#family. that's a really common theme I'm spotting here | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

fic-heaven · 1 year ago

Text

All I want for Christmas is you (Gus x reader)

🐥I know I'm late as fuck but here's a tiny Christmas fic

° How come a holiday filled with so much happiness bring you down so easy? The scars from the most hurtful breakup cause the reader to try and move on with her new life, though a shadow from the past will visit her bringing emotions and memories she had left dormant.

Angst to fluff/ break-up mention/ feelings/ healing

You never hated Christmas. Of course you don't hate it now, but it does bring painful memories you rather bury deep in your soul and spit out every few mondays on therapy sessions.

Your mind has been playing an awful trick on you tying memories of the most painful breakup you have ever experienced to this festive. Which led you to the present.

The mall where you work at had just been decorated by beautiful twinkling lights, sparky stars with silver and red Christmas balls, also some funny sculptures of Santa Claus and Reindeer here and there for the kids to take pictures with amongst other things. It wasn't even Christmas yet but the small town you now lived in was popular for it's beautiful Christmas themed events and decorations. The town looked so wonderful many people from around the country traveled far just to celebrate Christmas here, and that meant in little time your auntie's restaurant will be overflowing with clients to her delight.

As you walked out of the mall breathing the cold night's air you sighed, your hand slowly reached for your lighter and the pack of cigarettes on your coat's side pocket.

It wasn't easy for you to accept this job but you didn't have any other option back then... To pick this job meant moving on with the breakup with your ex boyfriend because you had to move closer to the mall leaving behind your childhood town and a broken man crying on your old apartment's floor with Christmas fastly approaching.

You shivered a little, your head blames the weather but your broken heart knows better of the pain that seemed to haunt you forever.

A snowflake kissed the tip of your nose, cig clutched tightly in between your lips as you overlooked the busy street. You remember him, your boyfriend, stumbling out of your shared room desperately looking for you, your name was murmured by dry lips when he froze in place the moment he spot you on the hall near the door carrying your purse and suitcase. His glossy eyes and agape mouth opened and closed like someone had kicked the air from his lungs, he simply couldn't formulate a word. You may had indeed stolen his breath when he caught you leaving the apartment with all your things and a note on his clenched fist you had previously left on the nightstand minutes before your scape from the life you both shared.

Breaking up with Gustavo Rodríguez was never on your Christmas wishlist, you didn't want to but you had to.

He acted like he didn't expect it at all even if awful fights were a common thing for you two in the last few months of your decaying relationship. He never did nothing wrong, not a god-damned thing, all Gus did was fullfil his duties as fast as he could to return to you and the cozy place you two had built.

So why did you break up with him? With the man you thought you'd marry and have a family with.

"Really...? A note and you're gone...?" His normally lively voice cracked filling your chest with more guilt and hurt than you had stored in those last few months.

"We both knew this was coming, Gus." Your spoke bitterly.

"DON'T-!..."

Gus looked so broken, tears ran down his pretty face, his wet lashes fluttered trying to collect himself, his golden orbs were swollen and glassy from all the sleepless nights and the pain he felt while reading the letter you laid next to him where you expressed your decision to leave him forever. He fastly cleaned the snot forming on his nose with his sleeve all the way he properly addressed you with a defeated expression.

"Please, (Y/n)... No me dejes."

No me dejes, don't leave me.

And you left. Fucking coward.

Well. It's been three years, it's hard to remember the exact details of all that happend afterwards.

It all felt like a fever dream. It still does feel like it sometimes, like you will soon wake up on an overly comfortable bed next to the love of your life laying tightly wrapped against his warm caramel skin looking more bronze thanks to the morning sun shining from your window. You can still remember his musky scent filling your senses and relaxing you back to sleep.

But you are still living a nightmare with no knight in camouflage-patterned armor ready to kiss your sorrows away.

Smoke shot through your nose trills when loud cries of happiness erupted from a small group of people surrounding a couple, apparently it was a surprise reunion between a soldier and his wife while their family and friends recorded the emotional moment.

A soldier. Yeah that's the reason you left. His work.

It was close to this date three years ago when you left the love of your life because your heart simply couldn't take the pain and worry of having your lover serving the military anymore. A soldier who risked his life constantly with the hope that, in doing so, he was helping make this world a little safer for you and your future children to live in. He warned you of his job, your mutual friends did as well and yet you were young and in love, so you ignored the ache until you decided enough was enough. After some time you begun cursing at his occupation and in consequence the arguments fastly turned into a frequent thing between you. Under the thick mist of your bitterness you deeply wished that you could change his mind to remain a lifeguard and or/a surfing teacher, like he used to be before he proudly announced to his family he was going to enlist. It didn't pay half as much as his job as an operator but... But at least your Gus was closer and safer.

Fuck. Stop dwelling on the past. You'll go poor at this rate with the amount of professional help you have been getting that seemingly does NOT work. It still hurts, it feels as if you made no progress at all.

Why couldn't you fucking move on from Gustavo Rodriguez.

You dropped your last cig. A sigh, a tiny stomp on it, and your feet moved on autopilot walking down the road to pick up your bus and finally go home.

"(Y/N)!!!" A female voice shouted from behind you.

"Emma, what's the rush?"

Your coworker and best friend Emma panted as if she had ran a marathon just to get to you when the mall was only a few meters behind you. Smoker lungs.

"Say-... Huff! Fuck!... You wouldn't happen t' have a spare cig?" See?

"Nah, burnt the last one a few minutes ago."

Her ocean eyes shot to the half-started cigar pitifully laying on the road you were pointing at.

"You bitch! You wasted it!" She cried out loud.

"Just dropped it. No drama." With that you resumed your walk to the bus stop and she once again rushed to meet your pace huffing.

"You didn't even wait for me!!!"

Wait for her? Ah right.

"Sorry uh, I forgot." You said mentally slapping yourself for forgetting you two were supposed to meet after work to go to the Christmas market near your house and meet the rest of your friend group.

Emma was silent until you two reached the stop. Her eyes glanced your way once or twice thinking to herself until she finally spoke up her thoughts. "It's nearly Christmas."

Why did that simple sentence still burnt your soul after all this years? It's Christmas and you are still crying for a man you likely will never see again.

She didn't have to say it for you to know what she wanted to tell you with the way she was looking your way. Instead, she said:

"I heard Rory is also coming."

The idea of hanging out with your group of friends to watch the lights and buy some Christmas bullshit tempted you to socialize instead of hiding inside your cave of an apartment, but the way Emma and the others tried to go all sly and set you up with this Rory guy kind of infuriated you. You had already shared your distaste for the idea of hooking up with anyone at all, and you were doing the exact same thing now trying to shut down Emma's teasing. The girl was near showing you a diagram on his phone of how you two perfectly matched.

Of course, there were other guys after Gus. Though, your sex life had brutally ended after half a year trying to forget him in the most disgusting ways, by fucking anything that moved.

It all begun with your neighbor Eric who you thanked profusely for lending a shoulder to cry on and helping you carry stuff to your new house the only way your broken state could, by fucking him silly on the back of his van. Screams turned into moans, moans into grunts and grunts into broken sobs filled with grief of who you let go and shame on how you were dealing with the loss.

Moan, sob, cry. That's how it always was until you stopped trying and turned to therapy.

"It's always the same Emma... I just can't." You said after explaining it to her like it was the first time you ever told her. It wasn't.

"(Y/n), please. Let the past be past. Whatever happened happend and it was so long ago... Dear, you can't keep feeling like this every Christmas." And how right she is.

"Listen... Let's just have fun, yeah?" You'll have to try.

You two got in the bus and sat together near the exit when you nod and weakly smiled. Your friend cups your hand and smiles with you. You are not alone in your grief.

An hour an a half have passed.

You are your friendly self again.

You and Emma have showered and dressed up more suited clothes matching the weather and festivity.

Since you two lived in the same building complex you showed up together to the local library's door where Elliot and Mary (the group's only couple) were waiting with shit-eating grins scanning your outfits. "(Y/n) what bet did you lose?" Mary smirked.

You couldn't help but bark out laughing, Emma laughed as well suddenly conscious of how you two showed up.

"It was HER idea to get these ugly things on!" You lamented. Emma had practically ordered you to wear ugly Christmas sweaters, yours being all about the Grinch and hers being cute and pink with snow-puppies, hearts and glittery things that gave you and anyone around an instant headache to look at.

"Don't be mean, guys. I think Rory will like it." A new voice spoke.

Your group of four turned to greet Allison. You smiled politely when she begun a round of hugs. Allison was the only friend from your old town's group who still talked to you after your breakup with Gus, the rest of your friends didn't support your decision and ended up trash talking and bullying you on social media. You understood to some extent, but you also thanked Allison for being impartial about what happend even if it was awkward when she presented herself (again) the day Emma invited you to meet her friend group. Since then you two kept it civil and never talked about Gus. EVER.

"Alli, I got you some muffins." You offered her a bag from your auntie's restaurant and she smiled accepting it comically fast.

"A fucking treat~! Remind me to get ya something afterwards." She winked, her black polished nails poked your nose in endearment. It's nice to have Allison by your side, it feels like you two have moved past the awkward stage, thank God.

You guys met the other remaining two at the gates of the market. The other two being Rory and his little sister, she was close to your age but everyone called her Baby because of how tiny she was in stature and her childish demeanor. You have been with this group for long enough to feel ashamed to ask for her true name, it was hard as hell to somehow make them say her real name and she was adamant on presenting herself as Baby. So you stick by that silly nickname.

"If it isn't Baby and daddy!" You laughed greeting them both while they approached the group. Baby hugged you and Rory visibly blushed but played it off with a crackle and to top it off he gave you a dumb reverence "Lady (y/n)~"

Awkward as hell... But so was calling him daddy. What the hell is wrong with you??

The rest gave you a knowing look that digged deep in your shame. Alright he was handsome but-

"My GOD (Y/n), Grinch suits you like a fucking glove." Baby barked enthusiastic.

"THANK YOU, IT WAS MY CHOICE~" Emma replied on a singsong voice and they all agreed it was very suiting considering how melancholic and serious you got when Christmas approached. "I don't hate Christmas! Come on guys-" You don't! The only things you hate about Christmas are the bad memories it brings.

Emma looks at you with puppy eyes "Buuuuuut I do like the Grinch..." She smiles then.

Rory was fast to get to your side when all of you begun walking past the park's gates where the Christmas market was placed, you swallowed down the bitterness forming within you. The Christmas decorations accompanied by Holliday's songs, delicious smells of various food stalls and friendly chatter here and there were enough to calm down your nerves, you basked on your surrounding and relaxed your body forcing yourself not to move away from the redhead boy.

The little snow falling from the sky felt refreshing on your torching skin when blush crept up your cheeks as you felt Rory guide your gloved hand around his arm with an excited smile. You then decided that perhaps he just needed a chance, and for the sake of the festive and Emma... You should try. Maybe this was what you needed to finally heal.

You smiled back, though not as brightly but it was there and he seemed to be content enough with your reaction. Rory knew what you were going through and you were glad he didn't push the subject or force you to accept his advances at once.

You squeezed his bicep with both hands now well tucked on his side as your group resumed your tour through the market.

You two walked together behind the group, careful not to miss anything or get lost in the crowd. The market was packed with people so the group walked slow overlooking every item stocked on the stalls, you even picked a thing or two from all the stuff you saw to decorate your apartment later and ate some free samples of delicious food from salty to sweet, or course you were not the only one interested on trying every free Christmas treat. Your entire group had enough samples to spark some real hunger after half an hour exploring the crowdy streets and taking quick pictures for Instagram. So your new destination was the center of the plaza where numerous tables were placed for people to enjoy their food.

The snow had lessened thanks to the salt sprayed on the ground but it left the seats cold and wet so you all went to find a dry table nearest to the food stalls where seats seemed drier thanks to the nearby buildings.

When you had finally found a table Rory suggested to split the group, that way half of you would pick up the meals of your choosing while the other half guards your table.

Allison (the most responsible of the group) spoke up her plan:

"Rory, Elliot and Mary, you'll gather the food along with Baby because she has her head on her damned phone all the time so we'll send her what we want to order and then...-"

Her eyes widened in shock when she stared past the group, most of you didn't notice because Elliot and Rory begun chattering about which stall would be best to satiate your hunger, but you saw the horror in her eyes and just when you were about to turn around to see what exactly got your friend so frightened your head snapped back to her in surprise, her hands quickly cupped your cheeks as to extinguish your curiosity from what or WHO just walked by your table.

But it was already too late.

The person walked right in front your noses with his back facing you, he was seemingly lost looking around and peaking down his phone apparently checking for any notification. He was wearing a thick coat and a wool hat, dark curls peeked out wildly from under the cozy cover.

"(Y/n), wait."

You don't know who said it because your attention was heavily projected on this man. Whatever sounds came around you were muffled, your senses only picking up the jazz music stopping abruptly announcing a change of song, perhaps another genre. You didn't care as you followed behind this stranger.

His tall, bulky frame made it a little hard for him not to bump into someone causing him to constantly pay quiet apologies to the people he stumbled on, his voice was too low for you to recognize him by. So you tried to get closer and closer, something deep inside you ached. A familiar kind of pain.

You rushed through the crowd almost trotting to not lose sight of the walking figure, anticipation and nerves were your main fuel. At some point you questioned just what the hell you were doing yet you never stopped your tracks.

Then he came to an abrupt stop near a tree right next to a table presumably to sit down. You were a few feet behind him when he sat down facing your direction. A cream colored scarf hid his lower half isolating it from the cold winter air, globed fingers tapped his phone furiously contradicting the patient look on his gaze as he stared down the screen. Those honey eyes surrounded by bronze skin, hands big but gentle, curly hair dark yet shiny...

Could life be so cruel or so merciful for you to be met by the image of your long lost love sitting right in front of you oblivious of your presence?

A new song played on the background, and it suited the situation so well you wanted to cry, "The Night We Met" you believe it was called.

Could this really be Gus?

Your hand shakily fished out your phone from your pocket when you dialed his number careless of how in seven hells you still remembered it.

You saw him pause, the movement of his thumbs froze on the screen when he took in the image of your contact. A selfie of you both giggling wrapped around each other on the beach's sand with a beautiful view of the morning sky from behind bathing your forms with it's light, it was taken on his town of birth's beach, you still remember the trip in detail.

Gus never got it on himself to block you and he exhaled a defeated sigh at the realization that you couldn't do so either.

Your throat constricted, eyes wide open with nervous anticipation.

You didn't miss the way he sucked in a breath and with shaky hands (not from the cold) he swiped his thumb across the screen, making you believe for a second that he'd ghost you until his voice came like a whisper through the phone's speaker.

"Hello?"

Goosebumps.

Silence.

His head rose up, some short of invisible force attracted his eyes to your form in an instant. Like he knew deep down it was you who had been following him.

" I had all and then most of you, some and now none of you. Take me back to the night we met. "

Your lower lip wobbled uncontrollably.

This wasn't your youthful Gus, you told yourself noticing how the weight of time had hardened all his features, all of them but those big doe eyes of his and plump lips hooded by a big moustache around a sea of dark stubble, he didn't have that baby face you grew used to kiss and nuzzle. His hair looked longer and curlier as well, and his natural tan skin seemed to have darkened. He looked so... Changed but at the same time so familiar.

" I don't know what I'm supposed to do haunted by the ghost of you oh, take me back to the night we met. "

For a millisecond he looked stunned, a hand shot to his mouth and the other dropped his phone on the table's counter. His eyes filled with tears mirroring your own, your knees gave out when you took a step closer making you lose your balance to which he startled you by immediately jumping from his seat and holding your forearms ignoring his backpack and phone on the table behind him.

"Woop, slippery... Thanks." You murmured.

"I- Yeah. No problem." Gus murmured back.

Once you (god knows how) recovered he stepped back, his fingers flexed on his sides and he gave you a polite smile a bit goofy looking with how his moustache twitched. It was easy to smile back.

In a blink he had invited you to join him on the table sitting right next to him. You two sat there in silence not sure how to start a conversation through your bodies were turned to face one another with your knees almost touching, you couldn't help but avoid eye contact, every time one of you stared it turned the other to a nervous mess.

You wanted to make the awkward quiet go away but your anxiety got the best of you, you were too afraid you'd turn into a babbling mess as soon as you opened your mouth. But to your luck, Gus knew this and as nervous as he was feeling as well, he decided to take the next step.

"It's been a while..."

A breeze of chilly air sways his locks hitting you with the aroma of his own masculine musk. You almost tear up with how much you have missed this smell.

"I-... Yes. Yes it has."

He gave you a tiny nod as to elaborate, to let you unhinge but you were simply too nervous.

"You have-... Stubble now." You cringed at your choice of words.

"Haha, Yeah, last time we met I couldn't properly grow a beard." Gus said seemingly more relaxed though the way he was playing with his phone case blew up his calmed and collected cover.

Last time I saw you I couldn't properly grow a pair and stay. You thought. "It suits?" You said instead.

He smirks tilting his head teasingly "is that a question?" He was obviously pulling your leg but it made your anxiety increase. You immediately shake your head and nervously try to rephrase but he laughs reassuringly, calmly clarifying he was only joking.

He was still your Gus, the one you left though he seemed more mature, more grown and happy. You had to admit it terrified you that all the war and gore from his job would extinguish the warmth from Gus' beautiful inner fire. But it's better to keep his job aside.

"I uhm. Like your sweater." He brought you back from your foggy mind. "It suits." He continued poking the Grinch's nose right on your chest. You blushed.

"Haha yeah, well-" at the corner of your eye you saw the piggy tails of Baby and a pink glittery sweater.

"D-do you think it really suits me?" You nervously ask as you try to do push your worries aside trying to ignore your group passing by sneaking glances your way probably to go get the food you never got to order. Fuck the food, this was way more important.

Gus' trained eyes read your disstress easy so he turns his head to the side but by the time he does your group is gone swallowed by a crowd of hungry people, though it doesn't calm your nerves one bit so you, as an old habit, link pinkies with him calling for his attention. His head snaps back to your conjoined hands, autumn eyes stare wide at you and in surprise he snatches his hand back.

Fuck your life-...

It was something you used to do when you were stressed around him, you linked pinkies and he would pull you closer, cradle you, share his body heat and murmur sweet nothings for you and only you to hear. It's surprising how in times like this even with you two seemingly so apart from each other your body still called for his. But he couldn't have it. Not after what happend, not like this. Not yet...

He sees you now sitting one feet apart from him, with wide eyes mirroring his, reddened all over and seemingly surprised with your own action. And the way your face falls in shame, in panic.

It's been a long time.

But he doesn't want to see your pretty face sour over some old habit, it was just... Surprising.

So his massive hand took yours. His eyes were warm with a friendly comfort only he could provide.

"I really think it suits." Gus resumed the conversation. His thumb massaged your palm, his boyish smile grew wide making his eyes crinkle with how you shivered.

"You were never a winter person, i knew it from the start. The cold was hellish for you. Every time I mentioned going to the beach on any Holliday you'd throw yourself inside my van with two suitcases for the both of us."

How come you had forgotten about this?

"You'd beg to bring the boards even when the waves frightened you." He dragged his finger tip to the lines of your palm drawing invisible waves.

"Because you knew I'd insist on giving you surfing lessons."

"You were insufferable."

Gus laughed out loud, his shoulders shaking with the force of his chuckles but your linked hands never separated.

"You endured my terrible surfing classes-"

"I had fun! I was just worried I'd slip or have to fight off a shark!"

Gus shakes his head in amusement, his calm and friendly demeanor slowly made you more relaxed with the way he didn't stiffen again after the stun you pulled.

"Tonta, you know I would have dealt with any giant shark comin' after my princesa. Would have cooked it too! It'd work as a warning for all the dangerous fishes out there!"

You tried not to mention the nickname.

You adjusted a little on your seat, your knees bumped but you didn't pull away and Gus didn't either, his hand was still over yours, he was wearing gloves which seemed to annoy him so he paid a quiet apology and took out that glove. He once told you it was bad manners to hold a lady's hand with gloves but what excuse did he have considering how bad you had hurt him and how fucking cold the weather was.

He was so fucking warm.

"My hero." You teased.

"I..."

His face fell for a moment. Amber pearls lowered to fix a thoughtful look to your conjoined hands seemingly unable to meet your eyes.

"I didn't quit."

His job. The elephant in the room.

"I know." You answered back.

You leaned a little closer and took Gus' hand to your chest cupping it with both your cold palms.

He looked at your chest then rose his gaze to meet yours with a hint of finality. He wasn't regretful of never quitting but he did seem a little nervous of your reaction considering how things ended between you two.

Your lips parted, and he paid careful attention to your answer "I loved when you did something you were passionate about. You looked so... So unstoppable. The way you'd lit up, your eyes full of wonder and determination while you kept working hard knowing all your effort was focused on making the world better, of helping people. You are an inspiration, Gus."

His eyes stare deep in your soul, with lips bared he was battling the tremble on his lower lip. If you ask he'll blame the weather but you'd know it's a lie.

"I knew you wouldn't quit. I just worried too much and I didn't want my worry to become a burden. I felt arrogant for wanting to keep you all by myself robbing you of your hopes and dreams."

He stands up with a puzzled expression, only to kneel right between your thighs drenching his pants with dirt from the damp floor. The seat was too low and he was taller than you so he was almost to your level.

"A burden...? You were everything, (Y/n)." He blinked quickly holding back the tears. "You were my light, you were my biggest support until I chose a goal that ruined our relationship-" you tried to speak up but his other hand held your left cheek silencing you. "I missed you. But at the same time I was grateful you were away, somewhere my enemies wouldn't reach you, I cried the loss of my love but I couldn't crumble. Not with the burden of my occupation, (Y/n)."

His long lashes shine with unshed tears, you released his hand and cupped his cheeks.

"Gus..."

"I'm glad you left me. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if... If anything ever happened to you, princesa..."

Your foreheads and noses firmly pressed together, eyes closed, and heart beats synchronized.

"I do go to therapy now,... I've got new friends..." You listed.

He moves back a little to fully take you in, your hands cup his face and his hands cup yours back affectionately, his hot breath mingles with your own, Gus' stubble feels alien yet comforting against your palms.

"I'm so happy t'hear that, (y/n)." He said sincerely with a little smile.

It took Gus having you so close to realize just how tired you looked. Your hair had gotten longer and he could tell you haven't been taking proper care of it like you used to, your eyes held heaviness in them, and your skin looked paler. The healing road was long and tedious for you. It was painfully obvious you needed company to endure it in order to not fall back, he felt relief knowing you made friends after what happend with your old friend group. Gus was smart enough to leave that group when he found out about all the trash talking and toxicity they held against you and of course, even if he wasn't there for you for obvious reasons it still ate him inside that he wasn't there to help you in any way, though the only true help he could have given you was to let you go.

It stung, but that's reality, and he had accepted that so long ago...

You two space out looking deep into the abyss of your dilated pupils.

"You look so beautiful with that dumb Grinch sweater, mi vida."

That seemed to snap you from your trance.

"W-wait, It seemed you were looking for someone on the crowd before I stepped in."

"Aha, yeah well..." His hands left yours as he hid them on his pockets for heat. "I was supposed to meet with someone today but it's the third time this week they stand me up."

Oh...

"A-a date? Sorry, I didn't mean to get in the way-"

"Are you kidding me? I knew they'd probably leave me hanging again, but this?" He smiled nodding your way "this was a wonderful surprise. A Christmas gift nonetheless." His voice was a purr. "I'm glad they didn't come, you were a beautiful surprise."

"After all these years..." You whispered leaning a little closer, Gus' eyes softened, his hands cupped your elbows when your hands landed a feather-like touch on his chest. "After all this years." He nods "What happend in the past- I hold no grudge (Y/n). I never hated you. It's just dust in the wind, I only lament what it costed me... You."

Could it be that done it the right way you two could have somehow gotten past your hate for his work? Maybe not fully restore your romantic relationship but perhaps held some short of light friendship?

Like Gus said, it's dust in the wind. "We must be grateful for what life has given us" not for what it had taken from us. His words will echo in your memory for the rest of your life.

"I want to show you the real me. I want to show you how much I'm achieving, Gus." It caught him by surprise, he sucked in a deep breath.

"I want to make it right. I'm not... Asking anything from you other than perhaps..."

"I'll stay."

You felt your eyes burn.

He said it with so much sincerity it hurt. Because you once said the same thing and ended up leaving him behind. Gus was willing to take the first step and trust you so you two could restore what was broken.

"I'm sorry." You wept.

"I know you are. And I'm sorry as well."

You stand up taking his hands with you leading him on his feet once more.

"You are right, though. I'm glad we took some distance from each other." He nods sniffing and you continue. "It did help me compose myself and looking back at our relationship, how different our dreams were, how different we were from each other."

Gus was quick to replay, his hands squeezing yours twice. "Being different wasn't the problem, (y/n). We were young, we didn't even know what we were doing most of the time." He spoke with so much emotion. "But now, we are experienced are we not? We can use the knowledge of failed relationship, romantic or platonic, to better the ones we have now and the next we achieve in the future."

There was so much wisdom on his words, therapy had certainly helped these years because you were convinced if he had said this to your past self you would have probably scoffed.

"You uh, came with your friends, no?" Gus spoke with a thick accent looking to another table a few rows back. Realization hit you that you never told them your whereabouts, though they saw you with Gus, you were sure they'd understand, some better than others but they will nonetheless.

"They'll be fine, I'll send a quick text to the group chat if-... Well... If you'll have me-"

"Si." He cleared his throat. "Yes. Please?"

You giggled and Gus excused himself to go take food for the two of you, and soon after you were done he invited you to walk with him and see the rest of the market.

The gang was hesitant but eventually they agreed to see you other day, they weren angry as you expected them to be considering how rudely you had left their table, even Rory encouraged you to have fun and the girls were sending you their worries to not make reckless decisions or wonder off again. You loved this group so much.

"I've never been in this town before, gotta say it's more beautiful than people describe it." Gus then side-eyed you "definitely breathtaking."

You chuckle red as a tomato picking up a random glass figurine of a polar bear holding a present from the stall you two were visiting. You feel like you are floating, Gus was openly flirting with you and although you knew better than to keep your hopes up you couldn't deny the tension between you two.

"Prettier than your hometown?"

"Ay, don't compare." He said poking your side, his bulking figure dwarfing yours the instant he went to peek down from your left shoulder at the little figurine you were inspecting. It oddly resembled Gus, this big bear gently holding a present, and as expected going out shopping with Gus, you two left the stall with the tiny glass bear wrapped in a cute paper bag.

"You know..." You begun with a trembling voice making Gus stop on his tracks to look back at you, your hands linked together.

"I-i had planned to dine with the others at my place..."

His face fell the tiniest bit and you rushed to continue "But since we separated-... I'd be a shame if I ended up having dinner alone..."

The Rican smiled widely, the apples of his cheeks rose with the gesture making the Christmas lights accentuate his light blush "Y'sure? I mean- id love to join you."

"Will you judge my cooking skills?" You grinned.

"I obviously gotta see how much improvement you had made these years, princesa."

The plan of cooking with Gus was irresistible enough to make you feel giddy to your core, your feet trotted forward making the operator laugh in amusement at your giddiness.

And so you left the market with new Christmas decorations, an adorable glass bear and a human-sized bear you never thought you'd see ever again, and suddenly Christmas stopped feeling bitter and lonely.

Hell, perhaps now you'll start believing in Christmas miracles.

#gustavo rodriguez #my gustavito #mi osito gordito #call of duty modern warfare #cod #gus x reader #call of duty #call of duty x reader #call of duty gus #gus call of duty

8 notes · View notes

prideoftheknights · 2 years ago

Text

Chikage Utsuki 【MANKAI Party】 SSR Backstage Story Translation 3/3

1 / 2 / 3

translation under the cut!

Chikage: Thanks for coming to be guests today.

Kumon: I was super excited to do this event with the four of us!

Juza: Yeah, same here.

Hisoka: I'm happy to be here too.

Chikage: Without this kind of event, I thought it'd be rare for us four to be on stage together again.

Izumi: Is everyone almost ready to go on stage yet?

Chikage: We're ready.

Izumi: Then, good luck on stage!

Chikage: Hello, I'm Chikage Utsuki of Spring Troupe. Thanks for coming today.

Audience Member A: Happy birthday, Chikage-san!

Audience Member B: His outfit is wonderful too...!

Chikage: Thanks. Well then, let me invite my guests to the stage. Kumon, Juza and Hisoka.

Kumon: Chikage-san, happy birthday! Let's all celebrate lots today～!

...Ah, I'm Kumon Hyodo from Summer Troupe!

Juza: I'm Juza Hyodo from Autumn Troupe. Chikage-san, happy birthday.

Hisoka: I'm Winter Troupe's Hisoka Mikage. Happy birthday, Chikage.

Audience Member C: We haven't seen these four together since that one mixed play, right?

Audience Member D: It's been so long, I'm happy to see them!

Chikage: The theme of my vlog is "The view that the fans want to see".

Hisoka helped with filming.

Hisoka: I'm sure everyone will find it to be warm and fluffy. Do pay attention so you don't miss anyting.

Chikage: Then, let's start the video.

Chikage: "Hello, I am Chikage Utsuki of Spring Troupe. Helping me to film is Hisoka."

Hisoka: "I’m Hisoka Mikage. Nice to meet you."

Chikage: "For today, I thought I’d show you all what a typical day in my life looks like with my family."

Kumon: By 'family' do you mean... Everyone in Spring Troupe's gonna show up!?

Audience Member A: We'll get to see candid shots of Spring Troupe, I'm so happy!

Audience Member B: I'm looking forward to it～!

Masumi: "zzz…"

Chikage: "He’s using the whole bench to nap."

Chikage: "You can usually find Masumi in a quiet spot listening to music while taking a nap."

Masumi: "Mm… Chikage…?"

Chikage: "Ah, sorry. Did I wake you?"

Kumon: Ahaha, Masumi-san looks really out of it while sleeping!

Juza: It looked like he was fast asleep.

Audience Member C: Masumi-kun's so cute〜!

Audience Member D: Chikage-san sounded so gentle!

Sakuya: "…Ah, Chikage-san and Hisoka-san! We’ve been waiting for you two!"

Chikage: "Haha, thanks."

Itaru: "Who have you filmed already?"

Chikage: "Just Masumi so far. What’re you two up to?"

Sakuya: "I’m making an example of a craft I’ll be doing with the kids from the daycare I work at."

"I’m trying to draw some flowers and animals on this paper here but no matter what I do they look like blobs…"

Chikage: "No, I think you’ve drawn them well."

Sakuya: "Really? Hehe, thank you very much!"

Juza: Sakuya seems really happy to be praised by Chikage-san.

Hisoka: It looks like he started working even harder after.

Audience Member A: Chikage-san's really good at giving compliments!

Audience Member B: Hearing the two of them talking to each other is so calming～

Chikage: "…And what about you, Chigasaki?"

Itaru: "I’m reading a book."

Chikage: "The cover’s blocked. What are you reading?"

Itaru: "That… is a secret."

Chikage: "Well then, we’ll just move on."

Itaru: "No wait, Senpai. Couldn’t you at least be a little interested?"

Hisoka: This kind of exchange is more common.

Chikage: Since it seemed like Chigasaki didn't want to tell me about it, I thought I might as well not ask.

Audience Member C: Chikage-san and Itaru-san's conversations are so interesting!

Audience Member D: Come on Chikage-san, you should show some interest!

Citron: "Hm～ Lalala～♪"

"Oh, Chikage and Hisoka are finally here!"

Chikage: "Sorry to keep you guys waiting. Tsuzuru, are you making lunch?"

Tsuzuru: "Yeah I am, but Citron-san won’t stop singing beside my ear…"

Citron: "I am your personal cheerleader!"

Tsuzuru: "That’s having the opposite effect on me right now!"

Hisoka: "Tsuzuru, it’s burning."

Tsuzuru: "Ah, you’re right!"

"Ah… It’s a little burnt now…"

Chikage: "Tsuzuru, your cooking is delicious, so it’s alright even if it’s slightly burnt."

Tsuzuru: "…To hear you say that, Chikage-san. I’m really happy."

Citron: "How unfair! Chikage, praise me too!"

Chikage: "Citron, your singing is lovely."

Citron: "I’m so happy! My singing has a crab!"

Kumon: Chikage-san, nice follow-up!

Audience Member A: Chikage-san is really kind, huh〜

Audience Member B: You can really feel the atmosphere of Spring Troupe!

Hisoka: "...Hey, what about you Chikage?"

Chikage: "What about me?"

Hisoka: "Chikage's own daily life. I'm sure everyone would want to see that too."

Chikage: "I––"

Citron: "Chikage! If you're going to eat then set your plate at the table!"

Chikage: "Yeah yeah, I know."

Sakuya: "It smells delicious!"

Tsuzuru: "Oh, everyone came at the perfect time."

Masumi: "Yawn..."

Itaru: "...Don't tell me, did Senpai help to make the food?"

Chikage: "Nope, I was just filming them making it."

Hisoka: "...Fufu, looks like this is Chikage's daily life."

Audience Member C: Spring Troupe and Chikage-san's conversations really do make you feel warm inside...

Audience Member D: As expected, Spring Troupe really feels like a real family...

Chikage: Thank you for watching till the end.

When I first thought about what people may want to see, my first thought was that they'd want to see the Spring Troupe.

...I don't think I would be where I am today if you all weren't here.

Chikage: Seems like we'll be ending soon.

Kumon: Uwah～ That was fast!

Juza: Come to think of it, don't we have to take a picture of you now?

Hisoka: ...Then, I'll take it. What pose would you all like to see Chikage do?

Audience Member A: A finger heart pose please!

Audience Member B: Maybe blowing a kiss...

Audience Member C: I really wanna see him blowing a kiss with a cool expression～!

Chikage: Thanks for all the various requests. Then, let's go with the one that was said the most.

Hisoka: Alright I'm gonna take the picture now so stand over there.

Chikage: Sure, sure.

Hisoka: ...Say cheese.

1 / 2 / 3

23 notes · View notes

desolateice · 2 years ago

Note

For the writing asks: 🥺🤡🛒🤲

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels? Grief, I recently wrote Johnny sitting at Mr. Miyagi's grave and I like cried through most of it. I'm tempted to cut it. 😂 Here's a clip.

"I mean I didn’t really try did I? I haven’t tried for anything in so long. Like truly try. Except this. Except the dojo and I’m not even good at it. Daniel’s better at it. All my kids, even Miguel likes him better. And I get it. Like what do I truly have to offer? When we go to the roots of it…Daniel’s roots are you and mine are…Kreese. I’d pick you any day too.”

Also just tender care. From the same WIP and same conversation with the grave, I have this.

"He held this umbrella over me and I saw on the ride back that he’d let the rain fall on him, and I’d never been so aware of how damn pretty he was. Like on a level I knew he was pretty, but damn. And I didn’t know how to handle it."

Love and care, healing, sort of understanding one another or trying. That kind of stuff. 🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh? Here's part of something I cut from Feast for Fools:

“And you’ve checked? He hasn’t run off? Mr. LaRusso didn’t come and scare him off did he?” Emile walked across the room and pushed open a window. “Careful! Light on your feet like a cobra!” “Yes Sensei!” “Cobras don’t have feet sensei!” “Of course not Demetri, thank you, but be careful nonetheless.” “I’m just checking…sometimes you don’t know.” “I have seen a real cobra and I know what feet are. But I don’t know why you’re worrying, you schemed up the terrible community service project.” “It’s a great service project sir!” “You show up unannounced once a week.” “Yes, to try and get you into the right decade. It’s been hard work! But you sent a text that wasn’t all in caps yesterday.” “Did you ever think that I sent them in all caps for a reason?” “I thought the key was just stuck,” Demetri said. “Sensei has typed up a totally normal message before," Miguel said. “He has?” “Yeah, he caught up with Ali, and wrote like ten pages. I told him it was too much, uh since then it’s been all caps.” “It sounds like he’s talking in all caps," Cheyenne said with a frown. “Is he always that loud?”

[if it wasn't clear, Demetri schemed up for a school requirement that he had to do community service for like a national scholars thing to help the elderly, but it's just Johnny, so like once a week he harasses Johnny into learning something.]

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc. This is one of those questions where as soon as someone asks you forget all of them. 😂 You might be able to answer that better for me. I think hurt/comfort, healing, loneliness and found family. Food. Flowers. I tend to want them to be comfortable enough to tease and laugh with each other during a 🍆🍑 time. So usually there's a dumb choice in there somewhere that they can laugh about. But I also want them to be nice to each other generally. So like comfortable loving teasing. 🤲 Would you please share a snippet of a wip? Oh boy which one should I give you? How about the one I made a deal with Cookie about? 🐔

Daniel didn’t know what to say as he limped towards the other end of the room only for the teacher to spot him and tell him they had assigned seats. And his was right next to Johnny. Alphabetical order. Johnny looked so stunned to see him. Blue eyes looked at him wide-eyed as Daniel limped over. He pulled out the chair for Daniel whose arms were full and Daniel was so shocked and then Johnny seemed so embarrassed that he’d done that that he turned a bright tomato red and looked away. The face he gave in the next class they had together where they were put next together made Daniel laugh. The sort of stunned shock. And then the third. And a fourth. They had six classes out of eight together that semester. And every damn one of them put them right next together. In the fifth one Daniel slapped Johnny’s shoulder and grinned wide, “Long time no see Johnny,” he’d said while Johnny groaned. “Miss me?” was what he said in the sixth class gently nudging Johnny’s shoulder, leaning in close and watching him turn that bright red again. He’d been playing with fire, but a pink Johnny was better than a broken defeated Johnny.

Thank you for the ask 💖, you can find the post with others here.

#writing asks #long posts #long post

2 notes · View notes

frutigeraerosims · 8 months ago

Text

i made a sim inspired by mana-sama, and i was quite happy with my work, i thought i did a good job and i had fun. i take him into the game to take some photos and... he doesn't really look good. i have no idea what happened. this was my first time playing the sims 3 in a while so maybe my graphics card stopped being recognized or something? i'll need to look into this more. but here he is, regardless. on a horse and in sunlit tides. i wish i was this sim right now!

i'm thinking of starting a legacy challenge. i have never done such a challenge before since i normally play premade sims. but it's such a common experience, i think i better try it.

the question is where it would be set and what i would do. i like to have certain themes for my playthroughs, for which features are focused on, where it is set, what sims are played, etc. for the legacy, at least the first gen, i would quite like to do an island paradise theme. i was thinking maybe island + horses, but maybe that's too much.

the issue is, i have actually played in isla paradiso before and, despite using ellacharmed fixed world and probably every fix that exists, i had a bad experience. it was laggy and i suffered through bugs that completely ruined the experience, particularly with scuba diving. this was really disappointing because i loved the scuba diving when it worked properly, it reminded me of the wonderful game "endless ocean: blue world".

therefore, if i tried this, i would definitely want to use a small custom world. but, ideally, a small custom world with dive spots and uncharted islands. i really want the isla paradiso experience, just in a more compact world that hopefully runs better. and it has to be tropical, of course!

i heard of a sunlit tides remake (or possibly 2 of them, unclear) that includes IP features. this sounds great since sunlit tides is said to be the smoothest running EA world. however, NO trace of these remains on the internet that i can find.

i'm going to keep looking for the perfect world for the legacy and hopefully i can find one. just so i remember, it needs dive spots, uncharted islands, and rabbit holes (or at least room to place them).

then we come to the issue of sims. the reason why i don't usually play my own sims is because i have a hard time feeling connected to them the way i can connect to the premades. with premades, it feels more like they weren't just plopped into existence. but legacy challenge, i guess you're supposed to make your own sim, right? so maybe i'll play my new guy i made that looks like mana-sama. but he doesn't really seem like the sort who would go scuba diving and live on a houseboat, does he? so maybe i'm back to square one and i need to try and create a new founder.

another aspect of this issue is which sims would populate the town (if i use an unpopulated world). i won't just let the game generate townies, i can't stand them. but this isn't a big issue, i'll just look for cc-free sims online and plop them down. it can be hard to find families and not just single sims, though.

in essence, i think trying out a legacy challenge would be a good way to get back into the sims after not playing it for a while. i just need to iron out all these issues.

this is my first blog post. i know no one's gonna read it, but that's fine. i just like the idea of having an online blog so i'll have one.

#blog post #sims 3 blogging #sims 3 #sims

0 notes

oh-hush-its-perfect · 11 months ago

Text

I'm SO LATE but thanks @satans-poptarts for tagging me! I don't know that many fic writers and idk who's already done this so I'm gonna tag anyone who wants to do this!

1. How many fics do you have published on Ao3?

16 between two accounts

2. What's your total word count on Ao3?

105,539 words!

3. For which fandoms do you write?

Mostly Riordanverse, but I also have one MCU fic and one MHA fic posted. I also write for more, but I only publish about 50% of what I write.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. It's a Process (Hazel comes to terms with Nico being gay)

2. The Infirmary (Solangelo 3 days fic)

3. And I Want You Right Here (Alex & Magnus go on a little getaway)

4. Girl Talk (Missing chapter from Hammer of Thor)

5. Pumpkin, Pumpkin (Tooth-rotting Fierrochase fluff)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Not as much as I would like to, but I read and value all of them!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

The stupid Stucky fic I wrote when I was fourteen— No Time, No Place. Don't read it.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Idk, probably The Ring or Family Recipe

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not often; I get nitpicking comments sometimes, but only hate once (for the aforementioned Stucky fic)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes. Usually first-time fics. I've only ever published one, and I very much worked hard to disassociate it with myself bc I find it embarrassing. Like I said, I write a lot more than I publish, though, because this world doesn't need more bad explicit fanfics.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've ever written?

Not really. I mean, I do crossovers within the Riordanverse, if that counts. I've been working on one forever called "The Man of Honor" about Piper meeting Magnus at Annabeth and Percy's wedding.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Don't think so. I feel like whoever would do that would have balls of steel, considering how many people in the (small) MCGA fandom specifically know my work.

12. Have you ever had a work translated?

Nope! If anyone wants to, that'd be sick though.

13. Have you co-written a fic before?

Absolutely not. I like having total creative control. Co-writing sounds like a bit of a nightmare to me. BUT I did record a fic with someone else adding his on-the-spot commentary to what I'd already written.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Probably Fierrochase <3

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but probably never will?

My Solangelo series and this one Fierrochase fic whose working title is "High School Sucks (Especially when You're Dead)." Also hopefully I'll eventually finish "His Voice" (shout out to Theo for reading the unfinished version) but yeah.

16. What are your writing strengths?

A) Copying the tone/vibe of the original work, and B) instilling themes into my works.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plot, probably? I generally don't write very plot-heavy content.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in a fic in another language?

Only do it if it's a very common phrase or if both characters talking speak the language in question. For longer lines, just translate them or paraphrase.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Animorphs. First published for Riordanverse.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I'm a big fan of It’s a Process and also And I Want You Right Here.

#fanfiction #fanfic writing #tag game #go check out my stuff!#oh_hush_its_perfect on ao3

1 note · View note

caramariafilm · 1 year ago

Text

Creative Exercise 1 - Part One

Home & Place

The first part of the assigned creative exercise was to either take 8-10 black and white photographs in a landscape format or a 1 minute film that had some sort of connection to the theme of Home & Place.

I chose to go back to Dunbar - the town where I grew up - and walk along the cliff top trail that starts from one side of the town to the outskirts of Dunbar, documenting points along the way.

Here they are :)

A bit more about them!

When first assigned with this exercise, I immediately knew I wanted to go back to Dunbar - which a confusing decision in itself. After starting at Napier and moving to Edinburgh, my family moved out of Dunbar up north, and childhood friends had all left to go to university. Since starting university, I've not really had a reason to go back. Occasional day trips with friends or filming on the local beaches were the only reasons I went back, and every time I did the town had changed.

The only thing that stayed the same was the clifftop trail (part of the John Muir way). This walk is very familiar to me as it's one I did every week for around 17 years of my life. When we were first set the task and I chose going back to Dunbar, the shots I wanted to capture were already in my head, with each point being a significant part of the walk for me. For example, the second photo was taken on the part of the walk my family did every year on Christmas day, the sixth photo being taken at the spot where I used to go camping, and the last photo taken at my favourite spot in Dunbar - a small grassy patch behind the local swimming pool.

I also wanted to ensure that each of these photos worked as stand alone images, using contrasts of closer shots mixed in with dramatic wides so that there was no particular 'flow' to my images but rather a collection of photographs altogether. To help with this, I also ensured that the order of photograph didn't go in chronological order, as I didn't want a sense of journey, but rather a sense of home & place as a whole.

I decided to not include any people in my photographs as - mentioned previously - I didn't have that personal connection of family or friends with this town anymore, and wanted to capture the walk isolated.

Finally, the weather! I initially headed to Dunbar on a bright and sunny day as I knew I wanted these harsh highlights and shadows to make the black and white edit more captivating. The was forecast of a storm heading from Edinburgh over to Dunbar and I thought this would be perfect. With my images, the clouds are clearly half beautiful clouds in the sky then these looming, dark clouds leaking into the skyline. With the last photo as well, you can see the rainfall coming in from over the sea too.

This leads me to my final point about my images. I definitely feel as though - as is common with black and white landscape photography - there is this gloomy atmosphere lurking in some of the photographs. I feel as though this relates really well into my feeling of disconnection to Dunbar as a whole, and these feelings of detachment to the town I'm from. That being said, there is also a dream-like element with the foreboding clouds, and supporting these dreamy visions is the lack of people within the frames.

Despite this sense of detachment, I feel as though it is still clear I know this area well and it is a space I am familiar with, conveying the initial idea of home. With the use of different angles, wider lenses as well as photos focussing on smaller details, it becomes clear that the photographer knows exactly what they wanted to capture, as if by memory. And in this case, it was me and I knew exactly what I wanted!

#CREATIVE EXERCISE

0 notes

hsvh-hp · 2 years ago

Text

10 Lines Tag Game

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway

I hadn't really realized just how many fics I've written in the past few years until I went 'ten?!' and then looked at my library. 😂 Thanks yletylyf for the tag!

10. The first time Delphini noticed the girl, they were being led up to Hogwarts from the boathouse. In the light of Hagrid’s lantern, Delphini spotted a head of pink hair at the front of all the first-years. Pink hair was bold. Delphini was too nervous to want to stand out like that. She’d been pretending ever since Mummy and Daddy took her to King’s Cross that her hair was long, black, and curly. Delphini just wanted the Sorting Hat to tell her to go to Slytherin, then to eat dinner and go to bed.

My current WIP! I have a lot of feelings about this one, all of them related to excitement. It's a fest fic and therefore not yet published, so I'm not sure that its current title is 100% set in stone. More importantly though, it's the first femslash I've written in nearly seven years. It's the first incest ever. 🌝 So we'll see how that goes over. But it's been a blast to write so far and I cannot wait to publish it!!

9. Although the closet Narcissa and Lucius shared was large, their clothing dampened all sound. It felt like the world ended at the walls, and like every little noise inside was that much louder.

Another fest fic that I just finished, which should be out (anonymously, at least) in the next month or two! Between this and the current WIP, it's been such fun to write from female perspective again. I've clearly been in A Mood lately and focused on the Black family. Anyway, getting into Narcissa's head was such a joy, especially writing her as a dominant, headstrong figure when she tends to be a favourite for the delicate flower trope.

8. “Leon, no.”

Yet again, Draco set down the clothing he held in order to hoist Leon out of his suitcase. Leon went dead weight. If it wasn’t so cute, Draco would have unceremoniously tossed Leon out of his chamber and shut the door behind him.

This is technically a WIP as well, since I took a break from it to write the two fest fics above. Spoilers for Draco's fourth year in my Canon in Draconis Major series, since these are the opening lines. I haven't published the chapters from third year yet where he sort-of-accidentally acquires a pet.

7. As soon as Peter heard Sirius’ motorcycle, he knew something was wrong.

Like I said above about being in A Mood as far as tracking common themes during a period of my writing, this dark!Peter fic Terror By Night came during a period of letting certain Marauders off the leash and reaching for their full potential as villains! Peter's so easy in that regard - so self-serving, ruthless, and clever, if given the chance.

6. The Gryffindor common room was abuzz in its usual fashion as Peter crossed it. Sitting alone in a corner, looking pathetic in his dejection, was Sirius. He looked up from the piece of parchment he idly stabbed with the tip of his quill.

Oh, poor pathetic and lonely Sirius in Life in the Rift. 🥺 Another Peter POV fic, although not as dark as the previous. I let Peter explore his potential here for friendship and forgiveness, and how that could be corrupted in time.

5. Bellatrix and Rodolphus’ wedding thus far reminded Sirius of every single pureblood one he’d attended in past. It was held at the same venue, with the same people in attendance—as far as the Black family went, anyway.

This comes from None So Vile, my Dark!Sirius fic. Now he was a fun one to let off the leash. I catch myself daydreaming all the time about its two sequel fics. I won't be free of this little 'verse until they're eventually written.

4. Although the early morning humidity had departed from the manor land, Draco wiped his damp forehead. Standing in shade helped to cool him down, but the thick trousers and wellies he wore worked to the contrary.

It sort of floors me that the longfic I'm in the process of posting is so far down the list! I finished writing it in October, and I guess I've been a busy little bee in the meantime. This is the opening line of Draco Malfoy and the Will to Power, my canon compliant interpretation of Prisoner of Azkaban from Draco's POV.

3. The day started like any other for Draco. He woke up, had tea and toast, and then dressed for work. He threw some Floo powder into his home’s fireplace, which turned the temporary flames a cerulean blue. Draco stepped through into his office in the Department of Mysteries.

Across the Multiverse, the most popular fic I've ever written. I hope another day comes where I get to write Draco as an Unspeakable! He was so fun, especially since that career track didn't hold him to any sort of morality. I have...feelings...about redemption arcs, so it was fun to write Draco as unconcerned about that personal path post-war. Why should he try to redeem himself when, had he done so, Ron Weasley would be dead? That was something Harry had to answer in this fic.

2. Sunday night family dinner at Malfoy Manor went about how it usually did. Cutlery clinked up and down the formal dining room table, the odd chuckle punctuating murmured conversation. Although Bellatrix sat as closely to Aunt Lucretia to her right as Rodolphus to her left, it felt like a chasm separated her and Rod from the rest of tonight’s company.

Bella, my beloved, in Almost Human. Writing from her perspective was a joyful exploration of villain protagonists. She gets what she wants more than anything at cost of destroying Andromeda's life, which for her was a happy ending, and...yeah. Love that crazy bitch. lol

1.The Lower City smelled like absolutely nothing Draco had ever experienced before. The streets themselves were dingy with grime. He pitied the state of the bottom of his boots. They might never be clean again.

This is my 'least popular' Drarry fic (does such a thing honestly exist?) Flesh of the Serpent, but it has a special place in my heart! Well, every fic I write does. This was the first HP fest fic I ever wrote, and I learned early on in that venture that I don't bother signing up for fests unless I'm either completely gripped by an idea or I already had a fic in the idea pile that a fest would give me an excuse to write. This one belonged to the former category.

Which, funnily enough, brings us back full circle to the two fest fics that aren't yet published - both of which the ideas utterly gripped me for and I had to write them right now at all cost of my current projects and social life.

...I can't believe that all of these fics, spare I think about half of Across the Multiverse, were written within the last year. Maybe I need to get a life.

Nah. 😂

#tag game

1 note · View note

thechaseofspades · 2 years ago

Text

Part 2 of 2

Okay we're back, and still talking about Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur vs. The Ghost and Molly McGee. Without further delay, the next point.

3. Music

I grew up watching Phineas and Ferb, like most kids my age. Dan and Swampy famously put a song in every episode of not only that show, but their next show after that (in Dan's case, shows plural).

Both of these shows feel like they pick up this concept and run with it. TGAMM hits the same kind of marks as Phineas and Milo did, with an original mid-episode song that usually shows off a montage of the characters doing whatever it is the episode is about this week.

Moon Girl does music different. There's often multiple songs in single episodes, including licensed songs from outside the show, that each fit the story and move it forward. We've gotten some of the original songs we've come to expect in DTVA shows, blended with more grounded "real" songs that don't feel as limited to the "musical" format (with all due respect). Both kinds of music play to their strengths and make for a good variety.

The most notable difference in Moon Girl is the cassette tape segments, where Lunella fights the villain of the week to a banging soundtrack. While the shows before Moon Girl had music, it rarely took the main event spot like it does here. Combined with the amazing animation in these segments, it's genuinely some of the best stuff Disney has put out. Not just TVA but any part of Disney. I will die on this hill.

Literally just watch this scene and come back to me. This is how every episode ends. It's amazing.

Music is built into these shows' DNA. As an OG Phineas fan and longtime Dwampyverse respecter, I'm so glad that these shows are not only keeping the idea alive, but bringing it into the future, with Moon Girl taking it farther than it's ever been under Disney.

4. Family and Community

Okay, every show is about family. Whether it's found family (Amphibia), found family (Owl House) or found family (Ducktales)... alright, a lot of it is found family.

These shows seem to stick out in that area. Both Lunella and Molly have relatively traditional families; parents and grandparents for the former, and parents and a little brother for the latter. As much as everybody loves a found family, these two blood-related trees end up playing heavily into these shows' themes.

In TGAMM, when the focus isn't on Mollibby, it's almost always on the family. New to Brighton after move after move after move, the McGees really only have each other from the beginning of the show. While Molly does branch out to the rest of the town (more on that later), most of her non-paranormal interactions are with her parents and Darryl, along with Grandma Nin every now and then.

So far in MGADD, it's a similar story. When the episode isn't about Lucase, it shows off Lunella's bond with her family. Pretty much every episode has had a significant moment between Lunella and a parent or grandparent. Whether she needs to learn a life lesson, or just needs a pick-me-up, somebody is always there for her. Their bond is furthered by their shared work at the family business, which has played a big role in a handful of episodes already.

And remember at the beginning of this post(s) when I pointed out the irony of comparing the Lower East Side to Brighton? Think about what they have in common...

When Lunella and Molly need it most, their community will step up for them.

5. (Relatively) Mature themes

We're not talking Amphibia True Colors tier stuff here, but these shows tackle topics that I never thought I would see a DTVA show cover. If you've seen the episodes that those last screenshots came from, you know exactly what I'm getting at. If not (MGADD S1 E1 and TGAMM S1 E18), please go watch them. Go watch the whole season of each. How did you even get this far without seeing these shows?

Moon Girl is a show starring a black girl, and is about a black girl. That sounds redundant, but it's important for what we're talking about. This show has at least 2 episodes in the first 11 talking about gentrification alone. It tackles issues that impact the demographic of not only the protagonist, but also the kids who are watching. The kids who see themselves in Lunella.

In one episode ("Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow"), Lunella is told by a white girl that her hair is messy, and makes her self-concious about it. She tries to straighten it, but ends up losing her hair entirely over it.

In another episode ("Like Mother, Like Moon Girl"), the Lower East Side is gentrified by two techy white inventors who seek to change the neighborhood to their liking. They get to implement sweeping changes that impact the LES for the worse because of (*ahem*) "contributions" to the community council president.

As for Molly McGee, its big moment comes at the end of season 1 (spoilers even though I literally already warned you). Molly's dad gets injured, and after being buried in medical debt, the McGees end up homeless and have to leave their forever home. While they still get to be in Brighton for another month while the house gets sold, they are stuck living in a van in the woods. Meanwhile, Molly still goes to school, and the episode follows her experience trying to live a normal life as a homeless child, while hiding it from her best friend Libby.

While I commended MGADD for tackling its demographic's issues, TGAMM does the same thing here. The McGees have moved countless times, never really settling down anywhere. Pete's injury was just him falling off the roof cleaning the gutters, and yet it pretty much costs them their home. Molly has always grown up in instability, and this is just another hurdle in that instable childhood.

I've cried watching DTVA shows before. The Ducktales finale got me. The Owl House finale is getting me. The Amphibia finale got me. But no show made me genuinely devastated quite like Molly McGee did in the homelessness episode. They played it completely straight, contrasting Molly's typically jovial attitude with the living conditions she finds herself in. The song midway through the second half of the episode actually makes me cry every time.

So how do we get out of these predicaments? We've got to have a happy ending at the end of our 22 minutes, right?

Friends, welcome to the callback section of the essay.

It's that family, those friends, that community that helps these girls get through their toughest battles.

In the hair episode, it's Lu's mom and grandma sharing their experiences that teach her to love her hair, and how special it is, no matter what the white girl in her science class says.

In the (second) gentrification episode, Lunella is inspired by her mom to use her voice as Moon Girl and push back, standing up for her community. In return, the community stands alongside her, and the LES wins.

In the Molly McGee homelessness episode, the McGees are saved from having to move away by the citizens of Brighton, who came together to help pay for their mortgage to repay the light that Molly and company brought to their tiny nowhere town.

The themes of family and community prevail in these shows, and help handle even the toughest of battles that these characters have gone through. Sure, Moon Girl will have to take on the Beyonder at some point, and Molly will need to deal with the consequences of killing god, but that's all finale stuff. It's the stories these shows tell in between; the grounded, realistic, mature stories hidden in surreal, paranormal and/or superheroic adventures. That's why I love these shows.

If you somehow avoided watching either of these shows and got through that whole thing, please go watch them right now. And support these shows as they return to TV (Molly McGee) or continue their current run (Moon Girl) in the next few months. It's the kind of shows we need. The kind of shows that kids these days need. The kind of shows I needed, and still need.

An essay about the best Disney TVA shows today

So Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is Disney TVA's newest hit. If you follow me, you know how much I love this show. There's so much good about it that I couldn't possibly cover all of it. But the more I think about it, the more I realize how similar it is to another relatively new DTVA show that just happens to be premiering its second season soon...

Now, I recognize the irony here. The LES and Brighton are probably the exact opposite settings. I should know. I live in a town just like Brighton. There's lots of corn here. Please help.

But beyond that surface level contrast, these shows hit a lot of the same concepts, but take them in different directions to fit the tone and setting. Let's discuss...

Spoilers for both shows. The spoilers start out light but by the end I'm just spilling all the beans. Please watch the shows.

1. Regular girl meets unlikely non-human best friend and that's literally the title of the show

Probably the most obvious comparison. Heck, you could probably boil down any Disney property ever to that description if you try hard enough.

But, the similarities between DD and Scratch might as well end there, as they bring completely different characters to the table. Still worth getting out of the way here. I promise the rest of this post has more substance. Wait where are you going come back

2. Human best friend(s)

I've talked already about how I'm a big fan of Casey. As far as I know, she's a completely original character not found anywhere in the comics. She might be an amalgamation of other comic characters but I'm not sure. Either way, huge props for nailing it with her and making her feel like a natural fit.

So what do we know about Casey? Her biggest fixation, something we see the second we meet her, is her social media savviness. While Lunella can invent an app that warps space and time, Casey works best with the apps that already exist. Remind you of anybody?

Now, I'm not on the Andrea bandwagon quite yet. She's definitely had her positive moments, namely the Christmas episode, but overall I don't categorize her in the "best friend" tier quite yet.

I bring her up because we can bring in another contrast between elements and how these sho was use similar concepts for different results. While Andrea's social media exploits are all about herself, Casey cares more about getting Moon Girl on the map, both helping out her best friend and doing a good deed. I'm glad we've gotten to a point where the social media savvy tween/teen can be a positive trait finally.

But I want to highlight the other side of Casey, and the part that makes it so intriguing to me that Lucase has been a central focus in this show. She may have the skills of Andrea, but she reminds me so much more of another of Molly's friends...

Who did Molly McGee meet to become her first real friend and de facto best friend who she then spent the rest of the show developing that friendship??

"Mazel Tov, Libby!" is my favorite episode of The Ghost and Molly McGee, and it's gonna be hard to top. Libby is my favorite character in that show and seeing her struggling and eventually breaking just hit me so hard. So when Molly and Libby came out of it better than ever, it proved how strong their bond truly was.

Casey blends Andrea's social media savviness with Libby's irl social awkwardness and difficulty at making friends. And Lunella to an even greater extent as seen in the sleepover. But together, Lucase bring out the best in each other, the same way that Molly and Libby do in their own show.

Also shoutout to Libby and Casey for being Jewish Latina DTVA girls with hyphenated last names and Bat Mitzvah centric episodes. Maybe should have led with that parallel.

To be continued in a reblog so don't go anywhere... (if you are reading this, I'm still working on getting Part 2 put together. It's finished in drafts, but I need to get it into a reblog. If I've already reblogged but forgot to delete this part, then consider it a neat easter egg ok bye)

#moon girl and devil dinosaur #lunella lafayette #devil dinosaur #casey goldberg calderon #mgadd spoilers #mimi lafayette #adria lafayette #the ghost and molly mcgee #molly mcgee #tgamm scratch #libby stein torres #tgamm spoilers #darryl mcgee #sharon mcgee #pete mcgee #Spotify

64 notes · View notes

fallen-gravity · 8 years ago

Note

For the fanfic author ask meme: 3, 13, 14, 19, 23, 47

3. In your opinion, what’s your best fic?

I think I’m gonna stick with TOIAFOM! It’s the story I spent the most time planning, and one of the stories I spent the most time working on! it was really fun, because it was just a story I based off of a fan art piece I really liked, and I’m honestly still surprised at how it came out!

13. What’s the biggest change between your style when you started in fandom and today?

Believe it or not, I used to write mainly in past tense! That change up was a long time ago, but I still think it’s one of the biggest changes. I’m also being a lot more careful avoiding “says”, by filling in other words that fit better, and my overall style in general’s changed significantly too!

14. What’s the biggest change in your taste between when you started in fandom and today?

I’ve developed a really big appreciation for platonic pieces. I used to write mainly romantic pieces for a very small selection of ships, and I very much tended to write “coming to realization” pieces, but now,

uh.

*gestures vaguely to AO3 profile*. yeah.

19. If you had to pick one fic/scene/chapter of your work to describe your entire portfolio to a stranger, which would you pick?

This question’s actually really interesting because it kind of made me go back and look through my older stuff on FF.net and? turns out that I’ve always been really fond about the concept of family. This applies heavily for Moana, because my followers probably know better than anybody just how much I’m in love with the concept of Moana and Maui finding family and home in one another.

But also, I was exactly the same way for Gravity Falls. I tended to love writing stories that focused on the Pines Family as a whole.

In one word, I could probably sum up my entire profile with family.

And for a story, I think that would be pretty split between Thank You and It Breaks For You

23. What’s the nicest review you’ve ever gotten?

It was one that came in this morning, actually! I’m pretty sure I actually started squeaking when I read it:

“Can I just say that when every time I read your stories of Maui and Moana, that I cry every time?? In a good way of course because I see and feel every emotion that you write into your stories with them. This was beautiful! Absolutely stunning! The chemistry between them as best friends, it’s like I’m watching a big brother and a little sister discover their mutual love, respect and admiration for one another. It’s breathtaking! I absolutely adore the relationship between these two, but reading your stories makes me love them even more!Well done my friend!:-)”

47. . If someone you know in real life who isn’t involved in fandoms asked to read your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you recommend they read first?

I think it really depended on who was asking because I’m honestly a little bit embarassed to admit to people I know outside of Tumblr that I write fanfiction dfiknd

I always like to point them to my more recent stuff, so maybe to start off and give a general idea of how I write relationships (specifically Moana and Maui’s) I think I might point them towards Moana, stand tall! It’s one of my simpler pieces but I think it’s a good example of how I write these two nerds even when they’re placed in a really uncomplicated situation

#moana #I almost didn't want to bring up gravity falls at all? but then I kind of realized that hey wait.#family. that's a really common theme I'm spotting here

3 notes · View notes

books-and-catears · 3 years ago

Note

Hello!!! When your request is open again, can I request the brothers react to mc who lost all of their siblings. Like, mc had worse fate than the brothers. I love your masterlist btw, they're awesome! Your writing is well captured and impactful. I hope your doing great there 😸

Oh dear, this is gonna hurt. It's so unfortunate and yet somehow this would make perfect sense for MC to fit right in this family. Thank you for your kindness and the beautiful ask. I combined it with a Christmas theme cause tis almost the season.

You woke up sweating even on the coldest night in Devildom. The nightmares never left you behind.

The fire, the smell of burning pine leaves and tinsel, the screaming, the last time you held hands with any of them before the whole house exploded. You should have never used the fire place while dad was out for presents. You should have waited till mom came home with the cake.

Christmas wasn't supposed to bring bad memories. But it did. It always did. The sole survivor of seven siblings - everyone called it a miracle. And for you, it was a curse.

The brothers were trying to set up the perfect Christmas party for you when Barbatos was the one who told the brothers about it. They listened with heavy hearts and teary eyes. Like if Lilith survived and lost all her brothers to the war.

Lucifer

Lucifer noticed how you always stayed far away from the common room. He looked at the fireplace and it all made sense now.

He put out the fire and covered up the place. Solomon had told him about electric heaters as an alternative. He made sure he arranged it all before you woke up on the morning of Christmas Eve.

"Good morning, MC. Meet me after breakfast, if you don't mind."

You entered his room suprised. A familiar song played in his room. You'd danced to this with your eldest brother every Christmas.

"Would you like to join me, MC? I'm feeling terribly stiff after sitting too long." He held out his hand. You took it almost involuntarily as he spun you around his room.

"Lucifer, you don't have just for my sake-" You started.

"I used to dance like this with Lilith. You don't mind indulging for me a bit, do you?" He smiled warmly as he took you for another spin. You nodded and closed your eyes, reliving your own memories.

Mammon

Mammon was determined to take your mind off the day somehow. Keep you busy. Keep you distracted. Do something new. Do anything to replace your bad memories.

Calling out to you urgently from his room. "Psst psst, MC here!" He said through his half opened door.

You nodded okay and got pulled in by him. He looked panicked. "I can't leave my damn room. It seems everyone is out to get me to pay my debts today! All at once!"

The most believable lie that you break out into a smile. He really never learnt did he? Just like your second oldest brother, he was always up and running from trouble and running to you for help.

"Then your room isn't the best option is it?" You said, shaking your head.

"Oh shit, ya got that right!" Mammon grabbed two coats and draped one over you. "Hurry let's drive far away! I know a good hiding spot!"

You looked outside the frosted windows, Devildom was just a blurs of colors passing by. It was beautiful. And for a few fleeting moments, you forgot anything bad ever happened to you.

Leviathan

Levi was going to make you feel better no matter what. Even if he had to push himself far out of his comfort zone. He was going to take you OUTSIDE.

"MC! You're here!" He exclaimed as if he didn't bombard you with texts and stickers asking you to come. His arm shuddered as you took it.

"You didn't wear a scarf, MC? Here have mine." He almost took off his, when you held his hand, draped only half around you.

"This will be enough, Levi." You smiled at him. He nervously nodded and walked ahead with you.

He was like your third oldest brother who only went out of his room once a year for you to see the lights and take a picture with any Santa on the street.

"Look MC, someone's cosplaying Azumaki! That's your favorite character, right? Go stand next to her! I'll click a picture!" Levi exclaimed, as he pushed you forward.

You smiled fondly before pulling him in. "How about a picture of both of us instead?" You wished you could have said to the brother you lost. But looking at Levi's flushed happy face, you could guess how he'd react.

Satan

Satan was prepping for this day for a while. His bed was stacked with Devildom holiday classic films and books and he was more than excited to share them with you.

"If you're not preoccupied, would you like to join me, MC?" He called out gently through your door. You opened the door and followed him to his room.

You could almost mistake him for your fourth oldest brother. Gentle, considerate and always telling you Christmas stories as a ritual.

His room was a tight fit. New stacks of books and CDs, a projector he'd borrowed and set up and a blanket fort he'd made. But it was that much cozier.

"So this story is my favourite. A legend of two cats who were lost across town but finally found each other under that particular tree and this place actually exists, remind me to take you there someday."

Satan loved explaining films he'd watched and you hadn't. You were so familiar with this, you felt your heart grow warmer.

"I hope I'm not imposing cause I seem to be having too much fun-" He said sheepishly.

"I'd be really upset if you'd stopped in the middle of the best story so far! Now reveal who the star thief is!" You insisted.

Asmodeus

Asmo had turned his room into the prettiest Karaoke room you could have ever seen. He got all the right casettes he was sure. All the songs you both loved.

"MC! I have a suprise for you! You're gonna love me for this! I know you already do, but still!" Asmo said, pulling you out of your room and rushing down the stairs.

You laughed and followed along, trying not to trip. You walked into his room to see what a marvelous job he'd done. The rest of the brothers sat on his bed, clapping and cheering as Asmo took the mic.

"Dearest fans, the moment you've been waiting for - my co-performer is here! So let's get started with some classic Devildom duets!" Asmo said, throwing his arms around you. Everyone rolled their eyes.

You smiled remembering how you and the fifth oldest sibling used to put out performances for your family. Singing, dancing and laughter - you seemed to be lost in it all over again. Like nothing ever changed.

Everyone took turns on the mic with you but Asmo hogged most of it. You don't know how long you kept going but it seemed like you could do this forever.

Beelzebub and Belphie

Beel and Belphie teamed up for this one. They were focused on the simplest pleasures they shared with humans. Hearty food and a good night's sleep.

"MC, Lucifer ordered us to make the Christmas cake, but I keep falling asleep and Beel keeps eating the cake batter. Can you keep an eye on us?" Belphie called you to the kitchen.

You remembered making a mess of the kitchen with the twin siblings you had. And how they still insisted on trying every year. It's why mom had always bought an extra cake as a back up.

"Hahhaa look MC! Belphie fell asleep on the chocolate moulds again! There's stars and smileys on your face!" Beel laughed and pointed as you tried to hold in your giggles.

"Oh please, MC. There's more frosting stuck on Beel's face than there is on the whole cake! Laugh at that instead!" Belphie pointed while you laughed again.

"Guys, at this rate we'll never finish the cake! We only did two layers so far! We need three more!" You reminded them.

Turns out Barabtos and Luke had also sent them a cake as a gift. Belphie groaned over wasted effort while Belphie almost pounced on the cake.

That night you three fell asleep in the kitchen, leaning on top of each other, exhausted with the clean up.

Belphie softly whispered a spell into your ear that turns your nightmares into your best memories. And Beel covered all three of you in a blanket, tucking you in warm and snuggly.

#obey me #obey me angst #obey me comfort #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me satan #obey me beel #obey me asmo #obey me belphie #obey me levi #obey me imagine #obey me Beelzebub #obey me asmodeus #obey me belphegor #obey me leviathan

973 notes · View notes

stargazer-balladeer · 4 years ago

Text

S/o’s birthday but locks themselves in their rooms because they don’t feel special [Genshin Impact]

Characters Included: Aether, Childe, Diluc, Kaeya & Venti.

Notes: Ayeeee! Since it’s my birthday today, why not make this? :))) I actually got carried away 🥲 this is around 3.5k words in total. Hope ya’ll like this!

Reader’s Gender: Neutral (tho i think there’s a slight implied female hehe…)

Warning: probably some swear words here and there knowing me- and mild suggestive themes in kaeya’s part

[albedo, scaramouche, xiao]

Aether remembers your birthday more than he knows his- like srsly, he’s the kind that remembers his s/o’s bday more than his. He’s also the kind that celebrates it privately unless you want to celebrate it with others, which he doesn’t mind. He might have a hard time deciding what kind of gift you want, but sooner or later, he already has one (or multiples bc he can’t decide-).

Imagine his confusion when your day finally arrives but he can’t find you anywhere, even Paimon, who was excited to celebrate your bday (“oohh~ I can’t wait to eat the cake!” - Paimon), seems confused. Probably the culprit in planting worry in the travellers head as she jumps to conclusion that you might’ve been kidnapped.

Luckily, he checked your house before he could report it to the knights of Favonius or the Qixing (like any normal person should do really-). When he received no reply, he takes out the spare key you gave him and entered your house, an invasion of privacy he knows but it's an emergency-

Knowing that you’re in your room when he can’t find you downstairs, he knocks on your bedroom door softly while calling your name. Imagine his (and Paimon’s) relief when the door cracked open. Immediately engulfing you into a hug, he lets out a sigh of relief. He then proceeds to ask you what you were doing inside your room when it’s your birthday. His heart literally broke when you stated your reason. Tightening his hold around your figure, he smiles bitterly, knowing that feeling all too well..

“That’s not true. None of that stuff is true. Everyone deserves to feel special on their birthday, most especially you. We’ve brought some food, and cake of course. Also some gifts from other people. If you want, do you want to celebrate it with just the two, or rather three, of us?”

You, who was a literal angel in his eyes deserve the world. He honestly wants to find whoever put that idea in your head but that was reserved for another moment. For now, his main priority is your happiness. Guiding you downstairs where Paimon was (she left when aether hugged you, knowing you two needed privacy. also the cAKE-), he watches as your eyes sparkle at the sight of the cake.

Grinning softly he made sure you had fun with your birthday. Even though it would be more fun with more people, it feels more special if it’s celebrated with just the two of you. Staring you with pure adoration as you laughed merrily at the sight of Paimon stuffing herself with food. He couldn’t help himself but lean forward to place a kiss on your forehead and then on your lips, leaning back with a smile on his face.

“Happy birthday, my love. May many more to come. Maybe next time, we can invite other people. Though I don’t mind if we’ll celebrate it with just the two of us only-” And Paimon! Don’t forget about Paimon!” “Yes yes. And Paimon.”

Similar to Aether, he would most definitely remember your birthday. After all, it holds a special place in his heart, alongside his family. And since this boi is rich af, he would most definitely try to spoil you on your birthday. Piles of expensive (or just cheap yet meaningful) gifts, reservation to a high-class restaurant in Liyue Harbor, and all that glamour.

Actually, he didn’t find it odd that he didn’t see you immediately, thinking that you overslept or just relaxing in your house. But he soon finds it weird when it’s already around 3 in the afternoon and no sign of your face in the crowd, something he raised a brow at but shrugged it off. It isn’t until it’s almost the time of the reservation he made when he finally realized what’s going on.

When he arrived at your house, dressed in a suit similar to Zhongli except it’s entirely black and white, waiting for you to come out. After a couple of minutes, he soon got concerned and decided to enter your bedroom through the window (pls do not do this at home). Startled at the sudden appearance of your handsome yet cheeky boyfriend, he stares at you with eyes asking the questions he didn’t dare to tell.

Knowing he will get his answer one way or another, you decided to tell him about your dilemma. After you finished explaining yourself, silence surrounds you, which is quite worrisome since your boyfriend is known for his rather talkative behavior. Blinking in surprise at the sudden embrace of the 11th Harbinger, his hug was rather tight but not too tight that it cuts your oxygen. Speaking in a low, faint voice, a surprising feat for him, you can make out what he said as clear as day.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve noticed it sooner. I was trying to be a perfect boyfriend for you but I guess I failed in that aspect. You know, if you feel like you aren’t special enough to celebrate your birthday, then what about me? Me who stained his hands with the red blood of his enemies, always engaging in a fight, clashing with other blades. Insecurity is really an asshole huh? Let me make it up to you now. Let’s not anymore go to that stupid high-class restaurant, c’mon, up you go. You better dressed comfortably when I come back or else…”

Leaving you quickly before coming back immediately, this time in more comfortable clothing rather than the stiff suit he wore earlier. This time as well, he entered your house normally through the door. In his arms, he was holding a bunch of stuff and proceeded to dump it on the living room table. It was different kinds of movies in different genres, you spotted some of your favorite movies in them (makes you also wonder where he got these from since you don’t remember seeing these in the room he stays-).

He would suggest making a pillow fort, and while making the pillow fort, he proceeded to smack you with one. Which ensued a pillow fight between you two. It successfully made the both of you a laughing mess by the end, filled with feathers. Childe then carries you bridal style to the incomplete pillow fort and starts the movie you chose. Placing you in his lap and placing his head either on your shoulder or head depending on your height, cuddling you from behind tightly with a contented smile on his face.

“You know what? This might not be how I envisioned how your birthday would go, but I’m not complaining. Happy birthday, comrade. My most adorable and most cutest and only love. I love you so much that you’ll be the very reason why I die so suddenly. So stop being so cute okay?”

(You two are living together in this one.)

Diluc has the probability of forgetting your birthday due to his busy schedule, especially if it’s starting to rise when your birthday draws near. He might neglect you for a couple of days, too engrossed in his work. When the day finally arrives, it completely leaves his mind. Like he’ll think of it as a completely ordinary working day. It isn’t until one of your friends told him to send you their birthday greetings that he remembered. And oh boy does he feel guilty, like srsly, he literally froze when he realizes what day it is today. And you know what that means? ✨Panicc✨

Honestly, I can see him buying the whole store XD. In the state of panic, his common sense just leaves him completely that he ends us buying practically the whole store. It would be sent to the Dawn Winery immediately as he buys some flowers from Flora, who also sent you her birthday greetings, which made him more guilty-

When Diluc steps foot inside the manor, he tries to search for you outside the gardens where he usually finds you but when he doesn't, he gets worried. Asking the head maid immediately about your whereabouts, and his concern and worry (and guilt) grew even more when he finds out that you haven’t gone out of your room. He quickly went to your shared room, with the flowers still in his hands, and knocked on your door. Calling your name softly and asking for permission to enter, when granted he entered the room as quickly as possible. But seeing the sight of you bundled up in your blanket made his heart crack.

Placing the flowers at the bedside table, he quickly made his way in front of you and kneeled down to meet your eye level. You can tell he was very worried about you with how frantic his eyes seem and the concern underlying it. With the way he was staring at you, you can’t help but spill your insecurity to him. The reason why you were hiding in his room rather than go out to celebrate your day of birth. Every word you spill made his heart break even more. Seeing tears started to leak from your eyes, he placed his two hands on your face wiping away the tears with his thumbs. Smiling at you gently and placing a kiss on your eyelids and on your nose.

“I completely understand, my love. Even I sometimes feel that way. Also to the point where I don’t want to celebrate my birthday even, but that won’t do my love. You are so special, you deserve your special day to be well special. If you want to simply lay here and sleep, then so be it. If you want to go out and do something, then I’ll happily oblige. Let’s obliterate those awful thoughts, and if those keep persisting, I’ll slice them up for you. I’ll keep picking you up when you fall. So, what is your command, my love?” (i'm so tempted for him to say master-)

Whatever your answer may be, one thing for sure, Diluc is seen smiling adoringly at you. Even the maids noted how soft the master is around you, particularly today. Whether curled up together in the bed, with him embracing you tightly to his chest and placing a kiss on top of your head. And if you listen carefully, you can hear him quietly humming a tune that his father (or mother) sang to him. Or you two outside in the garden, simply admiring the view with his hand around your waist.

Either way, at the end of the day, he would wake you up or make you go inside for dinner. You haven’t eaten breakfast or lunch yet so you’re probably hungry by now. If you don’t want to leave your room or want to return to your room, he would understand and make the maids bring the food to you. When the maid(s) finally arrives with the food, you notice the cake on the tray. Looking at him as he chuckles, taking the trays from the maids. Humming a light tune, he scoops a spoonful of cake and holds it to your mouth, with a slight smirk on his face, eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Stop staring at me like that, did you really think I would let the day go by for you to not celebrate your birthday properly? From what I know, birthdays have cakes in them, whether a huge cake or a cupcake. Say ‘ahh’~... Happy birthday my love. May next year be more enjoyable than now.”

Kaeya remembers your birthday like the back of his hand, I think he’s even more excited than you really. Eagerly awaiting your birthday as he counts down the days, dropping hints and stuff to you birthday-related, and probably plans a birthday party for you. The knights immediately agreed on it, including a certain bard, traveler, and wine master (albeit more hesitantly). He made sure that this party would be successful, constantly checking on the plans and such. To the point that everyone was practically fed up with his constant questions. But they understand that he wants this to be a successful and enjoyable party for you. It got to the point where Diluc kicked him out of his Tavern after asking for the umpteenth time.

When your day finally arrives, he was practically beaming with joy and excitement. To the point where he can’t hide it behind the cool and suave facade he wears. He quickly made his way to you, going along with the plan of distracting you as they started to prepare for the party. In his total excitement, he didn’t notice the rather gloomy atmosphere around the house. But when he arrived at your door, that is when he noticed how quiet your house is.

Now albeit worried, his excited smile slipping from his face and now replaced with a worried frown, he knocked on your door, calling you in his usual teasing voice. When he didn’t hear your response, the bubble of anxiety appeared in his body. Twisting the knob and finding it unlocked, he quietly and carefully opened the door. Seeing your back immediately, seeing your side rise and fall making him sigh in relief that you were still alive. Closing the door gently but made a noise to alert you of his presence. Taking a seat behind you, he ran his cold fingers on your back, watching you arching at the sudden coldness of his fingers. Smiling slightly, he asked what’s wrong.

Turning around to face him, you buried your face on his chest, inhaling his strong masculine scent. Instinctively wrapping his arms around you, he played with your hair with one of his hands. Tapping on your head slightly, beckoning for you to answer his question. With no way out, you decided to come clean. You explain how you feel like you don’t feel like you deserve to be treated as special on your birthday and all that sort. His face was void of emotion as he stared at the ceiling with his unique pair of blue eyes. Outside he might seem emotionless. But inside, he was on the brink of insanity. Who dares to put such an idea on his s/o’s mind? Why would you think of that? Was this insecurity of yours also his fault?

“That must be the most stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. You’re not special? Please. Don’t try to make me laugh with that joke ‘cause it’s not funny. You are a jewel, a star, a constellation. As rare as the gems, or rather visions. You can even rival the very sun with your smile. I know those demons in your head keep saying those words to you, the temptation is so tempting, right? Just succumbing to them to make them quiet. But that’s why I’m here, my dearest snowflake. I’m here for you. You’re so special to everyone, most especially to me. You mean the world to me. Anyway, enough of this tear-jerking stuff, we have a party to celebrate. And we can’t celebrate it without the birthday gal/guy now can we?”

Despite your protests, he lifted you effortlessly and carried you outside and into the dawn winery where the party was held. Placing you on the ground and pushing you forward where people from Mondstadt came and greeted you with happy birthdays. Smiling at the sight of you being overwhelmed at the warm greetings, and then chuckling at how bright your face became. Diluc nudges him to you, beckoning him to help you before returning to what he was previously doing (most likely trying to force a bard to not finish all the wines in the vicinity).

After a while in the party, Kaeya brings you to a secluded place with no people for air. Being in a party filled with people could be suffocating at times, especially if you’re not used to it. He intertwined his hands with yours and bends down to meet your eye level (or leans down if you have the same height as him-). He gives you a cheeky smile and proceeds to place a peck on your lips. Chuckling when you pouted and glared at him, wanting more kisses.

“My my, what a greedy vixen~ But it is indeed your birthday so I guess I have no choice but to oblige to whatever my birthday vixen wants me to do. Would you like me to strip as well? Haha. Kidding kidding. Happy birthday, princess/prince. May many more to come. Oh! I forgot. I heard from a certain birdie that you ordered for a personal performance from me~ would you like to get it now?”

Since we all know that Venti practically doesn’t do anything like every day, I would safely say that he would remember your birthday. Probably save some mora to buy you a gift for your birthday, even though it’s not as fancy as the people in Liyue (they all rich kids-), it’s still meaningful. He probably made a bracelet all by himself with the beads he either bought or also made by himself. Nevertheless, he was as excited as Kaeya for your birthday. Already prepared songs to sing for you when that day comes.

Venti immediately searches for you when the day finally arrives, but his excited and bright smile vanishes when he can’t find you in the crowd of people. Raising a brow at your sudden disappearance, he searched for you everywhere, the tavern, the church, the headquarters, everywhere but your house. So when he finally arrives at your house, he was filled with worry and concern. Entering your room through the window like usual, he sees your figure sitting on the floor while reading a book.

He pouted at the sight as he made his presence known by asking you why you were here and reading a book on your birthday. He watches as you jump from where you are and turns to look at him, sighing at the sight of him. He slowly made his way to you and sat next to you, his legs sprawled across the floor. He takes note of the food around you, which was non-birthday festive, it was just ordinary food. Not understanding why you’re sulking in your room, he asked you what’s wrong.

Venti’s eyes widened at your explanation, feeling the sadness leaking at the words you said. They weave themselves around his heart, squeezing it, making him have a hard time breathing. He shares your pain. He was your soulmate after all. He immediately engulfed you in a hug, stuffing his face on the crook of your neck. You were so vulnerable in his eyes. You were so fragile. He desperately wants to protect you from the pain. But looks like he can’t protect you from your own demons.

“Even though I promised myself to not say or do anything that’ll make you sad, I just need to get it off my chest. I’m sorry you had to suffer through that, those demons that a simple bard that weaves stories into songs can’t erase. Alright, no more feeling sorry for yourself. It’s time to get out and spend the rest of the day enjoyable, perfect for my precious Cecilia.”

Without any warnings, he picked you up and jumped out of your window. Shrieking at the sudden fast pace, you instinctively wrapped your hands around him as he landed on the ground. Giving you a smug smile while saying “didn’t think i’d let you fall now?” Please slap him. Anyway, he laughed at your aggression and continued to run. Even if you ask where you’re going, he just says it's a secret. So might as well enjoy being in his arms as he continues to run (you swear you can feel the wind adding to his speed but that was just maybe your imagination-).

After a while, he placed you down and you realized where you are. It was Starsnatch Cliff, surrounding you were Cecilia flowers. Venti jumped on you, making you fall to the ground as he giggles. His hat flown back from the force of his sudden attack, he still has that stupid big smile on his face. Since his laughter is contagious, you couldn’t help but laugh alongside him. His eyes glistened with delight at the sight of your smile finally. Grabbing your hand and placing the bracelet he made, he pressed a kiss on your knuckle.

“This bracelet shall be a promise from me to you, a fellow bard to the fairest queen/king. I shall love you for eternity, this heart will only beat for you, and this body belongs to you. If you’re in dire need of assistance, don’t hesitate to call me. I’ll be there, forever and always. Happy birthday, my sweet flower.”

[x] Main Page || [x] Mondstadt Page || [x] Fatui Harbingers Page

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact headcanons #aether #aether x reader #childe #childe x reader #diluc #diluc x reader #kaeya #kaeya x reader #venti #venti x reader #aether headcanons #childe headcanons #diluc headcanons #kaeya headcanons #venti headcanons

1K notes · View notes