#yes we celebrate it on the 24th

[fairydustfromhell]

Nothing says Christmas like constant fighting and being belittled for entertainment while you just sit there thinking, waiting for everything to be over. When was the last time I actually felt the Christmas spirit? When was the last time I looked forward to this joyless time? Why can't it all just stop?

[sparklingdwarf]

happy yule mutuals and familiar faces from my notifs<3

i'm gonnq hav3 a celebatory meal or fried chicken and strawberry cake today

[rabiddanesyndrome]

Merry Christmas, whether you celebrate it or not, I’ll still support ya <33

[doitforbangchan]

Deity - H.H

Masterlist

Hyunjin x reader (afab)

Summary: You wanted to worship your boyfriend for his birthday, but it seems like he had other plans...

Requested by my dear friend @jehhskz who asked for birthday Jinnie :)

Warnings: Fem reader, Smut, unprotected p in v, established relationship, grinding, kissing, blindfolds, drinking (mentioned), lingerie, cursing, pet names, Hyunjin being a literal poet. Not proof read :)

WC:2.8k

“Is this really necessary? At this point it’s kind of a dead giveaway, my love.” 

“Yes, it’s necessary!” You huffed, as you tugged the blindfold over Hyunjins eyes, fixing his hair as you did so. “ Don’t act all smart with me! Just cuz it’s your birthday doesn’t mean you know everything.” You both were just coming back from a dinner with his family, they elected to take him out to celebrate his 24th birthday.

He laughed at your teasing words, “So when we walk in, it’s not going to be a surprise party?” 

”...... I cannot confirm nor deny any such accusations.” 

 You paused as you stuck the key in the door to your home, knowing the surprise was ruined. Well, one of them anyway.

“Just a heads up before we go in, don’t lose that blindfold.” 

“Huh?” 

You ignored his inquiry and opened the door, leading him inside and shutting the door. You held up three fingers, then two, and one. “Take it off, baby.” 

Hyunjin ripped the blindfold off and was bombarded with a loud “SURPRISE HYUNJIN!”. He looked like a child with the way he was grinning from ear to ear, clapping in excitement at seeing all of his friends in one place. 

The apartment was decorated floor to ceiling in streamers and banners of all colors. There was  even a cardboard cut out of him and placed near a makeshift photo booth in the corner. Clearly a lot of work had gone into this party. 

You took Hyunjins coat from his shoulders as he was pulled further into the home by Felix who immediately took him to get a drink. You watched as he mingled and laughed with his friends and loved ones. He had been working so hard lately and deserved to have some good genuine fun. 

It was hours later, and most of the people at the party had left already. The only ones left in your living room other than you and Hyunjin were Han and Felix. Both the boys were drunk out of their minds. Felix was giggling to himself as rolled on the ground, and Jisung was laid on the couch cuddling with the cardboard Hyunjin, already asleep with drool seeping out of his mouth. 

Hyunjin only had one drink during the party so he wasn’t drunk, having let the first drink fade away over the course of the night. You entered the room carrying blankets for the two drunk boys. There was no way they could make it home in this state and neither of you had a problem with them staying over. 

“Here you are, guys. Blankets and pillows.” You handed some to Felix and went to give some to Jisung but instead just draped a blanket over his form. “Uhh I guess I’ll set this here for him if he wakes up.” 

Felix yawned as he curled his small body into the blankets right there on the floor. “Nighty night.” 

Hyunjin ruffled his hair in passing, chuckling “ night Lix.” 

Hyunjin followed you down the hall into your shared bedroom, you were sitting on the bed as he closed the door. You had sultry eyes, eyeing him up and down as he stepped into the room. “Come er’ baby.” You curled your finger, drawing him closer. He humored you with a smirk as he came closer to you until he was right in front of you. You stood up as you gave him a gentle kiss. “Did you enjoy your party, Jinnie?” 

“It was great, my love. The perfect way to end my birthday.” He smiled as he gave you another kiss, using his hand to tilt your face back. 

“Mmm your birthday isn’t quite over yet though. I still haven't given you my present.” you purred, looking up at him through your lashes. 

He bit his lip, eyes glimmering “Oh yeah sweet thing?” 

“Mmhmm” you leaned on your toes and got close to his ear. “Now why don’t you be a good birthday boy and sit down on the bed for me.” 

He raised his brows at your dominance and smirked in amusement, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “Whatever you say boss lady.” He gestured for you to continue. 

You gathered your nerves, trying not to let him see just how shy you were. With a deep breath you locked eyes with him, having a mini staring contest before you slipped your dress down your shoulders and let it fall to the floor. 

“Fuck, my love.” He let out a groan at the sight of you in the sheer black lingerie you wore under your dress. It was a bra and panty combo, coming with garters that hugged your thighs and hips perfectly. There were darker black flowers in the lace, almost as if to give off a more innocent look. Though to him, it was absolutely sinful. 

You tutted when he reached out for you, backing away a few feet. “Nuh uh. No touching, yet.” 

He whined and jutted out his signature pouty lip, “But it’s my birthday you can’t be mean to me!” 

“I think I’m being anything but mean to you, Jinnie” you were giggling as you said it. “If you listen, it’ll make your present even better.” He let out a ‘hmph’ with his pout, but nodded his head anyway. “Still got that blindfold?” He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the fabric blindfold. You took it from his hands, “Perfect, thank you very much. Now I want you to take your clothes off.” 

He rolled his eyes playfully, “someones bossy today” even with his snark he complied, unbuttoning his shirt slowly while his dark eyes maintained contact with you. When it was fully unbuttoned he let it slide off his shoulders, giving you a view of his toned torso. Even though your boyfriend was on the skinnier side, he still had a good amount of muscle. Enough to toss you around at his leisure, at least. 

Hyunjin watched as you bit your lip when his pants were the next thing to go, noticing how you were unable to stop your eyes from flickering to the bulge in his underwear. He loved how much you admired his body. It made him proud of the work he had been putting into it. 

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” He had a smug grin as he tugged his underwear off next, showing off his hardening cock. No matter how many times you’ve seen it- felt it inside you- it was still the most mouth watering sight to you.

“Pictures are your thing, Jinnie. My thing is telling you to lay down on the bed.” You pointed to the top of the bed with your pillows, and gave him a ‘get to it’ hand wave. 

He shook with laughter as he scooted back on the bed. You had never even attempted to dom him before in the bedroom so it was unsurprising that he didn’t take you very seriously. Though, you were grateful he was at least following your directions. 

Watching you tell him what to do, while you looked like a goddess, was the ultimate birthday gift. You were already the most radiant and beautiful woman he had ever seen but wearing this set, you could ask him to do literally anything and he would do it with a smile.  Or maybe, almost anything.

You licked your bottom lip lightly and seductively made your way to the side of the best towards Hyunjin. The sway of your hips and the fire behind your fluttering stare made his mouth water. He was a man who eats with his eyes, afterall. “You’re the most alluring being on this planet, you know that? God, looking at you is having my cake and eating it too.I’ll never tire of looking at you, lover.” 

When you gracefully approached him you leaned your face down real close to his ear, letting your breath hit the skin, and with a quiet amusement to your voice you whispered, “Put this on, lover.”

“What?” 

He glanced down to your hand that was holding out the blindfold for him to take. Hyunjin shook his head in disbelief, his world suddenly crashing down. 

“Are you being for real right now?” He gave you an incredulous eyebrow raise. 

You hummed, “the realest. Put it on for me, Jinnie.” you batted your lashes at him and jutted out your lip. “Or do I have to do it for you?” 

A low rumble came from his throat, the sex appeal of you compelling him to listen despite his inner turmoil screaming at him to not take his eyes off you. Hyunjin gently snatched the blindfold from you and he slipped it over his head, after giving you one more glance over as if to memorize your visage. 

You hummed your appreciation as you leaned in and gave him a delicate kiss to his pout. He chased your lips as you pulled away, reaching for you but you backed up too far for him to reach. “Darling, come on.” 

You stayed silent as you walked around to the other side of the bed, keeping your footsteps undetectable. This was exhilarating for you. You guys had a discussion a few months ago about maybe trying blindfolds, but it was assumed he would use them on you. What a twist to use it on him first. 

“Love? Where did you g-oh!” You surprised him when you appeared on the opposite side of him and suddenly sat on his lap, straddling his hips just above his member. 

“M’ right here Jinnie.” You raked your nails over his chest and collar bones. His skin turned red as you drew the lines, causing him to hiss quietly. You ran your tongue over the leftover marks, soothing the flesh. He sighed and put his hand on your hip but you smacked it away quickly. “I said no touching, Jinnie.” 

“You’re gonna kill me, sweetheart.” 

You scooted back on him just a little, until you were grinding your hips on his length. Your panties were crotchless so he could tell just how wet you were for him, feeling the glide of your folds over his hardness. You whimpered when the head nudged into your clit. 

He grunted at your sound, able to keenly hear every little sound that escaped you; the blindfold may have blocked his sight but it definitely heightened his other senses. His whole body felt like it was alight, skin pin prickly and tingly as you peppered wet kisses and tongue drags across his collarbones and you grind against him. 

“My love, please, have mercy. Please put it in, you know I can make you feel so good.” He was panting, hands still at his side as he gripped the sheets. 

You hummed, pretending to think about it, “I don’t know, Jinnie. You’re already making me feel so good.” 

“But you know having my cock in you could make you feel even better. You love it when I'm inside, hitting your sweet spot that turns you into putty in my hands.” He was trying to seduce you through his whimpers, attempting to make you see reason. 

“I’m the one who’s trying to make you putty in my hands, baby. It’s your birthday after all.” 

“You’re right it is my birthday.” He panted, licking his lips. “And do you know what I want as my final birthday wish?”

“Do tell.” You moaned when he hit your clit again. 

“I just want to worship you, like the masterpiece you are. Please my goddess, let me leave a sacred prayer at the altar between your thighs.”

Well, who were you to deny him when he spoke poetry like that? 

“Ok, Jinnie. You can do whatever you want to me.” The words barely escaped your lips before his hands were on you. It was like a switch flipped in him as he went from this whimpering boy under you to a growling man, using his strength to flip you over so you were the one on your back. 

You gasped at the sudden display of dominance, watching him rip the blindfold of his eyes. His pupils had grown twice as big in lust and he looked ravenous as he got reacquainted with your special outfit. 

“My love, tomorrow I am absolutely painting you while you wear this for me. Gonna hang it in the entry way for all to see. I need to be in you. You’ve teased me long enough.” He ran the tip of his member into your core, collecting even more nectar from you, before her gently pushed in. “Fuck, so tight for me.”

“Ngghh Jinnie!” You squealed as he entered you. He always filled you perfectly, hitting your g spot on the first thrust everytime. It’s moments like this you forget why you would ever deny him (and yourself) this pleasure. 

“My goddess, my own personal aphrodite. Always so pliant and warm and ripe for the taking.” Hyunjin always got mushy when he was buried inside of you, as if possessed by a long dead shakespearean poet whose only job in the afterlife is to make you drunk on his words. “ You truly are the greatest creation in all of the universe. My lover, my deity.” 

“Fuck Jinnie, m’ all for you.” You cried out as he began to drill into you, going from letting you adjust straight into hard rutting. You were so warm, your walls enveloping him and begging to hold him hostage. 

He was moaning into your mouth, biting on your lips and trying to get as close to you as possible. One of his hands was on your thigh and the other was slithering its way up to your chest. His long fingers found your nipple through the fabric of your bra and gave it a sensual pinch, not too hard, only enough to stimulate you further. 

“My goddess is so good to me, making my special day so perfect. What a blessing you have given me.” He grunted the words as his thrusting increased, feeling his high coming quickly after all the tension and buildup. “Need you to bless me one more time. Need you to give me your nectar, please baby.” 

“Oh my fucking god, Jinnie.” You moaned loudly when the hand that was on your thigh suddenly found the puffy bundle between your legs. You were already so stimulated from his words and thrusts, that the harsh circles he drew on your clit was all you needed. You felt the knot in your stomach explode as you came. “M’ cumming, fuck” 

“Mmmm give it to me. Give me my last present, sweet girl.” He felt you clench on him as you shook from pleasure. “Nggggggggh ohmygod you’re squeezing me so tight, love.” His rutting got even more intense, and his drooling lips captured your own. He shoved his tongue into your mouth, tasting your mouth and growling into you. When you bit his tongue he suddenly lost control, and came with a loud groan against you. 

His hips were bucking wildly as he chased his high, tears gathering on his lash line and hands gripping your body harshly. You could feel him spilling into you, the intense heat he always created being comforting and making you shiver. He ran his lips all over your face as he came down, just laying on you until his dick became too overstimulated and he had to remove himself from within you. 

When Hyunjin pulled back from you, he had a tear rolling down his face. You reached up with a worried coo and wiped it away. “Are you ok, my love? Was it too much?” 

He shook his head, “I’m ok. I just love you, so much. This has been a perfect birthday.” He sniffled as he fell into the spot next to you, pulling you into him. 

“I love you too, Jinnie. You deserve the world. If I can give it to you for at least one day, then I’ll have done my job as your girlfriend. Happy birthday.” You snuggled into him, kissing his chest. 

“You’re more than my girlfriend.” You hummed in puzzlement. “You're my goddess.”

The next morning when you both walked out of your room you found Felix and Jisung sat at your kitchen table, drinking coffee. With how drunk they were last night it was a surprise they weren’t still asleep.

“Morning, boys.” You yawned and waved. 

They both looked at you with an evil glint in their eyes. 

“UHHH OH MY GOD JINNIE.” Jisung faked moaning dramatically in a high pitched voice. 

“NNNGG SO TIGHT, MY GODDESS FUCK” Felix imitated Hyunjn, lowering his tone and groaning. 

They both burst into laughter at the horrified look on both of your faces. 

“I thought you fuckers were dead asleep!” Hyunjin squeaked, his face red with embarrassment. You just buried your face in your hands and turned around going back to your room, the deafening laughter and teasing making you shake your head. Coffee could wait until they’ve calmed down or left. This is what you get for being a benevolent deity and letting them stay over. 

A/N: I hope Hyunjin has the happiest of birthdays ever :) And that he never ever reads this -.-

Comments and reblogs are very much appreciated!

Lemme know what yall think I thrive off of feedback

Tagged- @ayejaii

©doitforbangchan

[vroomvroommuppett]

birthday celebration | main masterlist | taglist | buy me a coffee! | pateron | still taking requests! | feedback form!! | lance story tag list

requested by: @raizelchrysanderoctavius: Today is my birthday, October 24th here in my country. I don't know the time difference from your country. Can I request Lance Stroll x y/n please 🥺 I'm 23 this year and I have like major baby fever this year 😭 I'm single and not ready to mingle. Lance and y/n have been in a relationship for years but the fans always call her a gold digger even tho they don't even know her background, because she's a very private person. And letter at summer or winter break some paparazzi caught her with a baby bump. And the comments about gold digger get bought up again and some crazy fans even accused her of baby traping Lance. Y/n finally have had enough of all the hatred reveal that she's a daughter from the owner of a very successful company, her family is richer than the Stroll. And She and Lance already have 4yo n 2 yo children. Right now she's pregnant with their 3rd child. Thank you very much. Love u so much🫶❤️💜

a/n: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! hope you love this!!

likes comments reblogs appreciated!

©vroomvroommuppett | i do not give the right for my works to be posted, copied or translated anywhere.

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f1gossip

liked by user1, user2, and others

f1gossip wife of lance stroll, yn ln-stroll was seen sporting a baby bump in canada. not much is known about yn, but there are reports and sources that she is a gold digger, and now it looks like she has baby trapped lance.

tagged: ynlnstroll, lance_stroll

user1 damn she really is using him

user2 she just wants the money

user3 ew such a gold digger

user4 and this is why people don't like her.

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williamsracing

liked by ynlnstroll, lance_stroll, and others

williamsracing We are so excited to announce our new owner, YN LN-Stroll! Welcome to the team, YN!

tagged: ynlnstroll

ynlnstroll thank you! excited to join!

user5 the woman was too stunned to speak

user6 where are all the people who said she was a gold digger?

lance_stroll MY WIFE EVERYONE.

lance_stroll Oh, and watch your back, @.f1gossip

f1gossip Yes sir. landonorris HE CLOCKED YOU LOL danielricciardo He stunted on you.

fransisca.cgomes hot wifey

logansargeant Thank you for believing in me.

ynlnstroll anything for my kid

alex_albon We're gonna slay next season.

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ynlnstroll

liked by lance_stroll, maxverstappen1, and others

ynlnstroll happy 5 years to my amazing, cute, sweet, sexy, hot, dilf husband. being your wife and mother of your kids has been the best thing that's happened to me. i love you so much.

tagged: lance_stroll

lance_stroll I love you so much, baby. Can't wait to take you out tonight before we become a family of 5.

maxverstappen1 Cutest family ever.

williamsracing Parents

astonmartinf1 No they're ours. ynlnstroll custody schedule?

user7 SHUT UP THEY HAVE MULTIPLE KIDS?!

carmenmmundt Ugh you're so hot.

estebanocon Cannot it's been 5 years. I still remember every time Lance would rant to me about you before you two got together. I probably still have those texts...

mickschumacher Same

logansargeant My parents

lance_stroll Our son.

f1gossip well this is what i never expected...

fernandoalo_official Grandpa Nando reporting for duty tonight

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tag list: @yukimaniac @nichmeddar @formulaal @formulaonebuff @2pagenumb @charllleclerc @heavy-vettel @theforevermorereject @raizelchrysanderoctavius @il0vereadingstuff @samantha-chicago @lieswithoutfairytales @ietss @norstappenvibes @woozarts @d3kstar @thescooby-gang @nikfigueiredo @barcelonaloverf1life @stupid---person @novelswithariana @magical-spit @lady-laura-speaks @alice-went-away @exotic-iris13 @avengers-assemble123456 @loomiscorpse @mxdi0 @wondergirl101ks

[chlochette-sunde]

Know your Destiel/Cockles history: a calendar 

As a newcomer on Tumblr and on the Supernatural fandom, I first had trouble following all the past events that were regularly reminded and celebrated.

On this very special day (December 14th, European time), the following post is an attempt at listing those events, focusing on Destiel and Cockles (with a hint of Jenmisheel). Feel free to advise me for more (or less) dates!

Acknowledgement: The idea came from @youchangedmedestiel who also contributed to the content. The present post would never have been possible without @livebloggingmydescentintomadness 's Cockles masterlist. Color code: Destiel / Cockles

Honorary periodic event: FIMMF (Finger In My Mouth Friday)

January

12th: "Mish. Dee." (2021) - 1

16th: Broadcast of 15x09 “The Trap” (2020) - /

17th: ‘Isn't the season you met Misha?’ ‘Taste the rainbow’ JaxCon (2016) - 1

18th: The abandoned Jenmisheel podcast (2022) - 1

24th: Dean's birthday + ‘Jensen's the horse’ HousCon (2015) - / + 1

February

2nd: Broadcast of 12x10 “Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets” (2017) - /

14th: Destiel wedding anniversary (2021)

16th: Broadcast of 12x12 “Stuck in the Middle (With You)” (2017) - /

26th: ‘Which is funny, because so do I’ JIB11 (2023) - 1

28th: ‘Misha's been working out’ ‘He has though, hasn't he?’ NashCon (2016) - 1

March

1st: Jensen Ackles' birthday (1978) - 1 2 3 4

18th: Danneel Ackles' birthday (1979)

20th: Broadcast of 8x17 “Goodbye Stranger” + Gag reel (2013) - / + 1

23rd: Broadcast of 7x17 “The Born-Again Identity” (2012) + Broadcast of 15x13 “Destiny’s Child” + Gag reel (Jensen's infamous fart joke) (2020) - / + 1

April

1st: Mishapocalypse (2013) + Mishapocalypse 2.0 (2023) - 1 2 + 3

10th: “When Harry Met Sally” JIB2 (2011) - 1

13th: Season 15 EW Photoshoot (2020) - 1 2

15th: Broadcast of 5x18 “Point of No Return” + Gag reel (blowjob+‘we’re missing the gay angel’+‘confetti it’s a parade’) (2010) - 1 + 2 3 4 

15th: Bishagate 2.0 NJCon (2023) + Misha’s Cas essay (2022) - 1 2 + 3

23th: Bishagate ‘I’m all three’ NJCon (2022) - 1

25th: ‘I happen to be straight’ (2022) - 1 2

27th: Broadcast of 12x19 “The Future” (2017) - 1 2 3 4

28th: ‘Balls deep’ CR8 (2024) - 1

29th: Broadcast of 6x19 “Mommy Dearest” + Gag reel (2011) - 1

May

6th: Broadcast of 6x20 “The Man Who Would Be King” (2011) - /

7th: First release of 'Watching Over Me' (2021) - 1

19th: Straddlegate JIB10 (2019) - 1 2 3 4

21st: Jensen's bear underwear reveal JIB8 (2017) - 1

23rd: ‘Okay babe’ (2021) - 1

24th: Misha tenderly rescuing Jensen+’We like you the best’+Hitch scene JIB5 (2014) - 1 2 3

26th: ‘It’s not a subtext. It was clear text.’ PurCon8 (2024) - 1

27th: ‘I talked to Jensen and Danneel this morning because I couldn’t sleep’ PurCon7 (2023) - 1

June

July

1st: ‘I miss my blanky’ + ‘I love you’ VS ‘I need you’ (2021 (yes, on the same fucking day)) + ‘Also, Cas is gay.’ (2023) - 1 2 3 + 4

14th: 'Destiel is Cockles Fault' Day SFCon (2024) - 1

24th: ‘Wow, that was really informative. Thank you.’ SDCC (2011) + ‘How do you know’ SDCC (2016) - 1 + 2

August

9th: Destiel fanfics first ship to reach the milestone of 100,000 stories 'I have to admit, I like being on top' (2021)

13th: ‘I’d love to do a Western…slash romcom with Misha’ VanCon (2017) - 1

17th: Cockles day at sea (2015) + ‘I would probably choose to be the car, because Dean would ride me all day’ SPNDEN (2018) - 1 2 + 3

18th: Destiel winning TV Choice Best Chemistry (2015) - 1

20th: Misha Collins' birthday (1974) - 1

September

8th: Release of "Some things I Still Can't Tell You", poetry book by Misha Collins - Men in the Woods (2021) - 1

13th: First broadcast of Supernatural (2005) - /

18th: Broadcast of Lazarus Rising, first appearance of Castiel (2008) + First release of Jensen publicly singing 'Angeles' (2012) (+Bonus: Jensen serenading Misha at JIB11 (2023)) - 1 + 2 3 4

24th: Broadcast of 5x03 “Free to Be You and Me” (2009) (Bonus: reference of ‘personal space’ at SFCon (2024)) - 1

October

11th: Danneel Ackles, sharing a picture of Jensen, reading "Some things I still can't tell you" by the fire, Misha tagged on his heart (2021) - 1 2 

13th: Broadcast of 12x01 “Keep Calm and Carry On” + ‘You're poking me’ Gag reel (2016) - 1

16th: ‘He’s like an angel plushie’ DenCon (2021) - 1

20th: ‘I can say whatever I want because Danneel is in love with you' HCCB (2024) - 1 

21st: Broadcast of 10x03 “Soul Survivor” + ‘Aloha cowboy’ Gag reel (2014) - 1 2

23rd: ‘I should have said ‘I love you too’ and hugged him’ VanCon (2022) - 1

28th: Broadcast of 11x04 “Baby” (2015) (Bonus: reenactment of the CasDean scene at JIB7 (2016))

November

5th: Broadcast of 15x18 "Despair" - Destiel's anniversary (2020) - /

8th: ‘Homosexual declaration of love’ Darklight Online Con (2020) + 'I live it' (2021) - 1 (no official proof because the panel has mysteriously been deleted from social medias around the 26th) + 2

11th: Broadcast of 10x05 “Fan Fiction” (2014) - /

12th: Broadcast of 9x06 “Heaven Can't Wait” (2013) - /

16th: Broadcast of 13x06 “Tombstone” (2017) + ‘Release the tapes!’ Day (2020) - / + 1

19th: Broadcast of 15x20 "Carry on" -> Last episode of Supernatural (so far 🕯🤞🏻) (2020) + Misha sharing by mistake (?) “The epic love story of Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins” blog (2013) - / + 1 2

24-25th: 'y yo a ti' (2020) - 1 

24th: ‘His ferret goes other places’ (2024) - 1

26th: Misha having to live stream and do PR during Thanksgiving, in mid divorce, following 'y yo a ti' (2020) - 1

December

1st: Danneel sharing a post to promote "The Adventurous Eaters Club", featuring Jensen and their kids (2019) - 1 2

5th: ‘I love you, not like a brother, but like a lover’ CCXP (2024) - 1 2

6th: ‘Cas was supposed to have his arm around Dean in the bar’ CCXP (2024) - 1 2

14th: Cockles anniversary (2009) + Introduction of 'Eyes Like The Sky' beer (2020) - 1 2 3 + 4

19th: Jenmisheel holiday package (2017) - 1 2

[malum-forev]

If you still have Receiving/ giving a gift available, could you please write about Avenger Bucky receiving a gift from reader, for Christmas or his birthday? But he totally doesn’t expect it and gets all emotional cause he hasn’t received a gift in decades and doesn’t know what to do with the whole thing.

Yes yes yeeesss this is such a great ideaaa <3

*

“This is stupid.” Bucky grumbled.

“What’s stupid is that you waited until December 24th to buy your Secret Santa a gift!” Sam said, dodging the thousands of people roaming the streets of New York. 

“I didn’t think the gift exchange would actually amount to anything.” Bucky groaned. “I thought we would be sent away on a mission!”

“I don’t care what your excuse for procrastination is! I just want you to buy your Secret Santa something.”

“How the hell am I supposed to know what-“

Sam covered his ears. “La, la, la, la. I’m not listening, don’t want any spoilers.”

“I want to be put back in the cryostasis chamber.” Bucky sighed dramatically.

-- 

Bucky stretched the neck of the uncomfortable wool sweater someone on the team had forced them to wear. The itchy fabric made his skin red. Whoever started the ugly sweater tradition should be sentenced to life in jail. Bucky thought. 

“Will you stop acting like a toddler, we’re supposed to be the adults here.” Sam spoke from the edge of his mouth to not attract any more attention. 

“I’m not acting like a child, I’m acting like a senile old man. This is the appropriate way for me to act seeing as I’m over a hundred years old.” Bucky crossed his arms over his chest, immediately regretting the action as he pressed the disgusting fabric against his chest. 

“Okay! Bucky’s turn!” Sam yelled, not wanting to bare another second of his friend’s complaining, pushing Bucky to the middle of the circle. All of the agents’ eyes were on him. 

Bucky never really celebrated Christmas, back in the 40’s it was common for families to celebrate it but ever since he got out of the ice he- well let’s just say The Winter Soldier didn’t really have time for holiday shopping. 

“I got-“ Bucky cleared his throat nervously. “Ryan as my Secret Santa so, here’s a knife.”

The room got eerily silent as they all watched Bucky take out an unpackaged knife from one of his pockets. 

Sam facepalmed himself. 

“Thanks Sarge.” Ryan awkwardly smiled. 

“I sharpened that myself.” Bucky said proudly. 

“Let’s move on!” Sam said, this was more painful than he’d ever imagined. “Who got the cyborg as Secret Santa?”

Again, silence met everyone. The agents looked at each other but no one stepped up.

“It’s fine,” Bucky forced a small smile. “I withdrew my name from the bowl. I didn’t need anything.”

Scattered chatter was whispered before they continued with the gifts. 

Bucky looked down at his watch an hour later, how much longer would he have to put up with this?

The double doors opened loudly and in you came. You quickly said your hello’s to a couple of your friends and walked straight towards Bucky. With a big smile on your face and a small bag in your hand. 

Bucky gulped as you approached him. 

“Merry Christmas Sarge.” You beamed, his brain was trying to process your words. Bucky felt like he’d never heard someone call him that, and no one should ever try to top it because it would never compare to how the word Sarge sounded coming out of your lips. 

“Me-Merry Christmas.” Bucky stuttered. 

“I’m your Secret Santa.” His eyes widened but it seemed like his reaction only made you happier. “I saw you pulling your name out  when everyone left so, I decided to pick it up for myself. I hope you like your gift.”

You were truly the human form of sunshine. He thought.

“C’mon, open it. I need to know if you liked it.” You pushed the bag closer to him. 

Bucky took it by the handles and peeked inside. It was a book.

He saw how you nervously fidgeted. 

“When I got recruited, I researched about you- well both of you, Sam and yourself. God this is embarrassing.” You fumbled with your words. “Anyways, I read that your favorite book was The Hobbit so, I tracked down a first edition copy since well, it’s been edited since it came out and I thought it would be nice for you to have something from back when you first were alive- not alive because well- Oh god, it was stupid right? Giving you a book? You probably don’t even have time to read-“

Bucky cut you off by wrapping his strong arms against your frame. 

“This is the most amazing gift I’ve ever received.” He mumbled against your hair. “Thank you.”

“Welcome.” You squeaked.

“This is incredible.” Bucky whispered, not knowing if he could get any other words out without his voice cracking. No one had ever done something as special as this for him.

“You made Barnes smile!” Sam laughed, patting Bucky on the back. “You should get a medal for things like that.”

This one's short and sweet! Hope you like it!

Hi hiiii This is part of my 1k Celebration, if you like this please be sure to look at the Bingo Card and ask for a prompt! Love y'all <;33

And you can find the Bingo master list and what prompts are still available here!

*Any gifs posted are not my own and I give the artist full credit.

[telomeke-bbs]

BAD BUDDY – PAT GETS SHOT (A PLAY-BY-PLAY)

In honor of December 24th being Bad Buddy Pat's shottiversary of the gunshot that really wasn't, I've decided to do a play-by-play with commentary... 😍

(above) Ep.9 [3‌/4] 11.42 Pat grapples with the world’s first pageant king/rugby captain gunman (while the camerawork goes all artistically shaky, just in case any of us couldn’t figure out that this is a Death Fight Full of Danger™).

‌

(above) Ep.9 [3‌/4] 11.46

A shot is fired, Korn roars up from behind, Hunky Gunman Ham reels in surprise (yes, Kim Goodburn’s rugby gunman is named Ham), and Pat has a moment of clarity that the cinematographer ever-so-subtly decides to highlight with the streetlight glowing behind our hero’s eyes. "You SHOOT Miette? You shoot your shot like a rugby ball? Oh! Oh! Jail for Hammy! Jail for Hammy for One Thousand Years!!!!"

‌

(above) Ep.9 [3‌/4] 12.13

Drama (and Baseball) Mama Pat, Faculty of Engineering but majoring in Performing Arts (see Ep.10 [1‌/4] 18.46 🤣) falls melodramatically to the ground even though it’s only a graze wound (as we find out later at Ep.9 [4/4] 1.54).

‌

(above) Ep.9 [3‌/4] 12.05

Hunky Gunman, gunless and realizing the potential for criminal charges, turns and flees the scene.

‌

(above) Ep.9 [3‌/4] 12.12

Headcanon Time! In between watching Ham run away and grimacing from the pain, Pat takes a moment to gloat in the moment. I now have it in my head that Pat must have known the gunshot wound wasn’t life-threatening, but decided to play it up anyway…

Pat is a people person, adept at sizing up other people and situations (see his rescue of Pran’s LogTech presentation in Ep.3 for one example), and I think he correctly read that with the gun wrested away from his grasp the outwardly boorish Ham, inwardly a coward, will be psychologically defenseless without his big boy crutch and is going to flee (especially when confronted with the possibility of assault/murder charges).

Pat’s right, and I think this one moment of preternatural calm shows he knows he’s right.

‌

(above) Ep.9 [4/4] 1.16

Aaaaand… Switch! Less than two minutes of screentime later and our sunshine boy is back to his antics (stealing a kiss from Pran here). 😍

‌

(above) Ep.11 [3‌/4] 17.18

So two episodes down, and there’s no sign of that gunshot graze anywhere, anymore. Judging from where Pat was clutching his side at Ep.9 [3‌/4] 12.21 and Ep.10 [1‌/4] 18.42, it should be just above the edge of that blanket – but no…

Maybe it was as superficial as that sudden twist of the narrative? (Pat gets shot! But not really. 🤣) Or maybe production decided not to mar the perfection of Ohm’s abs and intercostals? (My money’s on the latter. 😂😍)

If anything, Pat getting shot (but not really) may have been another example of Director Aof playing with the Bait-and-Switch, written up here. 💖👍

‌Anyway Happy Patgotshottiversary to all the Bad Buddy fandom and to all who celebrate BL high holidays!

‌

[yelenasdiary]

hi!!

with this new yelena content, i have a "sort of" request??

i mean, i have like a phrase that buzzes in my head, a phrase that if it were said to Yelena the entire fandom would break down in pain.

so, the quote is this: "i want to be able to worry about you"

it is possible, even in the future, to have a fanfiction or even a short one shot with yelena x r, and r says this to Yelena?

the context of why that phrase is said I would leave up to you to decide :)

(or maybe all this only makes sense in my head, idk lol)

Drunken Sober Thoughts

Pairing: Yelena Belova x GN! Reader.

Summary: When Kate's birthday party comes to an end, you and Yelena find yourselves alone.

Angst, Fluff.

Warnings: Mentions of drinking, Mentions of death, Reader has dark thoughts. This is not proof read or corrected | 0.8K

AC: I loved this idea, I hope you enjoy it! x

Red and blue plastic cups littered the rooftop of Kate's studio apartment, the young Avenger had just celebrated her 24th birthday and threw a little party with her closest friends. Kate has been one of your closest friends since you recruited her to the team, and although you were a few years older than her, you've seen her more as a little sister than anything else. 

She introduced you to Yelena shortly after she had joined the new Avengers team, you already had some kind of background on Yelena from Clint but the two of you seemed to grow close quickly. 

"What's going on inside of the big, smart brain of yours?" Yelena's accent brought your thoughts back to reality as she took a seat down next to you, the two of you now looking over the city of New York. You took a sip of your drink and smiled softly, "nothing new" you replied. 

Your comment made Yelena frown, "come on, you talk to me" she said, placing her red cup beside her. "You've been a little distant recently and I know you don't like to worry Kate but she's worried too" the blonde added. You couldn't help but sigh to yourself. "You don't have to worry about me, nor does Kate" you replied before taking another sip of your drink.

There was a moment of silence between the two of you before Yelena spoke again, "you know, you remind a lot of Natasha sometimes" she said, looking over at you. 

"Natasha was a very smart and respected woman" you replied, looking back at her. 

"Yes, but she too was closed off. Although I only got to spend a little time with her, she was happy. You gave her a family when she needed one and now your family has retired but you haven't?" Yelena questioned, "why not?" she added. 

You shrugged, "I guess, outside of being an Avenger, I have nothing. An empty home, nothing to keep my mind from replaying everything that ever happened in my life plus, Kate keeps me busy" 

"You're hiding" Yelena said, taking a sip of her drink once more.

"Hiding?" You questioned with a frown. Yelena nodded, "you're using this new Avengers team as an excuse to let yourself be happy" 

You couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, "trust me, I am not someone that somebody wants to come home to every night" 

"I do" Yelena said softly. 

You looked over at Yelena to find her already looking you in the eyes. The look in her eyes told you everything, a simple look and you knew what she was about to say. "Yelena" you started.

"I know, I know what you're going to say and you can try to tell me just how much you don't think you're worth it but I want to be able to worry about you, I want to be able to come home to you, I want to see the world with you, to take you out for dates and do all those little things that love so much. 

I don't want to waste what is the rest of my life letting my past control what I do and how I feel, I've had feelings for you since that day you came to Nat's tombstone on her birthday. You left her favorite flowers you didn't leave the site until you knew I was okay. We had only met twice, and you had it in your heart to be there so a stranger. I think about that day a lot" she explained. 

Your mind went back to that day, Yelena sat with Nat for hours. You didn't mind waiting and making sure she would be okay, after all, you promised Nat that you would be there for her whenever she needed, and something told you that day that Yelena needed somebody to watch over her. 

"You would've done the same" you replied. 

Yelena shook her head, "if I didn't know you, no I wouldn't" she replied honestly. 

"Yelena, you're probably just drunk, you don't mean any of this" you added, rising from your seat, "it's late, I should probably make sure Kate isn't chocking on her own vomit" you added. 

Before you knew it, Yelena had a grip on your wrist, not a hard grip but even to make you stop trying to walk away from her. She pulled you closer to her, never breaking her eye contact with you, "I can handle my vodka, but I can't bare another moment without you" she spoke softly before kissing you deeply. You dropped the plastic cup in your hand, letting it hit the ground and splashing your drink as you found yourself wrapping your arms around the back of her neck, deepening the kiss. 

You pulled away for air as a tear rolled down your cheek, Yelena smiling softly as she wiped it away with her thumb, "don't worry about Kate, she's been drinking punch for the last two hours" she said, making you chuckle. 

"You're not going to reject this in the morning, right?" You asked as worry filled your eyes. 

"Not in a million years" Yelena replied.

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[breelandwalker]

Snow Moon - February 23-24, 2024

Boots and mittens on, witches - it's time for the Snow Moon!

Snow Moon

The Snow Moon is the name given to the full moon which occurs during the month of February. Despite what certain groundhogs will tell you, February is the month that sees the highest rates of snowfall across much of North America, according to the National Weather Service, and many alternative names for the moon and the month in which it falls reflect this.

As with many full moon names, we find the roots of the Snow Moon among the indigenous peoples of North America. In this particular case, a colonist explorer noted in 1760 that the Naudowessie (Dakota) people called this month Snow Moon specifically due to the tendency for snowstorms to come during that month. Some other indigenous names for this moon and month refer to commonly-sighted animals. Some examples include Eagle Moon (Cree), Bear Moon (Ojibwe), Groundhog Moon (Algonquin), and Goose Moon (Haida). Another notable example is Hungry Moon (Cherokee), denoting the scarcity of available food in deep winter.

The Snow Moon this year is what is known as a "micromoon" - basically the opposite of a supermoon. Where a supermoon brings our beloved satellite closer to Earth, at the perigree (or zenith) of its' elliptical orbit, a micromoon is at the apogee (or nadir), placing the moon at a point comparatively farther away. The moon will be at peak illumination at 7:30am EST on February 24th, meaning the moon may appear to be full on the 23rd and the 24th, depending on where you live.

What Does It Mean For Witches?

February is a month of change and transition. Though winter still holds on, many places may be showing early signs of spring. Little buds may be coming out on the trees, certain species of birds are beginning to migrate back, and hibernating animals start to wake up and reappear.

As we begin to turn toward the end of our long winter's rest, it's a good time to think about how we prepare for oncoming change and how we care for ourselves and our practices during times of stagnation.

With the moon in apogee, we might also contemplate the concept of distance as it relates to our practices, be it keeping long-distance bonds fresh, doing things remotely either alone or as part of a larger group, or feeling distant from your craft or your deities. And yes, such things are normal and cyclical. Our inspiration and motivation wax and wane just as the moon does. If it feels like you've been far away from your craft for too long, perhaps it's time to bring it back into your orbit.

What Witchy Things Can We Do?

Gather fresh snow or icicles for moon water, or make your own moon ice by leaving a bowl of water out overnight to freeze, if the temperature drops low enough.

If it snows in your area, you can wish upon a snowball. Grab a handful of powdery snow, whisper your wish to it, and throw the whole thing up in the air to release the wish into the universe

With winter scarcity in mind, practice creating a minimalist spell as an exercise. Create a workable spell with as few components, words, movements, or ritual elements as possible. This is more of a challenge if you're used to using material components or rituals in your spellwork. Many witches cast spells with focused thought or energy work alone.

Explore the concept of self care as magic. Use your routines to create moments of rest and harmony, make a point of being kind to your body and your mind, and cultivate a more positive relationship with yourself - it's the only one guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Connect with your local biome by looking for any early signs of spring in your area. Feed the returning birds and identify the plant and animal species you see around you as they appear one by one.

Happy Snow Moon, witches! 🌕❄️

SOURCES & FURTHER READING:

Bree’s Lunar Calendar Series

Bree’s Secular Celebrations Series

Snow Moon: Full Moon in February 2024, The Old Farmer's Almanac.

Snow Moon: The Extraordinary Full Moon of February 2024, The Peculiar Brunette.

Moon Info - Full Moon Dates for 2024

Calendar-12 - 2024 Moon Phases

Everyday Moon Magic: Spells & Rituals for Abundant Living, Dorothy Morrison, Llewellyn Publications, 2004.

(If you’re enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar, check out my monthly show Hex Positive, and find my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊)

[saiintvalentiine]

request: for the sake of the holiday spirit, have we considered clonefies first christmas..

and to cap off requests, a Christmas episode! i hope you enjoy Clonefies wondering about the Christmas spirit. . .

Word count: 1,114

“You gotta have a stocking.”

“. . . Like on? Right now?”

Ken's look is scathing.

“No, a Christmas stocking. For Christmas. Smartass.”

“Oh. Sure.”

Ken still looks annoyed, so Wifies puts his book down and turns to face him fully.

“Yes, Ken?”

“Do you even realize that this is gonna be your first Christmas?”

Wifies opens his mouth. Closes it. It's not really— but it is. He has the idea of a memory about. . . something Christmas like. A fireplace while it snows. The suggestion of twinkling colored lights.

“Isn't Christmas this week?” he asks in turn.

“Yes!”

A red and white stocking hits Wifies's face. He spits out a bit of white fur and he pulls it off of his face.

“I've got glitter glue. C'mon.”

Wifies follows and uses Ken's mysteriously acquired box of glitter glue to write his name on one side of the stocking, along with some small wobbly stars and lopsided swirls. This seems to satisfy Ken greatly— at least he doesn't throw anymore hosiery at Wifies after.

He thinks that's the end of it, but then Parrot and him meet up and it comes up again.

“Are you doing anything for Christmas?” Parrot asks, head tilting in such a way that he looks like a perfect impression of real jungle parrots.

“Uh,” Ken will probably want to do something with the stocking, so he says, “Maybe?”

“Oh, do you not celebrate?” Parrot asks. “Sorry man, I didn't realize.”

“No, I just— I don't know what I'll be doing, is all.”

“Alright,” Parrot nods slowly. “Me and some of the other Unstable members are gonna do a party on the 24th if you want to come. I'll send you the details, come if you want.”

“Thanks. I'll. . . let you know.”

It stays on Wifies's mind after that. Should he care more? Does it matter? He doesn't have any warm fuzzy feelings attached to Christmas. He's not sure what to think.

“Wato, is Christmas all that important?” Wifies asks, arms heavy with a box of redstone components.

Wato glances back at him.

“It's a pretty big deal, but only if you want it to be,” Wato says, dropping their own box off into a corner of the room. “Why?”

“Well, Ken seemed to care,” Wifies puts the box down next to Wato’s and dusts his hands off. “And Parrot looked at me funny for not really knowing what I was gonna do for Christmas.”

“You talked to two people who can't control their faces,” Wato snorts. “It matters if you want it to matter.”

“I want to care about the things people I love care about.”

Wato pinches Wifies's ear, all show and no force.

“One day you'll learn to care just for yourself. But if you want to test out the Christmas hype, you should join Ken and me on the 25th and we'll make it fun.”

“Alright, alright, let go of me!”

Wato does and they go back to organizing their cluttered storage room. Wifies turns the suggestion over in his head and makes a plan.

The 24th is cold but the party is warm and loud. Spoke throws himself across Wifies's back as soon as he arrives, muttering and cheering. Minute peels him off with a smile and a greeting. Parrot weaves in and out of the crowd madly. He’s pretty sure Zam and Wemmbu are arm wrestling in the corner, but there's a ring of people around them that he doesn’t want to muscle through. There are so many people stuffed into one place that Wifies is honestly dizzy.

He's been kissed under a dozen different mistletoe doorways by a dozen different people by the time he escapes.

Okay. Well. It wasn't a bad experience, but it wasn't— ideal. He’s not sure if the Christmas spirit was in the room with them, but the eggnog was nice and he likes everyone quite a bit.

He makes his way into Ken and Wato’s server with little fanfare, still in his party clothes and sticky with stolen lipstick marks.

[Wato1876]: Wifies!!!! Come join us at spawn!!!

Before Wifies can start the journey, he feels the tingle of a command teleport and suddenly he’s inside a glittery pink and silver nightmare. There is tinsel on his face within seconds.

“Wifies!” Ken bounds over, giving him a squeezing hug. “You smell like liquor.”

“I went to a Christmas party,” he says, shrugging his coat off and shaking snow out of his hair.

“Dude, you’re covered in lipstick,” Wato says. They’re in the softest looking green sweater Wifies has ever seen.

“I’m really good at standing under mistletoe, I guess.”

“Who took your first mistletoe kiss?!” Ken demands.

Wifies purses his lips and says, “Clown, actually.”

“ClownPierce?!”

“Wow,” Wato says with a whistle. “Good job?”

“Thanks?” Wifies feels sticky. “Actually, can I take a shower here?”

“Yeah, sure, fucking ClownPierce?”

Wifies shoves Ken’s head back and Ken yowls and sputters, baring his sharp teeth at Wifies. Wato barks out a laugh at them and disappears, only to return with a bundle of clothes and a towel, which Wifies takes gratefully. He washes up and discovers there’s an equally soft white sweater in the pile Wato gave him, which he’s thrilled to pull on.

“See?” Ken says when Wifies finds them, sprawled out on a blanket pile in front of a fireplace that definitely wasn’t there a week ago. “I told you it’d fit him fine.”

Ken is wearing a red sweater of the same kind. They all look like matching baubles now, matching just like the three red and white stockings on the fireplace mantle. Wifies sits down next to him on the floor.

“Good! Wifies, do you want hot chocolate?” Wato yells.

“No, thank you. My stomach is actually kind of upset.”

“Did you have eggnog?” Ken asks, tail swaying in a leisurely figure eight.

“I did.”

“That’ll do it.”

Wato comes back with three mugs regardless. They hand one off to Ken, and the smell of chocolate wafts out of it. The one they hand Wifies, however, smells like ginger and peppermint tea.

“For your stomach,” Wato clarifies, sitting down on Wifies’s other side. “That should help. I think.”

“It will. Thank you.”

“We were gossiping before you got here,” Ken informs him as he sits up.

“Christmas gossiping?” Wifies raises his eyebrow. That also doesn’t seem like the Christmas spirit.

“Yes, obviously.”

“Alright, so what’s the good gossip?”

Ken launches into a story that somehow involves half of their shared friends, Wato chiming in occasionally. Wifies still isn't sure that this is the Christmas spirit, but it's not a half bad way to spend the night to get to the 25th.

[oneandocey]

Merry Christmas, I hope you enjoyed my present 🎁

(Yes I know it's the 24th, In Germany we celebrate on the 24th)

[vintagesuga]

Christmas Love ❆ - Ot8

Genre: Fluff

Pairing: implied Poly Skz x gn! reader

Warning: Polyamory, slight mentions of making food but nothing else

a/n: Happy Birthday to me / Merry Christmas. My birthday was the 24th, so I thought I would just write something up. It's not anything special, just a little homey thing I whipped up. I'm not sure if I'm 100% happy with it, but I hope you guys enjoy it.

⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅̩̩͙‧͙ more under the cut ‧͙̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆

You could hear the commotion before you made it to the door. The snow crunched below your feet as you stepped up the stairs. The front of the house was beautifully decorated, lights bouncing off the snow. The wreath hanging on the door was one that Felix had bought years ago but was still holding strong. It was good to be home for Christmas, like breathing fresh air.

Changbin made a noise behind you as he carried your duffle bag up; you had taken your suitcase. As you pushed the door open the voices got louder, yelling and arguing about something as you and Changbin took off your shoes. Coats followed as he took them from you, hung them in the closet, and then Jeongin rounded the corner.

“How was your flight? Did you have fun? Are you hungry?” Jeongin started firing off questions as he pulled you into a hug. The others lined up after hearing you come in, hugs and words of welcome all around. You were passed from boy to boy as you answered questions, a big smile on your face. It may have been loud and overwhelming, but it was home, and you didn’t mind.

“It was horrible out there, the roads are getting slick and the snow isn’t helping at all.” Changbin pouted from somewhere to your left. He had volunteered to pick you up from the airport but had started to regret it with the weather. Changbin never liked driving in the snow.

“Thank you for getting me, Binnie.” You placed a peck on his cheek as thanks before being pulled away by Chan.

“Happy belated Birthday baby.” He mumbled into the crook of your neck, leaning back to place a kiss on your lips.

“Thanks, Channie.”

That’s another reason you were glad to be home. Your birthday was Christmas Eve and you had been stuck in layover due to the weather conditions. So it was spent in a hotel and on a Facetime call. It wasn't the best but at least the boys had been able to call, and you were here now so thats all you cared about.

“Should we open your birthday gifts now, before we eat?” Jisung held up a couple of small boxes, wrapped in balloon wrapping paper.  All eight of your partners had always tried to separate your birthday from the holidays. They made it a point to buy gifts and get a cake and celebrate the days separate from each other, unlike your family. But unfortunately, you hadn’t been able to make it home a day early so you were celebrating it on Christmas.

“Yes! Gifts now, and we can bring out your cake later.” Felix smiled so brightly as he pushed you to sit down on the couch. With the help of Seungmin and Minho, the three pilled all your birthday gifts in front of you. There wasn't much, one from each man and then one from all of them. The boxes weren't big either, though you had a feeling all nine presents were expensive.

Jeongin had gotten those shoes you'd ranted to him about, commenting on how he had grabbed a matching pair for himself. Jisung had gifted a cute little tea set saying how it reminded him of you when he’d seen it in the widow. Minho handed you an envelope, with tickets to your favorite band inside. He grumbled about how they were supposed to be good seats and if you wanted him to go with you he would. Changbin had bought a cute pair of earrings with a matching necklace, helping you put the necklace on. Hyunjin’s gift was the only one that was bigger than the rest. A painting that he had done for you, it was beautiful. Felix had gifted you the clothes you had wanted, conveniently they matched the shoes Jeongin had gotten you to. Seungmin had gotten that game you asked for, joking how he wanted a turn after you completed it. Chan said he didn’t know what to get you after everyone had gotten most of your wish list so he just handed over his gift with a sheepish smile. Inside the box was a little digital camera, with some cute little frames to hold some pictures.

“Thank you guys.” You smiled up at all eight boys, them all, returning the gesture. “I think you've cleared out my wish list.”

“Well, you've still got this one so don’t thank us quite yet shorty.” Hyunjin handed you the small wrapped present.

This one was from all of them, and as you opened it they were all watching you intently. The wrapping paper fell to the ground, the little bow was untied and followed, then the lid was pulled off. Your heart was in your throat as you stared down at the box. Inside was a ring. It wasn't an engagement ring, it was too plain for that. But it was a ring nonetheless. The band was nothing special and the diamond was not that big either, but it was absolutely gorgeous.

“You guys…. This is- I love it.” You were basically speechless, staring down at the ring.

“It's a promise ring,” Seungmin spoke up from beside you, giving your knee a little squeeze. “We all pitched in to get it for you.”

You took the ring out of the box, slipping it onto your ring finger. The way the tiny jewel sparkled in the light had you mesmerized. It sparkled so brightly for such a little thing, but maybe that was the beauty in it.

“Wait.. is this why you wanted my ring size?” You looked accusingly up at Minho. He just gave you a cheeky smirk in response.

“Do you like it?” he asked, to which you were eagerly nodding your head. A big goofy smile on your face had them all smiling too. “Good.”

“It’s our promise to you, baby.” Chan started to say something cheesy but Changbin was already covering his mouth. Mumbling about just enjoying the moment.

“We got ourselves some bands to match.” Felix held out his hand, showing off the silver band that rested on his ring finger. The others also showed off their own bands. You were surprised you hadn't noticed earlier, but then again they all wore jewelry so often it was normal to see rings on their fingers. What was one more?

After that everyone kind of migrated to the kitchen, helping where they could and getting out of the way when needed. Minho only trusted a select few in the kitchen so the rest were setting the table or providing entertainment. You and Jisung were one of the select few forced to be kitchen hands. Prepping and cutting everything while Minho started on the main dish. The house soon filled with aromas and laughter. Everything was just so…. Perfect.

This was all you really wanted for Christmas.

©️vintagesuga Do not repost.

[galolio-week]

It’s that time again! Another year, another Galolio Week!

With a few changes!

While yes, the Week will officially be held during October 20th [today] to October 26th, the admin will allow submissions until December 31st 2024! This is partially due to time constraints from the admin, unable to get to announcements about the week and prompts till day of.

That being said, let’s celebrate the spooky month with our favorite boys!

Day 1 [20th] -> Pizza

Day 2 [21st] -> Monsters

Day 3 [22nd] -> Vacation

Day 4 [23rd] -> Surprise

Day 5 [24th] -> Community service

Day 6 [25th] -> Domestic

Day 7 [26th] -> Free day

Want to participate? Here’s how!

Tag any work related to the ship week with #galolioweek #galolioweek2024 and #galolio week 2024 to appear in tags! Or @ this blog directly!

NOT SAFE FOR WORK IS ALLOWED! However, due to tumblr’s policies, we won’t be able to share it here directly. Share or submit A LINK directing your work and we will archive it. Please tag it appropriately.

Don’t have tumblr? Not a problem! Post it on any social media sites, the admin will link back to your work! This includes but not limited to; Twitter[X], instagram, ao3, bluesky, and more!

Most media is allowed! Art, fanfiction, edits, etc etc

ABSOLUTELY NO AI. You will be blocked from participating in future events.

Rules to follow;

ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROVERSIAL THEMING! This includes noncon, underage, among other triggering topics. We want to keep things nice and peaceful. ESPECIALLY if you are writing nsfw.

Questions or concerns? Please let us know!

Most importantly, have fun and Happy Halloween! 🎃

[alpaca-clouds]

On Santa, the Christkindle, Krampus and Frau Holle

Let me tell you Americans something – because I know that most people on this specific hellsite are in fact American, while I am not. I am European. German, to be exact, with some Asian roots, according to my mother. And a few days in a rather useless attempt to get a bit into the Holiday spirit, I watched the movie “Red One”. An American friend already noted, how he was aware that in the finale of the movie, it does not make a lot of sense to save Christmas, given not everyone celebrates Christmas around the world, and how also a couple of countries have the presents out on January, 6th, on the Epiphany. Which, yes, is true.

When I watched the movie, though, and got to the place, I messaged that friend: “By the way, do you know that Santa does in fact not bring us the presents in Germany? Or most of Europe, in fact. Oh, and also, Krampus is in fact not really the Anti-Santa or Santa’s brother or some shit, but that goes back a whole lot further than just Christianity.”

On the next day, though, I could not help it, but think about the entire thing. Because I was not quite sure whether I had some cognitive bias about Krampus – or if my gut feeling was right. And that got me down a long, long rabbit hole.

So, my dear Americans, let me regail you with Christmas stories from Europe, and why Krampus has more to do with white men being butthurt than anything else. Alright? Alright!

Christkindelein, Christkindelein

Now, I will not go too deeply into the entire Santa thing. Just know: Yes, St. Nikolaus is in fact connected to Christmas traditions all over Europe. However, in quite a lot of European countries, like in Germany, St. Nikolaus only comes on December 6th, where he will bring a bit of chocolate, and maybe some socks. No big presents. Those are for Christmas.

So, why does Nikolaus come on December 6th? Well, this has to do with Saints’ Days in the Catholic calendar. Basically: Every saint in the Catholic canon has a day dedicated to them. And yes, we have more than 365 saints, so yes, several saints will usually share a day. St. Nikolaus, the Turkish bishop, has his day on December 6th, hence this is the day when someone dressed as a somewhat more historical St. Nikolaus will appear in German kindergardens and schools. And also in some other countries. (Not all countries celebrate this.) That will usually look something like this.

Now, Germany will have the presents on Christmas Eve. Not on the morning of December 25th, but the tradition was originally for the family to go to Christmas (like a literal mas) on the evening of December 24th, and then come home for a good feast and presents, because the presents had been “delivered” while the family was in the church. But no, they were not delivered by St. Nick, but by the Christkind, the Christ Child. And generally speaking in most of the Catholic areas of Europe it tends to be either the Christ Child who delivers the presents, or the Magi – in those areas of Europe where the presents get to the kids on Epiphany.

And yes, there are absolutely a lot of families in Europe today, who have not a strong religious tradition, and hence just use Santa, because American Imperialism is a thing, and most movies the kids are aware off use Santa. After all those families will usually not go to Church for the literal Christmas and… Well, what difference does it make.

However, I should not that it is generally not a thing over here – even in those families that were taken in by American Imperialism – to put out cookies and milk for Santa. That very much is an American thing. Please, dear Americans, just do not assume that something that is a traditions with you folks gets done the same everywhere on the world. Because in fact, very few things Americans celebrate are celebrated the same way anywhere else (outside of Canada, I guess).

But this is actually the less interesting part of this little essay.

No, I actually wanted to talk with you about Krampus.

Krampus is not Santa’s Brother

Now I will tell you something, that has surprised all my American friends: I never heard of Krampus until I was 18. Never once was I aware that Krampus was a thing that existed, despite me being from Germany. Shocking, right?

Because here is the thing: Krampus does not originate in Germany, but in Austria. And specifically the Krampus tradition originates in Styria. Which once more is the moment I will remind my dear Castlevania fans that: Yes, indeed. Styria is a real place. It is a region within Austria. And to be exact it is the region in Europe that was Christianized the latest. (Please mind: Yes, there were other region that were not-majority Christian later, but those got Christianized before, but were taken over by Muslims afterwards. Meanwhile Styria was only Christianized majorly in the 12th century. Mainly because it is an area that is so high up in the mountains, that pretty much everyone until then who tried to forcefully Christianize failed.)

And when I was 18, I moved in with my then boyfriend, who lived in Leoben in Styria. So that year was the first time, that I ever heard of Krampus, because there was a lot of Krampus related stuff happening in Styria. Mainly there was a Krampuslauf pretty much everywhere on December 5th, so in the night before December 6th, before St. Nikolaus came. And yes, as you might be aware, the story about Krampus is usually about how he will take the naughty children and kidnap and eat them in some way or form.

In Austria meanwhile this looks like this: A whole lot of men dress up with creepy masks, run through the streets, and hit people with whips. A very Castlevania holiday indeed. Yes, usually some bullshit happens, because of people are anonymous some bullshit always happens, right?

And for my whole life I have always wondered: While I was living in Austria I noticed a whole lot more references to Krampus in American media. I chucked it up to be a cognitive bias. You know, when you learn about a new word for example, you notice it a lot more being used. So I shrugged and went on with my life, not really thinking about this again. Until that conversation a couple of days ago. And this time… This time I could not help myself. Because I was like: “I am pretty sure the Krampus tradition is older than the St. Nikolaus tradition in that area. So it is probably not a Christian thing.” But I also kept thinking: “Is it though?” Mainly, because during this years @fluff-cember I also wrote a story about Perchten, and I could not help but notice one thing: Krampus has an awful lot of similarity to Perchten.

Mother Holde and Perchten

Hey, you. Americans specifically. Do you know the story of Frau Holle? Because while I know you might probably not be familiar with a lot of European folklore, there is a good chance you at least will know the fairytale by the Brothers Grimm.

If you don’t, don’t worry. I will give you the short rundown. (Mind you, like with all fairlytales, there are about 10 different versions of this story going around. Because those were oral stories first.)

The short version however is like this.

A miller looses his wife and marries anew. And his new wife has a daughter from a previous marriage. Now they have two daughters named Marie. And like it goes in those fairytales, the stepmother treats the Marie from the old marriage very poorly, especially after the father dies. However, this Marie is a diligent child. She will do all her chores without complaining. And one day she is send to spin yarn at the local well. However, her spindle falls into the well – and when she tries to fetch it, she falls into it as well. However, instead of being stuck in the well, it turns out she gets basically isekai’d into another realm, where an old woman meets her, introducing herself as Frau Holle. And she offers this Marie to help her with her chores, and if Marie does so, she will be rewarded. Marie, being the diligent child, obviously agrees. And she does the chores, that unbeknownst to her actually allow the season on earth to move on properly. Part of it is to beat out the pillows and blankets, making it snow on the world. And after a while, Frau Holle is very impressed with her, and showers her in gold, before sending her back home. Now, the stepmother finds this child now rich and golden, and asks her where she got all that gold. And Marie, being the diligent child, tells her. So the stepmother tells her own daughter to do the same. So this daughter will also spin by the well, drop her spindle, fall in and get isekai’d. And indeed. It happens. However, this Marie is lazy and not at all diligent. And after a while Frau Holle has enough with her, and instead of with gold, she showers this Marie in pitch and sends her back.

And then there is this moral about being a diligent girl and diligence being rewarded and stuff.

However, Frau Holle actually goes far, far back into German, and especially alpine mythology to the goddess Holde, Berchte, or Perchten.

Now, we have a pretty good idea from mythological research, that Berchte (to be translated as “the bright one”) was probably very related to Frigg from Norse mythology, just with some adjustments given that this was a goddess who was prayed to in the alps, rather than Scandinavia – and mythology will always shift to reflect the area people live in.

But yes, Berchte was – from all we can reconstruct – always linked to spinning, and to the midwinter holidays. After all, most cultures did celebrate the solstices in some way or form. And it seems that indeed Berchte was connected to bringing gifts during the solstice, but also with punishing lazy and naughty children and servants. While we do have little written evidence for this in the pre-Christian culture (because they wrote down very little), we know that Berchte was said to roam around during the Christmas holidays, after these areas got Christanized.

And while Berchte would both appaear as a pretty young woman, and a motherly old woman, there seemed at some point a shift to happen. And when she came to punish those who had been lazy or naughty, she would appear as a monsterous woman with goat horns, who more commonly was called Perchten. (Still same word root though.) It is not quite clear whether Perchten at that point already was a different being from Berchte – or just a slightly varied name for a different incarnation. But however it happened: Over the next few centuries the Berchte worship died out, but Perchten survived.

Perchten and the Angry White Men

Now, here comes the interesting bit. Because we have written evidence of Perchten going as far back as the 12th century. And we know that even after Christianization of these area, Perchten stayed around. And in fact, it became a tradition for the women to dress up as Perchten during the Christmas celebrations (which back in the day lasted for 12 days, as you might know) and play tricks on everyone, who they perceived to have been naughty.

And… Well, here is the thing. We do not know how it happened. But one of the current theories is, that simply some men were like: “Why do women get to have all the fun?!” And kinda wanted to make a male pendent for Perchten. Which ended up being Krampus.

Now, please consider two things: 1) There is a theory too, that Krampus might have been influenced by Ottoman and Balkan mythology, though this connection is kinda hard to source, though it would explain the origins of the name. 2) In northern areas of the Germanic people, St. Nikolaus was already celebrated and had a companion, who was indeed punishing the naughty kids. Servant Rupert (Knecht Ruprecht). However, this companion was not monstrous like Krampus, but just a guy in a servant’s uniform and with a whip made of twigs. Simple as that. It still might have been an influence.

One way or another: Ethnologists are very, very certain that Krampus did come to be as a reaction to Perchten and the Perchtenläufe, which also explains the visual correlations between Krampus and Perchten.

The first written sources we have for Krampus showing up only go back to the mid-17th century, but historians assume that this tradition started in the late-16th century. But the exact details are fairly hard to pin down.

It turns out, though, that my very subjective experience of not noticing a whole lot of Krampus stuff earlier was very correct. Because… this tradition kinda got lost mostly during the 19th century. Like, sure, some places still had a Krampuslauf of some sort, and had Krampus come with St. Nikolaus during the celebrations, but for several reasons (one of them being that the Krampus just appeared too pagan) the tradition mostly got lost for a long, long while.

White People and their Lost Culture

And this brings me back to me never ever hearing anything about Krampus until I moved to Austria about 15 years ago. Because when I was in Austria, everyone told me that, yeah, sure, this Krampus thing is totally an old tradition. And heck, many of them might not even have meant to lie to me, given they were themselves fairly young. But indeed, the widespread comeback of the Krampuslauf actually only started in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Again, no, it was never a fully dead tradition, but it had petered off over the centuries and only was a thing in very few places until Styria came into the problem, that a lot of western European nations generally have to struggle with: “Well, Christianity got pushed onto us during the middle ages, and we actually do not fucking know a whole lot about our culture before Christianity, do we now? So if I do no longer align with Christianity, what the heck is my culture?” This need to have a culture of their own clearly also was influenced by the influx of immigrants and the racist reflex to be like: “Hey, this is our culture” in comparison.

And so… someone stumbled across the entire Krampus thing and was like: “Welp, this certainly does feel kinda pagan, doesn’t it?” And so Krampus was brought back, and within a couple of years became a tradition pretty much every place in Styria participated in, before it even spread to other parts of Austria.

Which brings me back to being a little alpaca standing in Austria and being like: “Huh, I never heard of it.” And then seeing horror movies themed around Krampus spring up, tilt my head and wonder: “Wait, was this always a thing?”

The answer is: Nope. Nope, it wasn’t! American references to Krampus in media go only back until 2004, and actually the big push to include Krampus in western media only happened in the early 2010s. So no, it was actually no subconscious bias on my side. It was true. Krampus was actually fairly new and the reason I never noticed this before was, that it simply had not been a thing for very long, when I came to Austria – and that indeed American media only started to broadly include Krampus in the early 2010s.

Which brings me back to the most important thing this rabbit hole has taught me: It was actually not my subconscious cognitive bias! HOORAY!

So, what about St. Nikolaus?

Let me finish with this: St. Nikolaus has been a figure who has brought treats and presents to children and servants (I cannot stress the later part enough) at least since the 11th century, probably already earlier. The historical figure that inspired this tradition goes back to the 4th century, obviously, and the way St. Nikolaus has given out presents in Europe for the most part was related to the legend around the historical figure. And yes, from all we know, the tradition of giving St. Nikolaus some sort of other person who accompanies him and at times is responsible for punishing the evil kids and servants might go back at least until the 12th century. Those servants of St. Nick have had a whole lot of names in a whole lot of different areas, and talking about them all would let me write at least a small novella here.

And in a way, I am somewhat sad, that the one of the figures who somehow managed to get picked up by Americans is actually Krampus – and how very much divorced from the cultural context he originated it became.

I guess in some way it is fitting, given that of course the American version of St. Nikolaus is also very much divorced from any cultural context he once had. It is simply the thing American culture does: Divorcing things from their cultural context. I mean, I am gonna be mean here, but I am gonna bet that I know more about the bible than pretty much 95% of American Christians, given how Christianity came ot the US and is taught there to this day. Again: Fully divorced from the cultural context.

And still, I wish it would not be that way. It would at least make Holiday movies a whole lot more interesting. Be it the ones about Santa dealing with Santa actually being a brown man, or the ones about Krampus dealing with my horny boy originating from men wanting to have a horned representation as well, while running around the alps during the winter months.

[ladylooch]

Bones - Part 3 [Mack x David]

A/N: Christmas with the Hischier’s sounds like heaven to me. Add in David Carlson and 🤯. I am in love with how different these two grew up and how deep their connection is now as adults. Like the dynamic between growing up a farmer’s son and an international hockey star’s daughter is so soft here. As for the second part, oh Mackie…. 🫠😬

Word Count: 4.5k

“David?” Mack’s whisper streaks through his quiet bedroom.

“Mmm?” He asks from where his head is stuffed deep into his pillow.

“Wake up! It’s Christmas!” She bites her lip, waiting for him to stir. He doesn’t. He stays silently still on the other side of the bed. Mack is about to whisper again when he suddenly launches up, sucking her into his arms and rolling so she is pinned under him. “AH!” She yells then bursts into giggles as he starts to tickling her sides. “No, no, no! Stop I can’t breathe!” She finally wheezes. He relents, then rolls off of her, laughing at her gasps for breath.

“Do you think Santa came?”

“I bet Santa came upstairs…”

“Can we go?”

“Yeah Lucie texted.”

“Yes!!!!!!” David flies out of bed, rushing to his closet to grab clothes to put on. Mack is already ready to go in their matching Christmas pajamas. David had to take his off because he got too hot last night. He comes out of the closet in them, adorned in leaping reindeer, hands on his hips in a super hero pose.

“Dreamy…” Mack murmurs, lips pursed as she takes him in. Her man is soft and sweet and good. So perfectly good. He walks over to the bed. Mack stands, letting him gather her into his arms and carry her to the kitchen. 

“Coffee, yeah?” 

“Mhm.”

“What creamer do you want?” He asks, peaking into the fridge. “How is there four now?”

“I wanted to try them all! They’re all different…” She sticks her tongue out at him. “And I want the peppermint one.”

“Okay, princess.” He mumbles. Mack kicks at his butt as he walks by.

“Be nice. It’s Christmas.” 

“I am plenty nice.” David insists. “So nice you just sit there and look pretty, princess, while I make your coffee.” He grabs her favorite mug of his from the dishwasher before going back to the espresso machine and starting it. “So…” David says as they watch the espresso drip into the small, glass cup. “Don’t the Swiss usually celebrate Christmas on the 24th?” Mack brightens.

“Oh! Yes! Did you read that?” 

“Mhm.” He murmurs.

“You could have asked me.”

“I wanted to look like I know what I’m talking about.” He chuckles. “And you decorate the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve?”

“We never did that. It was always up after American Thanksgiving.” 

“Your mom?”

“Yes, we did a lot of American traditions after moving to Switzerland because mom was homesick. Lucie too.” Mack shrugs. “I didn’t care as long as Santa still came. He started coming twice when we moved.”

“Oh is that what December 6th is?”

“Yes- it’s Samichlaus Abend! Translates to Santa Night. But yes he comes on the 6th back home. So we would get presents on the 6th- usually a lot of chocolate. Maybe special cookies or dessert too. But then on Christmas, American Santa came and that was like toys and clothes and things like that.” 

“Best of both worlds.”

“Yeah, I think my parents did a great job blending our customs together. We grew up truly Swiss- American.”

“You consider yourself more European though?”

“More of my formative years were there.” Mack shrugs. “It’s not like I mind living here now, though, or I don’t consider myself American at all. But they’re two different parts of me.” Mack watches him pour her coffee together, then he hands her the cup. She savors her first sip, watching him walk across the kitchen to make a pot of coffee now for himself. “You make me feel very Swiss though.” He looks over his shoulder at her with a questioning look. “Like, you are very American. You grew up in the Heartland. You’re a farmer, a hockey player, and you blend in both in the city and the country. I feel like I stick out even in New York sometimes.” 

“The best thing about here, babe, is that it’s a melting pot of different cultures, places, and customs. I think the fact that you have so much to you makes you an American.” He shrugs his shoulders.

“You might be the minority with that thought.”

“I don’t really care.” He chuckles, rubbing a hand over his hair. “You’re my girl. That’s all I care about.” He grabs a cup for him out of the cabinet to his left. “But I will take some Swiss chocolate from uh… Swiss Santa.” Mack starts to laugh. “I’m not even gonna try to say it.”

“I can teach you Swiss German if you want.”

“Honey, I’m a lost cause on English.” Mack chuckles.

“I’m fine if you don’t want to learn it. Just means I can talk shit about you to your face.”

“No, you can’t. Your face and tone would give you away.” He slaps her ass as she hops down from the counter. “Plus, you like to fight so you’d want me to understand.” He cages her into the counter with his big arms and body. 

“No fighting on Christmas.” She murmurs in Swiss German. David’s eyes look sideways, then back to her suspiciously.

“I know this one. It roughly translates to kiss me?” Mack tilts her head back and laughs loudly.

“Yes. Please, American Santa.” She mumbles, tossing her arms around his shoulders. She pulls him down to her and they make out until the coffee maker finishes David’s Folgers.

With coffees in hand, they head upstairs to the Wood apartment. Stella opens the door with an exaggerated whine.

“What took you so long!?” She snaps.

“I bet I know.” Connor chuckles from where he is laying on the couch. 

“Coffee.” David cheers his cup at his defense partner. 

“We have coffee here?” Lucie questions.

“He doesn’t like it.”

“There is something wrong with you.”

“Too American.” Mack smirks at David.

“Hello!!!! Can I open my presents yet?” Stella asks.

“Can you ask nicely yet?” Connor asks, popping up from the couch and rolling his eyes at his wife in regards to their daughter.

“I don’t know why you’re looking at me like that.” Lucie chuckles.

“Everyone here seems to know except you.” Mack laughs. “2.0.” Lucie sticks her tongue out at Mack.

“Come over her and stuff a caramel roll in your mouth so you’re quiet.” Lucie holds a plate out to Mack.

“Oh, are these mom’s?”

“Yeah. Hey Stell, go pick out what present you want to open first.” Lucie attempts to calm down the little feet stomps across the room.

“Okay!” She screeches. 

“Wait, can I help?” David asks her. Stella runs back, grabbing his hand and pulling the big hockey player into the living room.

“This one!” She points to the biggest.

“Are you sure? What is our decision process here?”

“Cause it’s the biggest.”

“But don’t you want to save the best for last?”

“No.” Stella snorts, like a child who has no semblance of patience. 

Mack bites into her caramel roll and is instantly pulled back in time to being a kid. She can clearly see herself sitting on a couch in a city to the West, folded into her dad’s lap as Lucie rips open her presents. All Mack wanted to do was sit with her dad. Every so often he would give her a slight squeeze, or a kiss on the cheek, or hold his palm out for her little fingers to hold. Here in her sister’s apartment, she now watches David. He is patient and kind with Stella. He doesn’t scold her for raising her voice or pitching a little fit about waiting longer. He soothes her and entertains her and listens to her when she voices her little frustrations. 

It’s sweet and has Mack thinking about how he might have been made for this uncle stuff.

“Okay, I think we better sit down. She is going to combust.” Lucie murmurs, grabbing her coffee and urging Mack to follow her.

The adults all sit and then a wrapping paper bomb goes off in the living room. Stella’s little fingers tear away at the Christmas themed paper. Strip after strip is tossed over her shoulder as Connor takes pictures of her destroying the packages.

“Oh my gosh! Thanks Santa!” Stell yells out after every single one. Mack feels David chuckle behind her, covering his mouth as she goes to town. 

“We just have to let her go.” Connor murmurs, wrapping an arm around his wife. 

“Can’t stop it.” Lucie agrees.

“Good thing she doesn’t have to share any of that attention.” Across the room, a look passes between Connor and Lucie.

“She will get used to it.” Connor insists. 

Now it’s Mack and David’s turn to share a look.

“I’m done!!!” Stella yells.

“Did you win something for being the fastest ever!?” Connor asks, swooping forward and picking her up. “Okay, be honest, what is your favorite.”

“That!” Stella points to the play vanity with fake make up, earrings and a new princess dress.

“Very Stelly.” Connor agrees.

The buzzer to the apartment chimes.

“Oh, that is mom and dad.” Lucie gets off the couch, bouncing over to her phone to let them in.

“Why didn’t we wait?” Mack wonders.

“I told them they had to be here by 8. It’s 8:10.” Lucie shrugs. “It’s not like they don’t have a full room of presents for her at their place.”

“Did you hear your dad? He told me to bring my truck over. What the hell…” 

“Bad.” Stella says, wiggling out of Connor’s arms. She runs down the room then comes hustling back, loaded down with her swear jar.

“You’re collecting taxes on Christmas!?” Connor howls. “Unfair!” 

“Stell, you should double the fine because he complained.” David tells Stella. A devilish glint glows in her eyes. 

“What if I pay in kisses?” 

“Kisses don’t give me legos.” 

“Oh my god.” Connor mutters. “I can’t afford double. Uncle Davey, can you cover me?”

“Just this once.” David drops $20 into her jar. Stella giggles with glee then runs back to put the jar in her room. 

“20?” Connor scoffs. “Okay money bags.”

“That's the smallest bill I got, man.” David laughs. He brings Mack tighter into his body, giving her a kiss on the temple as her parents walk in. 

“Merry Christmas!!!!!” Lexi squeals. “Look who we found at the airport!”

From behind her parents, Sophie Hischier bursts out. Lucie and Mack both rush over to her, collecting their little sister between them. 

“I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” She exclaims. 

“Deal with it!” Lucie yells back to her. “Soph!!!” 

“Let me see you!” Mack cups her cheeks. “Ugh stunning. So disgusting how pretty you are.” Sophie beams.

“Remember when we were young and full of life?” Lucie sighs.

“Yeah and then Connor got you pregnant?” Nico murmurs. The whole group gasps at Nico being the one to take the dig.

“Hey.” Connor pouts. “Not fair. Lucie looked old before then.” He bites his lip, bracing for the instant blow back.

Everyone laughs as Lucie runs across the floor and tackles Connor to the floor. Stella joins in too and they both perform a WWE smackdown next to David’s feet. He may or may not have joined in with a few fake elbows towards Connor’s face.

“Welcome to Christmas with the Hischiers, David.” Lexi shrugs her shoulders, then goes to give him a hug. 

The way David grins, Mack knows there is nowhere else he would rather be.

- - - & - - -

A bout of turbulence bumps Mack’s head against the side of the plane, jolting her out of her sleep.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have begun our descent into New York City. We are anticipating a few bumps on the way down and are asking the flight attendants to wrap up service early. We want to thank you for flying with us…”

Mack yawns, stretching her arms out in front of her. She glances at the man to her left who continues to click away on his laptop. Mack rolls her shoulders forward, then back, stretching out as much of her body as possible. She hadn’t anticipated sleeping on the plane, but she hasn’t gotten much sleep since she left New York for her latest assignment. 

It was a dream trip for her- a bucket list of getting to visit Iceland in the winter to get up close and personal with the Northern lights. She has never seen such vibrant displays of color in her entire life. But outside of that, the constant darkness did a number on her energy. The natives were so used to it. Mack can’t imagine going to work with it being dark for the entire time you’re there. Her body feels out of wack and she is hopeful that she will see the sun tomorrow morning. 

Mack pulls her phone out of her pocket, looking at the iMessages that came in while she was asleep. She looks through her boyfriend’s immediately, smiling at his nonsense chatter about his latest binge watch without her. He is still trying to convince her that she would love this fantasy land the whole country is obsessed with. Mack knows she won’t. It’s too gory and violent and not relatable. 

I’m about to land, she texts him. I slept for like two hours but I am so tired.

Are you and Lucie still meeting tomorrow morning for breakfast?

Yeah, I haven’t heard otherwise.

Go to my place then instead of home. You’ll get more sleep that way.

Mack smiles. He is so good to her.

That would be great. Thank you 😘

Now I’m jealous of my bed ☹️

Mack sighs at that, feeling similar about the hotel bed he is sitting in currently. The Rangers are on their big, West coast road trip which means Mack won’t be seeing David for another 8 days. A silver lining is that she will be able to work uninterrupted to get started on her story. She usually prefers to get it all out within a day of returning home, then work on editing for the next few days off and on. Mack works best when she gets all her thoughts onto paper, then makes little tweaks here and there. If she tries to force it all out of her at once and submit, she gets in her head about her writing. Like “will anyone actually read this?” and a lot of “who cares?”.

The pilot was correct that their landing is bumping and a bit unpleasant, even for a seasoned traveler like Mack. When they get on the ground, Mack sees the heavy, low hanging clouds that contributed. From their pillowy bundles, snowflakes fall. 

She’s home. But knowing she is going to an empty apartment without David makes her excitement dim. 

New York was never supposed to be home for her. It was supposed to be a place she crashed between assignments, maybe spent some time with her sister and her family, but it wasn’t supposed to be this place she looked forward to coming back to. It is only because of David. His absence has begun to weigh heavy on her both in New York and on assignment. Even while witnessing the most spectacular aurora dancing along the horizon, the only thing she could think was “I wish David was seeing this too.”

For this lone wolf, it’s alarming, but nothing she’s willing to put much stock into yet.

The process of getting out of the airport and into a cab is mundane. Mack gets annoyed at the traffic leaving the airport, just wanting to be in a comfortable, familiar space. When she pulls up to David’s building, she murmurs a thank you to the driver, then tips him after he sets her suitcase on the street.

“Good evening, Ms. Hischier.” David’s doorman, Philip, greets her. 

“Hi Philip. Slow night?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He says as he opens the door for her.

“Try to stay warm.” Mack calls as she heads inside.

“I always do.” He smiles kindly at her. Mack waves and turns towards the elevators. She presses David’s floor, then digs in her bag for his key. In the Des Moines Airport, David handed her a key to his New York apartment on a light up, corn cob keychain. If you squeeze it, it flashes red, green, and blue lights. It’s touristy and tacky, but Mack smiles every time she uses it. Her exchange of keys with him involved a single key- no frills, no fuss, no fun (David’s words). 

She sticks the gold key into the lock and flips it, stepping into his dark, quiet apartment. Everything is clean and picked up aside from a single glass in the kitchen sink.  A few pieces of mail are set on the corner of the counter and a poinsettia plant from Christmas has seen better days. Mack wheels her suitcase to a stop, then grabs the plant, bringing it to the sink to give it some water. It is still going to die, but maybe she can enjoy it for a few more days.

Mack pauses at that thought. Is she staying here for days? She should probably go home tomorrow and get settled back in her space, especially if she is going to write. She puts the plant back on it’s stand after shaking out the excess water. Then she sets it back on the counter. She runs her hand along the cool stone counter, looking out at his place.

Everything is dark, warm colors. David mentioned he hired an interior designer to decorate his place after he bought it. The designer captured David’s personality well. The couch is a dark, espresso brown topped with tan pillows and a deliciously soft cream blanket. A massive TV dominates the wall with a gas fireplace beneath it that David never turns on unless Mack asks. Along the TV are built ins that hold various books, none of which are decorative, but all classics that the designer had painted to match the esthetic. 

“Who paints books?” David had asked Mack when he pointed them out to her. “Can’t read ‘em anymore cause the paint fumes give me a headache.”

She pointed out he could get rid of him. He shrugged. Why get rid of perfectly good books?

Mack chuckles to herself at that. She pulls her phone out, seeing a message from him asking her to check in when she gets settled. 

I made it. She sends him a picture of her in the kitchen, lips making a fish face. I see you let our love fern die.

Funny! You left town too? 

And you call yourself a farmer…

Those are fighting words, Hisch. I don’t have much food, but help yourself.

🥊 I’m going to go to bed.

Yeah, get some rest babe. I’ll talk to you in the morning?

I’ll call you when I’m up.

Okay. Hey, just so you know, you can stay as long as you like. But if you want to go home, I get it too.

Mack pauses, biting her lip for a moment as she contemplates.

Maybe I will ☺️ Someone has to nurse this love fern back to life.

Don’t let us die, honey. I love you, goodnight 😘

I love you too, goodnight 😘

Mack goes through her nighttime routine after putting her phone into Sleep mode. She cleans her face, slaps on some moisturizer then hurries through brushing her teeth. Her energy and self-care desires are slowly waining. She pulls back the comforter of David’s bed and sighs dreamily as she climbs into his spot in bed. Normally she sleeps on the opposite side, but tonight she wants to curl herself into his smells. 

Once comfortable, she pulls her phone up to do a quick scan through Instagram. She flicks through various posts from her friends. She tosses a like to Liv’s photo dump of LA with Luca. She clicks over into explore, seeing if there is anything worth looking through before she calls it a night. She pauses over an image of David with TRADE RUMORS in bold at the bottom of the icon. 

What?

She clicks on it, skimming the text. Essentially the Rangers are rumored to be shopping David because they don’t have the salary cap space to resign him this summer. So rather than letting him walk into Free Agency without getting a return, they are shopping him to teams outside the Metro division. 

A cold bucket of reality is slapped over Mack’s body. It may as well be ice cubes sliding down her spine with the shiver that rolls through her. 

David traded?

The thought never crossed Mack’s mind. She may not be the most NHL literate girlfriend, but she knows David has high value with the Rangers, especially as Connor’s partner on the first defensive pair. This is only one report, right? It can’t be more than a rumor.

But when Mack searches through more social media outlets, several additional reports from various different sources are reporting on this numerously over the last week, even as early as five days ago.

David didn’t share any of this with her. In fact, hockey has barely come up with them since she left for Iceland, other than him going out of town.

Mack sits up in bed, getting ready to text him. Then she thinks better of it. She is too tired to have this conversation. She places her phone on the nightstand then tucks her hand under her cheek. 

What happens if David is traded? Her stomach swirls at the thought of this taking him away from her. She’s so in love with him now. How could she handle this?

So much for that sleep she needs.

- - - & - - -

The next morning, in their favorite breakfast spot, Mack pushes her food around on her plate as Lucie cuts up pancakes for Stella. 

“I don’t want these anymore. I want strawberry ones.” The little girl whines.

“Well, you made a choice and we aren’t going to waste food.” Lucie says.

“Daddy would let me.” The four year old huffs. Lucie looks up at Mack and narrows her eyes as she saws through the pancake a little more forcefully.

“Should we call him and ask?” Lucie directs the question to her daughter.

“No.” Stella pouts. Connor would never side with Stella over his wife. All three girls at the table know that.

“Auntie, can I have your bacon?”

“Sure.” Mack pushes her plate towards her niece. Stella takes a piece. The waitress comes by and asks if they need anything else. Mack orders another coffee, hoping it will perk her up more.

“You jet lagged?” Lucie asks once she turns back to her own food. She swallows a bite of oatmeal and winces before gulping down water. Lucie has looked a little pale this whole meal, but hasn’t said anything about feeling sick.

“I didn’t sleep well last night.” Mack admits. 

“Mama didn’t either. She was up a lot.” Lucie pauses, then tentatively spoons more oatmeal in her mouth. 

“It’s hard to sleep without the boys, huh?” Lucie continues. “I always feel like it’s too quiet with Connor gone.”

“Yeah.” Mack answers, then drops her gaze back to her plate.

“What’s up, Mackie?” Mack pauses, glancing at Stella who sucks up a big gulp of her orange juice. 

“Ahhhhh.” The little girl exclaims. For not wanting blueberry pancakes, she sure is scarfing them down. Mack continues to watch her shove the syrupy bites into her mouth. 

“What was it like when Connor got traded?” Mack asks. Lucie’s eyebrows furrow.

“Wow, that feels so long ago. Um, obviously not ideal because I was pregnant.” She takes another sip of water and pushes out a breath.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Lucie waves away. “But it worked out. He’s a captain now and fits in well with the Rangers. It’s been good for our family. He has great teammates. The organization takes care of us. Sometimes I wish it was still him and Lio on the same team, but David has been a good friend to Connor. Protects him out on the ice too.” 

“Were there signs?”

“Um.” Lucie contemplates. “I think Connor had some experiences where he thought it might happen. Just conversations with management and the coaching staff. Him and I talked about it, but we were so young and naive. We didn’t think it would really happen. Then it did.” She shrugs.

“So you two talked about it?”

“Yeah.” Lucie nods. She swallows then groans a bit. Mack watches her take another sip of water. She contemplates asking her if she is okay again, but she figures Lucie is going to lie to her again. “Why?”

“I saw some trade rumors on social media about David. But he hasn’t brought it up.”

“Maybe there isn’t anything to bring up.”

“Sure, but it’s been going on for a week. He didn’t bring it up while I was gone, or when I got back last night, or when I called him this morning. It’s been business as usual.”

“Hm. Connor did mention it to me this week.” Lucie admits. “But he didn’t seem to think there was a lot of substance behind the rumors. David will get a good contract extension this summer, but you might have to deal with some rough seas before hand. That’s part of the NHL lifestyle.”

Mack stares blankly back at her older sister.

Her skin starts to itch and her throat begins to tighten up. 

This feels like more than she signed up for. 

Her only response to her sister is a nod. 

They finish breakfast quickly because Lucie is clearly trying not to vomit all over the table. Mack has her suspicions of what is ailing Lucie, but it isn’t for her to say. 

“Are you coming back to David’s” Lucie asks as they step outside. 

“Um…” Mack trails off. She crosses her arms over her chest, tucking her hands into the sleeves of her jacket to protect them. “I think, I’m going to go grab my stuff and then head home. I should check on my place and make sure everything looks good.”

“Okay. Do you want to come over for dinner? We could watch the game together if you’re going to be back at David’s?”

“I don’t think so. I have to get started on my Iceland article. It’s due next week.”

“Okay.” Lucie responds. “Maybe we can do something when the boys get back this weekend?”

“Sure.” Mack nods as they begin to walk back towards the apartment building.

Mack says goodbye to Lucie and Stella, then heads to David’s. She quickly gathers her stuff, then puts his apartment back to the way she found it. She glances over his stuff, wondering what he would do with this place if he is traded. She frowns deeply, the lump in her throat expanding more. She shouldn’t think about that. She needs to get out of here, go home and get lost back in Iceland rather than the unknowns of NHL trade season. 

She walks out of the apartment, flicking the lock back into place. Her corn cob keychain bumps into the door, lighting up her bag when she tosses it inside.

In her rush, Mack completely forgets the reviving poinsettia on the counter.

Read more Mack and David here