#the christmas carol retelling thing

[a-christmas-carol-from-hr]

Lying awake, intently tuning in on you If I was young, it didn't stop you coming through [Marley's Ghost]

TW: tw: body horror, freaky tech stuff

A/N: We can't rewind, we've gone too far/Pictures came and broke your heart/Put the blame on VCR...

AKA the entirety of the Marley's Ghost scene from my project, a_christmas_carol.exe! Happy Halloween!

-

The rain only increased as Scrooge made her way home from the office. This Christmas Eve had dawned gray and seemed determined to end black. The wind blew with all the fury of a cyclone. The rain lashed at her face, as sharp as glass. More than once Scrooge had to stop to clear her glasses, and the chill that set in from lack of motion was enough to chill even her blood. Smoke hissed out of potholes as she passed, adding an uneasy fog to the night air that whispered and shifted with each drop, cold meeting hot with an unholy hiss.

The doors to Scrooge’s apartment building were remarkably high-tech. Sealed shut from any trespassers, any tenants had to have the door unlocked via face recognition software. For a particularly unsociable woman, it suited Scrooge well. But it was notoriously finicky, and this cold evening Scrooge had no desire to be locked out. She pulled the hood of her rain jacket down, glowering into the camera.

“Good evening!” Came the automated response. “Please look into the camera!”

“I am.” Scrooge responded, although she knew it’d have no effect.

“I’m sorry! I can’t seem to get a clear image of your face. Could you please try again.”

“It’s I, you damned thing. Let me in!”

The computer gave no response. The camera focused on her, and she heard an audible click. And then, in that chipper tone, it spoke:

“Good evening, Mr. Marley! We’ve not seen you these past two-thousand, five-hundred and fifty-five days! We’ve not seen you these past five-five-five-five-five-five-.”

Scrooge jolted back, mouth agape. For a moment, she was at a loss for words.

“Good evening, Ms. Scrooge! Welcome back!”

The doors unlocked.

For a moment she simply stared at the monitor. She blinked, and adjusted her glasses. And then:

“Nonsense.”

She pushed her way through the door. Scrooge told herself the hairs on the back of her neck were only standing up from the cold.

It wasn’t in Scrooge’s nature to drink. Drunkenness led to foolishness, and Scrooge was not a fool. At most she would have a glass of the cheapest vintage offered when pressed by a business associate. Even then, she drank only because social mores required it of her, not from any pleasure.

But the incident at the door had rattled her nerves more than she’d admit to herself. As she slipped off her jacket and slipped on her house-shoes, the desire for a stiff drink to calm herself came over her.

The apartment Scrooge lived in had once belonged to her partner. Her partner had been more inclined to drink than she was, for what little that was. Marley had a taste for vodka. The cheap stuff, of course, but the bottles that remained in her apartment would serve well enough. She found one of the bottles under the television stand. She’d never redecorated after she moved in. Marley’s furniture suited her needs fine, and anything of his that was not useful was either shoved into a closet or into boxes. Not that he had many things that weren’t of use. The two, Marley and Scrooge, were birds of a feather.

The burn of the cheap vodka made her wrinkle her nose in distaste, but she poured it into a chipped glass. Scrooge moved through the apartment, one hand holding the glass while the other unbuttoned the first few buttons on her blouse. She sat down on her couch, idly reaching for her laptop while she raised the glass to her mouth. She took a single sip and then spat it back out into the glass.

“God damn you, Jacob Marley,” She gasped.The vodka tasted of blood. “What the fuck kind of shit did you buy!?”

Her laptop let out a strange noise before the screen turned an electric blue. Scrooge groaned. “Fabulous. Just what I need.” She held down the start button, putting aside the vodka in disgust.

The computer turned off and then after a moment turned off again. She didn’t think she’d pressed the start button, but she supposed she must have. The login screen loaded, and Ellen quickly typed her credentials.

ACCESS DENIED, The screen blared.

“What!?” Ellen growled. She entered the information again. Still, she was locked out.

ACCESS DENIED. SYSTEM IN USE BY ADMIN JMARLEY.

The hairs on the back of Scrooge’s neck stood up. Suddenly, the apartment seemed very quiet indeed.

She stared at it for a moment before slamming the screen shut. “Stupid fucking thing.” She muttered. It was broken, clearly. It had to be.

As she put aside the laptop, she must have pressed the television remote. She had to have. Because it suddenly lit up, shocking Scrooge enough to make her jolt.

“The BBC reports that hunger, poverty, and wealth inequality is at a level high this Christmas-.” A clipped voice rang out.

“Bullshit.”

Scrooge jabbed the remote. The screen went dark. She gave a jerking nod, satisfied. That would put an end to this. Ellen leaned against the couch and closed her eyes. After a moment she allowed herself to lean over, curling up on the uncomfortable cushions. Despite inheriting many pieces of furniture from her late partner, Ellen Scrooge always slept on the couch. Taking up the whole bed was a waste. Besides, she didn’t feel she’d particularly earned a good night’s sleep. Not with the fuss of today.

Silence hung in the room like a garland. Darkness stood conquering like a warhero, and Scrooge began to drift off into an uneasy sleep.

The soft sound of static shivered through the room, stirring her just enough to awaken. Scrooge opened her eyes as the room was filled with light. She jolted.

The television had turned on. A newscaster, dressed in the most garish of suits, grinned at Scrooge with a rictus smile.

“Some say that the end is nigh? Is it truly?” The host asked, smiling all the while. The image flickered, but the smile stayed bright.

“The end is nigh?” He repeated. The screen glitched. Scrooge leaned forward.

“What the…?”

The screen went bright white. The image vanished. Scrooge jolted back, eyes screwed up from the brightness. Through slitted eyes, she saw the outline of a body on the screen. There was a horrible sound, like liquid squelching through the mud.

And then, reader, the first of four miracles happened.

A hand appeared on the inside of the glass, pressed up against the screen. And then it pushed it’s way through, literally bursting through the television set like a bug bursting from a membrane. Scrooge screamed, falling into her couch and scrambling to escape. Another hand burst through, reaching out to pull itself forward. A head and torso emerged behind it, and then legs, and then…

Then wires.

The thing floated above the television set. It was a sinewy figure, the angles of its once-well cut suit jutting starkly against its thin flesh. The darkness of its clothing was contrasted by the palor of its face. It seemed like a creature that existed only in black and white, like some Universal Movie monster. It was bound in electrical wires, some buried into its flesh, some simply wrapped around its frame, but they held the figure tight. Some trailed off into the air, but others remained tethered to the television set. As if the creature was bound to it.

It moved through the air, lowering itself to hover just in front of her. Its face faced her own, but its expression was totally blank.

“Who are you?” Scrooge whispered. It gave no reply.

“What are you?”

The TV flashed, and the creature shrieked. The wires sparked, shocking the thing’s entire form. The thing’s eyes opened, as if electricity had powered it up. It wailed, and Scrooge nearly screamed in turn. This thing was in agony, and she could almost feel it. Its eyes stared out in undisguised misery. They stared into her own, and as Scrooge watched in horror, they began to weep. Liquid like the RGB feed from a television dripped from its eyes. It poured down their face, dripping off and vanishing into the air like static.

It tilted its head at Scrooge, looking at her with those awful, awful eyes. When it spoke, its voice sounded as if it were coming through the television set, like some half-garbled recording of a long forgotten program. “Ask me who I was.”

The creature’s voice was warped by pain and static, but Scrooge knew it. She knew it as well as she knew her own, even though she’d not heard it these seven years.

Jacob Marley had been her partner. She’d known him for ages, had known him as she knew herself. He’d not been inclined to numbers as she was, so he handled the advertising. The technology. The man was a worshiper of television. He had no greater god than what could be sold in a few soundbites. There’d been no man alive who understood the art of technology in their business.

“Impossible…” She murmured even as she pulled herself to her feet. Impossible, but she saw it now. Marley was warped by his terrible form, but she could see him under it. The cut of the suit, the frame of the body and face. Marley stared at her, eyes filled with purpose even through his tears. Indeed he seemed to pay the dripping of his eyes no attention as he glided forward, drawing ever closer to her.

Impossible, but there was nobody else it could be. Even after seven years, even after death, she could see traces of the man that was in this thing. The line of a jaw, the set of a mouth.

Jacob Marley. Dead these past seven years. Dead of a stroke that killed him in their offices. As dead as a doornail.

But here all the same.

“…Can you sit down?” Stupid. She wasn’t even sure why she said that. But what else did you say when your dead partner crawled out of your TV set. Marley didn’t seem offended in any case. Though he gave no response, Marley pulled one of the cords around his shoulder and tossed it. The force moved him forward and he glided towards the armchair. For a second Scrooge fancied he might collapse right through it, but the spirit fell heavily into the seat. It seemed to relish the relief. Electricity sparked along its wrists, digging painfully into the flesh, but he didn’t seem to notice.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment. An eternity of words went unsaid, unfelt. For a moment Scrooge felt something. But she quickly stifled it, shoving it down into the locked chest she kept her memories of Marley.

“This isn’t happening.” She said flatly.

Marley didn’t look surprised as she rose to her feet and turned away. “This isn’t happening.” She repeated. “This is a dream. A hallucination. This…this is not happening to me.”

“You don’t believe in me.” Marley replied. His voice was like a radio stuck between stations. She heard echoes of other words, other voices, but they were too faint to make out.

“Fuck no.”

“Why not?”

“…I don’t know.” She admitted.

“Then why doubt at all?” He asked. A thread of electric current ran along his forehead, throbbing like a vein might have in life.

“Because this could be anything. I’ve not checked my carbon monoxide detector in…ever.” As she listed explanations, Scrooge’s bravery grew. “Yes. Yes. The alcohol. All bottled after Chernobyl. This could be a cocktail of monoxide and radiation. Yes. Yes.” She leaned forward, fairly spitting her words at Marley. “Yes. Yes! That’s what you are! All a trick of the mind! All style, no substance!”

Marley rose up, the electricity along his wires flashing with a fury. He dug his fingers into his face, clawing at his cheek as he howled in anguish. His spectral nails drew more of his technicolor blood, the magenta and cyan of his grief sharp against his skin. His shriek seemed to bring with it the grief of ten-thousand lives, his blood the pain of ten-thousand bodies. Marley wailed and bled, and Scrooge felt her very soul falter.

“Stop it! Stop it!”

“DO YOU BELIEVE IN ME OR NOT!” Marley shrieked.

“I do! I do! Stop it!” She begged.

With one final howl Marley ceased to scream, but the gashes from his nails continued to bleed, mixing with his ever-flowing tears. Scrooge could not remember ever seeing Marley cry, but it seemed in death he could not help but weep. Something wet dripped down her own face, and she wiped it away.

“Jacob,” A name reserved for moments of something that had barely existed. “Marley.” She corrected. “Why are you here? Why are you like this?”

“Because I earned it.” Marley replied, voice dripping with pain and regret. A line of current twitched over his heart.

“All mankind is asked to do in life is to help. To go among our fellow man, and do what little we can do. I did nothing. My spirit never went beyond in life, so I go in death.” Marley let out a small wail, a noise half-static and half-misery.

“How could I have been so blind! So STUPID!” He roared. The wires flashed again and he screamed again, this time in pure agony. Scrooge pressed herself further against the couch.

“You are bound in wires, why!?”

“I earned these wires, ounce by ounce and yard by yard. I earned this damnation every day of my life.” Marley took one in hand, and thrust it towards her. “Do you know it, Ellen Scrooge? Yours were as long as mine seven christmas eves ago. Oh, you are an industrious soul, Ellen Scrooge. You have worked on yours.”

“No more, no more. You…" Scrooge began weakly. "You cannot be- Damned? Why should you be damned? You were a good man- of business."

"BUSINESS!?"

The television set blasted to life, the light blinding in its fury. Marley rose again, and the scream he let out was worse than the first. He howled at her, his wordless expression of rage cutting her to her soul. She tried to jump up, tried to flee, but suddenly his hands were in her shirt and he was pulling her to face him.

His eyes, her partner's eyes, saw her and they hated.

"MANKIND WAS MY BUSINESS. THE COMMON WELL-FARE WAS MY BUSINESS. MERCY. CHARITY. KINDNESS. ALL MY BUSINESS." His voice grew more warped by static as he screamed, to the point she could barely understand him. Ellen managed to pull herself free, the burning sensation of static still lingering in her skin. She scampered over the other side of the couch, desperate to put as much space between Marley and her as she could. This was not her Marley. This was not her Marley.

For a moment, the ghost seemed to reach for her again. Scrooge flinched away, raising an arm in defense. He stared at her, and then looked at its hands. While the fury was still there, it was fading into something else. Something like regret. I’m afraid of him, she realizes with a shudder. I’m afraid of him. How can I be afraid of him?

"Do you have any idea what this is like, Elle?" He asked. For a moment, it sounded like his own voice. His living voice. “Do you have any idea how much this hurts, Elle? Have you any idea of the length of your own chain? It was as long as this seven Christmas Eves ago, when you burned me all alone, Elle."

His words struck her to the core. She’d have preferred he go back to yelling rather than say that. “I…it was the best choice. The economical choice.” She said weakly, trying to defend something she did not believe herself. “I thought it’d be what you wanted…”

“I was all alone, Elle.” He said. His voice had always been what she admired most about Marley. He had been gifted with a gilded tongue. The man could sell ice water in the Arctic with his tenor. And now it was so small. So pathetic. “I was all alone. You left me, all alone. You put me in there, all alone. Why did you do that?”

His sincerity struck her like a knife in her back. She forced herself to rally. “I will not be judged. You’re the one who went and died. Not me. Have you any idea the chaos you left behind?” She moved forward, stepping towards the ghost with all the rage she could muster. It did not flinch back. “You died, in the middle of the last Quarter, in our fucking OFFICE. There was an inquiry, Marley! The police had eyes all over the building. It was weeks before anything could be done. You left, and you have the nerve to yell about things not done?! You wanted attention!? Goddamn your attention! You ruined everything! Be thankful I didn’t throw you in the Thames!”

The venom she spat her last words with surprised even Ellen. It certainly seemed to surprise Marley. His expression flickered, something like grief passing through his face. But she was in no mood to coddle a roaming spirit. She turned furiously, looking out the window. Her arms crossed over her chest, a habit she had while thinking. “What do you want?”

The spirit stayed where she left it. “I have obtained for you a deal. A chance at avoiding my fate.”

“How touching. Would I get my own wires too, or shall we share?” She laughs humorlessly. “But, thank you, Jacob.” She spat his name scornfully. “You always did have an eye for a bargain.”

“The price paid for redemption is not a cheap one.”

“Naturally, if you arranged it. What’s the cut for you, hm?” She said turning around.

“Nothing.” He replied.

“You get the whole price?”

“I get nothing,” He said with all the finality of the grave. “It is too late for me, Ellen.”

Despite her rage, despite her disbelief, and despite her coldness, something in his tone of simple, grieved acceptance chilled her to the bone.

“You have three more appointments for tonight,” He said. “I suggest you prepare yourself.”

“Oh, with who? Let me guess. A psychologist who shall ask me all the ways my father was cruel to me? A lawyer who will read me my rights as I walk into hell?”

“You will be visited,” Marley said. “By three ghosts.”

“…Ghosts?” Ellen asked.

“Yes.”

“And is that the chance of salvation?”

“It is.”

“…Keep it. I’ve had enough of ghosts.”

She turned her back on him again. But this time, Marley was not so daunted. The second he was out of sight, she felt his presence at her back. With an electric hiss, a wire snaked over her chest. She gasped in pain as it fell with a weight on her body, on her heart, on her soul. Heavy. So heavy.

Another sought to bind her. And then another. And then another. And then-.

“Stop it!” She begged, ducking under his arm.

Marley looked as if he was about to chase after her. But he stopped. His head tilted as he seemed to listen to something. Ellen couldn’t hear anything but the whine of electricity.

“What is it?” She asked, unable to hide the fear in her voice.

“I can hear it.” He said.

“Hear what?”

“Everything.” He whispered. “Everything. Every bit of misery on television. Every piece of horror broadcasted on the air. Watching. Always watching. All we ever do is watch, Elle. We see, but we are blind. We hear, but we are deaf. All we do is consume.”

Marley shuddered. His appearance seemed jagged around the edges, like a fading image on a television screen.

“I don’t hear anything.” Scrooge said.

Marley looked at her. He glared behind his tears.

“Then listen.”

The air was suddenly alive with grief.

Ellen Scrooge fell to her knees, hands clasped over her ears, as the sound of countless souls filled the room. She could not see them, but their voices rang out in misery. She could not make out a single word, but somehow she knew exactly what was being said. It was the voices of the damned. It was the voices of those who, like Marley could have done something, but never did.

Marley’s hand buried in her shirt and he pulled her up. The light of the television set flickered behind him like the light of God.

“T H E N L I S T E N!” He wailed. Marley was angry. Marley was furious. Marley was afraid.

The television set seemed to let out a terrible shriek of pain. Every light in her apartment turned on at once, blinding her with their glow. The wails of the dead increased into one horrible din.

And then every light went out. Ellen fell on her face. The room was as silent as the tomb.

Marley was gone.

#jacob marley #ebenezer scrooge #a christmas carol #christmas carol #the christmas carol retelling thing

[tosimornottosim]

working on a modern retelling of a christmas carol because it is an original and never done before idea and uh. design notes. about my blorbo.

Jacob Marley: A tech man in life always desperate for the latest deal, T.V has become Mr. Marley's death. Condemned to wear the technological chains he forged in life, the body of Jacob Marley is gripped by electrical wires, each one shocking him at various points. The wires can be pulled around at his will, but some remain fixed to the TV set to force him in one place. In prime aesthetic choices he seems to weep dripping RGB. The wires can be used as extention of his body at his wish (ie pulling things around). He has to manifest through a TV set, and seems to have some control of programming right before manifesting (for thematic effect).

basically hes a ringu girl and i like him so much

#jacob marley #a christmas carol #dickens december #the christmas carol retelling thing #there that tag works

[eternalchant]

everyone calm down... we're on a vhs christmas carol lockdown....

#will never not be funny to me that this is the first version of a christmas carol that i've actually consumed in any way #so i don't even really have any attachment to it as a retelling of the original story or even just A Christmas Thing #every song is just a complete banger. all of the performances are so good. #Youtube #Spotify

[metalandmagi]

A list of underrated Christmas movies for everyone who is getting tired of watching the same things every year:

This year, I wanted to make a list of a few Christmas movies that I feel are a bit underrated and under-appreciated, because I’m tired of seeing the same things all the time. If anyone has any suggestions for their own lesser known holiday movies, please feel free to include them!

Arthur Christmas: An animated movie that should be a classic, but it was unfortunately lost to time because it had a horrible marketing campaign that made it look like complete shit. Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s not complete shit. It’s actually fucking amazing.

Arthur, the clumsy son of the current Santa Claus is known for being a lovable idiot who tends to ruin everything he touches, but when a little girl’s present is accidentally left behind one Christmas, Arthur, an elf named Bryony, and his grandfather (a previous Santa…so grandsanta) embark on a chaotic mission around the world to deliver the missing present. Every character in this movie is so fucking funny and empathetic at the same time. Arthur embodies the true meaning of Christmas in everything he does. Bryony is just…on another level entirely. Arthur’s brother Steve (a strategic genius who wants to use his new technology to ensure his place as the next Santa) is a perfect antagonist that the audience still feels sympathy for. They all just have such a fun dynamic, and it’s a crime that more people haven’t seen this.

Spirited: A fairly new addition to the Christmas movie ranks, since it came out in 2022 (but it was on AppleTV+ so no one watched it). Spirited is a modern, musical version of A Christmas Carol like you’ve never seen before (starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, who are an amazing combination in anything). If you’re tired of seeing endless retellings of Dickens' story, just watch this. It’s hilarious, heartfelt, and it brings a whole new perspective to the story in a way that I’m not going to spoil. And the songs go so hard it’s insane.

Happiest Season: A rom-com in which a woman named Abby desperately wants to propose to her girlfriend Harper over the holidays during Harper’s family Christmas party…only to realize that Harper’s extremely rich and conservative family doesn’t know she’s gay. Fun rom-com shenanigans ensue. Did I mention Abby is played by Kristen Stewart, and Harper is played by Mackenzie Davis? Also Aubrey Plaza, Alison Brie, and that guy from Schitt’s Creek everyone loves are in it.

This could easily have been a completely different movie if the cast wasn't so funny and didn’t have such good chemistry. It starts out as a standard holiday rom-com, but I was tearing up by the end of this the first time I watched it. If you’ve ever felt like you’ve been hiding your true self from your family or if you’ve felt like you’ve never been good enough for them, I think you’ll see a lot to relate to in this. 

Violent Night: Another new addition to the ever-expanding list of Christmas movies, this aptly named action thriller also came out in 2022, and I feel like no one has spoken about it since, which is a crime because IT WAS SO MUCH FUCKING FUN!

When a grizzled, down on the world Santa (played by David Harbour) gets stuck in a rich family’s house while it’s being overrun by mercenaries, he has to Die Hard his way out and save the hostages (or at least the ones who are worth saving) before it’s too late. This was such a fun surprise, because violent action thrillers are so hit and miss for me personally. David Harbour is great. It’s just under 2 hours of watching shitty people get their comeuppance in unique ways. I’m so offended that it only has a 6.7/10 on IMDB, because this is a great movie to watch with a group of friends and some age appropriate beverages. Yeah, it’s not a masterpiece, and maybe my standards are low, but I had a great time with this.

Tokyo Godfathers: An anime Christmas classic directed by Satoshi Kon in which 3 homeless people (a former drag queen, a runaway teen, and a grumpy alcoholic) find a baby in a dumpster and try to reunite it with its family. This was the movie that tricked me into thinking Satoshi Kon’s other works would be just as comedic and wholesome as this one. It’s got humor. It’s got heart. It’s got twists and turns that will keep you guessing in the classic Satoshi Kon fashion. And the English dub is just as good as the sub, so you can’t go wrong either way.

Neo Yokio- Pink Christmas: Speaking of anime…I’ve talked about this one before, but I have to mention it again because it’s a staple for me every year. Pink Christmas is the Christmas special for the…anime (and I use that word in the loosest way possible) Neo Yokio…aka the one starring (and possibly made by?) Jaden Smith.

For anyone who’s never heard of it, Neo Yokio is a series on Netflix that is the closest thing to a professionally made Abridged Series we’ll ever have. The “plot” of the series revolves around Kaz, a pink haired guy who fights demons and does increasingly absurd rich people things with his robot mecha butler named Charles. The Christmas special involves Charles telling Kaz a Christmas story about the city’s Secret Santa competition for all the ultra rich people.

Look, there’s no good way to describe this one, but trust me when I say you don’t have to watch Neo Yokio to understand it, since even people who do watch Neo Yokio don’t understand it. In fact, I think it will be even funnier if you don’t watch Neo Yokio at all before watching Pink Christmas (but I encourage everyone to watch the series too, just because it’s more of the same insanity.)

Every line in it is pure comedic gold, not because it’s truly funny, but because it’s absurd and ridiculous in a way only Jaden Smith can be. I quote it incessantly while eating a Toblerone every year. 

Cabin Pressure at Christmas: Molokai: Okay, it’s not a movie or even a TV special, but I love Cabin Pressure so much that I had to include this too. Cabin Pressure is a comedy radio show (not a podcast, an actual radio show) that aired on BBC Radio 4 in the early 2000s about an airline crew for the world’s shittiest airplane. 

For anyone who watched season 2 of Good Omens, you might recognize the name John Finnemore as one of the writers. Well, Cabin Pressure is made by (and stars) the same person. The Christmas episode is one of my favorites of the series, and you 100% don’t need to listen to the entire series to enjoy it. It captures the humor and despair of being stuck with your co-workers on Christmas eve, but it keeps up the spirit regardless. This is another one I quote incessantly, and the whole show has become hardwired into my personality. PLEASE FIND A WAY TO LISTEN TO CABIN PRESSURE! I’m pretty sure the whole series is available on iTunes as an audiobook.

As honorable mentions, I want to include Rise of the Guardians and Klaus, because even though they have a fair amount of popularity, I still feel like people could appreciate them more. And sure, Rise of the Guardians might be more of an Easter movie, but it still includes Santa as a character, and he’s amazing. 

That's all for now. Sorry these are all specifically Christmas themed, but if anyone has movie suggestions for other winter holidays, please throw them in!

#christmas movies #spirited #tokyo godfathers #arthur christmas #happiest season #violent night #neo yokio pink christmas #neo yokio #cabin pressure

[wildemaven]

caught kissing santa | dave york

-> pairing: dave york x f!reader

-> word count: 1586

-> content warnings: 18+ blog; established relationship/reader is married to Dave and stepmom to his kids, mentions of food and drinks, non-religious Christmas celebrations and Santa beliefs, alluding to sexy time but no smut, kissing, mentions reader is wearing pajama pants, fluff, soft Dave, one use of ‘good girl’.

-> note: this literally came to me this morning and i whipped it up during nap time. Not beta’d, so all mistakes and misspelling are my own fault!! -> masterlist / holi-dave masterlist

“So let me get this straight. You saw Santa last night. In the flesh. Just standing in our living room?” 

You hear Dave ask Alice to retell her story again from where you’re standing at the kitchen counter, pouring steamed milk into your coffee. Except this time, he encourages her to tell it at a slower pace  so you both could catch every word of it. 

“Yeah!! I was thirsty and wanted to get some water. So I got up to go downstairs, but when I got to the stairs I could see him in the living room.” Alice says, sitting across from Dave at the kitchen table where there’s a huge breakfast of pancakes, waffles and all the sweet toppings laid out. Her excitement is infectious. Her innocence is still palpable and going strong, as she states she saw Santa with her own eyes. 

“And what was he doing?” Dave encourages Alice to share more as he spoons several helpings of  mini chocolate chips onto his stack of pancakes with a hearty serving of peanut butter melting over the top. 

“Putting our presents under the tree.” Her words were muffled by a mouth full of sliced strawberries. 

“Hmm. I guess that makes sense. Where were you Molly, when all this excitement was going down?” Dave looks over to the youngest of his two girls, who’s been enjoying her own helping of pancakes with a mixture of berries and chocolate chips piled on top. 

“Sleeping.” You snicker into your cup at Molly’s blunt response. Her mild temperament was proof enough that the apple doesn’t fall far from the Dave York tree. 

You turn and lean against the kitchen counter, so you can watch the rest of their conversation unfold. 

It took some convincing to get Dave to go along with your idea of dressing up as the Jolly Man in Red this year. Knowing that Alice gets up every night to get herself a glass of water, it was the perfect set up for her to happen upon. Thankfully Dave folds easy to your convincing pleas and a good make out session on the couch late into the night seals the deal. 

Alice had come to you a few weeks ago about the matter. Asking about the validity of whether or not Santa was real. She had heard her friends talking about how they were getting too old to believe in such a silly thing and how it was their parents all along. You could sense the turmoil of her wanting to still believe in the idea of Santa, but also wanting to feel a part of her friend group who seem to be eagerly growing into their not quite pre-teen selves. 

As her stepmom, you didn’t feel like it was your place to have such a turning point conversation with her. Wanting to leave that for Dave and Carol to broach the topic with her if it were to come up again, supporting whatever their approach would be. You told Alice that Santa is real and he makes sure to bring a little holiday magic each year to everyone, no matter how old they are. Your answer seemed to satisfy her inquisitive mind and gave you an idea to give her a little extra Christmas gift in case this would be her last year believing in Saint Nick. 

“What was Santa doing?” Dave sits back into the chair to take in the rest of what Alice had to say. His arms crossed over his broad chest. Your attention is briefly drawn to the way his gray nightshirt pulls tight over his shoulders and back, then quickly refocusing back to Dave and the girls. 

“Putting all the presents under the tree. He had a big bag of them, too.” Her arms stretched out to give him an idea of how big the bag was. 

You smile at the way Dave is giving her his full attention. Never letting on that he was the one wearing the suit late into the night as he placed each present under the tree in the living room, while you watched him from where you sat under a blanket on the couch. Snapping a few photos of him as he really got into character with each gift. Pausing every so often, his hands on his waist, complaining how miserable and hot it would be to actually be Santa in the thick red suit and beard for an entire evening. He even warned that your gifts would be lost if you continued to laugh at his misery. 

Pushing off the counter, you join the three of them at the table. Settling into the open chair next to Dave, as you continue to sip from the warm coffee in your mug. 

“So did you say anything to him? Ask him if he brought you anything special this year?” You ask Alice. 

“No! I was worried I would scare him away and that he’d take our presents with him.” Her eyes widened as shakes her head no. It warms your heart hearing her response to this whole situation, the exact reaction you were hoping for. 

“Oh! I didn’t even think of that. We wouldn’t want him to take everything away that he brought for us.” You say looking over to Dave who’s smiling into his own cup of coffee. 

“He also seemed a little busy once he was done putting all the presents out. So I just went back to bed. Wanted to be surprised when I woke up this morning.” You’re confused by what she means when she said he was busy.

“Busy? How so?” You ask before taking another drink. 

“Well—“ She pauses and looks at Dave, as if to search for the right words before continuing, then back to you. “I saw something else before I went back to bed.” 

“What would that be?” Dave’s gaze shifts over to you momentarily when he inquires about what exactly Alice saw. Clearing his throat as he adjusts his position in the wooden chair and grabbing for his mug to keep his hands busy, his grip on it tightened and his knee bouncing at a steady pace. His fidgety movements are a telltale sign that he’s anxious— valid, given the way Alice has you all hanging by her every word at the moment. 

“I saw you kissing Santa under the mistletoe that’s hanging over the fireplace.” Alice looks you straight in the face when she says it. 

Dave nearly spits out the sip of coffee he had just taken. Coughing into his napkin as silence takes over the entire room. Molly halts her pancake devouring to stare at you with a shocked expression. 

“Oh! Umm, well—“ You fumble over your words. Sheer panic runs through your body as you try to come up with something quickly as to why Alice would have seen you kissing “Santa”. 

“Hey, girls look at what time it is. Your mom is going to be here in 20 minutes to pick you up. How about you go on upstairs to get your stuff together. Brush those sticky teeth and get dressed so you’re ready to go when she gets here.” The girls cheer in unison as they both hop off their chairs and run in the direction of the stairs that lead to their rooms. The bombshell revelation is long forgotten now. 

“Oh my god!” You let out a big sigh and slump down in your chair, your head turning to see Dave silently laughing to himself. “She’s going to ask me again why I was kissing him— but I think you bought me enough time until they’re back from Carol’s.” 

Dave reaches over and grabs your hand, pulling you from your chair and into his lap. Your arms drape around his shoulders, your temple resting against his forehead. His hand smooths over your pajama clad thighs, the other resting at your hip where he gives you a few gentle squeezes. 

“Thank you for doing that for her. She might not believe in him next year, but she’ll have this Christmas as a fun memory to tell her kids when they’re asking whether or not Santa is real.”

“Thankfully all she saw was the kissing— or she would have been scarred for life.” Dave says between the soft kisses he’s giving to your neck. 

“You’re the worst!” Playfully hitting his shoulder. 

“That’s not what you were saying when Santa was showering you with all those gifts last night.” His eyebrows waggle as he looks at you, rolling your eyes back at him. Your face heats up at remembering just how many gifts you were given.

“How about when the girls leave, you slip back into that red suit— forget the beard. And you can give me some more of those wonderful gifts.” You whisper, as if your suggestion might be heard by two sets of small ears. “I might be in the giving mood and have a few for you as well.”

“I don’t know. Have you been a good girl this year?” Dave asks in a low sensuous tone. 

“The best!” You manage to say before his hand is pulling your face to his, kissing you with earnestness. 

The sound of feet bounding down the stairs cuts the kiss short. Alice and Molly making their way back into the living room to pick up where they left off with their new toys. 

“Merry Christmas, Sweetheart.” Dave places the softest kiss to your lips. 

“Merry Christmas, Dave.”

#dave york #dave york x reader #dave york x you #dave york x female reader #dave york x f!reader #pedro pascal #pedrostories #wildemaven writes

[miracles-and-butterflies]

Good thing that Mirabel's alive. But when will we see the cold family beating the shit out of Camilo? And what others were doing? Does Dolores already know with her hearing?

Ha. What do you think everyone’s doing while Luisa does a one-woman retelling of A Christmas Carol?

Warning, potentially sensitive topics below.

~~~~~~

“Don’t talk to me.” Isabela snaps when Camilo opens his mouth. “Same for you,” she added, turning to an equally puzzled Dolores. “I’m trying really hard to keep myself under control.”

“What are you talking about, Isa? Are you okay?” Dolores asked.

“Dolores, I’m serious, if you want your boyfriend’s nose to remain unbroken, shut the fuck up.”

Isabela stalked off, after that.

“What’s up with her?” Bruno questioned.

“No idea. I’ve not been listening,” Dolores responded. “I was trying to keep an ear on Antonio. And our parents. They are on their way back.”

“That’s good. I’m sure they’ll sort this out.” Said Camilo.

“No need, Julieta and Agustín are already here.” Bruno pointed out, standing up.

Dolores and Camilo turned, watching their Tío and Tía slowly make their way into Casita. They both were walking backwards, seemingly guiding in a blood stained and half-dressed Luisa, who was cradling an unconscious Mirabel.

“Careful, Luisa. You don’t want to be too rough with her.” Julieta chided.

“I’m not being rough with her!” Luisa snapped.

She never took well to being accused of forgetting her strength, especially around Mirabel.

“No, but you are holding her quite protectively,” Agustín intervened. “Loosen your grip a bit, mija - gently. Yes. That’ll do.”

“Um,” Bruno announced walking over, he swallowed nervously. “I know this is a really stupid question, but I feel like it has to be asked, so I’ll just get it out of the way: is Mirabel okay?”

Julieta didn’t look amused; Luisa was ready to strangle him.

“No?” Agustín answered, unsurely.

“What happened?” Dolores asked next.

Agustín stepped aside to explain to Bruno and Dolores, while Julieta ushered Luisa along.

“Take Mirabel upstairs, Luisa, and clean yourself up. Your Abuela won’t want blood through the house.”

“You might want to clean the patio then.” Luisa advised before leaving.

Julieta signed, walking off to grab some supplies from the cupboard. She might as well get to cleaning. There’s nothing else she can do until Mirabel wakes up.

~~~~~~

While she’s scrubbing, she hears the sound of awkward footsteps and she assumes it’s Agustín and he’s injured himself. Or maybe Bruno and his rats are peckish.

But when she looks up, she sees her nephew.

She has to assume Isabela got at him. He’s got a severe rash over half his face and he keeps scratching at his arm through his ruana. And there’s a hand print on the other side of his face too; almost bruising his skin.

Maybe it was Isabela too. But she doesn’t think Isabela would have risked getting the rash herself.

Maybe it was Dolores who hit him.

Or maybe it was both of them.

He does look very rough and his clothes are more disbelieved than they usually are.

She doesn’t say anything to him.

It’s not her job to discipline him for his actions. It’ll be more devastating to have his parents do it.

Or better yet, it’ll be more devastating to rob him of the attention he so desperately wants and is so accustomed to. They should just ignore him entirely.

“I’m sorry,” he says, eventually. “It was just a prank.”

Julieta doesn’t have anything to say.

She just looks down at the ground. Soap, white and red mixing into pink, and the yellow tags.

Mirabel’s blood.

“She wasn’t meant to get hurt— I didn’t know about the trap, that wasn't part of it. I’d left by then.” Camilo continued.

“I’m not the one you should be apologising to.”

“I-I know that, but—”

“You want me to heal you?” She guessed. “I’ll leave that decision to Mirabel.”

Camilo choked.

“But she won’t— she won’t help me! She’ll say it’s a ‘waste of resources’ because it’s not a ‘serious’ injury.”

Julieta hummed in acknowledgment.

“Isabela has covered my room - all my clothes, my things - in poison ivy! And, like, a hundred other itchy plants! I can’t live like that.”

That explains why Isabela was keen to get home before them.

Sneak into Camilo’s room before he realises everyone knows and should be on guard, covering it in plants that won’t directly injure him but make him uncomfortable; she’s definitely inherited Pepa’s evil genius.

“Tía? Are you listening to me?”

No.

She doesn’t know how long it takes, but Camilo slowly sulks off.

#encanto #dolores madrigal #luisa madrigal #isabela madrigal #mirabel madrigal #camilo madrigal #antonio madrigal #bruno madrigal #julieta madrigal #agustín madrigal #pepa madrigal #félix madrigal #alma madrigal #encanto karma au

[zahri-melitor]

I have to say, however bad it gets looking at a Holiday Special list of titles and characters, DC's almost always got SOMETHING there that makes me say "yeah boi!"

For DC's Very Merry Multiverse #1 (2020), it's the fact there's a PREZ RICKARD story.

I know. All things for all folks, people. Hopefully something else catches me as I go. I'm not actually across a lot of the most recent multiverse shenanigans but let's go.

It's a Horrible Life! - Harley Quinn. It's a Wonderful Life retelling for Harley, hopping between universes.

Christmas by Gaslight - Batman. Batman is chasing Eel O'Brien (who just stole a load of toys) and Mr Freeze (who is TRYING to steal the load of toys) and Eel accidentally blows up Victor, causing it to snow across Gotham (and drop toys in the street for all the children of the city).

To Stop the Star-Conqueress! - Teen Justice. I...don't really care about this genderswapped universe, but the concept of Klarienne the Witch Girl keeps making me giggle. Klarienne. KLARIENNE. Anyway the Teen Justice team defeat Starrla doing the space starfish thing. (Also this is VERY mixed up in terms of timeline. How are 'Donald Troy' and 'Laurel Kent' reasonably on the same team? They're based on characters 3 hero generations apart!)

Bizarro Love Holiday - President Superman. This is about the made up holiday "Day of Giving/Day of Receiving", which Bizarro hates as nobody has ever given him a present before. A cute small child decides his characteristic speech patterns are sarcasm and gives him his first present.

Holidays Beyond - Batman Beyond. Terry gets zapped/hallucinates with the bends and does a *sigh* Christmas Carol three ghosts of past, present and future. Dustin Nguyen's baby Bruce is the most adorable thing ever.

Night of the Magi - The League of Shadows. So the League of Shadows is basically a Justice League Dark/Shadowpact lineup? They're out to defend Saturnalia from the Lord of Misrule. Also there's a Ragman origin story in here.

Have Yourself a Bizarro Little Christmas - The Unjustice League of Unamerica. It's SANTA TIME!

Bizarro is trying out Christmas gift giving in Bizarro World but it's not working too well. Then Zanta of the Intergalactic Santa Corps arrives! Zanta is charged with spreading the joy of Christmas...whether people like it or not.

(BTW these elves really need the Elves Union, time to unionise little buddies)

Only, it being Bizarro World, he fails. Sorry, Zanta.

'Twas the Night - Booster Gold. Booster fights Maxwell Lord at his Planet Krypton restaurant (we find out that this was a staged fight to entertain the diners).

Prez Rickard's Magical Sci-Fi Desolate Souls Club Holiday Special - Prez. I'm quietly devastated Beth Ross doesn't appear in this.

Hmmm. I'm...not thrilled at the way Prez is used here in Earth 47? Now being an aficionado of Prez lore, I am able to say that Prez out there selling things on a TV show via performing acts doesn't gel with the original Prez run (where he was all too earnest about solving problems), what I'm going to call the Vertigo Prez universe (where he left the White House and disappeared and became sort of a totem to people), or to the New 52 Prez run (where after being President he became a senator for years/hung around lobbying Congress).

It feels like it's trying to be 70s zany without engaging with ANY of the existing Prez lore. Disappointing.

A Very Lobo Hanukkah - Lobo. Been a while since we had a Lobo story. Lobo's saving the dolphins!

Having now read several decades of 'DC does a Hanukkah story' in the last week, they've definitely evolved over time from 'look at this very base level explanation where we acknowledge not everyone is Christian' to this, which from my understanding is both engaging with traditional texts AND also running around gleefully with an attitude of 'we are allowed to adapt things and tell more complex narratives'. (However I am unsure of whether anyone stopped to think before using the KJV translation of Maccabees here)

#DC Santa read along

[morebedsidebooks]

12 Autumnal Reads With Pan Rep

As the days grow longer in the Northern hemisphere we don more layers, grab a hot drink, and say goodbye to summer. While maybe too cuddling up with a book. In similar fashion to the past for Pan Pride Day with wintry stories, and Pan Visibility Day for sunny reads, this time I’ve put together a list of examples offering pan rep set around the autumn season. Across demographics, several genres, and various lengths, the cozy to murderous, feasibly one will fit that next read. But no matter what may suit one’s tastes and whims, as always happy reading! (For content notes please see my reviews on Storygraph.)

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows, boasting a gorgeous autumn leaf themed cover, is a hefty first installment in the fantasy series the The Tithenai Chronicles. An unprecedented surprise diplomatic marriage between nobles Velasin vin Aro (gay) and Caethari Xai Aeduria, (bi/pan) sparks more than attraction. Violence, murder, and a hefty dose of intrigue swirl.

The Adventures of Isabel by Candas Jane Dorsey, the first in the Epitome Apartments Mystery series with a cast of colorful characters, is an offbeat mystery. Opening in September, at its center a coarse Canadian ex-social worker turned clueless amateur detective (bisexual/ambisexual/pansexual). Convinced to investigate the murder of a friend’s granddaughter, more than a case will end up cracking.

All the Things We Do in the Dark by Saundra Mitchell is a YA psychological thriller. Set in small-town Maine in October and told by Ava (pan), a 17-year-old with PTSD who stumbles on the body of a murdered teenage girl. Scared, haunted, and distrustful she’ll sleuth out a killer while trying to hold herself together. Author Saundra Mitchell is also pansexual. Note this is furthermore a title that has been banned in some libraries in the US.

Bride of the Corpse King by Emily Shore is a New Adult dark fantasy retelling of Hades and Persephone. Needing the winnings for her family, Isla Adayra (pansexual) enters the Bone Games. Further to escape a match with a dreadful lascivious Elder, she’ll offer herself to one more powerful the Corpse King. Allysteir accepted his duty of the gods’ Curse, but year after year the cost bearing the spirit of the God of Death weighs heavily. Allysteir doesn’t want another bride, but Isla just might be strong enough to tempt Death and even more.

The Ghosts of Halloweenby Ceillie Simkiss takes a light Christmas Carol vibe presenting three bite-sized Halloween short stories about couple Cora (panromantic asexual) and Elena (lesbian) from the Learning Curves series, I previously mentioned in my wintry post. Expect more of what makes this romance series a treat. Author Ceillie Simkiss is also panromantic asexual.

The Home I Find with You by Skye Kilaen is a hopepunk polyam romance set in the aftermath of a second civil war in the United States. Van (pan) the lead defender for a circuit of towns in rural Colorado with his girlfriend Hadas meet Clark (gay,) after Clark shows up unexpectedly in the aptly named Freshtown. As a previous threat and winter also approach, this is a hopeful title centered on people and kindness in spite of violence that may leave the reader feeling warm inside as well. Author Skye Kilaen is also bi/pan.

How to Find a Missing Girl by Victoria Wlosok, a fresh debut YA thriller, features an amateur teenage sleuth Iris Blackthorn (cis pansexual) with two of her friends, Sammy Valdez-Taylors (cis lesbian) and Imani Turner (non-binary lesbian). The trio forms a sapphic detective agency out to solve the disappearance of two people close to Iris as the clock ticks down during the Louisiana autumn. Author Victoria Wlosok is also pansexual.

Sweet to the Core by Amy Aislin set in a small seaside town in Maine is a romance novel between Dev (gay) who owns his own bakery and his cousin’s best friend Clark (pansexual) a wildlife biologist. Dev’s harbored a crush on Clark since childhood. Clark is usually a no-strings-attached guy. But set aside the pumpkin spice and enjoy another staple of the autumn season— apples. When the two team up entering an inaugural baking contest with a sizeable cash prize, mouthwatering baked goods aren’t the only thing that is very sweet.

Trick or Treat by Sydney Blackburn is good if you’re in the festive mood for a sweet little, short story Halloween treat featuring Drew (genderfluid pansexual) and David (cis bisexual) meeting on All Hallows’ Eve. 

Vampirella from horror host to heroinesince 1969 has become a sensual pansexual icon enthralling comic readers across the globe. Including me with Vampi having the honour of being the first pan character I knew of. If you need some direction on what to read, SYFY has a Pull List for the Legacy of Vampirella. (Though I’d skip anything by Warren Ellis.)

Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas has Kalyn and Gus two teenagers that become unlikely friends despite a decades old murder that connects them. Set in small-town lush Kentucky autumn with a smell “like sticky cinnamon”, the slow burn here isn’t romance— but a mystery. There’s abundant queerness: Kalyn likes girls. Gus questions and is regarded as pansexual by many readers and critics to quote “When it comes to people, I care about personality before anything else, and gender’s another characteristic that factors into that. Maybe that does land me in one queer realm or another”. Plus, his mother has a female partner. Too note, garnering young adult award nominations, this is another title that has been listed among book challenges.

The Witches of Portland series by T. Thorn Coyle brings readers an urban fantasy with a social justice basis and dash of romance. Each installment focuses on different members of the Arrow and Crescent coven in Portland, Oregon. If you’re intimidated by the full nine-volume set don’t worry, the books also can be read as standalones. Author T. Thorn Coyle is also bi/pan/queer.

By Dusk (Book 7) set around the autumn equinox features coven member Moss (pansexual) an environmental activist working to prevent pollution of the Willamette. And new to Portland, the rich, on the surface carefree party girl Shaggy. The two previously hooked up at a festival but might have more.

By Dark (Book 8) set in the last week of October thru Dia de Los Muertos features coven member Alejandro (bisexual/pansexual) an IT consultant entering a midlife crisis and his likewise polyamorous partner Shekinah (queer) a graphic designer and Kundalini yoga devotee. But when a friend of Shekinah’s starts having terrifying visions that also besiege Alejandro, it’s an interfaith all-hands-on-deck to uncover dark secrets and affect something terrible afoot in Portland.

#autumn reads #fall reading #pan representation #pansexuality

[wickedlysecret]

Something I’ve been lowkey obsessing over for the past few years has been The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), which is quite possibly my favorite Christmas movie ever. It’s fun, it’s funny, it has cute moments, Michael Caine is absolutely the best Scrooge to ever Scrooge… I can’t sing this movie’s praises enough. I was so excited when it was included on Disney+, so I could watch it pretty much whenever the desire struck.

The thing is, there’s another Christmas Carol adaptation that I loved to watch as a child that’s also on Disney+: Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983). It’s another retelling of the same story, and yet… it doesn’t really hit in the same way that the Muppet one does. And I can’t stop thinking about why that would be the case. What do the Muppets do in their adaptation that Mickey and his friends don’t do in theirs?

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m going to sit here and compare and contrast these adaptations, with pictures and quotes. This is gonna be one of those “In this essay I will” posts, except the essay actually follows under a cut. After all, I’m nothing if not a former English major with weird hyperfixations.

I broke down the places where the differences are strongest into four parts: The Spirits/Ghosts of Christmas Whatever; the inclusion of a comedic Narrator character; the simple fact that the Muppets are Actors in their own right; and the entire “Christmas Future” part of the story.

1. The Spirits. 

For the Muppets, new characters have been created for the roles. These characters were only ever used for these roles, and we never see them again in other Muppet productions, save for Jacob (and Robert) Marley, as played by Statler and Waldorf, whom I’ll talk about at another point.

These new characters make much of the dialogue work, as well, with much of their exchanges with Scrooge at least sounding, if not actually being exactly as written in the original Christmas Carol. The supernatural look of the little ghosty Spirit of Christmas Past helps to sell the whole picture when they say lines like, “A touch of my hand, and you shall fly.” The jolly, bumbly, ginger-haired-Santa lookalike Spirit of Christmas Present is personable and friendly, even able to make a mean and grumpy man like Scrooge joke and laugh with joy. And the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come is faceless, imposing, and silent. They communicate through pointing, or a guiding hand, and they chill both Scrooge and the audience without saying a single word, merely showing Scrooge the future that awaits him.

Disney, perhaps understandably, made use of some of their existing Intellectual Properties (IPs) instead of creating new characters to serve as the Spirits. Jiminy Cricket is our Ghost of Christmas Past; The Giant (from Mickey and the Beanstalk) makes a surprising return to the screen as the Ghost of Christmas Present; and finally, in a jarring reveal which I could argue was made only for the purpose of having yet another IP make an appearance, Pete fills the role of the Ghost of Christmas Future. These are characters with personalities that the audience already presumably knows, and while they are able to fill their roles to a degree, they also come with baggage, for lack of a better term. They struggle to keep a balance of their original personalities, while also donning the personalities of their Christmas Carol roles.

Jiminy attempts to give sage advice to Ebenezer Scrooge (McDuck), in the same manner as he had with Pinnochio, but a stern little cricket lecturing an old man duck just doesn’t feel right. And the giant is also bumbling, sure, but more than that, he’s just… stupider than the Muppet Spirit. Caine’s Scrooge even remarks “You’re a little absentminded, spirit,” to which the Muppet Spirit of Christmas Present replies, “No, I’m a large absentminded spirit!” The giant’s version of the Spirit is just your run-of-the-mill comedic relief idiot. As for Pete’s ghost, he’s silent and somewhat imposing for almost the entire Christmas Future segment, until he removes his hood and scares Scrooge into his empty grave with some mean remark. And the mean remark is truly what ruins Pete as the Spirit of Christmas Future; this Spirit isn’t mean, but rather delivering harsh truths. The purpose of the Spirit of Christmas Future is to really drive home to Scrooge that, if he doesn’t change his ways, this is the unfortunate future that awaits him. It’s the future itself that’s supposed to scare Scrooge, not the Spirit delivering the message.

In essence, by not only using existing IPs for the Spirits in the story, but miscasting the Spirits with IPs that don’t work for their roles, Mickey’s Christmas Carol confuses the whole message that A Christmas Carol is supposed to convey.

Finally, as I mentioned, I want to talk about our Marleys. In The Muppet Christmas Carol, Marley is the only spirit for whom they’ve used an existing character–or, rather, characters. They’ve cast the grumpy old men, Statler and Waldorf, as Jacob and Robert Marley. They have a silly song they sing to Scrooge, which still manages to terrorize the man, and to be fair, the spirits of Scrooge’s old business partners are warning him of something terrible coming for him: more ghosts. We’re still early in the story at this point, so the Muppets wouldn’t be taking their big guns out yet, so imparting a scary warning in the form of a light and fun musical number is… well, it’s very on brand.

Meanwhile in Mickey’s, we have Goofy as Jacob Marley. I’ll talk more about this casting choice later, but the short of it is: why? Goofy’s not a mean OR selfish guy at all, and I can’t understand this role placement for him. He’s very stern with Scrooge, and it’s hard to take him seriously at all, and to top it all off he falls down the stairs at the end of his scene, with his trademark “Yaaaaah-hoo-hoo-hoo-eeeeeeee” shout and all. It doesn’t fit the character they’re trying to have him portray.

2. The comedic benefits of a Narrator Character. 

In the beginning of The Muppet Christmas Carol, the audience is introduced to Gonzo and Rizzo on the streets of the British Muppet City.

“Welcome to the Muppet Christmas Carol! I am here to tell the story!” “And I am here for the food!” “My name is Charles Dickens.” “And my name is Rizzo the Rat! Hey, wait a second…”

Gonzo and Rizzo, from this point forward, are the audience’s guide throughout the story of A Christmas Carol, there to explain, buffer, and offer comedic relief. They break the fourth wall, talking about and to the audience, and referring to any children who might be watching.

“Whoa, that’s scary stuff. Hey, should we be worried about the kids in the audience?” “Nah, that’s alright, this is culture.”

Gonzo and Rizzo carry a lot, and I mean a lot of the comedic moments within The Muppet Christmas Carol, leaving the story’s characters to portray the story, without strange interruptions from within. Well, for the most part. There are moments where comedy comes from within the story.

“If you please, Mr. Scrooge? It’s gotten colder… and the bookkeeping staff would like to have an extra shovelful of coal for the fire.” “We can’t do the bookkeeping.” “Yeah, all of our pens have turned to ink-cicles!” “Our assets are frozen!” “How would the bookkeepers like to be suddenly… UNEMPLOYED?!” “HEAT WAVE! This is my island in the sun!”

There are also moments where Gonzo Dickens and Rizzo interact with characters in the story, breaking the fourth wall further for more comedy.

“It is the American way!” “Sam! [Unintelligible whispering]” “Ah. It is the British way!” “Good.”

And of course there are moments where the characters’ existing personalities do come forward through their acting, such as when Miss Piggy, as Emily Crachit, calls Kermit (Bob Crachit) “Crachie”, in a play on her nickname for Kermit, “Kermie”.

The thing to note about all of these moments of comedy, is that none of them interrupt the story for the sake of a joke, or a catchphrase. The story continues without a hitch.

It also means that, when Gonzo Dickens and Rizzo leave at the beginning of Scrooge’s time with the Ghost of Christmas Future, they take just about every chance at joyful comedy with them. The audience knows their absence means things are about to get serious.

Without a similar character to bear some of the comedic weight, it all rests on the shoulders of the characters in Mickey’s Christmas Carol’s story. There’s plenty of jokes and humor, of course, but most of it is slapstick-ish, and typical of a cartoon; for example, Scrooge asking about Crachit’s daily pay, recalling it to be two shillings, only for Crachit to interrupt that it’s two shillings and a ha'penny–a raise that originated three years ago, when Crachit started doing Scrooge’s laundry. The jump into Christmas Future doesn’t have a smooth transition, leaving the audience rather jarred at the sudden change in tone; in particular, when Pete’s embodiment of the Spirit suddenly starts speaking, where previously he’d been silent.

3. The Muppets Are Actors. 

In every Muppet production, one of the things that makes the entire experience work is that nobody in the canon recognizes the Muppets as anything other than the characters they’re portraying. Nobody looks at Kermit and goes, ‘Why is there a talking frog made of felt here?’ That’s exactly the way someone should act with the Muppets, and, according to an interview with Brian Henson, that was Michael Caine’s intention from the very beginning when he was asked to play Scrooge.

"When I met Michael Caine to talk about playing Scrooge, one of the first things he said was: “I’m going to play this movie like I’m working with the Royal Shakespeare Company. I will never wink, I will never do anything Muppety. I am going to play Scrooge as if it is an utterly dramatic role and there are no puppets around me.”

The fact that the illustrious actor understood the assignment from the beginning, without even being told, works wonders for this movie. Caine said in an interview with GQ that, before The Muppet Christmas Carol, he’d never done a movie that a child, like his then-seven-year-old daughter, could see; this was his motivation in choosing the role. He then went on to discuss how one is meant to act with the Muppets.

Interviewer: When you’re talking to Kermit, where do you look? Do you look him in the eye? Caine: Yes. You look him straight in the eye. It’s like talking to a real actor. And the guy is just down below, buried in the floor.

This is a man with a great respect for and understanding of the Muppets, their work, and of course their puppeteers. When asked who is more famous, himself or Kermit, Caine replies that of course Kermit is the more famous, as he should be.

Caine: Oh Kermit is much more famous, because he’s known by children as well as all adults. And I’m known by many, many, many adults, but he’s known by all adults. And then I’m known by few children, but he’s known by every child.

(As a side note, this is a delightful interview with Michael Caine, and he’s just as pleased with and delighted by The Muppet Christmas Carol as the rest of us.)

In contrast with Mickey’s Christmas Carol, the casting for the Mickey Mouse & Friends characters into their Christmas Carol roles feels like it was done without much consideration or thought, beyond the logic of ‘Mickey Should Be Bob Crachit, Donald Should Be Scrooge’s Nephew, Of Course Scrooge McDuck Should Be Ebenezer Scrooge’, and so on.

For example, the part of Jacob Marley is played by Goofy. Marley’s character, or rather his ghost, is one that exists as Scrooge’s warning, both of his night to come and what awaits him if he doesn’t change his ways. Marley was just about as bad as Scrooge in life, hence all his chains weighing his spirit down, formed from his wicked deeds against his fellow man. He even warns Scrooge that he also wears such a chain.

The problem here is that Goofy Goof doesn’t have a single mean bone in his tall, lanky body. He’s a dogman that would never covet money like a miser, would never be cruel to others because he doesn’t deem them worth his time. So, why was he cast as Marley? It’s a confusing decision.

Another example lies with Mickey Mouse as Bob Crachit. Logically, I can understand the casting choice; Mickey is to Disney as Kermit is to the Muppets. Both made the same decision to cast their Big Name Character as the second lead in A Christmas Carol. However, the two portrayals go in very different directions, particularly in the Christmas Future segment. I’ll dig into this particular example in more detail in a bit, but in essence, it feels more like the Disney characters were plugged into their roles for the story, without much consideration for how their personalities would work with that of the characters they’d be portraying. The Muppets were matched with characters to portray, but it feels like careful thought was put into how each character would act and work as their Christmas Carol role.

4. The Entire “Ghost of Christmas Future” Chapter. 

I’ve referred to this part of the story, and the ways in which the Muppets and Disney handled it, several times so far, and this is because I believe that this is where the biggest differences lie, and where the Muppet adaptation truly outshines Disney’s.

First, the Spirit themselves. The Muppets created an entirely new, imposing, shadowy-cloaked Muppet specifically for this role, rather than casting a known Muppet as the Spirit. This Muppet never speaks, and has no face, and only communicates in gestures. It looms over the third act of the story, showing Ebenezer Scrooge what awaits him in this future, without words, instead letting the scenes speak for themselves. The Spirit is silent, but Scrooge understands what it’s telling him, asking questions and paraphrasing the messages he receives as the Spirit guides him through the scenes. And although the Spirit’s appearance is terrifying, that’s not the part that ultimately chills Scrooge to the core; instead, the future that awaits Scrooge (and Tiny Tim), should he continue down his path of cruelty and greed, is what prompts Scrooge to tearfully beg for forgiveness and a chance to prove that he can make things right.

Then, in Mickey’s Christmas Carol, the basic bones of the tale are there: an imposing, silent, hooded figure shows Scrooge glimpses of his possible future. But before this third act is over, the Spirit reveals its face and speaks: it’s not just a Spirit, but Pete. Nasty, mean, cigar-smoking Peg-Leg Pete. And he dumps Scrooge into his own grave to be consumed by flames until he awakens from his dream. Certainly, Scrooge has been shaken by the visions of an awful future, but he’s also been sent to hell by a mean, angry cat. Ultimately, this takes away from the big message of the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come’s chapter: that we should change because we choose to, not because we’ve been scared into it.

Second, the sharing of Tiny Tim’s fate. In both the Muppet version and in Disney’s version, the audience and Scrooge have both been told that, if things don’t change, Tiny Tim’s going to die. Now that we’re being shown the future, Scrooge needs to go and check on the Crachit family, to see if this loss has come to pass.

In the Muppet Version, Scrooge approaches the home with relieved excitement, remembering the home of his employee as the warm and happy one he’d caught a glimpse of thanks to the Spirit of Christmas Present. However, Scrooge notices the silence of the house, and instantly knows something has changed. He peeks into the window and watches as Mrs. Crachit cries as she cooks Christmas dinner. Then, he learns that indeed, Tim has passed away. We watch the grieving family convene for dinner, and talk of loss; although they try to encourage each other, it’s clear that the loss of Tim has cut them so deep, they might never truly recover.

The fact that someone can watch this entire emotional scene performed by the Muppets and, somehow, not lose any suspension of disbelief, speaks of the incredible talent involved in the making of this scene; the puppeteers, the voice actors, the editors, the filmographers. 

In comparison, the scene we get in Disney’s version is short, and stiff. What we get is a panning view of a graveyard, and a closeup of Mickey Mouse crying while holding onto Tiny Tim’s crutch, before he sets it against the boy’s gravestone. The audience watches Mickey Mouse cry over his dead son before the movie continues.

It sounds sad when said aloud, but watching it happen doesn’t carry much emotion. It just feels awkward, almost forced. It feels like the people who decided that Mickey Mouse should be Bob Crachit finally had the consequences of their actions catch up to them, and they suddenly realized what they were going to have to put the company’s mascot through… and then they had no idea how to do it. The entire scene feels haphazard and strange; it’s upsetting to watch, but not in the way it should be. Instead of being sad about Tiny Tim, I’m just bummed they made me watch Mickey Mouse cry like that.

And here’s the thing: neither of these scenes have been performed by human actors. One has been played by puppets, the other has been animated. The fact that the Muppets, who, in order to show emotion have to move their head a certain way or have the felt of their faces scrunched, do a better job performing the scene than the one that is animated, in which people could make the characters make any face they wanted, speaks volumes.

Perhaps it’s because, while Kermit will always be Kermit, and Mickey will always be Mickey, it all draws back to the fact that the Muppets are actors. Kermit has played so many other roles in other Muppet movies. But Mickey Mouse? He’s almost always Mickey Mouse. Using him in a different role is difficult when he’s never been anything other than himself.

...

I’ve spent some time trying to think how to wrap up this ridiculous essay I chose to write for fun, because while this isn’t an assignment and doesn’t require a conclusion, it also feels wrong to just end it there. I suppose I can say again, that the Muppet Christmas Carol is my very favorite Christmas movie, and I love watching it over and over again. I love it so much that I’ve literally written an essay explaining why it’s good. And it’s not like I hate Mickey’s Christmas Carol; I grew up watching that movie just as much as the Muppet one. It’s just that… the Muppet version hits different, you feel me? The story moves in a different way, treats humor differently, and even treats the audience differently. I’m by no means an expert on film, and I certainly don’t expect everyone to agree with my opinions about this movie. In the end, these are just two child-targeted adaptations of a classic Christmas tale, and I’m just an ADHD girl who got way too invested in a passing thought. The different feelings evoked in me by the two different movies about the same story fascinated me, and I decided I’d try to analyze them and share my thoughts. If you made it this far, thanks for reading!

#the muppets #the muppet christmas carol #disney #mickey's christmas carol #a christmas carol #in this essay i will #essay writing #if i told you i worked on this for around a year would you judge me? yes? okay then i won't tell you. #my personal opinions btw!!! agree or don't agree idc i just was hit with the need to exercise my argument writing muscles

[wolfmountainworkshop]

Coming up on Tales From Wolf Mountain

We are coming up on the end of our double feature by Monte D. Monteleagre with A Bell Tolls, a one-man show cosmic horror retelling of A Christmas Carol.

Then in April we move right on into our next Alexander Wolfe led project, a five episode horror radio show about five normal people.

Followed by the next Monte D. Monteleagre led series, a collaborative guide to a place you have not yet been called to.

If you’re looking to wet your whistle while you wait for these things to arrive, here’s some stuff we’ve been enjoying.

Monte:

Piranesi, a novel by Susanna Carol

@camlannpod, a fiction podcast

Jenny from Thebes, an album by The Mountain Goats

Yours Until the War is Over, an album by Amigo the Devil

Alexander

The Way Back, an album by Wys and Sweet Medicine

The Stranger in the Woods, a book by Michael Finkel

Self Sufficient Me, a youtube channel

#audio drama #fiction podcast #audio drama sunday #podcast #tales from wolf mountain #wolf mountain workshop #new episode alert #recommendations

[fictionadventurer]

5, 9, 12, 16, and/or 20, please?

5. What genre did you read the most of?

Probably fantasy, but only because there's a wide variety of things that count as fantasy. (Like, A Christmas Carol gets on the list). Most of these reads are more like historical or classic stories with only light fantasy elements.

9. Did you get into any new genres?

This was the year of American history nonfiction. I especially never expected to fall into the world of Civil War nonfiction. (It is a large world. I have not gone far). It's been a fun twist to my reading life.

12. Any books that disappointed you?

Deathmark by Kate Stradling was not what I wanted from "fantasy Blue Castle retelling". On the Blue Castle side, there wasn't that much similarity, and on the fantasy side, not much happened, and I wasn't crazy about the magic system. I know that Stradling's books almost always require rereads to be good, but I'm not sure I want to reread this one.

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

I didn't read much of anything that had any kind of hype. The Velveteen Rabbit was my first book of the year, and it's supposed to be a heart-wrenching children's classic, but for me, it was just kind of...there. Not very memorable.

I also saw some praise for World of Wonders, a collection of nature/life essays by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, but I was not impressed. Vaguely "inspirational" stuff that didn't leave much impact.

20. What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

Probably The Beggar Prince by Kate Stradling, and I'd say it surpassed my expectations. Usually it takes me two reads to truly appreciate a Stradling story, and I liked this one right away. It also impressed me with some of its choices on how to adapt the story and characters.

#answered asks #books #valiantarcher

[hithertoundreamtof23]

A Strange Christmas Carol

My Christmas fic is complete just in time for Christmas Eve!

Thank you to everyone that has supported me. I wish you a happy holidays and a great new year!! ❤️

Summary:

A retelling of the classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

Stephen Strange is visited by three ghosts that teach him the value of teamwork and self-preservation, all while finding the joy in Christmas again.

~~~

Excerpt::

“Who are you?” Stephen asked, his voice echoing throughout the white empty space.

“Ebenezer Scrooge,” the little man responded.

Stephen arched a brow. “Like the fairy tale?”

The man- Ebenezer Scrooge- rolled his eyes. “It's not a fairy tale if it truly happened!”

“Yeah? Then prove it!” Stephen looked at the man, awaiting an answer. There was no way this man was the same as the character in the Charles Dickens classic. But then again, stranger things had happened.

~~~~ Masterlist is updated!

#stephen strange #doctor strange #benedict cumberbatch #a christmas carol #christmas #Christmas eve #hurt/comfort #wong #america chavez #mcu #ao3 #hurt stephen strange #stephen strange angst #christmas fluff #au- a Christmas carol fusion #mentions of past suicidal thoughts #Charles dickens #my writing

[d-criss-news]

[UHQ] Darren Criss, left, sings with Oscar-winning composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul at a 2023 Oscars singalong event for the shortlisted best song contender “Good Afternoon” from the Apple Original Films musical “Spirited.” (Photo by Stewart Cook / Apple Original Films)

Watch Darren Criss lead a star-studded ‘Spirited’ singalong to kick off Oscar race

What happens when you get Broadway singers and Emmy-, Grammy-, Oscar- and Tony-winning songwriters in a room with a piano during awards season? Singalongs. Lots of them.

Diane Warren joined in Wednesday night in Hollywood as “Glee’s” Darren Criss and a crowd of music lovers belted out her Oscar-nominated “Armageddon” ballad “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing.

------

Once the music began at the bash — for Benj Pasek and Justin Paul‘s 2023 Oscar-hopeful tune “Good Afternoon,” from the Apple Original Films musical “Spirited” — it didn’t stop. Hosted by Darren and Mia Criss at their piano bar Tramp Stamp Granny’s, the FYC event kicked off with a performance of Pasek and Paul’s “Good Afternoon,” from the Ryan Reynolds-Will Ferrell “Christmas Carol” retelling, with a Golden Globes-inspired twist.

------

Songwriting duo Pasek and Paul, who won the Oscar for their “La La Land” song “City of Stars,” went on to lead singalongs of their hits from “Dear Evan Hansen” and “The Greatest Showman” with Criss on the microphone.

Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter Siedah Garrett later joined Criss singing “Man in the Mirror,” which she co-wrote with Michael Jackson, before “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical” composer Emily Bear took to the piano to accompany Broadway touring singer Sis (“Oklahoma!”) on the “Little Mermaid” classic “Part of Your World.”

#darren criss #la times #justin paul #benj pasek #spirited celebrate party #tramp stamp granny's #press #jan 2023

[aslightlydifferentchristmascarol]

Amelie & Other Marleys

Inspired by the wonderful @rom-e-o's post about how their OC would get along with the various versions of Scrooge- go check it out, it's wonderfully written!

Obviously, in my own AU/retelling of A Christmas Carol, Amelie Wilson is Jacob Marley's soulmate and greatest friend (besides Scrooge, of course). But would she be this way with any of the other Marleys from across the different Christmas Carol adaptations I've seen?

Also, just a quick heads-up- she's meeting all of them pre-death.

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962) version, played by Royal Dano: Well, he seems chill, but judging by that portrait of him we see in Scrooge's office at the beginning of the cartoon, he'd probably scare her away just by looking at her. No thank you. 0/10.

The Stingiest Man in Town (1978) version, played by Theodore Bikel: He isn't really the most attractive man, but at least he's not as scary as the Magoo version. He also has a good singing voice, and judging by his tone during the song, Amelie would probably offer a shoulder for him to cry on frequently. 7/10.

Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) version, played by Goofy: He does constantly speak of "robbing widows and swindling the poor", but aside from that, Goofy's Marley seems to have had a soft side he'd reveal to only one person, and Amelie (who would also be an anthropomorphic dog- specifically a longhaired dachshund- in this version's universe) would certainly be the one for him to reveal it to. 9/10.

A Christmas Carol (1984) version, played by Frank Finlay: This version seems a little stuck-up, but not so much stuck-up as the 2022 version (more on him later). While Amelie wouldn't want to DATE him, she would probably enjoy sharing tidbits of advice with him. 4/10.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) versions, played by Statler and Waldorf: Believe it or not, I actually think they'd be pretty high on the list for her. In the Present scene of my version, the Ghost actually does show Scrooge a vision where Marley and Amelie are cracking jokes about Scrooge just the way that Statler and Waldorf themselves would normally do, so I think Amelie's humor would click perfectly with them (again, she'd also be a Muppet herself in this version's universe). The only problem with them is: Which brother would she date, Jacob or Robert? Maybe both of them at once? 8/10.

A Christmas Carol: The Musical (2004) version, played by Jason Alexander: He's actually the one I got most of the inspiration for my own Marley from, from the talent for singing to the tendency to give massive hugs to those he loves/trusts the most. So of course she'd take to him right away! 10/10.

A Christmas Carol (2009) version, played by Gary Oldman: Hmm, we don't know a lot about what he was like before he died. He doesn't seem to be the guy who would have much of a soft side like Goofy's or Jason Alexander's version, though. She most likely would probably just want to be his friend, if anything. 4/10.

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022) version, played by Jonathan Pryce: Unfortunately, he seems far too snobbish and sassy to want to even interact with a cheery, affectionate girl like her, and I think that feeling of not wanting to interact with each other would be mutual between him and Amelie. Literally the only thing that might even attract her to him is the fact that he's always got Boris, the handsome bulldog, at his side. (Because yes, Amelie loves animals.) 1/10.

So, here's the final ranking:

2004

Mickey's Christmas Carol

The Muppet Christmas Carol

#a christmas carol #oc lore #amelie wilson #marley x amelie #oc x canon

[themculibrary]

Hurt!Stephen Masterlist

A Perfect Body to the Grave (ao3) - HithertoUndreamtOf G, 465

Summary: Stephen gets kidnapped and buried alive by a group of other-dimensional beings.

A Strange Christmas Carol (ao3) - HithertoUndreamtOf T, 11k

Summary: A retelling of the classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

Stephen Strange is visited by three ghosts that teach him the value of teamwork and self-preservation, all while finding the joy in Christmas again.

each night like a white noise frequency (ao3) - Phierie tony/stephen M, 8k

Summary: Stephen is no stranger to making hard choices. He doesn’t regret his actions on Titan, but months later they weigh on his mind heavier than ever; the cracks begin to show.

Even Abraxas got Cornered (ao3) - HithertoUndreamtOf G, 3k

Summary: On a hunt to find the Talisman of Abraxas, Stephen quickly learns that he shouldn't have underestimated his enemies.

Every Scar Tells a Story (ao3) - HithertoUndreamtOf G, 699

Summary: Stephen's collection of scars over the years, some of which may not be physical.

Hold Me Still (ao3) - lantia4ever tony/stephen T, 10k

Summary: Just days away from Christmas Eve, duty calls for the newly allied Sorcerers and Avengers. As Stephen departs with Tony to tackle the threat, one wrong step later he realizes the alliance might be quite short-lived.

But one should never underestimate the force that is Tony Stark.

I missed you (ao3) - DarkKitty1208 tony/stephen G, 4k

Summary: What he pulled out was nothing close to his expectations. A single piece of cloth, likely ripped off of Stephen’s ridiculous wizard get-up, but it wasn’t just that. Blood splattered and seeped into it, a unique blend of the blue in his robes with a heavy tint of red, the smell coming out of it leaving him sick to the stomach.

i’ve always known in the end, i’d be sorry (ao3) - rainbowsponge mj/peter 14k

Summary: After the world forgot Peter Parker, one man remembered. Peter is in desperate need of anyone and Stephen Strange has no idea how to be a dad.

Light is Dark and Dark is Light (ao3) - HithertoUndreamtOf T, 3k

Summary: Stephen gets mistaken as the Sorcerer Supreme in battle and used as a lab rat.

Love Never Dies (ao3) - Blondie2000 wanda/stephen M, 4k

Summary: She places her hand on his chest. Her touch causes him to shiver. He knows he should pull away but as each second passed he found himself being drawn to her. Her words had a affect on him, made him see everything from a new perspective. He has been alone for so long the need for company suddenly consumed him.

Strange smiles and draws Wanda in for a kiss

Only When I Sleep (ao3) - Laily loki/tony/stephen G, 1k

Summary: Stephen is at the end of his wits trying to convince Loki to love him. Tony tries to help.

Puppet of Agony (ao3) - Kenobi1 T, 10k

Summary: How much does it take to break the unbreakable? Stephen Strange thought he knew pain until he met Ebony Maw. He was wrong, and suddenly death seems more forgiving than life. He knows he can’t survive the unimaginable horrors on his own, so he’s lucky he has some friends to help him out. Based off the Infinity War trailer. Warning: torture.

Siblings (ao3) - KuroPlayer tony/stephen G, 1k

Summary: Stephen was reminded of his siblings and Tony comforted him.

Survivors of the Wreck of Time (ao3) - amethyst-noir (Arbonne) tony/stephen T, 16k

Summary: Stephen had been in love with Tony Stark for so long, and through so many different timelines, that the feeling had become a fixed part of his being, something that was just there, fully intertwined with his very soul. Something that was treasured, something that gave him strength and comfort when he needed it, something he held close to his heart without even consciously being aware of it.

(Sometimes a timeline has to bend and twist to make things that are supposed to be happen.)

Unceasing (ao3) - Mcufaninmydreams tony/stephen M, 668

Summary: Stephen Strange has been held captive by Thanos for as far back as he can remember. He cannot think back very far, not when metal scrapes the insides of his bones and his arms are forever bound in mystical chains.

When The Maw finds out Dr. Strange was once a neurosurgeon, he comes up with an enjoyable new way to hurt the man.

under dust and rubble (ao3) - DarkKitty1208 tony/stephen G, 2k

Summary: It happened so quickly. One slip and they're suddenly trapped under fallen rubble, unable to escape, so close to each other that their knees are touching and their breaths are mingling with the other's; Tony's surprised they aren't dead or crushed under already. Stephen doesn't currently have his sling ring in hand, and neither of them could blast their way out as doing so will only cause the debris to fall and crush them. They are painfully aware of the fact that the only way for them to even survive this is to wait until help arrives.

Basically, they're stuck.

when we have each other, we have everything (ao3) - IronMum tony/stephen G, 61k

Summary: “Take it from the top. Tell me everything,” Stephen inquired as he took the seat opposite, hands steepled together and lightly pressed against his chin.

“Got a distress call from Peter’s suit. Tracked him down but couldn’t connect to his AI. Arrived on the scene to find exhibit A: tiny child, tangled up in the Stark Suit. Kid says he’s Peter Parker and the scans confirm it. Short Stuff just got shorter.” Or… Tony and Stephen go from snarky acquaintances to friends to idiot dads who clearly love each other whilst solving the mystery of a de-aged Peter.

#themculibrary #marvel #mcu #doctor strange #masterlists #stephen strange #hurt!stephen #hurt!stephen masterlist #injury

[zahri-melitor]

And finally... time for the 2023 special!

DC's 'Twas the Mite Before Christmas #1 (2023)

I've got to say I agree with a bunch of other people; the stories in this special feel weirdly disconnected from current events and all over the place.

At Home Alone In Titans Tower - Teen Titans. This felt INCREDIBLY fanficcy. De-aged Raven does Home Alone.

On top of that, why of all the Teen Titan teams to pick from is this a story about Damian's first Teen Titans team, the one that contained almost no teens, and which makes no narrative sense? I literally thought we were doing a Cyborg-looks-more-human period until Raven said 'Damian', because that Robin looked like Dick. That Robin was drawn as Dick.

The Princess Switcheroo! - Amethyst and Harley Quinn. The premise honestly feels off for Amy, but sure. Amy and Harley switch lives for a few days, Amy gets some mentoring from Ivy in the interim.

Lex-Tacular Christmas Carol - Lex Luthor. We have moved beyond the need for A Christmas Carol retellings every single special.

Beyond that, Constantine was organising this to...be a dick? Why did John CARE to coordinate this? Honestly.

Riddler on the Roof - Batwoman.

Am I allowed to say that I'm getting narratively tired of seeing Kate Kane dating every and any other lesbian character they pop into stories? Also I'm just going to say that the age gap here is irritating, given if Quinn Nash is Eddie's daughter she'd be in her early 20s? While Kate should be in her thirties at least by now.

The Santa Copies - Booster Gold. Finally some actual fun, and it's even a Santa story!

Booster encounters a fallen Santa Claus who when he touches it, starts a replicating virus that turns him into another Santa. It's spread by contact. Rip tries to solve this and get Booster out of trouble.

Once they've fixed the virus, however, it seems...Santa still thinks he needs to make some deliveries. Looks like it might be the man himself.

Then Booster takes Rip out for a meal at fast food, and when Rip says he isn't hungry, buys him the kids meal that comes with a toy.

And now I'm blubbering because I'm pretty certain in current continuity Michael STILL doesn't know Rip is his future kid, but he still took Rip to get a kid's meal with a toy for Christmas. Like a dad.

Streaks in the Sky - Superman. This is a really lovely depression and doing things for others story.

It’s a Bunkerful Life - Bunker. While this is a nice ‘hey I’ve been without direction for a while’ sort of story and using Palmera City as the destination for a bunch of lost-focus young adult characters makes sense (I love Palmera as a setting) why are HALF of these characters at this party, when there are young adult queer characters who aren’t (including his former Teen Titan teammates, like TIM).

Wonderful Toys - Bat-Mite. Bat-Mite harasses Damian.

…why is Alfred alive here? What is the POINT of all these random out-of-period stories with no reasoning given for why.

Well of COURSE Talia’s not Carol Brady, Damian’s Cousin Oliver.

#DC Santa read along