#dexmas drabblefest

[dexmas-month]

A little bit more than twenty four hours to go until Dexmas Drabblefest properly starts. Are you ready? Or are you still seeking inspiration? We'll try our best to help with that!

[orsuliya]

A quick look into one of the Hancock Park rooms - for all those who genderbend Dexmas with both verve and delight.

[Photos on the wall feature Hanka Ordonówna as Miss Dexter and Pola Negri as Miss Barrow. I don't know, it just seemed to work!]

[academia4me]

Valentine’s Day

A card from Guy to Thomas. For once Guy is lost for words and has to rely on flower symbolism….

Author’s note: roses and violets both symbolise everlasting love and devotion. Roses also symbolise passion, beauty and courage. Violets symbolise shelter, protection and healing. Dreaming of violets is usually a happy portent. It reveals joy in the home and a sentimental heart. Violets also signal hiding away to protect something you value tremendously. I hope you agree that all these meanings are apt for Thomas and Guy and their new life in California.

By the way, the background of the card is a 1930s floral design (wallpaper actually!). I made the card anonymous (‘G’ rather than ‘Guy’) because I thought they would at the time, for safety’s sake.

For @AngryEssays

[likehandlingroses]

Summary: After five years, Thomas and Guy know their way around Paris--and each other.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Downton Abbey

Relationship: Thomas Barrow/Guy Dexter

Characters: Thomas BarrowGuy Dexter

Additional Tags: Vacation, Paris (City), Foreplay, Drabble

Collections: Dexmas Drabblefest - Valentine's Day 2023

[tuesdayintheservantshall]

Less than half an hour to close and part of me is still wondering if I can make something for Dexmas Drabblefest lol.

[dexmas-month]

We believe that there is much beauty to be found in forms that are short, sweet, flashy and impactful. Exactly like Guy Dexter's famous moustache, what a happy coincidence! And since the world could always use more Dexmas love, we would like to invite you all to celebrate the upcoming Valentine's Day in Dexmas style through short, sweet, flashy and impactful literary and visual forms.

What?

The name really says it all: Dexmas Drabblefest. Not to say that we won't be happy to accept longer fics, but the ideal is short and impactful - a drabble or double drabble (or a pentadrabble, if you truly can't hold your Dexmas in). Which means, respectively, a limit of 100, 200 and 500 words.

As always we will be ecstatic to see Dexmas-themed art, collages, memes and anything else that comes to your talented heads.

Let your imagination run wild! Well, as long as the result in some way touches upon the subject of romance between Thomas Barrow and Guy Dexter, so... is Dexmas-themed.

When?

The submissions will be accepted from February 12th to February 14th, Sunday to Tuesday, 00.01 GMT to 23.59 GMT.

Where?

As always, we are happy to accept your submissions here, in the Dexmas Drabblefest collection on Ao3 and under our e-mail address (dexmasmonth(a)yandex.com).

And then...

Our final goal is to compile all Dexmas Drabblefest 2023 works into a nice PDF for all participants, readers and cheerleaders to enjoy and keep.

In case of any questions, please do not hesitate to ask! We'll try to help as best as we can.

[dexmas-month]

DRABBLES:

we were in paris (my love) (100 words) by likehandlingroses

Bad Loser (500 words) by likehandlingroses

A Bit of Baseball (100 words) by angryessays

Have Your Cake and Eat it Too (300 words) by angryessays

20 words (337 words) by Dont-call-me-Sir

Beard or no beard? (100 words) by Dont-call-me-Sir

the sky's so blue (next to you) (200 words) by likehandlingroses

the ad-dressing of cats (500 words) by likehandlingroses

Sunday Afternoon in York (578 words) by dragons_in_the_north

Happy Valentine's Day indeed (100 words) by Dont-call-me-Sir

until we find our time and place (200 words) by likehandlingroses

2 Midlife 2 Crisis (300 words) by angryessays

Smile (185 words) by Dont-call-me-Sir

The Storm Before the Calm (200 words) by angryessays

The Curtain Closes (100 words) by dragons_in_the_north

Best Seat in the House (100 words) by ficklefernweh

Un Chapeau, s’il vous Plaît (300 words) by angryessays

lies shining and bright (500 words) by Orszula

Swimming Lessons in the South of France (500 words) by angryessays

I’m fine (200 words) by Dont-call-me-Sir

For Better, For Worse (200 words) by dragons_in_the_north

For God’s Sake, Stop Calling Me Ma’am! (600 words) by angryessays

COLLAGES:

Wedding Day by Academia4me

Anyone for cricket? by Academia4me

Valentine's Day by Academia4me

A quick look into one of the Hancock Park rooms by Orsuliya

Dexmas Bingo by Orsuliya

Hollywood Valentine by Orsuliya

Special thanks fly to, in no particular order: @angryessays, @likehandlingroses, @ficklefernweh, @dragonss-in-the-north, @ripfredweasley, @academia4me, @orsuliya and everyone who has commented on or hearted one of our works!

Also, if anyone wondered...

...we did it, just look at that!

[dexmas-month]

The Dexmas Drabblefest 2023 is officially open! Write freely. Read safely, and leave something of the Dexmas joy you bring.

The collection will remain open for three full days, Sunday to Tuesday, 12th to 14th, 00.01 to 23.59 GMT.

[dexmas-month]

Just a few short days until Sunday and the start of the one and only Dexmas Drabblefest!

[dexmas-month]

Alas, nothing lasts forever and all good things must come to an end, Dexmas Drabblefest included.

What truly marvelous three days we had! Twenty-two drabbles of various length, four collages, a whole heap of comments...! There definitely was a lot of Dexmas love in the air - exactly as it should be during Valentine's Day.

Dearest participants, readers, lurkers, cheerleaders, we thank you all!

Keep an eye for the masterlist and the promised PDF, and hopefully...

...SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

[academia4me]

‘Anyone for cricket?’

“You’ve always looked good in white Thomas. Even covered in grass stains.”

Thomas chuckled at his lover’s words. They’d just got home after an afternoon’s cricket, grateful to finally retreat from the unrelenting California sun and the banter of the English ‘Raj’.

“Thank you love. You did make it rather obvious though. Next time you need to concentrate more on the ball and less on my arse in cricket whites. Then we might actually win a game.”

For @AngryEssays

[dexmas-month]

Hi! I've written something I'd like to submit to the Dexmas Drabblefest, but I'm not sure it meets the qualifications? It's a 583 word fic in which a couple of modern-day gay teenagers watch "The Gambler" and discuss Thomas's and Guy's relationship. I'd understand if it's too off-prompt since it stars two original characters, and Thomas and Guy aren't really proper characters. But I figured I'd take a chance!

Let's assume that the Dexmas Drabblefest code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules. And so...

As long as the thing in question has a recognizable element of Dexmas and can be reasonably called Dexmas-themed, there's no such thing as off-prompt. And even if there was, your fic seems to perfectly fit one of the Dexmas Bingo squares: Thomas becomes a historical figure. See? It totally works!

As for the word limit, oh dear. We'll take it as long as it's short-ish and the first digit seems vaguely right. Yours is five? Yep, we'll gladly add that to the hoard, thank you very much! If anyone wants to keep to the word count perfectly, of course they can and we'll be duly impressed, but we're not so picky nor strict as to reject works which do not keep to that.

And so... Welcome aboard the Dexmas Drabblefest, Dragonss-in-the-north!

We'd like to remind you all that Dexmas Drabblefest submissions will be accepted from February 12th to February 14th, Sunday to Tuesday, 00.01 GMT to 23.59 GMT. Now, that one is more what we'd call an actual rule. ;)

[academia4me]

I definitely have cricket ticked (a HUGE tick!) and can maybe kinda sorta tick two of the others…

[dexmas-month]

A beautiful bittersweet scene and a beautiful bittersweet kiss. Not every change is for the better, the question is if you’re ready to face the world hand in hand.

[dexmas-month]

We daresay Thomas Barrow would be quite satisfied with his one and only role based on this single instance of modern viewing of The Gambler alone.

[dexmas-month]

In which Miss Greer Dexter is but a minute from flicking back her hair and asking “Decent? Who? Me?” to the great trepidation or maybe great enjoyment of Mrs. Barrow, who receives no shortage of incentive to leave.