#I actually have the sketches for the whole rest of the chapter finished :)

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Is the reunion approaching?

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Gilded Constellations | (wolfstar x reader)

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Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 7.6 K Warnings: None Prompt: Time to wrap it all up, and perhaps receive one or two surprises. This IS a Wolfstar x reader fic, but it's incredibly slow burn. They won't start all dating each other until we're very deep into the story, but I promise the long wait will be worth it. Proofread by lovely: @aremuslupinsimp

Chapter 42: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Wednesday, December 23rd

The art store was small, but filled with colours all around. Small little black cabinets with golden numbers on top behind the counter, and walls lined with different paint pots and colours, a wall with wooden frames and delicately separated boxes that held paint brushes of all different sizes and shapes and, by the bits you’d read, also materials. 

At the top of the cabinets there was a small display of colourful markers and pens and other things that you knew muggles used but you weren’t too familiar with. Apparently, they used stick glue instead of sticking spells to adhere stuff. You wondered how much of this stuff Sirius actually knew about and vowed to bring him to this place with you one day. 

And while you did appreciate art, thoroughly – you’d gone to multiple museums, both muggle and wizarding through your trips – you had no idea what the difference was between gouache and acrylic, or why the “Rembrandt” that claimed to be made out of oil, where much more expensive than the “Winsor & Newton” ones that claimed the same. It had to be because of the quality, right?��

“Good evening, may I help you?” a young man, probably in his late twenties asked as he approached you. He was dressed in rather formal clothes and had a pair of thin-rimmed golden glasses. You would have probably considered him attractive if you hadn’t been accustomed to Sirius’ dashing looks or Remus’ lovely smile. You really were lucky to be surrounded by handsome and pretty humans, you thought, thinking of the rest of your friends. 

You must have looked as lost as a Bowtruckle in the middle of New York since he looked like he would try to be overly polite. 

“I’m looking for a gift, my boyfriend loves to draw, but I’m… not really good with all the supplies and stuff, I was thinking perhaps a nice set of pencils and a sketchbook. I’ve been looking through the paints as well, but I don’t think he’s the kind to do the whole canvas thing, at least not while we’re in school.” 

“Well, does he colour his drawings?” 

You thought about it for a moment, what he’d shown you were mostly sketches done in pencil, though there were some with an underlayer of red and or blue. “I think he uses some for the base of the drawings.” 

“Does he overline them?” The expression you gave him when he asked made him clarify it. “After the pencil sketch is done, does he add a pen or marker to finish up the details?” 

Sirius did not do that, but you also thought how complicated it would be to do such a thing with a quill instead of the pens and trinkets the muggles had invented so you nodded in response. “Yeah… not that often but I’m sure he’d like something to be able to do it.” 

“All right, follow me,” he said as he motioned to one of the furthest walls. “This is where we keep all of our sketchbooks, the thicker the grammage the stronger pens and markers it will hold. Also, some can even hold watercolour, not sure if he’s into that too.” 

“Do you have like – a book on the basics of watercoloring? I feel like he might actually be interested in that.” 

“We do,” he said with a nod and moved to the other side of the store bringing you a few options. You picked one of them and then looked through the sketchbooks. There were different sizes and colours and the pages felt really different on most of them. Some were especially made for watercolours and some were for drawing. You took one with about 100 pages for watercolour and one with the same amount of pages but with a bit less grammage for sketches. 

They both had a black cover with golden elegant trims that you thought would definitely go with Sirius’ look, although one opened from the side, making it more of a panoramic view while the other one stayed horizontal. You handed them in to the guy and he took them to the counter as you continued looking around. You leaned into the watercolour section and started to look at all the different options available. 

“If this is the first time he’ll do watercolour, may I recommend you buy a set?” he asked politely as he showed you a small wooden case, when he opened it there were all sorts of small blocks with different colours on them. “These are my favourite brand, but really gentle with beginners, they also come with this interesting thing,” he added as he handed you a small brush with a clear section at the top. “It comes with water, you don’t have to dip your brush that often, really useful once you get the hang of it.” 

“You have more of those?” you asked and he nodded, showing you the different sizes of brush ends. After a while, and with a lot of his help, you ended up selecting about 5 different brushes and the colours that you’d fill the small wooden box with as well, which you thought was fantastic since you could fill it up with whatever colours you chose and not a set palette. 

“You’ll also take the marker set, the watercolour book and the sketchbooks, correct? Anything else?” 

“Uhh… Am I missing anything that he might need?

“Does he draw portraits or landscapes?” 

You thought back of the Remus drawing he’d shown you, and then of the one you had chosen not to see. “He draws portraits and anatomy studies. Though I’m sure I’ve seen him doodle other stuff too.” 

“He might like this book then,” he told you as he handed over another book. It was about proportions and hand drawing and a lot of very advanced-looking stuff, you smiled. 

“This one as well, please…” he was about to finish the bill when you stopped him, looking down through the glass display and pointing towards something, “Is that a penknife?” 

“Well, yes,” he replied, “Although sharpeners are used more often nowadays, some people still prefer them.” 

“I’d like one of those as well,” you added with a smile. 

“Excellent.” The man gave you your total and then handed every single thing in a thick paper bag. “You said it was for a gift, right?” 

“Yes,” you nodded and he walked to the back of the shop, pulling a very elegant and sturdy black box, he eyed the bag as if calculating if everything would fit and then handed it over to you along with a black and gold ribbon with the name of the store repeated over and over. 

As he handed it over he pulled it back for a second and gave you a smile. “That young gentleman is very lucky to have you as a girlfriend.” 

“I think I’m just as lucky as he is,” you responded with a small smirk as you took the box. 

“Would you like me to call you a cab?” 

You thought about it for a second. Your house wasn’t that far, and with a short levitating spell you wouldn’t have to carry much stuff either, but the Knight Bus did mention they’d be very busy and you had been walking all day. “Yes, thank you.”

The man called for one and you waited inside the store until the cabbie arrived. You gave him your address and he took you straight there. You took the lift of your building, using your wand to unlock the secret –magical- floor your parents had purchased in London and waited. 

When the two, golden doors of the lift opened to your drawing room, you sighed. Leaning down to take off your shoes. “Mom? Dad?” 

No answer. “What time is it?” you whispered to yourself as you looked at the clock, quarter past ten? That art store surely has late closing times, you thought as you leaned back down to pull your bags up and drag them to your room. 

There was a note on the table along with what looked like a delightfully looking salad and steak. 

We’ll be home late, serve yourself. See you tomorrow darling.

You sighed and after placing the bags on the table, and using a warming spell on the food, you ate. Once you were done, the plate disappeared from the table and instead, a chocolate cake showed up. You smiled, at least they knew you liked sweets. You took a few bites from that and took it, along with your gifts, to your room. 

That’s when you remembered you had promised to tell your friends when you arrived here so you quickly scribbled a few notes. Sending your owl –Resse– back to the Potter’s and Barnaby –the family’s owl– to Beth. Then you took some Floo powder and leaned over the fire. 

“Tom?” You asked as you peeked through his chimney. 

“Sly sprite?” He asked as he leaned over. “I was starting to worry,” he said as he left a book on the side. “You got home, all right?” 

“Yeah!” you said with a smile. “And I got a bunch of good stuff at the store too, it was worth it.” 

“It better have been! Beth is home too, we stopped by hers first.” 

You chatted with Tom for a little while more and ended the call when you started to yawn and he followed right after. With that, you went for a quick and warm shower and then back to bed. 

Thursday, December 24th

There was a soft knock on the door, you stirred on your bed but didn’t wake and then there was another one. “Sweetheart? Breakfast’s ready, come eat.” 

“On my way,” you said as you sat on your bed and rubbed your eyes a couple of times. The day was bright, you’d forgotten to shut your windows at night and now you had the perfect view of the Thames through your window. You thought back to Hogwarts and how all the splendour of it had been made by magic, while the splendour of London had mostly been made by muggles. 

The high skyscrapers, the Ferris Wheel across the river, the towers, palaces and bridges, all muggle-made, and without magic, it was fascinating. You didn’t understand why wizards had so many prejudices against them –aside from the whole burning on steak part, muggles seemed to be quite incredible and determined people.  Perhaps you should have taken that muggle studies optative. 

“Sweetheart?” you heard your father’s voice, a bit more stern than your mother’s. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” you said as you shook your covers off and grabbed your wand from the nightstand. “As if they hadn’t been home hours after I got here,” you mumbled as you fished for a pair of slippers under your bed. 

By the time you got out of your room both your mom and dad were sitting on the living room table. Your mom was wearing a beautiful cocktail dress while your dad had a perfectly fitting black suit on with a small cape, draped elegantly behind his chair. You were still wearing a band shirt you had stolen from Sirius a while ago, and that you had been wearing under Remus’ jumper before the trip. “Lovely to see you,” you said with an awkward smile, “it’s been a while.” 

Your father looked up from his newspaper with a cup of coffee in his hand only for a second, nodded and then went back to read. Your mom gave you a sympathetic look and nodded for you to sit down. After a couple of minutes, your dad bent the newspaper and placed it on the side of the table.  

“We’ve heard plenty of your Hogwarts Adventures,” your father said looking at you. “You’ve been doing a masterful job at maintaining our house’s name relevant.”  

You frowned at that, that had never been your intention. 

“You were incredible in the broom race though you lost,” your father said. “And you’ve won two quidditch matches–” 

“That was a team effort…” you said, your voice growing smaller as his hand dismissed you. 

“You’ve kept your grades high and you’ve even entered the duelling club…”

“Not to mention her Theoretical Magic grades,” your mom added with a smile. 

“And you’re dating one of the Black kids.” 

You swallowed. You had mentioned in your letters that you and Sirius had gotten along now that you were in the same house, but you hadn’t specifically mentioned you were dating him.

“The disowned Black kid,” your father continued. 

You straightened a little, you had discussed with your dad the things that happened back in your vacations with the Blacks. It hadn’t been particularly nice talk, but you weren’t going to back down, his political means could not be worth more than his morals. And things had been rather tense between the two since then.

When two people had such intense ideological differences and desires, they were bound to clash against each other, especially when those ideologies juxtaposed against the other often, being only furthered by the fact that you were –at least on breaks– living under the same roof. 

Your priorities had been wildly different and you weren’t shy about letting him know, which caused your relationship to deteriorate quickly. Not to say you –or him– had been particularly rude to each other, but you were much colder. It was almost Christmas, and you didn’t want to start a fight with him, let alone over something that you were most definitely not going to yield on. 

“I think it’s all right. He might have been disowned by his family but he still stays in contact with some of the other Blacks like Alphard and the other disowned child… whatever her name is…” Andromeda, you thought as you tried to process the fact that he had just said it was fine. “Just try to avoid mentioning him in tomorrow’s dinner. I’m sure Walburga wouldn’t be particularly pleased.” 

“Tomorrow’s dinn– Walburga will be coming?” 

“Of course not, they have invited us to their Christmas dinner,” he said. “It’ll be hosted in Rosier Manor, I believe.” 

“Whose manor?” You asked, your breath going short along with your question. 

“Mr. Rosier,” your mom repeated. “All important wizards will be there.” 

“I’d rather skip Christmas altogether.” 

“I’m sorry, darling. This isn’t a matter of preferences. You will go and then we’ll let you do whatever you please for the rest of the break. Visit muggle London as much as you want or dally with your friends, I really don’t care as long as you maintain your composure during tomorrow’s dinner.”

Your leg was bouncing slightly under the table. “I don’t believe I will be welcomed in that house.” 

“You will be welcomed because you are my daughter and I’m me,” he said with an air of finality. “We need to present a strong family front, play your part and you’ll be rewarded.” 

“Right, my part,” you said bitterly. You wondered if your mother was playing her part too, they were in love, that wasn’t questionable, but sometimes it felt like she became nothing more than an addition to his recollection of what a perfect life should look like. Did he marry her because of the love he felt for her or because she’d look like a delightful trophy wife by his side on political dinners? Had she not been as beautiful as she was, had she not been well educated, would he have married her either way? 

You wondered, when had Silas become the man he is now? When did his greed for power become so intense he would sacrifice his morals to achieve it? When you were smaller, you thought they loved each other, even now, you saw when they looked at each other with those adoring eyes, but… there was a tale of sacrifice weaved in between their story, and with one party constantly bending to the other’s wishes, you weren’t sure you could still call it love. 

When devotion became toxic, was it still something that came from love, or had it become something else altogether? 

“Indeed darling, we ask for nothing more than one night. Then you will not be bothered, free to go wherever you want and with whomever you please. Does that sound like a fair deal?” 

You sighed and nodded, “One dinner.”

Your mother smiled at that, letting out a nervous breath and then reached for your hand. “Your clothes for tomorrow are already in your closet, I also got you some nice potions and make-up.” 

“Thanks, Mum,” you said with a short smile and looked at your food. It looked delicious, it was French toast with berries and fruit on top –probably there to appeal to your sweet tooth and convince you to go– but you didn’t feel hungry at all. Especially not at the thought of having to go to Rosier Manor. As if you didn’t see enough of Evan at school, now you had to go see him on the break as well, bIoody brilliant. “Breakfast was great,” you said as you stood up. Both of them decided to ignore your almost intact plate, “I’ll be in my room in case you need anything else, you know like me playing the role of the perfect child of the politician if your friends come around or whatever.”

Your mom gave you a reproachful look while your dad gave you an impassive one, you raised your eyebrows at the two of them, almost tauntingly before you turned around, walking back to your room and letting the door close behind you gently –it was not the inanimate objects fault that your parents were acting like pricks. 

You sat on your bed and took a deep breath before you saw a small owl by one of your windows, you let him in and took the rolled parchment from his feet before feeding him some water. 

Dear Vix, Hope this letter finds you all right, Sirius was moaning about you going along Beth and Tom and not inviting him to buy Christmas stuff it was draining! Now I was not going to write to you about it because he said he would punch me in the face but I had to write anyway since mum and dad wanted you to have our address so you could come here through floo anytime.  Hope you’re having a great time, Sirius and I went flying with Pete today (he lives a few houses from us, did we tell you?), and while it was nice not having to worry about Sirius distracting himself from snogging you, we missed you still.  Mum and Dad send greetings to your parents, hope you’re also having a blast.  Your bestest friend, James P.  PS. Mum sent this tea for you, she said she thinks you’d like it with how much sweet stuff you eat and stuff.  PS 2. Love you, but I bet you’re missing me more <– That was Sirius. 

James’ stupid letter made you chuckle, especially the last bit, as if it had been necessary to point out that Sirius had been the one to write it. You placed the letter into a small box in your bag and smiled as you walked to pick up some of the stuff you’d be giving your friends as their gifts.  

You picked up some wrapping paper and started wrapping all of their gifts, the owls would have to do a couple of trips to take them all to their place, but you’d make sure to leave them plenty of food throughout the night, so they could continue their trips and the presents would be at your friend’s beds in the morning. 

You had gone through most of the smaller gifts first, writing small, and neatly written Christmas cards on them. Then you went for the bigger ones, the books you’d gotten for Lily, some of the stuff for Mary and Marlene, James’ pack, and of course, Remus and Sirius’. 

It wasn’t until then, that you realised how overboard you had gone with your gifts. You’d gotten Remus so many books, both magical and muggle, that you almost felt guilty you hadn’t gotten Lily and James more stuff. And then you tried telling yourself it was because Remus would spend Christmas alone and he deserved at least a bit of happiness, you weren’t deliberately playing favourites. 

And then Sirius’ pile was clearly a mess, you had all the music you’d gotten, the shirts, the penknife that you wanted to engrave with his name (you were researching for the right spell to do it) and a bunch of other stuff for him. Besides, you still wanted to make the playlists, so before you finished packing the bigger boxes, you started testing the recorder. Now there wasn’t exactly a step by step guide on how to record music, but there was a small booklet that showed you how the thing worked and you spend the rest of the day figuring it out, listening to music and making a playlist for each of your friends. Using all the songs you thought they might like.

When you were done with that, you continued packing all the stuff. Deciding to send all the music back to the boys’ room at Hogwarts so they could leave it on Sirius’ stash. Well, all of them except for the David Bowie tape you had specifically gotten for Sirius and that would look great with his shirt and the rest of the gifts you’d gotten him. 

You went out to get some food at some point during the day, and there was another note from your parents telling you they were off at an event. Well, good riddance, you thought as you went back to your room with a sandwich in your hands. You picked one of the books you’d gotten for yourself and you spent almost the rest of the day reading it while jamming to one of the playlists you’d made. A copy of the one you’d made for Remus since you thought it went well with the book you’d chosen to read. 

You fell asleep before your parents got home, with the book still in your hands and the music playing softly in the background until the cassette ran out of tape and was softly ejected by the machine. The sound it made had been so soft it didn’t wake you at all. 

Thankfully, you had remembered to leave enough water and food for the owls, since they had spent all night doing trips back and forth to your house and your friends’. 

Friday, December 25th

You woke up by being pecked in the face by a very big and very angry owl. 

“Oi!” you complained. “What’s wrong with you?” The owl chirped and picked you again, this time on the ear. “Bitch,” you mumbled as you pushed him back lightly, only for him to pick you in the finger again. 

You gave him an upset look and he pulled back just a little, tilting his head towards the window, and the lack of food and refreshments. 

“Oh, so that’s why you’ve been attacking me non-stop?” you asked as you stood up from the bed, failing to see the pile of wrapped gifts at the end of it. The owl chirped in response, a scowl that you weren’t sure was his natural face shape or an actual scowl directed towards you. “I’m sorry,” you added, “Barnaby and Reese must have eaten them all. They did many trips last night, you know?” 

The owl chirped again, a little angry as he flew towards the window, as if saying «I too flew many trips last night» looking as indignant as a Towny Owl could. You added a few of the special snacks you kept for Reese just to keep him from biting you again. You looked at the name tag and realised who the owner of the owl had been. 

Eun-ji, Minho had told you about her, she was his family’s owl and apparently, the name meant something like “kind”. So much for a kind owl, you thought as you looked at her, gobbling up Reese’s treats. You leaned over when you noticed there was a small letter attached to his feet and took it in your hands before the owl flapped his wings and left. 

Merry Christmas Star Seeker,  Hope you’re having a great time. Thought of giving you a special thanks for that one time you –quite literally– pushed me towards my crush and got us to start a conversation, that, well, you know how great it ended!  Even for a Gryffindor, you’re really nice, so I thought of getting you something for you to get some more hate from your fellow Gryffindor, Eun-ji must have left the gift near your bed.

You turned to the side in the middle of reading and stood agape, there was not only a green and silver wrapped gift in what looked suspiciously like the shape of a snake, but there were also a bunch of other gifts wrapped in all sorts of colours. 

Anyway thanks for everything, hope you have fun and all. I’m looking forward to beating you all next time we play,   Love,  The one and only, and your favourite Slytherin, Minho Cha. 

You rolled your eyes at the last bit, it had been very Slytherin of him, but since you knew Minho, you also knew he was playing it off as a joke on his own house, which made a joke inside a joke and you thought it was actually kind of funny. 

You took a deep breath and walked over to your bed. There were all sorts of gifts prompted there and you decided to unwrap Minho’s first. There was a small, green snake plushie with a bow on it that had a small pendant with something written on it:  “From the snakes that love you dearly,” and then it had the names of all of your Slytherin friends: Minho, Comet, Nox, Reggie, and even some you weren’t expecting like Dorcas and Solacis. You thought it was an adorable little thing, even if –and you were certain of this– your friends would absolutely hate it. Well, not Lily, she’d also think it was adorable. 

And thinking of her, was that you picked the next gift, wrapped in pink and yellow paper, and with her a small dedicatory on the corner, you instantly knew it was from her, her neat and perfect handwriting being the dеad giveaway. You smile as you read her small dedication. She wished you a very, merry Christmas and promised to tell you everything about the train with James as soon as you saw each other in person. She wrote something along the lines of not being able to put it on paper, which made you laugh. 

When you opened the present you were thrilled, it was a small leather notebook, dark red with golden trims and your name on the cover. Not Vixen, not Starshine, or any of the other nicknames that you had come to own and love since you arrived at Hogwarts, but your name. You smiled as you traced your fingers over the letters. There was a pen on the side, golden and apparently of some interesting muggle technology that wasn’t that popular in the wizarding world. You thought it was fascinating. When you opened the notebook you realised there was something written, again in her handwriting. 

You’ve had more adventures this year than I’ve had in my lifetime. I think it’s time for you to start writing down some of them, in case you ever want to revisit them. If journaling is not your thing (which I feel like it would be because I know you), you can just use this notebook however you want. You know grocery lists, songs for mixtapes, your favourite lyrics, poems, quotes, Sirius’ doodles, your doodles,  dried flowers, stickers, whatever you want, it’s your space, and you may use it as you wish! Love, Lily

You thought the idea of having your own journal was brilliant, you always admired her for keeping hers so incredibly neat looking, and perhaps being able to let some of your feelings go on a blank page would be better than keeping them bottled up. You doubted you would be nearly as consistent as her, but you decided to add your first couple of words in there, detailing the gifts you’d gotten and the few you still had yet to open. 

You’d gotten a box of your favourite candies from Mary and some incredible quidditch trading cards from Marlene, but she had also added some makeup to her gift because if not you and James would have gotten the exact same thing and you were her favourite between the two. You got a spellbook and a muggle prank book from Tom “to further your career” according to him. There was a large, embossed book from Nina, which you discovered was an annotated version of one of your favourite books and a small set of runes from Sybil. You had gotten her a deck of cards and a book about premonitions. 

There were candies from Nox and a muggle book lantern from Neil Perry, you had both complained at some point about reading with your wand and you thought the solution he’d found was adorable. Peter had gotten you a book about canines, packed along with a small fox-themed bookmarker and a note that said “Thank you for not busting my make-out session and Merry Christmas.” He also added, “PS. maybe with this one you’ll be able to tame Pads.” Which had you wheezing with laughter for a while. 

It took at least a minute to go for the next gift, it was a small box that said to be handled carefully. You opened it according to the instructions. “Shut the fuck up!” you said the moment you realized what was inside. A small Felix Felicis vial. “Shut up, shut up, shut up,” you repeated over and over again. “How did he even get his hands on it?” 

You picked up the paper from behind it, there was a small note. 

Okay say it: aside from Sirius, I AM your favourite Marauder.  You might be wondering, “How the hell did James get his hands on this?”. Well dear, I must say, I have contacts.  AKA my parents are expert potioneers and I somehow convinced Mum to brew one and that’s how I got my hands on it.  Now, I could have given it to any of my friends but I get the feeling you might be needing some of this soon enough. You know, from things I’ve seen and such (please don’t waste it on a quidditch match, though). Anyway, I know you’ll use it well, hope you have a very Merry Christmas!  Your favourite marauder AND bestest friend,  Prongs. 

You chuckled when you finished reading and went back to look at the vial with incredulity. Brewing one of these potions was arduous work, and it took weeks, which meant James must have had convinced Effie to do it even before she’d met you. Never underestimate James Potter, you thought as you grabbed onto the vial and placed it around your neck with a chain, casting a disillusionment charm on it so it wouldn’t be so obvious you had it with you. You thought the gift was brilliant. 

After that, there were only 2 gifts left. You picked the one with a silver bow first. It was a square box, about 12” wide, and had been wrapped in the same paper as James’, which made you guess who it might be from. There were chocolates and a small letter on top, neatly closed and with your name written on the back with Sirius’ almost perfect calligraphy. There was also a paper covering something, but you picked the letter up first. 

You know, I tried writing a love letter, but James wouldn’t stop making ridiculous comments about it not being profound enough and I feared I’d end up writing something close to the painfully ridiculous letters he used to write to Lily so I had to stop myself.  Who would have thought it would be that hard to put thoughts into words? I suppose if I were like Remus it would come out much easier but, unfortunately, you’re stuck with me. Actually no, fortunately you’re stuck with me, I’m delightful.

You laughed, he’s not wrong. 

Anyway, I suppose what I wanted to express in those dreadful attempts of being a poet was that I’m incredibly thankful that you came to Hogwarts and that you came back to me. I’m grateful that you tolerate me and my moods and that you love me for who I am, flaws and all. I wasn’t sure I’d ever found that kind of love, one that I even doubted it existed, and yet you’re always there to tease and make me laugh and– I already sound like James, but you know what I mean. You always know what I mean.  As you see, I am far from a poet, but there is something I like to do and I thought that perhaps, you’d enjoy it more than this terrible love letter.  You know, you and Remus were the first to ever see a sketch from my book, and I was feeling all sorts of things after I offered, and yet, you were there, reassuring me and telling me I didn’t have to do it if I didn’t want to. You know Walburga, it wasn’t much of a choice for me, so it truly meant the world, and fed me the courage I needed to let you see that part of me. And when you two finally saw it and praised me for my skills, for what I did with my own hands… You make me so incredibly gleeful, it’s almost scary how much power you could hold over me. But frankly, I’ll let you hold it all you want.  All right, enough of the sappy stuff, Merry Christmas Starshine, you know you shine brighter than my own star. Hope you like your gift.  Love,  Sirius 

See the letter here

You read the letter a few more times, smiling at the little details and jokes Sirius had sprinkled all over. And then you pulled on the bit of tissue paper covering the very last thing in the box and when you finally saw its content you couldn’t help but swear again, “Son of a bitch!” you whispered. 

There were still some small pieces of paper over the small portrait, and you carefully brushed them out to be able to lift it from the box. The image was a hand-drawn portrait of you. You had a big smile and were looking at what would be the camera if it were an image. It looked like it might have been from one of the pictures from Marlene’s party although Sirius had changed the outfit, you were wearing an oversized sweater and his leather jacket. You could tell it was his because it had one of the enamel pins you had gotten him as a gift on the lapel. 

There were touches of colours in the strokes, not quite painting the drawing but rather giving it relatively bright edges that made it look special, unlike any other doodle. And of course, he had framed it, it was a simple yet elegant frame, dark oak and with small carved details on the sides. On the left bottom corner of the drawing, there was something written in French: 

À l'étoile la plus brillante.  Amour, 

And then, instead of his name, he signed with a small and elegant star doodle. You smiled again, it was one of the loveliest things you’d ever gotten, even if it was a portrait of yourself, the fact that Sirius had been the one to draw it, made it the most special of things. There were portraits upon portraits of you in your house, with magic that allowed you to move and smile, and even talk sometimes, but none of them held as much value as the frozen drawing Sirius had given you. 

Eventually, you placed it on your night table and picked up the last gift still sitting in your bed. His box was smaller than Sirius’, about the size of a book, which had you assumed he had gotten you something along the lines of that. 

You opened the book and found a small, pocket-sized book. It was a Sreath Bàrdachd, according to the golden script at the top. You hadn’t quite realised as you pulled it from the box, but it was handmade. You looked at it in shock as you flipped to the 50+ pages, all in carefully and methodically written cursive, his handwriting. 

Later you realised it was something between a book of poems and a compilation of quotes from different books. You admired the booklet for a few more minutes when you spotted that there was a small letter, still waiting for you inside the box. You pulled it off and broke the seal with a small sword letter opener Nox had given you as a gift. 

As you did, a small chain fell from the letter and you picked it up. It was small and dainty, just long enough to wrap around your wrist, which made you wonder how he’d guessed the size. The chain was simple, and it broke off into two different sections, one with a small crescent moon and then another one with a small star. It also had one small gemstone in between the bigger charms. You looked at it with a smile and held it in your hand as you read the letter. 

Hey there, Little Witch,  Hope you’re having an incredible Christmas. By the time you read this, you’ve probably seen the Sreath Bàrdachd, and knowing how clever you are, you probably already know what that could mean. Yes, It’s a book of poems, but also a bit more than that.  I knew Sirius was making you that incredible gift of his, and I didn’t want to fall behind. Prongs didn’t tell us what he got you but he seemed pretty confident he’d have the best gift of all. Did he?  Never mind, don’t tell me, it’s a silly competition. Either way, I thought you might like having one of these. Mum used to have one, which is why I know they exist. She told me a good friend gave it to her and she has kept it ever since then. I remembered borrowing it from her once when I was little, and she taught me how to carefully flip through the pages as she read to me. She also mentioned it was a silly girl’s thing but I thought it was amazing, and went on to make my own.  Although wonky and, with quotes from children’s books, she thought I was quite a mastermind for making it by myself. Of course, I put a lot more effort into the one you have with you now. Or perhaps the same effort but with better skills. If you’ve flipped through the pages, which I assume you have, since you’re incredibly curious, you’ve probably seen some familiar quotes.  There’s stuff from books we’ve both read and stuff that only I have read but that I thought you might like. Some of my favourite poems too, and some quotes from movies that only you’d be able to get. There are even lyrics from songs, some that we really like, some that Sirius has heard so many times that I already knew them by memory, and since the two of you like similar music, I assumed you’d know them too.  Also, there’s a small bracelet in the letter. I’ve cross-charmed it, in case you ever lose the Sreath Bàrdachd (I truly hope you never do), the gemstone will shine as you approach it. I’ve also added a few luck charms that, while they won’t keep you away from trouble –I don’t think anything could– they may give you some luck while navigating it.  Don’t hit me for saying that, you know it’s true.  Love,  Moony.  PS. Prongs told me about your little quarrel with Sirius on the platform, Sirius definitely misses you more.

See the letter here

By the time you finished Remus’ letter, you were smiling as brightly as you had when you read Sirius’. You were so lucky you had found such incredible people in Hogwarts. Your bedsheets filled with torn wrapping paper were a testament to that. You spend the rest of the afternoon listening to some more music and reading through the book Remus had made. 

He had been especially careful with his handwriting which you thought was adorable, and there were a lot of quotes from Oscar Wilde’s Picture of Dorian Grey. He had written in pencil –so you could erase it if you wanted, not that you would– that it was your fault he was obsessed with his writing now. Taking poems and quotations from both, the book aforementioned and The Ghost of Canterville. You hadn’t read the latter yet, but you were almost counting the days to go back to school and ask him to lend you his copy. 

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and you had to leave the warm comfort of reading and listening to music in favour of changing into the clothes your mom had chosen for you. You sighed as the alarm clock you’d set earlier went off, and then went straight towards your closet. The dress she had picked was simple, yet elegant. It wasn’t a long dress like the one she’d probably wear, but a more youthful one with clever intricate details on the sleeves and a midi skirt.  

“Thank god it has sleeves,” you whispered to yourself as you pulled the edge of the sleeve of Sirius’ shirt up. While your skin looked almost smooth, the lighter (almost silvery) shapes where the new skin was growing over the gush Moony had made were pretty evident. You supposed makeup and a spell could make them less visible, at least for a while, but that would have probably taken you a lot more time to achieve. 

You plopped the black dress on, smoothing the sides as walking towards your vanity where your mum had left all the potions and make-up. You sighed, remembering how much more fun it had been to dress for the Gryffindor parties than it was to dress for this one. With the black dress and the pearls on your neck, you felt a lot more like you were about to walk into a funeral rather than a party. My own funeral, you thought with a laugh when you remembered whose house you’d actually be going to. 

You grabbed a pair of red, not-too-high heels, put them on, and took another look in the large mirror by the window. You looked lovely, at least there would be no complaints from your parents on that aspect. What they might complain about was the fact that you took a bag with an undetectable extension charm and filled it with a few of the books you’d gotten as a Christmas gift. You also took the journal Lily had given you and Remus’ Sreath Bàrdachd. And you weren’t sure who’d be attending that party but you sure hoped you’d be able to sneak into a corner and read a book rather than having to interact with some of the most disagreeable friends of your parents. 

“Sweetheart, are you ready?” your mom asked from the kitchen. 

“Yeah, coming,” you said as you grabbed a few more trinkets and dumped them in your bag, just in case. 

You were about to leave the room when you saw a small glistening thing in your bed and you went straight to grab it. It was the bracelet Remus had given you, and even if it took you a while to put it on, and you continued looking between your wrist and the door as you tried to get the clasp to do its job, you thought it was worth it. I could really use that extra luck. You thought. You accommodated the necklace Sirius had given you and that you never took off and then took off James’ potion and placed it on your bag since it might be safer there than around your neck. 

One last look in the mirror to make sure everything was in order and you walked out towards the living room. 

“You look delightful, darling,” your father said as he spotted you walking out of the room. 

You gave him a half shrug in response and then managed to mutter a “thanks” that you hoped didn’t sound as bitter as it felt. After another moment of silence, your mom grabbed her bag and finished clipping on one of her earrings. 

“We’ll take the floo?” you asked. 

Your father shook his head, “They’ve sent over a Portkey,” your mom explained and motioned to the table, there was a small, fancy-looking invitation right in the middle. 

“Nice,” you said as you used your wand to levitate the object and move it right in between your parents. Perhaps if it had been floo, you could have sneakily said James’ address instead of Evan’s and escaped the party altogether. Once there, your parents wouldn’t make a fuss about it in order to not make your insubordination evident. But of course, you weren’t that lucky, and you’d have to take the portkey and you’d have to go to the party. 

“In three,” your father said as he moved his hand towards the invitation, “two… one… go.” 

The three of you placed your hands on the invitation at the same time and you felt the very familiar pull on your lower back, in less than a second, the entire world distorted around you, and then, you weren’t in your house anymore.

Series Masterlist | Next Chapter

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Leave a comment telling me if you wanna be tagged on Gilded Constellations

Want to support me? Like and reblog this post (reblogs are extra nice since they help me get my work to more people), also guys, I absolutely love reading your comments, so do throw them my way if you have any!

A/N: Aww that was so cute wasn't it? Now it's time to strap on, we're about to dive head-first into the darkest side of the story, and it's going to be fun and sad and just a rollercoaster of emotions in general. Love, Lils xx

Read more Marauders Fiction

[kingcrow01]

DC/Marvel Pool Noodle Party 2024

Week 5 | Mercs & Murder Husbands

Marc Spector & Harley Quinn, 0 fics!

@dc-marvel-crossovers

Here’s the outline of the event for those interested. TLDR, This event celebrates relationship tags that have less than 30 works on ao3, both platonic and romantic. The rarest of rarepairs!

Inspired by Harley harassing interacting with Marc and Damian in chapter 20 of in labyrinths of reflections by @blackkatmagic, specifically these lines:

“Fuck the hell off,” he growls, and gets a hand on her face as she tries to kiss his mask. She’s wearing a lot of lipstick, and he'd rather not run around the rest of the night with a black lip-print on his face. 

and

Harley blinks at him, big eyes and blond pigtails and smeared makeup that makes her look like a raccoon with a hangover, and then laughs. 

Ho-ly-shit, I cannot begin to express how happy I am with this piece! Initially I was having a hard time with MK’s suit, to the point that I was contemplating just dropping the whole project. (I hate drawing superhero suits, why do I keep on doing this to myself) Like always, all it came down to was retaking my ref and utilizing that handy-dandy line of action, and I finished it pretty easily after that.

Damian was a last minute add-on, and I wanted to draw him on Marc’s right side and a head taller (kids are bigger than you think!) but I ran out of room on the page. I ran into the same problem with Harley’s mallet; I wanted it to be bigger, but with the angle it had to sit at to rest against her thigh, I kept it on the smaller side. 

This piece has made it very clear how limiting my sketchbooks’ size is. For example, I have an idea for another week in this event, but it literally wouldn't fit in this sketchbook so I’m not going to make it. Digital art 1: traditional, 0.

I tried out a new lining style as well, and I’m never going back. Before, I was making every line the same width, but it’s SO much more impactful with alternating line thickness! I attached the lined final sketch below. Do you see how much of a difference it makes?? (Written early May, so I've been using this style since.)

Details:

I think it’s silly that Harley’s boots are covered in blood, but not her actual weapon lol

Harley is as tall as she is because she’s standing on her toes in platform boots

The tattoo on Harley’s midsection is of ivy leaves (though, it’s not poison ivy) as a sort of homage to Ivy. Not that she’s dead or anything. They’re just. Lovers. So, tattoo.

I got to put NO WORK into shading the black parts of MK’s suit, and that was FABULOUS

I wanted to give her colored shoe laces, because I love small details like that. I would love to give characters any color of laces, but some of them seem to have negative meanings, especially on Doc Martens, so I went the safe route and gave her purple laces, which represents gay pride. Yes, I know she’s bisexual, but I felt like I didn’t have many options.

[dronebiscuitbat]

Oil is Thicker Then Blood (Part 84)

N was on patrol around the perimeter of the workshop, flying low and flitting through buildings as he surveyed the streets both hands now claws as he gripped onto ancient concrete and tail whipping behind him.

It reminded him a lot of hunting, only it wasn't for food, he wouldn't dare touch the oil that came out of the infected, or give it to any one of his family, who knows what it might do to them.

“Update.” A gruff, southern accented voice reverberated through his software, a radio attached to his audio receptors that was far more long-range then anything inbuilt, though now he had to answer to Dale… who… did not particularly like him.

“Clear.” He parroted into the radio, wincing as feedback crackled into his systems, he swore he was doing it on purpose, every time he signed off it would be a split second of screeching feedback… he was going to go deaf at this rate.

He wanted Hal back… But he was still in the bunker, keeping the peace in this time of unrest with his branch of the WDF.

Dale's team was the smallest, it was Dale himself and four or five other guys, the only drones in the whole bunker that had weapons at a higher caliber then 9mm. Using fully automatic rifles that ate through ammo like he did oil.

They didn't talk to him, they rarely even looked at him, unless it was to give him dirty looks as he walked past. Most workers had gotten used to his presence, were even friendly now (Uzi's pregnancy announcement may have helped a bit with that.) But the group he was now working with? Seemed to hate his guts.

It wasn't anything he wasn't used to. So he just bore with it, and did what he always did… not say anything.

Uzi would probably tell him to have a backbone and actually say something about it and stand up for himself, but wouldn't lashing out prove that their view of him was correct? That he was aggressive and dangerous and couldn't be trusted?

He sighed as he flew back towards the workshop, finding nothing out of place for the time being.

Uzi was finishing up a preliminary sketch of the shuttle, 600 charge pods cramed into 230 feet of real estate, the smallest she could possibly do with all they needed to make sure they could all survive a decent period in space.

Which…. was still utterly huge, about as large as the largest commercial aircraft ever made on Earth based from her research, and quite a bit larger then any of their early space shuttles.

But they weren't working from scratch at least, and the thrusters on the landing pods were overpowered as it was, so all they needed was more of them…

So the next course of action was getting the rest of the pods into the workshop, long trips into previously uncharted territory to retrieve them, risky, but risk didn't matter if without it, they'd be buried under flesh.

She sighed, running a hand along her destended stomach, at 4 months now, her core was a light, pastel pink and the inside was constantly shifting and moving. Trying to hide anything at this point was laughable, she had the body shape of a pear and it was only made worse by her already small size, a tired grumble escaped her. As her core gave a hearty kick.

“I hear you…” She mumbled, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes breifly. She'd begun to get weird looks, which made sense, drones normally didn't get any bigger during pregnancy, but no one said anything yet, either trying to be polite or just not caring enough she didn't know… nor care.

“Ya alright?” A gruff, friendly voice wafted into her ears, and she opened her eyes to come face to hair with a bushy brown beard.

“Hal? What are you doing out here?” She asked, turning so that she could look at him properly instead of upside down.

“Shift just got done inside, wanted to check up on you and N, is he here?” He placed a hand on her shoulder, cocking his head.

“I think he just finished his patrol, should be on his way back.”

“Great! Wanted to invite ya guys down to the house, my wife wanted to meet both of ya properly.” He clapped his hands together cheerfully before looking around a moment.

“Where’s the little one?” He asked, and Uzi gave him a small smile in return.

“V and Lizzy have her, she shouldn't be out here in the cold so much.” She explained, before a shiver went down her own spine.

“Neither should you, can't be healthy for the baby.” She blushed, she forgot sometimes that literally everyone knew now.

“I'm fine. Seriously, N worries enough… and everyone else now, ugh.” She reminisced, on a day that N and V were both busy, Thad and Lizzy escorted her from the nest to the workshop, Thad's coat wrapped around her despite her insisting she was fine.

“Sounds like ya have good freinds.” Hal replied, smirking.

“We do.” Came a third voice from the doorway, N leaning into the curtain with a smile, Tera in his arm, giggling as she gripped her little bat plush.

“Mama!” She squealed, and Uzi chuckled as she squirmed in N's arms, trying to get to her.

“N! There you are.” Hal slapped him on the back, a beaming smile on his face, Tera immediately leaned forward to grab his beard. “I was just telling Uzi that I wanted ya guys over! My wife's been asking about ya!”

“Oh! Yeah! That would be awesome!” N beamed back, before glancing at Uzi and backpedaling slightly.

“I-If Zi feels well enough, so that's up to her.”

“Mmm, smart boy, happy wife, happy life.” Hal commented, N blushed slightly, smiling to himself.

“I'm good N, yeah, we can stop by.” Uzi Confirmed, rising up out of her seat and stretching “not much more I can do tonight anyway.”

“Yay!” Came childishly from N, and Uzi rolled her eyes fondly.

Next ->

[ryuladrawslove]

Okay, so hear me out- There is this AMAZING Hobbit fanfic that started in 2014, called Love Pays No Indemnity by Jana. Go check it out. I'll wait.

Now, I know Bilbo/The One Ring, Bilbo/Sauron may LOOK crazy, but I promise you it is genuinely one of the best things I have ever read IN MY LIFE. No, I know, Listen To Me. Every time I start reading this fic it consumes my life until I finish, and in fall of 2016 (which is the year I started reading) I actually started painting a comic of it.

Buuuut.... thanks to job hunting, working, exhaustion, depression, and a global pandemic, and then MORE WORK and EVEN MORE exhaustion I.... stopped painting. Not just this- for like two whole years I stopped painting, drawing, sketching entirely.

I was so tired, I had no space or energy to make any art, nevermind painting something this intense. I mean- I've never made a comic before! I've never tried to re-write a novel-style work into comic format! I don't know near enough about kerning or typesetting or whatever! If you squint at the image above you can see that I didn't even plan where to put the word bubbles! I just painted pretty pictures!~

Obviously, I had no clue what I was doing back then, and honestly I still don't have a clue now. But, I lost my job and searching for another one is both tiring and somehow even more soul-sucking than having a job is. Which means, I need to do something just to stay sane.

I was planning to revitalize my old artblog and post things there again, and I still will, but when I pulled these pages out of their dusty drawer and spread them out on my floor, I felt the urge of joyful creation. I loved painting this, I loved reading LPNI (for the fiftieth time), and I want to keep feeling that for as long as possible, so I decided that YES. I'm DOING IT!!

I am going to paint the rest of this comic chapter!

There's a lot to do to get there, but already, I'm planning more pages, getting more painted, figuring out how to do the word-bubble-thingies- it's going to happen!

Posting will begin on Friday- one page at a time! (look, I'm sorry, but these are 12"x18" paintings. I NEED TIME) If I get enough done, I might post more often, we'll see.

Wish me luck and if you choose to follow this crazy endeavor, give the fic a read and send Jana all your love!

[someone-always-cares]

Progress update

Edit: laptop broke (hard drive issue), so thing will either be delayed a week or A Lot depending if my shit is recoverable. Back up your files regularly yall

Realised I should probably update yall on how things are going! Things are almost ready, just need to stich the book together together and finish a couple things, then I can order a sample of the book. I don't want to start the kickstarter until I have a book sample in hand that I'm happy with.

Admittedly looking like my original timeline isn't quite going to fit but such is life. its a close enough timeline so im not too annoyed just not in time to advertise it this weekend

to thank yall for your patience with this, here a sneak peek of the stickersheets made because I'm very happy with them and also because I just approved the proofs the manu sent me for those samples:

disclaimer: colours may vary depending on how the samples turn out (converting rgb to cmyk, my beloathed).

[id: two stickersheets, one of characters from chapter 1, and the other chapter two: chapter 1 sheets has: rami (civilian clothes), his whole team, tsunami, inkmaster, swarm, sound flood, and mori. as well as some smaller stickers: a sparkling wave, rami's logo, two diamond shaped sparkles, a small fireball, swarm's butterly, and three hearts with the ace, trans, and rainbow pride flags. chapter 2 sheet has: lewis and sound flood (both in civilian clothes), iris, faete, mindforce, and omen (super costumes). also several smaller stickers: mindforce's eye, a yellow and pink rose, a snowdrop, faete's sword, iris's notebook (with the words "stay safe"), a starry sky with city view, rami's hand holding a rose, and 5 blue pink and white hearts. end id]

also here's the cover (minus the blurb)

[id: image of the cover design, layed flat. aka the front cover is on the right side, back on the left, and the spin inbetween. designed to look like a corkboard with photos pinned to it, and red sring connecting things. on the back there are photos that are from various panels in chapter 1 and 2 (redrawn, specifically faete after transforming, cam readying her forcefield, lewis on the roof, and tsunami riding his wave. the back also contains enamel pins: a trans flag, an ace flag, and mindforce's eye. as well as the corner of a missing persons poster, a business card for "cullen's bowls 'n' bowls", and a blank sheet of notebook paper where the blurb should be. the spine has some starry washi tape with the title written on. the front has a piece of blue paper torn off at the end with the title on it, and stickers of a silver star and rami's logo. below is a large image of rami sitting in the water staring intestly at the viewer, light emerging behind him. around him, hands all strech out towards him, hands belonging to the significant character significant in chapters 1 and 2 of sac. end id]

so specifically what is left (no particular order):

spellchecking

adding page numbers to the bottom

finishing the rest of the not comic pages (aka the thank you note, about the author, deciation and the bit where im going to add names of people who pledged to the kickstarter) 75% done

character bios (admittedly optional i just want to do them)

bonus pages for art and sketches (i have collected all the art and sketches, its just deciding which ones to ue and which ones to save for next time because it makes more sense to put them with the more spoilery chapters 3-5 specific arts)

assembling these and sending a sample off to print

actually starting the kickstarter (once i have decived book sample back and am happy. i am not starting it without knowing 100% that i can fufill it right then and there)

(in the intrest of transperency: while these are all easy and mostly quick (aside from character bios. havent started that one yet), i also have some upcomign events that will have to take priority. that being a convention this weekend, next weekend, and my sisters wedding the weekend after (and the wedding gift, which is custom artwork of my sister and future brother in law. like a wedding painted but not on the day and also digital. so that will take up a bit of time after [another reason i wanted to get this done before then but ah well])

for real though one day i hope to be able to do art stuff full time because i am. so tired of doing a day job

also also there are versions of lewis and rami stickers in super outfits, they'll be seperate stickers

[id: drawings of lewis and rami, same as the stickers in the sheets, just seperate and in different outfits, the drawings have been placed close together, so it looks like thye're holding hands. end id]

you can make them hold hands :)

[trulybetty]

Sunday | Week In Review I

So in order to try and be consistent with this, I’ve kept a running Notes page open to keep track of my week.

As I mentioned last week, I don’t expect this every week, I am me. But I am going to keep trying to make an effort to support my fellow creators.

If there’s something you’ve enjoyed this week, please feel to reblog this and tag me so I can check it out and share 💙

Also, not that I feel it needs to be said, but this is a reflection of what I have personally read and enjoyed.

B x

Truly Betty Updates This Week…

New York Part I (Marcus Pike x f!reader)

Fics I Enjoyed This Week…

Conversations with a Movie Star | Chapter 1 by @gnpwdrnwhiskey Even if you’re not a fan of Dieter Bravo, the dialogue in this alone is worth checking out this opening chapter for this new fic. Ava is an OFC down on her luck after being fired, from her families paper no less, and has stumbled across the Bravo Inn… I’ll let Lellen’s writing do the rest

Stripper Jack Trilogy | P. III by @psychedelic-ink The conclusion of maybe the definitive trilogy of trilogies? I don’t think anyone had Stripper Jack on their 2023 bingo cards, but he’s earned his space and I won’t have any arguments on it. 

Hungry Hearts | Chapter by @atinylittlepain Not many Joel AU’s I’ll jump into, but Bruce Springsteen and Joel Miller? Signed myself the fuck up for that as soon as it was announced. The unfolding of Joel and Cherry's relationship in the summer of '86 against them running back into one another 17 years later is such a great dynamic. 

Fall Apart Again | Chapter 1 + 2 by @wildemaven Heidi spoiled us this week, with not one, but TWO chapters of her new Joel fanfic. I don’t think I’ve gotten so emotional over an opening chapter to a fic before like I did with this one! Then the second chapter? Just bury me now… but actually don’t, I want to see the end of this fic first!

The Layover | Chapter 9 by @goodwithcheese How did Megan describe her fanfics? Hallmark movies with smut? She's not wrong. This whole series so far has been a rollercoaster of emotions and keeps delivering each week without fail. Not only are you rooting for Reader + Frankie, but Jules and Santiago anyone? Or maybe just Jules herself because she's just the boss.

Late Night Texts | Chapter 9 by @mvtthewmurdvck I think it's safe to say it's fanfics like Late Night Texts that have got me back in my rom-com/hopeless romantic era. I don't want to give too much away if you've not had the pleasure of reading this - but it has all the hallmarks of a good rom-com set on the backdrop of the early 2000s and with Javier Peña. If you're like me and still trying to make your way through Narcos or haven't watched it yet - please don't let it stop you, you won't be sorry!

A Little FaceTime by @stardustandskycrystals I’m still thinking about this fic days later and may have gone back to read it again. Trust me, just read this - you don’t need an explanation or reason, just read it. Even if Javi isn’t your jam (wasn’t on my list before, that’s all changed now) - it won’t disappoint!

Things I’m Looking Forward to Starting…

Decoherence by @prolix-yuy Westworld and Jack ‘Agent Whiskey’ Daniels crossover, yes, please! It is also reminding me that I never finished season one and should do something about it…

Pleased to Meet You by @intheorangebedroom This is a constant on my dash and on my TBR pile for a while with so many good comments - also getting into my Frankie era, so it’s perfect timing!

The Pilot & His Girl by @avastrasposts Been waiting to savour this one! So you’ve got the Last of Us and you’ve got Triple Frontier, two of my favourite things… what happens when you mush them together? You get a wild ride through the outbreak with Frankie & Reader - I cannot wait to get into this!

Visiting by @ladamedusoif This is another regular on my dash and on my TBR that I’m hoping to get stuck into this week. A college AU of Mr. Ben from the SNL sketch. Fully fleshed out and on the backdrop of New England, I’m ready to get swept away with this promise of a slow burn.

The House by @gemmahale A Jack Daniels x OFC (Best Friend) series coming soon focusing on a long-lost friendship, an inheritance, and Jack sounding like the scallion he is? Cannot wait.

Posts I Enjoyed This Week…

@rhoorl’s announcement of their Triple Frontier AU, Delta Landscaping with mood board and logo! The residents of Tumblr won’t know what’s hit the neighbourhood when they roll into town! 

Thanks to @gnpwdrnwhiskey I will never look at baby hippos without thinking of Dieter Bravo

Everyone’s participation in the WIP poll tag game, it was so fun to see my dash just filled with so many creative people and so many amazing ideas! It was a neat peek into everyone’s draft folders!

Things I’ve Enjoyed This Week…

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - FINALLY got to see it this week, and it did not disappoint. Have not stopped thinking about it since!

My rom-com era has returned, and I’m deep into embracing my forgotten love of a good rom-com. So far this week it’s been The Lake House, You’ve Got Mail & Always Be My Baby. Also it gave way to a Keanu Reeves appreciation post, come share your favourite Keanu!

This Week’s Song… Went waaaayyyy back for this one, an amazing album too - the Sterephonics are one of my favourite bands of all time 🩶

Hope everyone has a great Sunday & here's to a new week!

Please feel free to share your own favourites from the week or what you're looking forward to this week - not a tag game, so no pressure for you to share if you're not feeling it ❤️ xx

[kogarashi-art]

It's the last previews for Falling Into Darkness!

Important note before I go into some details on the pictures: I will, in general, not be doing this for other fanfics I post. The main reason I did this series of illustrations was as something of a treat for finally crossposting this 10-20-year-old story to my AO3 account. I don't really plan to draw a ton of illustrations for other fics I do.

That being said, I may do occasional images that will be posted with future stories on AO3 (I have a quick one for the first chapter of the next fic I plan on posting, for one), and if I do other fanart, related to a fic or not, I still plan to post art here.

But I'm glad for all the kind comments and everyone enjoying this series of illustrations with me. :D You guys are awesome.

With that, description-stuff (including more behind-the-scenes than usual) below the cut. 'Tis long; be forewarned.

First up, arguably the easiest illustration to do in the whole set. It's a silhouette, so the foreground wasn't really an issue (other than trying to get the edge glow just right, and I still don't think I quite managed but I'm definitely telling myself not to mess with it any further). The background was already painted for the second illustration in the whole set:

I just fixed up the paths and the treetops and added a little lookout stand to the building on the right, now that Sonic and Sally weren't blocking those spots. After all, it's supposed to be the same view anyway, so I figured I'd make it easy on myself and not have to completely repaint the scene.

The second image employs some little cheats here and there. Here's the original sketch from my sketchbook for comparison:

Very loose, lacking detail. Straight lines are more like suggestions. The robots are spiky blobs. I have a literal note next to a stick figure and a hollow shape telling me to get some references. There's the barest hint of the alcoves the robots are standing in.

I didn't show this level of behind-the-scenes off with other illustrations in this series (though I suppose if anyone's ever interested, I could do a process post about how I worked on these), but one of the first things I did with this series of illustrations was sift through the roughly fifty individual sketches I'd drawn to illustrate various parts of the story (not counting redraws of portions), ranging from vague shapes to much more detailed drawings, to narrow it down to the ones I was actually going to finish for this project. I ended up with 27 total images, including the two I'm previewing today, focusing on having at least one but no more than three images per chapter.

Once I'd determined which sketches, like the above, were going to become a finished piece, I then went through each and every one of them in Photoshop with a sketch pencil brush and filled out the sketches to a point where I could reliably ink them. That meant things like swapping out figures that didn't work with redraws of them or making size adjustments, like so:

The first image is the second illustration, and you can see I redid Sonic because his initial pose didn't work. The redraw was actually a pose of him I did to draw his post-Mobianization robotic elements from the end of the story, but the stance was actually good for what I needed, so I Photoshopped it in and then sketched the rest of the replacement drawing digitally. The second image is Sally watching Knuckles walk away, and you can see that I changed her left arm, and also reproportioned her body prior to inking (bigger head, smaller body).

And for pieces like the final one in this illustration series, I sketched in all the details that were missing from the initial sketch (which, as I said, was pretty barebones; in my defense, it was the last one I drew, and by that point I was pretty tired of drawing robot hedgehogs so Sonic was something of a stick figure in most of the last chapters' sketches).

And here's where one of the cheats comes into play. I drew one robot hedgehog. Specifically the one you see the most of, near the tip of Robotnik's cape by the drafting table. I drew it on its own layer in Potoshop, then copied and pasted it into all of the other holding bays, erasing parts that wouldn't be visible as I went along. I also went and found those references I needed for Robotnik and Snively and drew the two of them properly.

And then, because I much prefer physical pen-to-paper inking over digital (my tablet is not one of the fancy screen ones, and I've yet to really get comfortable digitally inking with it, despite owning it for nigh on twenty years), I colored all of the sketches red, assembled them in groups on letter-sized images, and printed them out onto cardstock (my preferred medium when I'm going to be traditionally inking). I inked them with my various inking pens (some Sakura Microns, some Faber-Castell PITT pens), scanned each sheet back into my computer, and cleaned up the lines in Photoshop (the reason for the red printout was to make it a bit smoother removing the sketch from the inked lines, though it wasn't as clean as I would've liked; oh well).

That left us with the above. Because I inked them each by hand individually, the robots don't look copy-pasted, because it was the underlying sketch that had been, not the ink work. The tables and holding bays also have straighter lines thanks to using a proper ruler for those (though I didn't concern myself too much with things like perspective and right angles), and after drawing the straight line, I went back freehand over spots to give them a bit of that hand-inked wobble.

From there it was a matter of laying down the flats in Photoshop, then shading, adding effects, etc. I like the cold yellow light I've got on the robots, and the overall shading on the yellow cape. Also that sense of satisfaction when I called this one done, because it was the last one. Huzzah.

I'll see you on Monday for the last chapter!

[partnersincrimesuau]

PARTNERS IN CRIME CHAPTER 2 & CHAPTER 3 UPDATE ☆ﾟ･:*:･｡★

HELLO AGAIN, EVERYONE!!!

Okay so I’m mainly copying and pasting this from my journal on DeviantArt, but –

THANK YOU FOR SEVEN HUNDRED AND TEN FRIENDS!!! (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))

I love each of my followers and I’m so honoured to have you here with me!!! It makes me sooooo happy to see all the feedback and comments I get for PIC each week. I’m so honoured that you’re all so patient with me, and I’m so happy I have such a lovely community here on both Tumblr and DA. You’re all very kind and I’m so glad I have you along with me!!! I appreciate EVERY comment, EVERY piece of fanart, EVERY single like!!! It’s very sweet of you and I’m so honoured that people have been reading it ^^ I hope you stick around for the long run!!!

And that actually brings us into the next big thing… I have an update for Partners In Crime’s progress!!! And don’t worry, IT’S GOOD NEWS!!!

Partners In Crime Chapter 2 will end on Page FIFTY-EIGHT. This means we have… *counts on fingers*… SEVEN pages left!!! And I believe like last chapter, once I finish Page 58, I’ll speed up the page posting rate and have them all up in a couple weeks. HOWEVER.

There is a little bit of bad news. I WILL BE GOING ON HIATUS FOR A FEW MONTHS AFTER THE END OF CHAPTER 2.

This is because I’m very close to the end of the school year, and I will need a lot of focus on schoolwork and other life stuff. Because of this, Chapter 3 will not begin until MOST LIKELY next year. Once I finish Chapter 2, I will absolutely begin sketching the start of Chapter 3. I plan on having a lot of it complete by the time I start posting it, so that I don’t have a real ‘time limit’ each week. This means I can focus more on schoolwork and everything else. You must understand that I am a human too, and while I LOVE Partners In Crime with my whole heart, it can be a bit of a mental stress. Which is why I will not give it up, but I will give it some time to rest. DON’T WORRY – I will keep up with other art and concept art in the few months gap!!! I won’t be disappearing ^^

So yeah… I’m very excited for the next chapter and I hope you all love it too!!! It will be pretty-action and lore packed, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how you all respond to it ^^

That’s all for now… but I will be posting some more things tonight!!! See you all soon <333

- Jinxy

[chidoroki]

182 Days of TPN - Day 163

Chapter 163: "Reversal"

Oh this poor, old soul. Praying and waiting around for a thousand years, practically starving himself, only to be revived into a state of confusion and panic with the queen and nobility killed. He had a feeling such a collapse would happen but still, someone let this dude take a moment to rest before jumping in to settle all the chaos.

I assume these higher up demons know of Legravalima's and the noble's deaths because of those Ratri owl cameras they had flying about last chapter. Maybe. Either way, they worked pretty quickly to draw up those accurate sketches.

I'm thankful not every demon believes these accusations right away. At least some of them have a mind of their own to think about how Sonju & Mujika helped them and hold onto their good deeds rather than the possibility of them actually killing the royals.

Being honest doesn't do them a whole lot of good right now though as they're now all labeled as potential threats. This society is so messed up. Y'all have perfectly safe option to end degeneration and hunger and yet those in charge choose to be selfish and thirst for power and control instead.

These soldiers are damn lucky Sonju was feeling weak due to using his (& Mujika's) blood to revive the high priest or else he could've finish them all off in an instant.

Favorite panel/moment:

Protect these two soldiers who decided to save Awla & Mawla instead of turn them in at all costs. This series already has enough children at the risk of dying, we don't need two more.

[shiny-jr]

Hello, Shiny!

Yesterday I was looking forward to your quiz and after work I postponed all my business to read everything!!

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist and wanted to read everything from cover to cover.

Practically followed every update of this project.AND HOW HE HAS SUNK INTO MY SOUL. THEY JUST SHOT ME THROUGH THE HEART AND SEWED THIS BLESSING EXPRESSED IN WORDS AND LINES. THANK YOU FOR FINISHING THREE WHOLE CHAPTERS!!!this is amazing!!!

if I could kiss your hands, I would do it, of course with your consent.

I HAVE READ EACH OPTION AT LEAST 4 TIMES!!!

I love your writing style so much!!The way you convey the atmosphere, the characters, their actions. and the consequences of those decisions that led to such a tense denouement!!

And I would really like to print out every one of your work. Whether it's even a brief sketch with Vil or a big job!!And i want put it on shelf and reread it from time to time!!But unfortunately I don't have a printer, aahaha

A little spoilers, for the rest.

Geese Jesus, I laughed so much when I imagined the stunned, confused and complete confusion of the King of Hearts in that scene with the Cater!!!

It was so funny to imagine in my head that on their heels literally every second comes the threat in the form of deprivation of the head. And now they were literally holding a shovel for their grave.

By the way, I kept thinking that Trey is too suspiciously "kind", you know, that simple guy whom everyone seems to love, everyone trusts him. But your goose bumps are serenading you that this guy is stirring up something. Do you know such a phrase in your head "Run fool, he'll eat you up" In truth, I even thought that he would do something dark and hidden from Riddle and the King of Hearts in the end.

Excuse my waiting detective head.

And I was so sorry for the Hatter, the White Rabbit and the March Hare. I felt very uncomfortable when I read these lines. Good job!!

And the scene where Azul is on the ship….I'm sorry, but I've never swore so loudly from fright!! To sail away on a ship…A brilliant plan!!Reliable as a Swiss watch!!Sail away from Merfolk!!!Ahahahah.

(in no way do I want to offend you or say something negative, I really liked everything!!My English is not native, I use a translator)

That scene with Leona at the end. I could just feel all the disgust that blood is smeared on the Leader's face and feel this smell and taste as if you chewed nails or an iron spoon. It was a very smart move for the ending!!! What could be more cryptic and frightening than "such a proposal" after the murder of ______ (I don't want to completely spoiler for others so cruelly)

It was even a pity for the Leader when Jack was like an arrogant thistle that could not be unhooked, for them and hyenas. Ahahah.

I'm sorry if it got messy, and a little incoherent. I will look forward to the rest of this project!! I wish you a good rest and gain strength!!Thank you for sharing your works with us, which are divine!!

I still fondly remember one of your works, but as far as I understand it was removed from Tumblr. Although I really liked it!!! If I remember correctly, it was due to the fact that Azul wandered into some cheap bar? and I found a poor singer MС there and almost persuaded them to a deal. But they refused and kicked him out of their dressing room. I love this job so much!!

Oh yes, I do not know if anyone has asked you before. Sorry if you already answered.

Who are your favorites from TWST? And who do you like to write about the most?

Wow, this is a long ask. I'm both flattered and concerned that you postponed stuff to read it. I'm hoping that at least you didn't postpone anything important like a class or a meeting or work or whatever other important things you may have to deal with. It's also worrying and flattering that you've read each result four times, but it's also scarily impressive.

As for the rest, believe it or not, I actually didn't know how I wanted to insert Cater into the story. I thought it would be boring if I just added him like a regular subordinate, because then it would be too similar to Trey. Then I remembered the whole reason mc nearly died was because the king they replaced had a scandalous relationship or admiration for someone. When I thought of putting Cater into that role, I realized it would make for something really interesting especially how Cater tries to fit into the molds of how others perceive him, so of course he'd probably want to get along with the king (now the mc). At least, that was my thought process. As for Trey, Trey is just always loyal to Riddle, even in the main game story, which is why I decided to take a similar approach with him here.

As for my favorite twst character, that has to be Idia. He's both funny and extremely relatable. The easiest to write though is Vil, because of the whole soft yan Vil thing, he's a lot easier to write now and people definitely enjoy stuff I write about him.

[cwispyshwimp]

I read the fic all the way thruI just wanted more content 🥺 I kinda just assumed its been abandoned so I wondered if you could post any other scraps like bonus art or plans u had for the next chapters or something! good to see u back!

Ah, now this I can do!!

When it comes to art, I do have a WIP or two sitting somewhere deep in my folders. I haven't touched them in a long time and I hadn't made immediate plans to work on them, but I can share the sketches if you'd like :')

When it comes to future chapters, I have bits and snippets of LOTS of chapters sitting in my outline document; the whole fic was basically plotted out from the start, but I keep adding chapters in between other chapters because I'm insane HHAHA I'm still kinda figuring out if I'm up for the challenge of writing out the rest, but I might share those snippets and get some opinions/feedback if there's a lot of interest for stuff like that?

But for you, anon, I am happy to share the general outline I've been sitting on for the 2nd half of MSV. Basically, I've finished maybe 2 arcs out of 5. Here's some thoughts for the other 3; spoilers past the break below!

Arc 3 - Xingqiu/Chongyun's Relationship: Xingqiu and Chongyun's relationship doesn't go as simply as "let's just promise to be brave together"; they have to actually confront their individual issues (Chongyun's emotions and Xingqiu's vulnerability,) and it doesn't go smoothly. [At least 3 chapters are in this arc -- the trek back to Liyue Harbor, sharing nightmares in the dark, and overcompensating for their individual flaws (this last one might be 2-3 chapters actually....)]

Arc 4 - Xingqiu/Chongyun's Introspection: The two end up taking a break from their relationship to learn more about themselves, with some help from others. [I have 2 long chapters plotted here and 1 "conclusion" chapter: Chongyun meets Albedo, Xingqiu meets Qiqi, and the bittersweet reunion chapter.]

Act 5 - Xingqiu/Chongyun's Reunion: Xingqiu invites Chongyun to Inazuma for the delivery of his finished manuscript... except Xingqiu isn't satisfied with the ending. [Number of chapters is fuzzier here, but right now I have maybe 3-4: a bonding montage in Inazuma, another opportunity to gain wisdom from new friends, and a final conclusion chapter that puts everything they learned about themselves and relationships together.] Thank you again for the ask, anon!! I hope this is some of the content you were looking for, and thanks for the welcome back too!! :'''') <3

[innaneramblingsofamadman]

Chapter 3: A Little Late on the Draw

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14200223/3/A-New-Alliance

Chapter 3: A Little Late on the Draw

Today the Sinclair’s would arrive, and gears would be put into motion at last. For Wednesday it felt as though the machine were destiny, and it marched ever forward without rest or warning to those in its path. It seemed she’d been caught unaware while her back was turned and she had been focused on other things. After spending the whole night in the library, the closest grasp of new information she could find was that one could use dognip mixed with peppermint in an incense to addle a werewolves mind without alerting their heightened senses, yet they did not make them prone to suggestion as she had hoped. Thing had remained in her room all night as instructed, and reported only finding a small tunnel that led outside the house in case of emergencies. A house without any secrets? Where’s the fun in that? She frowned.

Wednesday set about getting ready for the day, tying up the familiar twin braids with practiced ease. Her wardrobe offered up a simple outfit for her today, black riding pants and hiking boots paired with a charcoal sweater and white undershirt. Not very inspired, but she figured there would be a tour of the property sometime today anyway, so going with her usual morbid and eccentric style may not fit. It fit her like a tomb, but was excellent at bracing against the wind this area was infamous for.

Outside the day seemed to be just getting started for the rest of her family. Dark clouds blanketed the entire sky, an omnipresent shroud veiling the world from above. Gomez and Morticia were taking in the beauty of the bleak gray next to the lake as they walked arm in arm, with eyes locked only on each other as they strolled just past the reach of the water, never stumbling or faltering despite the rocky terrain. Pubert lay in the grass with his sketch pad, taking his time to capture each little detail he could manage as he shaded in a drawing of the mushrooms in front of him. Lurch stood nearby, waiting with a pitcher of water and glasses on a tray. Corvus and Pugsley seemed to be missing for the moment, but that was fine. Wednesday looked down at her watch and sighed. It’s just a quarter past eleven now, I’ll find them and follow Corvus to greet the others before they arrive.

“Lurch, please inform my parents I’ve gone to welcome the Sinclair Pack whenever they finish defiling this marvelous day with their longing.”

“Uuurgh”

She turned on a heel and began stalking to the back of the house, expecting to find her cousin and brother there. She was right, of course. Corvus and Pugsley were in the process of throwing hay bales onto the back of a large flatbed truck and arranging them as though they were seats in neat rows with blankets over the tops. A tour indeed, one free of walking, thank the seven hells. Corvus spotted her first and paused in placing another bale, then tapped her mammoth brother on the shoulder and pointed to her.

“Hey Wednesday,” Pugsley called, “wanna come with? We’re gonna drive the wolves to the old house.”

“I’d be delighted actually, it’s always a good thing to know where the enemy sleeps.” Wednesday crossed her hands behind her back as she approached the truck and inspected the stacks before her. “Though perhaps I could be on something else? You and Corvus can take the truck for your own glory.”

“Care to see the stables? Something in there might grab your attention,” Corvus suggested as he hopped down to the earth. “Just walk down the road and it’s on the left past the rise. All the saddles are kept in the building next door, we’ll meet you there in a few minutes and I can help if you can’t decide.” She thought for a moment, stock still, and then looked up into his empty eyes.

“Do you have anything black?”

“As a matter of fact, I might have just what you’re looking for.”

Corvus strolled inside the stable and turned to his right, walking down a short stone ramp to a set of reinforced steel barn doors, he explained that the more hostile creatures were kept down here both for the safety of all the other horrifying wonders upstairs, but also for training and disciplining. All three of them walked up to the door and entered into the dungeon where, locked behind iron bars, paced more dangerous breeds of mount. Including the Mares of Diomedes in a larger pen on the left hand side. The keeper walked the stalls, running his fingers along the bars without any worry at all of being attacked. These creatures were restless, but not untrained, not unbroken. If he could make such monstrosities bend the knee, Wednesday had the ability as well. At the third pen from the end he stopped and crouched down, reaching through the bars and petting whatever rested inside. Wednesday and Pugsley waited by the door per his instruction, and couldn’t see what it was.

“You wanted black, he’ll more than account for that. But I think he’s an attention grabber anyway, come say hello,” Corvus waved her over and gestured for her to kneel next to him. Behind the bars all she could spy was a pair of simmering green eyes that pierced like a javelin through her soul, and as the creature within began to shift and lift off the floor she at last got a full view. “His name is Asmodeus.”

A muscle bound panther squared off against her, as tall as she was, with claws and fangs glittering in the torch light, and the long tail that extended behind twirled in the air as the barbed tip remained pointed at her. Wednesday stood slower than a man at gunpoint, eyes affixed to his. It was a contest of wills now, whoever broke first lost, and Wednesday Addams did not lose.

“Open the door and let me in,” she commanded. Corvus did as she said, unlocking it with a quick rune and opening it for her with the same bow he had offered last night.

“Maybe that isn’t a great idea!” Pugsley shouted from the doorway.

“Hush now and watch a prodigy at work.” She stepped inside and continued the staring contest with the ominous wall of darkness before her, holding a hand out with her palm up to its nose. His concentration had been broken for the moment as the large black maw lifted up and chuffed at her hand a few times, but the moment the guard had been dropped Wednesday placed her hand between his eyes and ran her hand along the thick skull to the base, where a simple pressure point allowed her to drop the panther like a sack of rocks. Dust and hay littered the air as it hit the stone flooring, a dazed mewl escaped past the sharp teeth as it looked up to her again. She reached down and placed the hand between his eyes again, but this time began to rub and smooth gentle patterns along the creature's face before running the other hand along the sleek pelt that adorned his back. “Tell me, what is he?”

“A simple bounder from around these parts, but Asmodeus suffers an excess in melanin, causing his fur to be black. Most of them wander the hills around here and look almost the same as a large mountain lion,” he grinned and walked away, “I’ll grab his saddle, you and Pugsley get him brought outside.” Well, that was going to take a bit of finesse, but it was a fair price to take power of such a handsome beast as this. After a minute or so of stopping and walking Wednesday discovered the large feline followed her every move and never strayed more than ten feet from her, so it was an easy matter of walking back up the stone ramp and out into the clouded day. Asmodeus took advantage of his new freedom and began to roll in the grass and dirt as he covered his  entire body in dust while emanating a deep purr. Wednesday resisted the urge to smile but only managed to tone it down into a quiet smirk. As her new companion continued to roll and chuff on the ground, Corvus emerged from the side building hauling a strange looking saddle with a large silver ring at the front and straps that looked as though they would wrap around the bounder’s shoulders and another loop that cinched around the midsection.

Her older cousin began to instruct her on how to secure it so it was steady enough to not slide, but not so tight on the creature as to impede movement or breathing.  Within a couple minutes both Corvus and Pugsley watched as Asmodeus began to rise after the saddle had been secured to his powerful frame, with a smug looking Wednesday perched atop with her hands affixed to the metallic ring. The clouds rolled overhead without a whisper as she situated herself a bit more, rising up and back down several times before nodding to no one at all.

“How does it feel to be taller than me for once?” Pugsley’s attempt at a joke was met by a hard glare that he waved off. It felt good, but not quite right…Wednesday could feel something small within herself resisting the enchanting black pelt and murderous power of the beast. The rest of her brain decided it was uncertainty at something so new, and she waved the thought off as Pugsley had dismissed her gorgon’s stare.

“Adequate,” she answered. “Come along now boys, we have new friends to intimidate.”

~30 minutes later~

Enid had been stuffed into the backseat of the tiny rental car with her older brother Malachi, and had spoken less than maybe 10 words in the last 3 hours of the drive. When her parents had delivered the news that their family would represent the pack at the Addams meeting she’d been ecstatic, because there was absolutely no way people with that much money were going to meet them anywhere less than a five star hotel, in her mind at least. Sure it might have been haunted or whatever, but she could handle that. What she couldn’t handle was that wherever they were going was in the middle of LITERALLY nowhere, and she’d lost cell service more than twenty minutes ago now. So much for updating her blog. Malachi had made some remark about it being good that she couldn’t spend the entire trip on her phone, but she’d barely heard him over the wailing of her own self pity. The GPS in the front seat pinged at last, signaling her dad to turn right. Down another dirt road. Yay.

The dark clouds swirling over them did little to improve her mood, and the tree line they were about to drive straight into only added to her anxiety because was it her or did she see something move behind that bush?

After a few more minutes of following the road through hanging branches that scraped the roof of the car, it opened up again to a small clearing where the road forked. Waiting in the middle of that fork sat a beat up truck and two men leaning against the hood as they talked, the one on the left looked skinny and short but that might have only been because he was standing next to the tallest dude Enid had ever seen. Their car pulled off to the side into a grassy area and parked.

“Now remember everyone,” her mom started, “best behavior, we’re here to make a good impression and make it stay that way.” Malachi and her dad nodded, sticking to their usual silence as Enid rolled her eyes. She doubted it would be hard to make a good impression on people who were regularly known for their cultish behavior. Esther let out a deep sigh and patted her husband’s knee twice before opening her door and stepping out as the rest of the family followed suit, the man on the left was strolling up to their rental with a relaxed ease, hands tucked into his vest pockets.

“Welcome to the Addams Family Reserve everyone, I trust the journey was as long and arduous as always," he smiled. Oh my god, his eyes are all black, that’s so freaky! And he smells like rot. Enid’s nose crinkled as the scent hit harder with a gust of wind, it was like she’d just found a body in the woods months after it had been left there.

“Oh no, it was lovely! So scenic and gorgeous! Right Mur?” Esther had stretched out a hand and shook his, Murray offering another nod and smile. “My name is Esther Sinclair, this is my husband Murray, our oldest Malachi, and our youngest Enid,” she pointed them out each in turn. Behind the man speaking to her mom, the boy who had been leaning against the truck also walked over, fidgeting with the cuffs and collar of his suit the whole time.

“A pleasure, my name is Corvus. The giant behind me is my cousin Pugsley, his parents are preparing for this evening and could not join us, unfortunately. Somewhere around here though,” Corvus narrowed his dark eyes and began to look around. He frowned and turned to Pugsley. “Where did she go?”

“I don’t know, she said she’d be right back five minutes ago,” his eyes darted around the clearing, filled with sudden panic, “do you think she’s okay?” Behind Enid something rustled in the trees and the sound of twigs snapping put her on alert.

“I assure you, nothing out here could kill me even if it sacrificed itself in the process,” a deadpan voice echoed across the clearing. Enid could have been standing only feet away and it still would’ve carried the same volume. From out of the trees a massive panther lumbered up to them all, green eyes all aglow and the scent of a fresh kill on its breath. Resting on its back was a woman about her age, with dark hair in braids and eyes so intense they pierced all her walls. Corvus offered a small bow and held up an open hand, helping her off of the saddle and onto the ground next to him.

“Allow me to introduce the next matriarch of our family, Wednesday Addams.” Her eyes scanned each of them in turn from head to toe, pausing on Enid for a second longer than the rest and Wednesday held a hand out to Enid alone.

“The displeasure is all mine,” she said. But at that moment Enid’s mind had already broken, all the mechanisms were just spinning and whistling as a record played over and over in her head, hot goth girl hot goth girl hot goth girl.

[keefwho]

April 23 - 2024 Tuesday

11:08pm

6.5/10

This morning I gave Sporticus a bath. There was a big spider in the shower the whole time I couldn't seem to wash down the drain but it didn't bother me too much. She shed a TON of hair this time around. I also found out later that she peed in the corner of my room, likely after her bath while I was taking a shower. For breakfast I made a jimmy dean sandwich with rice and a pear cup. I intended on doing my workout today and this was a good breakfast for it calorie-wise. I watch an episode of Moral Orel about Doughy being neglected.

For work I warmed up with sketches of wolves. They didn't turn out as good as others and I found out that their front legs aren't easily simplified. Also that they are very similar to horses at certain joints. Then I spent another hour on the Venus commission coloring the characters. And then I finished preparing my next NSFW YCH.

After work I did my dishes and started my workout. I watched a video of Dan Schneider while I did a few sets of lunges and a couple miles on the treadmill. I found out my knee still hurts, I MAY have to schedule a doctor's appointment for it. Although I haven't given it an opportunity for some good rest so I should probably try to take it mega easy for a couple weeks before asking a doctor. For lunch I made chicken stew. I was aiming to make it rich and spicy but ended up making it too salty somehow, I think too much lemon pepper. It was edible but not that great for the effort. While cooling/eating, TK was messaging me about issues with her boyfriend and how he has a pattern of problematic jealousy. I took her side completely with what she had to say, it sounded to me like he not only had unrealistic expectations but also that he was not communicating the problem very well. It got me thinking a lot in general about jealousy and how the dynamic can change between two people that work well together when they elevate from friends to a relationship. I think nothing SHOULD change if both parties know how to talk and don't develop unrealistic needs.

I did my afternoon work late on account of how long the stew took. I did a request for FY that I think turned out okay and then I got into VRchat to paint from "life". I went to that old world DS and I found with all the hobkin avatars and picked a place to stand that I'm going to copy from. I think it's a great idea because it's basically just a color study and results in a sort of unique result, that being what looks like an uninteresting in-game screenshot but it's actually been hand painted. After that I worked on my avatar for about 15 minutes which was enough time to prepare and bake the AO for the textures. This whole time I was using my good headphones to listen to loud rain with some music and a stream at a lower volume.

When I was done I hopped on the Roblox horse game to catch some horses and check out the training island. DS was free so we called and watched a furry species ranking video while I horse trained and she practiced airbrushing. We also finally watched the fabled balut sausage video which was horrifying, I actually thought I might throw up and had to look away. Then it was more of the usual furry con content and we went on a sidetrack trying to see if any of the footage had her in it. We found about 10 pixels of her at the waterfront in 2022, still an exciting find.

In bed we did our puzzles. The crossword was really hard for some reason and took us a whole 12 minutes. The last 2 only took a little over 1 minute each. Then it was 2 Monster High chapters and I played through the Beast's Castle level in KH2 until I got to the boss. We did a little smash or pass session with the enemies and a few actually got me thinkin a little.

~~~

Today was strange in that for most of it, I really had the desire to be alone but not to be myself. Usually when I wanna do something alone, I'm still trying to express myself. But I didn't want that today, I wanted the influence of others. The happy medium was a little bit of texting. Also since today was about "self", I combined that with my Costar prompt which was "cry over someone else's problems". So during the afternoon I was thinking a lot about TK and DS, putting myself in their shoes thinking about the woes they both expressed today. It felt good, like a helpful empathy exercise.

[arcticmoonvt]

Please read on Ao3 but I'll also post part it below the cut TW: gore and k*lling

That evening, when my whole world flipped, the setting sun seemed to call me to paint it. The sky felt like a moment one would usually call " picture-perfect," at the time, I would have also referred to it as such. But now I know it was just a hollow background for something greater, something my mind would never dare to conjure up on its own. I went on to capture the view as a simple warm-up before shifting my focus to other projects I had kept putting off due to a wall I had seemed to hit in my creative process. The sketch was completed rather quickly; the skyline out of my atelier, though the sky is ever-changing, is one I've sketched a hundred times. So, each stroke of my pencil was familiar and easy to speed through. Satisfied with the rough outline, I began to paint, realizing all too late that I havent enough red to finish. A mistake, though a simple one, is odd as I am one who does not make mistakes when it comes to art. Looking back, this may have been destiny pushing me towards something grander.

Though this was a warm-up, I could not have an unfinished painting as the night's first work. It would set a sour tone for the rest of the night. I quickly shoved my things into a satchel and headed out as clouds began to loom above. Though the skies now spoke of rain, the Store was not far, and I was sure I would return before it started raining. Another mistake, this one less surprising as I am an artist, not a meteorologist and cannot predict the weather, so as I finished purchasing the paints and a few other things I knew I was running low on, it began to drizzle. Though the Store was already close to home, I knew that if I took the back roads and alleys, I could arrive home much faster, and there would be less risk of myself and the supplies I just bought getting soaked. I set out, trying to move quickly through the side streets. Keeping in mind that though this way was faster, it also had its downsides. The side streets are filled with trash and trash-like people who like to lurk in the shadows and pounce on easy targets. It was then when I turned a corner while running, I heard a scream ring out, and I could see a woman in the distance running from something, or rather someone. Flashes of front pages of the last few editions of the paper flew through my mind of "a series of women found dead in gruesome killings," all done by whom they named "Jack The Ripper.". Try as I might, I couldn't recall if they ever managed to catch him because I did not actually read the paper; I had mainly used them to cover the floor when painting. While cursing at myself for my lack of interest in the rest of the world, panic began to sink in as I could now see the woman and the large figure behind her; if I didn't do something soon, I would've gotten caught. I dove behind the trash cans that littered the sides of the alley and backed myself into the shadows. I don't think of myself as someone without a conscience or that I am overly cruel; however, helping this woman was out of the question. What would I have even been able to do for her other than get myself killed in her place? I wouldn't do that for my own mother, let alone a stranger.

[hitechlatte]

Unsent Messages - A ROTTMNT Fanficition

I'm working on a ROTTMNT fic centered around our favorite purple mad genius <3.

I'm eventually going to post this on AO3, but I want to finish writing the whole fic first so I make sure I know exactly what direction I'm going in for the story. It takes place after the movie, so spoiler warning!

But anyhoo, here is a sneak peek! This is the summary and first chapter. Let me know what you think!

Fanfiction Summary:

It’s been over 5 years since the Kraang invasion and many theories have spurred up over the years. Theories like the Kraang created anything that didn’t look exactly human. Ever since, Yokai and Mutants alike have gone into hiding to try and keep some stability for the traumatized survivors of the world.

So when Donnie makes a new friend online, can he tell her the truth about who he is? Or will she shun him like so much of society already has?

Chapter 1

Donnie sighed loudly and tossed his sketching pen across the glossy surface of the table. As the pen skidded along, little black marks littered the table's screen. Groaning, he hit the undo button in the corner of the table a few times. 

As he leaned back in his chair, his gaze swung up to the ceiling of his lab. The arch of the abandoned subway tunnel still looked as dull as when they first arrived 10 years ago. So much had changed after their battle with the Shredder and then the Kraang, but his ceiling was resolute. It mocked him with its unwavering monotony.

For a brief moment the ceiling’s challenge enticed him, as he happily concocted schemes to thwart the bland arch of concrete. However, his joyful distraction was quickly snuffed out by thoughts of his incomplete blueprints begging to find their undiscovered resolution. 

“Should I make a post?” Donnie asked the ceiling, “Although, I can’t recall when a post I’ve made actually procured any successful suggestions... However, I am regrettably out of ideas, so let us take a dive with the heathens of the inter-webs, and hope for positive results.”

Swirling his chair over to his monitor, he pulled up a robotics sub-reddit and began typing furiously on his computer’s interface. 

“Recommendations needed for a uhhh complex robotics project written with C protocol...” Donnie said aloud as he began typing out a reddit post, detailing out the general premise of the project along with the issues he had stumbled upon. 

With a reluctant hit of the post button, he leaned back in his chair and groaned again. Dejectedly standing up, he returned to his electronic sketching table, fervently scribbling another attempt at the blueprint on its screen.

After a few hours, he rubbed his eyes, his wrist aching. Stretching out his arms, he took a look at his wrist panel and saw 7 replies from his post. 

Swinging back over to his computer, he plopped down in his chair and pulled the screen back up.

Prepare yourself for disappointment Donnie, the probability of real assistance is at best one percent. Donnie thought to himself. 

Scrolling through the comments, he began muttering under his breath, 

“Already tried that idea… Nope… Tried it… Nope not compatible… Heh, it’s cute you’re trying… Good effort but no… and- …wait”

Eyes darting back and forth, Donnie quickly read through the last comment. A detailed paragraph with bulleted steps and ideas scrolled across his screen. Fluttering his eyes, he leaped back over to his sketching table. He read the response again and again as he quickly drew another attempt at the blueprint.

“That- That’d work!” He exclaimed.

Standing there, staring at the blueprint below him, he couldn't muster any words. Just an expression of joyful disbelief rested on his face.

Slowly making his way back to his computer, he sat down and began typing.

BootyShaker9000: Thanks @caffieneaddict7200, that actually worked! I can’t believe you came up with that let alone so quickly.

Only momentarily after hitting send, his computer beeped back at him. 

CaffieneAddict7200: Glad to hear @bootyshaker9000! Super interesting problem. Usually don’t see such complex concepts on here was excited to take a crack at it. 

BootyShaker9000: Happy I could provide you with such intellectual sustenance @caffieneaddict7200. 

Donnie smirked after hitting send, going back and reviewing his blueprints checking for any issues or possible edge cases. The panel on his wrist flashed brightly.

A new DM? Donnie thought to himself, clicking on the notification. 

The user caffieneaddict7200 is requesting to chat with you.

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 5:35 PM

Hey there bootyshaker9000. Thanks for the challenge earlier. If you ever need to bounce ideas around with another Engineer, feel free to hit me up here. I swear all the questions in here are like robotics 101, so I’d love to bounce ideas around with you sometime, if you’d want.

With an excited expression plastered across his face, Donnie tapped out an immediate response. 

BootyShaker9000 Today at 5:36 PM

Excellent! Saves me from having to filter through the comments. Honestly I’ve posted a few dozen times on here, and I think this is the first time I’ve ever gotten actually helpful advice. 

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 5:37 PM

Yeah I can tell. Was curious and went through your prior posts. You seem to work with some interesting stuff. I can’t believe that one guy asked if you tried unplugging and plugging it in again. 

BootyShaker9000 Today at 5:37 PM

Right? I was astounded by his response. Like, it was a solar powered drone, you can’t plug and unplug the sun!

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 5:38 PM

Hahaha I believe it. I’ve posted a few times and the responses I always get blow my mind. Like sometimes I wonder if people say crazy stuff on purpose.

BootyShaker9000 Today at 5:38 PM

I mean it IS the internet. I wouldn’t put it past them.

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 5:40 PM

You know what I can agree with that. So uhhh BootyShaker9000, very professional name by the way, what do you do with all these projects? Like you’ve asked about things across the whole technical spectrum. Contract work right? No way you could manage to have that much free range at a tech giant.

BootyShaker9000 Today at 5:41 PM

The tech giants couldn’t handle my suave dance moves, so I said to hell with them. So yes you are correct, I’ve been doing contract work for about 7 years. I even have a few patents and trademarks under my belt.

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 5:42 PM

That would definitely explain it. Tech giants want all the weird people with great skills without their weirdness. You’re not missing out if it makes you feel any better. They conned me with free coffee and healthcare, but emphasis on conned.

BootyShaker9000 Today at 5:42 PM

It sounds like the name fits then. How long have you been trapped at your monotonous 9-5?

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 5:43 PM

9 to 9 is more like it with how they run this place. Been here about 3 years now, but in the game for about a decade. The place I'm at now specializes in medical tools. It’s pretty cool to do something meaningful, but the crunch is ridiculous.

BootyShaker9000 Today at 5:44 PM

Ah yes the salary woes. If I have to crunch for a deadline, my clients at least feel the pain as well when they receive the bill. Curious, what’s your longest work stretch?

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 5:44 PM

63 hours, no sleep. That’s when I really started getting into espressos. 

BootyShaker9000 Today at 5:45 PM

Ahhhh an individual of taste. Although you're missing out. Americanos are definitely the better choice.

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 5:46 PM

Ah yes the very classy watered down espresso. Definitelyyyy delicious ;P. You probably like skim milk too don’t you, you heathen.

BootyShaker9000 Today at 5:47 PM

Alas, the mysterious engineer has discovered my secret. It’s true. I am but a simple man with simple tastes. Why go for extreme flavors and overwhelm yourself?

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 5:48 PM

Although I disagree… I can respect someone who knows what they want. Anyways, I gotta run, my break’s almost up and my boss is gonna be on me if I don’t get back to it. 

BootyShaker9000 Today at 5:49 PM

You’re permitted breaks? Maybe your job is a tad more cushy than you’re letting on ;P.

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 5:49 PM

Hahaha you’re hilarious. Been fun BootyShaker, let's talk soon.

Leaning back into his chair, Donnie smirked, just rereading the message over again. 

“Well I did say 1% chance…” He chuckled, as he sent the blueprint over to another monitor by his welding table.

_______________________________________________________

Night had fallen over the city, a black blanket laying above the blinding lights of the buildings below.

Mikey stared up at the empty sky, with his feet dangling off the edge of the tall apartment complex. Swaying his legs forward and back, he let out a loud groan.

“Me too man.” Leo grunted in response, “Raph, it’s been 2 hours. I think it’s just some dumb teens playing a prank.” Leo speculated.

“I hate agreeing with Leo, but I think he’s right.” Donnie explained, tapping away on his wrist panel, “I’ve been searching through the city security cameras and local social media posts and I’m not getting a hit on anything.”

“I mean this wouldn’t be the first time a dumb kid tries making up some Kraang horror story to try and sound cool to their friends.” Leo stated. 

“I guess you’re right.” Raph sighed, “It’s just this is the second separate reporting of this, and it’s not like this is circling the news or anything.”

“It could still be coincidental. Two data points is not a lot.” Donnie remarked, “And besides, it’d be hard for every security camera in New York to miss well how did they describe it again?”

“A 10 foot kraang-like dog” Raph said, “That’s pretty much word for word from the call-in.”

“And we’re sure this isn’t a yokai or mutant of some sort?” Leo asked

“Already checked that. Both Draxum and Big Mama said they don’t know nobody that looks like that.” Raph explained.

“Nor do I have anyone cataloged in our mutants/yokai database with that type of description.” Donnie concurred.

“So it sounds like we don’t have any leads. I don’t think this is worth freaking ourselves out over, unless we hear something else.” Leo stated.

“I just can’t help but think what if- ” Raph began to speak, but was cut off by a loud sigh by Leo.

“Look I know, and I get it. And I get why you’re worried. But there’s no way alright?” Leo explained, “It just wouldn’t make any sense and there’s no need to worry over speculation.”

Raph reluctantly nodded in response, as an awkward silence fell over the group. 

Mikey clutched his arm, and tilted his head up about to speak, but looked quickly back down, shaking the thought from his mind.

“Fine…” Raph sighed, finally breaking the silence, “But Donnie, can you keep checking the cameras for a bit?” Raph asked.

“Yes, yes, I’ll keep the scanning program running for a few more hours and have it take screenshots if it finds anything out of place.” Donnie explained.

“Thanks D.” Raph smiled.

With that, the group hopped along the rooftops and eventually returned to the lair. The group settled down to rewatch the 47th installment of the Jupiter Jim series, with a steamy pile of pizza leaned against the side of the couch.

As Mikey was loading up the movie, he chuckled slightly, “Glad there’s so many Jupiter Jim movies, otherwise I feel like we’d get bored of them after all these years.”

“Agreed. Although we definitely rewatch some more than others.” Leo explained, with his mouth half full.

As the movie started up, a ping chirped from Donnie’s wrist panel. 

Raph jumped up, “The program get a hit?”

Donnie looked down at the notification and shook his head, “No, it’s just one of the Reddit threads I’m on.”

Raph groaned and sat back down.

Swiping open the notification, Donnie read through the message.

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 10:29 PMAlright bootyshaker. I gotta know how the blueprint turned out. You make a prototype yet? Or have you been too busy dancing your way through every club in whatever country you’re from?

Donnie stifled a chuckle and began tapping away on his wrist panel.

BootyShaker9000 Today at 10:31 PM

Ah yes my mission to out dance all of the US is still ongoing, but I think I’ve taken out most of the east coast and some parts of the Canadian border. Although the midwest is next on my list. 

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 10:32 PMThank goodness I’m on the West Coast then. I can be safe from your booty shaking wrath… for now! But so I’ll take that as a no?

BootyShaker9000 Today at 10:33 PM

I’ve made some progress but then ran out of quality scraps. I’m going to go hunting for more materials tomorrow and make more progress. In the meantime, I’m doing very intellectual and classy things like watching Jupiter Jim.

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 10:34 PMDamn it I can’t make fun of you for that because skipping anything to watch Jupiter Jim is always a valid excuse. Loved those movies when I was younger. Which one you watching?

BootyShaker9000 Today at 10:35 PM

Jupiter Jim and The Planet of the Pups. Just started so he’s only just crash landed and hasn’t even stumbled upon Puptropolis yet.

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 10:36 PMGod I forgot how bad the names were in those movies. Between things like Puptropolis and singing songbird songstone or whatever his name was, but I guess you gotta up the ante when you’ve made a million movies from the same IP.

BootyShaker9000 Today at 10:39 PM

Hey listen, that’s DOCTOR Singing Songbird Songstan the fourth to you. Dr. Songstan didn’t spend 10 years earning his PHD in opera-ology to be disrespected like this. It was his tenacity and love for music that helped bring electric guitars and synthesizers to opera. He single winged-ly changed the history of music as the entire universe knows it.

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 10:40 PMDid you like copy that from the wikipedia page, or did you just like KNOW that. 

BootyShaker9000 Today at 10:41 PM

Jupiter Jim and the Hard Rock Opera is a classic. I would never forget Dr. Songstan’s struggles like that. 

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 10:41 PMI’m partially concern, but also slightly impressed?

“Donnie!” Leo yelled, “Your beeps are distracting us from the movie, and I think you’re going to make Raph pop a vein or something.”

“I’m fine! It’s fine!” Raph said, squeezing the life out of a throw pillow, “Just please let me know if you get a beep that tells me about our dog problem!”

“Fine, fine.” Donnie rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to his wrist panel.

BootyShaker9000 Today at 10:43 PM

I broke one of the sacred rules of Jupiter Jim screenings and let my watch ping one too many a times. I’m going to set my watch to silent for now, but I will make sure to message you later. Hopefully I’ll have some updates on the prototype then. 

CaffieneAddict7200 Today at 10:44 PMWhoops hope I didn’t disturb whoever you’re watching with too much. Have fun learning about the power of love and lasers or whatever other corny lesson that movie had. 

With a slight chuckle, Donnie dropped his arm and turned his attention back to the movie.

And all the way on the other side of the country, a quiet chuckle echoed in a dark bedroom. The glow of an arm watch softly lit a woman’s face. Her eyes gazed at the words on the screen, with her lips curled up into a gentle smile.

Dropping her arm against her sheets, the woman sighed aloud, feeling her spine crack as she exhaled.

“Sirixa, play NightTime playlist.” She commanded.

A little screen in the corner of her room lit up, calling out to her response,“Playing NightTime Playlist.”

A soft melody filled the room as the woman began to drift off to sleep.