Ring the bells or break out the booze, because we’ve done it one last time. Christmas day with another twelve days of Christmas (hopefully) successfully behind us. I’ve been saying for years I needed to start these things sooner than I have, and I think this year is a personal record.

I need to give a number of thanks for making this thing happen for 2019. I dumped one hell of a work load on t_shirt1x2 this year, but I know she will have come through with flying colors as always. A big thank you to merula31 and lavendarlizard for helping fill the days with their traditional art gifts but also for being there with support over the years. Really a huge shout out to everyone who is reading this for the support, friendship, long ass email conversations, and positive feedback that made me want to keep this tradition going. And to my daughter, my little sword and shield who put her life on hold for these last so many years to take care of and help support me, and who I know without a doubt followed through with this last request of mine, daunting as it likely was.

Day twelve is a little (lot) different because I had to hand over the wheel once I set the GPS. But I hope it can be enjoyed for what it is.

Merry Christmas everybody. See you all on the other side.

( Important Note from the OffspringCollapse )

( A Thank You From the OffspringCollapse )

( Ion Vignette 14Collapse )

Here we are at Christmas eve one last time, at least where my work is concerned. Feels a little sad, a little nostalgic, a little what-was-I-thinking on some of these works. I had fears there towards the end of these I was losing my ‘writing voice’, so to speak, but I think everything came out well in the wash with a little proof reading.

The art here is again by the wonderfully talented and patient t_shirt1x2 and wraps up the little side story this year has been telling. We’ve seen Christmas morning, with Duo hastily doing his last minute wrapping, followed by Christmas afternoon in which presents are given and everyone feels all warm and fuzzy. And then, like in all things, we have the end of the day and the peace of Christmas night.

You know what this holiday needs more of this year? Aside from debt forgiveness options that work, present supply that actually meets demand, and same hour delivery for online shopping so you never have to leave your house to fight the horde? Fluff. I figure angst may be a bit too on the nose this year, and risqué is awkward to think about when your official fandom secretary is doing your proof reading and posting. So I’ve landed on this little fluff piece that I hope everyone can enjoy with a stereotypical aww at the end. I figure some will likely make a wrong leap back to day five. Don't worry, the contents of that book will show up exactly when it should which is Christmas Eve night.

Note from the offspring- So, funny story, day eight’s story was missing from the nicely collected and organized holiday folder I was given. I had to dive in to her other files with only her preamble file to go off of and, with some much needed help from t_shirt1x2 I think this is it (I really hope this is it. The file date fits the time frame). We also couldn’t find this story anywhere else in her archives. Also, I just became aware about the twelve day art not showing up when I’ve posted it to A03. I’ll be getting that fixed either tonight or tomorrow.


( MarcoCollapse )

This ficlet came about when some failed Christmas carol rewrites meant for day six met up with the memory of an actual real life event from a few years back. The event Duo describes here more or less happened when the music system at my work malfunctioned early on in the holiday season and had an office full of jovial people ready to riot. And a mob only becomes more intimidating when they mobilize while wearing festive ugly sweaters.

I feel the need to add here that this work was something I dictated and the kid typed, as it was faster and easier at the time when I started working on this. I also need to give credit where it is due because she came up with the snippets of carols used, so you can think of this as a little collaboration we worked on together.

( The Song that Never EndsCollapse )

I’m pretty sure part of the stress of this little tradition I have going is half figuring out the placement of what goes where... Three pictures in the first five days seem a little heavy, but if I spread them out it clogs up the back half… maybe I’m just over thinking it since someone else is doing the actual posting this year and I’m trying to wrangle up my rabid little duckies in advance…

Again we have the wonderful t_shirt1x2 to thank for the image. It should be a nice Christmas afternoon, a few hours after breakfast has been cleared away but slightly before lunch, and with the presents unwrapped we get to see exactly what Duo had been so diligently finishing up earlier in the day. It’s a special gift, because a gift given from the heart is always the most meaningful package under a tree.

As someone famous once said, once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more! Last year I finished up the opening of the 2018 twelve days of Christmas by saying ‘if we do this again…’ and I came to the conclusion no, not if. We ARE doing the twelve days of Christmas for 2019 come hell or high water, because it’s an end to the decade so we are going to go out in style, and I’m not letting cancer have the last word in MY story.

Now almost as traditional as the twelve days itself, here is my yearly disclaimer. I started the written portions of this year almost directly after finishing the 2018 set (I told you all I swore to start earlier). That being said, and with the elephant in the corner now being known to the whole of the room, I can’t promise anything blow your mind great but I can promise there are twelve individual posts this year ready and waiting to go.

To kick it off right t_shirt1x2 has come through for me yet again with the awesome traditional opening art. I would say my crystal ball has shown me this as fact, but the truth of the matter is that I know both t_shirt1x2 and my daughter, and I know that both of them worked together to get this done so a big thank you to both.

So, once more friends. Day one. A piece dedicated to Christmas morning and the typical last minute rush to get those last presents finished up and wrapped. Don't be like Duo. Get your presents done now and yes, that project you've been putting off WILL take longer than you think.





From the offspring: No pressure or anything here… o.o I didn’t want to add anything, but at the same time I felt I should add a few things. First, thank you all for the lovely comments. I have a larger message to kinda address all of that, but I want to save that for the end of the 12 days post. Let’s celebrate first.

Second, I will be updating with the 12 days on Ao3 and live journal, and I am going to try to get them up on dreamwidth but I can’t make any promises on that last one as I do not have her log in credentials.

Lastly, my experience with live journal is limited to exactly one post so far, but it looks like it has done something funky with the images. I’ll be uploading the art to an Instagram account as well and will edit with the link as soon as that is done.