#12daysofchristmas2022 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

darkacademicfrom2021 · 1 year

Text

Day 5 - 12 days of Christmas challenge (2022 edition)

Title: The hint

Theme: Reindeer (Dec 17th)

Fandom/Character(s): Loki x reader

Warnings (if applicable): none

Word Count: 1200

December writing challenge prompted and organized by @12daysofchristmas

“So, who do you like?”.

Tony had a big fixation on this. He had been asking you who your crush was for the past three weeks. You wouldn’t give in —and he sure was stubborn.

“No one you know”.

“That’s a lie, right, Queen Elsa?”, he turned to Loki —who ever since came to light he could actually know when someone was lying, got treated as a lie-detector machine—. Loki simply rolled his eyes and tried not to pay any mind to it. Failing incredibly so.

“That’s a lie, indeed”, he said bitterly. “Now, could you let me read in peace?”.

“Yeah, you’re disturbing us, Stark”, you complained, pointing at the library sign of ‘please, keep quiet’.

Tony pressed his lips together and decided it was time to leave it there and come back to the subject later. He left you and Loki to read in the couches in peace.

“What’s with his obsession, Gosh?”, you sighed as you went back to your book. Loki knew the answer. He thought about it, hiding his face behind the thick book he was barely skimming through.

“He’s trying to play matchmaker and doesn’t know how to”, he finally sighs out. You put your book down, looking at him bewildered.

“Shut up”.

“You asked me to—”.

“No, it’s… an expression of surprise, are you serious? With who?”.

Loki raised his eyebrows.

“You don’t know?”.

“Know what?”.

“Everyone in the compound knows. Even some from the internet know”.

“Loki! Know what?”, you became impatient.

“Thor’s crush on you… and your crush on Thor, come on”.

“I…”, you choked out a laugh. “I don’t have a crush on Thor”.

Loki frowned.

“You don’t?”.

“Am I lying?”.

“You’re not. Which is weird”, he said. “Who’s your so secret crush, then? The soldier?”.

“Which?”, you asked, and then denied with your head, “it’s none of them anyway. No, I won’t tell you. Please, don’t become the new Tony Stark on this, thank you”.

Loki made a defeated pose by showing you his palms and went back to his book in silence.

And then it happened again in the middle of a training session. You dodged Bucky's hits and grabbed his wrist, twisting it and immobilizing him. He kicked you and you fell to the floor. He won.

Tony got closer to you and handed you a water bottle.

"You're distracted".

You didn't answer, and then muttered, "what?".

"I said you're distracted. And you just proved me right", he sat you down and Bucky felt a little out of place so he began leaving. "What's on your mind?".

You sighed.

"Since when do you want me to talk my problems out of me instead of training them away?".

"Sometimes we need to talk about them", he said, and you nodded and sighed.

"Loki said Thor has a crush on me. Is that true?".

Tony grabbed his face in pain.

"What the hell? Loki said that?"

"Yeah".

"Why would he say that?".

"I asked him what was up with you and all the crush questions. He said you were trying to get me to date Thor".

"He's an idiot".

"I— wouldn't argue that, but—".

"Do me a favor. Tell me who on Earth is your crush so I can be over with it. I won't tell anyone, I just need to make sure".

"Make sure of what?".

"Is it Nat? Do you have a crush on Nat?".

"No! I mean, she's gorgeous, but she's not the one I fell for".

"So, there is someone. I knew it!", chanted Tony, and left in little hops, emphasizing his enthusiasm.

“Hey! Hey!”, you stopped him before he could leave completely. “I need to ask you this”, you said, and he nodded. You took a deep breath. “Are you playing matchmaker?”.

“Yes”, he said.

“With whom?”.

“I can’t tell you yet”, he was about to dismiss you but you stopped him again.

“It’s easier if you tell me, so I don’t waste your time and you don’t waste mine”.

“I can’t. I promised him I wouldn’t tell you and—”.

“And since when do you really keep your promises…?”, you said, and then it hit you. “You are scared of him. And it’s a he. Okay. That narrows it down a lot”, you chuckled. He became pale. “If you tell me without telling me, that means I figured it out, right?”.

“That’s not how it works”.

“It’s not been explicitly said otherwise, either”, you said, and Tony sighed, thinking you’ve spent way too much time around Loki. “Alright. Tonight’s dinner, you’ll give me three hints”.

“One hint”.

“Two”.

“One hint and nothing else”.

“Okay. You’ll give me one hint and I’m going to guess who it is. If I guess you drink a sip of champagne and that way I know I can ask him out if I want to”.

Tony thought about it.

“That’s brilliant”.

So that very same night, Christmas dinner, everyone was seated and eating happily the monstrous amount of food that had been served. Somehow, you were too focused on the hint Tony would give you at any time to even eat a bite.

Tony looked at you as he served himself some champagne and you paid attention. He was going to show you the hint now. He got up and grabbed one of the small ornaments in the tree —a reindeer.

A reindeer.

A fucking reindeer? That was the hint?

You scoffed and denied with your head, trying to mimic to Tony that it wasn’t fair, and that clue was too broad and weird for you to ever understand it. You must have looked pretty upset, because by your side, Loki grabbed your hand.

“Are you okay, dear?”.

“Yeah”, you chuckled, and then you took a good look at him. You had been so focused on Tony’s hint that you didn’t even notice your own crush had been sitting there, all gorgeous and regal by your side. He was wearing his leather black and green armor without the cape, and had managed to get a smaller set of his distinctive horns to match the outfit. “Wow, you look stunning”, you breathed out. His long eyelashes batted a couple of times, and, blushing slightly, smirked.

“You’re one to say it”, and then pointed at Tony with his eyebrows. “Is Anthony upsetting you somehow with that ornament?”.

“Yeah, it’s just a game. Hey. Who do you think…”, you began asking him, and saw Tony grab his face in desperation. “...of all of us, would look the most like a…”, you stopped in your words, as you noticed the most evident answer was the man with a pair of horns on his head.

A reindeer.

Is it… Loki?

“Most like a leather deer?”, chuckled Loki, looking at the ornament by Tony’s side. “What kind of game is this, the deer game?”.

“It’s a reindeer”.

“Well, the reindeer game, whatever”, he laughed it off. Your mouth was open in shock. You looked at Tony.

“It’s Reindeer Games!”, you exclaimed out of the blue. Everyone on the table turned around to see you. You, hopeful and nervous, waited for Tony to answer. He sighed in content and lifted his champagne glass.

“Cheers!”, and took a long sip.

Taglist: @lucywrites02

@louieboo87

@the-departed-potato

@jesuswasnotawhiteman

@idontknow296

@beksib

@geekwritersworld

@mysticunicorn7

@shadowolf993

@joscelyn02

@t00-pi

@selfship-mishaps

@sallymagnoliaposts

@deadgirl88

@vicmc624

@theaudacitytowrite

@bi-andready-tocry

@alorev

@justasmisunderstoodasloki

@theetoastyghosty

@lokiprompts

@sarahpaq08

@lostgreekgod

@likeitloveitblogit

@tsnelf7

@asgardwinter

@lalalalokii

@christineblood

@asgardianprincess1050

#loki x reader #12daysofchristmas2022 #loki #loki laufeyson #loki has a crush #loki x avenger!reader #avenger!loki #loki with horns #loki fanfic #fanfic #mcu loki #writing challenge #december writing challenge

84 notes · View notes

firstdegreefangirl · 1 year

Text

Baby It's (not) Cold Outside

Theme: Day 11 - Music/Songs @12daysofchristmas

Fandom/Character(s): Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen (The Rookie)

Word Count: 1668

Ao3 link here!

It’s 11 p.m. sharp when Lucy shifts her head where it’s resting against Tim’s shoulder.

“I should … get going,” she says, chin digging into his bicep. But she makes no effort to get up, or even stretch her legs out. “It’s getting late.”

“It is,” Tim agrees. He runs his hand up and down her arm. “And if you really need to go, I won’t keep you. But I’m not sending you away either. This time of year, you know,” he grins. “It might be cold out there.”

“Tim, we live in southern California.” Lucy laughs, her whole body jostling against him. “It’s like 55 degrees out.”

“Eh, I’ve seen warmer Decembers.”

“Seriously.” He can hear the eye roll in her voice. “We both work in the morning. My uniform is at home.”

“Alright,” Tim pauses for a moment, considering. When he speaks again, it’s with a playful lilt. “But if you stay … I could start a fire, see what’s left to make of the evening.”

“A fire? In what fireplace?” He feels Lucy’s head turn as she looks around the room. In response, he slides his hand from her arm, down far enough to toy with the waistband of her leggings.

“Not that kind of fire …" He dips his head down to nose at her hairline, smiling against her skin.

Lucy laughs, turning her head and squirming. She reaches down to smack at his wrist.

“You are insatiable!” She giggles. Her head lands more squarely on his chest now, and she’s lying halfway across his lap. He relents, wrapping his arm loosely around her waist to slide her closer into him. Just when she’s settled in, he wiggles his fingers along her side, across the patch of bare skin where her T-shirt has ridden up. Lucy squeals again, and he tugs her the rest of the way across, until she’s leaning between his side and the arm of the couch, thighs stretched across his. She tucks her toes underneath the edge of a throw pillow and sighs.

And still, she doesn’t even try to get up. He’d let her, if she did. But they both know what she’s after, and he wants it just as badly, even if neither of them are willing to say it outright.

“Well don’t rush yourself,” Tim says, adjusting his hold so one arm wraps around her belly and the other drapes down her leg. His hand fits perfectly over her kneecap; they both smile when it lands there. “You’re right, it is getting pretty late.”

“Mmm, maybe just a few more minutes.” Lucy tips her head back and tucks her face into his neck. He kisses the edge of her temple lightly, then starts humming in her ear. He’s not sure what song it is, but it’s been stuck in his head all afternoon. Some festive jingle or the other, playing over the loudspeaker at the gas station where he’d spent three hours investigating a burglary. “But then I really do have to get home. Tamara will worry.”

“Last week she asked me if I was planning to ‘put a ring on it’ anytime soon, so I don’t think that’s true.” When Lucy’s shoulders go stiff at his words, Tim squeezes one gently and tacks on, “Not anytime soon. Right now I just want to enjoy the way things are.”

He doesn’t say any more than that, just lets Lucy relax again. She doesn’t need to know about the pretty emerald that caught his eye over the weekend, while he was shopping for earrings to give his sister. Not yet, not anytime soon.

Just … someday.

“Things are good,” Lucy whispers. Her breath tickles his jaw in hot puffs, and he kisses the side of her head again.

“They are.”

They sit like that, all tangled up, basking in each other and together, for a few minutes. Lucy only stirs enough to reach for her highball glass, dripping condensation onto Tim’s coffee table and return to her previous position.

“What’s in this again anyway?” She takes a sip of the cocktail, watered down from the melted ice, and leans her head against his shoulder. “It’s delicious.”

He could rattle it off easily, give her the secret to his spiced rum cider. It’s not even a secret, really; Genny had sent him the link in an email several years ago after a friend of a friend forwarded it on to her. There’s a printed out copy stuck in the cover of a bar guide he inherited from his grandfather. He could show it to her, sometime when she’s not sitting on top of him.

But where’s the fun in that?

“I could pour you another,” he offers instead. “If you … won’t be driving for a bit.”

It’s not his fault that the rum cider is strong.

Lucy sits up just far enough that she can turn around and look at him. From this angle, her eyes twinkle with more than just her amusement. He can see the reflection of the Christmas tree lights, the tree she’d insisted he needed for the back of his living room, countless little white dots sparkling beneath her eyelashes. They remind him of the dark night skies he’d stare at during his deployment days, the only source of beauty in a war-ravaged world.

Her hair is pulled into a loose knot on top of her head, and she’s wearing leggings and a faded-out college T-shirt. She’s nowhere near drunk, but a glass from his bar set hangs from one hand while the other trails a line up his shoulder. She reminds him of those skies, a bright spot in a year that needed more of them.

He’s seen her every which way: in uniform, pajamas, casual wear, dressed for a night out, in her finest formal attire, with longer hair and pointed nails, not wearing anything at all …

But this might be his favorite version of Lucy, he thinks. The Lucy that’s soft and comfortable in his space, pliant against him, with stars dancing in her eyes.

“What?” She asks, smiling fondly at him, and he realizes he must have been staring.

“Nothing.” Tim shakes his head. “Just … thinking about how beautiful you are like this.”

The easy honesty sends a flush up her face, visible even in the dimly lit living room.

“You are …" she trails off, and he hesitates for a moment before meeting her eyes. She sighs. “Something. You are something, Tim. I just want you to know that.”

She leans forward before he can say anything in response and fits their mouths together. He slides the glass out of her hand, groping blindly for the end table so they’ll have their hands free to hold onto one another. It’s his favorite kind of kiss too, slow and easy and endless feeling, until they break just far enough apart to breathe.

“I don’t want to leave,” Lucy murmurs into the space between them. Tim isn’t sure he was meant to hear it; other than how closely together they’re sitting. It feels like the sort of thing she’s saying to herself more than to him. He wants to tell her that she doesn’t have to, that she never has to leave unless she wants to, but that feels like too much for 11:30 on a Friday night, when she’s trying to convince herself to stay behind some line in the sand.

As if there’s a line they haven’t crossed together.

“I really should …" Lucy says again, loudly enough for him to hear.

“If you’re sure you’re good to get home,” Tim replies, meaning the late hour and the long day more than the alcohol.

“Yeah, I’ll be good.” Still, she doesn’t get up. “Of course, if we’re worried that it might be … cold …" She reaches for one of the drawstrings on his sweatshirt and twirls it around her fingers. “Maybe you should make sure I have something warm to wear.”

“Yeah?” He’s already reaching back to pull the sweatshirt over his head. Lucy laughs as she helps him untangle his T-shirt underneath it and keeps laughing as he tugs the sweatshirt down onto her shoulders. Her head pops through the opening at the neckline and she grins at him until he’s laughing with her.

When all is said and done, even sitting across his legs, the sweatshirt pools around her hips. He knows when she stands up that it will reach her knees. There’s something intimate and thrilling about knowing that even if she does go home tonight, she’s taking some physical, tangible part of him with her.

He traces his fingertips across her knuckles. Her skin is soft and smooth, and he knows that if he drew her hand to his lips, he’d be able to smell the floral hand lotion she rubs on every so often.

“It’s been a good night,” he says quietly. It’s an out, if she wants it to be, the beginnings of a goodbye. Or, it can be an invitation to let the night run on between them and keep a good thing going.

The choice is hers.

“It has been. It always is.” Lucy snuggles back into him. “If I stay … I have to get up early to go home before shift.”

“I’ll make you coffee,” he offers. “Carpool?”

“Sure.” She wraps both of her arms around one of his, holding it against her chest. “Probably better than driving home tonight anyway. Y’know, because you say it’s so cold out.”

“Yeah,” Tim kicks one foot up onto the coffee table. They should go to bed soon, if Lucy is staying, but he doesn’t want to make her move just yet. He hasn’t actually checked the weather, knows that what passes for ‘cold’ in LA is hardly a breeze in other parts of the country.

But he can’t imagine anything warmer than this, wrapped up in comfort and devotion and love.

And Lucy.

Compared to this, whatever the temperature is beyond his front door?

Baby, it’s cold outside.

#katie writes #kw22 #chenford #lucy chen #tim bradford #the rookie #baby it's cold outside #but like ... not creepy and weird #12daysofchristmas2022 #12daysofchristmas #day 11: music/songs

58 notes · View notes

elitehunter · 1 year

Text

Will Ospreay: Anything can happen on a snow day

Title: Anything can happen on a snow day Theme: Day 4 - Snowman for @12daysofchristmas Fandom/Character(s): NJPW/Will Ospreay x OFC Warnings: just some cursing, like a couple of f-bombs because it's Billy. Word Count: 1,191

On a snowy day, he finds himself face to face with her. Or, rather, the snowball she throws right at his face. He's been upset with her for so long for the way they drifted apart. But maybe he had it all wrong to begin with.

Read it on AO3

#12daysofchristmas2022 #will ospreay fanfic #will ospreay fanfiction #will ospreay imagine #will ospreay imagines #will ospreay x ofc #will ospreay x original female character #elitehunter fic #elitehunter fanfiction #series: 12 days of christmas (aew one shots)

26 notes · View notes

thecagedsong · 1 year

Text

Title: If it Makes You Smile

Theme: Santa Hat

Fandom/Character(s): Fairy Tail; Lucy/Loke

Warnings (if applicable):

Word Count: 500

Loke comes to a fight in a Santa Hat.

@12daysofchristmas

“Open, Gate of the Lion, Leo!” Lucy called out. After a solo job, she was almost home when some jerks thought they could take advantage of her in the dark East forest.

Given they had shadow magic, it would have been a correct assumption if she didn’t have her very own light spirit.

“Wow, it’s dark,” Leo said as the light from his gate faded. He immediately lit his fists, pushing one of the attackers out of the shadows. Lucy roundhouse kicked him into Loke’s punch, sending him crashing into the nearby

“Crap, a fairy tail wizard.”

“Light magic too, let’s get out of here. Grab Dan’s legs.”

There was running and fussing.

“Want to chase after them?” Loke asked, turning to face her properly.

She had thought there was something wrong with his sillouhette, but had been focused on listening and feeling for magic signatures.

Lucy burst out laughing.

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’?” Loke asked, raising an eyebrow.

She calmed down from her mad cackling to more contained giggles. “So-sorry,” Lucy giggled, wiping her eye, “I’m just not sure your Santa Hat goes with the suit.”

Loke touched his head, eye widening as he felt the fur trim. Then he grinned at her, “Well, tis the season. You called me during the Spirit World Solstice Festival.”

“Since when do celestial spirits celebrate the solstice with Santa hats?” Lucy chuckled.

“Since it made their pretty masters happy,” Loke said, offering his arm. “What, don’t I make a good Santa Claus? I’ll have you know I bring people excellent presents.”

Lucy laughed some more, taking his arm and letting him send out witchlights to mark the rest of the path to Magnolia proper. “I don’t think even you could pull off the tubby belly and long white beard. Capricorn might be able to.”

It was Loke’s turn to laugh, “It is my dearest pleasure to present you this gift.” He imitated Capricorn. “A scale, because I do believe you are putting on some extra weight, dear Loke.”

“When will he let that go!” Lucy cackled. “And what would Santa Loke give someone for Christmas?”

“Oh, it’s twelve gifts if you’re really doing it right, and the first one would be exhausting laughter,” he said, his eyes sparkling. “The rest will have to be a surprise.”

“Well then, I can’t wait for the rest,” Lucy said. “Are you going to keep wearing this?” Lucy flicked the puffball at the end of the hat.

“You want to try it on?”

“I think it looks too good on you.”

“Then I think I’ll wear it until Christmas.”

“You’re as old as grandfather Christmas.”

“Rude.”

“Good thing I’m terribly shallow and only care about your good looks.”

It was Loke’s turn to laugh.

#12DaysofChristmas2022 #Lolu #short entry #LokexLucy #fairy tail #loke #Lucy Heartphilia #Silly short #but I love these two

14 notes · View notes

thenerdybaker523 · 1 year

Text

12 Days of Christmas: December 13

@12daysofchristmas @zsjaywhite

Title: Unexpected Surprises Sequel

Theme: December 13 (Bells)

Fandom/Character: AEW/ Eddie Kingston

Warnings: None, just a fluffy fic about Eddie.

Word Count: 1610

❄️ I don’t own any of the GIFs or Photos in this.

❄️ If you find any punctuation marks wrong, sorry. I basically guess where it goes half the time.

❄️ Also slight warning, there will be a couple of Doctor Who references in this.

❄️ First part: Unexpected Surprises

Haylie’s POV:

Walking into the house after a busy day of Christmas shopping with Renee, all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and take a nap with Eddie and the twins. I really wasn’t expecting to do much today, but when Eddie woke me up early this morning telling me Renee was on the way to go do some Christmas shopping while he and Jon watched Nora, Jack, & River. Deciding not to question him, I got up and got ready for the day. When Renee, Jon, and Nora showed up, Nora immediately started squirming to get out of Jon’s arms so she could get down. Once she was down, she grabbed Jon’s hand and wandered off to find her Uncle Eddie and her cousins. Before Renee and I left we made sure Jon and Eddie had everything they would need before we took off in our SUV to go shopping.

By the time we were done shopping it was already 4 and it was starting to get chilly. Laden down with bags, we hurried our way out to the SUV. Getting everything in the trunk, we rushed to get into the front. Starting up the car, I let it run for ten minutes so we could warm up. Renee called Jon and let him know we were done and that I would drop her off at home so she didn’t have to switch the bags from my car to his. While she was on the phone with him, I texted Eddie and told him I would pick something easy to fix for dinner so he wouldn’t have to worry about it. When she hung up, I pulled out of the mall parking lot and headed to her and Jon’s house.

On the way to their house, it had started to snow lightly, so I took the roads slower than I normally would. When we got to their house, Jon’s truck was already in the driveway. He came out and helped take everything in so I could stop and get dinner and get home before the snow got any worse than it was. Getting back on the road, I quickly stopped into a grocery store and got the ingredients I would need to make chicken noodle soup. Checking out quickly, I got back in the car, texting Eddie quickly that I would be home in fifteen minutes.

By the time I got home, it was almost 5 and the snow was starting to come down harder. I hurriedly got the bags out of the trunk and made my way to the front door, being extra careful not to slip. Walking into the house, I noticed it was unusually quiet, figuring that River and Jack were asleep and Eddie was taking a nap. Setting the shopping bags down by the front door I took off my coat and boots, then put them along with my purse in the hall closet. When I went to grab the groceries, I noticed something very strange on the floor. Leading from the front door there was a trail of bells on the floor heading somewhere into the house with a note beside them saying “Follow Me”. I headed into the kitchen and put away the food quickly before following wherever they led me.

The bells ended up leading me to the nursery room, walking in I found River and Jack in their bouncers wide wake. Walking closer to them I squatted down in front of them and saw that River had on a blue tutu and onesie set that said “Turn Around Mommy” and Jack had on a pair of blue sweats and onesie set that said “Daddy Has a Question” Confused, I stood up and turned around to find Eddie on one knee behind me. I could already feel the tears streaming down my face when he pulled out a familiar blue colored ring box.

Eddie’s POV:

I was a nervous wreck all day waiting for Haylie to come home from shopping with Renee. Even with Jon and Nora over with me and the twins, I couldn’t help but worry. I know Jon could tell I was nervous about what I had planned. While Jon watched River and Jack for a minute, I went into the nursery and grabbed the bag I had hidden at the top of the closet where I knew Haylie couldn’t see it. Walking back in the living room Jon was sitting on the couch recording Nora making faces at the twins while they giggled.

Jon looked up hearing me come in the room, he stopped recording and said, “You know she’s gonna say yes right?”

“Yea, I’m just overthinking everything, like normal.”

“Well stop. I know my sister, she’s gonna say yes. Now tell me your plan again.”

Sitting down in my recliner, I told him of my plan of having a trail of bells leading from the front door to the nursery. Once she walked and got closer to the twins to see their outfits, I would kneel behind her. Pulling out the outfits I had custom made for the twins, I showed Jon. Both outfits were Tardis Blue with white lettering. Sitting the outfits on the arm of the chair, I pulled out the ring box from my pocket, opening the box I showed Jon the ring I had custom ordered.

“She’s gonna love those outfits. And as for the ring, she’s definitely gonna love it. You just need to stay calm for the rest of the day. There is no need to be anxious.”

The rest of the day Jon made sure I didn’t have time to overthink anything. After feeding lunch River, Jack, and Nora we put them down for a nap. While they slept, Jon helped me clean the house up a little. We sat around watching the tv and talking until Nora woke up at 2. Putting on a show for Nora, Jon and I continued to talk about what was going on at work and our current storylines.

River and Jack woke up at 3:30, so Jon helped me change their diapers and feed them. We had just put them in their bouncers when Renee called to let us know that they were getting ready to leave the mall and it would take about 30 minutes to get to their house. Jon kept an eye on River and Jack while I had Nora help me set out the bells, that way she felt like she had a part in this too. When all the bells were laid out, Jon and Nora had to leave. As I was checking the time on my phone, Haylie texted saying she’d be home in fifteen minutes. Taking them into the nursery, I got them changed into the outfits I bought. I had just sat River in her bouncer when I heard the front door open and close. Quickly putting Jack in his, I walked into our room across the hall and hid behind the wall when I heard Haylie walk into the nursery. Peeking around the corner, I saw her go into the room and squat down in front of River and Jack. I quietly walked back into the room and got down on one knee. When she turned around I pulled out the ring box.

Looking up at her, she had tears streaming down her face. Completely forgetting what I had wanted to say, I took a deep breath and spoke from my heart.

“Haylie Good, you are the love of my life. The Amy to my Rory. My Impossible Girl. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you in my life. I’m so grateful to have you in my life. Last year you gave me one of the most memorable moments in my life. And this year I decided to give you one. So will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

Haylie’s POV:

Looking at Eddie I couldn’t help but to let out a sob. Nodding my head yes, he stood up and opened the ring box and took out the ring. I couldn’t help but to gasp. Instead of a normal diamond ring, it was a sapphire with three smaller diamonds on each side.

Eddie slid the ring on my finger then pulled me into a kiss. When he broke the kiss, he wiped away the tears still streaming down my face. Wrapping my arms around him, I dug my face into his chest and cried tears of joy. Eddie wrapped his arms around me and kissed me head before laying his head on top of mine to keep me close. Once I had finally calmed down, I pulled away and wiped the rest of the tears away.

Eddie looked down at me and smiled. “So did you like your surprise?”

“I loved it. The ring is absolutely gorgeous. It reminds me of the Tardis so much.”

“I’m glad you liked it. I’ve been a nervous wreck all day. I had something special inscribed on the inside of the band if you wanna take a look.”

Sliding off the ring, I looked on the inside to see it said “My Impossible Girl”. Sliding it back on, I looked at Eddie and pulled him down for another kiss. Only this time we got interrupted by River and Jack wanting attention. Pulling apart, Eddie and I laughed. We each grabbed on the twins before heading back to the front room.

I can’t help thinking to myself, after what happened these last two Christmases, I can’t wait to see what next year has in store for us.

Tag List: @plentyoffandoms

#12daysofchristmas2022 #eddie kingston fanfiction #aew fanfiction

15 notes · View notes

tatsueigo · 1 year

Text

Advent Advent

Title: Advent Advent

Theme: Day three - Candles

Fandom/Character(s): All Elite Wrestling / Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson, William Regal

Warnings (if applicable): //

Word Count:

NdA: @zsjaywhite

November 27th, first Advent of 2022. It has been long since Claudio has been to Switzerland over the last years, but he always keeps his traditions.

That day he had woken up early as always, going for his routine run and on the way back he had stopped at some bakeries to fetch something for breakfast for him and all his lovers. For Bryan vegan options of course.

Unluckily his wrestling life didn't let him the time to actually bake some German cookies for the others, with having to be on the road most of the time, but it would still work.

Humming he got back to their shared home and left all the pastries on the table, for each seat the favourite ones of each member of the stable.

He went to take a quick shower, enjoying the warm water sliding over his cold body; he liked it more when he could have a shower with one of his lovers, but they were surely starting to wake up.

As he got dressed and down to the kitchen, he found a still sleepy Yuta waiting at his spot, shortly after came William and Jon too. Bryan took some minutes to join them, but in the end they were all sitting at their places.

"This is the first Christmas we are going to spend all together, since I left Switzerland and then Germany I carried on this tradition leading to Christmas, so I just want to share it with all of you too. You're all really important to me and this tradition is important to me as well, so I want you get to know about it."

William, Jon, Wheeler and Bryan looked at him at the same time and either nodded or grunted in response; Wheeler was genuinely curious, maybe because he was the youngest there? Who could know, but one thing was sure: he literally loved Christmas, so whatever had to do with it was interesting for him. The others were interested too, even Jon, who normally wasn't a Christmas person himself.

Claudio stood up and took a lighter: at the center of the table there was an Advent crown, with four candles spread around it. The candles had different colors: maroon to represent Regal, white for Bryan, Red for Jon and black for their youngest member Yuta. Him... Claudio pictured himself in the white candle, zusammen mit Bryan, but those were for his lover, not for him.

"So, for each Advent Sunday, we normally take a candle, light it and in the end we sing a nursery rhyme. Each one of this candles represents one of you, one of us."

Explained the Swiss man, as he took the maroon candle in the hand and cracked a smile at his lovers.

"Today it's the first Advent, so I'll light this maroon one, which represents our Lord, William. You are, apart from our lover, our mentor and kind of manager, so something like... a pillar maybe? Which is why I wanted to start by lighting your candle first."

Did his reason have any sense at all? In his mind yes, but what if the others wouldn't get it? He softened a bit as soon as he noticed the smile on William's lips.

"Master Castagnoli it is an honor for me, thank you. I appreaciate it."

Claudio nodded and took the lighter, so he could finally light the candle which he put before in the holder.

"Advent, Advent, ein Lichtlein brennt. Erst eins, dann zwei, dann drei, dann vier. Und wenn das fünfte Lichtlein brennt, hast du Weihnachten verpennt!"

None of them said anything, they all stared at him though. Yuta was totally in awe, even if he had only understood the word Advent. Regal was smiling, still honored that Claudio had decided to use his candle first. Jon had listened, hadn't understood anything, but he still liked it all in all. Bryan on his part was smiling proud: it was beautiful to hear Claudio speak German, sometimes he even spoke Italian to them, only some small words, but it was really interesting to hear him.

"It was simply amazing, Master Castagnoli."

The rest of the day they passed it by training and going out, all happy to their core.

#12daysofchristmas2022 #all elite wrestling #blackpool combat club #claudio castagnoli #wheeler yuta #william regal #blackpool polycule #bryan danielson #jon moxley

10 notes · View notes

lipstickonmylabcoat · 1 year

Text

For the 12 Days of Christmas Writing Challenge @12daysofchristmas

Christmas with Katrine and Anna 🎄

A collection of ficlets from the two part World War II holosimulation episode The Killing Game of Star Trek Voyager featuring a f/f/f polyam relationship.

Chapter 1 - Bells

Prompt - 13 - bells

Title: Bells

Theme: Church bells, not regretting one’s actions, finding happiness

Fandom/Character(s): Brigitte (B’Elanna Torres), Katrine (Kathryn Janeway), Mademoiselle de Neuf/Anna (Seven of Nine)

Warnings: Rated mature for the whole collection but this chapter is not naughty at all

Word Count: under 350

Chapter 2 - Santa Hat

Prompt: 14 - Santa Hat

Title: Santa Hat

Theme: Encouragement, dressing up, kissing

Fandom/Character(s): Brigitte (B’Elanna Torres), Katrine (Kathryn Janeway), Mademoiselle de Neuf/Anna (Seven of Nine)

Warnings: Rated mature for the whole collection but this chapter is only a little playful

Word Count: under 350

#12daysofchristmas2022 #star trek fanfiction #star trek femslash #star trek voyager #kathryn janeway #seven of nine #b’elanna torres #Kathryn janeway x seven of nine x b’elanna torres #polyamory #f/f/f #christmas #the killing game #world war ii

5 notes · View notes

alexcanine · 1 year

Text

12 days of Christmas 2022: 9 candy canes

#12DaysOfChristmas2022

2 notes · View notes

iheomaskitchen · 1 year

Photo

ON THE 12TH DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME A GLASS OF HEALTHY FRESH JUICE. #Iheomas_kitchen #12daysofchristmas2022 #iheomacooks #12daysofchristmasrecipes #12thdayofchristmas #delicious #pineappleandwatermelonjuice #healthyrecipes #healthyeats #foodporn #foodpic #food #foodie #nigeriandish #juice #pineapple #holidayrecipes #christmasrecipes #Christmas #freshjuice (at Asaba, Nigeria) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmlIKe0DAYO/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

0 notes

12daysofchristmas · 1 year

Text

The 2022 12 Days of Christmas Challenge!

Hello, friends! It’s that magical time of year again!

The purpose of the 12 Days of Christmas challenge is to spread ✨ joy and cheer ✨ throughout the holiday season via holiday-themed fanfiction, gifs, edits, or any other way you choose to creatively express yourself. And don’t let the name fool you: any and every winter holiday is welcome! Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yuletide, Winter Solstice, just to name a few; if it’s celebrated in December, it’s welcome. Don’t celebrate anything in particular? Winter-themed submissions are welcome, too!

As always, the challenge will run from December 13-24, 2022, and each day will have a specific winter or holiday theme that submissions must incorporate somehow. And while this challenge was created within wrestleblr, any and all fandoms are welcome!

If you’re interested in participating please let me ( @zsjaywhite ) know, or just comment on this post. Reblogs are also very much appreciated to help spread the word! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

#12daysofChristmas2022 #writing challenge #holiday writing prompts #holiday writing challenge #christmas prompts #christmas writing challenge #holiday prompts #winter prompts

37 notes · View notes

darkacademicfrom2021 · 1 year

Text

Day 7 - 12 days of Christmas challenge (2022 edition)

Title: The one where Loki thinks he’s bitter and actually tastes like sugar

Theme: gingerbread (Dec 19th)

Fandom/Character(s): Loki x reader

Warnings (if applicable): fluffest fluff ever. Loki POV because I love his inner dialogue

Word Count: 400

December writing challenge prompted and organized by @12daysofchristmas

Loki doesn’t like sweets.

He actually hates them. He didn’t grow up with the processed sugar Midgard offered and definitely does not want to start obsessing over them now, like his brother does.

He finds more often than not different culinary marvels from Earth that are a delight to his posh palate, but they’re always small savory servings of exotic foods no one in the compound actually eats.

But here he is, bearing with you the insomnia and your hyperactivity, helping you bake the so-beloved Christmas cookies you insisted —at least three or four times before convincing him— on trying out.

It was your grandmother’s recipe and —although you lacked basic cooking skills and more than once you’ve had to almost evacuate the compound’s kitchen— you wanted to recreate it by taste alone.

“Here, try”, you reached up the spoon to his mouth and he frowned, pressing his lips. You said he looked adorable doing that so he has been trying to do it more often around you. Not for anything in particular, he simply enjoys making you smile. “You’re gonna like it”.

“I doubt it”, he raised an eyebrow.

“Come on, open up”, you said in between chuckles, and he licked the spoon with weariness. “Good boy”, you joked, and he almost choked on dough. “So? Is it good?”.

“It’s raw, I wouldn’t know”, he said, rolling his eyes. His face feels warm, is he blushing? Oh, Norns. He sure hopes he isn’t. “You’ve got to bake it”.

“I don’t want to ruin an entire batch”, you muttered, and licked the spoon too. You pondered for a few seconds and nodded. “Yeah, seems about right”.

“Why is it… spicy?”, he asked as you put on the mittens and opened up the stove. “Are sweets not supposed to be… just kindly sweet?”.

You sighed with a smile on your face, and looked at him as how one looks at a small duck, or a kitten. You must have thought he looked adorable, and he blushed again at the implication.

“Kindly sweet”, you repeated. Yes, he thought, as opposed to spicy sweet. Is that not the right way to say it? You sighed again and started sprinkling the gingerbread cookies with brown sugar as you muttered, “I love you so much”.

Loki doesn’t like sweets. But he allows himself to be sweet around you. He sure does like you.

Taglist: @lucywrites02

@louieboo87

@the-departed-potato

@jesuswasnotawhiteman

@idontknow296

@beksib

@geekwritersworld

@mysticunicorn7

@shadowolf993

@joscelyn02

@t00-pi

@selfship-mishaps

@sallymagnoliaposts

@deadgirl88

@vicmc624

@theaudacitytowrite

@bi-andready-tocry

@alorev

@justasmisunderstoodasloki

@theetoastyghosty

@lokiprompts

@sarahpaq08

@lostgreekgod

@likeitloveitblogit

@tsnelf7

@asgardwinter

@lalalalokii

@christineblood

@asgardianprincess1050

#12daysofchristmas2022 #loki fluff #loki laufeyson fanfiction #loki fanfic #loki laufeyson #loki laufeyson fluff #loki fic #loki x you #loki x y/n #loki x reader #loki x reader fluff #loki odinson #bitter loki #avenger loki #probation avenger loki

68 notes · View notes

firstdegreefangirl · 1 year

Text

Don't Hang the Mistletoe (you know how kissing goes)

Theme: Day Nine - Mistletoe @12daysofchristmas

Fandom/Character(s): Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen (The Rookie)

Word Count: 1189

Ao3 link here!

Who brings mistletoe to a work event?

And yet, here they are. Tim and Lucy, side by side, underneath a “festive” sprig.

They’d been doing so well, too, Tim laments to himself, as soon as the first colleague – some patrol officer he hardly knows outside of the roll call room – takes notice. All night, he and Lucy had managed to come off as friends, nothing more.

He’d brought her a drink, balanced carefully with his own and one for Angela, and made sure their fingers didn’t brush when he handed it off. They’ve stood next to each other, with a respectable distance between them, and chatted amicably about neutral topics.

Just when he’d thought they might be able to pull it off, spend an entire station Christmas party together without anyone noticing that they’ve been dating almost a month now, they wind up under the damn mistletoe together.

Everyone else has noticed now, and someone started up a chant of “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

He chances a quick look at Lucy, frozen in place with her drink raised just a little too high to be natural. Her eyes are wide, her mouth hanging slightly open.

She’s beautiful. Even like this, half-paralyzed with shock, it strikes him that she’s beautiful.

But he can’t tell her that now, and they can’t stand like this all day. So he nudges her forearm carefully with his elbow. She jumps a little bit, and turns to face him.

“Hey,” Tim whispers, quietly enough that only Lucy will hear, when he gets a better view of the panic on her face. “We don’t have to. We can … settle the score later.” He grins at the last part, trying to break the ice between them, but Lucy’s expression doesn’t change.

The crowd is still chanting, and Lucy seems to notice it a second later. She shakes her head, and the hand not holding her drink comes up to rest on Tim’s shoulder.

Her fingers dig into his skin, through the fabric of his shirt. She rolls up onto her tiptoes, and Tim’s breath catches in his throat.

Just for a second, he lets himself hope. It’s not how they’d meant to tell everyone, and certainly not everyone they’d meant to tell – a handful of people are missing, and there are some officers who don’t need to know everything about their private lives – but he hopes. Lucy is balancing herself against him, close enough that he can feel the heat coming off of her chest, and he hopes.

He hopes she’ll do it. He hopes he’ll let her. He hopes it won’t change anything between them, more than everything between them has already changed. And he hopes it won’t ruin either of their careers.

Then Lucy leans in and …

Brushes her lips across his cheek.

She drops back to her usual height and takes a step away, and Tim tries not to let the disappointment show.

This makes more sense, anyway. It would have been just as telling if they’d refused to play along at all, and kissing her the way he’d wanted to would have been a terrible way to disclose their relationship to the department. Lucy handled an uncomfortable situation perfectly, and he knows it.

Still, he’s a little bit heartbroken at the way he can feel the ghost of her touch on his face, her phantom fingers clinging to his shoulder.

A handful of onlookers boo, and someone – he thinks it sounds like Smitty, but he can’t tell for sure – calls out something about cheating. But for the most part, everyone turns their attention back to whatever conversation they’d been having before the crowd gathered around them.

Only Angela stops to catch Tim’s eye as he lets out a heavy breath. She tips her cup toward him, and her stare is filled with concern and compassion.

He smiles back, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. She nods slowly, and for a second, Tim wonders how much she knows. He hasn’t said anything, and he knows Lucy hasn’t either. But he gets the feeling that Angela understands the things he can’t tell her.

He raises his drink back at her and takes another deep breath.

Then he turns back to the party, mingling and making small talk like everything is fine.

“That went on forever,” Lucy complains an hour and a half later, trying to fit her key into the front door of her apartment. “I thought we’d never get to leave.”

She’s not drunk, but Tim knows the door sticks sometimes. He’s half-tempted to reach around her and pull the knob tighter, to see if that helps, but she gets it open before he makes up his mind.

“Thanks for walking me up,” Lucy says, lingering in her doorway, and Tim thinks back to a few months ago, a similar conversation under incredibly different circumstances.

“Anytime,” he replies, and they both know that it’s true.

“Do you … want to come in?” He wonders if she’s doing it intentionally, if those words are seared into his memory the way they are in his.

This time, there’s no hesitation when he follows her.

As soon as the door is closed behind them, Lucy is pushing him up against it. The element of surprise favors her over their difference in size, as she presses her chest against his. He catches her by the waist, but doesn’t dream of pushing her away.

Not here, not like this.

Not when their bodies fit perfectly together, and her mouth slots perfectly against his, and she’s kissing him so hard that he can’t come up with any words other than perfect to describe it.

Hot, maybe. Even for December, she’s hot against him, both hands cupping his face like she’s worried he might pull back.

Promising, how she drags one hand down his torso, through the tiny bits of space between them and toward the waistband of his jeans.

Earth-shattering, the way Lucy came into his life two years ago and somehow became the person he cares about most in the world, the person he’d do anything for and who’d do anything for him.

But he can’t come up with any of that when she finally breaks away from him. They’re both breathing hard, sharing the same air back and forth, clinging to each other for dear life.

For more than life, Tim thinks, before he pushes that thought to the back of his head. It’s only been a few months, they’re not quite ready for ‘til death do us part just yet.

That doesn’t matter tonight, though. He’d walk through fire for Lucy, just to see this sexy, sassy smile on her face.

“Well, what do you say?” She tucks two fingers into his belt loop, and Tim knows he won’t be able to find the words to answer whatever she’s about to ask. “Is the score even enough for you?”

Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. But that doesn’t matter either, because Tim pulls her in for another kiss. She smiles against him and he adds another tally mark to his mental list.

Moments he never wants to forget.

#katie writes #kw22 #chenford #lucy chen #tim bradford #the rookie #12daysofchristmas #12daysofchristmas2022 #day nine: mistletoe

61 notes · View notes

elitehunter · 1 year

Text

El Phantasmo: Every time a bell rings...

Title: Every time a bell rings… Theme: Day 1 - Bells for @12daysofchristmas Fandom/Character(s): NJPW/El Phantasmo x OFC Warnings: none Word Count: 829

She's feeling a little down about being too busy for it to feel like the holidays, she hasn't even gotten a tree or watched her favorite movie and none of her favorite traditions observed. He notices and decides to take matters into his own hands. Maybe it's time for some new traditions.

Read it on AO3

#12daysofchristmas2022 #el phantasmo fanfic #el phantasmo fanfiction #el phantasmo imagine #el phantasmo imagines #el phantasmo x ofc #el phantasmo x original female character #elitehunter fanfiction #elitehunter fic #series: 12 Days of Christmas (NJPW shorts)

22 notes · View notes

thecagedsong · 1 year

Text

Title: Can the Goddess Hear My Heart Over the Bells?

Theme: Bells

Fandom/Character(s): Legend of Zelda; Link/Zelda

Warnings (if applicable): N/A

Word Count: 5,818

@12daysofchristmas

Zelda comes from a long line of priestesses of Hylia, but in modern Hyrule she tries to hide the fact because people would find it embarrassing. Then her cute college classmate comes for the Midwinter worship with his sister, and Zelda still has to perform the bell dance, even with him watching.

~~~~~

“Have a goodnight Zelda! And say hi to Link for me after your test tomorrow!” Mipha cheered for her, touching her arm gently before letting her go. Their paths usually diverged here and Zelda shot her a grateful smile, despite the teasing about Link. The Zora dove headfirst in the water while Zelda got on the bus.

Mipha didn’t have to wait at the bus stop for Zelda, especially since the Zora had difficulties with winter generally, but the girl had insisted. Once Zelda mentioned she didn’t like waiting for the bus alone, Mipha had insisted she wait with Zelda every day after their biology class.

Noticing a couple of people from her school were also on the bus, Zelda waited until they had all gotten off before getting off herself and doubling back to her home. Zelda named another number in the prime number sequence with each step up the ridiculous stairs to her family’s shrine.

At her door, Zelda took off her shoes and knelt before the small goddess statute there.

To the Goddess, I give praise for my family’s joy and safety, and thank her for wisdom and learning I am able to accumulate at university. I am honored by the protection She gives those I love, and ask for power to continue to keep them well. I am honored by the courage She grants me to face the cold winter and daunting university tests. May our blessings continue as we listen to her guidance and hold to our faith. Adimen.

Zelda stood up, stretched, and walked to where Father stirred a large pot of soup.

“Welcome home, Dear,” Dad said, “Destroy another test? Biology was today, right?”

“No more biology for the year,” Zelda said, grabbing a spoon to sample their dinner. “And just Hylian history to finish. Hmmm!” she hummed her delight at the dish and took another spoonful.

“You two turn into barbarians without me here? I set the table and everything, but clearly you’d both rather eat standing over the pot,” a new voice chimed in.

Zelda dropped her spoon in the soup as she spun around. “Mark!” she shrieked jumping forward with her arms out. Her brother awkwardly caught her, but returned her hug. “You weren’t supposed to come home until this weekend!”

“I finished my final essay earlier than expected,” he said, letting her go. She gave him one last squeeze before sitting down at the table.

“So does that mean you’re all done with your degree?” Father asked, bringing the soup to the table.

“So long as I pass everything,” he said. “I’ll know first week of January if I'm going to lose my job offer, die under the mountain of my student loans, and have to sell my kidneys on the black market.”

Zelda snorted, “Like you know how to find the black market.”

“I’m sure you did fine,” Dad assured him.

“Dad, did you know? About Mark coming home early?”

“Not at all, a complete surprise. Good thing last weekend we converted his room back to his bedroom and took out the plasmascreen TV and billards table,” Dad joked.

“You did not,” Mark scoffed, serving everyone. He paused, “You didn’t, right?”

“Of course not,” Zelda said, indignantly, “The billiards table has always been in the garage, your room was my spa room. Ignore the nail polish stain on the pillows.”

“Brat,” he said affectionately.

~~~~

“You don’t have to watch me practice, I know it must be boring,” Zelda said, letting him tie up the traditional headpiece. Impa, her assistant at the shrine, would do it during the actual ceremony.

“You know, I was always jealous of you,” Mark said, flicking a bell hanging from the elaborate crown. “Of the time you got to spend with Mom practicing for this. That you’re the special one in the family.”

“That’s silly, I was the one always jealous of you. You got to read books with Dad while I had to drill the same eight dances over and over again,” Zelda said, looking both of them over in the mirror. Sheika Tears were painted in red down her cheeks, while Hylia’s triforce repeated on her forehead and the headpiece, and the neckline of her white dress. “I had to fight to even be allowed to go to university instead of work at the shrine.”

“And you’ll fight to have a job and be the high priestess. And then you’ll do both amazingly well until you die. You have Hylian History tomorrow, so I know you are completely familiar with the amazing feats of all the Zeldas that have come before you,” Mark said. “Priestesses of Hylia and world-shakers at the same time.”

“Their feats were because they were princesses, no one bothered writing anything about them once they became priestesses,” she said. “It was because they were princesses that they could save the kingdom, unless you’re talking about all those goddess blessings the myths talk about. And I think I would know if I could do magic.”

Mark smiled in the mirror, “But I know my sister, and maybe you aren’t rewinding time or setting fire to Twilight, but you are going to be a Zelda for the history books, just wait.”

“You’re supposed to get less religious as you go away to university,” Zelda pointed out, “Realize the Gerudo lighting was simply channeled electricity, figure out that it’s impossible to resurrect someone from the dead so that they continue to be young and health after 100 years, that sort of thing.”

“Call me a rebel then,” Mark said, “Did that happen to you? Did university convince you our maternal bloodline is simply a bunch of really good story tellers?”

“Well . . .” Zelda shifted in her seat, not sure how to answer. Not sure of the answer. “At the very least, I shouldn’t have to be a priestess if there is no great incarnation of pure evil to vanquish. I should be able to spend all my time studying if I’m not going to be called upon to imprison the incarnation of darkness.”

“Now who’s being silly. You have perfect memory recall and have always grasped academic concepts, and their flaws, immediately,” Mark said. “You’re goddess-blessed with an impossibly big brain, so you have some spare time to practice the midwinter’s dance. But not that much time, ready?”

“Ready,” Zelda said, letting him help her up.

Her every step tinkled with the bells on her costume and from the bells in her hand. Mark seated himself out of the way and turned the lights to the way they would be at the ceremony.

Farore’s wind was the breath in her lungs, feeding the Din’s fire and electricity of her heart and brain, letting her movements be as smooth as Nayru’s water, until time beat against Nayru’s ice with bells. Hylia was the goddess gifted with guarding and wielding the powers of the Three, the one charged with seeing the Three’s creation prosper. By the fourth turn, Zelda let herself feel what it was to by Hylia’s mouthpiece and body.

Embarrassing as it was, Zelda’s faith hadn’t been shaken by her university education at all.

~~~~~~

Zelda finished with her test ridiculously early, there was still half the time left for her classmates to continue their furious scratching. She had filled the essay sections to the brim, then scribbled her conclusion paragraphs on the back of the papers, and had already edited them. But, not wanting to be known as the brainiac like she had been in high school, Zelda waited until she heard at least one other student stand up with their test in hand to do the same.

Of course that one student had to be Link Faron. Zelda really hoped she wasn’t blushing as she made her way down the stairs opposite him. He was Mipha’s childhood friend, and ridiculously attractive. He was shorter than her by an inch, she shouldn’t be this attracted to him, but she was, and,

Oh Hylia, he was waiting for her at the door.

Mipha had had a small crush on him since childhood, but Zelda had been interested since he helped retrieve her favorite pen when it fell during the second week of classes. She had been gone for him since he defended ecological conservation efforts as a decentralized local movement with respectful funding distribution as opposed to an oppressive authoritarian conservation for maximum resource output that was the current majority party favored ideology.

“Hi Link,” she said, her voice a pitch higher than it should be as she closed the door behind them. Zelda cleared her throat, “Hi Link. Was this your last final for the semester?”

It was the last day of finals before winter break, of course it was his last final. But hair escaped his ponytail as he shook his head, framing the most intense blue eyes she had ever seen.

“I have a paper due at midnight,” he said casually, “I’m letting it sit for another couple hours before giving it a last revision and submitting it tonight. Was this your last one?”

“Yep, I’m free as a bird,” Zelda said.

“Cool . . . hey, do you want to grab lun—”

“Yes! I mean, sure,” Zelda said. “Sorry, I’m a little frazzled—from the test! I better have lunch and a small rest before trying to navigate public transit and heading home, haha.”

“Great,” Link said. “Anywhere you want to go to celebrate being done with your first semester of finals?”

“No particular preference, you?”

“No particular preference,” he mirrored her with a smile, but it wasn’t mocking, more like something he just wanted to try saying. “Since one of us has to make a decision, what about the Milk Bar?”

“Sounds perfect,” she said, letting him change direction.

Things got quiet, but Zelda couldn’t think of anything to say that wasn’t school related, and it felt silly to talk about school related stuff when they were on the cusp of break and this was one of the few times in her life she didn’t want to talk about school or academics.

“So, any plans for the holidays?” Link asked.

Was he casually making conversation not about school, or was he trying to see if she was free to ask her on a date? She wasn’t prepared to be asked on a date! Mipha had a crush on him too, for years longer than Zelda, was she even allowed to say yes? What if he wanted to go out one of the nights she had to perform the ceremony? What if—

NO! Keep it cool. He wasn’t asking her out, he was making polite conversation. Be polite back.

“My brother attends Lorule University,” Zelda said, “He came back early, so we’re going to spend some time together while he’s home as a family. I’m going ice skating with Mipha at some point, but other than that I don’t have any definitive plans. What about you?”

“My dad travels around for the military, so my little sister Aryll is actually coming to visit me here in Castletown for Midwinters,” Link said. “Any recommendations on where to take her? I’ve been buried under school work and haven’t explored too much of the city myself.”

“What does Aryll like?” Zelda asked. “Is she into sculpture art like you? Because the Waker River Gardens is absolutely beautiful this time of year, but people don’t tend to go in Winter because of the cold.”

“How did you know I like statute art?” Link asked as they approached the restaurant.

“Oh, uh, Mipha mentioned it,” Zelda said, really hoping she wasn’t coming across as creepy. Curse her perfect memory. “She said that you were friends growing up, and you were majoring in art and teaching.” Wrong. He was double majoring in Art and History Education.

“I’m double majoring in Art and History Education,” Link corrected her with a smile. Zelda mentally patted herself on the back. “So a first year history course was a little easy for me. Hence finishing the test so early. I’m not sure which one I’m going to like more, art or history education, so I’m filling my schedule with both and letting fate take me. Are you majoring in history? You always had such good answers in class.”

“Nope, I’m a bio-chem major, this is just a GE credit,” Zelda said. “But my family has always been big on history, so it wasn’t a terribly challenging course for me either. But it was fun.”

They arrived at the Milk Bar and gave their orders before sitting down at a table.

“Is that why your parents named you ‘Zelda’?” Link asked, not seeing her flinch, “because they like history?”

Hylia, why could she only think of stupid answers? “It’s a family name” was stupid, “my name’s actually illegal because they never took the law off the books forbidding my family from naming their daughters ‘Zelda’ after the fall of the monarchy, isn’t that funny?” was worse. “Yes, because they loved the history that said I have to be named Zelda so any possible heroes of legend and/or incarnations of evil could find me and allow me to assist/confront them with my non-existent goddess-descendant powers,” was so far off the table she shouldn’t even be thinking it.

“Er, you don’t have to answer that,” Link said when her pause lasted a bit too long. “You must get that a lot, sorry. It was just a bit surreal to have Professor Rauru call upon ‘Miss Zelda’ for an in-depth analysis of historical interracial politics.”

“It’s okay, I did get it a lot,” Zelda admitted, “sorry for freaking out a little, spending middle school being called ‘Princess Zelda, Queen of Freaks’ still hits me sometimes.” Stupid! How did she manage to come up with a more embarrassing response than all the others. She rushed, “I mean, haha, I’m over it. It’s just a name. And I’m not the only one named after historical figures, Link, the Hero of Hyrule, so . . .” And it was getting worse, she couldn’t look away from her lap. Please cooperate mouth, “So . . . it’s not as unusual as you would think?”

Nope. Call it a day. Worst work she had ever put forth in a conversation. Only thing left was to leave awkwardly and hope they never cross paths again.

“Actually I think—”

“You’re right, sometimes parents do give us ridiculous names to live up to,” Link said, speaking over her. Zelda stopped reaching for her bag and looked up. He smiled gentle, his hands on the table, “Mom always says that my name came to her in a dream, and Dad was hoping I’d turn into a great warrior that would follow his footsteps into the military. He’s always groaned about how my name was wasted on an artist and aspiring teacher.”

“Link is the name of a peacemaker,” Zelda defended, leaning forward and staring him straight in the eye. “In times of chaos and strife, a peacemaker means being a warrior that protects those who wish to stop fighting from those that wont stop. The heroes of Links past were successful against evil because they pulled tools and philosophies and lessons and fighting styles from every people of Hyrule. In times of peace, to be a peacemaker means connecting people across cultures in different ways. Through art, which is universal and touches the light of intelligence and soul of fire within all of us. Or teaching, affirming ideals of peace and understanding before the weight of the prior generations’ grudges take hold. Your chosen professions honor the name ‘Link’ and every Link that has gone before you through the annuls of time approves of your decisions.”

Link’s mouth was hanging open by the end of her speech.

Why had she said that? The words didn’t feel like they came from her, but they were true. She felt their truth down to her soul, but it was like they had been whispered in her ear, and she commanded to speak, more than something she would ever say on her own.

Especially not to Link.

Oh Hylia, Link hadn’t moved.

Though Hylia might be the problem. Gosh, this was so embarrassing. Why did her freaky priestess background make her passionately spout truths when she wasn’t as the Shrine?

She felt blood flooding to her face in flushed embarrassment, and she snatched up her bag, “Oh Hylia, sorry about that! I can’t believe I said that. Uh, just ignore me, please. Please. I’m just going to tell them to wrap my food to go, sorry. Bye Link.”

She stood up and started walking to the counter when something grabbed at her backpack, stopping her in her tracks.

“No, please don’t go, it’s fine, it’s cool, I swear,” Link said. A glance back showed that he was blushing too, immediately releasing her bag. “You caught me off guard, but that’s one of the things I like about you. You’re always 100% sincere. It’s . . . it’s cool. Someone as smart as you could probably go around making everyone feel stupid, but you care more about saying what you actually think and feel and it’s cool. Don’t be embarrassed for saying something really cool.”

Zelda stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out if he meant all that or not.

He managed to turn redder, “And now I’ve used cool like four, no, five times in a row, showing I’m clearly the weird one and you should probably leave.”

“I don’t want to leave if you don’t want me to leave,” Zelda managed, taking small glances at him then away from him.

“I don’t want you to leave.”

“Awesome, does that mean I can give you your food now or what?” a girl said, jolting both of them from their heads. The girl popped her bubblegum and waited.

“Yes, please, right here,” Zelda said, hurriedly sitting back down. “Sorry.”

The girl shrugged, put the food down, and walked away.

“So, uhh, moving on,” Zelda said, “What do you think about taking Aryll to the Waker River Gardens?”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Link said. “She’s more into knitting craft wise, but we spent some summers in the Waker Islands . . . .”

The red slowly receded from their faces as they managed to have a good, not intense, conversation. She helped him plan out different things to do with Aryll, and he let her infodump on some of the local history.

Then he walked her to her bus stop, so they could keep talking.

The bus was coming and he quickly asked, “So, do you, uh, want to join me and Aryll at the Waker River gardens? The day after Midwinters? If you’re not busy, Aryll would love to hear you talk about the sculptures, I’m sometimes too quiet for her on my own.”

The bus arrived, she only had a second to decide. “Yes, I’d love to. Um, I’ll get your phone number from Mipha?” she said, drifting towards the loading door.

“Please. See you soon,” Link said, still smiling at her.

Zelda nodded. Got on the bus. Sat herself in the farthest corner she could, pulled as many folds of her scarf in front of her mouth as she could and squealed as the bus drove away.

Missing Link, staring at her through the bus window, still able to hear it.

The week coming up to Midwinters passed by in a blur of dance practice and texting Link. Zelda did get Mipha’s blessing to pursue Link, since Link had asked Mipha about Zelda too and she wasn’t one to stand in the way of true love for a childhood crush. Mark caught on, but didn’t tease her too much. Dad teased her more, but he was so busy preparing the shrine for the three-night ceremony, he couldn’t do it nearly enough to actually affect her.

Freshly bathed in blessed spring on their property, wearing the pine robe she had donned during Farore’s day, Zelda waited for her cue as Dad and Mark got the attendees to quiet down so they could start.

It seemed like there were more people here than usually attended. Hylia worship had fallen out of style with Castletown the last two-hundred years of industrial progress. Some she recognized, like Impa’s family with their snow-sheikah hair, they came every year, and most were tourists fascinated by the fact that she was descended from a straight maternal line of royalty and priestesses, rather than actually here to obtain blessings from the Goddess. Some faces she recognized from elsewhere, like Professor Rauru.

Luckily his eyesight was going and the Midwinter’s ceremony was the one ceremony that she didn’t speak, symbolizing the years of confinement and time-biding Hylia often required of her followers before blessing them with power to overthrow the darkness. He would definitely recognize her voice, but without her speaking, she’d be just Hylia’s Priestess.

Then she caught a truly familiar face, sitting with a blonde girl.

Link.

Zelda shoved the curtain closed and backed up, accidently overturning the brazier and bringing Impa towards her in worry.

“Zelda? What’s wrong?”

“Link’s in the crowd,” Zelda said, about to kneel and clean up the ashes. Impa forcefully yanked her away and looked pointedly at her dress. Right. Divine representatives of the goddess shouldn’t have ashes on their knees before going through their devotions if they could avoid it.

What did that matter? Link’s in the crowd! He was going to see her be weird and undress halfway and see her get her face painted with crazy symbols and watch her walk with bells all over her and he’s never going to see her as a maybe girlfriend ever again!

“Breathe Zelda,” Impa instructed. “Breathe, it’s fine. You’re okay.”

“But Link doesn’t know I’m this Zelda,” she emphasized. “He’s going to think I’m a freak. It takes years of study to understand the symbols and appreciate them, he’s here as a tourist and going to think I’m a religious nutcase.”

Impa opened her mouth to respond.

“And don’t say that it’s my fault for not telling him. My childhood trauma is not my fault.”

“I wasn’t going to say that,” Impa sighed. She scrubbed her hands clean then pushed Zelda’s still wet hair back behind one ear. “I was going to say that this is who you are. You are part of all the women who have come before you, and your legacy will become part of every daughter that descends from you. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

“You’re going to paint the triforce on my forehead,” Zelda pointed out, wringing her hands. “And he’s going to watch you take off the robe and sew the new robe onto me. How could he possibly find me attractive after that!”

“Your father found your mother’s faith attractive,” Impa pointed out. “And I found my husband’s faith attractive. To believe something with your whole heart,” the drums silenced, their cue to enter the stage. “That’s what it means to live,” she finished with a whisper. “He’s not worthy of you if he doesn’t see the beauty of this ceremony.”

“But I really, really like him,” Zelda whimpered.

“Do you love Hylia more?”

That wasn’t fair.

It also wasn’t wrong. Zelda closed her eyes and let her head hang forward. She took a deep breath.

“Go, I will follow.”

“Hylia cares about your love life more than most,” Impa promised with a kiss to her brow. Wrinkled hands squeezed hers. “Trust Her. You will be loved. And it would be a precious story if your true love was named Link.”

Impa walked out and Zelda made herself breath another prayer.

To the Goddess, I give praise for the wisdom of my ancestors in continuing to honor her and the values she guards. I am honored by the strength given to endure all trials of my faith. I am honored by the courage She grants me to risk my heart for my faith in Her and all my ancestors before me. May Her blessings see me through this night with wisdom to perform correctly according to ancient practices, strength to endure without embarrassment, and courage to proclaim my faith of greater importance than the feelings my heart. Adimen.

Impa hit the gong that was Zelda’s cue.

Zelda had practiced enough to do this blindfolded. So she made her eyes unfocus on the crowd as she stepped into the firelight, her hair damp but no longer dripping.

The hour long ceremony felt longer.

Impa disrobed her, returning Farore’s gifts of courage, claimed between the fall equinox and midwinters, to the sky by burning the fabric. Her undershift, which modestly gathered above her bust and fell to her knees, was slowly covered with Midwinter’s clothes and bells, her outfit built on top of her to drumming of the assistants and occasionally flute. Impa spoke of each piece as it layered on her. What it represented. Finishing with her dry, now plyable hair.

Zelda held still when she was supposed to still and moved when she was to ring the bells at her wrists, ears, hair, knees, and ankles. She closed her eyes as Impa applied the facepaint.

And with a breath, Zelda turned her head to more clearly be seen by the audience.

Hylia, to you I give the shame I have been holding onto. I choose you and the traditions of my mothers. I repent of my embarrassment. Let me be your avatar.

Let Link see us as one and decide for himself if I am still someone he seeks.

Impa was doing the final stroke of the triforce, and it wasn’t her hand caressing Zelda’s shoulder in a hug. Impa stepped back, and still more gentle hands helped her stand up and walk like water, breathing in Farore’s wind to fuel the fire inside her.

Except the fire wasn’t just inside her anymore. It wasn’t tucked like a battery in her heart. It felt like her breath was setting fire to the very blood in her veins. Blood pushed through her like rivers of lava, but she was not burned. The air sweeping through her lungs wasn’t a human breath, but the wind rushing through the mountain peaks of Lanyru. She felt like she had become one with Hyrule.

Do not speak, Daughter. Know that we are here with you, always. Hylia shines on you and protects Hyrule still.

A thousand voices at once should not be that gentle.

Tears gathered in her eyes, her only available response to overwhelming love, and she did not speak as she continued her dance. The tears acted as their own blindfold, as constant as the water flowing from the Zora’s Domain into Lake Hylia, but she no longer cared about the eyes of the audience, only that the powers within her and surrounding her knew to protect all those watching, and all those that weren’t.

To each direction she rang the bells and felt her love for the races connected to those cardinal points. Gorons to the North. Zora to the Northeast. Sheikah to the East. And so forth until all the peoples on Hylia’s land, under Hylia’s protection, were blessed with another year of the Goddess’s protection from evil and the desires and whispers of destruction.

The dance turned faster, but Zelda didn’t miss a single step, her body its own chorus, its own promise, that with every step of the goddess’s representative, it was a step that worked for Hyrule’s prosperity and piece. Zelda’s every step should ring out like this, always, but instead of chimes, love for the people around her and her desire for their protection should emanate from her for all to see and understand.

She would. She would. She would.

The dance wound down, so did the flames and the lights until everything was plunged into darkness, the drums and other instruments finally ceasing.

Zelda stood up, the bells heralding what eyes couldn’t see. She danced forward again for every direction, for every people, and she swore she could see the blue of Link’s eyes in the darkness when the cloudy, moonless night meant no one saw anything, until a leap took her behind the curtain to the northwest leaving silence behind.

Zelda held stiller than she had the whole rest of the ceremony as Father turned the electric lights back on, thanked everyone for attending Hylia’s blessing, please leave a donation on your way out, and Happy Midwinter to everyone, gods all bless.

When the shrine had emptied out of the main ceremonial area, Impa arrived and respectfully removed the bells, wrapping them for next year with barely a sound. Then helped clean her face and help her out of the white midwinter’s dress. This newly made dress would be donned and dismantled come Nayru’s day in two months.

Zelda would normally change into her pajama’s from here, exhausted, and go to bed to wait Midwinter’s morning, but Mark called out as he handed her a bag of her clothes through the curtain.

“You’re gonna want these this time,” he said vaguely. “Your boyfriend asked to see you.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Zelda said. “And he’s probably waiting to tell me I’m never going to be.” She tried to feel hurt at the statement, now that the ceremony and strength from her ancestors had passed.

But she felt fine. Zelda had chosen her faith and it was the right decision.

Now was probably the best time for Link to break her heart, with the high of the ceremony, he’d barely be able to scratch it.

“Impa, I don’t remember you painting this one,” Zelda said, frowning at the triforce on the back of her right hand. She rubbed at it, but it wouldn’t come off. “Impa?”

“Oh, my dear girl,” Impa said, putting her hands over Zelda’s. Impa’s deep set eyes were smiling and watery, “It’s not paint or ink. It’s a mark from the Goddess that you have come fully into your power as her avatar on Earth. You’re going to need gloves if you want to hide that. And if my grandmother was right, not even gloves will truly work, not when you’re doing the goddess’s business with her full might.”

“Did . . . did Mom have this?” Zelda asked.

Impa shook her head, “Your mother was an excellent Priestess of Hylia, but the Goddess did not mark her in this way.”

“Are you dressed? Can I see? Dad’s whipping up a cake right now to celebrate claiming your divine birthright, by the way. Told you you were special.”

“I’m dressed,” Zelda said, still marveling at her hand.

“Let me see,” Mark said, coming through the curtains and stopping at her shoulder. He whistled, “That’s way better than a tattoo. It was glowing during your dance.”

“Really?”

“Really, it was super cool during the darkness part. We can experiment later,” Mark decided, pushing her shoulder the way he came in, “Boyfriend now.”

“Not my boyfriend,” she said, her face flushing a little as she let him push her out towards the exit. She had been the goddess’s avatar and blessed the kingdom of Hyrule less than an hour ago, she could talk to Link.

And even if she word vomited like last time, Zelda would be okay.

She could be as embarrassing as her worst moment, and she would be okay.

Zelda grinned and picked up the pace.

“Link, hi!” Zelda said, rounding the corner to where he was waiting at the top of the steps.

“Zelda,” he said, his hand going to his hair.

“Did I see you here with your sister earlier?” Zelda asked, looking around for her.

“Aryll was cold, and she promised to wait in the car so long as I made sure you were still coming with us to the Gardens the day after tomorrow.”

Link shoved his hands in his pockets after he stopped fiddling with his hair.

“So . . . you were waiting for me?” Zelda prompted. Not scared of his answer in the least.

Link nodded, “Yeah, I asked your dad if I could see you. He almost said no, but your brother stepped in and said he’d ask you. Umm, so Zelda is a family name?”

Zelda giggled, “Just a bit.”

“Isn’t technically still illegal for members of your family to be named Zelda?” he said, then his eyes widened, “Not that I’m going to report you to the police or anything.”

“My ancestors figured that so long as they left off the fact that I am technically Zelda IV-XXIII, and my legal name is only Zelda Baker, people wouldn’t accuse us of trying to reclaim our ancestral position as heads of state,” Zelda said.

“You are the 4,023rd Zelda to bear the name?” Link asked.

“My family kept good records.”

Link groaned, “You are literally descended royalty and the Goddess’s avatar in mortal form.” His hand came out of his pocket to cover his eyes, “And you are not making this easy on me.”

“I’ll be quiet while you tell me what you’re trying to say,” Zelda promised sincerely.

He peeked at her through his fingers.

Zelda mimed locking her lips shut.

He took a deep breath.

“Okay,” he said, facing her again. “Zelda Baker, I really like you. I mean really like you. Would the Royal Goddess Zelda XXIII, consider going on a date with plain old mortal me?”

“The Royal Goddess Zelda isn’t going to come out again until Nayru’s day,” Zelda told him, grinning. “But Zelda Baker would love to go on a date with you.”

“Really?” he asked, perking up. “Umm, how does breakfast at Telma’s sound? We can pick Aryll up and go to the Gardens after.”

“It sounds perfect.”

“Great,” Link said, smiling goofily.

For a moment Zelda felt a warm hand on her back, pushing her to go one step forward. And maybe it was just the memory, the residual confidence, but Zelda took that step forward.

“Can I . . .” Zelda asked, taking the second step to be very clearly in his personal space.

“Whatever you want,” Link promised, not moving away.

“Can I kiss you?” she asked, a little shyness coming back at actually voicing the request. It sounded juvenile, like a real adult would be able to read body language and immediately understand if this was allowed or not, like in the movies. But this was Zelda’s first kiss. She wanted to be sure and clear.

“Yes,” he said, and his hand came up to cup Zelda’ cheek and pull her lips to his. His lips moved against hers, and she didn’t quite know what to do, but she pressed forward more, hoping he understood she liked what was happening.

Suddenly overwhelmed, she pulled back, her face feeling hot.

“Goodnight Link,” she said, still smiling. “I’ll see you Tuesday at Telmas, 8:00.”

“Goodnight Zelda,” he said, and waved as she escaped back to her house.

This time Zelda didn’t deny it when Mark called Link her boyfriend.

#12DaysofChristmas2022 #Zelink #Legend of Zelda #Priestess Zelda #Hopefully the others are shorter #but I think I broke through my writer's block #this was really fun #remember that Christmas is a time where you're allowed to share your more personal beliefs about God and the meaning of life

16 notes · View notes