionally dishing out instructions for your lover to pick up some other decorations to hand you. He walks back and forth between the boxes and the tree, never complaining and always keeping at least one hand securely on your leg.

"Just one more thing, Angel!" he says cheerfully as the boxes have become empty.

"Yes, love?" You turn your chin down to look at him.

"No, no. The angel!" He grins and reaches up a white, feathery tree topper.

"Oooooh!" The realization hits you, but you aren't entirely sure if it was an intentional stab or not.

You take the figure from his hand and reach it up to settle it into its spot on the very tippy top of the triangular tree.

With every single ornament hung, Wolfwood puts you back on the ground, and together you pack up the boxes, leaving them in a neat pile by the door to be carried away later. Wolfwood waits by the tree as you almost skip back to him, barely able to contain yourself. It has gotten dark in the room, just a dim glow from the window illuminating your way, but your eyes have gotten so used to it that you barely notice. The tree looms as a dark shadow, and you make a detour to the plug that lays on the floor. You push the plug into the wall and suddenly the whole room floods with brilliant light.

A gasp escapes your lungs as you turn your head to look at the lit-up tree. Quickly you scramble up to take a few steps back so you could fully take in the magic of your handiwork. Your heart swells as you see the lights shining back from every glass bauble. Every shimmery surface gleams in the soft glow of the lights. It is gorgeous, a far cry from the shaggy green monstrosity you started off with.

You hear Wolfwood step closer as you remain nailed to the spot, too enamored by the view in front of you to move. He stands behind you, one of his hands landing on your hip to keep you close.

"Gorgeous," he says softly, and you turn your head to look up at him with a smile, only to find him already looking at you, his eyes filled with adoration. You realize he has his other arm up above his head, and as you follow it with your gaze, you see him holding something bushy and green, tied up with a red ribbon.

"Is that a mistletoe?" you ask, the smile on your face getting even wider by some miracle.

"It is indeed," he grins knowingly. "You know what that means."

"I do!" you respond while turning around, resting your hands on his chest, feeling his heart beat fast under your palm. The hand on your hip shifts to curl around your lower back, pulling you against him. Wolfwood leans closer, his movement slow and deliberate, enjoying the love that feels so thick in the air around you. He presses his lips to yours, a gentle brush of his mouth while he still holds the mistletoe above your heads. Another lingering shift, a small peck of his lips. Your hands stroke upward to wrap around his neck. The moment feels like a dream. Just the two of you, sharing an embrace and a kiss under the soft glow of the tree's lights.

The touch of his lips starts to linger longer and longer, soon turning into your mouths dancing in perfect harmony, and the hand that held the branch gently lands on your back. His strong arms keep you close, his hug reassuring and filled with longing. You feel yourself melting into his embrace, never wanting this moment to end. By the time he turns his head to shift his lips to your ear, you are gasping for air, your chest filled with joy and excitement.

"Happy holidays, my love!" he whispers before burying his face against your neck and planting a soft kiss there.

"You too, darling!"

Optional smutty Part 2 »

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Divider and banner by saradika

[bitchy-peachy]

Doing my usual ritualistic shit with the family 🤣🤣🤣. Will, of course, activate my infinity queue.

Next time y'all see me I'll probably be 30 pounds heavier cos of all the delicious foods and desserts.

We've got arroz con gandules del pais (food grown in the island just hits different), guineos en escabeche, pavo, carne de cerdo, pasteles the yuka y (algunos de carne. We do have "veggie" versions), morsillas (we got a loooot of pounds of blood sausage. Good for my anemia 🤣.)

We've got turrónes de almendra from Spain, we of courses got some Danish butter cookie minies I handed out to relatives yesterday. (My aunt cried when she saw she got those cookies since we rarely see each other due to her job and she just flipped out crying over cookies 😂. I thought I stepped on a landmine but turns out she's so used to getting present for others but not used to getting anything back. Note to self: Get my aunt more presents in the future. She loves sweets. Even if I don't see her I will make sure she gets a present)

We've got tembleque literally put the recipe up cos a lot of non-Boricuas don't know what tembleque is (delicious coconut desert 🤤) and I'd rather people just eat it loooool.

There was homemade flan with coconut but it's all disappeared within half an hour 😔😑. At least I got a serving but that was supposed to be eaten as a family but we just love to cook and eat.

Since I can't drink booze due to my treatment, there's no coquito in the house. I said it was fine since I'm buying alcohol for Luthian's coming of age next month (I already know which alcohols he'll like.) But I guess people feel bad for me and don't want to drink around me. They didn't even bring coquito 😭.

Sad af. They could have brought a virgin coquito. It doesn't need booze 😔. I just really love coconut in my foods.

Okay I rambled way too much.

Hope you guys, if you see this, are loved and held warmly. That you have the best bestest of days with yummy food and loved ones.

If you don't have that, don't be sad. I've had holidays by myself before and always told myself that once I wasn't alone I'd act like it's the most important party ever to make the most of it. (Which explains all the food, presents etc... Its cos I never know when everyone is under the same roof again, getting along and having fun together. I remember spending Christmas night at an AA meeting place. The lady that rented the place for AA was kind to my homeless ass and gave me blankets and Christmas food and place for winter. She also helped me get back on my feet. I swear I've met some truly wonderful people out there just when I needed them and I learned a lot from her and her selfless actions. I might be a mean ass bitch to a lot of people but I do worry for others. More people should be like her. She just did it like part of her nature.)

Ahhh I'm getting teary eyed.

We celebrate things differently over here. I'm not christian, I'm a bruja but I do know of Yeshua's (I prefer that name over "Jesus") energy and he's a very loving and forgiving energy (which makes me appalled sometimes at how many people that claim to follow him don't know that he weeps for them every day... because he sees and feels the world's cruelty down to the marrow of his bones. He still loves unconditionally, but he's in pain. Always in pain.

Okay I'll stop now otherwise I'll turn what I want to be a "neutral post" of celebration into me talking about deity work and channeling as well as history (and how "Christmas trees" are actually a pagan practice. In fact most of Christmas traditions come from pagans.... shhhh... see? I rambled again.)

Anyways.

Happy holidays!!!!!! 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄

Yes, I totally used an Art The Clown gif in this post. He's one of my fave clowns and he's got a bloody capitalist Santa outfit on. He's perfect 😂🤣. (It was nice to see him getting into the holiday spirit)

[luxqaer]

Melly Christmas Everyone!

Time for a special Christmas Melia commission blog. This time, I will be talking about a couple Melia commissions from last year. One from RVaubby and one from Jarckius.

These are very different commissions with each other. Both having to do with a specific Christmas theme to them. RVaubby's is Melia celebrating Christmas in her bedroom alone. The other is Mariah Carey lol.

Let me start with RVaubby. Perhaps one of the most underrated artists I ever had the please to commission. They had their commissions up for a while and loved their backgrounds especially. They evoke such a realistic feeling to them, and their shading especially is just wonderful.

So, I went ahead and asked them if they had commissions open for a full-blown Christmas Melia commission. They went ahead with it since they were playing Xenoblade at the time. I had to give references to Melia's model and the bedroom itself in Keves Castle. As well as find some of their older art to share as references for what the lighting should be. As well as Melia's outfit itself.

Here are the initial sketches. We had a bit of trouble with placing the Christmas tree in the first sketch. The bed ended up moving a little to the right along with placing the dresser by the tree as well. It turned out well in the end once the final sketch was made.

As for the final art. MY GOODNESS IS IT A MASTERPIECE!! Like, this piece specifically has so much Christmas and Melia's bedroom in it that it all just fits in so well together. I absolutely adore this commission so much and I consider this their best work. Which is why I feel like that I want to make it a tradition to commission Christmas Melia art from her. It is just insane to me how great this art is.

Next, Christmas commission is the one from Jarckius. The one that is supposed to be based on Mariah Carey's holiday outfit.

Jarckius's commission openings actually went up in early November. So, the art was perfectly timed to go up right around Christmastime. I just simply hit them up in dms and asked what I wanted. Melia in a Mariah Carey-esque outfit. And voila.

Here is the lineart for the commission. It looks simply incredible. The only change really was it being flipped horizontally in the final version. HOWEVER, Jarckius did actually make another version to see if I prefer that version or not. And that is Melia holding a microphone.

I decided to have her using both hands to hold the present because holding the microphone like that would have looked awkward. I just wanted her to have a Mariah Carey outfit. It looks great regardless, but that is just a personal preference.

As for the final product, HOLY CRAP IS IT AMAZING! Like it was incredibly pleased with the vision I had for the RVaubby Christmas piece, but Jarckius REALLY knew anatomy very well. Especially the body structure of Maria Carey. Like Melia here actually looks incredible! Gosh. What great Christmas gifts. I don't know if I would ever replicate this ever again.

Also, in case you all are wondering, I did ask for a NSFW alt of this art as well. If you are nice this year and of legal age, I can share it with you in DMs. 😉

You can find both of them on Twitter/X. RVaubby always has commissions open. They are a little on the pricey side, but TRUST ME the commissions are so worth it. I wish there would be more people who can commission them. Jarckius barely does commissions these days, but her prices are still rather excellent in general. Definitely recommend following her art as well if you want to explore female anatomy.

Anyways, thanks everyone for reading at the end. Have a Melly Christmas and tune in for an unforgettable New Years Melia commission. Good night everyone!

[lotus-pear]

okay, i know this sounds silly once i actually write it down, but i never thought people thought about holidays as more special than regular days? like i get it, there's celebration, but sometimes what it celebrates isn't what you're feeling at that moment. so what do you then? enjoy the same as everyone else anyways? i have a couple friends that are younger than me, mostly bc i kind of mentor them sometimes. earlier, i wished them a happy new year, and they asked why i didn't have much energy about it. i just didn't feel it. i told them that, and they said i just didn't get it. mostly with a tone of "you're being silly", like i'm purposefully trying to ruin their mood.

and here's the truth. this year's holidays have been quiet. no issues, no problems. it's been a peaceful time. but for that to happen, my parents and i just stayed at home, in our rooms. we exchanged presents on christmas morning, but we didn't make a special breakfast or force ourselves to take pictures. there wasn't a need to. we're with each other, we're at peace, but it's not very different from yesterday when i listened to them laugh from my room with some star wars show playing. or in the middle of august when we watched the spiderverse movie. they're okay, i'm okay, and in the turbulence of the year, i think that makes it nicer. it's like other days. quiet.

that said, it surprised me, how there's a need for the days to be special. like if i don't dance my way through new years, i'm doing it wrong. or that if i don't eat all my dinner in thanksgiving, i'm being ungreatful. it's strange, i think, how people mold these days into more importance. i guess for me, i've always thought i'll celebrate when i'll celebrate, and i'll quiet when i'll quiet. for me, i will laugh without tearing through the idea that it might not be the time. that i have homework or situations boiling over. i'll just laugh because i want to laugh, and that it's special because i'm letting it be.

holidays are excuses for others to let me cherish them. i've noticed that. some days i want to give a gift because i found something they like, and the response is "it's not my birthday" "it's not christmas" "you didn't have to, this was your idea". but i don't always get that. why do i need some outside force to let me know that it's a moment worth celebrating? i knew that it let me give more than normal, but i didn't know people actually thought it was supposed to be more special. i didn't know it was an actual expectation. so here i am, with a question held back previously by my teeth. think you're a thoughtful third party. might as well ask the question, since there's a button letting me. what's your take on holidays? are they more than other days? why? maybe you can shine light on why it's more special. or maybe you don't, and you just shrug at this observation. at the end of the day, i thought it nice to ask something like this to someone like you. artists see so much. makes me envy it sometimes.

and just in case they are more important than two days from now, happy new year.

i let this sit for a little bit bc i wanted to give a provocative and thoughtful opinion regarding the matter. i agree with what you stated previously, with holidays being used as outlets to channel a specific emotion that is normally disregarded. it ilks me at times to give someone a gift, only for them to respond “what’s the occasion?” must there be an occasion? could i not have simply thought about you in that moment, found something that reminded me of you, of our bond, and gifted it to you as a way to show i think of you outside the time we spend together? isn’t that what gift giving is about?? why must it be your birthday, or christmas, or some other holiday where it’s expected to give gifts to one another? holidays are just some other day in my opinion. they’ve been romanticized and commercialized, so much so that the joy of christmas in my childhood has completely lost its meaning and value. i wake up expecting to feel mirthful and eager, but really it’s just another winter morning, yk? it’s like the magic of the holidays has diminished over time. it doesn’t feel the same anymore.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

New Rule: The Truth About Christmas | Real Time with Bill Maher

Finally, New Rule: Praise Jesus, it's a Christmas miracle. For the first time in the 21 year history of this show we are on in December, which gives me a chance to explain to everyone something I've always wanted to expound upon in this show.

You know that whole thing about Jesus being born on December 25th? Well it's a crock of shit. Now, this is not an attack on Jesus. Although, he was a nepo baby. But also a revolutionary philosopher with a beautiful message. As to whether he's a God, that's up to you.

But if the subject is "Gods born on December 25th," we have enough of those for an entire Jeopardy category.

He was the Egyptian god who took the form of a falcon. Who is Horus?

He is the god from ancient Persia born bearing a torch. Who is Mithra?

He is the Greek god of rebirth. Who is Adonis?

He was the fertility god in Cleopatra's time. Who is Osiris?

This Greek deity was known for having a good time. Who is Dionysis?

So you may be asking - those are all real by the way, I think that was the problem, they think I'm making this up but I'm not - why do all the gods want the same birthday? Well, because December 25th was a pagan holiday coming a few days after the shortest day of the year, when primitive peoples noticed that the days were starting to get longer again, and so a cause for celebration.

Cut to:

And that's the story of Christmas. A holiday I love by the way. The tree, the presents, the music, the Christmas memories with my sister and our cousins filling the bong with eggnog. It's the only time of the year it's okay to put alcohol in milk. Christmas is fun if you just accept it's pretend time. Like a Hollywood wedding.

Yes, I love Christmas and always have. Just don't try to make me take it seriously.

And that is what has been going on a lot lately here in America. We have a new Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, who says America is actually a Biblical Republic and that he's even got a flag picked out that hangs outside his office, and which also could be seen in the mob on January 6th. Mike also says, "the separation of church and state is a misnomer," and congresswoman Lauren Boebert concurs saying she's, "tired of this separation of church and state junk." So too Marjorie Taylor Green, who says, "I say it proudly, we should all be Christian nationalists."

Now I know it may seem like this is just a few crazies, but I gotta tell you, dumbass Republicans who believe horrible ideas are like ants: there's always more that you can't see.

And in in fact, these ideas are no longer the fringe. According to a recent survey, over half of Republicans are either adherents of Christian nationalism or sympathetic to it. And they agree with statements like: "The US government should declare America a Christian Nation," and "Being Christian is an important part of being truly American," and "God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society."

I'm sorry but I don't want anyone exercising their dominion over me unless I pay them and we've established a safe-word.

Boebert says, "The church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not supposed to direct the church." Well, no and no. Neither one is supposed to direct the other. That's what separation of church and state means.

Republicans, Jesus fucking Christ. First you stop believing in democracy - Senator Mike Lee said it, among others. Trump lives the idea every day, and here we have the Speaker of the House saying it. And now Republicans also don't believe in the separation of church and state? Does anyone in that party remember what fucking country you're living in?

We're the place that stakes so much of our greatness on being the first to specifically prohibit having a state religion. There are dozens of countries that have an official religion. There's 13 where being an atheist is punishable by death. Four have "Islamic" right in the title of the country.

And maybe that warms the hearts of the TikTok crowd who lately have found heroes in Hamas and Osama Bin Laden. But that's not us. That's not what we do here. I get it you kids like to switch things up. But I can only handle one side at a time being ridiculous about religious fanaticism, and right now I've got my hands full with Mike Johnson.

Because Mike Johnson has the power to actually make laws. And I don't want my global warming policy decided by someone who is rooting for the end of the world so we can get on with the Rapture. And who once filed a legal brief before the Supreme Court arguing that what he called "deviant same sex intercourse" should be a crime. Even the lesbian stuff?

Mike thinks God personally chooses, raises up our leaders, which is a very dangerous thought, because then when you lose an election you think it's just another of God's tricks to test your faith. Like fossils. Mike says, "We began as a Christian nation." We didn't. Did you miss that day in home school, Mike? If you don't know that the pilgrims came here to get away from the Church of England then you don't know, literally, the first thing about our country. Mike says, being a Christian nation is, "our tradition," and, "it's who we are as a people."

It's not. We're the people who have a First Amendment which says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." And we have an Article Six which says, "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office."

So, I take these people at their word when they say that they think we should be Christian nationalists. But then they have to take John Adams at his word when he wrote, "the government of the United States of America is not an any sense founded on the Christian religion."

But I still love Christmas!

--

Introduction The rising influence of Christian nationalism in some segments of American politics poses a major threat to the health of our democracy. Increasingly, the major battle lines of the culture war are being drawn between a right animated by a Christian nationalist worldview and Americans who embrace the country’s growing racial and religious diversity. This new PRRI/Brookings survey of more than 6,000 Americans takes a closer look at the underpinnings of Christian nationalism, providing new measures to estimate the proportion of Americans who adhere to and reject Christian nationalist ideology. The survey also examines how Christian nationalist views intersect with white identity, anti-Black sentiment, support of patriarchy, antisemitism, anti-Muslim sentiments, anti-immigrant attitudes, authoritarianism, and support for violence. Additionally, the survey explores the influence Christian nationalism has within our two primary political parties and major religious subgroups and what this reveals about the state of American democracy and the health of our society.

==

Freedom of religion and freedom from religion are the same thing.

[zuffer-weird-girl]

Don't close the box yet, I'm trying to read something with Kaito getting too many present for Christmas from the Precepts, and Kai putting them away.

I'm sure Kaito throws a fit. Nobody is on Chisaki's side...not even pops. Kaito is so spoiled 😭

"Almost there... aaand-" you stood on your tippy toes and cheered along with the 4 year old you were holding for him to finally manage to put the star on top of the tree while your husband only could arch an eyebrow.

It wasn't very common for him to celebrate Christmas. He just didn't see the appeal to it. Like... okay, you lie to children about a fat old guy who delivers presents to all the people in the world in one night; give more presents yourself to others; stay awake for unbelievable night hours instead of doing something productive and stuff your face with the "holidays type" of food.

But seeing his wide and son being all hyped up for the holiday warmed a bit his chest...

Until pops decided to spoil his son every single holiday ever.

The last Christmas since Kaito was born was like a huge pile of boxes of toys. Very LOUD and ANNOYING toys.

He could still remember the headaches combine with the countless nights of no sleep.

"Santa will come?"

"Well, you were a good boy the whole year so-" you bopper his nose as his eyes crossed to look at your finger until snickering a bit at your playfulness.

"I object. He was a brat." Kaito yelled a hey at his dad who didn't even sounded impressed at his son's reaction while you try it to maintain your giggles at bay.

He only sighed before standing up and going over the two of you as you gently put Kaito back down on his feet.

"Don't be such a grinch love, you can't deny is the time of the year where usually we are the kost kindest to others."

"Some people." He grumbled with a cold look as you caressed his covered cheek.

"Come on, just look at him." You moved your gaze towards to the boy who was checking if the cookies were rightfully placed on the plate for Santa Claus "the best part of having kids Kai is to see their joy... we can't assure if it will always be that way since the world isn't all sunshines... but seeing that innocence and happiness doesn't it make it all worth it the hours of decorating and other stuff?" You pointed out as you smiled at his usually cold and distant look turn into soft golden eyes filled with calmness and understanding.

"I suppose you're right." He sighed after a couple of seconds, uncrossing his arms and just leaving them both at his side "I just only can hope to not have certain elders spoil too much our-"

"MeRrY ChRIStMaS BItChES!" You both jumped at mimic literally busting the door open along with the rest of precepts.

"Uncle Chrono! Mimic!" Kaito wide smile at the sign, you sighed in relief that Kaito didn't catch the curse word... while Kai looked like he was about to kill every single person of that room asides you and his kid.

"I'm sorry for his manners master, young master and lady (Y/n)" Tengai and Nemoto bowed while speaking simultaneously while you waved your hands around and saying for them to cut the formality.

"We bought some fruit cake but..." Hojo was about to speak until Setsuno elbowed his other companion.

"Tabe ate it all before we stepped inside." The man whose name was spoken only lowered his head in a silent apology.

"Hey shrimp." Rappa kneeled down while giving him a nerf gun "There ya go. Shoot your old man."

"Wooooowww." Kaito eyes shined bright until he whined at his new toy being yanked off of him to only laugh at the sign of his father literally slamming the toy on Rappa's face as the man cussed him out.

"First of all, what are all of you here?" Chisaki spoke in a murderous silent voice as you walked towards him in hopes to calm him down before he overhauled someone in front of your son... again.

"The old man invited us." Chrono spoke simply while you and Kai widened your eyes "Said something about giving the kid more company... oh and he mentioned gifts too I guess."

"Of course he did." Kai groaned while face palming as you giggled at the sign of a four year old climbing rikiya as the man only smiled at the boy. "Where is even he at the moment?"

"Right here." The elder soon appeared and went to give you a hug first, totally ignoring Chisaki. "I hope I wasn't late to see my favorite grandson!"

"He is your only grandson..." Kai mentioned nimbly before groaning when Pops gave him a big box to hold as the elder went and grabbed the kid. "What is even this?!"

You only blinked at the sign of the room getting more crowded and hearing the commotion of it and clearly noticing your husband's distaste of all of it.

Yeah... long night ahead of you ...

.

.

.

After God knows how long it was, you pribed Kaito out of the chair, saying Tabe wasn't going to steal Santa's cookies. Despite the kid always proclaiming he was agrow kid he still insisted that he sitter on your lap to receive the presents to show you and his father who refuse to wipe the frown out of his face or to sit down in the ground.

"Uncle rappa gave me a nerf gun first." The kid mumbled while opening the next present with silver paper wrapped around it "Wow! A new action figurine!"

"That's mine actually." Chrono mentioned with a smirk as yououthed a thank you to him as Kai only glared at his childhood friend

"Thank you uncle!" Kaito gleamed in happiness.

You were getting a bit worried to the amount of gifts, you weren't going to lie. It was like when you gave birth to Kaito... too much presents. Yet you were still happy when all Kaito won he showed it to you with a pretty smile that reminded you a bit of your husband's rare one.

"Since when I gave you all the order to spoil rotten my kid?" Kai growled as the precepts tensed while Mimic, Chrono blinked and Pops only arched an eyebrow.

"Is Christmas."

"I'm putting these away." He growled while going to pick the other boxes that weren't open until he felt a tiny hand gripping his pants tight and when he turned to look... he found the usual calm son he had now with tears welling up in his (E/c) eyes with the biggest pout he ever saw.

"Please Dada.... I want to see what's inside..." the kid hiccups and he swore that was the first time ever on his life he felt the worst human on the planet.

"Way to go dude." Chrono mumbled until he flinched at the hard elbow connecting with his chest.

"Fine. But you better organize all these things and not leave it out here for me or your mother to pick it up." He growled but soon blushed crimson red at his son hugging his legs at the front of everyone. "Let go Kaito. Now is not the time."

"Overjerk is such a jellohead when he is with these two you notice?" Rappa mumbled to Tabe as the guy munched on some fried chicken.

.

.

The precepts had gone since they wanted to spend the holidays in other places, so it was only Chrono and Pops left.

"A choo-choo!" The boy exclaimed in glee as he held the new brand toy his grandfather had given him.

"A train with a remote controller.... pops how much money did you spend on this one even?" Kai asked almost in terror as the elder only chuckled and mumbled about letting the kid have fun.

"Mama look! It makes even a lil noise!" The boy pressed a button and it soon the sound of a train filled the room.

"Wow honey that's incredible! Did you thank granddad?" You smiled at your son when his eyes widened in realization as he zapped towards the elder to give him a hug for it.

"Awe is fine! I just wanted to see that boy's smile!" Pops chuckled while messing up the kid's hair

"Later you better not to blame me for this brat to be so spoiled." Kai growled only to soften up a bit as you rested your head on his shoulder and his son climbed back to sit between the two of you.

"I'm not spoiled. You are." The kid mumbled while nuzzling his face and hugging you the best he could with his little chubby arms.

"Pardon?"

"Grandpop and mommy said it. You're spoiled dad." The kid stared up at his dad in the most numb tone of voice he could ever muster as Chisaki glared daggers at the four year old boy as Chrono tried his best to not laugh and fail.

"... you do know you don't need to dress up as Santa right pops? Kaito doesn't need to see it." You mumbled to the elder while your two favorite boys discussed while the old man chuckled on his eggnog.

"Oh please I already have the costume. Chisaki won't do it but sure as heck I will."

"You do spoil Kaito a lot pops.." You chuckled as the elder smiled in triumph

"Parents are made to educate while grandparents are to spoil. That's the rule."

"I never heard of it!" You laughed as Pops chuckled.

"Well, now you do!"

[spirits-fury]

Merry Christmas y'all! I plan on starting this comic sometime after Christmas, but for now here's some fun facts about the holidays for this universe!

They don't really have anything resembling any religion in our world in this universe - the one time they did, it was Catholicism and hell literally broke loose - so they don't have a Christmas or Hanukkah. They do have a similar holiday that lasts the first 25 days of December known as the Winter Solstice. It's a celebration of the Head Angels that rule purgatory, and is celebrated in incriments of 5.

The first five days are known as the Golden Days, a celebration of the Angel of Misery, Marilyn. They're well known for that time they killed their former partner (who afterwards became the God of Fear) for no reason. These tend to be rather quiet, somber days, however it's also tradition to gift the people close to you little decorative knives. It's a time to spend with those close to you, to let them know you're safe.

The second five are the Water Days, a celebration of the Angel of Fear, Chastity. Chastity is known for both his beauty and, well, his chastity. This is the time typically used to decorate for the upcoming weeks, how you decorate depends on how you celebrate. It's also considered a second Asexual Awareness week by some.

Third five are the Light Days, a celebration of the Angel of Wrath, Astaroth. Now, Astaroth cannot exist without a constant application of light. Y'know the Gävle Goat? Yeah, basically every place has their own version. The one in the town takes place in, Krosston, resembles a massive Serphant (they call him Rosewald)

The fourth five are the Ruby Days, celebrating the Angel of Mirth, Akai. This is your standard present opening, candle lighting, rap battling for your alcohol celebration days. It is chaos. Typically the way to celebrate depends on your community; there's more Christmas-y celebrations, but there's also ones that resemble Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and some that most of us can barely tell are supposed to be celebrations!

The final 5 days are known by several names (The Grey Days, Cycle Days, Statue Days) however the celebration is still for the same Angel, the Head Angel Leigh. These days tend to be of clean up, taking down decorations, etc. The myths of each angel are read during these days, not just Leigh's, although the focus still is on them. They were the First Angel, and the one in charge of reincarnation. Just by living and being yourself, they are celebrated.