#ficlet advent calendar best of

[polikszena]

Ficlet Advent Calendar - Christmas at Downton

In this post you can find some ficlets from the previous challenges that are related to Downton Abbey. You can access them by clicking on the fic’s title.

Spirit

Fandom: Downton Abbey Characters: Daisy Robinson, William Mason Word Count: 767 Rating: General audience Summary: When she started working here, the sun was already up this time in the morning. Now it was still dark. Dark, cold and foggy outside. Daisy hated this weather; it made her want to stay in bed and not get up until next spring.

Miracle

Fandom: Downton Abbey Characters: Charles Carson, Elsie Hughes Word Count: 462 Rating: General Summary: On her way to her room on Christmas Eve, Mrs Hughes finds Mr Carson decorating the Christmas tree in the servants’ hall.

A secret admirer

Fandom: Downton Abbey Characters: Anna Smith, Gwen Dwason, John Bates Pairings: implied Anna/Bates Word Count: 717 Rating: General Summary: Returning to her room on Christmas Day after work, Anna finds two presents on her bed: one of them is from Gwen, but who sent the other one?

Outcasts

Fandom: Downton Abbey Characters: Matthew Crawley, Isobel Crawley, Edith Crawley, Cora Crawley, Miss O’Brien, Violet Crawley, Robert Crawley, Richard Carlisle Pairings: Matthew/a room where no-one is wrapping presents Word Count: 572 Rating: General Summary: Matthew Crawley cannot find a place to go on Christmas morning, as in every room there is someone wrapping presents. Notes: This one was inspired by a deleted scene from the Christmas Special of 2011 in which Matthew walks into the drawing room where Cora and O'Brien are wrapping presents, and seeing him they start to scream. I know this chapter is quite exaggerated (and probably wouldn't have happened), but it's all deliberate.

[outsideratheart]

Dialogue 13 for Alex Morgan please!!

A/N: Day sixteen of the Christmas advent calendar. 

I know this is short so I apologise but i’m away at the minute and whilst i want to give you a ficlet each day, i don’t have that much time to write. Still, i hope you enjoy it.

Dialogue 13 - 'You'd make a cute elf"

Christmas growing up was magical but the magic died more and more with every year that past but then you had a child and it’s as if the magic came back.

Spending Christmas with your own family was priceless. Charlie was getting to the age when she starts to understand what it means and who Santa is. This leads you to doing everything that you wanted your parents to do but they never did.

This year it seemed like your obsession with Elf had wore off on your daughter. You would watch 15 minutes with her before bed every night and Alex would find something to do so that it could be you and Charlie time. 

“Mama” Charlie looks from where she is laying on your chest as you are sprawled on the sofa.

“Yes ladybug” you turned your head from the television to face your daughter.

“Can we have a dress up party?” 

“Right now?”

“Don’t be silly. We can’t do it now, it’s bed time” Charlie has a look on her face when she says this, it’s the same one Alex gives you.

“Sure. What do you want to dress as?” 

You loved to dress up with Charlie. Recently she has taken to dressing up as characters from the film she is watching. First it was frozen, then the incredibles followed by Encanto so as you sit watching Elf you know exactly what she is thinking.

“Buddy the elf” Charlie shouts enthusiastically. 

When Friday comes, the night with the final 15 minutes of the film, you find yourself sat on the sofa with your daughter both dressed head to toe as Buddy the elf. Alex had been out all day at photoshoots so imagine her surprise when she comes home to three elves in her living room.

“What do we have here?” She asks playfully as she leans against the door frame.

Upon hearing her mother’s voice Charlie is quick to get off the sofa and run to her but even as she is held in Alex’s arms, her eyes don’t leave the TV.

“Hi mommy” 

“Hi baby or should I say buddy?” Alex asks Charlie.

When you stand the smile on her face grows tenfold. Seeing a child dressed up as Will Ferrel’s Christmas character is adorable but when it is an adult, especially you, it’s hilarious.

“We’re not buddy, that’s buddy” Charlie points to the TV.

“Yeah Alex, that’s buddy” you quickly kiss her before putting the kettle on.

For the first time in a very long while, Alex sits with Charlie and watches the ending of the film whilst you make herself and you a drink. When the film finishes Alex tells you that she is taking your daughter to bed.

Just under half an hour later Alex joins you on the sofa but instead of sitting next to you, she sits on your lap.

“You do know you’re suppose to sit on Santa’s lap right?” you ask her as your hands settle on her waist.

“Do you have one of those outfits in the wardrobe that I don’t know about?”

You shake your head.

“Do you want me to get off?” 

Again, you shake your head.

Alex’s hands cup your cheeks and you watch her check you out head to toe.

'You'd make a cute elf" Alex says, letting you know that she approves of the outfit.

“I’m not a cute elf Alex, i’m the Elf. The best elf in the history of elves”

She can only roll her eyes and shake her head at your childlike response but she wouldn’t expect anything else for you.

[i-did-not-mean-to]

Winter Ficlets

I, like so many others, do not want to laugh and cry alone.

Thus, I am making this post to share a few ongoing winter ficlet collections with you...

❄️ Winter prompts by @cilil

❄️Tis the Season (To Be Tra-la-la-lally) by @polutrope

❄️ December Drabbles by @maglor-my-beloved

❄️ The Long Night solstice piece by @fishing4stars

Also available (but not yet read by me)

❄️Sleepless in Imladris: A Faerie Advent Calendar by @ettelene amongst others

❄️Tropical Latin American Advent Calendar by @ettelene

I can only warmly recommend these (yes, I can recommend @ettelene without having read the fics, because they're excellent like that)!

Alsooooo, check out @nothinghereisworking's hilarious art; it brightens my days as I am struggling against the inevitable Christmas depression that threatens to swallow me whole.

Disclaimer: These authors are known to hide razors in their sugar cookies and acid in their mulled wine. I decline responsibility for any emotional damage you might take while reading.

Have a jolly holiday season, friends! And, if things get too much, click through these collections of short, heart-warming, thought-provoking, and utterly delightful treats.

I wish you only the very best!

@fellowshipofthefics: I hope this counts as a rec post <3

🌟ADDITIONS!!!!!🌟

❄️Winter in Arda by @melestasflight (Melesta is incredible, no doubt this will be too) submitted by @ettelene

❄️Midwinter in Lindon by @tethysresort (who is an amazing author who's graced me twice with writing!!! Marked for later already!)

❄️Winterstories by @a-world-of-whimsy-5 (only read the odd one, but everything I did catch was excellent!!!)

[putonmyfavoriteshow]

putonmyfavoriteshow's master fic writing post on-going ~ Violetta the heart of pretending (future franletta/leonetta reverse fake-dating au dramedy; my passion project) Soy Luna ...and they were roommates (post show jazmilia/delfma; self-indulgent rom-com chaos for side-characters who deserved more) BIA the celestial goat & her cosmic fish (platonic-for-now chiarleste's great astrology debate; a dynamic exploration between my favorite kind of bickering sidekicks) finished multi-chaps ~ Violetta a perfectly perfect gift (luty ft. franletta - my first official dcla multi-chap!) luty month (daily prompts from @iristhedeadflower) franletta month (daily prompts from @weirdthoughtsandideas) finished one-shots/two-shots ~ Violetta no boys, no problems (right?) (franletta s2 alternate ending to italy arc) an unexpected evening (jadangie fix-it fic - dcla gift exchange 2022 + bonus dcla pride month chap) midnights (a ludmila pov luty fic + bonus luty month chap) playing murder (and all that jazz) (violetta gang halloween fic - canon pairings) go figure (a naty pov luty fic) the mistletoe experiment (a natila story based on a dcla advent calendar prompt from @countessofravenclaw) welcome to new york (christmas version) (violetta gang xmas fic - canon pairings) it is what it is (luty - angsty ficlet) the deadfast club (violetta gang horror two-shot - luty focus ft leonetta/camcesca)

Soy Luna elevator goes up, elevator come down (simbar s3 missing scene - tumblr soy luna fic week 2021) unlock my heart (when lutteo got locked in the dressing room, except it's jazmilia aka the best non-canon ship ever made by a random wheel) there's a great big beautiful tomorrow (lutteo/gastina tomorrowland adventure - dcla gift exchange 2023) BIA losin' sleep (thiana s2 missing scene inspired by @assim-eu-sou) dream date (romantic chiarleste debut to ao3) non dcla ~ my sorta friend's sister's funeral (victorious - jori - angst/fluff one-shot) even crows have wings (six of crows - kanej - sl/roller skating au one-shot) page 55 (the villains of valley view - hartmy - missing scene drabble) if we were a horror movie (the villains of valley view - hartmy - hartmy watch jennifer's body)

other fan content: my tumblr edits tag my tumblr gifs tag

[hgwellsmykabering]

Bering and Wells Advent Calendar

The AU Setting

If you haven’t heard yet - there’s an Advent writing collab happening for Bering and Wells this year! You can find out more about what’s going on and join in on the fun on this post :)

The wonderful @lavendelhummel and @purlturtle have worked out a setting for us to use so the ficlets fit together as well as possible! You don’t have to follow it to the letter, if you’ve already started and something doesn’t quite fit, or the muse just takes you into a different direction, don’t worry about it, your fic will still be part of the collection, just do your best!

The main points:

modern-no-Warehouse AU

takes place during the advent time

Flatmates and coworkers: Myka, Pete, Claudia, Lena, Steve & Helena

Helena is the newcomer

Landlady Mrs F

They work at a hotel next door

“Never get involved with your housemates or co-workers” - a rule Pete has taught Myka, and she tries her best to stick to it!

If you want to try to follow what others are doing with their parts as closely as possible, there is also a Google doc with more details about the apartment, their work environment and the storyline:

In comments, you can also add your own points to the setting, for example if you start writing a story and decide on a backstory for Myka, what exactly Helena’s job is, or come up with a favourite band for Claudia, add it in a comment and the people who start writing after you can try to follow your lead!

Tagging everyone who has signed up or shown interest in signing up so far:

@akittennameddaisy @sallysetonbw @violetren @julieverne @lilolilyr @purlturtle @lavendelhummel @barbarawar @viharistenno @absedarian @thiakerrigan @birdofdawning

[shares-a-vest]

Fruity Four Advent Calendar, Day 23: Gifts

Prompt List

I was totally a day ahead of myself with the Nativity prompt and I wrote this out in one go. Just a steddie-being-dumb ficlet.

"Eddie, what is this?" Steve asks.

He heaves himself up from a kneeling position on the floor, back almost giving out after packing up Christmas decorations.

It is the 28th of December and he has decided it is probably time to pack away everything, thinking he could only extend Christmas on for so long. It has been the best Christmas Steve has had, maybe ever. Everyone gathered at his house throughout the Christmas period, hanging decorations and hanging out. He'd hosted a dinner party with Eddie, Nancy, Robin, Johnathan and Argyle while he was visiting for Christmas. He had invited over Max and Dustin to help with their Christmas wrapping. He did a lot of baking and cooking seeing as his mother wasn't around hogging the kitchen. Wayne came over with Eddie for a roast pretty much any night before his set of night shifts.

"What is it?" Eddie asks, not looking up from the Christmas lights he is absolutely, totally packing with neatness into their assigned box.

"This!" Steve says, holding out a small, red box in his direction. "It was just sitting on the mantlepiece behind that terrible photo of me from fourth grade."

He makes a face at the goody-goody-looking school photo of his younger, incredibly lame and chubby-cheeked self.

Eddie looks up. His eyes go wide with panic as his brows disappear under his fringe.

"Nothing!" he shrieks, shooting upright, entirely suspicious.

He bounds forward, crossing the Harrington's living room and attempts to snatch the box away. But Steve blocks him, holding his arm up to keep the box from his reach. And damn it, his strong, muscular arms are just ever-so-slightly longer.

"Is it for me?" he teases, bopping Eddie's nose with his free hand.

"No!" he whines, still trying to reach for the box.

They tussle and Eddie practically jumps on Steve in an attempt to reach the gift. They immediately lose balance and fall to the floor. The box rolls out from Steve's grasp and Eddie lunges over him for it as they scuffle like overturned turtles in the middle of the living room.

Eddie of course, begins to play dirty, running a hand up under Steve's sweater and nosing into his neck, making him squirm.

"Stop!" Steve begs through laughter as Eddie begins to tickle him.

"I gotta get that box, Stevie," he says through gritted teeth, trying to reach the box again.

He rolls them over so he's under Steve, a weird move that is probably going to give his former-wrestling team member boyfriend the upper hand but he's a fraction closer. He reaches out his fingers, outstretching them as much as possible, poking his tongue out for some extra power.

Steve reaches over and pins his wrist to the floor.

"If the box is for me, dude, why would you hide it in my house?"

Eddie looks up at him, floundering completely. He huffs a breath trying to move hair from his face. But with his free hand, Steve does it for him, shifting his bodyweight so his very nice and athletic body is keeping Eddie on the ground.

Steve chances a glance at the red box and catches a glimpse of the ring on Eddie's middle right finger.

"Is it a ring?" he asks, voice quiet, eyes glazed over as he stares beyond the polished flooring.

Eddie screws his eyes shut, relenting, his body going weak under Steve's hold.

"Yes."

Steve slides off him and sits on the floor in stunned silence. For Eddie, it is the most optimal move because he can now cower into himself, crawl up into a ball on the floor and die of embarrassment.

They sit in silence, punctuated only by nervous, shocked breathing for a good few minutes before Eddie wills himself to speak.

"It was just a ring. Not an engagement ring or anything. I just know you like my plain one," he mumbles before uncoiling himself and looking over to a misty-eyed Steve. "But then I thought, this is stupid and looks like a fucking purity ring or some bullshit. And if I gave it to you while everyone was here they'd think it was an engagement ring."

"So, why is it still sitting here?" Steve asks, throat dry. "You could have explained all that. And... I'd understand."

Eddie knows what that fleeting pause means. They were both so goddamn dumb about their feelings and how much they meant to each other. Even though they were dating. They were inseparable. And they so obviously wanted to spend forever together.

"I forgot where I put it," Eddie admits meekly, grunting as he sits up and crosses his legs to face him.

Steve just bursts out laughing, doubling over and falling back to the ground. Eddie giggles and reaches for the box, slapping an exhausted hand over it to slide it to himself.

"You are so stupid!" Steve shrieks, tears prickling as he laughs.

"My forgetfulness is clearly a detriment to my entire existence."

He scoots over to his laughing boyfriend and attempts to get him back up. When Steve finally moves and wipes tears from his eyes with his sweater sleeve, Eddie has the gift ready for him.

[jacksgreysays]

Ask Box Advent Calendar 2023 Announcement

I'M SO INCREDIBLY LATE

Free-for-all ask box event in which I will respond to all prompts/asks by filling/answering them to the best of my ability, even if that’s a brainstorm-y outline more than a proper ficlet or explaining why I can’t even do that meta textually.

Any prompt Any question (personal or headcanon) Any previous ask box event format (see bullet point list below) Any new ask box fic format if you have one to recommend Any random word/name?

I’ll try my best! <3

Could/Should/Actually Fic

things you said

Would You Ever

Fake Fic Titles and or a spin-off Title Remix

Author’s Cut

A Softer World

ask box latine dictum

[maraudersftw]

2022 Year In Review (Fic Version):

I was away for six months this year, but managed to write quite a few one-shots during the last few months of 2022. Borrowing this lovely template from @charmsandtealeaves to capture my fic stats of the year (because I love stats!) 💗

Also tagging @mppmaraudergirl @the-dream-team @missgryffin @wearingaberetinparis if they wanna share theirs!

Profile links: AO3 || FFN

2022 AO3 STATS (as of 27/12/22):

User Subscriptions: 345

Kudos: 2,929

Comment Threads: 887

Bookmarks: 548

Subscriptions: 493

Word Count: 191,092 (this is fake because AO3 includes the entire word count of WIPs, even if they were started in earlier years)

Hits: 47,631

Fic Breakdown: 

Jilychallenges:

Soft Bargains (January)

Words: 1.4K | Rating: T

“james and lily find themselves relegated to mundane chores around the safe house until they are able to be within five feet of each other without compromising yet another mission”

Close Your Eyes (November)

Words: 3.3K | Rating: T

“Really?” he whispered, voice tight, clearly hurt. “Do I really repulse you that much?”

Promises In Frost (December Jily Advent Calendar)

Words: 1.4K | Rating: T

Lily Evans has an important question to ask before Christmas.

Multichapters:

Drink Me! (Complete)

Words: 12.0K | Chapters: 3 | Rating: T

What do you do when you find a suspicious vial of potion left on your desk, accompanied by a cryptic message daring your true Gryffindor spirit? If you’re James Potter, you drink it and convince others to do the same. If you’re Lily Evans, you’re others.

Retribution (WIP)

Words: 86.3K | Chapters: 12/? | Rating: Mature

My name is Lily Evans. I’m twenty years old. I have red hair and green eyes. I’ve been experimented upon for the past two years. I tell you none of these facts from my own memory—because I have none. I suppose I’ll just have to take their word for it then, won’t I?

Tracing You (WIP)

Words: 6.7K | Chapters: 2/? | Rating: Mature

“Each student from the creative writing course will be paired with another student from the art course to work on a collaborative project over the duration of three weeks for a chance to be featured in the Hogwarts University Annual Art Exhibition.”

What are the chances that Lily gets paired with the one person she absolutely cannot stand?

Disgraceful (WIP)

Words: 18.4K | Chapters: 5/12 | Rating: Explicit

James Potter is attracted to his neighbour. Lily Evans wishes she wasn’t attracted to hers.

Other One-shots:

Sour Like Sweet

Words: 425 | Rating: E

James's birthday drabble (jily smut)

Loud Silences

Words: 3.5K | Rating: T

Silence speaks louder than words. And sometimes, James Potter learns, it speaks quite inaccurately.

so scarlet it was maroon

Words: 4.4K | Rating: T

James and Lily hide in a safe house after a mission gone wrong, even as unspoken pain lingers in the space between them.

Hoodwinked

Words: 6.7K | Rating: Explicit

James and Lily release stress after a night of undercover work for the Order [jily smut]

We’re Just Friends

Words: 4.0K | Rating: Mature

James Potter is in love with his flatmate. There. Best to get that out of the way before he is accused of being in denial or drowning in obliviousness

HodgePodge Ficlets:

Candles

New Love

Of Drinks & Dances

Fighting Fear

Three Two One

[lilolilyr]

@viharistenno answering your comment on this ask here because apparently there’s a text limit to replies and I wrote too much!

SIOC stands for self-insert original character. As in, you end up in the world (in this case twilight), either stuck in the body of the main character or as yourself… and I’ve seen too many twilight memes around and ended up reading fic again and I think being stuck in the twilight world would be an unholy mix of hilarious, fucked up, cool, deeply sad (bc it’d also mean being forever away from everyone and everything I’ve known here - sth lots of SIOC fic tend to ignore but I think it’d be interesting to explore) and also I can’t decide whether, if I ended up in the twilight world forrealsies, I’d try to meet vampires and get vampireimmortalized immediately or try to stay the Fuck away from them and their idiotic conflicts and problems. Also do I want to be a TwiPire? I mean I definitely don’t want to be a classic vampire but twilight vampires are also all levels of fucked up and canon doesn’t really make it clear How many levels of fucked up and I guess if I was a twilight SIOC I’d not know that either until it was too late… anyway, interesting thought experiment :D but I probably won’t write any of it into an actual fic

Ohhh you also like Milippa? I didn’t know! You’re not in the discord are you? I think I’ve only seen you in the B&W one before but maybe this is my bad memory at it again o.o

Anyway yeah I’m writing the dream sci-fi dystopia as Milippa but more just because out of the ships I ship, they fit the characters I dreamt up best? I mean in my dream I saw Rosamund Pike and Jean Smart take that as you will lmao, but I’m changing stuff to turn it into a proper Milippa fanfic anyway. Probably mostly prime/mirror Milippa vibes, but some mirror Michael ish backstory and Philippa character wise bit of both? They’re both AU anyway so who cares, but idk how to character- tag it on Ao3 yet xD haven’t gotten around to write more to it yet anyway bc I was busy writing 2k for one of the Bering and wells advents ficlets yet, and it isn’t even finished yet!

Dreams definitely can do weird stuff! Yesterday I dreamt I was in a forest and poisoned chocolate grew on trees or something xD but usually it’s just weird shit like that, not whole damn storylines!

Yeassss same! It’s so great that it’s coming together so nicely, I can’t believe we have writers through to day 10 without any gap days, we might actually manage to have a full advent calendars without skipping over some days! When I made the first post only two days before December started I expected to get sign up for maybe half the days max!

Re:target audience for weird fanfic ideas, Yeah that’s also true :D but I already told myself the story didn’t I? I don’t need to write it down for that! I mean, most of the fic I write is still very very self indulgent, but it’s really more that all the stories I tell myself are for me, and out of those self indulgent story ideas I write down the ones I want to share with the world and think I might have a nice audience for! Stories that would need 50k backstory on how the Fuck I ended up with this crossover AU headcanon bullshittery don’t really make the list xD

[jedusaur]

2022 fic roundup!

this year I posted 153,007 words on AO3, which is by FAR the most I've ever written in a year, and I didn't even start until the end of April! the summer was just an unprecedented deluge of words, don't ask me wtf happened. so here's what I wrote:

my top 5 favorites

A Hockey Stick Apart [Check Please, Jack/Kent] — cabin-in-Canada trope inversion where Jack won't let Kent into the cabin, and they both learn a whole lot about the complexity of navigating boundaries both physical and emotional (I think this might be my favorite thing I've ever written—certainly the most personally meaningful I've posted publicly—and of course it's in a fandom no one has touched since 2017 >.<)

okay to ask [Marvel, Clint/Bucky] — in which everyone uses a consent settings system to help communicate what kinds of contact they're comfortable with

just trying to matter [Ted Lasso, Roy/Jamie/Keeley] — in which Roy is outed and Jamie comes out, and Keeley handles the PR

but for the grace [Ted Lasso, Roy/Jamie and Jamie/Keeley] — dimension-swap fic about Jamie from canon switching places with Jamie from a world where he's learned to manage his emotions

Made For This (The Yoga Breaks) [MCU, gen] — a character study of Bruce set during Endgame, focusing on his relationship with his body after he merges with the Hulk

Marvel, Clint/Bucky

No Consequences, No Hangovers — time loop fic where Clint repeatedly gets tied back-to-back with Bucky for hours on end

remembrances ⊻ memoria — in which Clint is immortal and Bucky kills him repeatedly over the course of decades

The House Recommends and The House Rules — no-powers AU in which Clint likes to hook up and Bucky is a bartender who tells him who he should bang

burning the hole where I lay and the decision to want — in which Bucky is on a mission to kill all the HYDRA agents that tortured him, and Clint is a hooker with information Bucky wants

something in consciousness — in which Clint and Bucky both keep having the same wet dream at the same time

This Is Why We Can Have Nice Things — Christmas fluff with a coffee Advent calendar

Targeted Areas — gym bros AU, with sexually-charged partnered bodyweight exercises

you didn't hear that — in which they're roommates and Bucky can hear Clint jerking off with his super-senses

Awful Taste But Great Execution — celebrity/fan AU leaning hard on the starstruck crush angle

second watch — in which there are lots of cuddles and clothes-sharing and Clint cannot explain any part of his bizarre wardrobe

Snuggly Like the Wolf — in which Bucky is a werewolf but always sleeps through his shifts

untitled tumblr ficlet in which Clint habitually says "I love you" to everyone except Bucky

untitled tumblr ficlet about the discovery of the Hand of Irelugi because I'm a nerd

Ted Lasso, Roy/Jamie

the exact nature of our wrongs — fake dating fic in which Roy reluctantly helps Jamie kick his alcohol problem

Check and Mate and the best way to spend a night — soulmate AU in a world where soulbonds are triggered by kissing, so people kiss strangers a lot

if you want something — in which Jamie has been fantasizing about getting a spanking from Roy Kent for a very, very long time

more of the thing you just got a taste of — in which Jamie hates Roy and also can't get enough of his dick

Mounting Available On Request — in which Roy accidentally hires a hooker and it's Jamie

Player On Loan — in which Jamie likes Keeley to lend him out to people for sex like a toy

Unmentionables — lingerie kink, that's it that's the fic

The Down Low — in which Jamie finds Roy on Grindr

just do it — consent play, that's it that's the fic

The Core Issue — in which Jamie thinks apples are all the same and Roy forcibly educates him

Russian Doll

you can call any old time [gen] — it always bugged me that they never tried to exchange numbers, so I wrote about why they couldn't

Check Please

A Few Eggs [Kent/Jack/Bitty] — the long-overdue kinky threesome sequel to Omelets, in which Bitty is the consummate hostess in both senses of the word "consummate"

[yoomiii123]

Twilight Advent - Day 11

Twilight Advent Calendar, Day 11: What did Alice look forward to about joining the Cullens?

There were a lot of things she looked forward to, but the main thing was that joining the Cullens meant she would finally be a part of something. No longer an outsider looking in, waiting. Finally being an active member of things that were to come.

To make up for the day-late post, I wrote a small ficlet (~1'200 words) about Jasper observing a change in Alice because of this below :-)

The moment has come

I was sitting on the couch in the living room, a stack of newspapers to my left. Carlisle had graciously offered them to me when he learned that Alice and I had been more or less 'off grid' for the last two years. Neither of us had pointed out that the gap in my knowledge of current events was much wider than just those last 17 months. It was better this way.

My hands were going through the pages, flipping them one by one, unfolding, and re-folding new issues at a reasonable speed but my eyes were monitoring Alice. She was with Esme in the dining room, perusing family albums. I had determined that the caramel-haired vampire was no threat to her days ago, and yet I still couldn't stop watching them. Something had changed in her. And I couldn't quite figure out what it was.

The fact that I wasn’t able to openly explore her new flavour of emotions or just ask her upfront, hadn't helped. But now Edward was gone, finally. He and Carlisle had left to hunt 19 minutes ago. Originally, it was supposed to be Edward and Emmett, however, when I declined their invitation to join them, that plan had quickly changed. Now Carlisle had gone with, and Emmett was on the other side of the living room, supposedly doing homework with Rosalie but more likely watching me.

I had been surprised by the fact that although Edward was clearly Carlisle's second-in-command when it came to leading this coven, they relied a lot on Emmett for protection. He was not an unreasonable choice, but with his sunny disposition and — as far as I could tell — a rather straightforward way of thinking, he didn't seem like the best choice. Not to watch someone like me, who was more than used to being outmatched in terms of strength.

I wasn't willing to dismiss his chances against me yet, however. While Alice and I had been very sparing with the details about my past and I had been impressed myself with how much I'd been able to control my thoughts around Edward, I doubted that a well-travelled man like Carlisle didn't put the scars and the mention of Texas together. He and Edward must have had a reason to pick Emmett.

Maybe I should take him up on his offer.

“I’d love to fight you,” had been the first words he had directed at me, after Carlisle had jumped in and defused the situation that ensued upon Emmett and Edward’s return on the afternoon, we met the Cullens. Back then, his tone had been earnest, and the words were undoubtedly meant to intimidate – the action of a man who aimed to assess the threat to his family. But he had re-iterated the sentiment several times since, in a much more playful and jovial tune. By now, I was certain that his offer to spar was solely meant as a bit of good fun. Still, I hadn’t taken him up on it.

Yet.

It was tempting. The certainty that observing him fight would bring could be an invaluable advantage, if, at some point, we weren’t welcome her anymore. However, the risks were considerable. I had to admit that I’d been wound tightly over the last few days, keeping my gift hidden and safeguarding my thoughts from Edward while watching Alice, who had abandoned all prudence after a mere hour (to be honest, I was proud of her that she kept my warning in mind that long), had taken a toll. There was a good chance that, when put in the familiar situation of a fight, my instincts would kick in. And if that happened, me exposing my gift was the least worrisome of consequences that could ensue. I could seriously injure Emmett, ensure that Alice’s dream of a family would forever be lost. Or worst, I could end up killing one of them.

Even if Alice had no reservations, our chances against their coven of five were dim. With the way things currently were, they were borderline zero. I couldn’t risk a fight like that.

A jolt of energy flashed up my arm and pulled me from my thoughts. I instinctively pulled my hand back. An unnecessary motion, her fingers had long left my skin again and she’d taken a seat next to me on the sofa.

Her eyes said ‘Sorry’, but she was wise enough to not speak the apology aloud. Instead, she motioned to the newspaper in my hands. “That article must be very interesting.”

I looked down at the page as well. I hadn’t turned in minutes. What a rookie’s mistake; I should have known better. I should have better control over my mind and body by now. But then, Edward’s absence was the first chance I’d gotten to do some real reflection.

“You don’t have to watch me. No one here is going to hurt me,” Alice continued in a lower voice. Not quite low enough though.

My eyes quickly flashed to Emmett. He didn’t look up from his textbook. Rosalie’s pen continued scratching on the paper as well. Either they weren’t eavesdropping, or they were very good at hiding it.

“It’s not that,” I returned, resisting the urge to whisper so that the other’s couldn’t listen in. I didn’t want them to become suspicious. “You’ve changed.”

Alice pulled her legs closer and directed her full attention to me now, away from the newspapers. “How so?”

I searched for words to make her understand while simultaneously not exposing my gift. “You seem happier. I’ve never seen you like this.”

“Of course, I’m happy! We’re finally here with our family,” she returned, smiling as she looked over at Emmett and Rosalie.

“It’s not just that…” Again, I was searching for the right way to put what I was trying to say. How I’d have loved to just take her and get away from this place for a few hours, talk things through openly. But I wasn’t sure that it would be wise to get up and leave for a few hours after they’d just observed us ‘conspire’.

“You’re calmer… Perfectly at ease.” You’re also not looking out for visions much anymore, I added in my head but decided to keep that to myself. “It wasn’t like this before.” When it was just the two of us.

Alice’s eyes widened. I hoped it meant she understood. “Oh Jazz,” she smiled and put her hand on mine again. This time, her bliss came as a gentle wave. It filled the cells on the back of my hand, ran warm shivers up my arm and spread a calm I hadn’t been able to find for days in my entire body.

I let myself enjoy it for a few seconds, before pulling my hand back again. There were still three vampires in this house, likely watching us. I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

Disappointment flashed in Alice for a second, but she didn’t let it get to her. “I was perfectly happy before, as well,” she explained. “But I was still waiting. My whole life, I’ve been waiting for something. Always watching in, always on the outside wishing for the moment I could finally be a part of things. Us being here means that this moment has come.”

[polikszena]

Ficlet advent calendar - The best of snow

In this post I have collected entries from the challenges that are related to snow. There will be snowball fights, snowmen and personal traditions! You can access the chapters by clicking on the fic’s title.

Tradition

Fandom: Turn: Washington’s Spies Characters: Caleb Brewster, Benjamin Tallmadge, George Washington Word Count: 594 Rating: General Summary: Abraham Woodhull may not like snow, but not all the boys from Setauket feel the same way. Sets in Valley Forge, 1777.

Snowball

Fandom: Turn: Washington’s Spies Characters: Ensign Baker Word Count: 413 Rating: General Summary: Ensign Baker engages himself in a snowball fight with some Setauket locals.

Snow

Fandom: Downton Abbey Characters: Mr Carson, Mary Crawley Word Count: 541 Rating: General Summary: Charles Carson loathes snow: it makes everything more difficult. But then he sees Lord Grantham's children playing in the snow. Can the Crawley sister make the young butler change his mind? Sets way before Season 1 of Downton Abbey.

Battlefield

Fandom: Ted Lasso Characters: Ted Lasso, Coach Beard, Rebecca Welton, Leslie Higgins, Colin Hughes, Jan Maas Word Count: 897 Rating: General Summary: Due to the snowy weather, Ted challenges his team to a snowball fight on the football pitch. But before the battle, he prepares a small surprise to Rebecca.

[kakairu-rocks]

We are excited to introduce our new holiday event, the KakaIru Advent Calendar Battle 2021!

Since the holidays is a busy period for everyone, and there are fans who don’t create, we decided to make this a non-creation event, which will run from 1st Dec - 31st Jan!

How It Works:

This is a trope battle to find out which holiday trope is the best, so we want you to nominate a trope! You can do this here from 1st - 30th Nov!

Each week, from 1st Dec, you will vote on your favourite tropes; and at the end of the week, the bottom three (the ones with the least amount of votes) will be removed from the list.

In the final vote, the trope with the highest amount of votes will be the winner; and the person who nominated the winning trope will receive a prize of a ficlet 500 - 1000 words, using the trope they submitted!

Like an advent calendar, there will be 24 tropes to choose from for the main event, so if there are more than 24 nominations, there will be a preliminary round so that everybody gets a chance to compete!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

We hope you can join us for this event!

[thegirlwhowritesfics]

12 Days of Ficmas

12 days of ficmas!

I will be posting 1 ficlet a day for the 12 days leading up to Christmas!

Rules: please try to limit it to one request per person. Once I reach 12 prompts I will reblog this post stating requests are now closed. Please pick 1 prompt and 1 character from the below list.

Prompts

"You’ve had some brilliant ideas in the past, but driving through a snowstorm only to get stuck on the road has truly been your best idea.”

"I might’ve told everyone that you’re my date because I didn’t want to go to this Christmas party alone."

"Stop trying to get me to walk under the mistletoe.”

“Are you eating cookies at 3 am?” “What! If it’s good enough for Santa, it’s good enough for me.”

Letters to Santa

Meeting Santa at the village at the mall and it goes terribly

Neighborhood lighting competition gets a bit too intense

"Suck my candy cane."

Singing Christmas Songs while on a road trip

desperate to find a particular item (book/toy/etc.) as a present for someone, but it’s been sold out everywhere

Christmas eve in the ER

“I’ve seen less tinsel in a Christmas store.”

“I will physically fight her for the last box of baubles.”

“Can’t the threat wait until after Christmas dinner?”

“Who ate all of the chocolates from the advent calendar?”

Letters to Santa

“Why are you tied in christmas lights?”

“Merry Christmas!” “It’s November.” “I said. Merry. Christmas.”

“All I want for Christmas is you.” “Don’t quote Mariah Carey at me.”

“I can’t believe you did that to Santa....”

Characters:

Mayans M.C -

Coco Cruz

Gilly Lopez

Bishop Losa

Taza Romero

Riz Ariza

Miguel Galindo

Emily Galindo

Nestor Oceteva

Creeper Vargas

Ez Reyes

The Punisher -

Karen Page

Frank Castle

Billy Russo

Harry Potter -

Harry Potter

Draco Malfoy

Stranger Things -

Billy

Steve

Robin

[shares-a-vest]

Fruity Four Advent Calendar, Day 12: Special Theme - Holiday Songs

Prompt List

In today's ficlet: It's 1994 and Steve is OBSESSED with 'All I Want for Christmas is You' by Mariah Carey. Someone should probably go save Eddie from this festive hellscape and stop Steve from putting his health in jeopardy to get all his Christmas baking done.

'All Steve Wants for Christmas is Eddie'

Eddie finds himself in some kind of never-ending, pop music-induced nightmare hellscape amidst the holidays of 1994. It started innocently enough, he had just picked Steve up from work at Sunnydale preschool and they were on their way home to the crappy little apartment that they were renting.

After years of bickering, they were finally settled when it came to musical tastes. They each had their own, admittedly polar opposite preferences, but found some rare common ground in Queen, Meatloaf and the newer grunge music (much to Eddie's surprise Steve had taken a liking to Nirvana). Day to day it was car radio music if they were carpooling and road trips to visit the kids, newly dispersed at college, required a little negotiating and compromising.

It was just before Thanksgiving, and Steve was already pretty excited that everyone was coming back to town for the weekend, especially Robin and Nancy who had promised him that they would ditch their respective families asap so he could finally get his Betty Crocker on and host a dinner party. Eddie was rounding the corner to their street when Steve gasped, lunging for the volume dial as some lady wobbly talk-sang, "I don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need..."

"This is the song!" Steve exclaimed, flailing a hand in the general direction of the car radio.

"What song?" Eddie asked, eyes darting between Steve and the road.

And that's when it started.

Eddie opened the apartment door to let in Nancy and Robin for their little dinner party and of course, Rob made a beeline for her best friend, holding out something in her hand that Eddie couldn't see, too distracted about where to hang Robin's coat she'd launched at him. Nancy took the coat apologetically as Steve gasped, holding up a cassette tape like it was the Holy Grail.

Nancy shook her head, glancing at Eddie with her regular wordless look of, I'm so sorry they are like this.

"Mariah! Mariah!" Robin chanted, gesturing to the heavens, aka, the cracked paint on their kitchen ceiling.

Oh no.

And so Eddie finds himself arriving home from work, his last shift at the mechanic before Christmas to the sound of 'All I Want For Christmas is You' positively blasting its jingling chimes and Mariah Carey's vocal theatrics through their apartment. Thank god they were renting above an abandoned store and didn't have neighbours is all he could say about it.

Eddie reluctantly walks to the kitchen, grimacing. Yes, he hates this song. But it really was far too loud. All because Steve was doing his whole stubborn, stoic hero schtick and still refused to get his hearing checked. But when he finds Steve bopping away, singing with his tone-deaf Bee Gees falsetto, he knows Steve would probably be listening at this volume anyway, impaired hearing or not.

Eddie glares at the little boombox atop the refrigerator, cursing its existence to hell. Steve didn't like wearing headphones, he said they gave him migraines and Eddie knows there's a little Vecna-induced PTSD hidden in there too that he refuses to acknowledge. Steve's cooking up a storm, now onto his god knows what number batch of Christmas cookies. He'd practically turned their kitchen into a goddamn bakery since Sunnydale went on Christmas break, ignoring Eddie's attempts to get him to slow down and relax while he has some time off.

Eddie glances at Steve’s bedazzled Christmas schedule on the refrigerator door. According to his colour-coded system, these should be for Wayne and his work buddies.

Steve looks up, wide-eyed and with flour in his hair. Even though he considers himself a homemaker extraordinaire, he really is quite messy. He puffs out a breath in an attempt to flick back his floppy hair and blushes before moving to the boombox (littered with flour fingerprints), to turn the volume down.

"Sorry," he says quietly, returning immediately to his mixing bowl. "How was your last day?"

"Happy that I get to spend two whole weeks with you, sugarplum," Eddie replies, giving Steve a quick kiss before sliding onto a barstool at the kitchen island. "Although I think I might find myself returning to work in a delicate emotional space after all this."

He gestures vaguely at the source of the sounds assaulting his eardrums.

Steve nods along, waving the wooden spoon around as he circles back to the fridge... At least that's what Eddie thought he was doing.

He presses a button on the boombox and whips around with a mischievous grin, holding the spoon as a microphone.

"I don't want a lot for Christmas," he starts, eyebrows wiggling dramatically. "There is just one thing I need..."

He extends his free hand to point squarely at Eddie as he creeps towards him.

"Nope," Eddie insists, folding his arms with a huff as Steve theatrically launches himself at the counter, resting his head on its surface forlornly.

"... I just want you for my own..."

He points at Eddie again and yeah, he knows. He knows why Steve loves this song.  He knows why Steve always sings along to it. Why he fawned over Robin giving him the album. Why this is really the only Christmas song Eddie has seen Steve love rather than quietly hum along out of habit and familiarity.

"Fine," he relents, gesturing for him to continue. "You be a pop princess for the next however many minutes, Stevie."

Steve grins, missing a few lyrics as he is overcome with giddiness. He recovers and continues on with the theatrics for the first verse and chorus, readying himself for verse two. Eddie can't help but grin as Steve twirls on the spot at, "I won’t even ask for snow", pointing with the wooden spoon at the kitchen window to punctuate the line.

But his face drops when Steve stumbles out of another spin, grabbing the counter to steady himself and dropping the spoon on the floor.

"Whoa!" he says, shocked and wide-eyed as Eddie jumps off the stool and all but leaps over the island to help. He places one hand on Steve's shoulder and one on his hip, spotting him as he white-knuckles the counter and breathes heavily.

"M'fine," Steve insists, shaking his head before swaying at the action. Of course, he's trying to brush it off, like he always does.

"You've been in the kitchen since I left this morning, haven't you?" Eddie chides, trying not to sound too accusatory. 

"... I had lunch," he mumbles, eyes unfocused, a telltale sign he is dizzy.

"Come on, sit," Eddie instructs, immediately steering him to the kitchen stool and bracing himself for Steve getting a migraine.

He hugs him from behind and kisses him on the top of the head.

"How about you stay here and I'll set you up so you can sit down for a while. Have a bit of a break first though, yeah?"

Steve looks down and places his sticky hands over Eddie's. "Thanks, Eds."

"Love you, Stevie," he replies, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek.

[swissmissficrecs]

Can you recommend fics which are fluffy but explicit as well? :D I have just read a super angsty fic and I need to see my boys happy. Thanks x

Reply: First off, I have these fluff-related rec lists, but not all of them are high-rated and some also have quite a bit of angst:

Fluff Master List

Fluff (more since the previous master list) + even more fluff and good feels

Then from my bookmarks, I have culled these E-rated Johnlock fics that should be fairly light on the angst and high on the fluff & romance:

A Family Trait by cumberqueer (12K, E, Johnlock) Set post-S4, John is back at home with Rosie in Baker Street. He's working on a lot of things, including building his trust with Sherlock once more. An emergency shift at the clinic jumpstarts the process, forcing John to leave Rosie at home with only Sherlock to watch her. Sherlock does his best and John makes a mistake, but everyone is happy in the end.

An Approximation to Perfection by TooSel (22K, E, Johnlock) Sherlock realises just how good the sex John had with his last girlfriend was. The solution is simple: he's going to do everything in his power to ensure that their own sex life stays interesting. Only that it's never quite that easy.

And if you say the word, I could stay with you by CaitlinFairchild (12K, E, Johnlock) What Sherlock thinks is, On the day I die, be it in a dirty alley at forty or in my bed at eighty, the last thing I will remember is tonight, the way you looked at at me on the snowy pavement, cheeks pink with the cold, breath puffing in frosty white clouds, your heart in your eyes and snowflakes in your hair. I will remember that single perfect moment in my life, that moment I knew I had everything I ever wanted, and whatever happens next, I will die content. What he says is simply, "Marry me."

Clutter-Free by MissDavis (13K, E, Johnlock) 5 times John made Sherlock clean up the flat and one time he didn't have to.

Full Circle by cumberqueer (13K, E, Johnlock) Sherlock Holmes has noticed that his best friend and crime-solving partner John Watson is doing well - too well for what they've been through, if you ask him. Sherlock is worried John is seeing someone that is making him very happy, and intends to find out who. But first: data. Featuring a spreadsheet of John Watson's Smiles, a parentlock makeover for 221b, and John being charming af.

If There Were Any Time For A Miracle by Berty (31K, E, Johnlock) John and Sherlock are spending Christmas at the Holmes' family home. Sherlock has a plan that John doesn't know about. John has a wish that Sherlock doesn't know about. If there were any time for a miracle, this would be it.

I'll Follow You Into the Dark by fearfully_beautifully_made (19K, E, Johnlock) ...A story about two men who have had a very tough couple of years and are long overdue for a little tenderness and healing. Or four times that one of the boys wake each other up from a Nightmare and one time when it is not a Nightmare. ;)

In July of This Year by yaycoffee (12K, E, Johnlock) There is an oft-cited experiment discussed in classrooms and cocktail parties alike, a convenient analogy when one endeavors to make a point about not noticing the obvious until it is inevitable. Simply, if you place a frog on a hot plate, it will jump off immediately, but if you put that frog on a cool plate and turn up the heat slowly, slowly, it will simply burn. Or: How these two idiots melt together, finally.

Johnlock Advent 2018 by sussexbound (47K, E, Johnlock) A collaboration between @honeybeelullaby, @chained-to-the-mirror, and myself. @honeybeelullaby provided the wonderful prompts, @chained-to-the-mirror drew pictures based on those, and I wrote a ficlet for each one.

Merlot by Itsallfine (14K, E, Johnlock) Sherlock and John work toward becoming something more as they prepare to host the Holmes parents at 221B for the holidays.

Put a Little Love in Your Heart by MissDavis (16K, E, Johnlock) Sherlock Holmes and John Watson will both tell you that they are not sentimental men, and that neither thinks the holiday season is anything more than a series of dates on a calendar. Don't believe a word they say.

State of Flux by Atiki (24K, E, Johnlock) John’s marriage is over and he is finally back home (i.e. at Baker Street, where he belongs). Sherlock is awfully insecure and John is awfully hesitant, and they're both awkward idiots, of course, but they figure it out. Many First Times happen.

The Allowables by cwb (14K, E, Johnlock) Got your email. Your idea of whispering filth to me in public is genius. ALWAYSI thought you might like that. CBTM

To Feed Your Hunger by FinAmour (21K, E, Johnlock) What does a kiss say, after all? A kiss is a gift. A kiss is a promise. A kiss says, “You’re mine, and I’m yours.” John exhales. “Can I kiss you?” Sherlock is trembling in his arms. “If you don’t,” he murmurs roughly, “I may lose my mind.”

To Keep Quiet by Salambo06 (11K, E, Johnlock) Four days. In the end, that’s all it takes for Sherlock to accept the fact that there is a chance John might be feeling just as desperate for more as he is.Still, it doesn’t change the fact that they need to talk. Sherlock counts it down to four conversations in total, at least. He’s certain John is just as aware of this fact as he is, but still, Sherlock finds himself unable to think of any plan of action.

Undersea-Rainbows by agirlsname (11K, E, Johnlock) If John ever saw a picture of how Sherlock gazes at him when he isn't looking, things would turn around very quickly for them.

Winning the Goat by ArwaMachine (17K, E, Johnlock) The life that Sherlock and John have together is rather unusual. Sometimes they lounge about the flat with their daughter. Sometimes they flee for their lives from a band of organ-harvesting criminals. Sometimes they shag. Sometimes Sherlock insists upon arguing with John about the Monty Hall problem for weeks on end. Somehow, they love each other. Somehow, it all works.