#accountability is a great motivator

[universalfanfic]

2024 Word Count Tally (Goal: 100k)

JAN: 24,871

[tervaneula]

HECK I FORGOR TO POST AN UPDATE

Frames were acquired!!! ✨

@witchofthemoss this truly was the best thing I've done in a good while, thank you for enabling me<333

[thepersonalwords]

Achieving a goal is not the most important part of the process. The destination should never be your primary purpose or objective.

Mensah Oteh, Unlocking Life's Treasure Chest: Wisdom keys to keep you inspired, encouraged, motivated and focused

[pvremichigan]

Whoopsie time

[blueflyingturtleontheway]

So, I've heard some voices here and there lamenting how little Gabe content - especially new Gabe content - there was and you know what? I completely agree, so I thought why not, I can try to add my little droplet into this tiny sea of Gabe appreciation we have here on tumblr.

Summary: Elena visits Gabe in his house for the first time and learns something new about his past.

Word count: 1937

AN: just some friendly fluff really, headcanon heavy, from Elena's POV but Gabe centric

"Oh, watch out, the first step is-" Gabe turned around just in time to catch Elena when she started to fall backwards. "-loose."

"Thanks for the warning." Elena shot him a glare when she regained her balance. In response Gabe only sent her an unapologetic grin and pulled her up on the next step.

"Everyone's so used to it by now that we keep forgetting to fix it with my dad," he explained as they finally reached the first floor.

The stairs led to a narrow corridor, with the same room placement as the bakery beneath it. Two doors on the right, one on the left and a wide opening to the living room at the end. In a few brisk steps Gabe opened the door on the left and invited Elena in with a courteous gesture.

"Welcome to my humble abode, your highness."

Her highness graced him with a nod and slipped by him, into the small room. Elena gave it a quick one over. It was indeed small - in fact, there probably wasn't much more space than what each guard got at the barracks - and the decor wasn't much fancier either. Cream colored walls, a thin bed by the window, a wardrobe opposite of it, one wall taken up by a bookshelf and a small cabinet by another made up basically all the furnishing of the room.

"Humble is a good word." She nodded solemnly, earning herself an eye roll from her friend. They both chuckled.

"Hey, it's your room that's out of the norm, you know?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Elena retorted, thinking about how three or even four such rooms would fit into hers. She walked over to the cabinet and picked up some trinket. "But it's nice to finally see where you grew up."

Gabe couldn't stop a fond smile sneaking onto his lips when he noticed the badge she was examining.

"Yeah and I didn't really get to change much here in the past five years. For example this thing I got back when-"

"Gabriel!" He was interrupted by his mother's voice from the bakery.

"I'll tell you in a moment," he sighed. "Make yourself at home!" He added from the doors and quickly ran downstairs to his parents.

Elena took another look around the room. It wasn't entirely empty, she had to admit that, and the poster of Antonio Agama on the inner side of the door confirmed that Gabe didn't change the decor much since he moved out.

She moved to the bookshelf and moved her hand across the titles - though there weren't that many of them to count. The lower shelves were taken up by some boxes and bags and what could've been a neatly packaged tent. Then finally a whole shelf dedicated to the whole collection of Antonio Agama's books. Elena chuckled to herself when she read some of the more dramatic titles and noticed even one that wasn't in Avaloran. On the next shelf, between other various travel books and biographies, was only one book by señor Agama, titled simply 'The Gecko's Tale'. Driven by a hunch she took it out and couldn't help but laugh when she read the blurb on the back. Although that explained how the whole kingdom found out that she's a bit adventurous too.

Finally her gaze got to the plant on top of the mantle. Hidden so deep in the room, it extended its ivy like stalks towards the sun, climbing a string helpfully hung between the bookshelf and the window.

Down on the windowsill two other plants looked out on the little cobbled square behind the house. Elena leaned in to smell the orchid and noticed something half hidden behind the pot. Slowly, so as not to accidentally damage the plant, she reached for trinket and retrieved it into the light. It turned out to be a wooden doll, painted to resemble a familiar navy and maroon uniform...

"Is this you?" She turned to Gabe as soon as he entered the room and showed him the figurine with a wide smile.

Gabe stopped for a moment. Furrowed his brows as he tried to see what Elena was even holding, and then furrowed his brows even more when he recognised it.

"Of course not," he grumbled, closing the small distance between them. "It's just an old thing anyway."

"It does look a bit like you though." She jumped away from him at the last moment.

Gabe gasped. Elen giggled and moved her hand away when he tried to reach her.

"Why would I even have a figurine of myself?"

For a moment they circled each other, like two lions judging if it's worthy to fight the opponent for a steak, except the steak was now wooden and 15 centimetres high. They both hunched subconsciously and made their steps in the fencing manner.

"I don't know, why does Esteban have a whole wall of his own portraits?" A sly grin slid on her face. "But I see you've decided to match his collection."

"Oh now you've done it." Gabe shook his head to hide his smile and in the split of a second was right by her. Feigning to go right for the prize, he swiped her legs out from under her.

Elena waved her hands in the air giving Gabe just the opportunity he was waiting for. He swiftly yanked the figurine from her hands, giving her the last push to fall backwards completely. He turned his head with a victorious grin, just in time to see her legs rising at the height of his knees. And suddenly the ground was much closer than before.

He folded his arms to his chest, protecting the figurine with his body and rolled on the floor. Though he didn't have to roll far, of which he was promptly reminded by his head crushing into the cupboard.

He groaned loudly and let his body fall limply to the floor.

His pained complaint was answered by Elena's laughter from the bed.

"I'm getting too old for this," he mumbled and Elena's laughter only got louder.

Finally he sat up and lifted the figurine to his face. He carefully examined it for any cracks or splinters, checked if the joints in the limbs didn't fall out and most importantly if the head was still on firm. Finally when he made sure the trinket didn't get damaged, he let out a relieved sigh.

"You're lucky it's still whole," he grumbled, rising to his feet.

"Hey, I was being careful." Elena now sat up too and sent him a playful smirk. "All the way until you decided to trip me like that."

Gabe rolled his eyes again and huffed in pretended annoyance.

"So if it's not a limited edition General Nuñez action figure," Elena continued. "What is it?"

Gabe sat down next to her and thought of an answer for a moment. He changed the position of the little soldier's arms and reached for a pin to put into his hand as a sword.

"It's really just an old toy," he said finally. "But you know, it has sentimental value."

He finally passed Elena the figurine, so she could take a look at it herself. It wasn't as old as she thought at first. The paint was faded, but still held onto the uneven surface of the wood and as she moved her fingers across it, she realized that it must've been all whittled by hand, by someone who put great care in it, but wasn't a professional.

Still the amount of details was impressive, especially in the construction of the thing. She moved the tiny soldier into the proper fencing position and to her delight found out that it fits flawlessly, the wire on the joints creaked quietly, as if it had been waiting for an opportunity to shine for ages.

She glanced between the figurine and Gabe on her left for comparison. The uniform, despite the familiar colours, was a tad different, it resembles more what she remembered from her childhood, than the uniform Gabe was wearing at the moment.

"I got it from my first fencing teacher," he continued.

"The same one who threw coconuts at you driving training?" Elena raised a brow, earning herself a chuckle.

"Yeah, the same one." A sad smile reached the corners of his eyes as old memories resurfaced in his memory. "He was a tough man and always talked about how big an annoyance I am, but -" he gestured to the figurine and shrugged.

"Well, that explains why it looks like you," Elena bumped him with her shoulder. "I'm sure he could've already seen that you'll be a great guard."

"Oh, I don't think he even wanted me to be a guard," Gabe laughed again. "But you know, the situation was a bit different." He pondered something for a moment before continuing. "And to be fair, I didn't even realize that it was supposed to be a guard at the time, I was pretty sure he just came up with the design by himself. I only really connected the dots a few years ago, when I found this old thing again."

Elena nodded silently and put a comforting hand on his arm. She could see that this topic wasn't easy for him.

"Though maybe what you said was the point." He straightened suddenly and his gaze went back to the figurine. "Maybe he wasn't completely against me joining the guard, just... joining the right one."

His smile became wider and it was like his whole face lit up. Elena raised the little soldier's arms to make it cheer. They both laughed at how expressive this piece of wood was.

"So where is your coach now?" Elena asked, caressing the wooden toy one more time.

He only sighed at first and for a moment his gaze became clouded again, before he shook his head to cast the memories away.

"I wish I knew," he sent her a sad smile. "One day he just... disappeared. A few trinkets and one letter is all the proof I have that he wasn't just my hallucination."

Elena's lips twitched in a matching sad smile, but before she could say anything, they both heard a voice from downstairs, calling the unmistakable word 'dinner!'

Gabe clapped his hands on his knees and sprung up to his feet.

"Ah, just in time", he extended his hand to Elena. "I think eating is a much more fun topic than discussing the weird things I did in my childhood."

Elena examined his face for a moment more, but gave up on asking all the questions that pushed to the tip of her tongue. She sent him a smile instead and accepted his hand.

"Oh, you mean you did more weird things?" She made the little figurine gasp.

"I feel like I shouldn't have started this topic," Gabe laughed.

"Oh no, you won't escape now." She poked him in the chest and put the little soldier in his hand. "I gotta know all the crazy stories."

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you something," Gabe raised his hands in defeat. "But you can't mention it to my parents, please, they'll never stop until they tell you my whole life story."

Elena made a theatrical gesture of tapping her lips in thought as she backed out of the room.

"I'll consider it," she sent him a wide grin and in a second turned and ran towards the stairs.

"Hey- wait!" Gabe called out, running right after her to save what was left of his reputation.

[quotelr]

You already have the abundance of life in you, and each day you must decide to live abundantly by choosing not to live in the past, by never taking counsel of your fear, and most importantly by seeing the greatness within you and embracing it.

Mensah Oteh, Unlocking Life's Treasure Chest: Wisdom keys to keep you inspired, encouraged, motivated and focused

[salarymanwaka]

happy new year everyone..!!! ( ^ 0^)/ i was planning to post something a little more impressive, but instead all i found in the house was this pair of strange little rabbits. after reading the mysterious inscriptions on their backs, it seems that the red one promotes good health and helps people to achieve their goals, while the white one bestows wealth and absorbs your bad luck. i hope together they will bless you with a wonderful year ahead!

[loumauve]

I snapped today at work, and by snapped I mean I politely commented on a help desk ticket by summing up an mess of an (type of) issue that's come up for at least the fourth time in the 2+ months I've been managing user accounts, and asked the person responsible to fix it (himself for once) because last time I fixed his mess-up it took me two whole days to work out the details with at least four other colleagues from different departments and I really don't want to do it again. there's other shit that needs doing, I've been working 10+ hour days for most of this week already, so I need to cut down not add on more.

(good thing tho - at least we managed to fix the issue where the dataset of a newer employee got mixed up with another one of the same name and therefore wasn't able to apply for any of the access/accounts she needed. technically not entirely my area but it does impact us not being allowed to create an account for her so I figured I might as well track that issue down. took three days and at least three other people, but hey - it should all work out now. yay for that)

[ophexis]

trying not to think too hard about how quickly a certain art site that shall not be named went downhill the second they started doing their opt-in/out bullshit

[starbuck]

i think the thing that endears me so much to Holly is that he’s so earnest. that man does not take a single calculated action in his entire story and it’s real sad.

[thepersonalwords]

Investing in yourself is one of the foundations for better relationships, health, happiness, success, and prosperity.

Mensah Oteh, Unlocking Life's Treasure Chest: Wisdom keys to keep you inspired, encouraged, motivated and focused

[kumaronoa]

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[mikichko]

mid year resolutions - mikichko sotb

🖼 amazing little header by @/a10ttion 💕muito obrigado meu amor 💕

before going further: hey there cutie! it's been a long day, had any water yet? even if you don't interact with the rest of the post please make sure to grab a drink, a snack, and do a little stretch to keep yourself taken care of ☺❣

tldr: reprioritizing my life amidst a lot of changes + new writing schedule! (bonus: kiko oversharing a teensy bit)

mid-year to me has always been another quiet time of rebirth. just a few days past the summer solstice we move into the warmest and liveliest (to some) parts of the year. to me, it's always been a time to take stock of where I'm at and where I want to be.

regardless of how I feel, this year feels rich with opportunity. so i'll be capitalizing on that, along with my current optimistic outlook, and setting aside some time in the coming weeks to reorganize my life in regards to my needs, priorities, and hobbies.

so, what does this all mean in regard to this blog?

well thankfully i'm not going anywhere! despite recent events and the bucketful of personal and professional issues I'm working through, I still love to write. and boy do I love this silly little fandom. so I will definitely be sticking around to write, read, and rot my brain with these silly little war criminals.

but there will be a lot of spring cleaning! I'll be taking some time to set up new schedules, routines, and even writing hours for myself so that I can write freely without worrying about other things. and hopefully, with these new schedules, I can introduce my new posting cadence!

a little bit overly optimistic but I'm hoping to post bi-weekly to start. there's potential to up the cadence but I still want to keep this as loose as possible so that I don't accidentally drive myself out of the hobby :')

i'm also looking to expand and rework older/unfinished pieces as well as the current series that I've been working on. I'll keep deadlines regarding pieces loose as well, I can never truly tell when inspiration will strike, but rest assured that I will be taking my time to plan them out!

also hoping to put out some spanish works but I'll be apprehensive about that until I see myself putting in work for it. it also doesn't help that my writing and reading skills are not at all on par with my native speaking skills. but still, development!

anyway, this was all that I really wanted to chat about and jot down somewhere. partially to share with y'all what I hope to accomplish but also to have a little bit of accountability for myself. writing has helped my mental state a ton these past few months and I want to lovingly build my skill while also giving y'all good quality works.

thanks for sticking around til the end of this silly little post and indulging me! I'm super happy to be in a fandom as amazing as this one. lots of love to you al!!

[witchyweighty]

Trying to start a new habit of setting 10 goals for myself every Sunday night to do for the week. Setting it as my phone background too so I’m constantly reminded of them. 💪🏼 I’ve eaten like absolute shite the past few days down to massive amounts of stress and upset, and not exercised at all, but absolutely determined to get back on track. 🎯

Also at least one person needs to vote on this poll so I don’t feel like a total loser and become despondent. I totally don’t rely on other people to feel things.

[hasmaj]

If you stay grateful for all that you have, regardless how small, more will come your way!

[ashbhav]