Welcome to the Dog Days of Advent. I made a list of prompts, and wrote a bite-sized story for each one. They don’t live in the same universe, but they’re all a little off-kilter from what you might expect from holiday fare. And if you pay attention, you’ll notice that the last line of each story becomes the first line of the next. Today’s prompt is Ribbon

Christmas Eve aboard the Cousteau was usually a warm, bustling affair. The crew decorated bulkheads with replicated garlands, brewed small batches of spiced tea in the galley, and argued cheerfully about which Earth tradition counted as “real Christmas.”

Melissa A. Bartell