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#Christmas Special
kliofyart · 3 months
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I'm OBSESSED with the Doctor and Ruby singing
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azertyrobaz · 3 months
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Who are you?
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doweesig · 3 months
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Olive 🫒 & Martini 🍸
This movie will always my childhood favorite Christmas movie ❤️💚
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theaceofarrows · 4 months
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Red Hood: [punches Riddler goon]
Red Hood: Call me boughs of holly, the way I be decking peoples halls
Batman: Hood-
Nightwing: Call me Christmas cookie, the way I be looking like a snack
Batman: Nightwing-
Nightwing: [kicks another goon before striking a pose]
Batman: I thought asked you both not to say that on patrol
Red Hood: You did
Nightwing: But Spoiler had a very strong argument on why we should say it
Batman: Which was?
Red Hood: She said "but it would really annoy Batman If you DID say it"
Nightwing: So obviously, we had too
Spoiler: [whose recording everything] Smile for the camera boys! This is about to become the most viewed piece of footage at the Watchtower!
Batman: [under his breath] this is why I tell everyone I work alone
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illustoryart · 3 months
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Can’t believe we have Doctor Who Christmas specials again 🥹
It’s the best part of Christmas for me 💙💙
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captofthelaney · 15 days
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Doctor Who Christmas Special 2015: The Husbands Of River Song
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gifs-of-puppets · 5 months
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Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (1978)
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romanarose · 3 months
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Yes, Uncle Tommy?
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DBF!Joel Miller x fem!reader
DBF!Tommy Miller x fem!reader
Join my taglist : Masterlist
Summary: Something something, Santa's not the only one coming?
or
Your dads friend's kid brother, Tommy, fucks you while Joel watches... but Joel cant keep his hands to himself
Warnings and Content: Big, girthy age gap, degrading, rough sex, cucking Joel, objectification (calling her a toy, a sex doll etc). Tommy is playfully teasing you but it's in jest. Jerking off, cream pie and cum in face, make up smearing, ass eating, praise, "daddy" joel, "uncle tommy" threesome between brothers but they are far away from each other, but watching. ball sucking, mentions of oral, m and f receiving, slapping, pinning down, nipple play, spitting. EXPLICITE AND LOVING CONSENT! This was a lot so if i missed anything LMK!!!!!
Immersability: Reader is fem, has hair, reader is much younger than Joel and Tommy. Mentions of readers stomach jiggling but i think most (not all i'll conceed!) do when folded and pounded lol. Mentions of a "bruising grip" as a metaphor but not mentions of bruising or coloration.
The requested part two to Yes, Mr. Miller? but you don't gotta read before.
1.7 k Words
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"Jesus Christ!" Tommy laughed at you mockingly. "Look at her, struggling so hard to take it!"
Joel knelt behind you, fisting his cock above you as you chocked on his balls. "Be nice, baby's just sensitive." He warned his brother. He liked to watch Tommy's cock disappear into your little cunt.
"Yeah cause your scruffy excuse for a beard was all up in between her legs for hours before you decided to invite me in."
Joel had intended on fucking you raw in your bed again, but when Tommy heard the sounds coming out of your door, he put two and two together. After a brief, whispered deliberation with you, Joel invited him in.
'Be my own, personal porn star.' He had instructed. You knew just what Joel liked to see, and now he had the perfect view. Still, you couldn't help the sounds that drew Tommy in the first place so to keep your mouth occupied, Joel shoved his cock in your mouth. After he decided you were a little overwelmed, he switched to his balls.
"Poor little, baby..." Tommy mused. "Get'n awfully squirmy... wassamatter? Can't take it?" It was mostly playful mockery, but also his way of checking up on you.
All he got was a muffled whine as slobbered on Joel's fat balls.
Joel sat back on his haunches, pulling himself out of you but dragging his heavy balls on your face along the way, making sure to smear your make up as he spat a glob of spit on your before slapping you across the face.
"Uncle Tommy asked you a question, baby. Didn't daddy teach you your manners?"
Choking back a sob as you're stretched to the limit at the core of you, Tommy slows down to allow you to breath without his cock punching the air out of your lungs.
"Y-yes, unclemmmm, uncle Tommy?" You ask in your bestest, goodest girl voice.
"I said," Tommy grabbed your hips and yanked you down till you hit his pelvis, making you gasp. He dropped his body down to kiss your neck and said in a soft voice. "Are you doing alright?"
"Yes, Uncle Tommy, thank you sir." You seal it with a kiss on the lips and a buck of your hips, spurring Tommy on again.
The younger Miller groaned, pulling back and smiling at his brother as his hips snapped into you with fury. Both kept their shirts and a light jacket on incase they needed to clean up quick, and the way you were crying out, Joel wasn't sure you could keep from alerting the whole house when you came.
Joel placed his hands on your shoulders, pinning your wriggling body down. "Hold still, little girl..." Joel chastised, shuttering a bit at the lose of stimulation from his rough hands.
"M'm sorry daddy" You whine, but do little to stop the writhing on the bed.
Soothingly, Joel ran his hands down your still-clothes chest, swiping over your hard nipples and going back to rub your neck, repeating this motion and keeping you pinned down.
"It's okay, sweet girl, it's a lot, isn't it?"
It was, it was so fucking much. Joel was longer, but Tommy's cock was fatter, splitting you open wide. Despite the ache, you we so, so fucking high off pleasure right now, you could scream. Your stomach swooped with every thrust, Tommy hitting you right in your core as Joel massaged you, neglecting his own aching cock.
"Such a good little girl for us Joel, thanks for sharing your little toy." Tommy smacked your thigh, forcing you to bite down on your lip to prevent the yelp. "Hurts so good, but she's taking it anyway. Fuuuck, brother squeeze'n me so tight I think she's about to cum! Pathetic little thing, ain't she."
"Ohhh, she just wants to be good, Tommy! She just wants to be a little fuck doll for her daddy and uncle, bet her whole family can hear her little pussy getting torn apart." As Joel brought his hands down again, he squeezed your tits in a bruising grip, sure to leave a mark, before rolling your perky nipples between his fingers.
"Fuck, daddy!" You cry, making Tommy laugh again.
"I dunno Joel, I reckon you better fill her mouth up again before her real daddy comes in to find her being used like a blow up sex doll."
"I think you're right, brother."
"Always am."
Joel knelt up again, balls dangling above you and you open your mouth eagerly to taste his musk, but Joel surprises you by lowering himself down so his ass was right on your mouth. You could feel his balls on your chin as her jerked himself, muffling your moans and cries and begging with his ass.
"Oh fuuuck yeah, that's it, my dirty little girl"
Tommy chuckles, never relenting on his pace on you, fucking into your waiting body with everything he had. "Fucking nasty. She'll just let you do anything to her, huh?"
"Pretty much. Little girl just wants to make her daddy proud." You and Joel had actually talked about ass eating before and you said you were game, given the proper sanitary measures. Joel never actually did anything you didn't want or anything he hadn't asked about.
Glancing to the side, Joel saw your teddy, the little toy he had you clutching when he fucked you over thanksgiving and god an idea. Taking the toy and gripping at the neck, Joel pressed the button to your clit right above where his brother was defiling your little cunt. "Teddy wants you to come, baby."
He feels your whimpers reverberate between his ass cheeks as you like into him, tongue prodding at his tight hole. You briefly had the thought of slipping a finger up his ass, but remember that had not been discussed yet. You wondered if he'd let you peg him.
Joel looked up at Tommy, his brother's boyish face grinning wildly back at him. Joel had made Tommy start of easy, not going full pace just yet as he wasn't sure you could take that for too long, but now, as things were coming to an end, Joel wanted you absolutely destroyed. He picked your pretty make up smearing all over his ass.
"Go nuts Tommy. Fuck her like a rag doll."
Given full permission, Tommy was unleased. He gripped your hips, lifting them off he bed and he heard a muffled squeal before fucking hard and fast, your skirt falling down and revealing your jiggling belly. He was an absolutely mad man, slapping into you with such fervor Joel was carefully paying attention to your grip on his thighs as you ate him in case you needed to tap out, but your never once faltered on your tongue work. Joel took the moment to jerk his cock furiously, his one personal porn star getting fucking right in front of him, and him having the best seat in the house.
"Fuck, Joel." Tommy calls his attention, voice strained and eyes pinched closed. "She's fuck'n cum'n, cum'n real har- oh fuuuuck... shit! 'm cuming so hard!" With a few more grunts, Tommy spilled into you, filling you up with gushes of his warm seed.
Just then, Joel pulled back off your face just in time to spray the hot white on the red and black mixture of your make up, releasing with a grunt.
"Fuck darl'n, such a sexy little fuck doll for me..." When he was finished, Joel rubbed your teddy on your messy, soiled face. "Good girl.... such a good girl..." He coaxed Tommy to lay down, redressing himself before grabbing your makeup removing wipes and the baby wipes you added to your collection for days like this. He grabbed a few make-up wipes and tossed the baby wipes to Tommy. Joel sat on the bed, pulling your limp body towards him to rest your head on his lap. As Tommy took care gently wiping your aching and puffy pussy, tender in his strokes but thorough, Joel wiped down your soiled face, both whispering words of praise.
"Such a pretty girl"
"Did so well for us, princesca."
"Perfect thing."
Once you (and teddy) were clean, Tommy made his exit with a parting kiss, leaving you and Joel together.
"How do you feel, baby girl?" He asked, smoothing his hand over your face to sooth you.
"Great, Daddy. How do you feel?" You wanted to check in with him too. Fucking you at the same time as his brother may not have been the threesome he initially proposed, but you hoped you weren't dissapointing.
You could feel the smile in his voice. "Absolutely perfect, darling girl. amazing"
You laid there on his lap for a few moments until you heard the bathroom door opening after Tommy and your dads tell tale footsteps up the stairs.
"Heya Tom, where you been hiding?"
"Oh," Nervous laughter as he patted his stomach. "Just, you know, the eggnog. You know how I am with dairy." Tommy is talking too loud, signaling Joel to make his escape.
Joel mutters 'shitshitshit' and quickly put his shoes on, you scrambling to push him into the closet.
"You seen Joel lately? Or my kid? Wanna make sure she ain't drank too much. She gets a little dizzy sometimes with alcohol."
"Uhhh no man, ain't seen 'er. Joel i think went out for a smoke though."
"I'll check in her room."
"OH, uh, you know, she might be sleeping." He was so fucking loud and a bad actor.
You shut the closet door, and scramble back to your bed just in time for your dad to knock gently before carefully opening and calling your name in hushed tone. "High honey, you feeling okay? Disappeared there for a moment."
"Yeah dad, I'm alright. Just feeling a little under the weather is all."
"You have too much to drink?"
"Yeah, that might be it..."
"Ill get you some water, alright? And a bite to eat. make you feel better. Be back in a sec."
"Thank you daddy!"
When the door closed, you tell Joel it's clear and he comes out of the closet.
"Go, he's gonna make me leftovers, now's your chance!" You begin shoving him to your door, just Joel stops, pinching your cheeks with his thumb and forefingers.
"Don't you ever call another man daddy, understood?"
Through your squished cheeks you murmur. "Yes, Mr. Miller." He kisses you on the forehead and makes his exit.
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Special shout out to @pedge-page bc the teddy scene was from their work Plushies Series Masterlist that fried my brain!
Thank you for all your love on yes, mr miller? i hope you like this too!
Im not getting rid of my tag list, but im adding an update blog, @romana-updates ! come follow and/or turn on notifications so you dont miss a thing!
But if being tagged is more your style, comment on the tag list linked above!
@fandxmslxt69 @runa-falls @k-ra @whatthefishh @ahookedheroespureheart @mikaelak @littlenosoul @stevenandmarcslove @pikapuff-316 @del-ightfulling @faretheeoscar @harriedandharassed @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @campingwiththecharmings @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @milly-louise @casa-boiardi @joeldjarin
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yanderedespair · 3 months
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YANDERE!CLASS PRESIDENT X GN!READER!
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Howdy Dear readers~ I know I've been away for a while but I didn't have the motivation or enthusiasm to do anything (except daydreaming).
But since Christmas is here..WAS HERE ANYWAY, I thought I'd share some of the thoughts I've been having lately!
(IM SORRY THAT IT'S SO LATE- i was too focused on pranking kids that im Santa than writing anything 😭)
IF SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH MY ENGLISH, THEN I'M SORRY IT'S PRETTY LATE FOR ME- (i've been reading this over and over all day-)
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TW: THIS ONE CONTAINS MENTION OF VIOLENCE,STALKING,YANDERE THOUGHTS ECT.
I do not support this behavior in any way, I only write it as pure entertainment.If you know someone who exhibits such behavior or YOU have such behavior yourself, please make an appointment with a specialist! It's not healthy.
♡ MERRY CHRISTMAS ‪♡
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Yan!Class President - Who is the most perfect student in your school, his charisma and empathy is so good that even bullies respect him. sometimes you wonder if he ever made a mistake? Probably not-
Yan!Class President - Who is especially nice to you, you don't know why but for some time now he started talking to you, buying you sweets and accessories, what is very cute is that he gifted you a phone keychain with your favorite animal! (You didn't even tell him what your favorite was! weird, isn't it?)
Yan!Class President - Who secretly whisper a word or two about you to your teachers so they can give you better grades, if the best student says you deserve it, why wouldn't you get it? a true gentleman indeed! Besides, his favorite person MUST have a bright future, no?
Yan!Class President - Who often walks you home, lends you homework or even pays for you at the store when you forget your wallet (again. Huh, you thought you had it on you when you came here..) Could he be considered a simp? Yeah.
Yan!Class President - Who started to deepen your "friendship" when he invited you more and more often (read: forced you not to see your friends anymore) to his group! all the rich and talented people.. sometimes you feel like an idiot while talking to them. But when you complain about it, the whole group aggressively denies it. I guess they like you a lot.. huh?
Yan!Class President - Who one day, invited you to the Christmas Eve party, as your parents preferred to spend their holidays with their extended family and left you to "protect the house" (MOM! WHY IS OUR DOG GOING WITH YOU? HE SHOULD PROTECT THIS HOUSE NOT ME-) So you agreed! :)
Yan!Class President - Who has completely different views about you. He didn't thought that his crush would REALLY show up at his house. Huh, He hadn't anticipated this part of the plan yet..
Yan!Class President - Who looks at you adoringly from the other end of the room. it is simply impossible that such a beautiful and amazing person is sitting in his living room!! your eyes that he could look into for hours, your hair that he would love to touch or your hands holding a cup of tea.. he would love to be in the place of that cup-
Yan!Class President - Who almost splashed his friend's shirt because he was staring at you while you were laughing with some random person. wow. your laughter is the best music for his ears! you are so cute! Oh! Where's his camera?! This is a worthy memory for his secret album-
Yan!Class President - Who couldn't wait to hand out the gifts.. he's been waiting for this all year! He "specially" was looking for the perfect inspiration for your gift!
..good thing you weren't at home then- I MEAN- that diary just happend to fell out of your backpack when you were coming home.. huh? Why did he took the same route even though he lives in a different neighborhood? He was on a walk haha- (yeah totally! but you could maybe? buy a bigger wardrobe next time? Thanks, sigh-)
Yan!Class President - Who, finally walked up to you and pushed a small gift, the size of a pebble, into your hands. Okay? You wonder what it is? Huh? AWW! HE GAVE YOU A SILVER RING WITH SNAKES WRAPPED AROUND IT?! It's so cool~
Yan!Class President - Who, after a successful dinner, invited you to the balcony! how peaceful..just you and him, and the silence around you, and pretty stars.. Wait. why is your new friend holding mistletoe over your head?
Yan!Class President - Who, ALMOST kissed you in the most romantic way. But was interrupted by a one of his friends who drunkenly announced they will be watching a movie..
THANKS KYLE! SERIOUSLY! UGH...
..he could have drowned him that last summer when he had the chance..
Yan!Class President - Who sits grumpy throughout the entire movie. Now he will have to wait another year! How stupid is that?! and what do you think of him now? you sit there, as if nothing happened? just like that watching a movie and eating popcorn.. what if you don't like him anymore?
Yan!Class President - Who, wanted to be alone for a while but saw you sitting in the kitchen, When he asked what happened, you replied that all this social interactions had exhausted you.. aww~
Yan!Class President - Who politely asks if he can stay with you, how sweet! for the next hour you sit in a empty, dark kitchen, eating gingerbread & talking about various things with your classmate! Cool!
Yan!Class President - Who, to cheer you up, suggested to go for a walk! you reluctantly agreed, weirdly enogh your trip quickly ended in a snowball fight. you both forgot what it was about for a moment! It was nice to have fun without stress..
You - Aww! What a nice and funny guy he is, his girlfriend must be so happy to have him!
Him - Aaaaaa!! your laugh is so cute!! it suits you, you know? ah~ I love it when you have a great time, I already feel better and im just looking at you~
Yan!Class President - Who offered an escort home and you happily agree, joking and asking each other stupid questions. ah, how sweet~ he even dared to hold your hand. (Read: He just slipped on ice and you caught him at the last moment 🙄🫴)
Yan!Class President - Who gave up when you arrived at your house. 'well..there are other days of the year too...' was his last thought.. but! he is surprised when you stop him. Surprised, he turns around getting a quick kiss on the cheek in the process..okay what-
"Thanks for the gift..I hope you liked mine tho. Well bye!" You thanked him closing your front door. Leaving him outside..
He stands there frozen in the middle of your lawn, holding his cheek. His brain probably froze at that moment.
Maybe he won't have to kidnap you! maybe he still has a chance?! and with that thought, he happily joined his friends who excitedly asked him how it went.
Daydreaming in his thoughts about you and your beautiful lips- he returned home. almost tripping over his backpack which was abandoned in the middle of the living room.
the rest of the rooms were not in good condition either...
(he will have to clean everything before his parents come back from vacation..)
After eating a decent meal, he locked himself in his room, and the first thing he did was light the candles on your pretty altar..
"Huh! Did you thought it would be a sweet "just imagine"?? haha of course not! ~It's not my style!" ~ Despair 3:00am. (Im crazy and there's rats around help-)
Yan!Class President - Who has a whole room decorated with your photos, each one signed with a date and a dedication especially for you! some people would think he became crazy, but some people just don't understand true love..
Yan!Class President - Who lives your life at this point! stalking is one thing. having a spare key to your house is the second. Not to mention that he remembers your schedule and hobbies by heart! sometimes he dreams that he could live next to you as neighbours ah, he would gladly fall into a coma just to not wake up from those beautiful thoughts..
Yan!Class President - Who has the previously mentioned altar! exclusively for you~ each box is assigned! For example. at the top we have a lock of your hair! on the left we have the bracelet he borrowed stole from your drawer! Your scent still lingers on it~
Yan!Class President - Who always keeps an eye on you, at school, outside, in your room but we don't talk about it- forgive him but he can't help himself! Everything you do is just worthy of his attention alone~
Yan!Class President - Who loves taking hidden photos of you! you are so photogenic. you could be a model, why hasn't anyone thought of this yet!? He would like to get your autograph someday! he could finally (and legally) adore you..!
Yan!Class President - Who is so in love with you that he sees every person as a threat. huh? is someone talking to you? Does they know you're together?! I hope not, because if so, every finger that touched you will be cut off-
Yan!Class President - Who, tries to bump into you anywhere, you go to the library often? he likes to go there too! You're going to the cinema to see a horror movie again? Halloween is his favorite holiday! Hey, let's go together this year!
Do you understand what's going on? That's good! because he won't stop-
Yan!Class President - Who will never forget the day when he gave you your gift, every time you talk, his eyes always glide towards your fingers, that ring fit you perfectly!
(good thing you still didn't notice that barely visible sign on the side that reads "Eric's Property")
Yan!Class President - Who will always stay with you silly! you don't have to worry about loneliness! Because as soon as you enter adult life. he will be waiting with a bouquet of roses and chocolate..and of course an engagement ring!
"Everything is already planned my little star~"
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Despair: Merry Christmas my dears! I hope you get the best gifts in the world! and if you are already enjoying them, I wish you a lot of health and money! 😎🫴 Ho! Ho! guys!
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scoobydoomistakes · 3 months
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HOW DID I MISS THIS
I swear to you, I was watching closely yesterday.
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I had even played it back in slow motion, but thought I was just seeing things.
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...
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...nope, the door got so excited for Christmas it phased out of our whole freakin' dimension.
Fortunately while floating out in space, it then managed to land a TV contract portraying The Scary Door in Futurama. True story.
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tanked-up · 3 months
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ALMOST CHRISTMAS, TIME TO BRING THIS BACK
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novalizinpeace · 3 months
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Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part finale -release 31th-
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mayzi33 · 3 months
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Eggman has a soft spot for Tails is getting more and more confirmed.
First he COMPLIMENTED HIM in Final Horizon and pretty much encouraged him.
Then, he goes "I don't do hugs... Unless it's for you, Tails." In the takeover.
Then he gets all teary when Tails gives him a compliment during the takeover.
AND NOW, HE GIVES HIM A GIFT. I know Tails is the one who gifted him first, but even so, HE FELT THE NEED TO GIFT TAILS BACK. AND AND AND even when Tails used the gift against him he still respected it and left. THE CUPOM WORKS!!
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Also, love how Tails was the one to gift Shadow. And you can't tell me that Shadow didn't like that scarf.
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Those are small things, but I love how Tails is finally getting the love, appreciation and respect he deserves after being potrayed poorly and even ridiculized for so many years. Our fox boy deserves this.
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nattaphum · 1 year
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Tong on his 2022 💖
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scripted-downfall · 2 years
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Not the Tenth Doctor going “Ooh, that’s rude!  Is that the sort of man I am now?  Am I rude?” as if the Ninth Doctor had been a beacon of politeness instead of the master of Northern-accented sass that he was.  Buddy, I love ya to bits, but apparently the kind of man you are is a touch delusional.
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fanfictwins · 3 months
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SAGAU Mondstadt - Holiday Special 2023
Summary: “When you told the Spark Knight about holidays from your home world, you never expected it to turn into such a big deal. But who are you to argue with having a holly, jolly time?”
Word Count: ~9.8k
“Master Jean! Master Jean!”
The door to the Grand Master’s office was shoved open, almost slamming into the wall, as the Spark Knight burst into the room, excitement radiating off of her form like heat off of flames. She came to a stop in the middle of the office, almost toppling over from the weight of her backpack.
“Can we please have a “Christmas” festival? Pretty please?”
“Klee…!” Jean looked up from her desk, her eyes widened. “You shouldn’t be-”
Her words were cut off at the sight of you appearing in the doorway to the office, your demeanor a lot more calm than Klee’s. You entered the room, an apologetic smile displayed on your lips.
“Oh, Your Grace!”
“Sorry for the intrusion, Jean.” You looked at the Acting Grand Master for only a moment before you shifted your attention down at Klee. “Hey, I know you’re excited, but you shouldn’t just barge into Jean’s office without knocking first, Klee. Remember what I told you about good behavior?”
“Oops. That’s right… sorry, Master Jean.” Klee looked down at her feet for a moment, before a smile returned to her face as she looked up at Jean. “Klee’s just super excited about Christmas!”
Jean furrowed her eyebrows, confusion appearing in her frown. “Christ… mas?”
“Mmm-hmm!” Klee nodded her head. “It’s something Their Grace just told Klee about!”
Your smile shifted into something more sheepish when Jean looked towards you again. “I was just talking to Klee about some… winter festivities from where I’m from, and she seems to have gotten a bit excited about Christmas, in particular. I honestly should’ve expected this, heh…”
“It sounds really, really fun!” Klee began bouncing on the balls of her feet. “There’s a big tree, and lots of presents under it, and this old man named Shanty Cloths who likes eating cookies!”
“His name is Santa Claus, Klee.” You stifled a chuckle at the excitement on Klee’s face, before looking over at Jean again. “But, yeah, she wants to experience the magical joys of it herself.”
The Spark Knight took a step closer to the desk, looking up at Jean with hopeful eyes.
“Oh, can we please have a Christmas festival, Master Jean? It’ll be so amazing, and fun!”
Jean blinked a few times, an unsure frown on her face, before she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Klee, but we can’t just put on a whole new festival that we know nothing about, especially with such short notice. It’d likely be a complete disaster, and I’ve already got a lot on my plate as is.”
The smile on Klee’s face slowly vanished, her form appearing to deflate. “Oh…”
You looked between the Spark Knight and the Acting Grand Master, your own smile fading as you focused on Klee — her crushed enthusiasm didn’t sit well with you — before you spoke.
“...you know, it’s not impossible. You can still experience Christmas, Klee.”
Jean looked at you with confusion. “Your Grace…?”
“Can Klee really?” The Spark Knight perked up as she turned towards you, her eyes widening with hope again. “It sounds so fun! And I want all of my friends to experience Christmas too!”
“Your Grace, I don’t mean to doubt you, but…”
Jean placed a hand on her chest, looking at you with worry in her gaze.
“It really would be near-impossible to put on a festival like this.”
“It’s okay.” You chuckled, and shrugged your shoulders. “Christmas is actually just a one-day holiday. Sure, there’s usually a build-up of festive energy a few weeks before it, but it doesn’t actually last more than a single day. While Klee keeps calling it a festival, it’s not really one.”
“Oh…?”
“So, Klee, do you think this would work for you?” You looked down at the Spark Knight, a smile on your lips. “We take part in a few traditional Christmas activities together over the next couple of weeks, and then finish it all off with a big ol’ Christmas party at the end. What do you think?”
“Yay! That sounds perfect!” Klee smiled brightly. “Klee can’t wait! There’s so much to do!”
You turned your attention over towards Jean. “Would that be okay, Jean?”
“That… should be fine, yes.”
“Great!” You clapped your hands together as you looked at Klee. “Then let’s get started!”
- - - - -
There were crayons littering the table as Klee readied herself, the young girl in red practically vibrating with excitement where she sat, and she held a crayon tightly in one hand with a piece of paper laying in front of her. She looked up at you, her eyes wide and sparkling with pure joy.
“Okay, first things first… I suppose we need to actually figure out what to do.” You looked down at Klee with a smile. “And who to include. As fun as it would be to have the entire city celebrate Christmas this time, it’s not very realistic, so… we’ll need to figure out a smaller list of people.”
“Oh! All of Klee’s friends have to experience Christmas!” Klee began to draw, switching crayons when in need of a different color.  “Like Big Brother Albedo, and Master Jean, and Kaeya, and-”
Klee continued to list people as she drew on the paper, before she lifted it up to show it to you.
“Is this okay, Your Grace?”
It was a cluttered drawing, filled with Klee’s artistic interpretations of people you knew well: the playable characters of Mondstadt — your “vessels”, as they often described themselves to be.
You nodded. “That seems good. Those are the people that I’m also closest to in Mondstadt.”
Klee set the drawing aside, before she grabbed another piece of paper and one of the crayons closest to her on the table. She tilted her head to continue looking up at you with a bright smile.
“Okay, but… what do people do for Christmas, Your Grace?”
“People do a lot of things. There’s no one right way to celebrate Christmas, Klee.” You grabbed a piece of paper and a crayon for yourself. “I’m pretty sure that you’re already familiar with some winter activities that align with Christmas, such as playing in the snow and making sweets, eh?”
Klee nodded and turned her attention to her paper, beginning to draw some winter scenes.
You twirled the crayon in your fingers a bit, before you chuckled. “And, since you’re helping to bring the joy of Christmas to everyone, I suppose that would make you Santa’s Helper, Klee.”
“Santa’s… Helper?” Klee blinked, curiosity flooding her widened eyes. “What’s that?”
“Well… it’s a person who helps Santa Claus spread Christmas cheer. Santa’s only one person, and he has the big job of delivering gifts to all the good children of the world, so he relies on his helpers to make sure that everyone is having fun during the weeks leading up to the big day. As this is the first time Christmas is being celebrated in Teyvat, Santa’ll appreciate all of your help.”
Klee let a wide smile appear on her face. “Whoa! So Klee gets to help Santa?”
“Yeah! And I just know you’ll do a great job, Klee!”
“Oh! And Dodoco too, right? She can also be Santa’s Helper?”
“Of course! The more, the merrier!”
“Yay!”
The Spark Knight clapped her hands in delight before she continued drawing, and you found yourself glancing at her pointed ears, your smile softening, before you started to draw as well.
Ah.
How fitting.
- - - - -
It felt crowded, having so many people in one area.
The playable members of the Knights of Favonius — from the Acting Grand Master to the Knights’ maid — lined up before you inside of the Knights’ headquarters; most had a look of curiosity or confusion on their face, and some even had concern painting their facial features.
But Klee was bouncing on the balls of her feet, standing next to you with a big smile on her face.
“Oh, Klee?” Albedo looked at the Spark Knight as he noticed her behavior, the curiosity in his eyes growing just slightly as he did. “You seem to be in rather high spirits about something…”
Klee nodded. “Uh-huh! ‘Cause it’s time for “Secret Santa”!”
The concern present in the audience was fully replaced with confusion and curiosity.
“...”Secret… Santa”?”
“Yeah! It’s gonna be part one for celebrating Christmas!”
Noelle put a finger to her chin. “Oh? I’ve never heard of “Christmas” before…”
“If it’s something to celebrate-” Amber looked up at Eula. “-then it’s gotta be a holiday, right?”
Eula nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. “Yes, it must be some kind of festivity.”
“So…” Mika placed a hand on his chest in relief. “...it’s not an emergency? Thank goodness…”
Lisa let out a hum as she looked over to Jean, who had a lack of surprise on her face unlike almost everyone else present. The librarian let her lips turn up into a subtle smile. “Well, you seem to have an idea of what Klee’s talking about, Jean. Mind enlightening the rest of us?”
Jean looked from the Knights towards Klee, and then looked at you. She looked a little stressed out — which was, unfortunately, normal — so you decided to explain the situation in her stead.
“Amber, Eula, you’re both right!” You smiled as you looked over all the Knights. “Christmas is a holiday from another world. I told Klee about it, she wanted to celebrate it, and so here we are!”
“A holiday from another world…” Kaeya had a look of interest in his eye. “How intriguing.”
Amber raised her hand, bringing attention to herself as you looked at her. “What’s it like, Your Grace? It’s probably different from any of the holidays that we have here in Mondstadt, isn’t it?”
“Eh…” You thought for a moment, putting a finger up to your chin. “...Christmas is mainly just a time to gather with loved ones to give gifts, eat good food, and… well, just spend time with one another. That’s the simplest way I can explain it, at least; does that make sense to everybody?”
Lisa chuckled, the smile on her lips softening. “Sounds like it shares quite a few similarities with some festivities we have. I think everyone here gets the picture that you set up, Your Grace.”
“Good! So, as Klee said earlier, she wanted to do something called “Secret Santa” with you guys.” You looked over the group of Knights, taking in all of their faces. “It’s an activity some workplaces do around Christmas, so having the Knights — well, the Knights that’re vessels — participate in this particular one seemed pretty obvious, especially when I told Klee about it.”
“What kind of activity is it, Your Grace?” Jean still looked a bit frazzled. “As much as I’d like to help Klee and you celebrate Christmas, having so many Knights occupied at once would be…”
“Don’t worry, Jean.” You sent a smile to her, hoping to reassure her worries and sooth her stress even a little. “This activity won’t take long. Basically, everyone participating will have to pull out a name from a hat — all the names of the participants will be written on slips of paper — and have to get them a present before the Christmas party that’ll take place in a couple of weeks. Oh, and you can’t tell anyone else the name that you pulled. That’s the “Secret” part of “Secret Santa”.”
“We…” Mika averted his gaze nervously. “...need to get a present for someone else?”
Sucrose fiddled with her fingers. “Based on a random drawing…?”
Amber smiled, her hands clenched in front of her. “Oh, that sounds like it could be fun!”
“Yes, but it could also be quite a difficult task-” Eula glanced around at the other Knights before looking at Amber. “-if you happen to draw someone that you’re not that well-acquainted with.”
“Well… I know that I just said you can’t tell anyone else who you pulled, but since I won’t be participating in the actual activity, you can come and ask me for gift ideas if you struggle with coming up with your own. I’ll be able to keep the secret.” You scanned the Knights with your eyes, a smile still on your lips. “So… is everybody in? You don’t have to participate if you don’t want to, but the more people that do, the more fun it’ll be. Just don’t feel pressured to, okay?”
The Knights glanced around at each other briefly before looking at you and Klee again.
Albedo nodded. “Very well. I see no reason not to, especially if Klee wants us to participate.”
Sucrose glanced at Albedo, before giving a short nod towards you as well. “O-Okay…”
“You can count on Eula and me to join too!” Amber smiled at Eula, the Spindrift Knight giving a slight nod, before she looked at you again. “It sounds like a lot of fun, so we couldn’t miss out!”
Lisa hummed. “...I have no objections either. This doesn’t seem like it’ll be too much work…”
Noelle straightened her posture when your gaze traveled over to her, her hands folded politely in front of her. “If that’s what you desire, then I’ll join as well. It… does sound like fun, I admit.”
“A-Ah…” Mika still looked a bit nervous as he nodded. “Alright, I can do it. I’ll try my best…”
“I suppose that if everyone else is joining, it’d be a downer if I didn’t.” Kaeya had a smile on his lips, a glimmer of amusement in his eye. “So you can include me as a participant, Your Grace.”
Jean let out a sigh. “...okay, I’m in too.”
“Yay!” Klee clapped in delight, smiling brightly. “All of Klee’s friends are joining!”
It took no time at all for the slips of paper bearing all of the Knights’ names to be created, all of which were then dumped into Klee’s hat, the Spark Knight having offered it to you happily. You tossed it like a salad for a few seconds, mixing them together, before handing it back to Klee.
“Alright, everyone. Make sure to choose one slip of paper, and keep the name a secret.”
The sight of Klee going around to each of the Knights, each one reaching a hand into her hat and grabbing a slip of paper, was heartwarming, in a way; the young girl in red was giggling as she received smile after smile from the Knights when she offered her hat to them, and the air in the room felt lighthearted as everyone received their targets for the activity. Some of the Knights were quite good at keeping who they got a secret — looking straight ahead with poker faces or a casual smile — while you noticed some of the others glancing around, likely at their targets.
“Everyone has a slip?” You saw everyone nod in response to you, a piece of paper in one of their hands that they put away safely. “Good. Then you’ve all got until the party to get a gift for whoever you pulled, and don’t be afraid to ask me for help if you need it. You’re all dismissed!”
Your attention was pulled away from Klee putting her hat back on by two figures you noticed approaching in your peripheral vision, and you looked up to see they were Mika and Sucrose.
“...need help, you two?”
Mika and Sucrose looked at each other for a moment before focusing on you.
“Yes, please, if you will.” Sucrose adjusted her glasses as she averted her eyes from you, her ears twitching a bit. “I’m afraid that I’m… not quite sure what to get for who I pulled, s-so…”
“Neither am I.” Mika rubbed the back of his head, also averting his gaze from you. “I’ve never really interacted too much with the person I pulled, and I’m afraid I might make a bad choice…”
“It’s okay.” You smiled and glanced between the both of them. “We’ve got plenty of time before the party, and I’ll make sure to help the both of you pick out good gifts for your respective pulls.”
Sucrose let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks so much, Your Grace. I’m sorry if this is a bother…”
“Yes, thank you very much.” Mika smiled slightly. “I hope that I’m not being a bother, either…”
You let out a chuckle, placing your hands on your hips. “Don’t worry, you two will never be a bother to me, and I offered to help with picking out gifts for a reason. It’s what I’m here for.”
The sensation of someone tugging on your sleeve caught your attention, and you looked down to see Klee looking up at you. You smiled at her before you looked at Mika and Sucrose again.
“I’ll meet up with you guys later to pick out gifts, okay? Just try and give it some thought by yourselves first, and then I’ll go over it individually with each of you in a few days’ time, okay?”
Mika and Sucrose nodded, looking a little relieved, as you let Klee drag you to the next activity.
- - - - -
“J-Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle… all the… way…?”
“It’s okay, Barbara. There’s no need to get so stressed.”
You were both amused yet concerned as you watched Barbara try to memorize the Christmas carols you told her about; you could see how tense her shoulders were, and could hear how her voice shook ever so slightly as she gave the carols a go, the melody enchanting yet unsteady.
“Your singing’s the best, Miss Barbara!” Klee sent a bright smile up towards the shining idol of Mondstadt, her eyes sparkling. “The Christmas carols sound so pretty when you sing them!”
“Ah, do they…? I feel like I’m singing them all wrong…”
“Don’t worry, you only just learned them.” You smiled at Barbara, trying to reassure her, even just a bit. “And caroling is going to be a group activity. You won’t have to sing them alone, ‘kay?”
Barbara blinked a few times, her eyes widened with surprise. “Huh?”
“Yeah! Like me, for example. I’ll be singing with you!”
“...h-huh?!”
That somehow seemed to be the wrong thing to say, as evidenced by how Barbara clasped her hands together, the nervous aura around her only growing instead of lessening. Her form began to tremble a bit where she stood, your smile faltering as her breathing began to quicken as well.
Klee tugged on the deaconess’s frock. “It’ll be okay, Miss Barbara! Klee will be singing too!”
Barbara snapped out of it as she looked down at Klee. “Oh, you’ll be singing as well?”
“Mmm-hmm!” Klee nodded, letting go of Barbara’s frock and instead placing her hands on her hips. “And all of our friends are going to too! So you don’t have to be scared, Miss Barbara!”
“...you make it seem so easy.” Barbara’s eyes flickered towards you for a second, before she closed her eyes and let out a breath. “I can’t help but feel nervous, but I’ll try to get it together.”
Klee giggled before turning towards you. “How many Christmas carols are you gonna teach us, Your Grace? Klee isn’t sure how many everyone’ll be able to learn before we have the party…”
The Spark Knight had a point that you thought about for a moment; there was only so much time before the Christmas party, and everyone had a limit to how many carols they would be able to memorize before then. It would be best for you to just stick to a few of the simpler ones this year, especially since you were the one who had to teach them to all of the party guests.
“About… three or four, I think.” You nodded to yourself, and refocused your gaze down on Klee, who was still smiling up at you. “I’ve taught you guys “Jingle Bells”, so… maybe I can also teach you guys “Deck the Halls”, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”, and… also “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. I think that’d be a good selection for Mondstadt’s first official Christmas celebration.”
You looked over at Barbara, who appeared to be a little calmer now as she did a few breathing exercises. “They’re all on the simple and repetitive side, so learning them should be very easy.”
“That sounds fine.” Barbara nodded, determination in her gaze. “I’ll do my best, Your Grace.”
Klee bounced on the balls of her feet happily, her hands raised. “Yeah, we’ll do our best!”
“Ah, keep your voice down, Klee.” You chuckled. “We’re outside, but still near the Church.”
“O-Oh, right, hehe.”
- - - - -
The kitchen smelled like heaven, the countertop covered in several types of Christmas goodies of varying quality; it was like a dessert buffet with all kinds of cookies, cakes, candies, and more.
“Thanks again for helping us, Noelle.”
“Oh, it’s my pleasure, Your Grace.”
Klee overlooked the counter from the step-stool that she stood on, an excited glimmer in her eyes. “Wow…! There’s so many treats! Do people really get to have all of this for Christmas?”
“Of course!” You picked up a chocolate chip cookie, which was still warm. “Sweets are a huge part of Christmas, like leaving out milk and cookies for Santa on the night before Christmas.”
“Is that like sharing wine with Barbatos during Weinlesefest?”
You paused for a moment, taking a bite of the cookie in your hand before you shrugged, a smile on your face. “Yeah, I guess it’s similar to that. Santa loves cookies like Barbatos loves wine.”
“Your Grace, will this be satisfactory?” Noelle’s soft voice guided your attention back over to her, her posture being straightened just slightly when your gaze landed on her form. Her hands were politely folded in front of her, bringing some of your focus to her apron, which was unsurprisingly as clean as it had been at the start of this baking session. “I can continue baking if you’d like.”
“No, no… this’ll be good for now. I just wanted Klee to see what some Christmas goodies were like.” You finished the chocolate chip cookie in your hand, and wiped your hands on your apron, dusting off some of the flour that was on it. “But, since we’ll definitely need these sorts of treats at the Christmas party later this month, would you be up to make more when the time comes?”
“Anything for you, Your Grace.”
Noelle gave a small bow, before she turned her attention to cleaning the kitchen.
“Hey, Klee… do you think we should build gingerbread houses at the party?”
“They make houses out of gingerbread for Christmas?” Klee looked up at you with wide eyes, her mouth open in awe. “Wow, that must take a lot of gingerbread. Do people live in them?”
You held a hand up to your mouth, stifling a laugh and taking a moment to compose yourself before you shook your head. “No, Klee, they don’t. Gingerbread houses are small, kind of like dollhouses, and decorated with icing and candy. Building them is half of the fun, and then eating them afterwards is the other half of the fun. Oh, showing off your house to others is also fun…!”
Klee turned to look at the wide array of handmade candies on the counter, clearly contemplating how she could use them as decorations. Her focus was only broken when you began picking up plates of the goodies you made with Noelle, her gaze moving to the smile you kept on your face.
“Come on, Klee. Let’s clean up. We don’t want to make Noelle do all the work, right?”
“Okay!”
“H-Huh? Ah, Your Grace! That’s not necessary!”
- - - - -
“So, you’re saying that I’m supposed to write a letter to some strange old man that I don’t even know and just… get what I want?” Diona scoffed, placing her hands on her hips and turning her head away. “That sounds totally ridiculous, like some scam that a boozehound would fall for.”
“Aw… no, it’s really true!” Klee clenched her hands in front of her chest. “Their Grace said so!”
Diona looked at you from the corner of her eye for a moment, before she let out a “hmph”, and turned her head to face you and Klee. “Well… I guess that Their Grace wouldn’t lie, so… fine.”
The sounds of cats lazing about and cards being shuffled surrounded you and the two children as your group settled at one of the tables in the Cat’s Tail, though it was considerably less lively than normal due to it being around noon. Klee and Diona both had paper and crayons sitting in front of them, as well as an envelope for each of them to seal their letter when they were done.
“So…” Diona furrowed her eyebrows. “...what exactly are we supposed to do?”
You looked between the two young girls, chuckling with a smile on your lips. “Writing a letter to Santa is easy. All you have to do is write down what you want; just… list it all out on the paper.”
“And this “Santa” guy will make it happen?”
“...eh, try to keep it small-scale, Diona. Santa gives gifts, he doesn’t destroy anything.”
Diona grumbled to herself, her tail thumping against the cushion of her seat in annoyance, but she eventually started to write on the paper in front of her. The Spark Knight also got to work on her own letter, filling her paper with color as she scribbled out what she wanted for Christmas.
And, after they were done, they folded their letters and put them into their envelopes.
“Alright, now you just need to address them to the North Pole.”
Diona and Klee looked at you, curiosity in their eyes, before Diona raised an eyebrow.
“...to where?”
“The North Pole. That’s where Santa Claus lives, and where his workshop is located.”
Klee began to write the address on her envelope — simply “The North Pole”, in big bold letters — while Diona continued to stare at you, an unconvinced frown making its way onto her face.
“How exactly are these gonna get to Santa, anyway? He’s in a completely different world.”
“I’ll deliver them myself.” You carefully took Klee’s letter once she handed it to you, your fingers clasped around the envelope. “No postal service in Teyvat could get there, but I can handle it.”
“...okay.” Diona scribbled on her envelope and handed it to you. “But I still have my doubts.”
You held the two letters carefully, and chuckled again as you looked between the two kids.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure Santa will deliver!”
- - - - -
The gloves on your hands did little to keep out the cold, already covered in a layer of snow as you patted the icy substance thoroughly in your quest to form the base of your future snowman.
Dragonspine was a scary place — you would never traverse it alone in your current state — but the scenery at its edges was just the right amount of “winter wonderland” for you, and the sound of the younger Mondstadtian characters in the surrounding area only bettered that atmosphere.
“Your Grace, you should be careful. Sheer cold can be harmful, even to you.”
Albedo was standing by your side, completely unfazed by the cold; this place was pretty much his natural habitat at this point. His voice held slight concern, though his face remained calm.
“Huh? Nonsense, I’m fine. I ate some goulash before coming here; it’ll keep me warm.”
“You’re shivering, Your Grace.”
“...okay, fine.”
You moved over to the small fire that was built nearby, noticing that Bennett and Fischl were already there; the former was completely drenched and shivering as he huddled close to the fire, while the latter and her night raven familiar were completely fine. You reached your hands out to the fire to warm yourself, your fingers feeling a bit better, and looked over at Bennett.
“What happened to you?”
“Ah…” Bennett smiled, a hint of embarrassment laced within it. “Well… I just, uh…”
“He who has been born the most unfortunate suffered a great moment of slither-” Fischl caught your attention, her tone of voice confident. “-and was plunged into the beck of this biting berg.”
You stared at Fischl for a moment before shifting your gaze over to Oz.
“...the unlucky fellow had slipped on the snow and fell into the river.”
“Oh…!” You raised a hand to your mouth, covering the growing smile on your lips as you stifled a laugh. “Yeah… I guess your bad luck would spring up like that. Are you having fun, though?”
“Huh?” The adventurer tilted his head. “I… guess so?”
“Then that’s all that matters!”
Your attention shifted to Klee and Razor when you noticed them approaching the fire, sticks and stones in their arms. You even spotted some pinecones sitting within Razor’s stash of materials.
“We got the things for the snowman, Your Grace!” Klee bounced with each step, only coming to a stop in front of you. Her feet slid a bit from the snow. “And I found this really cool stick! Look!”
Klee adjusted the items in her arms, before holding up a stick with one hand.
You had to admit: it was a really cool stick.
“This good?” Razor held out his stash of materials to you, allowing you to look over all of it; he had a lot more in his arms than Klee did. “We hunt for what you said, and… this is what we find.”
“Of course!” You nodded, looking up at Razor with a smile. “You both did great!”
“Ah… good.”
Razor looked pleased with your praise; if he had a tail, it would definitely be wagging right now.
With a supply of materials now at your disposal, you began to work with the others to decorate the snowman; the base was all your doing, so you stepped back to let the others take the lead.
“Ore of the darkest night shall make quite a pair of eyes, would it not, my dear companion?”
“Klee’s stick can make a good arm! Oh, it’s hard to reach…”
“Let me, Klee. And this other stick can complete the pair.”
“I… do like this?”
“A pinecone for the nose? Neat! Gah, the rocks for the buttons keep slipping out of my fingers.”
The smile on your face grew as you watched the others work together to form a masterpiece.
“Wow… it looks amazing, everyone!”
It was a jumbled mess, but it was a real product of togetherness; each part was placed on by a different person to make a whole creation — small chunks of iron for the eyes, a pinecone as a nose, sticks for the arms, and rocks for the buttons. It was a shame that you didn’t think to bring any clothes for the snowman to wear, though, but that didn’t hinder the final masterpiece at all.
You and the others took in your combined creation in silent glory for a bit, and then you spoke.
“...so, has everybody had enough snow for today?”
There was a resounding “yes” from the group, and you shifted your gaze over to take note of their current conditions: Bennett had icicles starting to form on his damp clothes, Razor kept his arms close to his body as he shivered like a wolf pup, Fischl denied feeling cold — although Oz pointed out that she had complained earlier about not bringing warmer clothing to this outing — and Klee mentioned that the snow dampened the effect of her bombs. Albedo just appeared to be ready to go whenever everyone else was; he was clearly the one least affected by the cold.
“Then let’s head back to the city for some hot cocoa! Who wants whipped cream and sprinkles?”
“Oh! Oh! Klee does!”
- - - - -
“I’ll take a Gray Valley Sunset, Master Diluc!”
“You… do not need to address me as “Master”, Your Grace…”
“Aw, why not? Everybody else does!”
You planted yourself onto one of the barstools as you watched Diluc get to work behind the counter, the tavern being just as lively as it was most nights; luckily, most of the Angel’s Share patrons were too drunk to pay any attention to you, granting you a rare moment to just relax.
“My, you look rather tired, Your Grace.” Kaeya was sitting on a barstool next to you, leaning on his elbow. “I assume Klee has been dragging you around in her excitement this past week?”
“Yep!” You nodded, immediately grabbing your drink when Diluc placed it in front of you on the counter. “But I don’t regret telling her about Christmas. I’ve been having a lot of fun with all of it.”
The barstool on your other side squeaked as someone sat upon it, and you noticed a bard clad in green leaning into your peripheral vision, a smile set on his lips and a twinkle within his eyes.
“Oh? “Christmas”? What might that be, Your Grace?”
“A holiday from another world. I told Klee about it, and she’s been absolutely obsessed.”
“Ah, so that’s what you’ve been doing these past few days.” Rosaria was sitting on the other side of Kaeya, an alcoholic beverage already securely in her hand. Her expression was set in her usual disinterested frown, though the way she kept her eyes on you showed otherwise. “I heard that Barbara almost passed out when you requested her to sing… “Christmas carols”?”
You let out a short nervous laugh, before starting to drink your juice; it was cold and sweet.
“Oho?” Venti’s interest peaked as he leaned closer to you, the twinkle in his eyes having grown at the mere mention of your musical exploits. “If you need someone to sing for you, Your Grace, you’ve got the three-time winner of the “Most Popular Bard of Mondstadt'” title at your service.”
“If you want to carol with us, you’re totally free to, Venti!” You smiled at the bard before letting out a sigh, and you set your drink on the counter. “But, even though it’s been fun, we’ve still got to tackle the issue of preparing the Christmas party. Klee’s been looking forward to it since day one of our festivities, but I’m not sure where to begin with it. We’d need a place big enough for all of the guests, and we’d need to decorate it. Then there’s the food too. It'll be a lot of work.”
“So you need a place for the party?” Kaeya took a hold of his own drink, bringing the cup up to his mouth. “I’m sure the Knights would let you use their headquarters for the party, no problem.”
“The Knights of Favonius Headquarters…?” You thought for a moment, before you shook your head. “No, that wouldn’t work. Plus, I’d feel like it’d be… distracting to the Knights not invited.”
Rosaria sipped her drink. “Perhaps the Church, then? I doubt the Sisters would refuse you.”
“Absolutely not.” You hardly hesitated as you answered, and shook your head again. “The idea of having a Christmas party in the Favonius Cathedral… doesn’t exactly feel all that right to me.”
“Agreed. The Church is a bit too serious a location for such an occasion.” Venti nodded, placing his empty cup on the counter; if you were keeping count correctly, he had just downed his fourth drink. “I’d say this tavern is home to a much more suitable atmosphere for a joyous celebration!”
“...well, while Angel’s Share would be able to serve as a good space for the party-” You let your gaze wander around the tavern, taking in the sight of the many customers already drunk at their tables. “-it’s not really the type of place for a Christmas party to be held. I mean, maybe it would work if it was an adult-only event, but this party is gonna have people of all ages in attendance.”
The sound of Diluc clearing his throat caught your attention, and you looked towards him.
“Your Grace… if you’d so like, you may use Dawn Winery’s manor for your party.”
You perked up as you listened to Diluc, your lips turning up into a bright smile.
“Oh, that’ll be perfect! I love you, Master Diluc!”
The sound of glass shattering rang out from behind the counter, the remains of a glass on the floor as alcohol seeped into the wood. Diluc stood by the mess, a cleaning rag held in one hand and emptiness in the other; the warm tavern lights made you uncertain of the flush on his face.
“A-Ah! I’m sorry, Master Diluc!”
You continued to apologize to Diluc as he bent down to clean up the broken glass, his face now hidden by his bangs as he kept his head tilted down. Kaeya was trying — and failing — to hold back a chuckle, and Rosaria just silently sipped on her drink, her gaze averted from everything.
Venti let out a whine, his hand tightly gripping your sleeve as he tugged it. “Oh, that’s just not fair, Your Grace. You can’t say something like that without blessing me with such words too…”
“I-I just got excited by what Diluc said!” You glanced at Venti briefly, your eyes widened, before you looked at Diluc again, your face warm. “It’s just… thanks for letting me use the manor…?”
“It’s fine, Your Grace.”
Diluc stood up after he finished cleaning, his head turned away from you as if to allow him to continue hiding his face; even so, it was still obvious to you that he must still be embarrassed.
“I appreciate your enthusiasm, but just be more careful next time.”
You let out a relieved sigh and nodded, smiling at him.
“Will do, Master Diluc!”
- - - - -
You couldn’t help but take in a deep breath as the pine tree was set up in the manor, your hands on your hips as your chest expanded. You took a moment before you finally released the breath.
“Ah, the sweet smell of nature…”
It was a few days before the Christmas party was scheduled to take place, and you were doing some early decorating — namely, the big stuff that couldn’t wait until just before the big event.
And that included the tree.
“So…” You looked over at Diluc, who stood beside you. “I’m assuming that there aren’t already ornaments available to decorate with, but we can make do. Oh! Maybe we could have everyone make ornaments at the party and then decorate the tree together? That’d be super festive! But, in the meantime, we could at least put some popcorn on it right now to start, so it isn’t just bare.”
You were met with nothing but silence as Diluc looked from the tree to you.
“People put… popcorn… on trees for Christmas?”
“Wow! It’s so tall!”
Klee ran up to the tree, her head tilted all the way back as she looked up at it.
“Of course! The bigger, the better!” You walked up to Klee and gently nudged the Spark Knight away from the tree. “We’ll have to keep any and all fire hazards away from it, though. Okay?”
“Okay! Klee will be super careful!”
You looked back at Diluc. “Thanks again for letting us have the party here. It’s really so perfect!”
“It’s no problem, Your Grace. Just let me know if you need anything else.”
You felt as if you were a kid again as you ran around with Klee and got things set up, sharing the experience of choosing what should go where and what looked best with the young girl in red. You even decorated some of the exterior of the manor, not just the interior, though, due to the size of the building, you and Klee could only really work with the entrance outside the door.
In lieu of strings of Christmas lights, lanterns and Crystalflies were used to light up the desired area. The lanterns hung up on the wall, blending into the natural look of the manor — when the daylight faded, they would definitely stand out more — and the Crystalflies were caught in the vineyard, just to be gently guided to rest on the poles near the front door, their wings fluttering.
“...we’ll probably need to guide these little guys back here just before the party.” You watched as the Crystalflies fluttered their wings again, unable to stay still for long where you placed them. “I don’t think they’ll just… stay here for the next few days. They’re itching to fly again, that’s clear.”
There was a Crystalfly resting on Klee’s cap, only flying away as she tilted her head up.
“Do you think we’ll be able to find them again?”
You nodded. “Of course we will! These Crystalflies like Dawn Winery as much as the people of Mondstadt do. You can always find them around here somewhere, fluttering about the grapes.”
The Crystalflies resting on the wooden poles flew off into the vineyard, one by one, as you and Klee continued decorating. You wrapped ribbons of different colors — red, green, and white — around the poles, and draped some down from the balcony above, trying to make it coherent.
“...this place definitely says, “there’s a party here”, at least.”
“It looks great! And it’s so pretty!” Klee bounced on the balls of her feet as she looked up at the ribbons, before she looked at you. “Is there anything else to do before the party, Your Grace?”
You thought for a moment.
“Well… I think we’ve done everything we can right now. The tree’s main decorations can wait until the party, and the popcorn will be prepared tomorrow, but, besides that, everything else is ready. The manor’s staff are helping to take care of the food — and being compensated for their time by Diluc, of course — and Noelle will take care of the desserts for the party later. We’ll help her with that when the time comes, but, for now, we’re done. Why, still want to decorate more?”
Klee put a finger to her chin, before she began walking around to inspect the work you and her had done. The Spark Knight took in the sight of all the decorations you had put up, everything in the interior and the exterior of the manor, and her eyes sparkled as her gaze scanned over all of it. The decorations were a bit generic to be honest, only the presence of the — currently bare — pine tree making it clear that Christmas was what was being celebrated, but it was a good effort.
You worked with what you had, and during the party, it was sure to come together fully.
“Klee thinks it’s perfect, Your Grace! …but, um… maybe we could hang up more ribbons?”
Yeah.
This would all come together nicely.
- - - - -
“I’m so sorry I’m late! I had some trouble getting here…”
Bennett had an embarrassed look on his face, his form slumped over as he stood in front of you. His hair was ruffled up, some sticks and leaves poking out, and his clothes were slightly burnt, which made the water dripping off of him to form a puddle under him more noteworthy.
You smiled slightly at him. “I can see that… but, don’t worry, you’re not late at all.”
“H-Huh?”
“Ah, the man cursed with misfortune has arrived before the Prinzessin?”
You and Bennett turned to look at Fischl as she approached, Oz and Mona accompanying her.
“Hmph, this is truly a most unexpected eventuality, though not one unwelcome.”
Mona looked at Bennett with interest, her gaze scanning everything from his singed clothing to the water at his feet. “I must admit, it’s very unusual. I’d say you had a rare stroke of luck, but…”
“...what?”
Bennett looked between them and you, before rubbing the back of his head with his hand.
“I’m so confused… my invitation said that the party started an hour ago.”
The adventurer dug through his pockets until he eventually pulled out his invitation; the paper was completely drenched, though the ink was just legible enough to still be able to be read.
“But our invitations say the party will start soon.” Mona pulled out her own invitation, and took Bennett’s to compare the times. “See? Your invitation shows it starting a whole hour early.”
Bennett took his invitation back. “That doesn’t make any sense, I…”
You gained a slight sense of pressure as everyone turned to look at you. “Oh… I put an earlier time on Bennett’s invitation to account for his bad luck. You know… so he’d get here on time.”
There was a slight pause, everyone staring at you as you stared back at them.
And then Bennett let out a groan.
“Ugh, that’s so embarrassing…!”
“But it’s also quite smart.” Mona smiled at the unlucky adventurer. “You’d likely be suffering out in the wilderness right now if Their Grace kept the correct time on your invitation, wouldn’t you?”
“...y-yeah, you’re probably right.”
“Hey, I’m just glad you’re here on time, Benny.” You smiled and gestured towards the manor’s entrance. “Why don’t you all head on inside? There’s some refreshments set out already, and it seems like everyone else will be arriving soon enough. I’ll be out here greeting them, of course.”
Fischl looked at Bennett, whose embarrassment was still cooling off. “Let us continue forward, accursed companion. It would be wise to preen thyself before the rest of the due guests arrive.”
“Right.”
The two members of the Adventurer’s Guild headed inside the manor with Oz following behind them closely, the familiar taking care when he flew past the ribbons that adorned the entrance.
“Um, Your Grace?” Mona caught your attention, a hesitant look in her eyes. “If there… happens to be any… leftovers at the end of the party, will the guests be permitted to take some home?”
“You can take as much as you can carry.”
“Oh, thank you ever so much, Your Grace!”
- - - - -
“A party held at Dawn Winery… with no alcohol? You’re so cruel, Your Grace.”
Venti had slight disbelief on his face, even with his lips turned up into a smile, while Diona had hers turned up into a smug grin, her hands on her hips in triumph as she stood next to the bard.
“Well, I think Their Grace is only showing how great They are by keeping that stuff away. Why do you boozehounds always need alcohol to have a good time, anyway? It’s funner without it!”
“Diona’s right. At least, when it comes to this occasion.”
The bartender let out a chuckle at your approval, her smug grin growing towards the bard.
“Besides, this’ll be the first Christmas you’ll experience. You should experience it sober.”
“...not even a drop, Your Grace?”
“You’re gonna have to go dry tonight, Venti.”
Diona walked into the manor with a proud gait, her tail and head held up to the sky, as Venti let out a whine, his shoulders dropping. He only lasted like that for a second before he perked up.
“Alright, Your Grace. I suppose going through a party without wine won’t be so bad…”
“Oh, is this a “no alcohol” kind of festivity?”
You turned to see Kaeya making his way up the path leading to the manor, a trio of his fellow knights — Albedo, Klee, and Sucrose — walking right behind him until they stopped near you.
“Yep. There’s non-alcoholic apple cider and grape juice instead.” Your gaze wandered down to the wrapped gifts in each of the Knights’ arms. “You can go and put the presents under the tree for later. The gift-giving will happen after everyone arrives and gets settled into the jolly vibes.”
Venti eyed the gifts. “Oh-ho? I wasn’t aware that there’d be presents at this party.”
“It’s for “Secret Santa”!” Klee held her gift up for Venti to see. “All the Knights are doing it!”
“And, don’t worry, all the non-Knights will also be getting gifts too-” You put a hand to your chest and smiled. “-courtesy of me. It wouldn’t be fair for some to get presents here and others to not.”
Sucrose adjusted the wrapped box in her arms. “W-Wow…”
Albedo hummed. “A gift from the Divine Creator would be quite an honor. I’m almost jealous…”
“Oh, there’s no reason to feel that way.” You shook your head slightly at him, the smile on your lips softening. “All the gifts you’ll find under the tree are labeled from “Santa”, not me, so nobody is really getting a gift from the “Divine Creator”, okay? Now get on inside and enjoy yourselves.”
- - - - -
There were a few more greetings you got through — Barbara and Rosaria who arrived together, and Razor who arrived alone — before the last guests arrived: the other invited members of the Knights of Favonius — sans Noelle, who arrived hours before the party began to help prepare.
“I hope you’re all feeling merry!” You greeted them at the entrance to the manor, a smile still on your lips. “Because with all of you here, the party can finally start! Oh, it’s gonna be so fun…!”
“Apologies for taking so long, Your Grace.” Jean shifted the presents she carried in her arms, putting a hand to her chest. “I had some last minute duties that I had to attend to before being able to leave for the evening, due to so many of the Knights having to attend this party tonight.”
“It’s fine, no biggie.” You waved Jean’s concerns off. “I’m just glad you’re all here at all!”
Amber held up the wrapped gift she was holding to bring attention to it. “And we brought our “Secret Santa” gifts with us. Is there someplace that we should put them for now, Your Grace?”
“Under the tree.”
“Under the…” Eula raised an eyebrow in question. “...tree?”
You nodded. “There’s a pine tree set up inside; it’s called a “Christmas tree”. You put gifts under it until it’s time to hand them out and open them. It’s a classic Christmas tradition, a real staple.”
“Oh my, how quaint.” Lisa didn’t have a gift in her hand, which explained why Jean was carrying two in her arms. “Everything you say about Christmas just makes it more and more interesting.”
“I’m glad!”
Jean, Lisa, Amber, and Eula went inside at your gesture, with Mika tailing them.
Mika looked at you with a bashful smile, his present held carefully in his arms, and he glanced between you and it before his gaze settled on it. “T-Thanks again, for helping me, Your Grace.”
“Of course.” You lightly patted Mika on the back. “Now, come on. Let’s join the others.”
- - - - -
‘Twas the night of the party And all through the manor, The atmosphere was hearty And it was quite banner.
…and that was enough rhyming for now.
Though it took everyone a quick moment to familiarize themselves with what a Christmas party was like, it didn’t take long for the party to really start. Klee’s enthusiasm was a driving force for everyone else’s, especially anyone who might still have been hesitant about the whole thing.
The tree was finally decorated aside from strings of popcorn, the ornaments the product of a group activity where you helped everyone make their own; the branches were filled to the brim with unique creations that would last to the next time that a tree would need to be decorated.
You could hardly compliment Noelle and the manor’s staff enough for all their work on the food, and neither could anyone else. You swore Noelle would faint from how red her face had gotten from the praise, the Knights’ maid continuing to be modest about all the effort she had put in.
The various gingerbread houses were fun to see; everyone had varying ideas on what it meant to build a gingerbread house — some went with a more “normal” appearance with their designs, while others took more creative liberties with their edible materials. Diona had even based her’s on her own house, with little gingerbread people of herself and her dad put on the frosting lawn.
And then caroling was an experience.
Barbara and Klee helped you teach everyone else the carols you had picked out. Venti picked them up quickly — which you expected — and Rosaria opted out of caroling altogether — which you also expected. Diluc also preferred not to sing, as did Mika and Sucrose, but everyone else laughed their way through the carols, the sound of their voices together being not too shabby.
The most anticipated event of the party, the gift exchange, happened when everyone was finally settled in, and the Knights went around to give each other their gifts. The anonymous part of the identities of the givers fell apart during that part, the receivers gaining surprise at learning about who had served as their Secret Santa alongside the gifts themselves, though the biggest of the surprises had to be Mika’s and Sucrose’s when they realized that they were each other’s Santa.
The remaining party guests got a gift handpicked by you.
You kept your mouth shut as they all tried to figure out who had actually gotten them the gift — Kaeya, Albedo, Klee, Sucrose, and Venti also keeping quiet about it for you — and just let them question each other. The joy among the confusion was what really made it feel special to you.
When the gift-giving came to a close, you surprised the younger Mondstadtians with stockings to hang over the fireplace. Klee, Diona, Razor, and Fischl each got to put up their own stocking, but you helped Bennett with his, as having it accidentally get caught on fire would be a downer.
You still had extras, though… just in case.
And when the sun began to set in the distance, the party soon came to a quiet end… kind of.
“We gotta leave milk and cookies out for Santa.” Klee guided the other younger characters to the table that had been set up near the fireplace, where they set down a plate of cookies and a glass of milk upon the wooden surface. “It’s sorta like sharing wine with the Anemo Archon.”
“And then our hosiery hung above the embers shall be filled with his largesse on the morrow?”
“Yep!” Klee nodded towards Fischl, a smile on her face. “That’s what Their Grace told Klee.”
“But it won’t happen unless you’re all asleep.” You looked between the five youngsters. “Santa doesn’t come when you’re awake. He only comes to leave presents in the middle of the night.”
Diona’s tail flicked behind her. “That sounds kind of fishy, but if that’s what you say, then okay.”
“So…” Razor thought for a moment. “...Razor and friends go to sleep now?”
“That should be easy.” Bennett rubbed the back of his head before he stretched his arms out above his head, a smile on his face. “It’s been pretty exciting all day, so I’m a bit tuckered out.”
“Diluc’s been kind enough to have prepared rooms for you guys tonight.” You gestured towards the staircase and towards the second floor of the manor. “So feel free to get settled in, okay?”
“Yay!” Klee clapped her hands together. “Let’s go to sleep so Santa will come!”
You watched as the younger characters headed upstairs, disappearing from your sight, before you turned your attention to the other guests. The adults were all getting ready to leave, either gathering up the presents that they had gotten or grabbing leftovers to take home with them.
“I’d say have a safe trip, but I’m sure your group is the safest it could possibly be.”
The characters not staying at the manor — meaning everyone but the youngsters who were staying the night, Diluc who lived here, and Noelle who was staying to help clean up — were going to be heading back to the city, the majority of the group being comprised of vessels that were members of the Knights of Favonius. You knew anybody would feel safe with all of them.
Jean looked at you, her eyes tired despite her smile. “Apologies for not staying for longer.”
“It’s okay. I know you guys can’t just all be away from the city for long at the same time.”
“But we should definitely do this again sometime!” Amber had a smile on her face, still full of energy despite how late it was. “It was so much fun, Your Grace! This holiday was a blast!”
“I agree.” Eula held both her and Amber’s gifts in her arms. “It was quite the get-together.”
You waved to the group as you watched them leave the manor and start their journey towards the city, the Knights forming the edges of the group. Barbara was within the protective circle of the group with Mona right by her side, the astrologist carrying much more than she arrived with in terms of food. The only one not in the group was Rosaria, who left a bit earlier on her own.
The group soon vanished into the dark of night, the manor now much quieter than before.
You let out a small sigh as Venti approached you, and briefly glanced at Noelle and Diluc as they — and the manor’s staff — got busy cleaning up the party before focusing on the bard.
“Well, Your Grace, I’d say this party of yours was a huge success!”
“I’m glad it was!” You gestured for Venti to follow you. “Now, mind helping me fill the stockings?”
“Oh?” Venti raised an eyebrow as he followed you over to the fireplace, an interested glimmer in his eyes. “I thought Santa was supposed to be the one to fill those once everyone was asleep?”
“Spoiler alert: Santa is more of an… idea, rather than a real person. Don’t tell the kids, though.”
“So, that’s how it is, huh…?”
Noelle handed you the bag of prepared goodies as she passed by, the action of it exchanging hands seeming like more of an instinct as she focused on gathering discarded wrapping paper.
The bag was like a smaller version of Santa’s bags in your eyes, and you sifted through it to begin sorting the items into each stocking, taking great care to divide everything in it equally.
“Of course. The magic of Christmas is all about children’s hopes and beliefs… oh!”
You grabbed a cookie from the plate near the fireplace and stuffed it into Venti’s mouth.
“Here, eat a few. It’s “proof” that Santa visited.”
Venti grabbed the cookie out of his mouth, coughing a bit before he chuckled. “Thank you for this honor, Your Grace. Though you could be a bit more gentle when feeding me, you know.”
“Less talking, more eating, Venti.”
It didn’t take you too long to fill the stockings with treats and items tailored to each youngster’s interests, and along with the Christmas tree, the stuffed stockings hung over the fireplace made the perfect little holiday scene, something that felt so foreign in this world yet so familiar to you.
So the party was done, with the kids into bed, And the Creator’s smile was on their face, spread. For a spoken last joy, with the bard to their right— “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
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