#family. that's a really common theme I'm spotting here

[in1-nutshell]

Hellooo :)

Wanted to ask if you can write a Predacon Buddy version/AU? In my idea their alt mode would be similar to a Night fury from How to train your dragon/HTTYD. I'm imagining a mix between movie 1 Toothless personality and movie 3 Toothless personality mostly.

Buddy being very playful and outgoing even as a Predacon, play fighting with Skylynx and/or Darksteel and teasing Predaking by laying in his lap (can we call it that?? I dunno. I mean his front legs) and placing their paws/claws on Predakings snout. Or simply stealing his Energon/prey/whatever he eats for a chase?

Buddy, despite being with their pack most of the time, sometimes ends up with the Autobots. Nobody knows how or why. Buddy, being in their alt mode, just one day chilling in the Autobots base as the bots come back from a mission (Ratchet left for too). The bots just walk in and see a fragging Predacon chilling in the middle of their base like- THE FRAG?? HOW DID THAT GET IN HERE??!

Please do it with the Autobots and Decepticons if that's alright!!

I love your writing SO DAMN MUCH ♥️♥️

PS Sorry for any spelling mistakes!

Thank you for the complement! And don't worry too much about spelling mistakes, we all make them!

Predacon Buddy's are slowly becoming a common theme here.

Hope you enjoy!

Bot Buddy the Night Fury Predacon with Bumblebee, Smokescreen, Predaking, and Soundwave

SFW, Platonic, Familial, Cybertronain reader

TFP

Shockwave doesn’t really know what happened to this Predacon when they came out of the test tube.

He blames Starscream.

Does Starscream have anything to do with this?

Maybe. He seems like the most logical suspect.

Buddy came out small, cute, and curious. Already nipping at Cons pedes when they came to close with their retractable dermas.

Curiosity was a dangerous thing to have if left unchecked.

So, Shockwave did the only logical thing.

He gave Buddy to Predacon, Skylynx, and Darksteel to look after.

The three older Predacons had their servos full trying to take care of Buddy.

Which was mainly Predaking doing most of the work. He was the most responsible out of the group and their king, naturally he picked up this duty.

Draksteel and Skynx where in charge of playing with Buddy.

Curiosity led Buddy to find the empty Autobot base by accident.

Of course, they didn’t really care about this ongoing war.

Right now, they wanted some places with a warm spot, maybe something soft to cuddle.

Some stray beams of sunlight hit the floor of the base creating a lovely warm place to sleep. But they needed the soft thing now to make things complete.

A soft little gasp was heard behind Buddy as they turned around quickly baring their retractable dermas.

They quickly put them away seeing a small human boy frozen in place. The weird looking frames on his face intrigued Buddy as they crept closer.

Raf just stayed still not knowing what to do.

Buddy vented out roughly knocking Raf’s glasses off his face which caused him to fall to the floor.

Buddy softly pocked at Raf’s hair.

Finally! The soft thing has been found!

Buddy carried Raf by the helm of his shirt and moved to the warm spot, circled around the place before plopping down.

Raf was trapped in between Buddy’s helm and front servos as they snuggled up to him before falling into recharge.

This is what Raf gets for staying at the base for 5 minutes alone.

Miko was never going to let him live this down.

For now, he figured he wasn’t in danger, and the small dragon was warm… and he didn’t get much sleep lately…

Raf was out like a light before he knew it causing Buddy to snuggle even further into their new favorite human.

Team Buddy duty

These bots were supposed to be watching Buddy. Buddy wasn’t supposed to leave the Nemesis until they had orders to go otherwise. Are they panicking when they can’t find Buddy on the ship? Who’s going to tell them in their face without risking the consequences?

Predaking

Soundwave

Team that’s about to have a break down

These bots are very concerned in finding Buddy. Whether it be in the base sunbathing with their new favorite human or just gliding back from a long day of flying, these bots are about to lose it. They are just glad that no one got hurt by the end of the day.

Bumblebee

Smokescreen

Predaking

[canadianno]

🌲 Pinned Post 🌲

I'm Copper, username Canadianno. I am a minor (16 years old)

I've got lots of nicknames and most r just fine, ofc don't call me anything mean or anything </3

Most common nicknames are Copp and Can !!

🌲Fandoms !!🌲

Warrior cats

Cult of the Lamb

Gravity Falls

Honestly not much else.. lots of interests come and go !!

🍄Gravity Falls sideblog - @canadianno-gravityfalls 🍄

"Guys I am gonna be so annoying about this"

Me^

🪲My tags🪲

#TCOLC au

My COTL au, which is posted on Ao3 under the name "The Cult of Lost Crowns" by yours truly! (Canadianno)

#TornWings WC

Doesn't have anything on it yet, but if I ever post abt my WC comic it'd be here!

🍁DNI🍁

Pedophilic

Racist

Bigoted in general

Zoophilic >:(

If you are just gonna ask me abt politics

Argumentative. This is a safe spot

Block evaders

🪲Notify me!🪲

Are you struggling reading something I've posted? Are you visually impaired and wish for me to add image ID's? Do you want to know the definition of something I've mentioned?

Just message me! Both asks and DMs are fine, my DMs are open! I am safe to speak to. This is a space for all of us!

🍁Possible Triggers🍁

Cartoon violence

Dark themes in media

Cults

Cartoon death

Big family issues (fictional)

Blood in art

Creepy or horror-esque art

I am working on making tags for these, and I try to give content warning and hide disturbing art under cuts! Notify me if I've forgotten this anywhere :]

"Aorry thsi jorigicantion work me up frok my nsp"

Me^

🪲Fun facts and stuff!🪲

My favorite animals are frogs, toads, cats, and sheep. My favorite colors are green and yellow. I have a really annoying older brother. I work on Fridays. I love the smell of lilacs. I have 2 cats and a dog. I live in Canada. I can read French almost perfectly fine but I can't speak it for the life of me. I have the best Mom in the world.

🍁Go check it out!🍁

Creator of the COTL potluck reblog chain! Go check it out and give love to all the incredible artists who participate! The potluck is eternal!

Interested in COTL themed dnd shenanigans? Go check out the Run Lamb Run dnd blog!

[arikihalloween]

what has your experience been with commissions?

Haha well

I'll be fully transparent, I'm very rarely commissioned

I've had my comms open since like, 2021, 2020 maybe and since then I've only done 6-7 comms total

Not like I can complain much, since I've never actually needed to rely on commissions unlike others (tho rn that kinda money would be a great help for food/rent for me lol)

I kind of already know why I'm not commissioned much

1) I don't advertise myself all the time

2) I'm a small artist and until last year I had no visibility, much less an art style people would actually wanna buy

3) I'm a very gift giving person so I have a bad tendency to do comm level of work for friends or family lmao

But I disgress

As for my experiences with the few comms I had, it actually went great ! I've never been scammed, and only had very understanding and sweet clients, most of them being actually people close to me in some way

I recommend to always stay aware of the type of scams people do to artists who take commission, some are really common and easy to spot, and knowing them lets you avoid being, well, scammed

Other things for commissions that I learned, is that communication is key, boundaries are a must, you gotta respect your client and yourself too, and if you can, have the payement in advance. And also, don't underprice yourself ! A fullbody render with background SHOULD NOT ever be under 20$ !!

Ik it's scary to price your art high when starting out or when you're a hobbyist, that's also why I'm still within a 10€-25€ range at most for my art. But those prices are not actually viable to make it a living, and I fully know that. If I wanted to make a living out of it, I'd charge straight up in the 50-70 if not hundred at minimum lol.

Tbh I wish I could be commissioned more

Especially as I'll be free for the next four week, I can work on some and it'd help a lot as I said before.

I have my prices pinned everywhere on my socials, and my dms are always open to order :3

Good to note that I offer a 40% discount on holiday themed commissions, goes for any religious holiday (not just christian)

I'm putting my prices here again as well as exemples (sorry anon who asked but I'm taking an opportunity to advertise mwahaha)

In order, we have :

Lined work, sketch, colored fullbody with basic rendering

Artfight pages with various works, from simple render, flat colors, simple or complex bgs

Fully rendered artworks

Flat color no line, and AU ref sheet

I have various styles and render methods (yay polyvalence)

[tsarisfanfiction]

🍦 What's the sweetest fic you've created so far?

Obviously Thunderbirds for me, so I can go read it. But also if you want to answer for other fandoms if any stick out :)

Wow, it's been forever since I got one of these asks, thanks :D

And oh heck, Tsari and sweet fics?

Okay then, TAG fics, what do we have in here that's actually sweet...

Right, I am looking at my AO3 and there is no way I'm narrowing this down to one, so have a selection of the particularly fluffy and sweet things I've managed to come up with for this fandom. You might spot a common theme...

Flour and Memories (Scott&John)

Cocoa and Blankets (Military Bros)

Peaceful Dawn (Scott&John)

Kiss The Chef (Tracy Family)

Chocolate Thief (Tracy Family)

Toffee (incomplete...)

As far as other fandoms go, well. I'm not really much of a "sweet" fic author and angst keeps cropping in. I'm gaining a bit of a reputation for this, apparently.

That being said!

Riordanverse

Braids (Michael&Apollo Cabin)

Family Time (Apollo&Apollo Cabin)

Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You (Solangelo, Apollo/Naomi)

Foul Play (Solangelo)

...I found a couple of actually cute fluffy things?

Fanfic Writer Emoji Ask

[intermittent-showers]

Heyyy! I'm starting a series of slice of life for Bucktommy.

I hope to write one every day until the premiere of season 8. (This is a dream lol) but, only 72 days left!

Part 1: 'till there was you

Small Character Study from both Buck's and Tommy's POV

Read here or on AO3

Until there was Tommy, Buck was afraid. Not of dying or spiders or snakes, oh my!

But of being alone.

And sure, he had family and friends, people that cared, people that would always show up for him no matter the consequences. But at night, when the day came to a close and the long shifts were over, Buck always ended up... alone.

He could ignore it, sure, and he did. He'd cook, or he'd read. Sometimes, he would stand out on his balcony, standing above the city below, eyes shut, listening to the sounds of people living their lives. Laughter and shouts and car doors slamming, and he'd wonder.

Did everyone else have it all figured out? Had Buck missed some piece of literature that held the answers to a life of ease? A life of understanding?

There had always been something... missing. A piece of himself that was too far, too unfamiliar to grasp that always left Buck unsure of his next step.

Until there was Tommy.

The night they met, something that had remained dormant inside Buck was suddenly screaming to let itself out.

He could feel that pull, heard that soft, almost unintelligible voice that continued to speak to him, telling him to push his feelings forward, pursue it, telling him to go, go, go.

For weeks, he had nothing on his mind except fake mouth static and scrunchy smiles. Nothing but dry, sarcastic words and Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy...

To talk about him was painful, but not talking about him was impossible. Something was off. Something was different here. Something felt familiar.

And then, Tommy found him.

This confident, cool, beautiful man reached deep inside Evan Buckley and found a way to put all his missing pieces together again. Pieces he didn't even know he had.

And suddenly, life wasn't lonely anymore.

Life was now full of possibilities. Of 'when' instead of 'if' and for the first time, Buck wanted to chase this feeling. Jump off a cliff with it, all while saying 'yes' and 'now' and 'finally.'

Because he found, for the first time, he could breathe. A part of himself that had always felt like it was drowning, clawing at the surface, desperate for air, shouting at someone to just fucking love him anyway, was finally taking its first breaths.

--------

Until there was Evan, Tommy was unsure. Not of himself, or his skills, or even his career, hell no...

But of the future.

Coming out in his thirties was fine with Tommy. He was just grateful that he got to be his true authentic self at least once before he died. A chance to really like the person he saw in the mirror, to put away the fear, disguised as anger, that had been drilled into him, quite literally, with a fist when he was just a little boy.

But he never thought about settling down, never once dreamed of having a family, never allowed himself to believe there would ever be someone there for him when his back was against the wall. He'd been in that spot plenty of times, in his youth, in the army, at the 118 with Gerrard... it had been such a common theme for Tommy in his life that anything else just seemed unattainable now.

Sometimes, though, after covering a shift for yet another member of the 217 welcoming a baby into the world or hearing the others chat about what they did during their time off with their loved ones, Tommy would allow himself a moment of want.

He wanted someone to miss him. Someone who wanted to know him, wanted to touch him and hold him and listen to stories about his day. Someone who wanted all of him, no matter what, just the way he was. But then he'd shrug it off, let those thoughts roll around in his head for maybe an hour or so, glass of whiskey in his hand, before putting them away because dreams like those weren't for people like him.

Until there was Evan.

He'll never forget that first night they met. Sneaking into Tommy's helicopter, risking his career and job for people he openly cared for. Evan Buckley was a beacon in the night, and Tommy was the ship being led home.

And he wanted to be a part of that. All of it. Some of it. Tommy wanted, for the first time to be for someone what no one else had ever been for him. So, he took a chance, unbeknownst to him if Evan's feelings were the same, and something beautiful manifested right before his eyes. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't polished. And it hadn't exactly gone in the direction Tommy had hoped it would.

But then, Evan reached out.

This adorable, interesting, gorgeous guy not only told his family about Tommy but decided he was ready for something, something with Tommy. Something neither of them had likely experienced before.

And suddenly, the future wasn't so uncertain.

Now the future had hope. It held possibilities of tomorrow, next week, next month, everything culminating into the now very real possibility of... forever.

A future once shrouded in the unknown was now front and center because one man had found a way to make Tommy Kinard feel excited and loved and hopeful. All things denied from him all those years ago.

[visualtaehyun]

Rules: List 10 of your comfort shows, then tag 10 people

Thanks for tagging me y'all @sorry-bonebag @twig-tea @rocketturtle4 ✨

My criteria for a comfort show are gonna be 1) any piece of media 2) that I've watched more than once and 3) that I will keep reaching for. That's it. I can't even explain what the common denominator is tbh?? It's just- the kinda movie or show that I need on DVD to easily put on again and quell the brain worms (yes, I physically own all but #4-#6).

1. My School President: What can I say, this show took me entirely by surprise! I started watching a few days before episode 4 aired - aka the pinky touch ✨ the conversation in the stairwell ✨ and the origin of Gem4th's fanclub name being Khun Nuu ✨ - and fell right in love with it. I love musical storytelling, I love coming of age stories, I love a good romance, and I love found family/friend group dynamics so this really hit the spot for me. I guess these apply to a bunch of my choices for this tag though haha

2. Cutie Pie: I've talked about this show in another tag game (as "A show people find bad but you will defend") and all of that still holds true so I won't repeat it here. I'll just add that this show introduced me to Nunew who's my favorite artist these days. :)

3. Love In The Air (Love Storm): Yup! The show that most people on here seem to recall as that extra horny one lol It's one of the first Thai QLs I watched along with as it aired, maybe even the first one. I started watching when episode 2 came out, I think? And I just loved the D/s-dynamic, lovable brat Rain, and these rookie actors so much that I not only went looking for the bts, cast reactions, and interviews but I even started following Twitter translators for the show and cast. This show (and ZeeNunew lol) was basically my introduction to how the Y industry works, what Thai fanclubs are like, and got me well and truly interested in learning Thai. I think I've seen it enough times to speak along by now cause I also used my familiarity with it to study Thai. And now that BossNoeul are finally getting a new show, I'm really looking forward to seeing them in new roles!

4. Not Me: It's simply brilliant. And it's so grounded! You know how lots of tops in Thai QLs are rich, a CEO, drive a supercar, and live in a gorgeous modern home with huge windows (and death stairs lmao)? I love that Not Me starts in a place of privilege but has White leave that behind pretty early on. Bangkok really is a city where you can constantly see the divide between rich and poor. So I appreciate this show even more after having been to Bangkok. Not Me's characters look unfiltered and real and that's how the entire show feels as well. I just love what P'Nuchy has given us here! Oh and +1 for White narrating his entire story, I just kinda love that in general (also enjoyed Kawi narrating Be My Favorite). The next two kinda fall into one category: shows I loved as a kid, remembered - found - rewatched as a teen, and still fondly remember.

5. Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne: This is a magical girl anime that I first would have seen on TV in 2001. In hindsight, this show's religious themes may have influenced me in my love for fictional faith and devotion. Just a thought, haha, totally don't have more than one dnd character who is majorly connected to divinity, faith, and devotion, even though I personally am agnostic...

6. The Weekenders: I routinely cite this as my favorite cartoon (and I watched- just- So Many as a kid omg). Since I watched this on German TV, I only know the German dub which was honestly really fun. If any Germans read this and have seen that show: Wirsing! The rest is movies all the way down!

7. Timeline: A 2003 movie with a bunch of well-known actors that arguably qualifies as a B movie because it flopped so hard at the box office. It's my trash though. I chose it at the video store, brought it home, loved it, and then proceeded to rent it like once a year lol! It's basically a bunch of archeologists and history nerds travelling back in time to the Hundred Years War to save their professor. It has my preferred time travel dynamic of Everything is fixed and whatever traces in time you leave were already there to begin with.

8. Inception: There's several Christopher Nolan movies I love but this one is just so grand and fun and maybe I also had a bit of a crush on Elliott Page back then 👉👈 I'm a born nerd so naturally teen-me used "Non je ne regrette rien" as my alarm for years lmao This category is basically just Disney & co. musicals lol

9. Mulan (1998): If you asked me to choose my favorite from the entire classic Disney musical line-up, it would always be this one. It's the queerest, of course I'd always choose it!

10. Anastasia: You know, I looked at my shelf full of cartoon musicals- no wait, High School Musical and Pitch Perfect are next to them, hm, wELL- at my movie musicals shelf and it came down to choosing between this one and The Swan Princess (1994). And this one just kinda won out because "Once Upon A December" is impeccable! And now I've got it stuck in my head 👍

Since it took me a few days to get back to it, this has clearly made the rounds already. Who to tag?? Uh-- @pharawee @airenyah @telomeke and whoever sees this and wants to do it of course!

[squirrelwrangler]

Do you have any tips for naming Elf OCs?

I've had a lot of practice over the years with a large cast of OCs, but am neither expert or best at this. But here's my guidelines and methods:

First, look at the canon names and notice a few trends. Sindarin (and Sindarized) names are short. One to three syllables. Quenya is longer but rarely goes over five and stays usually around four. But two-three is the sweet spot. And use one-two elements or concepts. Don't fall into the trap of making a long name with a detailed meaning and notice that a surprising number of Tolkien's names don't have a deeply meaningful and poetic name. 'Fin' means hair but it's hazy if that's what the Fin in Finwë means and that's a solid chunk of important canon character names right there. Names can follow a family theme and while we're told Elves don't repeat names like the Edain did, we're also told that Argon became a popular name after his death and there is the case of Fëanor giving his son the exact same name. He also named his sons One through Seven, but that was a dickish political statement and not a convenient Elven cultural naming scheme.

Next, there are Tolkien elf name sites and lists out there, or least back in the early 2000s they were easy to find and I copied them onto a much-used document (particularly for gaming purposes), with the caveat that they are flawed.

What I tend to do now is go directly to the dictionary, pick a term, then modify it usually by adding the appropriate gendered name suffix. Parf Edhellen (man I remember when this was the brand new site) became my go-to for comprehensive convenience.

How to pick a term? The majority of my OCs are based on another character or have an inspiration concept. Also, and here's the top secret method - borrow names that other people have made. And ask others for suggests and help.

For instance, the Tol Sirion Ten. The Leithian Script's usage of the other ten that died in Tol-in-Gaurhoth as supporting characters was my main inspiration, but they only ever named one OC, taken from canon itself - Edrahil. For the rest, I pulled the inspiration from a variety of places. "Heledir" is kingfisher, which already has the 'thir/dir/dor' masculine endings. "Ethir" is spy/watcher. I could leave as is, and for a while I did, but then I added Ethirdor to make it look more canon. Arodreth was a pre-created Sindarin name without a canon character and I think originally got it off one of those name sites - but it means Noble Endurance so it was a good generic name for any of the ten. Now in the Leithian Script it only really made characters out of Edrahil. the Captain (my Heledir), and Youngest Ranger (my Ethirdor). So as documented in my tag when I brainstormed these OCs, I went to other fictional character deaths for inspiration. Well, except for Tacholdir. That character was inspired by two things: I needed one of the imprisoned elf stories to be about a plot to escape, so picking the locks of the chains. And I'm seriously annoyed when fantasy, be it published or fanfic, focuses the cast solely on the hyper-wealthy and highest class. Elves in the Silm are guilty of having almost no named commoners except Eärendil's sailors and some scouts. So I wanted a lower-class elf represented. "Worst Jobs in History" pulled through. Now Tancil/Tancal (Q) and Tachol (S) was in my favorite category of Elven Dictionary finds- both Sindar and Quenya with slightly modified spellings. The entry said 'pin as in brooch'. But good enough. Tacholdir/Tancildo. Back to Arodreth. If there's the Youngest Ranger, there has to be a contrasting Oldest OC. The final book from The Wheel of Time was fresh on my mind and I was still upset over Gareth Bryne's death. Arodreth had a similar sound to Gareth. Floating name now has a home. And if I did Gareth, I might was well use Gawyn (and then from there pull in the rest of the Trakand family and make Elf OC versions of Galad, Elayne, etc..) Now all of those names are heavily based on Arthurian myth names. Gawyn is Gawain and lo the Welsh roots make it Sindarin-ish already. Hawk, battle, talon...all terms I was looking at in the dictionary and name lists. But, also important for story purposes, I wanted a name that wasn't a visual copy to the rest. So the Gadwar instead tacking on another ending, and one that reminded me of Ohtar, a canon minor character - Solider that survived Isildir's death. Two syllables like Gawyn and very close without being a direct copy (Aerith to Aereth is an almost direct copy with the added bonus that Aer mean holy and -eth is feminine name ending). Now Galad is already Sindarin, but the inspiration character is Galahad, so I wanted to shift the focus there instead of making an OC sound like Celeborn's family. Galad in the books was famous for being the world's most beautiful man. But at that point I'd already used Ban/Van. So I mused on the general concept- a guy that women would fight to be with, the ultimate catch. The perfect husband. Which - venno. Haven't used that as a male name ending yet. And that's another element to making OC names - have a good variety within reason as a help for readers. Alma as a hazy Quenya word for good fortune or beauty and maybe flower. Almavenno, a four-syllable Quenya name from two parts for the Amanyar Noldor half-brother that when translated over and squished down becomes Galuven. We're back to the matching G names, it sounds roughly like Gallivant. Perfect.

[fic-heaven]

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.

[prideoftheknights]

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

[desolateice]

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.

[frutigeraerosims]

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.

[oh-hush-its-perfect]

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.

[caramariafilm]

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!

[overnightheartbeats]

Being in his arms again was all she needed for her smile to return. Laurel was still not well-informed on the situation, but the tension earlier in the house was palpable. So, the comfort she felt being here with him again could not go unstated. For a moment, she leaned her head against his, hearing the exhaustion in his tone. It was late, he had a long night, and yet here he was joining a brainstorming session about the latest problem. She understood though, Isaac was family.

Isaac's heavy sigh covered the kitchen, shoulders slumping at the question. Where to even start? "Define, okay," he said with a dry chuckle. "It was fine, she doesn't suspect anything about us knowing now...about her past. I did get a vague, pointed threat from her which was new. I had never seen that side of her." Of course, he failed to mention the vulnerable position he was in when that threat occurred. "You got it, sorry I'm taking him tonight," he semi-teased in Laurel's direction. Their never-ending joke about being Eli's husband, something he'd always take the chance to bring back.

She felt the gentle vibration of his chuckle against her shoulder, and Laurel smiled once more, thinking it was Isaac's joke was the cause. He racked his brain, his mention of Ghost Protocol seemed familiar, but he couldn't place why or where he had heard this. It would be something he'd need to check out when he returned to the agency. There were answers in there. "I'll dig around too. I know I was reluctant to believe she was involved earlier, but this - already, it's bad enough. Seems like I roped you guys into quite a mess."

"Of course you can ask. I thought I had told you before." He nodded without hesitation. The moment was clear in his mind, something he mistook as a sign from their parents was now a nightmare coming to life. "It was back in Chicago, last time I was out there. I visited mom and dad's grave, hadn't been in some time. I had promised Inez and Emma that I'd stop by next time I was in town. After visiting them, I spent some time in the old neighborhood. I don't know, feeling sentimental, I guess. I met her at that old burger spot we used to go to. She was a breath of fresh air honestly, I didn't give it much thought beyond that. We exchanged phone numbers, and things picked up fairly quickly from there."

She hummed a yes in response. Talking was all they did until the fatigue began getting to her. Some topics more enjoyable than others. "She told me a lot. I think we can use some of it to piece more on who we're dealing with." And so, she launched into the recap. The warning Nettie gave her, that Jazz was called The Man, and that her father did not handle business dealings. "She seemed hesitant to share, but she did mention that she killed one of her relatives. Got too close." As she concluded her recap, she did not expect his next actions. Amusement returned to her features, if only for a moment. If they had not just been discussing the dangerous ways of Isaac's girlfriend, she might believe that this was any other late night hanging out with tossed bottle caps.

Isaac stared at him with only some disbelief. Bottle caps, smart. He followed his gaze, knowing that Nettie was sleeping in the other room. They had briefly covered this subject before, if he hadn't given his friends with benefits situation any thought. When Jazz kicked him out, and he came to him for advice. Eli had told him how that introductory dinner had gone, tense and rude moments between Jazz and Laurel. Isaac briefly considered, but he had preoccupied his mind more with fixing things with his girlfriend. So, considering someone else kind of lost its priority. "Are you really that surprised by my blindness? Seems to be a common theme here," he presented in defense of himself. Isaac knew the story, like his girl didn't hold first place at some point.

His arms wrapped around her torso and laid his palms on her stomach, setting his chin on her shoulder. His eyes eyes closed briefly as the tiredness had swept over him briefly. "Yeah, Isaa. Did everything go okay when you guys went home?" he asked, Laurel's shoulder covering his yawn. "By the way, you and I are bunking together. We'll give babe and Nettie the bedroom and we'd get the guest room." There was no way that he'd let laurel sleep uncomfortably.

Something made him notice her pjs at least the top part. A sly little smirk crossed over his features and chuckled. That's where his shirt went. It was easy to fall back to normalcy being around them both but he also knew the circumstances that brought them together was not normal. "I managed to get a few details. Something called Ghost Protocol had a huge donation from Jazz. I haven't finished going down that hole but I'm thinking it may be a front to something else."

"Can I ask? How'd you meet her or where?" The sound of the purifier was the only background noise that made the silence defeaning. "I know you go out but maybe if we know where you met we can work backwards and why you were her target." Eli wasn't stupid, he knew the game and why some agents would get targeted. Usually it was because they had something valuable. But Issac was different. His only crime was having two cakes.

He turned to look at where Nettie was sleeping. "So, what's up with her? Did she talk to you?" he asked Laurel, hands stilling on her stomach. "What had her so terrified?" Then remembered what he was gonna say earlier. He tossed the bottle cap at issac. "And you, are you really that blind to know that you have someone that likes you like in a romantic manner?" he head nodded at the other room. "Seriously?" It wasn't done in a mean way but in a disbelief way.

[hsvh-hp]

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. 😂

[coxinhadoce47-art]

How do you name your ocs?

Tl;Dr: mostly just vibing with what comes up and sounds nice, sometimes with a theme in mind

Tbh it always depends

I'm gonna use in your graces as an example because i have been focusing on it recently

For that, when i just had the idea for Grace and Raphael, I went looking for victorian sounding names, since i always had that idea for a time period for the story. And when I think victorian era I think of virtue names (even though puritans that really went to town on it). Though I did pick some old/biblical names too and I reused them for other names

This is from when I was brainstorming names for Grace with @bernardo-reblogs-shit when I was just beggining to shape the story (april 2021)

As you can see, there's already Grace and Raphael's names there. And how the theme of their families is also a strong presence in the story, I decided to take some of the other names here, Harper and Constantine

Though for a while i thought about naming Grace as like, Grace Merit or Grace Graham but the first was too much of virtue names and the other had too many Gs. But then I took that and made into a fake name for him, Merit Graham.

Also you can see that I reused the name Clement there for Clement.

As for other characters in the story, I mostly just took names that I like, Gabriel, Damien, Safira (it's saphire in portuguese, I did end up taking a lot of common names here, including Raphael, though I did pick a more gringo spelling). But for Grace's family, since I already went with the virtue name with him, I decided to make that a family tradition, so everyone has virtue names, Providence, Hope, Innocence, Charity, just Rosemary doesn't. Because she wasn't born a Harper, she married into the family (that's Grace's mom).

And y'know, its ironic since many of them aren't as virtuous as their names imply. And Hope's name gets some double meanings on stuff. Also also Grace's name also works with me wanting him to have kept his birthname, since it's reasonably masculine but still is a traditionally feminine name.

For the last names of Gabriel and Clement I didn't think much, for Gabi I wanted something slightly french sounding so I went with Charlet, and with Clement I wanted a very in your face regal sounding last name, so Clement Victorio it was (though I considered Victori for a moment)

I do have one character in the story that I haven't shown yet but his name is Manuel Dianthus. I came up with the last name first because its part of the scientific name for carnations, which are mourning flowers. And Manuel came because I had Manny as a nickname stuck in my head and looked up what names use that as a nickname, and Manuel was my favorite of the bunch

(I do also have a soft spot for Raphael since that was the old name Seth had, who is one of my oldest ocs and I always loved that name and wanted to use it somewhere)

Hope this helps!