#wintersend

[paintedanarchy]

After many many vn play throughs, I finally made the decision to make one myself! Excited to share the first CGs of my original character!

[rosha84]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

This is my gift for OnestopAnime on the DellamortVilla Discord for our gift exchange. ☺️🎁

I got to play with another Rook, which was scary but also really fun.

By candlelight

Wintersend is here, and Iris and Lucanis prepare their home for an evening of celebrations with their friends.

Wakefulness slowly crept in. At first, it was only warmth - a solid weight behind her, an arm slung over her waist, the tickle of a stray curl brushing her cheek. Then came sound: the soft, even breath of someone close, the faint rustle of sheets as she shifted, still half-asleep. Finally, her eyes blinked open, and the familiar wood-paneled wall of her bedroom eased into focus.

Her mind was sluggish, still half-stuck in the dream she’d been having. It had been a good one - cozy and full of light. She hadn’t been alone, either. Faces of friends and family lingered at the edges of her memory, hazy but warm. All laughing, all smiling, clinking glasses, and eating.

With a sigh, she closed her eyes again, hoping to return to that dream for just a few more minutes.

Behind her, Lucanis stirred. His arm tightened slightly, gently pulling her back against him. A soft kiss ghosted across her shoulder.

“Hmm,” she purred, then puffed out a breath to dislodge the tickling curl.

Lucanis chuckled. He brushed the hair away and tucked it behind her ear. “Good morning, mi amor. Rise and shine.”

Face buried in her pillow, she mumbled, “Stilltoearly. Jusfivemoreminutes.”

“I would love to let you sleep longer, flor. But we’ll have guests tonight.”

“So much work ahead,” Spite chimed in.

Guests? Work? What day was it? What year?

Then, like a landslide, memory hit. Wintersend. Their friends were arriving today - tonight they’d all gather to celebrate the holiday.

She jolted upright. “Maker! What time is it?”

Her gaze flew to the window, but the heavy samite curtains gave away nothing.

Lucanis pressed another kiss to her cheek, then rolled out of bed to haul the curtains open. Pale winter sunlight spilled across the bedroom,

It was still early, she surmised, and allowed herself a brief moment to appreciate Lucanis’ adorably rumpled state - tousled hair, shirt buttoned up wrong. He had worked late the night before, finishing his paperwork so that today would belong to them alone. He’d stumbled into bed red-eyed and had curled up behind her with a contented sigh.

“It’s not that big of a deal. Just a small dinner with our friends,” she’d told him a few days ago.

He had looked at her, almost scandalized. “It’s Wintersend! A time to spend with your loved ones. Preparing food and lighting candles. Not just some random dinner.”

“Eh.” She’d shrugged. The holiday was…nice - decorations, music, good food, gifts. But she mostly cared about seeing her friends again. Letters were good; hugs were better. But she wouldn’t spoil his excitement. And besides… it was their first Wintersend together since- …Maker, since they’d been barely more than children.

Swinging her legs over the side of their bed, she hissed at the cold that nipped her soles.

Winters in Treviso rarely brought snow, with the warm waters of the Rialto Bay keeping the worst of the cold at bay. But the night air could still bite, frosting the colorful windows and leaving a thin glittering layer over everything. Shivering, she shrugged into her dressing gown and hurried to the hearth. The fire had burned low; only a few embers winked up at her.

She threw on a log and coaxed the flames to life.

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked, holding her hands toward the growing warmth. “Divide and conquer? I go to the market, you handle things here, and we tackle the cooking together later?”

Lucanis joined her by the fire. “No. I thought we’d have a quick breakfast, then head to the market together. We’ll handle the rest when we return.”

Iris pondered that, watching sparks jump from the burning log with a sharp crack. They'd already done most of the cleaning in the days before, part of the shopping too. But the servants had been given the customary day off, allowing them to join their own families for the holiday. This left Lucanis and her alone to take care of everything.

“We’ll never get everything perfect before the others arrive.”

“It will be absolute chaos.” Lucanis smiled and leaned his forehead to hers. “But I’d rather have half the decorations up and dinner unfinished than spend this day apart.”

Half of that sentence was a lie, she knew - Lucanis was a perfectionist and would fuss over every detail. It was the deep honesty of the second half of his statement that kept her from calling him out and just threaded her fingers through his beard, enjoying the tickling brush of it. “Chaos it is, then.”

(Read the rest here.)

[jeyne-stark]

The collection is now revealed!

[jeyne-stark]

Hey everyone!

Wintersend gifts are coming in today! We already have a bunch in the collection, so remember to upload yours today and check the others out!

[jeyne-stark]

Hey, Wintersend participants! You may have gotten, or will get, an email regarding your gifted work. Due to an error, this may have your gifter’s username attached. Please do not look, or if you do, please do not share who got you a gift.

[jeyne-stark]

Hey, Wintersend participants! Just a reminder that your gifts are due tomorrow, February 15! Please only post them on AO3, in the Wintersend 2020&2021 collection, as gifts for your giftee (you will have gotten their AO3 username in the notification I sent out; if you can’t find it, message me). After the reveals, you may post your gifts wherever you like!

[incognitajones]

mosylu, youareiron_andyouarestrong, wintersend

(To the anon who asked—yes, I’m still taking names!)

mosylu / @mosylufanfic: I considered choosing one of her light-hearted, funny stories, because they always make me smile and it’s an impressive achievement to write in-character humour for this ship... but then I remembered Faking It, which is easily one of the sexiest things I’ve ever read and hotter than most full-on PWP, even though no-one has sex

youareiron_andyouarestrong / @youareiron-andyouarestrong: I’d say iron, salt, earth but I don’t know whether a co-authored story is cheating for the purposes of this meme, so I went with i’d be the dreadful need in the devotee (imagine being loved by me) featuring a lovely framing device and a satisfyingly ferocious Jyn

wintersend / @andorerso : as soon as I saw the author’s note saying imaginary homelands was based on a Persuasion prompt I was sold! and the story delivers on the promised bittersweet, slow-burn reunion of estranged lovers, plus a nicely fleshed-out SW backdrop

[ send me three fic writers and I’ll share my favourite stories by each ]

[lelienhof]

Homestead #wintersend #darkmountain #darknessrises #mountains #winter #fog #snow #ice #trollveggen #trollwall #photography #photographer (ved Møre og Romsdal) https://www.instagram.com/p/B833EyOAbK-/?igshid=1vslkm5hajuvy