#sandman not a snowman

[otherswap]

Happy almost-end-of Summer!

[cutepencilcase]

SandPupper

Bluey has been boping around in my brain and being the show I watch when I need something sweet and soft for over a year now, but I haven't done any fanart of it yet That changes now!! Sandpupper instead of snowdog because it's warm in Australia right now

[alanaartdream]

Trolls band together advent calendar day 7 was quite fruitful today; although I am not a fan of glitter ✨ everywhere

And for Christmas 🎄 drawing for December 7th 2023 went with drawing a Christmas 🎄 Sandman being as here in Australia 🇦🇺 we do not have snow at Christmas so snowman ⛄️ is a sandman

[quokkasunggie]

what if i made a christmas special but with a summer setting🤔

[christmaswinter]

Christmas in June

[thequalitylady]

My kind of snowman

[sofiafantasies]

Imagine: Jack observing you tuck in your sibling into bed that believes in him

Disclaimer; This is inspired by a post from @cutiepieloves131

"Cupcake!" You called for your sister. She was jumping up and down on the bed. It wasn't anything new seeing her this happy. She was telling you a story. She says it happened weeks after you left for collage.

Cupcake ran outside her room and into the kitchen. "Yeah?" You looked at her after drying your hands on your shirt. "Uh, why don't you go to bed, I'll tuck you in and you can tell me all about it, okay?" You walked up to her and crouched down placing your hand on her shoulder.

She smiled widely and nodded. She ran up to her room and you stood up laughing and shacking your head. You walked upstairs and opened Cupcake's room. She was jumping around and waving to the window or whoever was outside.

You walked next to her. "Uh, Cupcake, who are waving at, honey?" She looked at you with a big grin. "Jack Frost!" She said. You puckered your lips and nodded slowly. "Who- you know what? Doesn't matter." You gestured to the bed. "Get on the bed, please."

She turned around and walked to the bed. You came to the other side of the bed not noticing a certain winter spirit watching you through the window. "Cupcake?" You asked as she seemed to look around her bed. "What are you looking for?"

"My unicorn. Have you seen it?" She asked desperately. You looked around and saw it near me in the window seat. You smiled and walked over there. You picked it up and as you stood you noticed frost on the window. "Weird..." You mumble totally obvious to the person hanging upside down your window, observing you.

"Cupcake, I found her..." You turned to look at the he window one last time and then walked towards Cupcake and walked to the other side of the bed. "Yay! Thank you!" She hugged the plush and you smiled. "So, that story?" You sat on the bed facing her.

"Right!" She sat up on the bed. "So it all started outside two days after you left. I was building a snowman and all of a sudden a snowball hit me!" She laughed and so did you.

"When I turned around I saw Jamie and his friends. We started playing with the snow until Jamie fell and rode his sled all over the streets! It was awesome!" She stood up and spread her arms and giggled. You laughed as Jack - who still observed you two - chuckled.

"But he did end up with a missing teeth..." You sighted and placed a hand in her chubby cheek. "I'm glad you got the courage to have fun and play with kids about your age."

"Me too! Then there was this whole thing where the Easter bunny didn't show up. But after Jamie made us believe in the Tooth Fairy, Sandman, The Easter Bunny, Santa Clause, and Jack Frost!"

You looked at her confused. "Jack Frost?" You asked as you pulled her down to lay on her bed. "Yeah! Jack Frost, is the spirit of winter and now guardian of fun!" She got comfy and you smiled at her. "How does he look like?" You asked. "Well, close your eyes." You did what Cupcake said.

"Imagine a guy with white hair-"

"White?" You asked as you opened your eyes. "Yes white now close your eyes!" She giggled and you closed your eyes. "Okay, so, he has pale skin, blue eyes, he wears a blue hoodie with brown pants, and he's usually and all the time, barefoot."

"Hmm, he's cute." You said with your eyes still closed. "You have even seen him!" She giggled. Jack chuckled as he got right side up and observed you. You opened your eyes and laughed. "Well, I'm imagining him!" You tickled her and she laughed telling you to stop and you did.

"Okay, no more games. You have school tomorrow." You said and Cupcake's smile dropped. "I don't wanna go to school..." She sounded sad which got yours and Jack's attention. "Why?" You asked as you tucked her in. "The kids at school think I'm weird."

"Aw, Cupcake, I'm sorry. What do they say to you?" You placed your hand in her cheek. "They say all types of mean things." She hugs her unicorn closer. "You don't have to tell me now just know you are beautiful," You said already getting an idea of why they are being mean to her.

"Smart, kind, and very sweet. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise." You say as you grab her hands. "You are gorgeous, inside and out. Okay?"

"Okay." She smiled and you smiled as well. You kissed her forehead and stood up. Jack looks at you with a soft smile. You walked to the door and opened it. "Okay, goodnight." You say as you look at her tired figure. "Goodnight." You frowned and then you got an idea. "I'll bake you some cookies tomorrow, yeah?" You say as you reach for the lights.

"Yeah!" She yelled making you giggled. You look out the window seeing the frost still there, both Frost. You smirked and turned the lights off. You close the door behind you. Jack moves to the next window and looks at you. "Jack Frost, eh?" You say to yourself.

[3-2-whump]

The Box

A Thomas Costa Backstory, as told by himself. Indented part indicates a flash back. Set during the Key Game era, though I don't know if any of the other flash backs will have any concrete place on the timeline.

Full collection of Thomas Costa Backstories here

TW/CW: slave whump, intimate whumper, blood, whumpee turned whumper (more like whumper, former whumpee), divorce, neglect, death of minor characters mentioned

Khaled had found his box. He wasn’t supposed to go anywhere near the file box that held the physical remains of the man he used to be, but Thomas had caught him red-handed, sitting on his bed with his dog tags, his paperwork, and several old photos of him spread out across the bed. Khaled paled, visibly scooting up the bed and away from the contents of the box as he realized he’d been caught.

In hindsight, Thomas was not proud of his initial reaction. He couldn’t just beat the boy without reason, no matter how much he deserved it for directly disobeying him. He was owed an explanation, at least. Once he had calmed down enough, and once the wound from Khaled’s scalp had stopped cascading blood down his face, he decided to try a different approach.

“You know I told you not to go through that box, boy,” he said.

Khaled lowered the moist washcloth from where it was compressed against his head. What used to be a white washcloth was now dyed a splotchy pinkish-red.

“Why did you go through my box?” he asked. He caught Khaled’s face in his hand before the young man could turn his head away. “Why?” he repeated.

“I… thought it was where you were hiding the key, Master.” Khaled’s confession hardly rose above a whisper. He crossed his legs self-consciously in front of him. “I-I just wanted it off, I’m sorry,” he apologized.

Thomas shook his head. “Just for that, I’ll keep you in that thing a week longer. I will take if off when I am ready, not when you are,” he grumbled. He took the box in hand and started sweeping the stuff on the bed back into the box.

He paused as he was about to collect a certain picture. It was him, his squad –Callahan, Trémeaux, Robinson, Martinez, Kruger, and Kościelsky –and more importantly, his brother Tony’s team, standing around a crude edifice of water and sand and any bits of refuse they could find to fill in the finer details. In the sand in front of the group someone had scratched ‘Merry Xmas 2002.’

Khaled didn’t miss the involuntary smile on his lips as he remembered the sandman. “What is it, Master?” The unspoken request ‘can I see?’ bubbled just beneath Khaled’s inquisitive eyes.

Thomas passed the photo to Khaled. “We were having a slow day on the base, so some of the boys got together to make a snow man. There wasn’t any snow where we were, of course, so we worked with the next best thing!” He proudly poked at the picture with his index finger. “See the lit cigarette sticking out of his mouth? That was my idea,” he boasted.

Khaled hummed, studying the picture a bit more. He poked at the soldier whose arm was slung around the snowman’s shoulder. “Is that you?” he asked.

“Yeah. Nothing gets past you, huh?” Not that it was hard to tell; Thomas hadn’t changed his physical appearance too drastically over the last twenty years. “Think you can find my brother?”

The corners of Khaled’s eyes scrunched up as he concentrated on the old photo in front of him. It took him about three tries until he gave up. Thomas pointed to a skinny brunette leaning on Ferguson’s back. “That’s him. I know, we look nothing alike,” he said, answering Khaled (and everyone else’s) unasked question. “We had different dads, same mom.”

“Oh, um, I’m sorry, Master.”

He looked up from the picture to see Khaled’s frown. “Sorry? What do you mean?”

“Did your dad die, like mine?” Khaled asked hesitantly.

“What- Oh, no, Khaled, my dad is alive!” Well, last he checked, anyway. “My parents are just divorced is all. Same goes for Tony’s dad, he divorced and left us too.”

“Fuck your horse races, fuck your little bastard, and fuck you! Fuck this entire family! I am done, Maria, done!” Those were the last words that Thomas’ stepfather uttered before he never saw him again. In the violent deluge of a summer rain, the man he considered his father wrenched off his wedding ring and threw it at his mother’s feet. He then turned his back on her –on him, on Young Tony (Thomas’ brother and the man’s biological son) –turning away from them as if it were nothing to leave his own blood in the hands of ‘a piss-poor excuse of a mother and a self-absorbed monster without a conscience’. The sound of pounding rain muted his retreating steps.

“Oh…” Khaled’s voice trailed off.

“It’s okay,” Thomas lied. He gently pried the photo out of his hand and stuck it in the box, finally closing the lid as he rose from the bed to put it back underneath them. He redirected his thoughts from his absent father to the old photo. Only five people in that Christmas photo were still alive now, and none of them were his squad or Tony. Maybe one day he would be willing to tell Khaled about the blast. Maybe he would even be willing to tell him about his overreaction that would send him back stateside, right back into the brood of vipers he had sworn to leave behind. But until then, like every other uncomfortable thing about his past, it was just easier for Thomas to put it in a box, shove it under the bed, and forget about it.

Le Tag List: @kabie-whump @rainydaywhump @whumped-by-glitter @skittles-the-whumpee @generic-whumperz @bamber344 @there-will-always-be-blood @morning-star-whump @a-la-whump @watermelons-dont-grow-on-trees

[hooked-on-elvis]

"If I Were You"

Album: Love Letters From Elvis. Release date: June 16, 1971

LYRICS The sandman comes to my house late each night But it's way in the morning before he turns out my life It's times like this my darling I can see If I were you I'd know that I love me The great snowman I've been called by all But it looks like this time I'm gonna fall It's times like this my darling I can see Ooh If I were you I'd know that I love me Wind and rain and storm closin' in on me I've walked the streets alone with my self sympathy Can you hear me saying hopefully Ooh If I were you I'd know that I love me Wind and rain and storm closin' in on me I've walked the streets alone with my self sympathy Can you hear me saying hopefully If I were you I'd know that I love me Ooh If I were you I'd know that I love me If were you I'd know that I love me

Lyrics: Gerard Nelson

[lara635kookie]

Red Crackle Week Day 2:

Holiday

Carmen and Gray's First Christmas as a Couple:

• They decided to spend it in Sydney

• In a hotel

• They went to Gray's favorite café to have a brunch

• After that, they spent the whole afternoon on the beach

• Gray taught Carmen how to surf

• And made snowmans (in that case, sandmans)

• For Christmas Eve, they met with the crew

• Shadowsan, Hideo, Zack and Ivy

• They gave gifts

• And Carmen and Gray kept talking about their past, present and future on their room

• And then they slept together

• On Christmas Day, they had Christmas lunch

• And went to visit Player personally in Ontario

• And Carlotta and the children at the orphanage

• They made a lot of donations to charity institutions

• After that, they started planning their New Year

[bucketspammer4life]

☆ WVBA On A Snow Day ☆

hehe this is so jolly (i am writing this in the middle of august and it doesnt snow where i live)

Glass Joe

- layers and layers of thick & warm clothing, walking around with 5 layers of scarves, coats & sweaters, might as well wear the entire closet

- tried to make a snowman, it got knocked over insantly

- freezing, he is really shivering his timbers over here

- had some hot cocoa

- went iceskating, slaying it

- did some snow angels with Mr Sandman

- he doesnt tolerate the cold well but still having fun

Von Kaiser

- 2 layers of comfy & cozy clothing, the cold isnt getting to him today nuh uh

- so whimsy, so jolly, he is so thriving

- making snowmen with disco kid, ended up making a snowfamily for the snowmen and a snowdog and made them pay snowtaxes and busted their snowcaps if they didnt pay up

- worst iceskater ever but still having fun

- sitting next to a fireplace & reading a book, he looks like hes gonna tell you a bedtime story

- eating snow yum yum exquisite delicious delectable tasty

Disco Kid

- didnt wear enough layers, out here shivering like a kitten in a wet cardboard box out in the street

- made sure the snowmen paid their snowtaxes

- hes the reason why they call it iceskATEing, smoother than the ice hes skating on

- drinking iced coffee no matter the weather, -20 degrees celsius? At least his ice will last longer

- made a igloo, nobody except kaiser is invited

- fell asleep next to a fireplace like a street cat saved from the cold

King Hippo

- not going outside, ever, he doesnt handle the cold well, it isnt just a "my timbers are shivering i need a extra layer" its more of a "hypothermia is just behind the corner and i dont feel like dying"

- do not expect him to step outside, not even a foot

- drinking soup & sleeping half of the day

- Literally hibernating

- so many blankets & pillows, taking the longest nap of the world ever

Piston Hondo

- also needs a whole lot of layers, out here looking like a head of lettuce

- making really cool snow sculptures, so proud of them

- enjoying hot cocoa, wrapped up in a blanket

- snowball fight starter, he simply let the thoughts win

- keeps tripping while iceskating, has to hold on to bear hugger for dear life because he doesnt wanna faceplant into the floor

- joining kaisers snow eating, he just sat next to him & started eating snow as well

Don Flamenco

- forgot to layer up & regrets not wearing a extra coat, bull had to lend him one because he looked like he was on the verge of death

- making snow angels, keeps getting snow thrown at his face as he lays down

- put his forehead wig thing on a snowman

- sad because he forgot to take his plants inside & they died :(

- killing it while iceskating, out here spinning like a beyblade

- keeps falling asleep at weird places because cold weather + curling up in a ball really honks his shoos, ends up being carried to somewhere warm & not so inconvenient, everyones just playing a big game of "where has this bitch fallen asleep again?"

- laying down on the snow, hes just peaceful right now

Bear Hugger

- layered up decently

- he was literally born for this kind of weather

- rolled a snowball down a hill & accidentally made a small avalanche

- cold weather makes him really sleepy, unlike don flamenco he knows how to not fall in inconvenient places

- stiff as a statue while iceskating, one wrong move and hes on the floor along with hondo

- on a rocking chair next to a fireplace, christmas movie intro style

- feels kind of lonely since his fellow bears he likes to hug are hibernating (the animal ones not the gay ones smh, if i meant it like that he would be hibernating too)

- made a small scarf for his squirrel friend : )

Aran Ryan

- atrocious winter clothes, someone call the fashion police

- trips every 5 seconds while iceskating, his face is so bruised its unreal

- chucking snowballs and running away from people

- joined Sandman roll down a hill for fun, nobody spoke, nobody showed any emotions, but it was truly one of the memories of all time

- cold weather makes him energetic so hes a pain in the ass to deal with even more now

Soda Popinski

- wearing shorts & a tshirt, really good at tolerating the cold, soda popinski doesnt get hypothermia, hypothermia gets soda popinski

- also eating snow with kaiser & hondo

- tried to iceskate & chipped a tooth

- used as a human shield during the snow ball fight

- he showers in ice cold water on the daily so this doesnt inconvenience him at all

Bald Bull

- brought a extra coat because he knew don would forget to layer up & wouldnt listen to him if he reminded him

- in awe of soda popinski not being affected at all

- making huge snowballs and chucking it at aran ryan

- cold weather gets him angry & stressed a whole lot (same with any extreme weather condition) so tread carefully or this snow is gonna look like the flag of japan

- staying inside, mostly coming out when hes bored

- drinking tea & reading most of the time

- Just spinning while iceskating, cant seem to stop

Great Tiger

- has to also wear his entire closet, ends up getting sick anyway

- Just sadly staring out of the window

- making his clones play in the snow because just because he cant go doesnt mean they cant go

- drinking tea, hes so peaceful rn dont bother him

Super Macho Man

- not dressed up at all, got sick

- really pissed off he cant go out

- bitterly sitting in bed with a fever

- he is so gonna sob until hes no longer ill

Mr Sandman

- only person to tiptoe on that line between "you look like a pillow" And "you might as well go out naked" in terms of winter clothes

- Just making deformed snowmen

- suprisingly didnt fall on his face while iceskating

- he makes some killer hot chocolate

- tried to eat snow & got brainfreeze

- rolling down a hill for fun & climbing back up to do it again, with the most serious expression ever

[gunilslaugh]

Aaaaaaaa i love ur writings so much and pls stay healthy n hydrated!!!!!

Can i request a Gaon x Female reader?

Like having a date w him jn the beach or something u like!!

Thank you so much!!! You stay healthy and hydrated too!

Kwak Jiseok

Summary: Having a beach date with Jiseok.

WC:732

Warning:grammar

photo not mine credits to owner.

The weather was nice and warm, not too hot. The sun was the only thing adorning the sky and a gentle breeze blew in the air. Jiseok and you both agreed that it was a perfect day to go to the beach. There wasn’t all that much time left for the summer season, so it would be a shame to waste the opportunity to have a fun beach date. 

Once you arrived at the beach Jiseok and you scouted out your spot then proceeded to settle your belongings there. 

“Let’s hit the water!” Jiseok exclaims excitedly, getting ready to run towards the shoreline. 

“Wait!” you called, catching him by the wrist and pulling him back in your direction. “You need to put on sunscreen first silly,” you said, shaking the sunscreen bottle that was in your other hand. 

“Apply it for me,” Jiseok said in a childlike manner. You shook your head, yet his act still brought a smile to your face. Uncapping the sunscreen you began to apply it over Jiseok’s skin. “There,” you announced, leaving one final swipe down the bridge of his nose.

“Your turn,” Jiseok states, taking the bottle from your hand. “Guess what shape this is,” he tests you. Jiseok was currently behind you, covering your back with sunscreen. 

“Ok,” you answered, readjusting slightly, thinking it was somehow going to help you.

“I’m starting now,” Jiseok tells you. You concentrated on the feeling of his finger making its way across your back, trying to decipher the shape. “Well?” He pipped. You weren’t quite sure.

“Do it one more time,” you tell him. Once more Jiseok traces the shape onto your back. 

“Is it a heart?” You guessed. 

“Yep, a heart because I love you,” Jiseok leans forward, chest pressing against your back as he presses a kiss to your cheek. 

“That was cheesy,” you scoffed. 

“It was cute,” he defended. “Now come on, let’s go get in the water,” he says, pulling you up by your arms. The two of you headed over to the water, taking a couple steps into it, standing ankle deep. 

“It’s not actually too cold,” you spoke a bit surprised. 

“Then you should get in deeper,” Jiseok said mischievously, shoving you into the cool water.

“Yeah Kwak Jiseok!” you shouted, wiping the salty water away from your face. Jiseok laughs at you. “I guess I should’ve expected that from you,” you grumbled standing it. As an act of revenge you kicked the watering, sending it splashing onto Jiseok. 

“Aye!” Jiseok cries. He reaches into the water, splashing you back. 

“You started it. Plus you’re looking a little too dry,” you splashed him again with more water.

“This means war,” he states, splashing you harder. The sound of splashing water mixes with yours and Jiseok’s laughter as you take turns splashing each other.

After tiring yourselves out in the water you strolled back over to your spot and dug into some of the snacks you brought with you. 

“We should build a sandcastle,” you suggested, playing with the sand in front of you, letting the grains slip through your fingers. 

“An epic sandcastle,” Jiseok said eagerly. Then the both of you got to work with the construction process. 

“It’s a good thing we aren’t in the construction business,” you chuckled while looking at your lopsided castle. 

“Maybe we should have made a sandman,” Jiseok said.

“Sandman?” You asked confused. 

“You know, like a snowman, but with sand,” he explained. 

“Yeah we probably would have boated better with that,” you agreed.

The sun was now sinking into the horizon, painting the sky a beautiful orange-ish red. You and Jiseok admired the sunset together. Once the sun was replaced by the moon you guys packed up your stuff and tried your best to clean off all of the sand. 

“Today was fun,” you said, hand in hand with Jiseok, walking back to your car. 

“Yeah it was a nice end to summer,” Jiseok says. 

“It’s not the end of summer yet,” you corrected him.

“It’s probably our last beach date for the year though,” he stated. 

“Got me there, but we could come during winter. Not to play in the water obviously, but I don’t know beaches in winter sounds like a nice concept,” you disclosed. 

“If you want to come during winter, then we’ll come during winter,” Jiseok declared, pulling you into his side. 

[ericaportfolio]

Happy Fourth of July Everyone!!! If you're looking for the perfect gift for the summer or for Christmas, get the Frosty the Snowman as a Sandman on Redbubble (if Redbubble keeps it up, of course). Currently available in stickers, hats, and phone cases. I'll add more later. Link below.

[lovelyleclercs]

2022 Christmas Masterlist!

Christmas time is here! All Christmas/winter/holiday related writings will be found on this post! <3

this will be updated as I write the stories, and the stories will be linked once they are posted!

Clement Novalak- You, Me, and the Upside Down Tree.

-> You and Clem are decorating your new house for Christmas, but a faulty store bought tree turns into a memory you'll remember forever.

Lando Norris- Bringing the Holidays Home to You

-> Canada gets hit with a huge snow storm, meaning that nobody could fly in or out, meaning you can't go home for the holidays like you always did. Lando finds a way to bring home to you for the holidays.

Charles Leclerc- Kissing Santa Claus

-> Charles dresses up as Santa at the end of the year gala, but your little Juliette catches you kissing Santa.

Carlos Sainz: Chaotic Christmas Time

-> Carlos decides its time to introduce you to his family for the first time, but it's not a Sainz family gathering without a bit of chaos.

Felipe Drugovich- Sandman

-> Brazil doesn't get any snow, but you have the sudden desire to build a snowman. with no snow.

George Russell- My Biggest Gift is You

-> George finally decides he's ready to spend the rest of his life with you.

Dennis Hauger- Stuck in the Snow

-> what was supposed to be the best Christmas ever, quickly turned into a nightmare for Dennis.

Toto Wolff- Alone for Christmas

-> Toto thinks that he will be spending his Christmas all alone like he usually does, however you have a change of plans.

Sebastian Vettel- Home for the Holidays

-> coming straight off of retirement, Seb is able to spend his holidays at home for the first time since your children were born.

Mick Schumacher- Snowflake Kisses

-> A family walk with Angie in the snow makes you realize just how grateful you are for this life you live.

Pierre Gasly- Ice Ice Baby (instagram AU)

-> soft launching your relationship with pierre after a trip to the ice rink with him and Charles

[hazzybat]

I made a sandman rather than a snowman cause Australia. He's a bit horrifying but I love him.

[pickalilywrites]

Modern 104th Christmas party on the sunny beach ☀️🏖️🎄🎅🎁

merry christmas!!

christmas on the beach

104th trainee squad. modern au. 1369 words. read on ao3.

This Christmas, Eren and his friends are celebrating the holiday on a sunny beach. It was an idea that Eren had thrown out right as final exams were ending and everyone, wanting to get as far away from campus as possible, quickly agreed. As soon as the last exam was taken, everyone packed their bags and drove down to the closest beach. Living inland, the closest beach was half a day away. Reiner complained about the length of the car ride, Marco had motion sickness and threw up on the side of the road, and Jean had gotten lost on the way there, but the group of friends eventually made their way to the beach and began their holiday preparations without any hesitation.  

“Check out our sandman!” Sasha calls, She pats the sandman’s head, smoothing out the curve of its head as Connie stuck a piece of driftwood into the side to make an arm. She looks proud of their creation, her lips spread into a wide smile and her chest puffed out proudly. “He looks just like a snowman with a tan.”  

“We shall call you Sandy the Sandman,” Connie announces. He has the same proud expression on his face that Sasha wears. He notices that Sasha has pulled out her phone and has opened up the camera app to take a selfie with their sandman. Connie throws up a peace sign and grins at the camera. 

“Perfect,” Sasha hums after inspecting the photo she had just taken. She lets Connie lean over her shoulder as she types out a caption for their selfie: Celebrating Christmas with our new friend! 

“Don’t get too attached,” Mikasa warns without looking up. She knows her friends too well. They’ll be devastated when they eventually leave the beach while Sandy will have no choice but to stay there and erode over time. Mikasa looks up briefly as she pats down some sand around the structure she’s making. “You should have stuck to sandcastles like Armin and me.”  

“Well, they’re supposed to be more like gingerbread houses, but it’s not like we have gingerbread and we can’t really eat these,” Armin mumbles. He’s startled when Connie plops down next to him, but he scoots over so that Connie can get a better look once he realizes that his friend is curious about what they’re making.  

Connie peers down at Armin’s simple sandhouse and then over at Mikasa’s more detailed castle. Mikasa has somehow mastered the art of sandcastle crafting in a short time and her sandcastle has beautifully carved details even though she hadn’t used a mold. Her castle has beautiful spires and carefully crafted windows. It even has intricate brick detailing. It looks almost like one of those tiny model castles you can find in stores only this castle is made of sand. Armin’s simple house, a structure with four walls and a lopsided roof and windows he had carefully punched out with his thumb, looks mediocre in comparison. 

“Mine isn’t as nice as Mikasa’s,” Armin says almost apologetically. 

Mikasa looks surprised. “I think yours is cute,” she tells him. 

“Yeah, you put in so much effort on yours, Armin,” Connie says. He sounds earnest when he compliments Armin and it makes the blond flush hearing Connie’s kind words. 

“I like the little starfish and shells you put on yours,” Sasha says, leaning down to take a closer look. She points at a starfish Armin had attached to the roof of his sand house. “Where did you get these?”  

“Just in one of the whirlpools. I’m going to put them back once we start our dinner, though. It’s probably not good to keep them away from their habitat for too long,” Armin says. 

Meanwhile, Jean is screeching as he tries to escape Eren’s wrath. When they had first arrived at the beach, Eren had expressed an interest in having a massive ‘sandball’ fight with everyone only for Jean to shoot him down immediately by pointing out that sand doesn’t clump together the way snow does. It had taken Eren a while, but he had finally perfected the ratio of water to sand to get it to stick together enough to make projectiles to hurl mercilessly at Jean. 

“Eren!” Jean yelps as he dodges another sandball. He’s been doing his best to avoid them, but he’s not quick enough to dodge all of them. His clothes are covered in wet sand. It’s a wonder how Eren can make these sandballs so quickly. “Eren, fucking quit it!” 

“Never!” Eren yells back before throwing a sandball directly at Jean’s back. It hits Jean with a satisfying thud and Jean goes down immediately. Victorious, Eren pumps his arms into the air and lets out a triumphant roar as Jean groans with his face in the sand.  

As the sun sets, the rest of the group prepares for Christmas dinner. Mina and Marco have already set up the tent and tables are now hanging up strings of lights to illuminate the dining area. They’ve brought Christmas lights, the ones that look like icicles to get everyone in a more festive mood even though it clashes with the beach setting they’ve chosen for this year. A few feet away, Bertholdt and Annie are decorating the ‘Christmas tree,’ but it’s just a mound of sand with a string of lights wrapped around it. 

“I don’t think this looks right,” Bertholdt murmurs as he observes the lump of a Christmas tree. No matter how much he and Annie had tried to reshape the mound of sand, it came out looking more like a large pile of sand instead of the cone shape they were aiming for. At least a cone would vaguely resemble a tree. This just looks like they had tossed a string of lights on the largest mountain of sand they could make.  

“Well, don’t look at me,” Annie snaps before pointing an accusing finger at Reiner. “He was supposed to be helping us, but he thought dressing up as Santa Claus would somehow be more helpful than assisting with decorations.”  

Reiner places his hands on his fake belly and lets out a jolly chuckle, undeterred by the glare that Annie shoots at him. “Ho ho ho, I’m just adding to the holiday cheer! How can we have Christmas without Santa Claus? We’re already having Christmas without snow!”  

Annie stands up, holding a string of lights threatening in her hands. She tugs at the string between her hands like she means to use it as a rope. “We can do Christmas without snow and Santa Claus,” Annie growls and begins to walk towards Reiner.  

“A-Annie, I don’t think we should use the lights like that,” Bertholdt stammers as he hurries to stop Annie before she strangles Reiner to death.  

The Christmas dinner is nearly done being set up. Although most restaurants were closed for the holiday, Historia was able to find a Chinese restaurant nearby that was operating and willing to deliver food to the beach. Chinese food is an unconventional choice of cuisine for Christmas, but almost everything about today is unconventional so it suits their Christmas celebration perfectly in that way.  

“Wow, we did such an amazing job with the food,” Ymir grins. 

“What do you mean we? You didn’t even do anything. I called the restaurant and paid for all the food,” Historia snorts, rolling her eyes as Ymir pats herself on the back. 

“But it was my idea to call the Chinese restaurant,” Ymir reminds Historia, and Historia can only shake her head. Ymir chuckles and then wraps her arms around Historia in a hug. “Alright, alright. I’ll call everyone in then. Aren’t you glad I’m contributing, Historia?” 

True to her word, Ymir calls their friends to gather under the tent they had set up for the holiday dinner. Even though the weather is far warmer than any Christmas they’ve celebrated together and they’re surrounded by sea and sand, the festive lights and Christmas music blaring from the Bluetooth speakers that Historia have brought really make it feel like Christmas. The friends eat and laugh and dance all night to Christmas tunes, enjoying their first — but surely not their last — Christmas on the beach.