Welcome!

The Itraviel Chronicles: The Christmas Crisis is a passion project of mine, currently on its fifth iteration. I try to build upon it each year, whether it's a thorough overhaul or just a fresh coat of paint.

The basic concept remains the same: Every day leading up to Christmas, I'll post a new chapter or two of a festively-themed story. You'll watch the tale unravel over time, its ending building up as excitement builds for the holiday season.

The story also comes packaged with a few extras, including:

• A 'welcome' document, getting you up to speed if you're new to the world of Itraviel!
• An introduction to the fictional, fantastical Feast of Hope, and why it's so important to the story.
• Portraits of every character featured within.
• A playlist associated with certain chapters, made from a few of my favourite songs that inspired the plot.

Why did I make this?

Christmas for me has always been a special time. From the songs to the shows, I eagerly await the yearly festivities, even in the heat of the summer. At the same time, I've been working on a universe of stories for years, so long that I can't remember a time when Itraviel and its characters haven't been in my mind.

The Christmas Crisis is, first and foremost, a love letter to good old-fashioned Christmas specials. You know the ones -- they're usually musical, sometimes Claymation, and always feature a happy ending and the spirit of the season. So, for this story, I channelled my inner Rankin-Bass and made my take on one of these festive classics, featuring the characters who've grown with me over the years.

The idea came about in December of 2019, as I was returning from a holiday trip to Florida. While I wasn't returning home on Christmas Eve itself like the gang in the story, the trip itself provided the basis for that plot string. The others fell into place soon after -- the main conflict is a thinly-veiled reference to Dr. Seuss' Christmas classic How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and the rest of the story falls anywhere from Dickens to Elf, Home Alone to The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Essentially, it's a tribute to everything I love about the Christmas season, fuelled by my rose-tinted memories of childhood. It's cheesy and self-indulgent -- trust me, I'm well aware of that -- but it's meant to be. So, like a candy cane or a steaming cup of cocoa, it's best to just let yourself enjoy the sweetness!

What's the story about?

"It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and a group of talented performers is planning a grand festival that will make this holiday season one to remember.

Organizing such a grand event is a tall order, but with hard work and a dash of good old festive magic, anything’s possible! At least until an unwanted guest steals the show, threatening to ruin this merry and bright night once and for all.

Now it’s a race against the clock to bring everything — and everyone — together, pull off the performance of a lifetime, and foil the schemes of the very unmerry intruder before the Feast of Hope becomes a nightmare before Christmas…"

A few little housekeeping notes:

• This year's version of the story is my most ambitious yet -- a complete rewrite filled to the brim with new additions, redone art and a revamped playlist. Whether it's your first time reading or you've already experienced a previous edition of the story, this year's read-through should feel brand new.
• This goes without saying, but this story, world, and characters are my original creations, so please do not copy or otherwise claim any of this material as your own! If you want to share this story with anyone, please provide them with the link to this website.
• Having said that, any fan works (writing, art, or anything else) are not only allowed, but encouraged! I made this story for sharing, so if it inspires you to create something of your own, I'm all for it!
• Please read Chapter 0 and the Introduction (or at least the first three parts of it) before starting the story itself. There’s some important, plot-relevant information in there that I wouldn't want you to miss!
• The chapters are not consistently sized, with some being longer than average and some being shorter. I tried my best to keep the chapters at a fairly manageable length, but some particularly important ones may run a bit long. Sorry about that. (EDIT: Since I first wrote this intro paragraph, each chapter has been given some additional detail, so they're all decently lengthy. Again, my apologies -- I tried to balance the length with the fact that you'll only be reading one or two a day.)
• The chapter titles are all references to some sort of Christmas/wintery media -- from the blatantly obvious to the incredibly obscure. Feel free to leave me your guesses as to what they're referencing; if you can guess them all, I will be very impressed.
• About the soundtrack, it's simply a selection of festively-themed songs I enjoy. Some of them directly inspired the plot (and I picture them as in-universe 'musical numbers' of sorts), while others just fit the vibes. All together, if this were a television special or movie instead of written word, they'd be the 'soundtrack' to the story. You don't have to listen to any of them, and you certainly don't have to like them, but I think they're a nice touch.
• If you can't keep with the suggested pace, no worries! Once they're posted, the chapters will stay up until early January, so read them at your leisure -- life happens. If you're more of a 'read in one sitting' person, I can arrange for that, too: just send me a message however you can reach me, and I can give you a document with all the chapters in one place. (Though, I highly recommend keeping with the 'advent calendar' format if you can.)

So what are you waiting for? Explore the content already posted, or prepare yourself for the upcoming chapters. Expect new content every day until the 25th -- unless, of course, I forget to post it.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for reading this labour of love, and I hope that my writing can capture even a glimmer of my heartfelt nostalgia for this magical season.

-- Meg 'M.S' Smith, @astralstarry_art on Instagram, Tumblr, and Spotify