#merry christmas for after effect 2023

[ravik29]

©2021-2022 The Creative Corridor

Merry Christmas for After Effects CC 

 It is the time of year again , when joy and love are in the year and the world is all charged up to make Christmas special for their loved once. 

 May you have the gift of faith, the blessing of hope and the peace of His love at Christmas and always! Send this special video to add smile in life of all you love and don’t love … 

 Main Features : 

• AE CC and above. 

• Full HD 1920x1080. 

• Easy to switch between your Golden Textured Logo or Plain Logo or Keep only Your Name in the last logo segment. 

• No Third Party plugins used. Particles are pre-rendered. 

• Background and the top snowy particles are separate layers. Also the shapes are separate layers having formation animation with Trails Particles and Edge Particles as separate pre-rendered particle layers. 

• Subtle Particles Transitions also separate pre-rendered layers. 

• Project is well arranged with markers and comments. 

• Easy to change the background colors • Simple to use. 

• Music not included. 

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Email. thecreativecorridor11@gmail.com 

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[dbs-scans]

Christmas Event 2023 — Santa Claus of Love

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! ❄️☃️

As a special gift to all of our lovely tumblr fans, we have compiled the event hosted this Christmas on AidaIro’s Twitter account for your viewing pleasure. We hope you like it!

Good evening! This is Yashiro Nene, Santa Claus of Love! Christmas is drawing near, and my mission is to give sound advice to all of the lost little lambs who are still having trouble choosing a present for their loved ones!✨ All right, I’ll do my best!

I’ve already found my first troubled little lamb!

Hmm... So she wants to give her childhood friend a present, but she's overthinking it and can't make up her mind! Leave it to me! The Santa Claus of Love will help you decide on the perfect present! You should get him...

POLL:

A home-made treat baked with love 💖 ✅

Be bold and present yourself as the gift! 💕

An arrow

Happy Christmas! Let's celebrate the genesis of a happy new couple, everyone!

Now I’ve found an energetic little lamb!

Hoho! So he's having trouble finding a gift for someone whose relationship with him can't be described succinctly. Leave it to the Santa Claus of Love to choose the perfect present for you! You should get...

POLL:

Chicken for the growing boy 🍗

A matching amulet 💕 ✅

An arrow

Happy Christmas! Let's celebrate the joyous genesis of a new matching duo, everyone!

My next little lamb is a large one!

Oh? His coworker, a fox, is threatening that she'll bite him if she doesn't get a present? Just leave it to the Santa Claus of Love to choose the perfect present for you! You should give...

POLL:

A special treat to enjoy with booze 😋 ✅

Nothing says Christmas like an ugly sweater! 🎄 

An arrow

Happy Christmas! Pretty sweet sweater he’s got on, huh? Let's celebrate a joyous banquet between two drinking buddies, everyone!

And that leaves me with three arrows left over.

Okay! I'm going shooting!

Gotta aim niiiice and steady...

That should do it! Whoever is struck by these arrows of romance will fall in love with the first person they see. The effect lasts only 24 hours, so just to be safe I struck him with all three. Christmas tomorrow is gonna be lovey-dovey, guaranteed! Oh! And I also brought a very special present.

Take these...

The newest volume of Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, Volume 21, as well as Volume 2 of After-school Hanako-kun will release on February 27th! Happy Christmas! We hope you all continue to support TBHK in the coming year!

[kirame90]

SniperSpy ends up having a fun night after all

Smutty New Year, everyone!

They managed to escape Chaotic Boyfriends and sneak into a hotel nearby. I believe this calls for the kind of celebration their counterparts could not have provided. Or COULD they..?

And Spy doubles down on it, giving Sniper an early wedding gift he hadn't even remembered he needed. Aren't they just precious?

The next page is now on my Patreon!

The charity of January 2023 is OneReef

With 4 stars on Charity Navigator OneReef is partnering with island communities to combine traditional stewardship and modern resources to protect coral reefs.

Developing and supporting community marine management plans

Mentoring to build local capacity for effective coral reef management

Establishing sustainable financing plans

Training, tools and infrastructure to protect reefs

Science-based monitoring to measure impact

Thank you so incredibly much for reblogging this story, one and all! I hope you all had Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! <3

First part / Previous part

The characters don’t belong to me, the artwork does.

All dem other parts:

Part1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Part 14

Part 15

Part 16

Part 17

Part 18

Part 19

Part 20

Part 21

Part 21,5

Part 22

Part 23

Part 24

Part 25

Part 26

Part 27

Part 28

Part 29

Part 30

Part 31

Part 32

Part 33

Part 34

Part 35

Part 36

Part 37

Part 38

Part 39

Part 40

Part 41

Part 42

Part 43

Part 44

Part 45

Part 46

Part 47

Part 48

Part 49

Part 50

Part 51

Part 52

Part 53

Part 54

Part 55

Part 56

Part 57

Part 58

Part 59

Part 60

Part 61

Part 62

Part 63

Part 64

Part 65

Part 66

Part 67

Part 68

Part 69

Part 70

Part 71

Part 72

Part 73

Part 74

Part 75

Part 76

Part 77

Part 78

Part 79

Part 80

Part 81

Part 82

Part 83

Part 84

Part 85

Part 87

Part 88

Part 89

Part 90

Part 91

Part 92

Part 93

Part 94

Part 95

Part 96

Part 97

Part 98

Part 99

Part 100

Part 101

Part 102

Page 103

Page 104

Part 105

Part 106

Part 107

Part 108

Part 109

Part 110

Part 111

Part 112

Part 113

Part 114

Part 115

Part 116

Part 117

Part 118

Part 119

Part 120

Part 121

Part 122

Part 123

Part 124

Part 125

Part 126

Part 127

Part 128

Part 129

Part 130

Part 131

Part 132

Part 133

[chloe-skywalker]

No Plans - Billy Hargrove

Part 2

(2/3)

Billy x Fem!reader Harrington

Warnings: none (I don’t think)

Word count: 2,602

Summary: Billy ask’s his father to go over to Y/n’s for Christmas Day. Susan asks that Y/n comes to theirs for Christmas Eve in exchange. Neil makes it that or no he can’t go. So Y/n goe’s to the Hargroves for Christmas Eve.

Authors Note: Next Christmas Day 2023 Its Christmas at Y/n’s! (3 parter over the course of 3 years)

P.s ~ Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! And others!

Masterlist

Stranger Things Masterlist

Holiday Masterlist

Part 1 (2021) ~ Part 3 (2023)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“So are you guys excited for Christmas break?” Susan asked as the small dysfunctional family sat around the table to eat dinner. Something they had recently started doing, per Susan’s suggestion. To make them bond more as a family.

“Yes.” Max answered as she put food on her plate just to end the silence.

“I actually have something to ask about Christmas.” Billy spoke up knowing now was possibly the best time to ask. Susan could possibly help persuade his father to say ‘yes’.

“Go on.” Neil narrowed his eyes towards his son. Waiting for him to ask whatever he wanted to ask.

“Y/n’s parents have invited me to spend Christmas day with them at their house. I was wondering if it’d be okay with you, I’d accept.” Billy explained nervously, not looking his father in the eyes. He just focused on grabbing food like Max.

“Well, we’ll miss you but I would think it’d be okay.” Susan spoke up after moments of just silence. Susan smiled, she liked Y/n and the effect the girl had on Billy. She made him happy, calm and seemed to distract her step-son from his fathers actions. “How about since your going to Y/n’s for Christmas day she come’s over here for Christmas Eve?”

Susan would love to have Y/n over for Christmas Eve, but since she basically gave Billy the okay before his father said anything she wanted to put a suggestion out there.

“That sounds like a great idea Honey.” Neil smiled over towards his wife. Looking over to his son an idea of his own popped into his head so he looked to Billy with almost a smug look. “Let’s make it a deal. You can go to your girlfriends for Christmas Day as long as you both spend Christmas Eve here. If she doesn’t then you can’t.”

Billy nodded to show he understood. “Yes sir.”

Now he had to ask and tell Y/n. Hopefully she’d be okay with coming to his, but he wouldn’t blame her if she said no. His house wasn’t the most welcoming.

^     ^     ^

“Done.” Y/n stated looking completely serious at him. When Billy told her his father’s conditions for him spending Christmas with her Y/n answered without a second thought.

“Y/n-”

Y/n shook her head when he spoke her name, already knowing he was going to try and change her mind. He never liked her being anywhere near his father. “No, Billy. I said done. Done deal, I’ll gladly go over to your house for Christmas Eve.”

Billy’s corners of his mouth twitched upward at the lengths she would go for him. “You don’t have to.”

He knows his house isn’t the best environment. It’s stressful and you're always on edge waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“If it means you can come over for Christmas Day then yes. I do. One night your family won’t change my mind about you.” Y/n cupped his hand between both of hers, adding pressure to reassure him. Y/n has been with Billy long enough to know that he feared his father would drive her away. But that was never gonna happen.

“I’m sorry. In advance.” Billy apologized for what he was sure was gonna be a very awkward Christmas Eve.

“Don’t be.” Y/n shook her head. Y/n never put the actions of others on someone else's shoulders. Y/n loved Billy for him and his fathers horrible actions or words will never change that.

^     ^     ^

“You're actually going to his house?!” Steve’s eyes were bulging out of his skull upon having heard of his sister's plans. The Hargrove/Mayfeild home was not the friendliest place from what he’s overheard Max say.

Y/n was in the middle of picking out her shoes and jewelry when her brother barged into her room having heard the news.

“Yes, it’s the only way he could come over here for tomorrow. His dad’s a dick.” She mumbled under her breath, but honestly Y/n didn’t care if he heard her. Neils ultimatum was just to try and ruin Billy’s plans to come over to hers for the holiday. “We’re not staying the night. We’re coming back here after.”

Steve knew there was no changing her mind and he did understand why it was important to her to have Billy over tomorrow. Steve sighed before saying. “Be careful.”

Y/n smiled at Steve and his brotherly protectiveness. “I will.”

Not long after Y/n and Steve’s conversation ended the doorbell rang and since nobody in their family was arriving this early it could only be Billy.

“Hey. You look beautiful.” Billy smiled looking Y/n up and down once the door opened. She was wearing a beautiful red velvet dress, which conveniently matched his shirt.

“Thank you. You ready?” Y/n blushed, smiling at his compliment.

“Yeah.” Billy nodded, reaching out for Y/n’s hand. They were halfway down the driveway when Steve decided with a huff that Billy was different around Y/n. His sister was making Billy Hargrove a better person.

“Hey!” Steve called out just as Billy had closed the passenger door. Billy turned to look at Steve with a furrowed brow, had he already done something wrong in Steve’s eye’s? He opened and closed the door for Y/n, he was being a gentleman. Hell he didn’t suck face with her the second she opened the door so. . . “Look after her.”

Billy nodded at Steve to assure him he would. Steve wasn’t the only one worried about tonight. Billy never knew what would set his father off and he never wanted Y/n around when that happened.

“Are you ready for tonight?” Y/n asked once they got on the road. She knew he was probably nervous, he never liked having her in his house.

“Nope.” Billy shook his head in one strict nod.

“Too late.” Y/n let out an amused breath. She reached for his hand nearest to her, luckily it wasn’t the hand he had on the steering wheel. That was normally always his left. Y/n squeezed his hand tightly to calm some of his stress, something she was sure she was gonna have to do a bit of tonight. “It’ll be ok.”

Billy let out a deep breath, squeezing her hand back. “I hope so.”

The drive felt faster than normal to Bilyy as within seconds it felt like he was parking in front of the dreaded residence.

As they got out of the car the young couple walked up the pathway to the small house hand in hand.

The door was opened by Susan who was dressed up in a green Christmas dress that had Christmas characters printed on it.

“Merry Christmas Mrs. Hargrove.” Y/n smiled politely at Max’s mom who was smiling back at the two teenagers.

“Merry Christmas Y/n, and please call me Susan.” The older woman stepped aside to let them in.

Billy would never understand how Y/n could be so nice and polite to people’s faces.

“Thank you for inviting me.” Y/n nodded as they walked further into the home. At least it looked more like a home because of the Christmas decorations, which she was sure was all Susan.

“Oh you're always welcome sweetheart.” Susan liked on the rare occasions Y/n came over. Billy seemed a little more relaxed when around the y/h/c-ed girl.

“Hey Max.” Y/n greeted as the young red head ran over to her, wrapping her arms around her torso. Y/n hugged her back.

“Hey Y/n.” Max greeted back, enjoying the moment before pulling away. She loved Steve’s sister/ Billy’s girlfriend. Y/n treated her like a sister, and Max loved it. “Thanks for coming, and Merry Christmas.”

Max was glad Y/n accepted to spend Christmas Eve with them. Max was going to spend the later time of tomorrow with the party, she was glad Billy was going to spend it with his girlfriend. Neither of them wanted to be in that house any longer than they had to.

“It’s not a problem. Merry Christmas too.” Y/n smiled at her. Y/n liked Max, she was the sister she never got.

“Billy.” Max rolled her eyes as she greeted him as well. Since they were in ear shot of their parents.

“Runt.” Billy said quietly back so his father and Susan wouldn’t hear him.

“It’s Christmas, can you two be social?” Y/n cut in looking between the step siblings with pleading eyes.

Max and Billy narrowed their eyes at each other but both could agree between them like this that they’d be sival for Y/n’s sake. “Fine.” They both agreed at the sametime.

“Thank you.” She said smiling at both of them before the 3 headed into the main room.

Not long after Dinner was ready so they all sat around the small table. It was a little uncomfortable at first with a lot of tension in the air. The food wasn’t horrible, it was actually pretty good. Small talk was made during dinner. Under the table Y/n and Billy’s hands were clapsed together. Y/n was aware of the scrutinizing gaze from Neil Hargrove, but she chose to ignore it.

After dinner Y/n helped Susan and Max clean up, and Billy stayed to help since he didn’t want to be alone with his father. Or have Y/n alone in this house.

Once they finished all of them moved into the living room sitting around on the floor were Max, Billy, and Y/n. Y/n had been pulled down to sit between Billy’s legs by Billy who smirked at her as innocently as he could. Susan and Neil were sitting on the small couch looking over them.

Susan announced they could open their presents and Y/n was excited to see what the two could have gotten. Max started digging out gifts from underneath the tree.

Y/n was trying to keep Billy from tickling her sides when she heard Max speak.

“And here you go Y/n.” Max handed her a wrapped present that indeed had her on the tag hanging from the ribbon tied around it.

Y/n looked up towards Susan and Neil with a surprised and shocked expression. “Oh you didn’t have to get me anything.”

Susan waved her hand in a dismissing notion with a bright smile. “Nonsense.”

“Thank you.” Y/n smiled, thanking them before opening it.

Billy leaned his head down to whisper in her ear. “You don’t have to like or keep it.”

Y/n knew he didn’t want her to feel obligated to do anything. But in all honesty the Y/n really did like gift. It was beautiful. Turning her head to the side she answered. “I do like it.”

“I have a gift for you to open tomorrow.” Billy told her as he unwrapped one of his gifts, arms still around her torso as she leaned against his chest.

“I have a gift for you to.” Y/n smiled, turning her head to look at him, she couldn’t wait to see him open his present.

After presents were opened Y/n and Billy stayed around for awhile, for Maxes sake Y/n told him. As they walked to the door after saying goodbye to Max, Susan and Neil followed them. Which Y/n could see added tension to Billy’s shoulders.

“Thank you for a fun Christmas Eve Mr & Mrs Hargrove.” Y/n stated politely with a well rehearsed smile. Billy knew it but no one else did, besides maybe Steve. But Y/n truthfully thought it wasn’t a bad night. The food was good, Neil was social for the most part, the conversations weren’t bad. But knowing how Neil normally treated Billy, that irked Y/n beyond belief. Billy knew that.

“Your welcome honey.” Susan was happy to have had her over and that she seemed to enjoy the evening.

“Hope your family doesn’t regret having him over for the holiday.” Neil said with a condescending smile on his face.

“We won’t.” Y/n stated with a strong tone in her voice. Making it clear that Billy’s presence was welcome in her home with her family.

“We’ll see.” Neil narrowed his eyes for a quick second before they went back to normal.

“Let’s go.” Billy spoke softly, handing Y/n her jacket. He didn’t want to seem brazen and give his father any reason to say he suddenly couldn’t go.

“Goodnight.” Y/n said as they left out the front door. Once they were in the camaro and on the road, Y/n turned to Billy and scoffed. “Your dads a dick.”

Billy let out an amused laugh, wondering how long she had been waiting to say that for. Billy smiled over at her. “Thanks for going tonight.”

Y/n smiled back at him. “My pleasure.”

“Oh it will be.” He winked at her, flashing a smirk in her direction.

Soon enough they arrived back to the Harrington household, a spot had been saved for Billy in the driveway. Once they got out and walked to the front door upon opening it 3 kids rushed towards them screaming.

“Y/N!!!!”

“Hey guys!” Y/n kneeled down embracing all of them at once. Billy watched as he closed the door.

“Who’s that?” The kids asked, pointing at the mullet haired boy behind their cousin.

“That's my boyfriend, Billy.” Y/n told them as she glanced back at Billy for a second.

“Hi Billy.” The kids smiled at him and waved.

Billy replied awkwardly, not used to children being so joyful about his presence. “Hello.”

The two boys and girl turned their attention back to Y/n before telling her. “Y/n, we’re in our jammies.”

Y/n nodded letting out a laugh. “Yeah I can see that.”

One of the boy’s crossed their arms and pouted his lip before saying. “We have to go to bed soon.”

It was obvious to any one over the age of 10 that the kids were pouting about having to go to bed soon. It made Billy chuckled deeply.

“That’s the only way Santa will come.” Y/n told them with such a kind and enthusiastic voice. Billy admired it, how she was with children. It made him start to think. Which it in turn made him zone out for a bit.

“Really?!” They all said at the same time super excited.

“Yeah.” Y/n nodded encouragingly, hoping they’d believe for as long as possible. “So go get ready for bed, ok?”

With that said they ran off, Y/n laughed watching them run off. When Y/n stood back up to full height and turned to face her boyfriend she noticed that he was fully focused on her.

“What?” She asked slightly nervously at what about her was getting this attention.

“You were cute with them.” Billy said, pulling her into him. He smirks with mischief in his eyes. “You’d make a sexy mom.”

Billy never saw himself with kids but hot damn did  that scene before him change his mind.

“Oh really?” Y/n looked up at him through her lashes with bright red cheeks, and it wasn’t from the cold weather.

“Hmmm Hmmm.” He hummed, leaning in to kiss her.

Before Billy could get to heated with the kiss, they are around her family after all. Y/n pulled back with a warm smile on her lips. “Well we should go to bed to. Tomorrows a long, fun day.”

[marsdenlee]

Synopsis: It's a very Merry Chrysler (2023) in the Lee-Bolt household, gifts are exchanged including the official establishment of their very special family. Trigger Warnings: beebs being disgustingly adorable, also some suggestive adult content

MARS

The day began with full merriment as it was necessary. Marsden, despite his generally dark attire and borderline gothic punk aesthetic, was a massive fan of the wintery holiday and so from the moment he woke up in the morning, which was at an astonishingly early six o'clock for he had been very much excited to get the day started early, up until now it was non-stop Christmas mode. 

He had on his ugly Christmas sweater, which was this year Bengals themed because his favorite team was doing very well this year and he had high hopes they would make it to the playoffs and then the Superbowl in the following year so was representing them, and also wore red plaid trousers because it fit the Christmas theme and the pairing of the two articles of clothing was a bit jarring  but he made it work, the ridiculousness of it seemed to be improved upon by the theme and the Santa hat he had on his head. 

"Presents, baby, presents," the siren would plead with all the excitement in his body buzzing like a bomb about to implode as he bounced on the edge of the bed and landed draping himself across the werewolf where he then started to play punch at the man's chest, making impact sound effects as each hit 'landed.'

RYDEN

His morning was off, the only obligation Ryden had on the day was to spend it with family and make a brief appearance at the Den and the festivities the pack was preparing there every year for Christmas. But other than that, he was as free as a bird so although Marsden waking up at six in the morning had also woken the wolf up - it would’ve happened even on a calmer day let alone today, Ryden’s sleep light and easily disturbed as it was - Ryden still chose to remain in bed after the siren, just lounging under the covers with arms folded behind his head under the pillow, eyes resting. 

He felt the bed bounce, warning him of potential impact so he was ready when the siren landed on him, only playfully grunting out as if the weight actually had any ways of hurting him. He chuckled as Mars play-punched at him, morning voice more gravely than usual, still working on waking up although its owner already was. “I got me present rite ‘ere, I’m unwrappin’ it.” He cracked an eye open, one arm unfolding from behind his head to find the hem of Marsden’s ugly Christmas sweater and tug on it, no actual force or determination behind the action, more a playful threat of undressing than anything else.

MARS

"Ah, ah, ah," the siren scolded as he felt the fabric of his sweater tug at the hem and Ryden's fingers were the culprit, he leaned in to capture devious smirking lips with his own, taunting along the slope of a cupid's bow, "That's fer later," the siren promised with a kiss. "Real presents, baby, those're fer now." Marden made a good attempt to wrap his arms around Ryden's middle, snuggling comfortably against the softly rising chest as the werewolf breathed, his cheek against a softly muscled chest, the best place for a nap in his not so very humble opinion, but this wasn't nap time. It was time to roll and the siren tugged and pulled and strained, grunting with effort to pull the werewolf along with him, attempting to roll himself onto his back and Ryden atop of him because that would be one step closer to getting up and out of bed.

RYDEN

Sufficiently placated, Ryden ceased his attempts to pull the ugly Christmas sweater off Marsden - he didn’t really put his mind to it in the first place anyway, he was used to their mornings being often reserved for everything else besides fooling around - and just enjoyed what he could get, which was sweet kisses. “When’s later?” He asked playfully against the other’s lips, not really needing an answer. He returned both hands to being folded under the pillow behind his head. “I didn’t git ya nothin’, whoops.” He joked. Of course he got Mars a gift for Christmas. He was just feeling playful, Marsden’s holiday enthusiasm contagious. Though he had to admit he liked Mars trying to snuggle up to him more, he wished they didn’t have to get up even for presents, and could remain like this for most of the day. When Ryden worked hard, he worked hard, but when he was lazy, he was terribly lazy. 

But Marsden didn’t stay idle and resting against his chest for too long, soon enough he was making attempts to roll them over and Ryden shifted around, switching their positions easily. Once he was on top he simply deposited the majority of his weight onto the siren with a wistful sigh, effectively pinning the other man to the mattress. “Jus’ five more minutes, kay? Two? One. Even one is fine.” He bargained, burying his face in the crook of Mars’ neck.

MARS

Mars delighted immediately at the weight of Ryden's body laying over him that he, for now, gave up entirely on his attempts at getting the other man out of the bed. There was no sweeter place than being in his warm embrace, buried in entirely by the weight of him until it was the only thing the siren could focus on and all his senses enveloped in perfect contentedness. "Five minutes," he agreed then, still pretending that he wanted to leave and open presents right now, but doing nothing to make that happen, he was too busy nuzzling his nose into the side of Ryden's shoulder and pressing his lips against the rounded slope of muscle there. 

His arms encircled around him, hands clasping against a broad back clinging over the mountainous range of shoulder blades and was at home, breathing in the sensation of adoring and being adored. There was no better place for it. "Maybe you're right," he muttered, low voice muffled into a warm shoulder, "Maybe Mariah Carey knows what she's talking about."

RYDEN

Ryden hummed, lazy and happy for being allowed five whole blissful minutes of being in his beloved's arms. Even a second was more than he could ever ask for, silently grateful for his miracle person, an angel who was sent to a poor, tired sinner like him, to a beggar who never thought he would have a full meal again. And there was now a feast, so lavish and rich that if he were only ever allowed to just look and not touch a single morsel, take a single bite, he'd still be happy. But he was allowed to take up a plate and fill it up to his heart's content and his greedy dark heart could only plead with 'please sir, may I have some more?'

Because with Marsden, he was content with but a crumb and at the same time he always wanted more. His heart was full, but it was never enough. He loved but he could love more. He had but could have more…

Five more minutes. Two. One even. Give him more.

"Mmmhm. Listen to the high notes. They'll tell ya what t'do." He chuckled against the other's cheek, parting from the soft press of it against his own so he could kiss Mars' lips again and mutter a quiet 'Merry Christmas, moonbeam' officially through a languid smirk.

MARS

This was only their second Christmas together yet it still felt like the first, every second and every day felt like another first, another blissful first filled with heart flutters of excitement and soothing ease of adoration. He didn't think it was possible to be this in love and yet here it was right in front of him, beneath his hands, against his lips, filling his lungs. "Merry Christmas, starshine," he mumbled back against the smirking lips in which he kissed.

And then he was off again, wiggling his body beneath the weight of the werewolf like a worm trying to free itself. "Alright, up now, come on, let's go!"

RYDEN

His five minutes were apparently up! So up Ryden also went. "A'ight, a'ight, lessgo." He crawled off the wiggling eelman and off the bed, sauntering away to grab the pair of sweatpants dropped on the floor last night before bed time. With yawns accompanying, a terrifying sight to behold because they revealed sharp teeth a human jaw should not possibly have, he pulled the piece of clothing on and considered himself ready enough to venture out. No one but the other man and the baby was there to see the mess of his hair, that now sported perfect rings of curls falling over his forehead and into his eyes so he left those be, too comfortable to be grumpy about it. He meandered out of the bedroom, an idle hand scratching a buttcheek over the sweatpants. Usually he'd go for the coffee maker first but Mars was planning this day out so he was his to direct and instruct.

MARS

Mars rolled feet over head to get off the bed, landing on his feet on the other side and standing upright with both arms in the air when he stuck the landing successfully. Hem of his ugly sweater rose up from the action and he tugged it back down and did not immediately follow Ryden out of the bedroom, he dipped into the walk in closet to the side and emerged with an ugly sweater for Ryden, for he too must wear one! This was tossed at Ryden's direction when he left the bedroom, trusting the wolf would catch it with his preternatural reflexes, "Your uniform," Mars proclaimed happily. "Baby is awake?" He asked while passing the other man and giving a smack to his behind in the process. Maria Elena had gotten better at sleeping through the night and now rarely woke this early anymore unless she was sick or soiled herself in her sleep and he once again trusted that Ry would know if she was awake or still sleeping. "Let her stay asleep if she ain't awake," he commented as he pulled their stockings down from where they hung by a window since there was no fireplace.

RYDEN

Of course he’d caught the sweater, almost blindly and still yawning, with just a hand stretching out to pluck the flying piece of woolen clothing out of air. He stretched it out in front of him to have a look, sleepy face adopting a slightly disgusted expression. But then again Ryden often looked dramatically disgusted even if he wasn’t nearly so. It was an ugly sweater though, but he put it on nevertheless, incoherent mumble-grumbling as he pulled it over his head. He was still trapped by it when Mars passed him, making him grunt softly at the smack to his butt. “Asleep.” He announced, already aware of that. He’d be the first to know as soon as she wasn’t. Sweater properly on him, a little mismatched with the dark sweatpants he wore, Ryden shuffled over to the couch, sitting down on it with nothing better to do as Marsden buzzed about. He sprawled there, as lazy as a wolf could be.

MARS

Asleep, good, little thing that she was she didn't yet understand that holidays came around every year or what they even were until the day of when the exciting event was occuring. Her still sleeping meant they could have some moments of the holiday alone and moments alone were ever rare so cherished whenever available. Mars came around to the couch where Ryden reclined, ugly sweater was ugly but the man wearing it was remarkable in anything so despite the horrible pattern and imagry he still somehow managed to make it look good. "Will you make us breakfast when she wakes, my luv?" Marsden asked, shifting the inflection of his accent to a very poor attempt at a British one. He liked the way Ryden's voice rolled over syllables but could not match it despite his poor attempts at mimicry. The siren handed off a stocking to the wolf, stuffed with all sorts of yet unknown trinkets and snacks and random stuffers meant for him, then sat himself down onto the couch beside, legs touching, his fingers fiddled with a fuzzy cotton ball affixed to his own stocking equally filled. Tux laid as a warm loaf of darkness beneath the coffee table and peered out at the two men lazily with partly squinted yellow eyes. Tux had a stocking as well but he was a cat and would need help with it later. 

RYDEN

“Dat’s the hashtag plan, luv.” Responded Ryden, in a more natural and genuine British accent as he shifted his reclining position so he could reach over to wrap an arm around Marsden’s shoulder, always eager to maintain at least some physical contact, but a stocking was handed over to him and Ryden took it instead with a soft hum of surprise. “Ooh, wat’s dis? Dobby got a sock? Dobby’s a free elf now?” And for some reason, he said it in a deeper but still pretty impressive Gollum voice, even though the two fantasy creatures had nothing to do with each other. 

He dug into his stocking, rummaging through it and then shaking it out, letting things fall onto the couch or into his lap as he inspected them greedily, coming up with a Mars bar at some point and hissing out a joyful ‘yessss’ because that was his favorite and most expected candy before he got to the ‘I love you more’ keychain and raised it up to make it known that those were, “Lies!” and then he stuffed it into the pocket of his sweatpants. Then he got to the facepalming kitty and ‘heh-ed’, pointing at it and declaring “Ugly!” before that one went into his pocket too. He ‘pff-ed’ at the rubber duckie, taking a minute to play with its helicopter hat, childishly delighted that it actually spun. Then the ducky went into the pocket too. And then he pulled out a pair of socks from the stocking and whisper-shouted “Sock-ception!” before he curled his legs under himself and pulled them onto his bare feet. He’d noticed what was written on them only after they were on so he struggled for a second to lean over and maneuver his feet to take a better look, snorting out his amusement at the message they had on them. He had them on the other way around so he took them off and put each on the proper foot now.

MARS

A broad grin was an ever constant fixture on the siren’s face whenever Ryden was around him, the grin might occasionally be replaced by a different expression from time to time, adoration, longing, love, amusement, ecstasy, but a smile would always be quick to return, his default expression whenever around him. Ryden’s Gollum impression quoting Dobby’s lines made him chortle and smile brighter, “Yes, my precious,” he said in a Dobby impression quoting Gollum’s line. 

He watched Ryden as he opened his gifts, the expression on his features turning to adoration as the werewolf went through each one and seemed to find great enjoyment in them which pleased the siren immensely. “Ya got da big grand finale out on da balcony there,” he inclined his head toward the large windowed doors that led to the balcony of their apartment where a black motorized tricycle would be waiting complete with a wire basket attachment in the rear and decorated with a large bright red bow on the handlebars.

The siren also took to taking out his gifts, first one being a jar of little candy canes that he ooooh’d for and immediately twisted off the cap so he could fish one out and stick the straight end into his mouth, holding it between his teeth as he started sucking on the sweet treat. He was a chewer so he’d eventually just bite down on the hard candy and gnaw on it without breaking through it. When he got to the Bowie vinyl, Mars marveled at the art on the cover, humming in appreciation around the sweet candy cane but popped it out with one hand so he could talk easier, “Baby dis is sick,” he laughed and pointed to the album title, reading it out loud in part, “Spiders from Mars! Heh! Spiders from me! I’m da source of all da spiders,” and gave an evil cackle. “Dis is so awesome but baby, I don’t have something to play it on,” not yet realizing that he’d been gifted a record player as well.

RYDEN

Leave it up to the other man to very easily match him and pick up on Ryden’s more often than not dumb silly jokes, delighting in them more than anyone had ever had. It made Ry grin back at the other widely, a childish sort of joy on his face. It had been a while since he came to expect this childish wonder on a holiday such as this and the siren was the one who’d reawakened it. 

“On da balcony? Why’d ya hafta put it there?” He questioned, puzzled, though he had to admit that it was a good place to hide the gifts at, as long as they were weather-proof. Ryden himself had some trouble keeping his own grand finale gift hidden from the other, them living together making it quite difficult now when he needed it the most because surprising each other with gifts had become such a big, joyous thing in their lives ever since they got together. 

The wolf would get up in a minute to go check the balcony out, as soon as Mars was also done unpacking his own gifts. “Lucky fucker.” He muttered at the action of Mars sticking a candy cane into his mouth, teasingly jealous of the piece of candy. His grin grew wider as Bowie’s record got pulled out, apparently a ‘vintage’ edition, an older, rarer find and therefore more precious and pretty much collectionary. “Aaah, I was thinkin’ ‘bout dat too, my extraterrestrial Martian spider daddy.” He tapped the side of his head with a finger to point out how smort he was. “It was high time for us to git real fancy so why don’cha go check out the coat closet while I go check out the balcony, eh?” He suggested, raising a scarred eyebrow playfully.

MARS

"Check out da coat closet?" The siren immediately perked up with interest, rising from his seat on the couch with the kind of excited anticipation that looked odd coming from one of his age and size, no longer a child but right now he felt the excitement of one from the promise of an exciting find waiting for him concealed. "Okay!" But first, he was only a hop and a skip away from the werewolf and so the siren couldn't help himself but to close the distance between them, candy cane pulled out from his mouth now so he could give the wolf a peppermint scented kiss, lips warm and breath cool, sharing the taste of his sweet snack before he would leave and head toward the coat closet for his waiting surprise.

RYDEN

Ryden reveled in the small moment of attention he got, laced with sweet peppermint and sprinkled with the siren’s excitement, content but inwardly remorseful that it was over too soon. There was never such a thing as enough though sweet little loving moments of affection in the passing did have their charm. He watched the siren go to the coat closet with a huge grin splitting his lips, draping his arms somewhat smugly over the sofa’s backrest, knowing that the other man was very likely to love the gramophone that would fit perfectly into their apartment aesthetics, waiting wrapped up in Santa sharks gift paper for Mars to discover. Luckily their coat closet was just big enough to conceal it behind the rows of hanged jackets and winter stuff. Ry could already see it, all the moments when they would play cool shit on it and slow or silly dance to it, just the two of them, just like they tended to sometimes. Now they’ll have cool music played in style to go with it too. It was something Ryden always wanted to have with his partner once he ‘grew up’ and ‘settled down’. He considered it the peak of adult life lived well and slightly fancy, when the circumstances and finances allowed it. If they had something as nice as a gramophone to listen to good, quality music on, then life was good. Really good.

MARS

The hidden gift for him was easy enough to spot and Marsden exclaimed as he pulled it out, the wrapped package a little bulky looking and thanks to the hinting from Ryden, he could easily guess what it was but his surprise and elation remained at an all time high. He barely waited until he was back on the couch before he started tearing open the wrapping paper, pausing only briefly to point at one of the sharks pictured on it with another low chuckle that sounded very devious, "Looks like you, ya toothy fucker," he loved the little Santa's hats that the sharks were wearing. Mars never really admitted to being sentimental but he had a habit of collecting odd little trinkets that held for him a good memory and as he was removing the wrapping paper, he tore off a neat little square and set it onto the coffee table to keep for later, he'd tuck it nice and safe into the box he kept in his closet that was filled with receipts and other little sentimental things. Then he went on with opening the gift until the concealed item was revealed to be: "A gramophone! Aw sick! What?" 

Mars pushed off the rest of the paper and smoothed his hands across the surface of the box, painting his fingers across the image displayed and the lettering, "No way, this is awesome! Aw man, I can't wait to play music on this! Hell yeah, it's going to sound so smooooooth. Thank you baby!" Mars held the box close to his chest, fingers gripped around the corners, chin propped against the flat side as he gave the werewolf a special look of adoration.

RYDEN

“I was actually lookin’ for one dat looks like you but imagine, there ain’t many Christmas-themed eel wrappin’ papers. Dere was one wit snakes tho but ew, no.” Ryden shrugged like this was not at all an expected thing and it was perfectly reasonable to be salty about it. A gentle little smile tugged at his lips as Mars unwrapped the gift and even tore off a piece of the paper to keep, his smile never losing its sharpness but it got an added hint of rare gentlemen adoration to it nevertheless, reserved only for the other man. That smile turned absolutely head-splitting when the gift was finally revealed in full. 

“So fuckin’ smooth.” Ryden agreed, a firm believer that the best music sound came from a device such as the one they now had in their home. There was another unspoken reason to why Ryden had gifted Mars with this specific gift. Airpods were neat for sure and they seem to do wonders to drown out the voices going on in Marsden’s head but this Ryden thought to be another way to go about it, a more of a distracting, ambiental way that should also bring some joy to this action of using music and sound to treat the condition the siren battled with every day.

“Imma go check out yers now!” Ryden declared enthusiastically then, springing off the couch like a light bouncy ball to practically parade over to the balcony, ripping its door open with a flair. And then he froze as he beheld what was sitting outside. “The fuck is dat, babe!?” A stark difference to his tone between this being said in the face of an unpleasant surprise versus a pleasant one, this time obviously being the latter.

MARS

Mars was damn near giddy with glee as Ryden opened the balcony door and came face to face with the black body of the electric tricyle, bright red bow gleaming on the handlebars. "It's a tricycle!" Mars was quick to exclaim, he still held onto his gift, the bulky box of the gramophone when he rose to stand up, half stepping toward the balcony doors and then remembering to put his box down so did a half pirouette on his toes, bent only at the hip with one leg straight and other extended out behind him in a ballet move, setting the box down on the edge of the coffee table before he righted himself and light on the points of his sock clad feet, leapt to land with arms in a draping way against the werewolf's back. "It's electric, it goes fast, but not too fast, think it can get up to thirty miles an hour and it has a cargo cage fer things!" 

RYDEN

“Shit…” Ryden muttered, disbelieving, as he felt the weight of the siren drape over his broad back. “Hell yea, I love space for things!” He exclaimed back, turning slightly to take as best of a peek at the siren as he possibly could, considering Mars was now hanging off his back. “Holy fuck, a tricycle! Hah!” He cackled, stunned, needing a moment to process this because it was so completely unexpected and delightful. “How’d ya get it all the way up ‘ere!?” He questioned, puzzled, and without a word interlaced his fingers behind them both so Mars could easily sit on the makeshift seat made by his connected palms and be carried piggyback on Ryden's back all the way out onto the balcony with him to inspect this new surprise addition to their household. Because of course Ryden did not mind sharing everything with Mars. If things were purchased and gifted, of course it was for the entire family. Even the Batmobile, which Ryden jealously protected from everyone else except from Mars.

MARS

"I have my ways," Mars intoned in a suggestively low voice, the waggle of his brows practically audible in the way he spoke. He followed the unspoken action of lifting himself up so that he could sit his weight against Ryden's interlaced fingers in a makeshift seat behind his back, being now lifted piggyback style and he kicked his legs out in front, hooting with a laugh at being lifted taller than his own natural height now. He had to keep himself low, cheek nuzzling against the side of Ryden's to avoid knocking his head against the door frame as they would pass through it onto the balcony. "It's coool, eh?" Mars wrapped his arms loosely around Ryden's neck, "Ya like it, baby?"

RYDEN

He snorted at Marsden’s ‘mysterious ways’, shrinking carefully through the frame that led onto their balcony, mindful of the added height of their stacked bodies. “It’s so freakin’ cool, yo.” Ryden admitted earnestly, now near the vehicle and looking it up and down. “I’ve never driven one o’these b’fore. I fuckin’ love it!” If for nothing else then because it was something new and exciting to try out, aside from it being a gift from his beloved. “Shit, baby, ya always think of the sickest gifts. How’d ya do it? Is it magic?” He pressed the side of his face against Mars’, rubbing his cheek somewhat roughly against his, the sandpapery texture of his five o'clock shadow already in need of a shave. He then glanced back at the balcony door, trying to figure out how Mars got the thing through it. He had to have pushed it through sideways. It was an action that fascinated Ryden almost as equally as the tricycle itself did. 

Then, an idea struck him and he immediately rushed to share it with the other man. “Oiii, tadpole! I can go grocery shoppin’ in this one! It’ll be super convenient!” Even though their usual go-to shop was literally across the street, but hey, there were also times when they visited the farmer’s market for some even fresher produce, Ryden always insisting on trying to eat as healthy as possible if for nothing else, then for the baby’s sake. The prospect of this colored Ryden’s tone of voice with noticeable anticipation, the man almost wishing they needed something for the fridge today, asap, so that he could go run this errand on his new tricycle.

MARS

Mars beamed, the edges of his smile felt around the rounded slope of his high cheeks nuzzled up against the side of Ryden's face, exuberant with love and feeding off the excitement of this gift like a hungry gremlin. It brought him such joy that made his heart and chest lighten. "Yeah! You totally can! Cuz cargo cart!" And as he confirmed it, he extended out a hand to point though it was entirely unnecessary to do so. "Cargo cart for things! Can mebbe even put da Jelly Baby in da cart and go zooming!" The imagery that evoked of his two favorite people zooming around on the electric tricycle even made him wish for it to happen now, but the little one was still sleeping as far as he knew and her precious sleep must not be disturbed. Besides, there was still one more thing he wanted to give to Ryden. 

The siren rubbed his face affectionately against Ry's, not minding the sand papery feeling of growing in coarse stubble as his lips landed against his cheek multiple times for numerous kisses, each one a silent declaration of love. "Got one more thing for ya, baby."

RYDEN

"Ooooh, yeaaaah!" Ry hissed happily, like zooming around with the Jelly Bebe in the tricycle cargo cart was such a big, glorious mischief that he had to lower his voice when talking about, lest someone else overhears and spoils their fun plans. He bent his knees a little, giving Mars a little bounce, request for the siren to step off him so Ryden could free his hands and poke and touch his gift, antsy machanic and vehicle enthusiast fingers itching. But he didn't mind stalling it for the sake of sweet kisses, chuckling as they landed one after another.

"Ya got more? Shit, I only got ya a couple and ya got me, loike, a trillion! Wha' is it?" He asked, genuinely surprised that this was not the end of it.

MARS

Laughter trickled from his lips at being bounced and did adjust his weight so that he could step down from Ryden's back, giving the man ample time and room to explore his gift. "No spoilers," the siren tutted with a click of his tongue, "You'll get it after." Inwardly, he felt anxious about it, the edges of his stomach seemed to sour with anticipation but he could wait and he would force himself to, for now more than happy to watch his beloved explore the gift of the electric tricycle. 

He crossed his arms over his chest, not out of impatience but simply because it was cold outside and while he was wearing the thick silly holiday sweater and unmatching plaid trousers, the wind chill was seeping in between the woven fabric and he tried to conceal that the weather was affecting him, turning the point of his nose bright red with every exhale of wispy air. "Mebbe can take Jelly Baby to da park on it later?" Marsden suggested, "'Er da Christmas market if it's still open."

RYDEN

"I got aaaaall day for it." Ryden was fine with no spoilers, not minding the wait because they indeed did have all the day for it with the exception of a part of the evening, when they would have to make a brief apoearance at the Den and the Christmas party it hosted every year for the pack. Otherwise, their schedule was all dedicated to their family time. Without Mars on him, Ry aporoached the tricycle, looking it this way and that, up and down, over and under and even sat on it as best as their small balcony would allow, getting the feel of how he fit on it. As he gripped the handle bars, he gave the siren a big goofy grin.

"Can you fit on it too, though." He asked at that suggestion as he turned around to check just how much room was left behind him. The cold was apparenlty not bothering Ryden even a bit, and his every exhale was like a lungful of cigarette smoke, full of steaming hot air, even as he spoke it seeped from between his lips. Legitimately, if he rubbed his hands together to generate more heat, even his palms would fog up the air around them a little.

MARS

"I'll fit," the siren felt confident of that even before trying. He was slim and he was flexible and he had a similar sort of stubbornness that Ryden held, whereby even if he didn't actually fit he would find a way to make himself fit. 

So the siren approached the tricycle Ryden sat upon and with one hand on the werewolf's shoulder for stability, he lifted his leg up and swung it over the back of the tricycle, straddling it and now looked on either side, here and there for a place to put his feet so they wouldn't be on the ground. There was a lot of metal rods, connective fixtures that made up the body of the tricycle and Mars set his feet on a place that he felt wouldn't get in the way of Ryden's on the pedals (for it was electric but still had manual pedals when it was out of juice) and sat his bottom on the front railing of the cargo cart since there was no room for him on the seat. "There!" The siren exclaimed, wrapping his arms around the werewolf's middle happily stealing some of his extra body heat in the process. "I fits!" It was uncomfortable but he fit. 

RYDEN

"We should go, then!" Ryden delivered his approval of that plan with that same goofy grin, trusting Mars blindly on that confirmation that he would fit. And as the siren tried it out, Ry sucked his stomach in, pressing himself forward as much as possible to accomodate. "Aw hell yeah!" He exclaimed triumphantly as they seem to have managed it. No vehicle was a good vehicle if it couldn't fit his whole world on it and that included the baby and Mars. Even Princess will one day be able to host the Jelly Baby on its  back. Ryden was already determined to leave her as part of Maria Elena's heirloom one day.

"Gotta figure out a way t'make it more cozy." He muttered as he pondered, trying to look around but it was difficult with Mars gluing himself to his back again, though Ryden did not complain about it. A casual glance over the balcony railing caught one of their neighbours in the building next to theirs on the window, staring, wondering for who knows what time what the hell were these two doing. It all started back when they've put two large skeleton men out for Halloween and arranged them in not so vaguely nsfw poses for shits and giggles. Now the neigbour seemed to have found them more interesting than the news channel.

"Merry Crysler!" Ryden shouted over with a little wave, his voice carrying, the neighbour in question giving an awkward wave back before slinking away. Like this had not just happened, Ryden tilted his head to give the edge of Mars' jaw a sloppy kiss. "Ya cold, my spicy cocktail shrimp? Let's git'cha inside b're ya turn into a frozen fish stick." 

MARS

As Ry shouted a Christmas greeting to their nosy neighbor, Mars did the same, jubilantly waving, "Merry Crisis!" His eyes closed happily when he felt Ryden press a kiss to the side of his jaw, he leaned into it, perfectly content despite the cold. "I'm all a shiverin'," and he cartoonishly chattered his teeth together in emphasis of the cold. "Carry me inside, Mr. Kringle Klaus," and Mars held onto Ryden's back tighter in anticipation of being lifted up once again. "Then special extra present," he bonked the side of his head lovingly against the side of Ry's.

RYDEN

"Yea yea, ya buy me things t'ride, and ya ride me." He grumbled happily, because although grumble-sounding, it was a happy grumble, and he promptly slipped his hands around Mars' thighs, lifting him up as he dismounted the tricycle carefully. "I must've been a really good boy dis year, so many presents." He lead them inside, ducking under the obstacle of a very regular and therefore too low of a doorframe in this particular situation. He walked over to their couch, plopping them both unceremonoisly onto it.

MARS

"Mhm, yeah I do," the siren returned with a sensual squeeze of his legs around Ryden's middle, "And yes you have been a good boy, real good," he nipped playfully at an earlobe, tongue meeting metal from a piercing of which there were many. They were soon deposited back inside where it was considerably warmer and once plopped onto the couch, the siren unwrapped himself from Ryden's back and rose to stand. "Stay," he said to the wolf, "I gotta get it."

He glanced back at Ryden with a full toothed smile, holding up a hand in a silent gesture to give him a second as he crossed the living room and disappeared into the bedroom. He would emerge some short moments later holding a thin red flat box about the size of a standard notebook, decorated simply with a silver bow in the direct center. This he handed to Ryden and then reclaimed his spot on the couch, one leg crossed over the other, ankle atop a knee and an elbow perched at the side of his bent knee so he could rest his chin in the middle of his palm, fingers caging up over his mouth, cool touch of his fingerprints against his lower lip, a position he often took when he felt nervous. 

His smile now gone, lips beneath the cage of his fingers a line pressed flat while his gaze on the werewolf turned to cold liquid, watching with a soft and careful attentiveness like a slowly moving stream lapping gently against a riverbank; even this was an act of devotion.

The red box with the silver bow would be easily opened, no tape or tied ribbon to keep it shut, only a lid which needed to be pulled off from the top and revealing within very simply a few stacks of white paper. Stacks of white paper lined with thin streaks of formal legal writing and the very top of the page in clearly printed thick bold lettering it would say: Consent to Adoption. Reading through the top page would say: I certify that I, Marsden Augustus Lee, am the birth father of Maria Elena Lee and I certify that I am consenting to the adoption of the child by the above-named Petitioner, Ryden Douglas Bolt. The following page behind it looked similar except this page was titled differently and would say: Petition for Stepparent Adoption. 

RYDEN 

The squeeze of slim but strong thighs around his waist and the tongue against one of the studs in his ear made Ryden melt into the cushions for a moment as soon as he sat down, needing a second to recover. "Wow, broke my over thirty years long streak o'bein' nothin' but bad. Feels weird." He joked, sitting up a little straighter as Mars instructed him to stay while he went off to get the last part of his Christmas gift. When the siren glanced back, Ryden returned the grin, suddenly feeling giddy because it felt like this one would be a special one, far more special than the tricycle.

Ryden accepted the notebook-like box, already clueless as to what this might package. Suddenly everything adopted a much more serious vibe, at least that's what it felt like to Ryden. It made him clear his throat as careful fingers pried the thin box open.

Surprisingly, the box held nothing but a neat stack of papers and Ryden leaned over it while holding it all with both hands. He always took a little longer than an average literate person to read things through, his dyslexia a bit of an obstacle, but never enough to truly impede him when he put his mind to it. His first thought was adoption of another furry friend like Ugly and Tux, which would be great but what this was actually for was infinitely better.

Disbelief wrecked him as he read the first few lines on the front page over and over again, for minutes now, struggling to process not because he wasn't reading it right but because this was well beyond his sweetest, wildest dreams.

After reading it in silence for who knows which time, he wasn't counting, Ryden crumbled. A hand came up to cover his eyes, head hanging, corners of his lips tilting downwards. He stayed that way, motionless for a long time.

MARS 

Mars observed the werewolf in this careful way for a long while, neither moving nor saying anything, letting the man take his time to read and understand what the legal documents were saying. It was a request, a confirmation, a giving of something that was already his but making it officially known not only to themselves within the private chambers of their happy little ecosystem but to the rest of the world and beyond that they were a family. Maria Elena was Ry's just as much as she was Mars'. They shared in every achievement of hers, her first steps, her first words, the emotions that overcame the siren whenever he had to buy bigger clothes for her, the excitement that came at buying a new toy, teaching her about the world as it happened one thing at a time, like the coldness of rain and snow and the heat of the sun and scratch of sand. They were raising her together as their own and he wouldn't have it any other way. 

When Ryden's hand came up to cover his eyes, the first real sign of movement in a long while of silent reading, the siren began to shift too, slowly he moved himself closer to the werewolf and already his chest began to tighten as his heart rushed with a swell of emotions that made his vision blurry. He settled against Ryden's side, an arm wrapped around a broad back in a warm half embrace, saying nothing but the beating of his heart could convey.

RYDEN 

Upon feeling the siren stir next to him, the downward pull of the corners of Ryden's mouth deepened, the expression behind the covering hand distorting more. And when an arm was wrapped around his shoulders, it seem to trigger him off and they began to shake, at first just lightly trembling but very soon they rattled with noticeable motion although the man had not produced any crying sounds yet.

Then he pulled his hand off and it was wet with tears, eyes which he'd hid so far long overflowing. It wasn't the first time Mars had seen those stormy greys become almost crystal light with moisture but at best, Ryden only produced a small sniffle from the pent up pressure in his sinuses and a redness around the corners of his eyes. Rarely if ever there was a tear or two actually rolling down his cheeks. Now they were pouring down though, one after another, racing to catch up and they shook Ryden's entire upper frame with an earthquake of emotions.

He glanced between the papers in his hand and the siren and that set him even worse off and his head drooped so low it was almost between his knees now. He cried freely now, like he hadn't cried in years, which was true.

MARS 

There was perhaps one other occasion that Mars recalled seeing Ryden emotional but it was nothing like this. Nothing could have prepared the siren for this. Not even as he might have anticipated some emotional response from the werewolf. He'd been able to feel the trembling muscles as emotions not often felt rattled around within the other man, had seen the downturned corners of his mouth pulled into the deepest frown the siren had ever seen but when the wolf lifted his face to his and Mars could see the tears there, not just a light trace of dampness or a singular tear that dared to escape past the thick canopy of dark lashes. These were tears, these were solid, vicious tears that poured from the wolf's eyes and down his face and Marsden felt momentarily stunned in the face of such intense emotion burdened in the features of a man who never before displayed them. 

It was a silent dawning, the gentle caresses of the first rays of light from the sun slowly casting out the darkness of the night to warm the earth as Marsden leaned his head against the side of Ryden's shoulder and held the man sundered by earthquaking emotions. It brought forth his own tears more rapidly, free falling over the crest of water logged eyes. "I love you," came his voice in a muted mumble of thick emotions, "so much, baby. I love you. She loves you. Our baby," and as he said it his voice caught in half a sob.

RYDEN 

Ry had to put the adoption papers down onto his lap, lest his trembling hand crumples the papers he held. It enabled him to shove a fist against his mouth, biting down on the knuckles to prevent himself from letting out an involuntary sound that might just be loud enough to wake the baby. Their baby. Now officially too, in written, made public as soon as Ryden signs it all. So he shook there like a leaf in the wind, waterworks pouring in complete silence aside from an occasional sniffle here and there.

And when Marsden spoke, Ryden shut his eyes tightly, this squeezing out another stream of salty tears, and he turned around carefully, wrapping his arms around the other man in a tight embrace, nodding mutely but vigorously at his words. "Yeah... yeah..." He managed to croak out after a couple of tries, wanting to say so much right now but not being capable of it.

MARS

Mars fully embraced Ryden now, turning his body into him with arms full circle around him, hands over the top of his shoulder and the back of the man's head where the short and sharp hairs tickled his palm. He'd honestly been partly nervous, hence his somber expression when he'd first handed Ryden the gift box with the legal documents within, worried that for some reason Ry would not want this. It was a relief that he did and the emotional response served to swell his overflowing heart with tidal waves of adoration. The siren turned his head slightly, angling so that his lips could plant against the side of Ryden's wet cheek, tasting his tears salty with every kiss.

RYDEN 

He hugged back, as tight as Marsden's more fragile physique than his own would allow, never wanting to let go of this man who had given him everything a person could hope for, even more than a person like Ryden could ever wish to even glimpse let alone tentatively claim as his own. Marsden had given him so much, so easily, so willingly and lovingly, all the while adamantly claiming that Ry deserved it, even through Ry's own crippling self doubt and denial. He made him happy, so deeply profoundly happy despite it all and even left him with an unspoken promise that there would never be the end of it. And perhaps this was the exact moment when Ry, for the first time very consciously decided in the sob-shaken space of his muddled mind that one day, this will be the man he would marry. That one day, just like Marsden had officially given him the sacred duty of being Maria Elena's parent along with him, he would officially proclaim before the entire world that since the day they've met and then forevermore, he would dedicate his every minute of every hour of every day to this man and their mutual happiness. It wasn't said but it was decided, firmly taking as concrete of a form as a thought could, that he would love this beautiful soul back forever. It was a decision Ryden had unconsciously made a long while ago but now, it was so solidified that not even the end of all reality would change it. 

So Ryden hugged Marsden and cried silently some more, compensating for all the years he hadn't let his emotions overtake him and let loose like this, for all the years he'd kept his eyes dry for unless it was for chopping onions. And when he finally began to pull slightly away, it was to rub his face dry awkwardly within still tight confines of Mars' arms, wishing to stay there but knowing that he couldn't and that he should eventually let go. "I love you so much, baby. Thank you. Thank you..." That was all he could think of saying, nose plugged and making words come out muffled but nonetheless true.

MARS

Mars clung to the man he held, desperate to crack open his ribs and squeeze the other man within them but since he could not he did the next best thing which was to return the bone crushing hug with his own, all the strength that he had in him spent on keeping them together. The shake of his head was a stiff movement, "Don't," he had his own sniffles against the obstructive emotions in his throat, "Don't thank me. She's yours. She's been yours for so long, even before this," there was more there too, a hidden we've been yours for so long. This wasn't even really a gift, not one that he could really give to the other man, more so a declaration, a promise and even Marsden felt this at the very root of his soul, that it would be him and Ryden forever, until the end of time, until the end of everything.

RYDEN

"No, I gotta thank ya, because... because..." He could not explain it, he wasn't articulate enough, literate enough or smart enough to do it, but he felt it so deeply. It was not gratitude, not exactly, definitely not any feeling or indebtedness or alike. What they had was so incredibly rare, so damn precious, a thing Ryden never thought he could achieve, a dream he felt he was too undeserving of and Marsden simply made it happen. He took him in, as a friend, as a confidant, as a lover, gave him a home, gave him a family and a place so perfectly accepting and loving to belong to. Gratefulness was an inadequate word to describe what Ryden felt for being presented with all this and being given with utmost trust something Marsden found more precious than life itself was the culmination of this life-altering thing they've been cultivating since the day they've met.

Ryden could not word it, but he felt it oh so deeply.

He rubbed furiously at his face, eyes red and bloodshot and a migraine creeping in, a consequence of a strong emotional outburst Ryden wasn't at all used to, at least not to one of this kind. "Where do I gotta sign? I wanna sign it right now. Ya got a pen?"

MARS

"I know. I love you," he kissed softly against any part of the werewolf he could reach, the side of his damp cheek, the line of his jaw. The siren didn't want the thanks but he understood it, the reason for expressing it, it was the same emotion he felt when even after every horrible thing he'd revealed of himself to Ryden the man hadn't pushed him aside, hadn't left, hadn't said this was too much to deal with, hadn't even judged him or questioned him and only accepted him wholeheartedly as he was. It meant the world to him, when they'd been in that tub with absolutely nothing between them and Ryden had only taken him into his arms and loved him instead. So Mars kissed him tenderly, fiercely wishing he could do more for the man who had already done everything. 

He smiled, lips against a stubbled jaw that needed it's daily shave and sniffled as he nodded, "Yeah, yeah I'll get a pen," and he would get up to do that once they untangled from each other.

RYDEN 

"Yeah, yeah... a pen. So I can sign." Ryden nodded decisively but even as he requested this, his tear-stained hands went up and cupped Mars face, now calm enough to deliver his own rainfall of kisses all over the siren's face. He could not explain it with words but he could show it. "We're a fam, luv. Triple threat, the three musketeers. We're a family, baby." His hoarse voice said in between sloppy wet kisses he planted all over Mars' face, letting him leave only after he made sure not a single inch of skin on it was left unkissed.

MARS

Laughter started to fall from the siren's mouth in between the raining kisses that landed on him, he tried to catch every one with his lips but missed many in the war of affection and so his whole face was graced with it and grew warm. "We're a family," he confirmed, flat of his forehead pressing against Ry's while his striking ocean blue eyes met the raining steel of Ryden’s and they each became like a cyclops and even two monsters like them could love each other. "You, me and Jelly Baby," the tip of his nose tenderly caressed the bridge of his, "I love you," he kissed the werewolf’s cupid bow, "Pen," he left the wolf with one more kiss before he finally rose up to perform this task. A pen was quick to find, one amid a collection of others at the kitchen counter next to some mail and a notepad used to jot down items for purchasing or other such notes or for the siren’s penchant for doodles so even the grocery list was decorated with random sketches. 

Mars returned and held the pen out for Ry like it was made of gold and a very prominent item that was now being passed over to him. It was true for this pen, this signature would seal the deal. This was the moment and then all the was left would be to submit the documents with the city and it'd be official. Their family confirmed and forged but it would start here with this pen.

RYDEN 

Ryden sighed deeply as their foreheads connected, a sound of such heartfelt relief that his entire being became light and liberated. Everything he had ever wanted was today confirmed with what Marsden was asking of him - they were a family, he had a family, Maria Elena was his daughter too and he loved and was loved. It was confirmed, accepted, welcomed and wanted, there was no more room for any doubt. Mars left him with none, not even a hair's breadth. And oh how he loved the other man for it.

Mars departed to get the pen ans Ry took a moment to rub his burning face with his palms, it was wet and scalding and puffy now, and his headache was getting worse but who the fuck cared about any of that.

He took the presented pen and fumbled through the papers, finding the right lines to note down his initials on. Settling the stack upon his thigh, he found his hand trembling more the closer the pen tip got and he huffed out a cleansing breath, giving his clammy forehead a quick wipe with the back of his wrist. Then he silently extended his other hand, palm upwards, asking for Mars' hand to hold while he did this. 

MARS

The siren was quick to take hold of Ryden's hand once offered, his fingers easily and comfortably slotting between to find the spaces meant for him. Mars liked to pay special attention to his hand at times and today, right now would be no different. He turned the hand over once they were entwined and held his lips tenderly against the rocky terrain of battered knuckles that had lived a crueler life than this one. 

This was an exhilarating moment and he marveled at the way his stomach started to flip inwardly and he too made his own quiet promise that felt definite and final, that he would love this man forever, until he took his last breath he would spend it all on his happiness, for him, he would do everything. "And now good morrow to our waking souls," the siren recited lowly, his words caressing their breath over the werewolf’s hand still held against his lips, "which watch not one another out of fear, for love, all love of other sights control, and make one small room an everywhere."

RYDEN 

The moment Ryden felt the familiar shape of Mars' palm against his, and it was a shape Ryden would remember forever, whether he were blind in the dark or numb without any feeling in his fingertips, he felt instantly empowered, like he could scale impossible mountains, climb tallest walls, reach for the sky... As an extra boost, Mars reciting poetry even further emboldened the werewolf and there was nothing in this world that would ever not be okay, as long as he had Mars by his side holding his hand.

The ink was left on the paper, one sheet signed after another in order, the handwriting shaky and crooked because his fingers still trembled slighty, but there undeniably, sealing this. Ryden sighed out when the final paper was signed and looked back at the siren with a wide, toothy grin, which seemed out of place below red-rimmed, tear-wet eyes yet also perfectly belonging there. It was done, and nothing on heaven or earth would be able to reverse it in Ryden's mind. Whatever the future may hold, they will stay a family, the two will remain as his most important people, two precious treasures to cherish and love forever.

MARS 

The grin now directed at the siren was unlike anything he'd ever seen on the werewolf's features before, broad and full of teeth, edges tight and exuding full joy while his eyes haloed with dampness and punctuated by adoration gleamed with platinum radiance. There were no precious metals more precious than the silver of those eyes and they were directed at him. It made the siren suddenly overcome and he couldn't stop the flow of movement now, he was a tidal wave, throwing his arms around the werewolf, encircling his neck with waves of kisses landing against the angular cliffside of the werewolf's jaw and tumbling down his neck, he blew bursts of air out against ever warm skin sprayed with love and exclaimed with absolute exuberance, "Let's go wake up our baby." What care he once had for her precious sleep cycle was now gone entirely. This was a moment worth celebrating together. "It's Christmas mornin'!" He exalted as he wiped any lingering traces of dampness from Ryden's face that he might have missed, as if to say they should cry no more and there was a life yet still to be living. "Merry Chrysler, my love, my dearest starshine," each declaration met with a nuzzling of his face against his.

RYDEN

His arms readily accepted the siren's landing between them, this throw of arms around his neck and yet another onslaught of affection and kisses sending Ry into a fit of laughter, impossible to keep at a low volume. It still held that trembling nervousness of too much adrenaline and emotion coursing through him like a swift river, but it was mostly pure, undiluted joy that set him off.

"A'ight." He agreed easily, curled fingers running through Mars' hair and making his Santa hat slide off, but he needed to bury his fingers in there, give the black dyed strands a possessive grip where they were getting longer at the back of Mars' head. "Merry Crisis, moonbeam." He nuzzled back, rubbing his nose against the other's.

@wolfontheloose

[kudosmyhero]

Batman (vol. 1) #309: Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas

Read Date: February 18, 2023 Cover Date: March 1979 ● Writer: Len Wein ● Penciler: John Calnan ● Inker: Frank McLaughlin ● Colorist: Glynis Wein ● Letterer: Ben Oda ● Editor: Julius Schwartz ◦ E. Nelson Bridwell ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● Christmas Eve in Gotham opens up with a purse snatching. The woman says every penny she has is in that pocketbook, but the three thugs don’t care, and are in fact upset that they only got a lousy five bucks from it. ● They toss the purse aside and plan to go uptown where the picking will have some more cash, but their presence in the alley has disturbed Blockbuster. ● Blockbuster makes short work of the three criminals, then picks up the purse ● view shifts to the mugging victim, whose name is Kathy Crawford, originally from “Pittsdale.” She’s feeling pretty low, having not achieved anything of note since moving to the big city. ● oh dear… she’s gonna attempt suicide… ● Before she does it, she calls the GCPD because she had nobody else to talk to, to say goodbye to. (This is so sad. I’m glad I’m not actually reading it on Christmas Eve, because that is indeed a tough time of year!) ● Sergeant Murray Lansky tries to keep her on the line ● Up in Gordon’s office, Batman comes through the window, and the two wish each other a Merry Christmas. ● (Aww, Batman has a present for Gordon. Why is that so goddamned precious??) (and Gordon made donations to city charities in Batman’s name)

● Batman walks Gordon down through the bullpen to escort him to his car; on the way, they pass Lansky, who fills them in on what’s going on. ● Batman asks for the phone. Lansky obliges since he is starting to lose her. ● But they’d managed to keep her on the line long enough for a trace. Lansky gives the address to Batman. ● Kathy’s already taken the pills and they’re starting to take effect… ● Then Blockbuster comes in, carrying her purse. Aww, he’s shy… ● Kathy collapses; Blockbuster isn’t sure why, so he picks her up to find help. ● …the masked man wonders at the irony of a young girl wishing to end her life even as the whole world celebrates another life’s beginning… Bruce, you of all people should realize the toll that grief/depression/etc. takes during the “festive” time of the year ● Batman arrives at Kathy’s, finds the broken door, the bottle of pills, and no Kathy. He rushes out into the snow to find her before it’s too late. ● He sees huge footprints in the snow and suspects it is Blockbuster, even though S.T.A.R. Labs told Batman that he was dead and buried. ● Blockbuster approaches a hospital with Kathy in his arms. ● He knows the hospital will help her, but he’s also afraid of the hospital because of experiments he suffered in the past.

● In the end, he’s too frightened and decides to take Kathy somewhere else. ● Batman confronts them in an alley. Batman convinces Blockbuster to put Kathy down, but Blockbuster doesn’t want Kathy to go to the hospital because “they will hurt the pretty Kathy there…” ● Fight in the alley. Batman gets his ass handed to him by Blockbuster. ● Blockbuster picks Kathy back up and wanders around. She wakes up and freaks out on him… ● …until she realizes he’s crying. Kathy apologizes, saying that she thought he wanted to hurt her. She passes back out. ● After walking a few more blocks, Blockbuster comes across a bellringer dressed as Santa. Some part of the remnant of Mark Desmond remembers Santa, and he thinks he can help Kathy. ● (How long is this taking, anyway? She’d probably normally be dead by this point o_o ) ● So he shoves her at this Santa, and Santa mentions that they should get her to a hospital asap. This sends Blockbuster, so he picks up Kathy and runs off again. Santa flags down a police cruiser. ● Batman arrives on scene and follows Blockbuster to the docks. Blockbuster starts off across the frozen river, but the ice won’t hold. Batman jumps down, Blockbuster drops Kathy, and he and Batman begin to fight again. ● Their fighting breaks off a chunk of ice that starts to float away with Kathy. Blockbuster jumps to the ice floe, then—lol—overhand throws Kathy over to Batman. ● Then Blockbuster falls into the river :( ● Kathy seems remarkably recovered as she gets into the ambulance. Batman mentions that the bottle had just a few pills shy of being able to do the job. ● Poor Blockbuster. ● 👏👏👏

Synopsis: Kathy Crawford, a depressed, out-of-work woman in Gotham City, is robbed of her purse by a street gang on Christmas Eve. The gang is soon totally clobbered by Blockbuster, who grabs the purse and lumbers off to find Kathy. Kathy herself, in a fit of suicidal depression, overdoses on sleeping pills and calls the police to say goodbye. Batman, delivering a gift to Commissioner Gordon, learns of the suicide attempt by listening in on a desk sergeant's conversation with Kathy. He fails to talk her out of her rash action and she terminates the call. But a tracer has been put on the call, and Batman heads out in search of Kathy Crawford.

Blockbuster bursts into Kathy's shabby apartment with her purse just as she collapses. Unsure of what to do, he carries her out into the snowy night. Batman arrives minutes later, trails the Blockbuster's huge footprints in the snow, and confronts him, mistaking his intentions towards Kathy. The Blockbuster knocks Batman out and tries to give Kathy to a street-corner Santa, but he takes her away at the mention of a hospital, which he still finds disturbing after his failed radiation therapy at S.T.A.R. Labs.

Batman and Blockbuster have a final encounter on the icebound Gotham River, but the impact of Blockbuster's huge fists hitting the ice breaks off a floe containing Kathy and sends it downriver. Blockbuster leaps to the floe and throws Kathy into Batman's arms just as the ice breaks up beneath him, plunging him into the freezing waters.

Batman gives Kathy to ambulance attendance, noting that she had not taken a fatal dose of pills. Kathy, touched that Blockbuster thought her worth saving, vows not to try suicide again. When she asks what his name was, Batman tells her to call him "the spirit of Christmas Yet-to-be!"

(https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Batman_Vol_1_309)

Fan Art: Zastermont The Batman Christmas elegant highly det by X-Cannibal

Accompanying Podcast: ● Overlooked Dark Knight - episode 09

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Christmas Reruns 2023 Day 15: The Yuletide Challenge (2/3)

Christmas Reruns 2023 Day 15: The Yuletide Challenge (2/3)

Merry Christmas if you celebrate it and happy holidays if you don’t!  One of the things I love about Christmas is watching reruns of all the old classic Christmas movies–Christmas is a big time for nostalgia.  A few years ago, I decided to incorporate that tradition into my fandom life and post my CS holiday reruns.  So here you go!  Enough holiday (mostly) fluff to get you to New Year’s Day. (With a new story posting on Christmas Day.)

Rating: G

Word Count: 1455

Other chapters:  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Killian watched the gorgeous blonde walk away from him, her strides purposeful and decisive.  He grinned to himself as he finished his last shot, settled his tab and headed back to his lonely apartment.  When he’d left home that night, he’d hoped merely for enough rum to dull the ever-present pain and loneliness this time of year inevitably brought ever since it had happened. 

What he’d gotten instead was a lifeline.  Emma Swan may have believed she was (rather unwillingly if he didn’t miss his guess) fulfilling the requirements of her sister-in-law’s holiday project, but in a lot of ways, she’d been his savior on this cold winter’s night.

Five years past in early December, Killian’s whole world had crashed around him.  He’d had his share of pain and heartache throughout his childhood—his mother dying when he was barely old enough to remember her, his father running off and leaving him and Liam—but he also had joy.  He and Liam had been inseparable since the loss of their parents.  Liam had been the best brother any lad could ever hope to have—as much a surrogate father as a brother.

Then six years ago, he’d met the woman he believed to be the love of his life—Milah.  They’d had a quick whirlwind of a romance, and just before that fateful day of the accident, Killian had made up his mind to propose.

It was supposed to be a magical night.  Liam was in town for the weekend, and the plan was for the brothers and Milah to purchase a Christmas tree and decorate Killian’s apartment.  Only they never made it to the Christmas tree farm.  A drunk driver had hit them head on, killing Liam and Milah instantly and crushing his hand so badly it couldn’t be saved.

Killian took a deep breath as he opened the door to his bare, cheerless apartment.  It wouldn’t do to dwell on those painful memories any longer.  There was no going back, no changing what had happened.

Instead, he focused on long, silky blonde hair, jaded green eyes, and luscious legs shown to their full effect thanks to a short dress and high heels.  Emma Swan was quite possibly the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, but there was more to the instant attraction he felt toward her than merely her beauty.  There was a pain and brokenness about her that called out to him.  A lost boy could, after all, recognize a lost girl.

Swan may very well plan to save him from holiday blues, but he sensed he may be able to perform the same service to her.  Perhaps while she worked to bring him Yuletide cheer, he could work to knit together the pieces of her broken heart.

For the first time in five years, Killian was actually looking forward to the holiday season.

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

Emma sat staring at her cell phone for long moments.  She’d gotten as far as unlocking the thing and typing in Killian’s number before she froze.  Why was this so difficult?  Killian was just some stranger in a bar she had to do 3 more good deeds for, that was it.

It wasn’t like she felt any kind of connection to this guy.  It wasn’t like she was considering a relationship or something with him.  He was just a hot guy she had to do nice things for.  That was it.

So why was her instinct to run going into overdrive?

Emma growled, calling herself every kind of idiot she could think of.  Just get it over with, Emma.  She’d do her stupid good deeds, and then Killian “Hook” Jones would be in her rearview mirror.

After another deep, cleansing breath, Emma pressed the dial button and then held her breath until she heard his deep, sexy “Aye”.

“Hey, yeah, it’s Emma,” she said quickly before she could talk herself out of it.  “You know, from the bar?  The one taking the Yuletide challenge?”

His low chuckle did things to her.  Things that were most definitely not PG rated.

“I assure you, darling, there’s no chance I would forget you.”

“Yeah, whatever, Romeo,” she said dryly.

He laughed again, and Emma found her lips ticking up at the sound in spite of herself.  “So, I figure I need to cross another good deed off my list, since it’s nearly the end of the second week of December.  So what nice thing do you want me to do for you?”

“Well….” he said, drawing the word out in a way that made her heart race.

“What purely platonic thing do you want me to do for you?” she amended hastily.

He laughed again.  That sound really should be banned.  But after a beat of silence, he seemed to sober.  “There is one thing, I feel I really should do, and having someone to help truly would be a kindness.”

“Yeah?  What’s that?”

“I…I need to put up a tree, decorate the apartment,” he said, a strange hesitancy in his voice.

“It’s December 15, and you haven’t put your Christmas tree up?!” she asked, incredulous.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a beat…then another.  When Killian finally answered, there was a heaviness in his voice Emma didn’t understand.  “I’ve…not been able to face the prospect of Christmas, and particularly decorating, for some time now.”

He was in pain, Emma could hear that clearly in his voice.  “Look, if it’s too painful or whatever, we don’t have to…”

“No, Swan, it’s quite alright,” Killian said.  “I think perhaps it’s time I attempt to put the past behind me and find joy again in the season.”

“Well if you’re sure…”

“I am,” he said decisively.  “Meet me at Granny’s tomorrow and we can make arrangements.”

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

Killian took a step back and looked up at the tree.  Twinkling lights, colorful ornaments, a star at the top, it was gorgeous.  “I think we did rather well for ourselves, Swan, if I do say so myself.”

“Hey, when I put my mind to something, I’m all in,” she said, surveying their handiwork.

“So I’ve noticed,” he said with a grin.  “I’ve never seen someone pursue a Christmas tree with quite that much zeal.  I do believe the Christmas tree farmer is still quaking in his boots.”

Emma laughed, the sound washing over him like a warm blanket on a cold night.  “What can I say?” she asked.  “The price the guy was asking for this stupid tree was highway robbery.  What kind of a good deed doer would I be if I let him soak you like that?”

“My wallet thanks, you, love.”

She grinned back at him, and his heart turned over.  She must have seen something in his eyes, because she immediately withdrew into herself.

“Well, anyway…” she said awkwardly.  “Good deed number 2 crossed off the list, right?”

He wanted to ask her to stay, ask her to have dinner with him, find some pretense, any pretense to remain in her presence, but he knew her.  Already, after only one afternoon and a few minutes in a bar, he could read her like an open book.  A serious declaration of his blossoming feelings for her would do nothing but make her run.  Far better to fall back on his tried and true innuendo instead.

“I’m afraid I can’t agree to that, Swan,” he said with an exaggerated wounded look.

She grinned, placing one hand on a shapely hip.  “Yeah?  Why’s that?”

“Quite simply because the decorating is not at an end,” he said.  “I’ve yet to hang the sprig of mistletoe I obtained at the farm.  I rather think it’s only good form of you to stay as I hang it, and then help me…christen it.”

She laughed, the joyous sound bringing a genuine smile to his face.  “Killian, you just never stop, do you?”

He shook his head.  “Why should I stop when my nonsense brings such joy to your face, love?”

She dropped her eyes, took a small step back, and Killian worried he’d put a bit too much genuine emotion into that last question.  “Swan…I’m sorry; I didn’t mean…”

She looked up at him, the smile on her face forced, unnatural.  “It’s fine.  Look, I’ve got to get going.  I’ll, um, talk to you later for the last couple of good deeds.”

Killian sighed as the door closed behind her.  Tonight hadn’t ended as he’d hoped, but as she said, there were still two good deeds left.  Two more opportunities to convince Emma Swan to take a chance on the feelings obviously brewing between the two of them.

NEXT CHAPTER->

[stefannofornarigames]

Don't Give Up On Me! - Christmas Update IS OUT!

​The first and final update for Don't Give Up On Me! ​- the Special Christmas Update ​- is OUT NOW!

As discussed in the previous devlog, this update brings in a special episode reuniting the whole cast for one final chaotic outing, an extras menu, grammatical corrections... and much, MUCH more!

You can see all the changes in the Changelog below.

Changelog

​MAJOR CHANGES

- Added special episode: "Day Seven - Christmas Special"; - Added "Extras" Menu; - Choice buttons now have sound effects; - All versions now have a proper desktop icon;

​MINOR CHANGES

- Changed the size of the main menu buttons to both PC and Android versions; - Fixed a bug that Akihiko's sprite wouldn't display in certain part of Day Two; - Added a rating request after finishing the Main Story; - Fixed typos in English version; - Corrected grammar mistakes in Brazilian Portuguese version.

​Conclusion

​I maanged to tie up the whole update just in time for Christmas! It was set to release until Christmas Eve, but unfortunately I didn't have the proper time to actually finish it until then. I am sorry for taking a while, but I dearly hope you'll enjoy this whole special update!

As previously noted, this will be the first and final update Don't Give Up On Me! will ever receive, before I move on to other projects in 2023 and beyond. Ryuzi_nea and I thank you so much for being a part of this whole journey up until now.

As such, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Play the game now!

[violettierre]

If you're my mutual or we've interacted before please read this,

So to save your time im going on a hiatus.

And here's some elaboration;

Tumblr have never failed to put a smile on my face it's a fun website to visit and i've always enjoyed the content made here, and most of all, enjoyed interacting with poeple that have always been very kind and sweet and some even consider me a friend which is a far bigger deal to me than one may think because of personal reasons and i really mean it when i say Tumblr never fail to make my day with those silly posts and inside jokes that may mean nothing, overall, it's my go-to place to relax from my noisy life and be my questionable silly little inner violetta that im thankful no one really judged, and it was a breath of fresh air when i signed in here. I've treated my account, like most poeple, as my account where i talked about stuff i enjoyed and my opinions in things, ect... but if you are my mutual i feel like you did notice sometimes i slip and im no longer enjoying my inner self like i usually do, which is common. It does happen to lots of poeple where real life issues just hit too hard for them to enjoy their distractions they used as coping mechanism to keep themselves sane just like i do that's why no one really judges that from what i concluded in my experience. However, as many times as everyone thankfully ignore that, those moments still bother me every time cuz it's never been about other users noticing, it's never been anything outside of personal. Like i said before, this is my prefered go-to comfort space that i open to rest from real life issues and the effects it had on me, and the interference that accure between them never fail to make my health worse, and so i don't go to details, this place simply start to lose its charm for me because it began losing the one thing i personally associated it with. Which is why as far as i believe, it'll be better to take a pause from being active here. Because sometimes the stuff that help us get through things that hurts, shouldn't be exposed to it, and the less harmful option is to hide it so we can go back to it when we're desperate for comfort instead of losing it completely.

Naturally, I have no idea how long i'll be on a hiatus for, it may take months, or maybe a year, who knows, even if i wish for it to be sooner than later, it's something that happen undecided, but it may most likely last at least until my personal crisis calms down and im a little more stable and ready to use once again that one violet that i admit i've mistreated as well, because in order to stop my stress and mental health from sneaking into my safe space i must face it and deal with it, which im really scared of, but that's pretty much what is left to do. Things that go our way aren't necessarily our ideal solutions.

It's a silly little hiatus for most poeple, but behind it, im going to a metaphorical war and im scared that's why im writing this long useless elaboration post before getting a pause from all my social media not just tumblr and try to look after myself in a way i've been running away from.

And if you're reading this as my moot or we've interacted, i do hope you understand this and mostly hope that everything will stay good between us once i come back sooner or later, it's already gonna be awkward for me to do anything i like again after im basically right now going to ditch my self care, so i just want you to keep in mind i do not want to lose you or anyone in here and we could remain in good terms.

And happy new year from now, since i won't be able to celebrate it here. I wish everyone on tumblr a healthy and lucky new year lifestyle starting or continuing from 2023 and fortune will follow everyone everywhere. And merry Christmas to all who celebrate, and whatever other holiday i won't celebrate in here, im sending all my love throughout those times and all time, thanks to everyone for everything and hopefully i get to interact with you guys later on.

With all my geniune love, Violetta.

[aftereffectsprojects]

3D Merry Christmas Text Reveal Motion Design from Antony Parker on Vimeo.

✔️ Download here: templatesbravo.com/vh/item/3d-merry-christmas-text-reveal/49509682

Project Features

Adobe After Effects CC 2023 And Above No Plugins Required Modular Structure Full HD (1920×1080) resolution Universal Expressions (Works For All Languages) Very Easy To Customize Free Support 24/7 Change All Settings (Colors) With Control Layer PDF Help File Included Used Free Font (Font Link Included)

Credits

Music: Christmas

Support:

If you need any help about this project, you can contact we through our profile page

[mdmaniruzzaman-review]

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[countessofravenclaw]

The 2023 writing Advent calendar: Day 25

25. Christmas morning

Nina rolled over on the bed as the light from though the blinds reached her eyes. She quickly realized that no one was besides her and that the bed was empty. 

“You’re awake?” She looked up and saw Gastón walked out of the bathroom while pulling on a shirt. His hair was damp like she had just gotten out of the shower. 

“What must I do to convince you to stay in bed in the morning for once?”

“I stay in bed in the morning very often, you would know that.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“I woke up early and didn’t want to wake you, so I went on a run.” Gastón sat on the bed. 

“Why couldn’t you sleep?” Nina sat up. 

“I still feel like I am target of a very elaborate prank,” He ran his hand through his hair. “Even after I literally signed the papers. I keep looking at it so didn’t just imagine it or something.” 

“You deserved that promotion,” Nina ran her hand on his arm, “You are amazing at what you do, that’s why it happened. I though you were happy about it.”

“I was, I am. It’s just…. this is that sorta thing that people in their mid 30s dream about, I’m ten years younger than that. It should not be happening. It’s just hard to wrap my head around it.”

“You talked to James about this?”

“No,” Gastón shook his head, “He would laugh my face off. He if anyone will not believe me.”

“He if anyone knows how capable you are in your field,” Nina argued, “If you don’t believe me, and I don’t really know what I am talking about, do I? On the engineering side anyway, but I will always believe in you.”

“Well, you’re a tad bit biased,” He smiled at her. 

“The same amount that you were when you convinced me to send my manusricp to the publishers and look how that turned out. But you need to tell James, he’s gonna be upset if you don’t.” 

“I know, I’ll talk to him after the holidays.” 

“You’re parents would also probably want to know.”

“Oh yeah, how I am gonna be working very closely with German Castillo this point on,” Gastón huffed, “That will be a fun conversation.”

“They’ll be happy for you.” Nina reassured him. 

“I think they will be very conflicted. Their principles will be in very big war.” Gastón shook his head, “Anyways, that enough about about my job.” 

He leaned down and kissed Nina. “Morning, and merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas to you too,” She wrapped her arms around his neck for another kiss. 

“We agreed that Luna and Matteo would be here at 10:30… and it’s Luna and Matteo so they’ll probably be late, so we have sometime in our hands right now,” Gastón talked as he reached over to Nina’s side of the nightstand and picked her engagement ring up and slid in onto her her left ring finger to accombany the wedding ring she wore even while sleeping. He practically never took his off. “So, who opens whose first?” 

“I think I want you to go last this year,” Nina stated. 

“Okay, you first then,” Gastón smiled and got up from the bed. They both had their own secret places they hid the Christmas gifts for each other. Their house wasn’t that big that they wouldn’t be able to find them if they wanted to, but they didn’t want to. 

“Open the big one first.” He said after he had come back with two wrapped packages.

“Okay…” Nina nodded and started pulling the ribbon on the bigger package. She was notoriously bad at opening packages and presents, even envelopes were hard for her sometimes. Her finger didn’t have those finemotor skills, that was what happened when you just typed on a laptop all day. 

Thankfully Gastón knew that, so he intentionally had made the taping as simple as possible. He understood the sentiment, given his own occasional inability to get buttons open very effectively, when they were in the back of her clothing. 

“You got me journals?” She looked at him after the package revealed fove crisp new writing journals. 

“Isn’t your current one almost full?” Gastón questioned, smiling, “So I decided that it was better to be prepared. You blow through those so fast that you should be worried about running out.” 

“You always know,” Nina smiled back at him.

“It’s my job to know,” He shrugged, “I couldn’t call myself your husband if I didn’t. Open the smaller one now.” He egged her on.

“What is it?” Nina picked the smalled gift up. It was much more angular, clearly a box. As she opened it up, it was a jewerly box from David Yurman. Gastón had gotten her jewerly from various brands, including few nordic brands like Kalevala and Lumoava. This though, was first from David Yurman. 

“Open it.” Gastón urged her. 

In the box, laying in the balc velvet, there was a gold signet ring. Nina noticed that rose engravement on it as she picked it up. 

“There is a bit of a story to go with that,” Gastón started as Nina was looking at the ring, “I don’t think you have seen it, but Mom has one like it. She weras it on every Christmas. That’s actually an heirloom. Dad found it in Granny’s things after she died. He gave it to Mom on their irst Christmas after they got married. I thought, that istead of waiting for that one to pass down to you, I’d get you your you own, as my wife.”

“It’s beutiful,” Nina said said, looking into his eyes. 

“Mom’s has a sun on hers. I thought rose was appropriate for your.” Gastón took the ring from Nina and slid it on her ring finger on her right hand. 

“Now, I’m supposed to beat this,” She laughed little nervously. 

“This is not a competition.” Gastón looked at her softly. 

“Okay,” Nina took the package out of it’s hiding place. “Open it first…before reading the card.”

“Ominous, but okay…” Gastón laughed and opened the present, “...and you told me I had enoug watches.” He laughed after the package revealed the rolex watch. 

“You were going to buy it for yourself so I had to say something,” Nina admitted. She had known that he had wanted that specific watch for a long time and she had had to result in some underhanded means to distract him off it. 

“Well, now it makes sense why you were in such a hurry to get me off that tablet that one time,” He smirked and leaned closer to her, “You really think I didn’t notice, not that I am complaining…and I know you enjoyed it too.”

“All is fair in love and war?” Nina smiled little more shyly, “Now you can read the card.”

“You being serious right now?” Gastón asked after he had scanned the contents of the card. 

“Yes, very serious.”

Gastón didn’t say anything more, instead he just pulled her into a passionate kiss that very quickly escalated.

So, Merry Christmas everybody!!!! Gastteo got the Christmas day last year, so Gastina got it this year, cause what else is new? We also ended this year's calendar on a bit of a cliffhanger, because I am evil like that. If you wanna know the full context for all of this and what on earth was in that card, go read my last year's Christmas fic: Christmas is the time for joy and unexpected events since this is happening during it. Also, no one is pregnant.

[clarktooncrossing]

Giraffe's Eye View: Christmas Specials Special (2023) | I'm Dreaming of a White Ranger

Chestnuts are roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost is nipping at your nose. Mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again. All the dogs in the neighborhood somehow learned to bark Jingle Bells in sync. Yet retail workers are still more annoyed with Mariah Carey. Snow is getting shoveled, tossed, and formed into sentient beings leading parades without permits. It makes for an excellent distraction as the Krampus abducts children for bad behavior. Fruitcake is exchanged only to find its permanent home in the garbage. Terrorists have hijacked the Holiday office party right before your boss can give you a Jelly of the Month Club membership as your bonus. And of course, the Turducken has returned to wreak its fiery vengeance upon an unsuspecting world! If all this doesn’t put you in the Christmas spirit, perhaps these following Holiday specials will!

Greetings people of today and robots of tomorrow! It is I, Santa Clark, your geeky giraffe friend with a deep love of Christmas! My obsession for the yuletide is rivaled only by Maleficent’s hatred for it, which is saying a lot considering she once teamed up with Mad Madam Mim to kidnap the literal Spirit of Christmas. Yes, that really happened. I know this due to my annual pilgrimage to the Island of Misfit Specials, home to obscure or nerdy festive media ranging from movies, TV episodes, and comics. It’s no easy journey. Constantly I find myself confronted by sinister snowmen, genocidal gingerbread men, and worst of all, crappy commercials. Getting stabbed in the foot by a candy-cane wielding cookie is one thing, but I swear I’ve seen that ad for Wilbur’s White Elephant Gift Emporium more times than I’ve seen Miracle on 34th Street! Sometimes at night I catch myself reciting that jingle. Wilbur’s White Elephant Gift Emporium: Where Christmas meets Convenience! Huh, maybe Maleficent had a point.

Nah, my deep-rooted appreciation for this time of year can weather even the most moronic marketing! It helps that most of the merry media I’ve seen have put me in the perfect Holiday mood! Examples include the time a Ninja Turtle found himself trapped in a truck full of stollen toys, a drunk department store Santa stumbling onto a wish-granting magic bag, Big Bird nearly becoming a popsicle, Gwenpool waking up in a world where Galactus took the place of jolly ol’ Saint Nicholas, a terrifying tree stump trying to slaughter some saps over a stupid ship war, and the year when Death gave the Little Match Girl the greatest gift of all. Needless to say, I thought I had seen it all. That is, until I took my friends on a trip to the Island, tasking them to find me new, strange, seasonal specials to review! Some of them were fair, finding me festive favorites as comforting as coco in front of the fireplace. Others were fiendish, wanting to feed off my misery like Gremlins after midnight. Regardless of how naughty or nice my companions were, I’ve compiled all of their suggestions into a makeshift advent calendar! So stay tuned everyday until Christmas to see how badly my buddies can shred what little sanity I have left.

On the sixth day of Christmas, my buddies gave to me...

Question: what happens when you combine Saved By The Bell with Shōwa-Era Godzilla? Answer: you get a beloved franchise that’s lasted for three decades. It worked for Power Rangers. This American adaptation of the Japanese series Super Sentai pits a pack of teens with attitude against rubber-suited monsters for the fate of the world, if not the whole universe. This series is a perfect byproduct of the 90s, featuring bright colors, silly special effects, and hoaky acting. It’s resulted in an entire generation of people who wanted to pilot the Dragonzord or suddenly appear in spandex upon shouting out, “IT’S MORPHIN’ TIME!” One of these dorks is Hobo (Mr-Herp-Derp), still as obsessed with this franchise as Rita Repulsa is with conquering Earth. It’s no wonder why my mighty morphin’ buddy wanted me to check out I’m Dreaming of A White Ranger. Well actually he wanted me to watch something else, but that’ll be explained later. For now, what’s happening with our young heroes?

Every Ranger down in Angel Grove liked Christmas a lot. But Lord Zedd (Robert Axelrod), who lived up on the moon, did not. Lord Zedd hated Christmas, the whole Christmas season! Now please don’t ask why, no one quite knows the reason. It could be perhaps that his grill was too tight. It could be because those meddling kids kept foiling his plights. But I think that the most likely reason of all may have been that his heart was two sizes too small. Or the writers were too lazy to think up any other reason. He’s evil, bah humbug! Yet his motivation is still more thought out than the Vizier’s. Unlike that purple punk, Zed had an idea. An awful idea. He had a wonderful, awful idea! I know what to do, the villain growled in his throat. He’d send his top henchmen Rito Revolto (Bob Papenbrook) and Goldar (Kerrigan Mahan) down to the North Pole to force all the elves to make mind-controlling tops.

My, what a lack of vision this menacing meatsack has. For starters, dude has a giant super weapon shaped like a dragon that can destroy planets. If you really hated the Holidays that much, find some batteries for the freak’n thing so it can annihilate the arctic! BOOM! Sandy Claws will be no more! Assuming that doesn’t work though, why tops? Unless you’re Jewish, what kid was asking for such a boring toy back in 1995? If the previous year’s Black Friday is any indication, youngsters are yearning for merch based on this show! Miniaturized Zords, plastic replicas of Sabba the White Tiger Sword, their own personalized Morphers, and action figures so they can force the Pink and Green Rangers to kiss! If the beefy bozo wanted to destroy the yuletide with a sense of irony, those elves would be assembling a batch of brainwashing Blue Ranger helmets!

Speaking of which, we catch up with our generic gaggle of goody two-shoes at Ernie’s Juice Bar, preparing a Holiday pageant for the underprivileged. Y’know, like every teenager totally used to do after school. Totally. Leading the local youth in song is Yellow Ranger Aisha (Karan Ashley) and Pink Ranger Kimberly (Amy Jo Johnson). Now if only they had picked some kids who could actually carry a tune. I guess all the ones who could were beamed over to the Command Center to help decorate. With singing this sour, I’m starting to root for Zed. One kid suffering from a similar mojo is Becky, worrying that her workaholic dad won’t be there to see her perform. Her worries are mirrored by Kim, her own parents parading around Paris presently. Aw, your poor punims. Turns out the one gift I forgot to give you was my empathy. Sorry if that sounds heartless, but I can’t bring myself to care. For starters, who the heck is Becky? At least The Flash used a pre-established player when forcing their festive drama down my throat. Unless this brat became a Ranger later on, her one-off plotline is pointless. Sure, being alone at this time of year is a bummer, but remember what show we’re watching right now. Obviously everything’s gonna be wrapped up with a pretty bow before the credits roll. That’s why when the families do finally arrive at the end, the most I can muster is dull surprise! A sentiment shared by Becky’s uncredited actress judging by her own reaction. Jeez, here’s hoping the action’s more exciting.

I freak'n wish. Having somehow pieced together their enemy’s plan, robot Alpha (Richard Steven Horvitz) and severed wizard head Zordon (David Fielding) beam our heroes to the North Pole, which looks considerably cheap. How much you wanna bet they shot this at some defunct Christian theme park? Regardless of the backdrop, the butt kicking will be a sight to behold! Or not. Due to multimodal reflection sorting, the Rangers can’t morph while at the workshop. Let me repeat that: they can’t morph! No suiting up sequence, Megazord, or Sentai footage. I have yet to discover a word in the English language to describe how lame this is. This is like getting a ride on the Polar Express only for them to take you to a drunken mall Santa! What’s even the point? Now I understand this episode's title, dreaming’s the closest we’re gonna get! Fortunately, Blue Ranger Billy (David Yost) realizes the same magic blocking their powers also affects their enemies. Thus Goldar and Rito are rendered helpless as our protagonists pull the most ingenious maneuver known to man: pelting them with snowballs! You magnificent bastards, I read your book! Said book being the same one Pinkie and Sunset wrote. It’s enough to send the lackies running back to a furious Zed, wondering if Christmas perhaps means a little bit more. Or why he hasn't stuffed these two twits into a space dumpster. At most they managed to screw up Santa’s schedule, but even that’s easily undone with the aid of the Rangers. Doesn’t that break some sort of Elf union laws? Probably explains why Saint Nick pays them with a big sack of toys instead of any actual money. Then again, that’s probably the most these actors ever made working on this show. Keep making it so the cast had to work at Burger King to afford their apartments! In the end the six return to Ernie’s with their bag full of goodies while Rito gives a gift to Goldar. Aw, now that’s nice! And more interesting than Becky’s subplot.

Despite how mighty this franchise normally is, this episode was mediocre. It’s no wonder why they stopped making these seasonal outings after Zeo, only to bring them back with Samurai. The writing was wooden, the sets were second-rate, and the acting was adequate at best. Really the worst aspect was how subdued everything was. Compared to what the Rangers have accomplished before and after, rescuing Kris Kringle feels surprisingly pedestrian. What would’ve helped is if the Rangers had taken on a larger threat or at the very least changed into their costumes. Maybe have Lord Zedd follow Hawkmoth’s example by corrupting Mr. Claus or have the festive fatman reveal his sled can change into a Zord! You'd get a crazy fight scene and a new toy to sell! Remember kids, subtlety is overrated! As it stands, I'm dreaming of something better than this. Luckily, Netflix has just what we need. Let me tell you a story about letters.

< PREVIOUS REVIEW | INDEX | NEXT REVIEW >

[cinemapremi]

Vicky Kaushal: Embracing Love and Life Changes with Katrina Kaif

Vicky Kaushal: Embracing Love and Life Changes with Katrina Kaif

In the midst of promoting his upcoming film "Sardar Udham," Bollywood sensation Vicky Kaushal opened up about his personal life, shedding light on the profound impact of his marriage to actress Katrina Kaif. Banda Song: Vicky Kaushal’s ‘Sam Bahadur’ Unveils a Powerful Anthem of Indian Army’s Valor Sam Bahadur Trailer Unveiling the Game-Changing Biopic Praises for Katrina Kaif During a recent interview, Vicky Kaushal couldn't resist expressing his admiration for his wife, Katrina Kaif. He delved into the transformative effect she has had on his life and shared how their union has been nothing short of a blessing. Beautiful Relationship Known for their openness about their relationship, Vicky and Katrina have become a beloved couple in the public eye. Their willingness to share glimpses of their love story has endeared them to fans, creating a narrative of a beautiful and supportive bond. Post-Marriage Transformations Vicky Kaushal delved into the changes marriage has brought to his life. Beyond the glitz of the film industry, he spoke about how having Katrina as his life partner has added stability and joy to his life. Finding a Compatible Partner Expressing gratitude for finding a compatible and understanding partner in Katrina, Vicky highlighted the importance of having someone who shares your values and supports you unconditionally. Lifestyle Changes Acknowledging shifts in his lifestyle, Vicky revealed a newfound love for travel, a change he attributes to the positive influence of Katrina. Exploring new facets of life together, the couple finds joy in shared experiences and adventures. Workfront Updates While Vicky gears up for the release of "Sardar Udham," Katrina is set to captivate audiences with her performance in "Merry Christmas." Both actors continue to shine in their respective careers. https://www.instagram.com/p/CjqTXI2q3wg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== In conclusion, Vicky Kaushal's candid revelations about his life post-marriage paint a picture of newfound happiness and stability. His journey with Katrina Kaif stands as a testament to the positive impact a supportive life partner can have. Karwa Chauth 2023 Katrina Kaif’s Stunning Celebrations with Vicky Kaushal Tiger 3 Advance Booking Collection: Salman-Katrina’s Movie Tickets Selling Like Hotcakes How did Vicky and Katrina meet? The couple met through mutual friends in the film industry and gradually developed a close bond. Are Vicky and Katrina working on any film together? As of now, there's no official announcement about Vicky and Katrina collaborating on a project. How has marriage influenced Vicky's career? Vicky Kaushal has mentioned that marriage brought stability to his life, positively impacting both personal and professional aspects. What changes has Vicky experienced in his lifestyle after marriage? Vicky has embraced more travel and adventures, enjoying a dynamic lifestyle with his wife, Katrina. When is "Sardar Udham" scheduled for release? "Sardar Udham" is set to release on December 1, 2023. Also checkout: Read the full article

[limoteethw]

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Glioblastoma (GBM). GBM is the most Dallas Cowboys Limited Cozy Color Gift Fans AOP For Men And Women and most aggressive brain cancer. It’s highly invasive, which makes complete surgical removal impossible. And because of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), it doesn’t respond to any chemotherapy. The standard-of-care entails multiple rounds of surgery and radiotherapy, yet the five year survival is lower than 5%. Pancreatic cancer (PDAC). PDAC is a notoriously stubborn cancer. The only effective treatment is a very painful and very complex operation called “the Whipple procedure”. However, only 20% of patients are eligible for such operation. And even for those lucky patients, only 20% survived more than five years. For the rest majority of patients, the chance of survival is negligible, because PDAC hardly responds to any form of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The five year survival overall is 6%.

Dallas Cowboys Limited Cozy Color Gift Fans AOP For Men And Women

Glioblastoma (GBM). GBM is the most Dallas Cowboys Limited Cozy Color Gift Fans AOP For Men And Women and most aggressive brain cancer. It’s highly invasive, which makes complete surgical removal impossible. And because of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), it doesn’t respond to any chemotherapy. The standard-of-care entails multiple rounds of surgery and radiotherapy, yet the five year survival is lower than 5%. Pancreatic cancer (PDAC). PDAC is a notoriously stubborn cancer. The only effective treatment is a very painful and very complex operation called “the Whipple procedure”. However, only 20% of patients are eligible for such operation. And even for those lucky patients, only 20% survived more than five years. For the rest majority of patients, the chance of survival is negligible, because PDAC hardly responds to any form of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The five year survival overall is 6%.

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Off we drove, with the Christmas tree comfortably between the two of us! I drove Robin back home and we maneuvered the Travis Kelce Chiefs Shirt out of the car as pine needles dropped profusely all over the VW bug. I setup the tree in her home after moving a few pieces of furniture and she went off to get a box of decorations. At that point in time, I could sense she wanted me to stay to decorate the tree, but I knew I could not because my girl-friend was waiting. I gave her a big hearty hug, and told her Merry Christmas as I left. In my life time and with all due sincerity…that was my best ever holiday… “So this is Christmas.” moment!

Home Page: Limotees

Buy It Now:Dallas Cowboys Limited Cozy Color Gift Fans AOP For Men And Women

I’m A Bowling Green Falcons On Saturdays And A Cleveland Browns On Sundays 2023 shirt

NFL Chicago Bears Christmas All Over Print Needle Ugly Sweater For Winter

Newcastle Jets Fc Leobees 3D Awesome Hawaiian Shirt

Pittsburgh Steelers Octopus Alibaba Genie Hawaiian Shirt Fans Gift For Halloween

Libra Queen African American Loc’d Women Zodiac Sign T Shirt

Off we drove, with the Christmas tree comfortably between the two of us! I drove Robin back home and we maneuvered the Travis Kelce Chiefs Shirt out of the car as pine needles dropped profusely all over the VW bug. I setup the tree in her home after moving a few pieces of furniture and she went off to get a box of decorations. At that point in time, I could sense she wanted me to stay to decorate the tree, but I knew I could not because my girl-friend was waiting. I gave her a big hearty hug, and told her Merry Christmas as I left. In my life time and with all due sincerity…that was my best ever holiday… “So this is Christmas.” moment!

Home Page: Limotees

[lunarbuck]

full masterlist / bucky series masterlist / updated oct 12

One Shots

please read the individual posts for tags and warnings!

☾ - personal favorite

✪ - smut

⁂ - angst

⭐️ - most popular

✯ - dark themes

@lunarbucklibrary

Without A Single String Attached ⁂ ☾ ⭐️

pairing: Bucky x f!reader (any race), Modern AU

summary: Bucky wakes up after hurting you while he was having a night terror

11:59 pm, December 31 ⁂ ☾⭐️

pairing: best friend!Bucky x f!reader (any race), College AU

summary: You’ve been in love with your best friend Bucky Barnes since fourth grade, but to him, you’re just his best friend. It’s New Year’s Eve, maybe tonight will be different.

Merry and Bright

pairing: Bucky Barnes x f!reader (any race)

summary: It’s Bucky’s first Christmas with you, and you want it to be perfect.

All I Want For Christmas

pairing: Bucky Barnes x avenger f!reader (any race)

summary: You + Bucky + Mistletoe

Good Intentions

pairing: 40s!Bucky x f!reader (any race)

summary: After months of begging you for a date, you finally say yes to Bucky Barnes

You Won’t Forget Me

pairing: Bucky Barnes x f!reader (any race) Modern AU

summary: You lose a bet and have to face the consequences

Missed You

pairing: tfatws!bucky x f!reader (any race)

summary: While Bucky is away on a long mission, you can't help but cuddle up with your favorite red henley of his.

Easy ✪⭐️

pairing: bucky barnes x f!avengers!reader (any race)

summary: You and Bucky don't see eye to eye, to say the least, but that all changes after one fateful night at a Tony Stark Party.

You Can Do Magic

pairing: bucky barnes x musician reader (any race)

summary: When Bucky Barnes comes into your store, you make it your mission to foster his budding love for music.

Cuffing Season ✪⭐️

pairing: CEO!Bucky x f!assistant!reader (any race), Modern AU

summary: Happy birthday, Mr. Barnes

somebody else ⁂

pairing: bucky barnes x f!reader (any race)

summary: bucky sees you after the breakup

Touch the Sky

pairing: bucky barnes x f!pilot!reader (any race)

summary: You and Bucky go on a mission that doesn't go as planned

Baby, It's Cold Outside ✪ ☾ ⭐️

pairing: Stucky x f!reader (any race)

summary: You’ve been friends with Steve and Bucky for quite some time, but when you accept to spend the holidays with them in a cabin, friendship evolves into something more.

Our Song ��

pairing: Bucky Barnes x f!reader (any race)

summary: nothing is the same after the snap

The Kiss ✪

pairing: Professor!bucky x f!reader (any race)

summary: You’ve always had a crush on Professor Barnes… little did you know he has been hiding some feelings of his own

bucky takes care of afraid of dark reader

pairing: bucky x f!reader (any race)

Dumb Bunny ✪✯⭐️

pairing: dark!winter soldier x f!reader (any race)

summary: The Wolf sees you walking through the forest on your way to your grandmother’s house, and he just can’t help himself.

In Our Element ✪⭐️

pairing: college!stucky x f!reader (any race)

summary: A camping trip with your friends leads to more than you bargained for

Understanding ✪

pairing: Bucky Barnes x f!reader (any race)

sneak peek: At this point, you know you’re not broken. You know the side effects of your meds, and you’ve learned to deal with them. It’s not your fault that other people don’t get it. But Bucky does.

Kinktober 2023

Kinktober: Table/Threesome/Sensory Deprivation ✪

pairing: stucky x f!reader (any race)

Kinktober: Double Penetration ✪

pairing: stucky x f!reader (any race)

Kinktober: Formal Wear ✪

pairing: bucky x f!reader (any race)

Drabbles

forsaken ✯ | the winter soldier

bad day | bucky barnes

a walk in the forest | bucky barnes

Bucky teaches you to ride a motorcycle | Bucky Barnes

Head-Canons

Bucky takes care of you on your period (head-canon)

Moodboards

the-slumber party week 1 MB

rainy night in bed with bucky MB