#krismas day

[missowo]

I tried to make the ugliest sweater as I could for my au,, my doormaker sans and kris (+jevil and spamton) are definitely not disaster squads at all. i remember this comic when I was in a kid, so why not I draw them? I am having fun with it,, :D

background belong to @xpau-official !!!

doormaker sans with his big sweater,,

kris only stealing present for susie,,,, I wish I also draw susie too, maybe for later,,

[dailyjevil]

Can u draw him with a Santa Claus hat?

Day 115 of posting Jevil every day

Merry KRISmas!

[krirebr]

For Krismas - what would Steve have done in “What you can do for your country” if once reader found out whyyyy she was there she was totally into it?!?!?!

Ahahahahaha! I love this. Thank you!

Short answer: He'd be so annoyed.

Slightly longer answer:

(This has no title because the original title is from a JFK quote 😂 and I'm saving the rest of that quote for a hypothetical prequel I may write one day and I just couldn't make anything else work. I think it's fine, this is super short anyway.)

(This might be the most ridiculous thing I've ever written.)

Pairing: dark!Steve Rogers x f!reader

Warnings: references to noncon/dubcon, references to face slapping, references to kidnapping, explicit language, dacryphilia

Your cheek stings so badly and Steve’s looking at you with this combination of menace and authority and you just can’t hold it in any longer. “Ohhhh,” you moan, “yeah, please. Hurt me, daddy.”

He stops cold, “What?”

“Come on, please. I need it. Please. You’ll make it hurt so good. Please, I want it!”

He stands up, aghast. “You want it???”

You’re a little confused now, not seeing what the problem is here. Maybe he just wants you to beg more. “Yeah, I want it. Come on, please. Please. I’ll make it so good.” You realize maybe the ‘daddy’ was the problem. That’s fine. You’re flexible. So flexible. “Please, Captain.”

“What the fuck!” he yells, pacing to the other side of the closet. “Why are you trying to ruin this for me??” he whines. 

“I’m saying I’m cool with it! It sounds great. Really good plan!”

“Shut the fuck up! I need to fucking think.”

You do as you’re told (see?! You’re so perfect for this!), and watch as he moves back and forth in the small space. Finally, he stops, takes out his phone, presses a few buttons, and holds it up to his ear. After a couple of moments, he speaks. “Buck! I need your help.” 

A pause while the other person speaks. “Yeah, I’m with her right now.”

Whatever Buck has to say has him shaking his head vigorously. “No! She’s not reacting right at all!” 

“Yes! I hit her in the face and gave the whole speech and do you know what she said to me? She said, ‘Hurt me, daddy!’ What the fuck?!”

A longer pause this time, and then he puts his free hand on his hip and says “No, Bucky, this is not a blessing in disguise! She was supposed to be afraid! And cry! That was 80% of the appeal. Not whatever this is!”

He throws a hand in the air. “I’m not kink-shaming!”

He’s pacing again, running a hand through his hair compulsively. “Do you think–” he starts and stops and tries again. “Do you think they’d let me give her back? And maybe get me a new one? – I don’t know. That girl at the floral shop is cute and small. I saw a customer make her cry once. Real pretty tears,” he says with a bit of a groan.

You pout, still chained to the corner. Sonuvabitch, you almost had it made.

Join my Krismas Party!

Tag lists are open

@stargazingfangirl18@drabblewithfrannybarnes @thezombieprostitute @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory @bval-1 @km-ffluv @texmexdarling @ladyvenera

[krismasau]

For the month of December leading up to the release of the Aurora Borealis MAProject for the Krismas AU, we will be sharing wips with you every single day!

@ebenrosetaylor animated this dark fountain!

[ailendolin]

Happy 800!

Ho-Tan, Vex/Ho-Tan; Touch, Candle

Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy your prompt fic (and that you don't mind that I included the Youngers so prominently)! I had a lot of fun writing it and finding ways for our beloved Yonderland residents to confuse some Christmas traditions from Debbie's world ;)

Explanations for the Youngers' names can be found in this post.

List of prompts is here. Filled prompts are here, here, here, here and here on AO3.

Prompts are closed.

————

The Surprise [AO3]

Ho-Tan knew it was no secret that Debbie’s world fascinated her. She had, after all, written the best-selling tome Birmingham and Beyond – Customs and Traditions from the Chosen One’s World. Debbie had been kind enough to allow her to visit several times so she could conduct her research there which, Ho-Tan was proud to say, had actually included a trip to the local library. She could have spent hours there, lost among the books – and gladly would have if Debbie hadn’t reminded her that time flowed differently in Yonderland and she’d be gone for days if they didn’t leave as planned. The thought of her Youngers and Vex worrying themselves sick about her had ultimately been enough to convince Ho-Tan to pack up her notes and hurry on home.

Vex had laughed when she told him all about it, and with a very sweet kiss to the tip of her nose said, “You can stay in Deb-beh’s world as long as you like, love. We know how much your research means to you.”

“But not as much as you and the children,” she’d whispered before she’d pulled him and the Youngers close.

It had taken her months to turn her endless pages of notes into anything even remotely resembling organised chapters, and even longer to edit it all properly. But after almost a year of hard work, her book had finally been ready for publishing, and to her complete and utter surprise, it became an instant hit. Even though Debbie was no longer going on quests as the Chosen One, the people of Yonderland still considered her their saviour and seemed to be rather curious about her life and the world Nestor of Maddox had entrusted her to when she was but a baby, causing her book’s first edition to sell out within a week.

The Elders weren’t quite so enthusiastic when she gave them their own copy.

“Why are there no pictures in it?” Pressley wondered aloud as he leafed through the 300 pages with a frown on his face.

“There’s a map of Debbie’s world right at the back?” Ho-Tan offered helpfully.

The smile Pressley gave her looked a little forced.

Vex didn’t even pretend he would read it. “Sorry, love, but you know the words become confusing after a while and make my head ache.”

“I still want you to have it,” Ho-Tan smiled, not surprised and certainly not angry. How could she be when Vex put it so carefully on his shelf and she knew he would treasure it for the simple reason that she had given it to him?

She hadn’t planned on giving the Youngers a copy, figuring they would be even less interested in what was, essentially, academic research than their parents were. But then she saw young Sepal reading his father’s copy one day and realised how foolish that thought had been. The Youngers had always embraced things from Debbie’s world, be it her Krismas carols or the annual Easter Egg Hunt. She should have known they would embrace this too and be eager to learn more.

So that evening, instead of a bedtime story, Ho-Tan read to them a chapter from her book. They listened with wide eyes as she talked about the geography of Debbie’s world – “Great Britain is the centre, see?” – and wasn’t surprised when the other Elders joined them the next evening for the second chapter. Just like that it became a family thing, and Ho-Tan wished she could put into words how happy it made her to have everyone she loved together for an hour every night. Their lives were so busy these days what with having to restore order to the other realms – a process that would take years, she feared – that moments like this had become incredibly rare in the last few months. It didn’t help that the Youngers were slowly but surely growing up as well. She knew it was only a matter of time until one of them would declare himself too old for bedtime stories, and Ho-Tan dreaded the moment that day came with all her heart.

“You worry too much,” Vex told her one night, two weeks into their new routine. As gentle as the flutter of butterfly wings, he took the brush out of her hands and began to untangle her hair for her. “It doesn’t matter how old they get. They will never stop needing you, love.”

Ho-Tan met his eyes in the mirror. “I stopped needing my parents. So did you.”

Vex paused his gentle touches to give her hand a squeeze. “That was different.”

“I know but–“

“No, Alfie,” he said. “Our children are growing up more loved than we ever were. They will always be glad to come home to us. I promise.”

He kissed her then, softly, and it was only when he saw a smile pulling at her lips once more that he went back to brushing her hair.

Ho-Tan knew he was right but a part of her still couldn’t help feeling just a little sad at the thought of her sons growing up and possibly going their own ways soon. Neither of them had yet expressed the wish to take on the role of an Elder one day, and just the idea of Alvin travelling the Seven-and-a-half Seas on his own and Irk collecting plants in some jungle far beyond her reach made her want to hoard every laugh and hug like a dragon hoarded its gold. She had always known they would not stay little forever; she’d just thought she’d have a little more time before they grew up she’d have to let them go.

Over the next few weeks, Ho-Tan tried her best not to show how melancholic that thought made her. If the Youngers noticed that she hugged them a little tighter than usual or lingered at their door after she’d kissed them goodnight, they didn’t show it. She was pretty sure Vex had noticed but he didn’t say anything either. He simply held her a little closer at night, his way of silently reassuring her that he was there and that everything would be okay.

It didn’t even cross her mind that he and the Youngers could be planning something to cheer her up until she woke up to soft kisses behind her ear on a Sunday morning four weeks before Thanktival. A glance towards the window told her it was still early – so early the sun was not even up yet and Vex would normally still be fast asleep. Amused and just a little curious, Ho-Tan turned around in his arms and greeted him with a proper good morning kiss. “You’re up early.”

Vex made one of those noises she found incredibly endearing before he said, rather mysteriously, “Well, today is a special day.”

Ho-Tan frowned, trying to figure out what he meant. She was quite sure it wasn’t one of their important days – she’d never forgotten one of those. But what else could it be?

Seeing her confusion, Vex laughed and pressed another kiss to her lips. “Come on, let’s get you up and out of bed, old girl.”

Ho-Tan let him pull her to her feet, still wondering what he was up to. After they got dressed, Vex helped her with her hair – an intimate way of spending time together she’d always loved but rarely allowed herself to indulge in these days. His touch was gentle, ever loving, and she closed her eyes in contentment as his deft fingers skilfully created the braids she had worn all her adult life.

“There, all done,” Vex whispered softly into her ear.

Ho-Tan opened her eyes and, seeing the butterfly hair clip in her hair, smiled up at him. “Thank you.”

Smiling back at her, he took her hand and led her out of the room towards the kitchen. Usually, the kitchen was still dark and empty when Ho-Tan got up in the morning to get breakfast ready. Today, candlelight was spilling out into the hallway in flickering, golden hues when they rounded the corner. Confused and just a little suspicious, she turned to Vex. “What’s going on?”

He merely continued smiling and squeezed her hand. “You’ll see in a moment.”

When the sounds of excited whispers – the Youngers, if Ho-Tan wasn’t mistaken – echoed through the hallway, Vex not so subtly stomped his foot to alert them of their presence. The whispers stopped at once and Ho-Tan bit her lip so she wouldn’t laugh. It was clear Vex and the Youngers had planned something for her – a surprise breakfast, perhaps? – and the last thing she wanted was to ruin the fun.

“Ready?” Vex asked when they were almost at the door. Ho-Tan nodded and let him guide her into the kitchen.

“Happy Advent!” the Elders and Youngers cheered in unison when she walked through the door. They were all there, waving at her with bright grins on their faces or pointing excitedly at what could only be an advent wreath sitting on the middle of the table. Ho-Tan’s vision blurred as she took it all in. It was only a few weeks ago that she’d read them the Krismas chapter from her book. At the time, she hadn’t thought anything about the curious questions the Youngers had asked her about it the next day but now, looking at the beautifully decorated wreath, it all suddenly made sense.

“Did you make this yourselves?” she breathed in awe.

The Youngers nodded.

“Everyone made their own candle. Look Mum, this one’s mine!” Irk said and pointed excitedly at a green candle that had different kinds of leaves all over it. Leaning forward to get a closer look, Ho-Tan felt her heart warm with more love than it could possibly contain when she saw the personalities of her friends and children reflected in all the candles on the wreath, be it in the quill and inkpot on Sepal’s or the pub sign on Pressley’s.

“They look beautiful,” she whispered.

Irk grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist in a hug. “We have one candle for you too!”

Alvin stepped forward and held a plain, dark blue candle out to her. Ho-Tan turned it over in her hands, wondering how she could personalise it, when Vex gently tapped her on the shoulder and held up a golden scroll and apple blossom made of wax. “I hope you don’t mind but I made these for you.”

It was only then that she noticed his own candle, burning brightly in the back of the wreath with a blue butterfly attached to its side next to a glass of sherry. The butterfly looked just like the one he had put in her hair only moments ago.

With shaking hands, Ho-Tan took the scroll and blossom from him. When she struggled to attach them to her candle, overwhelmed as she was, Alvin and Irk stepped in to help. “You’ve got it, Mum.”

She smiled at them through her tears and, together with them, finished the candle and placed it in the empty spot next to Vex’s.

“Light it, Uncle Choop!” Alvin said. Choop grumbled about being ordered around by a child but pulled out a box of matches anyway. A moment later, Ho-Tan’s candle flared to life and added its own glow to the warm light illuminating the kitchen.

“Perfect,” Irk breathed.

It really is, Ho-Tan thought as she looked at the twelve candles burning merrily on the wreath, symbolising not only every one of them but also the twelve realms and, of course, the Twelve Days of Krismas. Ho-Tan wasn’t quite sure if Debbie’s tradition demanded they be lit all at one – Debbie wasn’t quite clear on that – but it really didn’t matter. What did was that her family had made this for her, just because they knew she needed some cheering up and loved the traditions from Debbie’s world. It wasn’t even Thanktival yet, and yet she couldn’t imagine getting a better present this year.

As the others began to pull out plates and mugs from the cupboards to set the table for breakfast, she quietly turned to Vex. “Did you organise all this?”

“Maybe.” He winked at her before he reached out to cup her face. “You know I can’t bear seeing you sad, Alfie.”

Ho-Tan leaned into his touch and smiled when his thumb brushed a stray tear away. “Thank you.”

Vex looked like he wanted to say more but then Irk and Alvin began tugging at her hands, wanting her to move. Laughing through her tears, Ho-Tan let them pull her to her chair.

“We have another surprise for you, Mum,” Alvin said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “Mr Bojangles helped with this one.”

That was all the explanation she got before he and the other Youngers started singing The Twelve Days of Krismas for her. Delighted, Ho-Tan looked at Vex and found him already smiling back at her, a serene look on his face. He reached for her hand and briefly brought it to his lips to place a kiss upon her knuckles before he gave the Youngers his full attention. Smiling softly to herself, Ho-Tan turned to look at the Youngers too, and as she sat there in the warm glow of the candles, surrounded by the people she loved most in all the realms, she knew she didn’t need to worry about the future. Whatever changes it would bring, her family would always be with her and find a way to make her smile.

[wisdomshoes]

CHRISTMAS KRIS!!!!!

last krismas I gave you my heart, but the very next day it ended up in a cage

[monstrous-tournament]

Ankh-Morpork City Watch Tournament!

Ankh-Morpork's One True King All Around Good Boy, Carrot "Head-Banger" Ironfoundersson is a human brought up by dwarfs and then further up by humans. Carrot genuinely thinks everyone is a decent and good person in their heart. And oddly enough, people find themselves not wanting to disappoint him in that. If anyone else tried it, they'd be a smear on the cobbles - but Captain Carrot has krisma.

André is a secret policeman looking for secret crimes. His exact rank in the Watch is unclear, but he does have a proper policeman's badge. He is also a member of the Musicians' Guild, allowing him to go undercover as a pianist at the Opera House during the scare of the Opera Ghost (Maskerade). The name of his squad, the Cable Street Particulars, harkens back to the old, dark days of the Watch; the new squad doesn't have anything to do with that.

[segasys]

Hello! Hru? I am here to cure you from your boredom. Hope you are having a good day. Did you hear? KRISMAS IS ALMOST HERE!

Silly question: At what age did you decided to get serious with art? and before that, did you ever expected to even do it?

Btw your art is great and I love all your designs!

Also, silly goober!!!

Gxitxyuxutxtuxu loook at them, so sillay, I love that meme!! Go little dude go!!!

I’ve been drawing basically my whole life, I made little comics and stuff, all before I knew what an OC was, I think when I decided to get actually serious though was when I started to get more into the internet, and saw art styles that i liked, and noticed that this is actually something I can do and not just for animation and other such industries. It mostly got actually serious when I started digital art in middle school, but only recently have I actually tried to emphasize anatomy and understanding my art, which I never did earlier and I think it caused a bit of a skill curve for me. (Woe short term memory loss be upon ye)) almost forgot to answer the last part, I think I did expect to, I just never knew in what, art is basically my whole being.

here have a doodle an old OC of mine I haven’t drawn in a while, he’s the character I drew for my first ever digital art (no I don’t have the art saved, but if I did I still wouldn’t show :] ) [I don’t have any art of him on me rn so this is drawn (very poorly) by memory]

[maya-chirps]

Celebrating Christmas in the Philippines: The Christmas Capital of Asia (Part 1)

A store in the Philippines that sells Filipino Christmas decorations sourced AFP Photo/Noel Celis, posted by Ana Catalina Paje (2021) via Yahoo! News

Filipino Christmas is notorious worldwide for being some of the longest celebrations of the holiday in the world. Often said to start on the month of September and ending at around February, being the main event for almost half the year is nothing to sneeze at. Even with this, how much do you know about Filipino Christmas exactly?

Just like all Christmas traditions from all around the world, the Filipino way is rooted in long tradition and history that stems from colonial, and postcolonial practices that continue to evolve into the present day with many more additions in the future.

Before I start

As usual, it is important for me to recognize that the Philippines is a diverse country with different cultures, traditions, and histories with each community having their own unique practices and experiences with the holidays. There is no way for me to fully encompass every single experience that every Filipino has for this holiday as well as the experiences of those who don't even celebrate the holiday. This is besides the fact that uncovering sources for more specific traditions or practices may be either difficult or impossible for me to access easily.

I also want to note that not all Filipinos celebrate Christmas such as Filipinos of different religious backgrounds such as Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist Filipinos, or of different denominations that may not celebrate Christmas such as members of some Protestant denominations.

I also had to split up this post into two parts because Tumblr wouldn't let me make extremely long posts. Part 2 is linked here.

With that being said, feel free to add your own stories and experiences to this post if you have any to share or even information that I may not had discussed at all.

(This was supposed to go live on the 25th but it got delays because of personal stuff sowwyyyy. I'll just reblog this for next year too lol)

Etymology

In the Philippines, Christmas is primarily called pasko with the season itself called kapaskuhan . It comes from the Spanish word pascua, from the phrase pascua de navidad. Pascua comes from the Latin pascha which then comes from the Greek πάσχα (páskha) which then came from Hebrew's פסח (pesach) originally referred specifically to Passover (Vivas, 2021).

From pascua and, by extension, pasko's usage to refer to Easter (i.e. pascua de resurrección and pasko ng pagkabuhay respectively), the word was then later used to refer to Christmas (i.e. pascua de navidad) as the word often referred to the celebratory aspect of the holiday. The Spanish brought over the dual usage of the term for both holidays during the colonial period.

Certain variations of the word around the country typically follow the same root with pasku or pascu being used in Kapampangan, a closely related language to Tagalog, and some other languages keeping the usage of pascua like the Spanish creole language of Chavacano.

Filipinos today often interchange the usage of pasko and Christmas when discussing the holiday, and sometimes may use an informal Filipinized spelling of Christmas as krismas by spelling the English word by sound (a trait of a lot of Filipino languages) which mimics a Filipino accent but I honestly had not seen this in a while.

History

Surprisingly,according to legend, the story of Christmas in the Philippines doesn't start on 1521, the year Ferdinand Magellan landed on the island of Cebu, nor the subsequent years after that, but on 1324, nearly 200 years before the Spanish came anywhere close to the Philippines islands.

In an old church called Saint James the Great Parish Church found in Bolinao, Pangasinan, exists a marker that makes the interesting claim that the first mass, and by extension the first mass in the history of the Philippines took place in the very place where the church now stood as a thanksgiving mass for their safe landing on the island (Sotelo, 2015). Ocampo (2012) states that there had been claims within Pangasinan folk legends that this first mass was also specifically the first Christmas mass that had taken place in the history of the Philippines which had embedded itself on the town of Bolinao's folklore.

A photo of the plaque found in St. James the Great Parish, Bolinao, Pangasinan showing Fr. Odorico posted by Vera Bajado (2021) via TripAdvisor

The story goes that on a stormy night, during his missionary travels to Asia, Italian Franciscan friar and missionary Blessed Fr. Odorico of Pordenone landed on the islands to take refuge in the town to wait for the rains to pass. It is said that they had met "hostile natives" who later changed their disposition after he proved himself harmless. He later celebrated the mass with his crew and the locals, people attributing these events to have taken place on the 25th of December (Yuvallos, n.d.). The full text for the marker that relays this story was transcribed by the blog Vagabonding with Chu (2017) and reads:

"Blessed Odorico From Friuli (Italy) Franciscan Missionary Born in Pordenone (Italy) around 1275 A.D. – Father Odorico, a courageous and religious Franciscan missionary pioneered the spread of the Gospel in Asia and China. He traveled always barefooted among indescribable difficulties and dangers exhausting his energies in the service of the Kingdom of God. In 1324, after landing and taking refuge in Bolinao, Pangasinan during a stormy weather, Father Odorico celebrated a thanksgiving Mass in honor of their safe journey and his mission. He also indocrinated and baptized many of the Malay immigrants in Bolinao. He returned home to Udine (Friuli) Italy after thirteen years mission. He died a holy death on January 14, 1331. His precious remains are kept in an artistic tomb of the parish church of our Lady of Mount Carmel, in Udine (Italy). Blessed Odorico, Pray for Us." - Marker in front of St. James the Great Parish Church

This claim is contested by historians including Ocampo (2012) who even adds that the additional parts of the story makes it much more unbelievable such as the claim that Fr. Odorico also planted the first Christmas tree which had not been a popular Christmas staple until the 19th Century. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines later affirms that the first mass did not in fact take place on Bolinao, Pangasinan but on Limasawa, Southern Leyte on Easter Sunday 1521 (Yumol, 2020).

The first Christmas mass most likely happened either a little after this time with a celebration possibly taking place during the stay of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi when arrived in the Philippines in an effort to start colonizing the islands. He was able to establish a Spanish settlement called the Villa del Santisimo Nombre de Jesús where he and his men lived in from 1565 - 1569 where celebrations for Christmas definitely must have taken place. The last of the Spanish forces in the country had also, incidentally, left from Cebu on Christmas day 1898 (The Freeman, 2021).

An old map of Villa del Santisimo Nombre de Jesús, now modern day Cebu posted by the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño de Cebu (2017).

A lot of older traditions persist to the present day but the more modern-looking Christmas, much like in other Western Christian countries didn't become as popular until the late 19th to early 20th Century coming mostly from other European and American influences.

Traditions such as the Christmas tree had not existed in Filipino Christmas celebrations until the late 19th century, with the first seen mentions of it in the writings of Dr. José Rizal both in his translation of Hans Christian Andersen's work as well as a letter he had wrote home from Berlin to his sister Saturnina, who was called Neneng, and her husband Manuel, who was called Maneng, where he translates a story about a sad pine tree with the words"Ang Puno ng Pino" (en. The Pine Tree) next to two drawings of Christmas trees, Ocampo (2012) writes.

Ocampo continues to explain how Rizal wrote about the many German traditions that he had encountered in Berlin, including the decorating of a pine tree for Christmas. Ocampo later transcribes this letter in his article:

"There are some beautiful and good [German] customs, like Christmas, which gives me pleasure to describe here for it is not found in Spain and you have not read about it in Spanish books. On Christmas Eve they bring from the forest a pine tree, and this tree is chosen because, besides being erect, it is the only tree that keeps its leaves during winter—I say it badly; not really leaves, but a kind of needle. It is decorated with tinsel, paper, lights, dolls, candy, fruits, dainties, etc., and at night time, it is shown to the children (who should see the preparation of it), and around this tree the family celebrates Christmas." - Dr. José Rizal in a letter to his sister Saturnina Rizal and her husband Manuel Hidalgo (Ocampo, 2012)

The Christmas tree, however, didn't become fashionable for the wider public's own Christmas celebrations until the arrival of the Americans, of which brought their own American traditions to the Philippines.

Ocampo continues to write that Rizal compared the customs of Germans and the Spanish and said that the Spanish holiday gets ruined because of too much praying. Rizal states that the Germans and those of Northern Europe, celebrate with the idea of preserving some level of childhood innocence and allow children to play unlike the Spanish which he describes as a much more crass culture who don't allow much play for the season and instead make these children pray during the holiday. Ocampo continues to transcribe:

"... the Spaniards do not indulge in poems for children and young people, or as the vulgar expression goes, they do not beat around the bush. They attend more to the positive, or the stomach. And Carambas! they would say; let us amuse ourselves and let children and young people seek their own amusement as best they can. They do seek their own diversion, with the result that the children and young people in Spain lack the charming innocence and candor of those in the North [of Europe], without malice, without great preoccupations (...) This is because here [in Germany] they know how to give age its due, unlike in other countries where children are not allowed to be themselves, to make noise or to play. Instead, they are made to recite the rosary and novena until the poor youngsters become very sleepy and understand nothing of what is going on (...)" - Dr. José Rizal comparing German and Spanish Christmas customs in his letter to his sister Saturnina and her husband Manuel (Ocampo, 2012).

This aligns with the shift in most Western Christian societies from viewing children (mostly white children) as sinful or ignorant smaller adults to a more romanticized ideal of innocence, allowing children more time for play with less responsibilities that wasn't afforded to them in the previous centuries. The romanticized view of childhood shifted the focus of Christmas on prayer and generosity to be more family, and more specifically, child-centered (Cecire, 2020). This was especially true for more industrialized countries of the time including late 19th Century Germany, of which Rizal was living in during the time he sent that letter to his sister and brother-in-law.

Photograph of the "exhibition of Christmas trees"; at Maryknoll Normal College which features students from the 1930s showing off their Christmas trees that they had created during an art class with Sr. Caritas in the center and art teacher Miss Cristobal at the left-side of the photo at the back. The image was sourced from the University of Southern California Libraries' International Mission Photography Archive, ca.1860-ca.1960, Maryknoll Mission Archives posted by John Tewell (2016) via Flickr.

Filipino Christmas continued to be influenced by non-Hispanic Western Christian countries with the turn of the century and the start of the American colonial era. Traditions like greeting cards which the Americans introduced popularized the figure of Santa Claus and white snow as strong associations with the holiday despite the Philippines never experiencing any snow in its entire history (Roa, 2017).

After the American occupation, Filipino Christmas continued to develop into the modern day adding new traditions stemming from older ones, continuing to change and grow even today.

(Part 2: Practices in the Present Day)

(Reference List)

[krirebr]

What trope do you enjoy but have never tried your hand at yourself? Any plans to try this year?!

I love fake dating. I think it's maybe because I was a theater kid? And the whole thing just feels like one big improv exercise. I genuinely think real-life me would be very good at it. Someone should hire me to be their fake girlfriend.

As far as the trope and not a random Craigslist ad I may be about to post, there's just so much opportunity for shenanigans, but also family angst - which you know I love to write - and big reveals. I love it.

Plans to write - yes, maybe. If you'll indulge me in getting a little personal here, I say in my bio (and pfp) that I'm aroace and I've kind of been itching to incorporate that into a fic. I feel like fake dating is a trope with a lot of space for that. Lord knows there've been a few big, extended family gatherings that I would have really appreciated having a fake boyfriend along for. Aro awareness week is in February and International Ace Day is in April, so I've been kicking around the idea of doing a fic for one of those. I have no idea if anyone would have any interest in it though.

I've honestly come up with a few more ideas just while writing this answer! So it's probably a trope you'll see multiple times in multiple ways from me this year. 😂😂

Babes I could see getting involved:

Am I missing anyone?

Join my Krismas Party!

[impossiblyatomictiger-blog]

Noelle had finally gathered up the courage to ask Susie out. It had taken more than a little encouragement from her dad, and a few times she did psyche out, but she was gonna do it.

It was just after school. She had texted Susie earlier to meet up at the track, but Susie was nowhere to be seen. Noelle was worried she had missed the message or ... no, Susie was a friend. Her friend. She wouldn't ignore it. Where would she be, though.

"With Kris," she thought aloud. They hung out most days. Where they'd be, however, was unknowable. She'd seen them everywhere in Hometown!

She heard a slight creaking noise from the bleachers. Was someone else here?

She looked, but saw no one.

"It's probably a couple making out," she concluded. That couldn't be good for their backs: let's tell them to do so somewhere else.

She walked along the side of the bleachers, hoping to catch the offending couple.

She saw two people kissing

It was Kris and Susie.

Noelle had suspected they were together for a while. She'd also been hoping that if they were, they would be open to a third.

She backed off behind the concessions stand. The prospect of interrupting her friends make out session was much more embaressing than interupting a classmates.

"How do I do this?" Noelle asked herself. She wanted to still ask, even if she knew the answer would probably be no.

She wasn't even sure if either of them were poly, even Kris.

Noelle was so caught up in her own thoughts that she almost missed the sound of talking.

"Noelle said she wanted to ask me something here. She's probably left by now, though."

Did Susie sound ... dissapointed? No ... that couldn't be right.

"Maybe. I think I know what she was gonna ask."

"Really?"

"Yep. She's also right there. Hey, Noelle!"

"Hey Kris, Susie..."

"Hey."

"Um ... IwashopingtoaskyououtbutthenIsaw you...."

"Breathe," Susie said.

Kris started to talk.

"Don't. I was gonna ask you out, but I saw you making out and got ... flustered."

"Kris?"

"I am poly. And she is cute."

"Krismas!" Noelle became flushed.

"Fuck off, you know it's true. You poly, Susie?"

"What does that mean? Because if it means I get to kiss both you dorks I'm in."

"Is that a yes?" Noelle asked.

"Fuck yeah!"

[ailendolin]

Thanktival 2022 - Day 1 - Yonderland

Title: The Perfect Present [AO3]

Characters: The Elders' Youngers & the Cake Bake Ladies

Prompt: The Elders' Youngers & Holiday Jumpers

Summary: The Youngers try to make the perfect Thanktival present for their parents. It goes about as well as you'd expect.

A/N: Happy 12 Days of Thanktival, everyone! I can't wait to see this year's wonderful creations by everyone!

————

The Perfect Present

“Is it supposed to look like this?”

The gentle sound of needles clicking stopped as Alvin and the others looked up. Irk was holding … something in his hand. It was supposed to be a Thanktival jumper – inspired by something Alvin had heard Debbie talk about a few days ago – but looked more like a doily a dragon had viciously torn apart with its claws than anything resembling a piece of clothing.

Out of the corner of his eye, Alvin saw Sepal wince. “I’m pretty sure nothing is supposed to look like this, Irk.”

The others nodded in agreement. Irk sighed and put down his knitting needles. “I’ll never work it out in time for Thanktival.”

Daisy glanced down at his own pitiful attempt at knitting that was turning out to be just slightly less disastrous than Irk’s. “Yeah, neither will I.”

“We need help,” Barry said heavily.

“We need more than that,” Irk said. “We need Deb-beh.”

Alvin put down his own dark blue monstrosity of a jumper with a sigh. “Debbie’s not here, though. She’s home, preparing for Krismas, remember?”

The others hung their heads.

“Then what do we do?” Sepal asked. “We can’t very well give our parents these.”

He held up his jumper and watched it slowly unravel into a pile of wool in silent dismay.

Alvin bit his lip. It had been his idea to knit Thanktival jumpers for their parents and so he felt responsible for the disaster it was turning into. Who could have known that knitting was so hard? His mum always made it look so easy. It took her no time at all to turn a ball of wool into something nice and comfortable like the warm pair of socks he was wearing right now. Alvin really hadn’t expected it to be so difficult to recreate his mum’s needlework but it was, and the longer he looked at everyone’s sorry creations, the more obvious it became that Barry was right: they desperately needed help. There was only one person aside from Debbie Alvin could think of who might be able to safe them now. He looked at the others, face serious. “I’m going to call Edith.”

A few hours later, they stood in front of Edith’s house – which was actually Sue’s and Lynn apparently lived there, too. Alvin counted that as a blessing because the gods knew they could use all the help they could get. The three women took one look at their jumpers – or what remained of them – before they shook their heads in mirrored despair.

“How did you even do this?” Lynn asked with a look of horrified fascination on her face as she held up Irk’s mauled doily between two well-manicured fingers.

Irk just shrugged. “Talent?”

“Rather a lack thereof,” Sue grumbled and ushered them inside.

They sat down in the living room where a plate of freshly baked cookies had been set up for them. Edith waited until they had all taken one before she said with a kind smile, “Now, I think what you’re trying to do is very sweet–“

“Stupid is the word I’d use,” Sue muttered under her breath. Lynn elbowed her none too gently.

“– but I think we can all agree that you bit off more than you can chew,” Edith continued unfazed. “So how about we try something a little less advanced instead?”

She reached behind her and presented them with a wool hat and scarf. It wasn’t quite what Alvin had had in mind when he’d proposed the idea of knitting jumpers to the others a few days ago. His mum loved things from Debbie’s world and her eyes had shone so brightly when Debbie had talked about her Krismas traditions. Something inspired by that would have been the perfect present but after today’s knitting disaster he was pretty sure his mum would appreciate a well-done scarf a lot more than a jumper that was barely recognisable as such. Judging by the hopeful looks in his brothers’ eyes, they all felt the same so Alvin turned to Edith with a smile. “Less advanced sounds perfect.”

They spent the rest of the day knitting under Edith, Lynn and Sue’s careful observation. After showing them the basics, they let them work on their own, only intervening when it was absolutely necessary. At one point, Lynn vanished into the kitchen and returned with the most beautiful cake Alvin had ever seen. It tasted just as incredible as it looked and Sepal, taking after his dad, would have forgotten about his knitting project in favour of it if Daisy hadn’t taken the plate away from him.

Even with the distraction of the cake, they managed to finish their presents by the end of the day. Barry, Irk and Daisy had all chosen to make hats for their fathers while Sepal and Alvin had decided to make scarves. Thanks to Edith, Lynn and Sue’s embroidery skills, each present was also personalised in some way. The letters LORD now adorned Barry’s hat, inspired by his father’s title. Daisy’s hat had little flowers all over it in the colours of the rainbow while Irk’s sported a single apple blossom. Knowing how much meaning it held for their parents, Alvin couldn’t help but smile when Irk proudly held it up for all of them to see. His own scarf partly mirrored the symbolism of Irk’s hat: on one end, Edith had embroidered a light blue butterfly and on the other, a golden quill.

“Your mother will love this,” she said softly when she was done and handed the scarf back to Alvin.

Sepal hadn’t been so sure about what to do with his father’s scarf at first. In the end, he asked Sue to embroider a simplified version of the Elder’s chamber onto one end of it.

“It’s home,” he said with a small, self-conscious shrug. “This way, he’ll always have it with him, even if he’ll have to flee to another realm again.”

They all crowded around him in a hug after that.

Edith, Lynn and Sue sent them home with little bags of cookies and the relieved feeling of not having screwed up the first Thanktival where they could be sure their presents wouldn’t get eaten. Alvin couldn’t wait for his mother to see the scarf he made. He had a feeling she was going to cry and hug the life out of him when he told her he made it himself – with Edith’s help, of course. Looking at the smiling faces of his brothers, Alvin couldn’t help but grin as well. This year’s Thanktival would be the best one ever.

[janetbrown711]

December 25, 20XX

Noelle's POV of that fateful day's events

Chapter 1

Ao3 Link

.o0o.

“You are such a scaredy-goat, Asriel. Lighten up, will you?” Dess Holiday punched his arm with a snicker. “It’s just a bunker.”

“I am not scared, I just think your parents are going to want you home soon– we’ve been out kind of long, haven’t we?” Asriel tugged his thick winter coat a little closer to him.

“Sounds like a scaredy goat,” Kris joked with Dess.

“See? Even Krismas supports me. I mean– I get Noelle being all skittish, but you, Azzy? Oh my wounded heart,” Dess sighed dramatically. Kris snickered. Asriel rolled his eyes.

“Well someone should watch Noelle anyways,” He said, looking down at the smaller deer by his side.

“H-hey, I’m not scared either,” Noelle huffed in defiance. She had told herself she was going to be brave tonight– it was the whole reason she agreed to go out with Dess, Asriel and Kris and not stay inside helping with Christmas Dinner. She wanted an adventure– she always had (despite always getting scared and crying). 

“Is that so?” Dess said, pulling out the bolt cutters from Kris’ backpack, then snapping the single lock on the bunker door. The sound pierced Noelle’s ears, causing her to jump behind Asriel. 

“Noelle, stay with Asriel, you’ll be fine and safe with him.” Her older sister gave her a comforting wink– a wink she often used as a way to say “I’m not judging, you do you”. 

Noelle was really fond of that wink. 

 Dess then turned her attention to Kris with a grin. “Me and Kris’ll just have all the fun, isn’t that right Krismas?” Dess elbowed her little partner in crime.

“Yeah! Me and Dess’ll have all the fun,” They crossed their arms with a smug smile. Noelle laughed, as Kris’s antics tended to do every now and then. 

“Take my flashlight, Kris. And if anything goes wrong, just holler, alright?” Asriel reached into his own backpack and handed Kris the flashlight within. Kris nodded.

“Azzy, relax. It’s an abandoned bunker– it’s probably just from Y2K or the Cold War or something– relax,” Dess tugged open the rusted metal doors with an ear piercing shriek, made extra difficult by all the snow.

Asriel rolled his eyes. “Don’t take too long either, or else I’m gonna have to go get hot cocoa and then you’ll also be all on your own explaining to mom what took you so long.”

“Better get on it then,” Dess winked at Asriel and flashed Noelle a quick smile before going into the darkness.

And then it was just the two of them. 

“So… wanna build a snow monster?” Asriel asked, kicking the snow with his foot. 

Noelle shrugged, her eyes still glued to the heavy doors. She could hear Kris and Dess’s voices echo a little bit. It made Noelle a little jealous…

“I dunno… They won’t be too long, right?” Noelle asked. 

“Aren’t you Dess’s sister? Why are you asking me all the questions?” Asriel laughed. 

“Well you’ve technically known her longer,” Noelle said, going to a good patch of snow, deciding to build a snow monster after all. 

“I guess you got me there,” Asriel joined her. 

The pair chatted for a bit as they built about one, two, three snow monsters before Noelle’s ears twitched as she heard a scream– but it turns out it was the iron doors coming closed. 

“Something wrong?” Asriel asked. 

“The doors just closed,” Noelle pointed. 

Asriel frowned, standing up and pulling on the handle of the bunker. 

It opened easily. 

“Wow, some deep bunker– gotta be World War II,” Asriel tried looking around, but decided to close it when he saw a few too many spiderwebs. “Dess and Kris’ll be fine, especially because Dess broke the chain. Plus, if they can’t get out, we’ll open it for them,” Asriel said, going back to the snow monster. 

Weird how a door goes from screeching to easy to open…

Noelle continued working on the snow monster before she started to shiver– the cold finally getting to her. 

“Hey– you wanna stop by the diner real quick for some cocoa to go? They’re always open on Christmas, last I checked,” Asriel offered his hand to help Noelle up. 

“Alright,” Noelle agreed before adding– “So long as it's quick.” 

“Oh please, I’m basically a celebrity to them– Son of the Chief of the Police has its perks,” Asriel popped his sweater like he was “cool-stuff”, as Rudy liked to put it. 

Together they made their way towards the dinner, with Asriel immediately chatting up the waitress behind the bar, while Noelle stared out the window. 

A perfect layer of snow covered Hometown– sparkling white though not too blinding, as the sky was perfectly cloudy to prevent that. Noelle couldn’t help but smile at the scene– the month of December always made her so happy. Christmas always added a little something special too. 

Maybe she’d be able to talk Dess into walking around town– maybe even just the two of them. That’d be nice– it felt like it’d been awhile since they’d had some good sister bonding time. Dess was always so busy with highschool now– and it wasn’t like mom made it easy. She was always strict with her– Dess wasn’t exactly the best student. Mom always made her study when she was home, which was why Dess often tried to hang out with Asriel, often without telling Noelle. 

She sighed. Dess probably didn’t know what she was doing– but it hurt sometimes. But that only filled her with the determination to ask to hang out some more before heading back even more. 

“Ready to head back?” Asriel handed Noelle her cup. Noelle took a good whiff- getting excited when she smelled the extra extra cinnamon. 

“You remembered,” She grinned. 

“You and Kris are a lot more alike than I think you realize,” Asriel waved goodbye to the waitress before opening the door for Noelle as they went out into the cold. 

Asriel made small talk about how her classes were going, and Noelle asked similarly about how his were going to– until Noelle’s ears perked once again. 

“Jesus– who’s making such a– c’mon– but stay behind me,” Asriel squinted to try and find the sound. Asriel certainly didn’t have to ask Noelle twice though, as she instantly went behind him, gripping her cup anxiously as they picked up the pace and walked down the straight line to the bunker. 

Noelle frowned when she looked up– the clouds had gone from perfect to stormy rather quickly. 

However, she didn’t focus on that for long, as the sound they heard became clearer and clearer– and before they knew it, there was Kris– bloody knuckled, burnt and banging on the door shouting and crying unintelligible sounds. Asriel dropped his cocoa in an instant to attend to his sibling, leaving Noelle frozen, practically a deer in headlights. 

“Kris–! What the hell-?! Are you okay? You’re hurt– what the hell is going on?” Asriel tried shouting above Kris, but they remained unresponsive. Eventually Noelle saw Asriel close his eyes and grab his sibling, who kicked and scratched and demanded to be let go before they got them stable over their shoulder. 

“C-c’mon,” Was all he said to Noelle as he passed, and Noelle looked back at the bunker one more time before following. 

Kris kept screaming and kicking and crying the entire way to the hospital, not even looking at Noelle or realizing they were being carried by their brother. 

“Kris, where’s Dess? Why wasn’t she with you?” She eventually blurted. 

Kris’ screams stopped, now completely turning to sobs. They now hugged Asriel’s arms and cried and cried and cried. 

“A-asriel? Did you see her?” Noelle tried not to stare– it felt rude. Kris didn’t cry– ever. 

Asriel didn’t answer. 

Noelle tossed her almost full cocoa in a trashcan. 

It started to rain sleet as they headed into the hospital and Asriel spoke to the front desk lady. Noelle stared out the window as the perfect snow became covered in dirt and mud, fiddling with her sweater as she didn’t dare speak. 

She followed perfectly silent as they took Kris to a room and started giving them treatments for the burns and bandaging their knuckles. She stayed by Kris’s side when Asriel couldn’t take it anymore and went to make a call to his parents. 

Where was Dess?

Noelle knew she should be more worried about her friend, as they were indeed very hurt, but where was Dess???

Noelle didn’t get to think in semi-silence for long though– as before she felt like she could blink, Toriel and Asgore had burst in and were asking a billion questions about Kris very, very loudly. The Dreemurr’s were usually very quiet folks, but when they were loud, they were loud. 

Asgore must’ve noticed Noelle was sitting there in the corner chair after about eight minutes because he sat down right next to her and smiled. 

“I have a surprise for you,” He said, handing her a red and Kris a yellow one– straight from their home garden. 

“Thanks, Officer Dreemurr,” Noelle rubbed a thorn with her thumb, slightly cringing when it unsurprisingly proved itself to be sharp. 

“It’s no problem at all, Noelle. Unlike ol’ Tori here, I know how to de-escalate a situation,” He winked. 

Noelle could tell Kris hated the joke– though she could see Toriel hated it even more as she gave him the death stare. 

“Could I speak to both Dreemurr parents?” The nurse eventually said, going to a corner and then whispering a few things Noelle didn’t particularly care to focus on. 

Red wasn’t Noelle’s favorite color– she much preferred green. Red was always more Dess’s color– and it suited her very well. 

Where was Dess?

Gasps from the corner, before anxious looks and then leaving the room. 

Noelle was the only one who remained. 

“Kris…” She eventually croaked, looking up at them. 

Their eyes were scared– terrified, even. 

It made Noelle scared too. 

“I… Is Dess still… there?” She eventually gained the strength to ask. 

When Kris nodded slightly, that was all Noelle needed. 

Her eyes remained glued to the ground for a long while. The doctors and Dreemurr’s shuffled back in after not too long, and Noelle didn’t even look up when she tugged on Asgore’s sleeve. 

“Oh– Howdy, Noelle. What can I do you for?” He smiled at her. 

“...Can we talk outside?” She whispered. Asgore must’ve understood the severity and took her hand as he stood up. 

Being outside the room felt no better, as the searingly bright white paint mixed with Christmas decorations everywhere kind of hurt her eyes. 

“Want to tell me what’s going through that head of yours?” Asgore placed a big, fluffy hand on her shoulder. “Oh! And if this is about why your folks aren’t here yet, it’s because ol’ Carol said she was going to make sure the ham didn’t burn and Rudy was taking a nap upstairs– your mother said she’d tell him when he woke up.”

Ah– well, Noelle supposed that was a question on her mind– though not the biggest. 

“I-it’s about Dess. Kris was with her, exploring the underground bunker way south, a-and when we went back only Kris was there and they were screaming and pounding against the door– A-and I think my sister is trapped down there, a-and I’m really, really scared,” Noelle started to cry. Asgore quickly wrapped her in one of the Dreemurr’s famous ‘Boss Hugs’ before setting her down. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll call up the squad and fire department and we’ll get looking for her right away,” He made sure she was looking him in the eye when he said that. 

“You can just wait here for your parents to get you, does that sound good?” He wiped away one of her tears with his thumb.

Noelle nodded, but that was a lie– she wanted to go with. She wasn’t scared of that bunker anymore– Dess was there– she was going to run in and find her sister and hug her and then they’d spend the rest of the day together– and then it would all be perfect and safe. 

Asgore told Noelle to go sit in the lobby for her parents– said it’d be less crowded and she could play with some of those toys that seemed to be in every hospital lobby in existence– while he went back in and told his family he wouldn’t be home for dinner. 

Noelle obeyed a little bit– choosing to sit in a chair by the bead maze, though she felt she couldn’t play with it if she wanted to. 

It was a special Christmas bead maze– red and green squares and circles were strung along green and red wires. The kid before her had separated all the reds and greens though– and when Noelle glanced on the floor, she could even see one red was broken and on the ground. 

Nope– Noelle stayed sitting. 

She was too old for baby toys like that anyway. 

She saw Asgore leave and head towards the station out of the corner of her eye. She remained sitting a minute though, just to make sure no one was watching her. No one was, and so she got up and headed out– though was halted immediately when she bumped into someone, causing her to fall backward. 

“Oh-! Sorry– didn’t see you ther– Noelle? What are you doing? I thought Asgore told you to stay inside?” Her father said, closing his umbrella, carefully stepping over her so the door could close. 

“W-well, I was just gonna get some fresh air,” She lied. 

“Noelle, it’s freezing rain out there,” Rudy helped her to her feet (or hooves, more accurately). “What were you really doing?” 

Noelle still couldn’t look up. Jesus– it was like even if she wanted to, the floor was somehow the most interesting thing in the world– which it certainly wasn’t. 

“Here, how’s about I take you home and make you a nice cup of tea, wouldn’t that be nice?” Rudy must’ve been smiling at her because his voice always sounded different when he smiled. 

“I want to find Dess,” The seven-year-old eventually spoke. 

Rudy was silent, before kneeling down. “I want Dess to be okay too. I’m just as scared as you are, trust me, but right now what’s best for you and for Dess is making sure you’re also safe and taken care of, alright?” 

Noelle didn’t like the sound of that. Why should she get to be safe and warm if Dess was lost underground? And why was only dad– No, that made sense… 

Noelle hugged her father, who quickly hugged her back. He also slowly stood up, shifting the hug to a carry, and he opened the door of the hospital– immediately greeting them with facefuls of freezing rain. Rudy muttered to himself as he managed to open his umbrella again with one hand and headed homeward. 

By the time they got home, both were fairly soaked and shivering, taking off their winter coats and sitting by the fireplace that had still been going. 

“That you, Rudy?” Her mother’s voice called from the kitchen, causing a heavy feeling to settle in Noelle’s stomach. 

“Yep-er-doodle!” He replied, attempting to lighten the mood. It didn’t work for Noelle though, as she just stared into the flames. 

Rudy decided to give Noelle some space, leaving to talk to Carol. Meanwhile, Noelle tried really, really hard to hold back tears, which she had been doing successfully, minus the slip-up with Asgore. 

“What do you mean Dess wasn’t there?! Well where is she? God– you let a teenager go for five seconds–”  Rudy had clearly broken the news. 

“Carol, Noelle is still in the other room. And it was an accident– god, you should’ve seen Kris…” Her father’s tone went hushed, but Noelle could still hear (she always thought she had impeccable hearing). 

“That Kris is always getting themselves hurt– what did Dess do this time though?” Her mother sighed dramatically, setting down a tray to emphasize her point. 

“They explored the abandoned bunker– something must’ve been screwy down there. Kris was all burnt and had bloody knuckles and stuff.”

Her mother went silent after that. 

“Well… I hope she’s alright. God knows it's difficult enough to balance the stress of a campaign already.” 

Noelle slumped over in her chair. She glanced outside and it had basically turned into a freezing rain blizzard/storm? 

Noelle started pondering going outside when the phone ringing distracted her. 

“Holiday residence, Carol speaking… Yes… mm… I-... Ah… Toriel, you and I both–... yes I know… I know… You mean Asgore canceled?... I don’t know either… best hope he doesn’t get frostbite out there you know… yes yes… mhm… Well, I suppose there’s always next year… Yes, I know. Goodbye, Toriel.” 

Her mother mumbled something as she hung up. 

“Dinner is canceled.” 

Was she really surprised? Why would she want dinner to continue– why–? just–?

Noelle didn’t understand her mother. 

Her parents continued talking in hushed tones, and Noelle didn’t feel like continuing to eavesdrop. Instead, she went upstairs and changed out of her slightly soaked clothes into something much drier, more water/snow resistant, and much warmer than before. She stopped before hse left her room to listen to footsteps, but her parents were still in the kitchen– meaning she’d be fine leaving out the front door if she was extra quiet. 

Carefully she crept and crept and crept down the stairs, using those carefully sharp ears of hers to listen for her parents, and before she knew it she was slowly (and shakily) turning the door knob and quietly closing the door too. 

The freezing rain really picked up now– but Noelle didn’t care, running out and into the woods as fast as she could– figuring it’d be easier to go that way than all out in the open– plus if she went diagonally she’d get there much quicker. 

She was as careful as she could to not trip over roots or slide on ice, her anger and desperation making her ignore every time she did. She didn’t care that after five minutes her face felt numb and her legs were on fire– she was going to help them find Dess. 

Dess owed her. They were going to walk together– spend sister bonding time together– S-sure Noelle hadn’t brought it up and she hadn’t promised anything like that– but Noelle was going to make it happen anyways. 

Sure, she was absolutely terrified, the sun was setting, freezing rain was falling, she couldn’t see the ground, but dammit she was going to find her sister. 

…If she didn’t get lost. 

Thankfully, she didn’t. She arrived at the bunker and all but ran for it, but stopped when she noticed they were— leaving? The cops were leaving? Was Dess there?!

Noelle looked frantically for her sister amongst the crowd, more and more frustrated the longer it took. 

She eventually shouted: “Dess!!! I’m right here!!!” on the top of her lungs. 

This caught Asgore’s attention. 

“Noelle! What are you doing out here?! It’s freezing– you should be home!” Asgore said, grabbing her arm. Noelle broke free furiously. 

“Where’s Dess?! You were supposed to find her!” 

Asgore sighed and closed his eyes. 

“Noelle… the bunker was empty and shallow. There was a trap door with a single room, and Dess wasn’t there.” 

No… no– no, no no! That couldn’t be true!

“That’s not what we saw! Asriel and I– there was a big huge cave! A-and they went in and then the doors shut and we got cocoa and– Y-you’re a liar!” She shouted at him, stomping on his foot as hard as she could, making a break for the bunker, nearly slipping on the ice. 

Immediately she swung the door open, and–

A small room with dead grass, cobwebs and a dim light bulb greeted her– a small brown wooden hatch probably led to the Bunker. Noelle rushed to open it, but the police had put a bunch of padlocks on it. She tried kicking them, biting them, smashing them with a rock– nothing worked. 

“Noelle, you really should–” 

“Y-you don’t know what I saw! I-it wasn’t like this– it was big a-and dark a-and scary! I wouldn't be scared of this!!” Hot tears started to fall down Noelle’s face again. She quickly wiped them away and faced the wall of the bunker, banging against it. 

“Come on you stupid wall!! Give me back my sister!!!” She shouted before kicking it– which was a horrible idea, as she immediately cringed in pain. 

It was then Noelle started using every swear word Dess and Kris had ever taught her as she began shouting and screaming for Dess to come back here right now and that she wasn’t playing a game and that Kris was really freaked out and that she was really freaked out and–

Asgore picked her up like how Asriel had picked up Kris– but this time she was quickly put down. 

“Noelle Holiday– what are you doing out here?! I thought you were still by the fireplace!!” 

Her father had found out after all.

Noelle tried to cease her crying, but when her eyes met her father’s she just collapsed into the snow, weeping like a little baby. 

Rudy wrapped her in his arms, but Noelle at first pushed him away, pouding exhausted fists against his chest, asking “why” over and over and over and over and over again. 

Why? Why why why why why why why?! How was this fair!!! Where was Dess?! The bunker hadn’t been like that– how?! How did Dess just disappear?!!! Dess never just disappeared– well, except– but this wasn’t like that– no matter what Mom might say. 

Rudy just sat there and hugged her, rocking ever so slightly, while Asgore held the umbrella. Noelle fought every bit of exhaustion with fury. She had to find Dess– she just had to. 

She didn’t know when her father picked her up, but she was suddenly in the back of Asgore’s cop car, wrapped in a blanket, snuggled against her father, being driven away from that awful, awful place. 

Rudy stroked her hair as they sat. He tried making a joke about how he “never thought he’d be arrested with his daughter” and how he “demanded a lawyer” but it did nothing to make any of them laugh or feel better. 

“Noelle… I’m sorry I wasn’t there to pick you up sooner…” Rudy whispered to her. Noelle snuggled closer to him. 

“I-i’m also sorry that I-i don’t know what to say. I-i… I don’t even know what to think yet– I…” Rudy had to take a breath. 

“We’ll find Dess eventually, I know we will.” 

“I know we will.” 

Promises. 

Noelle didn’t want to believe in it– just in case it just got her hurt again, but she was tired. She just wanted to lay here and close her eyes forever…

“God– I miss her so much already…”

Noelle wasn’t sure if he meant to say that out loud or for her to hear, but Noelle managed a simple

“Me too…” 

Before closing her eyes, accepting the exhaustion and falling asleep. 

[kris-mage-fics]

merry krismas to u n ur husband, kris(mas)

Okay, I'm ngl, that's such a cute message! And thank you, Yuki! Merry Krismas to you too! ;) So far it's been a really nice day! I was going to take a picture of a cardinal that showed up as a little Christmas present, but sadly my camera battery was dead. So please imagine a pretty cardinal sitting on a branch on a foggy day! <3

[norakitkat]

Seven days left till krisma.

[realholidaygirl]

352 days until Krismas!!!!!!!