Submitted by girl_from_the_crypt t3_zyzp01 in nosleep

I've been scouring the internet, Reddit, 4chan, what have you; I've seen and read things I will never recover from and I still haven't found the moron who doxxed my haunted woods. It gets worse. Two members of our security staff have since reported attempted entries. The would-be trespassers were guided off the property in both instances, but who knows how many might have slipped through the cracks.

Please stop, people. Just stop. You're killing me. I'm tired, frustrated, exhausted and I keep losing hair.

I'm willing to bet a few corpses are going to show up in the springtime. All that snow and ice, once melted, are sure to reveal some gruesome sights. I've informed the personnel and told them to be on particularly high alert. We'll also be looking for new hires in the near future, once we're of means again. Right now, we're hemorrhaging money due to another ill-conceived business scheme my younger brother cooked up. Nothing worth explaining in any further detail, really.

This is such a bad time for all of this, too. We're in more than enough trouble around yuletide each year either way. Starting December 12, one by one, the yule lads have been arriving in town. They love harassing our estate in particular, always have. Thankfully, they'll all be gone again pretty soon. If you don't know about the yule lads, lucky you. They're basically a bunch of pesky old bearded tricksters getting up to mischief around Christmas time. They each have their own thing going on. For example, there's the Spoon-Licker, an eerie-looking, malnourished fellow who steals used spoons to lick food remnants off. Then you've got the Door-Slammer, who runs around the house at night making a lot of noise to keep people from falling asleep.

It was all good fun when we were little. My brothers and I would set up tripwires for the Sheep-Cote Clod, a yule lad with stiff peg legs who likes to harass sheep. We'd stay up all night, hiding in the pen, waiting for him to show up. We'd all laugh at him when he'd walk into our trap and fall. He'd turn red with anger and march off, grumbling and grouching and shaking his fist at us.

We'd also jam the doors using rolled up socks, stuffing them into that crack along the hinges. This meant that whenever the Door-Slammer would try and do his thing, the door would give in just a little at first before whipping backwards, giving him a scare. So the yule lads never gave us much of a fright. It was their mother we were more worried about. I only ever saw her twice, and that was more than enough for me. I wish we'd never had to find out about her at all. Since y'all are so interested in my forest and the hauntings, I'm going to make good on my promise from last time and feed you the story accordingly.

A bit of background; I grew up as the oldest of seven kids in total. Yup, seven. If you've ever wondered what life is like with three little brothers and sisters, it's… well, something. The boys and I got along famously for the most part, although we got into our fair share of fistfights. I never spent much time around the other girls. I don't know why; they just never struck the right chord with me. My brothers however adored me, and they always jumped at the chance to get up to some dumb shit together. There was Jeremy, the second-born; Casimir and the youngest of the boys, Marian. We weren’t particularly bad kids, just a little rebellious. Except for Marian. Despite being the baby of the family, or perhaps because of it, he tended to take things a little too far.

He'd light poop on fire, hide dead mice in our parents' shoes like a cat and trash the living room. I don't know why he did it. Not because we made him! The pranks we pulled as a group never targeted our parents, and we always kept any damage to the house minimal. We loved him, yes, but he could hardly be called a well-behaved child. He was more like one of the yule lads himself.

So one night, I must have been around twelve, we were allowed to stay up a little later than usual to watch tv. They were screening some popular kids' movies at the time, so the seven of us were all lying on the floor, each wrapped up in a warm blanket while Mom and Dad sat huddled on the couch behind us. It was so comfortable, sprawling on the soft bear skin rug with the snow falling right outside our window. Everything was perfect, until the doorbell rang. I instantly jumped to my feet—being the oldest, I always tried very hard to show the most initiative. Leadership qualities and stuff. Before Mom could stop me, I skipped over to the door and opened it as far as the chain holding it in place allowed. I was about to greet the newcomer and ask what business they had in our neck of the woods at this time of night, but my voice caught in my throat.

The woman peering in at me through the crack was the most ghastly person I'd ever seen in my young life. She wasn't just tall but enormous, her giant form hunched over and her large head hanging low. Her gray, matted hair hung down from a tattered, mangy-looking scalp and her nose was long and knobbly. Her pores were huge as lunar craters, her pale skin rough as sandpaper. When she spoke, her cracked lips parted to reveal rotten teeth.

"You look delicious."

A foul odor accompanied her words, and I shrunk back both at the smell and her eerily raspy voice. I stood frozen in fear, my legs refusing to move until I was suddenly pulled back into the safety of our warm living room. My mother moved to stand in front of me, protectively blocking her path. With the door still being secured, I reckoned there wasn't a big threat of her coming in anyways, but I had felt so exposed and vulnerable under her gaze. Like a lamb moments before slaughter.

"Dear Madam," the giantess spoke again, this time addressing my mother. "I am so awfully hungry tonight. Please, please feed me. I need to eat." She reached through the doorway with a bony hand. Her long, dirty fingernails almost looked like talons. "Would you spare a morsel for me?"

"Get lost," my mother spat back at her. Her voice was venomous, lethal, and the most comforting sound I could imagine in that moment. "Don't ever come near this house again if you know what's good for you."

"Don't send me off! Please, most merciful lady… Just a morsel, a little morsel, that's all I'm asking for! You have more than enough…"

"If you don't leave, I'll beat you 'til you're raw, you disgusting parasite!"

My siblings had started listening in at some point. Dad seemed to be trying to direct their attention back onto the tv, but there was no chance of that happening.

"Eat shit and die!" Marian shouted, giggling like he'd just told a joke. Lord knows where he got that language from at his young age. Mom turned to shush him, and the giantess shot him a quick look. There was a glint in her eyes.

"Go away," Mom repeated with a little more emphasis. "You're not welcome here." With that, she shut the door in the woman's face.

"Mom, who was that?" I asked, still a bit shaken up.

"Her name's Gryla," she answered, nervously fumbling with her sleeve. "And she's no one you need to be worried about."

I didn't sleep well that night. I dreamt of Gryla, hiding in my closet. Having awoken with a start, I got up to fetch a glass of milk; the standard procedure for when I was restless. As I padded past the master bedroom, I could hear my parents talk in hushed, aggravated tones. What were they doing up? Intrigued, I lingered, pressing my ear up to the wooden door.

"Why didn't you just give her something from the kitchen?" Dad asked.

"You know it's not really food she's after! If we humor her, that only makes it worse!" my mother hissed. "She'll think she's welcome here and keep coming back! Don't you remember last year?"

"Hey, I get it! I just wish the kids hadn't been around… It really creeped me out, the way she just, you know… looked at them."

"It should!" Mom replied testily. "You think I was fine with it?"

"Does that change anything? That she saw them?"

"I don't think so." Mom sounded uncertain. "At least, I don't know that it does."

"Not being too reassuring there, honey."

"Should I lie and tell you she doesn't freak me out? I've been afraid of her since forever! My parents used stories about her to scare me into behaving back when I was little. Scarred me for life."

A chill ran down my spine and I drew away from the door. Sneaking down the corridor back towards my own bedroom, I was acutely aware of every little sound I made. The slapping of my naked feet on the carpeted floor and the beating of my heart both seemed to be amplified to an unnatural volume. I wanted nothing more than to find myself in the presumed safety of my sheets again, hiding under my blanket until daybreak. That's when I heard something—a tiny, muffled little grunt coming from Marian's room at the very end of the hallway. I stopped in my tracks, not daring to move a muscle. What was that sound? Had I misheard? Pulse thrumming in my ears, I stood and listened, still as a statue. There it was again! A dull thud, followed by a stifled whimper.

I had to go and check it out. I figured my little brother was simply having nightmares like I did earlier, but somehow, I still didn't want to. Every single one of my limbs seemed to be opposed to the idea of going any further. Forcing my legs to move, I proceeded down the suddenly much longer seeming corridor until I reached Marian's room. I gently rapped on the door. No response. Everything had fallen silent inside.

"Marian?" I whispered.

Still nothing.

I slowly nudged the door open, nimbly slipping through the crack only to come to a staggering halt the second I laid eyes on what was inside. There, in the middle of the room, stood this awful, terrifying woman. Her back bent to allow her to fit in under the ceiling at all, she glowered down at me from above. When she opened her mouth to speak, blood dripped from her long, lolling tongue and she stopped to lick her lips, smearing it all over her cheeks.

"What's wrong, dear? I only took a morsel."

With that, she raised her hand and before I could even fully process what I was seeing, I was already screaming.

Her long, gnarled fingers were holding up my little brother's severed head by the hair. His lifeless, glassy eyes were staring right through me; his mouth contorted in a silent cry of fear. Cackling, Gryla dropped the head onto the floor and ducked to worm her way through the open window. I saw her running through the snow outside into the direction of the woods, her dirty gray shawl trailing after her and her laughter lingering in the chilly winter air. When my parents came storming in mere seconds later, my mother broke down instantly. Her wails of shock, of grief, loss and heartbreak were more harrowing than the voice of the giantess. I fell into my father's open arms, pressing myself against him as my body was shaken by sobs. We shut and locked the door behind us, to keep the other kids from coming in and seeing what was left of Marian.

For a while, it was all we could do to sit and weep, all huddled up in a large, shivering pile. None of us got up, not even to close the window through which the cold wind was blowing in. Christmas time was never quite as much fun after that. No one ever set foot into Marian's room again. We buried his head out in the yard, then barricaded his chamber from the outside. That was it. Suddenly, my parents were short a child and I was without my little brother. A life had been erased, with nothing anyone could do about it. A fresh wound to each member of the family that couldn't be healed except through time. You'd think this tragedy would bring us closer together, but I actually believe that this was the night we all started alienating. My mother never let anyone in on her misery except me. To her, I was always the child who'd suffered the second most, the one who'd found Marian's head.

She'd always wanted to make me the official heiress to the woods, and her decision only cemented itself through the bond we thus formed. She stopped doting on my siblings as much. She never neglected them, but made it clear I was her favorite. Dad started kind of resenting her for it, and by extension me.

Yeah, I think that's how we all began drifting apart. We'd never grow back together. The big house would slowly empty, leaving only me and my staff.

Recounting this has been painful, obviously. I hope you'll take it as another warning not to come here. Our property isn't a fun house or a Halloween attraction. I have dedicated my whole life to keeping this forest safe, to keep the things inside from spilling out; so please, have a little respect for my efforts. Just a tiny little bit.

X

Part 1

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Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

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Comments

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ninaplays t1_j28o39v wrote

Holy hell, Fiona.

There’s no way to ward off things like her? Keep them away or kill them?

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bliss_ignorant t1_j28oa8q wrote

Holy fucking shit... I am so sorry for your tragedy. Im sure it isn't the only one but I am having a hard time imagining something worse than what you just recounted.

Just spit balling here, but you said you tripped one of her children, do you know what they are and if they are mortal? I understand not wanting to incur the wrath of something infinitely more powerful, but is there any chance to set a trap that's a little more... dangerous? An eye for an eye so to speak.

Alas, revenge does seem a futile endeavor at my most sober.

I look forward to hearing more about your land.

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girl_from_the_crypt OP t1_j28ojwo wrote

It's complicated.

As far as I know, Gryla can't be killed. Not by me, at least. Maybe something like the Leshy could off her, but idk. She can normally be kept away by simply chasing her off—that's what my parents talked about that night. Or you can give her other food, I guess, like my father suggested, but ngl I don't want her coming back cuz she thinks she's welcome here.

I'll be honest, ever since then I haven't really had any problems with her. Marian's death was more than enough.

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girl_from_the_crypt OP t1_j28p7w4 wrote

First off, thank you, I really appreciate the kindness. It helps.

Well, I don't know much about the Yule Lads, but I think they're immortal to some degree. They sure can't die of old age, seeing as they've been around for... I don't know how long. Definitely centuries. Maybe they're not unkillable though. Sooo I guess it's possible.

But!

There's a but. I don't want to take on Gryla. She's huge and gruesome and strong and could totally swallow me whole. Killing one of her sons could perhaps draw her wrath in a way I simply don't want to imagine. It would surely be satisfying, but I don't think I want to pay the price.

Either way, thanks. I like the way you think. And you will hear more!

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lauraD1309 t1_j28yqgj wrote

Your poor brother. I assume she picked him because of his comment to her. Your mother may have used harsh language to get her to leave but she is the rightful owner of the house. Your brother was disrespectful to his elder.

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bliss_ignorant t1_j29649o wrote

My goodness, I do not envy your situation one bit, It sounds rather dreadful. I appreciate you entertaining my very bad idea in light of the subject at hand. The loss of family is the most painful thing I have ever endured, I hope you have (or will) find peace in life after loss. Cheers, and best of luck to you!

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girl_from_the_crypt OP t1_j296szk wrote

I'm never really at peace here, like... not really really. But the woods still make me kinda happy, despite everything. That probably sounds weird. I've not forgotten about Marian nor the rest of the family, but I'm not thinking about them ALL the time. So I'm ok. But that just came out really cruel just now.

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arnistaken t1_j29769e wrote

Eh there's nothing our rifles wouldn't be able to take out. Looking forward to some Yuletide fun next year.

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FaustusC t1_j298den wrote

So, this thing's roaming on your land and yet you don't want people like me coming in and killing it? If I'm right and I know what she is, it's a pain in the ass to kill but not impossible.

I don't even want money. I just want an introduction to the Leshy so I can seduce it.

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Skyfoxmarine t1_j29998n wrote

I think a certain Sheriff's wife should pay this sibling-murdering b***h a visit 😡.

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girl_from_the_crypt OP t1_j299f78 wrote

Dude. We've been living here for generations. We're not waiting for some kinda godsend to come kill off these creatures for us. Also, Gryla is just... Gryla. She's been around for centuries. I don't think this would be the first time someone's attempted to kill her. She's still alive for a reason, and people don't go up against her for a reason.

More importantly, how would you seduce the Leshy? Like, I'm seriously interested. And, like... You do want his human form, right?

Right?

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reiko371 t1_j29eq2w wrote

I feel like she’ll come back for the next generation, as if Marian was her toll, but the toll will be asked again. Please be careful. I don’t remember if your siblings had children yet, but if they sleep over at your place…and you also have a child… it would be a prime moment for her.

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girl_from_the_crypt OP t1_j29fe97 wrote

That's a nice thought. I'd love a holiday. But I can't right now, like, there's so much to do. I can't rest right now.

Also, camping is just as stressful! Why would I wanna sleep where there's no beds lol. I want sth more laid back. Know a good hotel? Or like a place for a spa day?

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girl_from_the_crypt OP t1_j29fx0p wrote

That's unsettling. But you may be onto sth.

I don't have any children and I'm not sure if my siblings do. Maybe. But none of them have ever stayed over at my place. I'm pretty disconnected from my siblings, except for my little brother. Come to think of it, he does have kids but they're not at risk for different reasons. It's a long story.

Anyways, I do think Gryla is wherever misbehaving children are.

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Kitchen-Market-7688 t1_j29izlv wrote

Awe, you are adorable, aren't you?

The kindergartener with his big, dangerous stick.
Oh yes, sure you are a superhero and you get to rescue the lady from the big, bad evil.

The Misses might coo at you, maybe she laughs. Maybe she will have you for tea.I am pretty sure she will have you for tea.

Serious, if you want to get a Leshy to have an interest in you, you need to be a very special person.And the way you think makes clear, you are not.

The first to die, and most often horrible, are the white knights who are full of themselves. There is no space left for cunning or anything else that makes a hero, a hero.

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Kitchen-Market-7688 t1_j29jf1i wrote

That sounds as if you have seen the Leshy's human form.

But then, it also seems the Leshy holds you in high regard.
Are you, perhaps, distantly, very distantly, related to the Leshy? It would explain the thing with your family and being the caretakers of that special piece of land.

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Kitchen-Market-7688 t1_j29k1kw wrote

Would not recommend.

Especially not because of the dude who offers you a drink and then you puke your guts out.
And then you have to chase them, wash them and put them back in. You can not imagine how much muck they pick off the ground when slithering through the woods

Seriously, just being reminded about him makes my guts squirm uneasily. No idea what is in that brew but the little snakes hate it with passion.

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FaustusC t1_j29kxwq wrote

And? There's a reason you only find things like this in little havens like yours. Humanity has evolved to the point where they're nuisances because we allow it. For the most part.

I'm no savior or godsend. Far from it.

It's not like she's an old one or something. She's like a crocodile. You let it live in the river behind your home and for the most part, it's just there. Doesn't affect your day to day. But then, one day it gets big enough that it does. Maybe it goes after you, your dog or... A kid. At which point it becomes a hazard and needs to be removed. Ideally that could be somewhere else, a relocation. But we both know that's not how this world works.

All of those questions are between me and the Leshy, thank you very much.

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FaustusC t1_j29mp9l wrote

I'm not a white knight. I'm not an Amazon cosplayer. And I am the farthest thing from a hero.

Nor do I care that the owner of the forest is a female. If she truly doesn't want help, I don't know where the forest is and I'm not going out of my way to find it.

The Leshy will have an interest in me. We have something in common. But if it kills me? It kills me. I've had a good run.

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girl_from_the_crypt OP t1_j29tlyh wrote

I have! I talked about that yesterday, remember? The man with the cudgel.

I doubt we're related. My ancestors are a whole thing. I'll have to explain that sometime too, but I don't think we are.

The Leshy is, well... I GUESS he holds me in SOME regard, but it's not high. Not very high, at least. He's a proud creature, and he pays me and my family some begrudging respect. The woods are his truly, but they're ours on paper, and let's just say he's willing to share his title to some extent.

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DevilMan17dedZ t1_j29uwwg wrote

Damn Dirty Old Bat... Thing... Boogeywoman... Whatever the hell 'she' is, needs a serious lesson in boundaries. A solid ass whooping by the Leshy would be awesome. I feel for you with the loss of your brother. I hope it doesn't hurt nearly as bad as it used to.

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RUFrayd t1_j2a2ske wrote

Just spit balling here, but do you think it's possible your brother is the cause of the cryptid hunters? Maybe he was hoping for revenge or to drive them off the land? Considering ill conceived schemes seem to be a pattern?

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ctn1p t1_j2awnpu wrote

Depends, are you are the Baltic estate, cause if so gryla's presence borders on that of a sub-jould class entity, if your the western estate you could probably get them to leave the area by encouraging/introducing competition from simmaler entities, however this is inadvisable for obvious reasons

Alternatively: somehow convince Wrentworth to solve their presence, but you'd most likely end up the one unmade

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TheHonoredMaidens t1_j2b09l2 wrote

I’m so sorry you had to go through something like that at such a young age, Fiona. Unfortunately creatures like her seem to delight in traumatizing children.

I’m curious, do you know if your Leshy is the Leahy, or just one of his disciples? I know they all go by the same name but there’s one whose above all the rest. An old forest god and his personal representatives. From your description of his behavior in the first story it sounds like yours may actually be the old Leshy himself. If that is the case you might ask him if Gryla enters the woods by his will or not.

If she’s there by his leave then being rude to her may have brought down even more wrath. If, however, she is trespassing in his domain, he might be willing to share a method of warding her off. Old Ones like him do t take kindly to other ancients trespassing on their sacred spaces, and he might delight in teaching her a lesson about respecting territories and tenants.

The simple fact that he’s on speaking terms with you means he likes you more than the average mortal. He lets you share his domain. He might teach you some method of warding out of a certain protective streak. You protect his forest alongside him, he likely sees you as a worshipper or acolyte. The Leshy and his kin have never taken kindly to those who harm those under their eye.

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girl_from_the_crypt OP t1_j2b61wg wrote

Hi! First off, thanks for the kind words. You're right, they do seem to love it.

As far as I know, my Leshy doesn't answer to anybody. He seems to have solitary reign over the woods. I don't know if that makes him an actual deity, or if he's just a recluse.

Gryla doesn't reside permanently in our woods. I don't know if she comes and goes by the Leshy's leave, so perhaps you're onto something. Maybe he'd be willing to giving us some sort of protection if I did him some sorta favor and asked really nicely.

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Impossible_List_1765 t1_j2bwv0g wrote

Beings like her need to be taken care of, your staff or even you could be in mortal danger if she ever gets more hungry than wanting just a morsel, I recommend you find a weak spot, an Achilles’ heel in a way.

Then abuse it to drive her off the woods, her children are merely tricksters looking for someone to pick on but they aren’t really dangerous, and concerning the Leshy, they are not hostile unless provoked as you mentioned, you could try to ask a favor of it if you are willing to take the risk.

Any entity you know is actively hostile should be taken care of, can’t wait to hear more of this very interesting little forest.

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Wolfcape t1_j2byth3 wrote

First off I'm sorry for your loss. It's hard losing a loved one early in life, and I can empathize.

Secondly, (sorry I might have missed this explanation somewhere) why haven't you up and left this haunted woodland? The upkeep must be bleeding you dry, the consistently disappearing staff and cryptid hunters aren't exactly enticing and the isolation is not good for anyone's mental health.

Furthermore if you fear the lack of lives to keep the creatures within the confines, whoever doxxed you has sent plenty of people with little perspective — and future prospect — to keep them entertained, surely (the "guns can deal with all problems" kind of people, who make my top favorite list right after STDs, cancer, organ failure etc.)

Anyway something that wasn't fully explained is why you started wearing your wedding dress, and kept it up. I might have missed the why but the gripping way you told your tale(s) kept me focused on other details.

​

EDIT: Also how are you getting internet there? If Leshy doesn't do good with fences, 20' poles or cables aren't really in his good books either.

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RUFrayd t1_j2c96ce wrote

I was referring to one of your other still living brothers (Jeremy or Casimir) not specified which: "Right now, we're hemorrhaging money due to another ill-conceived business scheme my younger brother cooked up."

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Sasquick9 t1_j2cgb50 wrote

I have always found that deep sorrow from the loss of someone close increases your ability to appreciate the smallest things in life and eventually you do heal.

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mumble_bee_15 t1_j2cukx8 wrote

I celebrate Yuletide, reading this is wild lmao

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