#kudos if you get the refs

[pinceauarcenciel]

What lies behind the legend: Theatre edition ✨🎭

Full piece for Ipse Facto, the @phoenixwrightzine ⚖️

🌻 Leftover sales and Reprints Preorders are open until April 22! 🌻

※ Fanart: Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban) © Shu Takumi/ Capcom

[lunareel]

I don't know if you already answered something similar but here goes

In your Count AU you mentioned that Mario would often go adventuring. Does he ever get homesick and does ever bring something back as a souvenir or as a gift?

Does he always go alone or does he bring someone along sometimes?

He does get homesick occasionally. After some adventures he will usually visit his parents or drop by Luigi's house. For Rosalina he usually tries to visit her while she is touring.

I would say it depends on the adventures of whether or not he has company.

And if he finds something he thinks one of them will like he will definitely grab it for them!

For example, for Luigi he keeps an eye out for any shiny stones or extra shiny stones.

[felassan]

What's all this about Solas speaking in iambic pentameter? English isn't my first language so I never noticed anything odd about the way he talks, but your blog is the first time I've seen it mentioned by anyone

hello! ◕‿◕ Solas sometimes speaks in a specific pattern or rhythm. It sometimes gets described as or compared by people to iambic pentameter. (which is a type of rhythm common in traditional English poetry. Shakespeare used it in his sonnets and plays.) Though, I'm not sure that it's actually literally that or always that. The main point is that at those times, he's speaking particularly poetically, with a specific poetic rhythm in his speech. (Like where the stress on syllables is and the 'beats' in his speech.) Occasionally, the Inquisitor's dialogue line[s] in response to him are the same.

When Trick Weekes wrote Solas in DA:I, they wrote some of his key scenes to KD Lang's cover of the song Hallelujah on a loop. They talked about some of their process and the reasons for the use of this technique in terms of Solas' characterization in this DA:I-era blog post:

Trick Weekes: "When Solas talks about things that he saw in the Fade, things that speak to a distant past, I needed him to sound ever so slightly otherworldly and wistful – someone remembering a dream with a sense of both sadness and inevitability. If you follow [that link] and look at some of Solas’s lines, you may notice a familiar rhythm come out. It would have been forcing it to give lines the same rhyme scheme, but giving the words the meter captured some of that wistfulness and made Solas sound ever so slightly otherworldly. (In the rare cases the player got into the same rhythm, there was always an approval bump from Solas. For that brief period, it was like the player was thinking like he did.) I used this a few times over the game, and I love what it did to his voice. Also, Cori (who edited Solas) is exceedingly kind for putting up with my request that changes to those lines keep this surreptitious rhythm."

[source]

An example of when it happens in DA:I is:

"I've journeyed deep into the Fade // in ancient ruins and battlefields // to see the dreams of lost civilizations. I've watched as hosts of spirits clash // to reenact the bloody past // in ancient wars both famous and forgotten. Every great war // has its heroes. // I'm just curious // what kind you'll be."

Compare this with the song's lyrics:

"I heard there was a secret chord // That David played, and it pleased the Lord // You don't really care for music, do ya? Well it goes like this: The fourth, the fifth // The minor fall, the major lift // The baffled king composing Hallelujah Hallelujah // Hallelujah // Hallelujah // Hallelujah"

An example from Trespasser is:

"I lay in dark and dreaming sleep [I heard there was a secret chord] while countless wars and ages passed [That David played, and it pleased the Lord] I woke still weak a year before I joined you. [You don't really care for music, do ya?]" etc.

Recent mentions of this are:

Q. Will Solas still occasionally or dramatically speak in iambic pentameter? A. “Massive kudos to Patrick, who always writes Solas so well. Again, Solas is a returning character. It’s the same Solas you know and love (or hate depending on who you are). The same writer. So I think the answer is yeah, it’s Solas.” – John Epler

[source: BioWare dev Discord Q&A on June 14th]

User: "you really went off with solas. but the iambic pentameter makes writing fanfic dialogue for him so treacherous..." Trick Weekes: "It doesn't always have to be in the cadence! Just when he's deeply feeling The Old Days! He's written in standard prose 99% of the time!"

[source]

I think he does it a bit in the gameplay reveal video [Veil ripping scene with Varric] too. hope this helps :>

[msg refs this post]

[For the developer Q&A from June 14th on Discord: Notes are here, re-watch link is here]

[bishoptheboy]

NARUTO Shinobi days: Coming home to a surprise guest (?) Part 6

(Mini Comic: ⚠️ 4 parts *a little long scroll*)

"It does get to me..."

Sasuke never got to drink his water in the end.

.

.

<I am currently re-reading Naruto and I just love Sasuke's inner thoughts about Naruto. It is always profound and deep. I immediately got struck with inspiration, and I thought it is best to deliver it through a little comic. Planning it was the tough one, it ain't easy at all (kudos to all comic artists out there), and I ain't no writer so I had to discuss with my brother on certain things.

It end up kinda long (?) But I hope it turned out at least decent! And also, at the end of the manga when Sasuke cries, that could've been the perfect time to kiss him (but well they can't even move lol). AND ALSO, I just want to draw them cuddling. So, this is just indulging myself..

(also...hopefully people will notice the line "it does get to me" is a ref from something 👀)

Thank you for reading! 🙇

Edit: please ignore the left arm manifestation bec I am an idiot>

[midnight-mourning]

1000 kudos/100 Follower Special!

wow so um, there’s a LOT of you now

👀👀👀

WHERE DID Y'ALL EVEN COME FROM LIKE?? HI!! 👋👋👋

AND ALSO

THIS???? CRAZY, incredibly appreciated <3 but also wild

anyway, I think that deserves celebrating! So, here’s a couple ideas I came up with for y’all to vote on, with the option of sharing other ideas in the comments, I’ll do the top two and save the others for the next milestone :)

If the 'other' option gets the most/second most votes, I'll do another poll with ideas that people suggested and we'll go from there. You can scroll down and click the read more if you'd like more info on each option! SO, having said all that:

Letting you guys make the call with this one! I have stuff prepped for all of it, just a matter of people voting since this is ME showing my appreciation to YOU. And again, next milestone will have the opportunity for the other choices :)

Also, this isn't just for followers/the moots either! Anyone is welcome to vote and participate if they'd like to 💙💙

Please also feel free to ask questions in the comments if that helps you with voting! Can't wait to see what you guys pick :D

I will expand on each option here for clarity in your decision making:

CS one-shot: I will write a one-shot (3,000-5,000 words prob) based in the CS universe. It will be canon to the fic but will never be mentioned/referenced in the fic itself so stand alone to read. It may be a future scene, may be based somewhere in the current timeline. Open to ideas on the POV and such (though I have some floating around that I can do ;))

Q&A/Ask the Cast: a classic, I know my ask box is open but here's also a clear chance to ask something that you've been really curious about! I won't share spoilers for the story, but everything else is on the table, including stuff about me, writing etc. Just no super personal questions is all! Additionally, you can ask the cast questions and answers will be in character, perhaps with a little doodle as well ^-^

Finished refs/busts for the cast of CS: I'll post the finished versions of the rough sketches I shared a few months ago, along with the remainder of the cast! This includes the rest of the engineering team, the division heads, the glamrocks, and the DCA! I also will include little blurbs for all the characters as well. This will probably happen eventually anyway BUT if you want them sooner rather than later this is you're chance if you're curious :)

Spooky Season one-shot: something halloween-related that again I'm open to ideas for! Would also be about 3,000-5,000 words in length, could be related to CS or not

Writing Requests: similar to the requests I did for reveal day, same rules apply (no nsfw, suggestive is fine, be specific if you want specific) but a little longer in length (500-1000 words)

Doodle requests: I provide you with a little drawing I made with tender love and care (would be lined, colored, shaded, etc.)

A peek into the drafts: I do in fact have a couple other fic ideas floating around in my brain that I simply haven't started so that I don't get bogged down/focus on CS. I would share those and a little bit of concept art

Other: explained above

[jyang030107]

You are the space that’s in between,

Every page, every chord and every screen.

Again, kudos if you recognize the song!

Also would anyone be interested in this as a print ?

Without photo format ver. ⬇️

Pushing myself to finish art 🫠

It’s not as polished as I wanted but I just need to force myself to get to this stage more often before I can talk about having more polished finished works…

ref:

[anonymous-dentist]

Honestly idc about the Tallulah vs Sunny vs Leo babyfight going on because, really, that kind of stuff is just what little girls do.

I work in childcare professionally and seasonally- specifically with 9-10 year olds- and it’s gotten to the point where my higher-ups ended up telling everyone that it isn’t our job to sort out the Little Girl Drama because it happens so often! At least once a day we have at least one group of girls have a dramatic friendship argument that will drastically shape their lives forever, and then they’re best friends again the next day. Little girls can be full of such hatred that is only ever seen otherwise in angry NFL fans after a bad ref call, it’s INSANE.

So Tallulah and Sunny not getting along? And Tallulah actually being pretty mature for a little girl and being all “We can’t be friends yet, but maybe in the future when I’m in a better place” and seemingly working on herself and her problems before tackling the Sunny Problem? That’s chill, 10x more mature than the way the girls at work can be

Leo and Sunny not getting along? Now that’s realistic. Sometimes kids just don’t like each other. You can’t force people to be friends, children included. Doing that just makes the kids hate each other more, especially when one of the kids is as traumatized and depressed as Leo is.

And then both Tallulah and Leo hanging with Empanada and Pepito but not with Sunny? Again, that’s normal for little kids, especially considering how both Tallulah and Leo may have seen/are currently seeing Sunny as an antagonistic force.

Sure, it makes sense that Sunny is hurt by all this, and that’s when an adult figure should step in: when the kid starts to cry and act out aggressively. She’s in a bad situation here, but so is Leo. Sunny fans have gotta start considering Leo’s pov and stop insulting her and her admin, and so on.

If this entire scenario was happening in a school?

Leo and Sunny would be kept apart at all times. Different tables, desks, whatever the classroom uses. Don’t pair them up for activities, and keep them across the room from each other. They don’t get an option in this because of how they antagonize each other.

Tallulah, though, would probably get an option. She’d be allowed to play with Sunny during recess or gym time if she and Sunny can both promise to play nice, and they might even be allowed to eat lunch together depending on how their behavior’s been that day. This is because of the open communication these two kinda have going on; Little Girl Drama isn’t always a constant, sometimes there’s moments of peace within.

This is all to say: this babyfight stuff is awesome because it’s the single most realistic depiction of Little Girl Drama/Friendship I’ve seen in my LIFE, and I’m saying this as someone who works in childcare for a living who has had to deal with Little Girl Drama for years at this point. It’s actually super impressive!! Kudos to the admins, they’re doing great!!!

[max05nb]

Day 19:

(masterpost)

Here's Scott redesign/my take on his design, Unlike El's this one is actually quite different than the card design, I took a lot of inspo from Pinterest necromancers and other artist who drawn his design, I tried to combine elements from everything to make it mine, hope you guy love it as much as I!

There was a lot of experimenting with him (I figured out the shocking fact that he in fact doesn't have straight hair most likely) and the pose do not make sense (Idk what I was thinking) but I'm happy with the results!

I included more color variety, white lilies on the hat representing Milo and I kinda made the belt have eyes, idk if you can see it or nah

He also has his little gecko friend! That I kid you not spent at least half an hour searching for his name just to come up empty handed... Did he not name them?? Did I just miss it?? Idk

Just to show how smart decision go into these, the reason why he doesn't have the Loincloth (I spent 10 minutes looking for the name of it) is because it's annoying to draw in a siting position. Specifically in the sitting position I usually draw him. Yeah that's it I'm just to lazy to figure out gravity so nahh

Also you see how my designs lack patterns that were my favorite parts from the card designs? Yeah I'm just too lazy to draw them, I know, not very cutesy nor demure of me '^'

Random add ons: I added a another skull, now he has a skull on his hat. Couldn't decide on nose, went with how I'm feeling at the time of drawing. I drawn the wand that turns him into a ghost and drawn two options for a broom, I went with the second opinion btw. I can't get over the fact not even his is straight, the skin has a hair style much closer to wavy almost definitely not straight like how I thought. Should have known, Scott is as close to straight as a circle.

I was debating his earrings a lot, I wanted him to have multiple but couldn't figure out what type. Btw here's lore I made up on a wimp he definitely got his earrings from Milo and never takes them off because of that as it was a gift for his birthday or something. This is now canon to the comic I'm making. Was it important not? But I'm writing this post at 1am because I procrastinate.

He would make it into Edna's nightmares from Incredibles with all the lose fabric he has on most possible designs, he even got a cape in the final one, he's asking to be suck into a plane propellers.

Making this design also made me discover a new artist, so funny story, my phone was broken so I couldn't really use it to listen to music so I used my sister's laptop, I also used that for ref pic btw, and the laptop is logged into her account. I didn't want to mess up her YouTube history and was too lazy to log in the try to log out of my Google account so I opened up incognito, I typed in YouTube and searched "necromancer playlist" and let the ai do it's thing. I'm not kidding when I say this, you can check it for yourself, the second playlist is literally called "playlist for the non binary necromancers" like it was made for me specifically xd Btw really good compilation kudos to whoever made it! Anyway the new artist I found is Bear Ghost, specifically recommend Necromancin dancin and Starkiller.

[thinkingaboutfilm11]

(Do you dream about being Interlinked?) Interlinked.

PROSENNA FIC DROPPED!!! FINALLY!!!

Word Count: 45K

Chapters: 2

Summary: A retelling of the 1988 season, focusing on how Alain's and Ayrton's relationship spiraled into something neither of them could resist, or control.

I spent three fucking months on this piece of shit so.... I hope its been worth the hype. Please do check the tags before reading!!!

(Kudos to anyone who gets the Bladerunner ref in the title hehe)

[marley-manson]

I'm very fond of Coming Home despite how awkwardly silly it can be at times.

Going with the obvious assumption that the furies voice your own deep-seated desires/insecurities to fuck with you, because that's how things like this work in fiction, Ares' interactions with them are so good. The way fury!Xena mocks him for his vulnerability as a mortal and plays on the fact that he is legitimately, physically scared of her. "You were barely a match for me as a god," as his own fears voiced is such good shit. And he demonstratably was! Ares' only advantage against Xena as a god was his ability to teleport away lol.

Also I love when fury!Xena first walks in and we don't know it's not the real Xena yet, and she starts off perfectly in character but still playing on that insecurity, joking about Ares needing her to rescue him from a fly.

His like, screaming teary breakdowns with the real Xena are also delightful. Love how pathetic he is, love the "You don't bring me flowers anymore," ref, LOVE him calling her mean while she's goading him into killing her. It's such good phrasing, childish but earnest. This ep has me going "aw, Ares" a lot lol.

Bold plot of Xena's, to die for a minute for him, but he did do them a huge solid lol and it's pointed out early on how much they owe him, so I get it. The chakram hitting the furies after she dies, like 5 solid minutes after she threw it was ridiculous but so fun lmao, silently cheered at that.

Loved the Dumb and Dumber ref a little less lol but Ares' "ow" when Xena gives him a pity goodbye kiss was perfect.

In other news, Eve/Varia real, and this is one of the few eps where Eve's characterization is like, good lol, so I appreciate that too. The way she gets caught up in the boasting competition with Varia and brags about destroying an entire village... god I would've loved to see her evil side come out more. Shake off some of that christian brainwashing and find yourself somewhere in the middle, girl.

Also lol I read an interview with the writer (Melissa Good, the ascended x/g bnf) and she mentioned that she didn't deliberately write x/g subtext into her episodes because she was being a team player and didn't want to look like she was catering to her own tastes, but it ended up in them anyway while filming lol. And I do gotta wonder if she played up the Eve/Varia vibes instead. Kudos if so, and if it's another thing that just happened on set, kudos to the actors.

[angelgendered]

I finally got around to doing the Temporary Visuals for the D&D AU/Omens & Dragons thing I'm working on. I will say this with a huge couple of caveats, these are still based on Show Omens. The faces in the refs are just like an 'as close as i can get' approximation in BG3 until I get some art commissioned for the AU (which I am in touch with someone for, and don't worry if that's you, I haven't forgotten!! Just been working on these for ages lmao). Their body types are also all wrong - Crowley is scrawny and sinewy, and Aziraphale is chubby and stout; These will do as palceholders and first instance references though, I guess? They're mostly refs for the artist to use alongside the Show Omens lovely's faces and their body types a bit, as well as a wordy description of the bits I can't do/get in BG3.

(I'm admittedly trying to get some hype behind this AU because I'm so excited for it and like. I feel like it's tioo niche lol... I feel like no one is gonna enjoy this but myself honestly but hey, if I get even one view or Kudos I'll be happy cos it means at least SOMEONE enjoyed it!)

[chromatic-lamina]

Any number you haven't yet answered but want to for the writer ask meme!

Heh-heh! Great ask ❤️

26. Would you rather write a fic that had no dialogue or one that was only dialogue? One with no dialogue, because I can always throw in reported speech and thought processes. Takes a particular skill to make a fic that is all dialogue authentic and interesting.

28. Does anyone read your fics before you post them? If so, who? Sometimes. I won't name 'em cos' I don't want to clutter up their notifications, but especially for exchanges, or if I've used someone's art (with permission) as inspiration, or for zines, etc.

37. Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it? Okay, I guess the most recent is valuta from the Corazine (aftersales almost finished, but that's just an aside). I thought I did a pretty good job on portraying what the Donquixote brothers went through, also Cora's relationship with Sengoku and Law, and then Law with Sengoku, but maybe it was too much for the word count. It got very little interaction in the way of comments, at least. I like the KidLaw fics I did for the 2022 exchange and for the OP secret santa that year, but they remain two of my least popular fics (in terms of hits).

I like valuta for story parallels (Cora and Doffy, Law and Lami, etc.). I like the KidLaw fics because they make me laugh.

38. Did any of your fics get surprisingly popular (whatever that means to you)? Which ones? Why do you think they were so successful? Yeah. I think I've answered this before, and it's not massively popular compared to some fandom behemoths, but the Usopp vs the Heart Pirates fic: Dark like the North Blue Sea (aka The Sea-Hill you Die On) . I think it grew in popularity because it's canon compliant (also, maybe funny). Once a fic gets a certain number of kudos or hits too, it feeds its popularity growth, because people sort by kudos and hits, so all those hidden gems remain hidden! I'm happy that people enjoy it though!

43. If you take/write prompts: what’s your favorite prompt fic that you’ve written? Probably the one that @afterdeck-ace gave me of: Chopper and Law talking about courage or Jolly Rogers. They're talking about both in softening the fall of snow. That's followed or on par with screen / shiki-e, which was inspired by a tsute doodle. You can see the doodle and links to tsute's art on the AO3 page.

47. If [taxi] was a pair of shoes, what kind would it be? Describe the shoes.

Her jeans cost more than his weekly pay, hell — monthly— and her sneakers were scuffed and used in a way that hid or emphasised their one-of-a-kind design. Pretty cool. A red tonbo — dragonfly — from what he could see, stretched from the toe, its thorax and segmented body running along one side of the shoe, a blue chrysanthemum and pond reeds rising from the heel and undulating in the air below the insect.

I used a ref for that, but can't remember where I sourced it from.

I changed a few things, and the maker's name is on the jpg, fortunately!

48. What’s the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?

Yes! I recommend it: Ours lives like sand in the gears of the world by @afterdeck-ace (Lily_Amazon). A platonic Law & Robin ficlet that explores the parallels and differences between them so well.

Also, a quick but satisfying read (sounds like Borsalino's possible reflection on Akainu) with this fic, In The Dappled Sun. Lemon mentioned (tumblr's being silly with throwing out community settings left, right and centre, so sorry for the return to FFN vocab). Fic author @kookoofufu

Am continuing to read saltyrock's It Takes a Lot to Know a Man but haven't read the latest chapter yet. LawBin and CrocoBin. Endgame LawBin.

There's a lot of good stuff out there, and so little time!

[rambird12]

Non lethal fight entertainment for the Pharaoh

Kudos if you get the ref

[lipglossanon]

i’ve been wondering this for a while about The Leon’s™️ but specifically about dark stepdad leon cause it seems like his thing and not the others,,, so do you think dark stepdad leon would set readers mom up with a work friend of his so she’s gone and he gets to have the reader alone more often because he’s still in control the situation (if he wasn’t he would probably have a panic attack) and viola mom problem pushed aside and him not feeling obligated to play her husband????

Hi anon! 👋

I’ve been thinking of something along these lines for OG stepdad funny enough!

As for dark stepdad, I’m really torn with going dark dark unhinged (aka murderdeathkill for the mom) or getting her to leave him for someone else 🤣

(And kudos to those who get the murder death kill ref 😂)

[midnight-mourning]

1000 Kudos/100 Followers Special Winner!

Well there's only 47 minutes left on the poll, so unless something drastic happens between then and now these are your results!

You all will be recieving a Confused Spirit one-shot (3000-5000 words) & finished refs/busts for the cast of CS!!

🎉🎉🎉

Thank you to everyone who participated, and thank you for all the love <3 <3 <3

Now, moving forward, have some bullet points bc they read better:

given the amount of things I've got going on currently, it'll take me a lil bit of time to get things out to y'all.

My goal is to have the one-shot posted sometime around the end of the month.

I know that's awhile but besides grad stuff I'm currently doing two challenges (finishing my drawing one and promptober), I have SS stuff to work on, and Confused spirit chapters to write

With the refs/bust however, I intend to have the DCA refs by the end of this week.

With the others, I'll probably be batch posting throughout the month, and will have a master post with all the refs/busts made by the end of the month.

For the oneshot, I have a couple ideas floating around for possibilities

BUT I am very much open to anything YOU all would like to see, so please, if you have anything in particular that you'd be interested in, feel free to share in the comments of this post. Pretty much anything is on the table, besides POV things (see below)

Again, this will be canon, but never referenced in Confused Spirit itself

I'm also open to ideas for the POV, however regarding Sun & Moon I won't be doing anything where you can directly understand what's happening behind the scenes (mainly for spoiler reasons), third person regarding them is allowed though, if that makes sense

Think that's everything, look forward to seeing y'all ideas and to also start sharing refs! Thank you all again!!

[writefightandflightclub]

Im kinda obsessed with the idea of marc or santi having a professional soccer player boyfriend/partner. They'd be so supportive and come to all your games and help you practice. Thanks world cup for the inspiration

Omg! Thank you for sharing this headcanon with me, Anon! I am now picturing Santiago in a full soccer kit and so thank you also for that glorious mental image 🥵. God. It just works on him.

Also, I can totally see this for him and I think they would be SO perfect together! 🥹

I wrote a very quick blurb/one-shot of Santi x Masc!Soccer player!Reader below. (I hope that’s okay? I know you didn’t technically ask me to write anything but I was CONSUMED by the idea of these two and I think they might even be soulmates so there! 😝)

Please be warned it is 18+ so please do NOT read or interact with this if you are a minor.

On the defensive: Santiago “Pope” Garcia x masc!soccer player!reader

Summary: Commitment-averse Santiago Garcia never expected to fall for a soccer player. But there’s something about it that just makes sense.

Genre: it does include recurring sexual themes but it is largely fluffy.

Author’s note: Can safely say this is something that never would have occurred to me to write without your amazing idea, anon, so kudos to you! (Written very quickly so almost certainly typos and likely a bit scrappy.)

Reader: he/him pronouns used and masc word endings in Spanish. No anatomical descriptions (implied penis-owner but enough scope for interpretation and never stated explicitly), use of traditionally masc terms like boyfriend, fella, handsome etc. in ref to reader.

Warnings: flirtatious chat/innuendo, recurring mentions of oral sex, mentions of arousal etc., making out (I couldn’t help it they’re so into each other!) Established relationship. Alcohol mentions. Mentions of prior leg injury (no details).

Gif by @vera-kozhemiakina

“Whyyyy, Tío Santi?” Frankie’s little daughter mewls whilst clinging on to her favourite honorary Uncle’s leg. “Why you have to gooooo?”

Santi’s heart cleaves in two as he watches the crocodile tears bead in her big brown eyes as he prepares to depart. He smiles at the display of affection and reaches to fondly muss her hair. “Because your second favourite Uncle��� -he chuckles to himself even if you’re not there to hear the dig- “has a game today, sweetie, and I need to be there.”

“Whyyy?” Her bottom lip juts out, and he can see her teetering on the edge of a tantrum; but Santi manages to bring it back.

He crouches before her, coming to eye-level, and takes her little hands firmly in his.

“Because I love him and so I want to be there to cheer him on. But,” -he gently tickles her tummy and she giggles chaotically - “we’ll both come over next weekend. Take you and Budweiser for milkshake. We got a deal, Princesita?”

Santi cracks an encouraging grin as she mulls it over, and he can see the cogs turning. Her eyes tick over to the couch where Budweiser lays - her favourite plushie, gifted by Benny - so named “because it’s Uncle Benny’s word. He says it alllllll the tiiiime.”. Frankie had been mortified at first to have his kid shouting “Budweiser!” in the park, but he had slowly caved to his girl’s insistence that since the naming ceremony was now concluded, there was nothing else for it but to get on board, stat. He had.

“Okay,” she nods suddenly, the crocodile tears drying as quickly as they had arrived. She sticks her little thumb in the air. “Deal.”

Deepening crinkles radiate from out of the corner of Santiago’s eyes, and his smile turns all gummy. “Deal.”

Immediately, she gives Tío Santi a peck right in the middle of his forehead, being very careful to avoid “alll the scratchy bits” on his face, and then within moments she is playing again, his pending absence now oh so happily forgotten.

When Santi unfurls himself from the floor a moment later, replete with some groaning and cricking knees, Frankie is approaching from across the room for a farewell hug.

“How did you manage to get something so cute from this,” Santi ribs, gesturing up and down the length of Frankie with his hand.

That earns a chuckle from the girl’s mom - Frankie’s wife, Charlotte - who is currently sat in the easy chair with her feet up. She smooths a hand over her heavily pregnant belly, and Frankie gets that melted chocolate look in his eyes again.

“She’s all her mama,” Frankie gushes, and the pair exchange a soppy smile, Charlotte’s eyes equally aglow with love.

The display would have made Santi uncomfortable at one stage. He’d typically have cracked some joke or made some comment.

Deep down, his disdain for such overt affection - he now realises- was a result of him being on the defensive. Constantly. And that, was a result of him believing that he’d never have anything even approaching that level of bliss. That he didn’t, in fact, even deserve it.

But, that was all before you.

Santi only has to think about you in this moment and his eyes mist over instantly with the glossy veneer of love. He’s head over heels for you, honestly. It had all happened so fast.

“Your beautiful fella all set for the game, Santiago?” Charlotte asks from her position on the chair as he scoops up his ball cap and keys from the coffee table.

Your team’s logo is emblazoned on the front and he’s in your home colours today. Santiago certainly doesn’t do things by halves; although, he is still in jeans, and you’ve been trying to convince him to go for the shorts and knee socks combo for a good while now.

Maybe soon he’d finally cave. He’s a soft touch for you.

Coming back to the room, Santiago feels a flurry of nerves flutter in his belly along with Charlotte’s question. “Holy...” -he mouths the word “shit” so as not to swear in front of the little one. “I’m so nervous for him. It’s the first game since the injury and Christ… he’s worked so hard.”

Santi just wants it to go well for you. Wants you to have everything you want, in fact. He’s still bemused by the fact what you want seems to be him, but he’s certainly not going to argue with that.

“Look at you,” Frankie sing-songs, patting his buddy on the shoulder, a bright smile cracking his face.

“What?” Santi responds, and old habits die hard, he guesses. He can feel tension zip through his body. He’s instantly on the defensive. He awaits teasing. Some comment about how he’s sappy or whipped or whatever. It doesn’t come.

“It’s nice,” Frankie clarifies. “It’s nice how you support each other.”

Santi feels a flush of heat rush to his cheeks then. It surprised him how much pride he takes in that. In his buddy noticing how well you two complement one another. “Yeah,” he admits, and finds it is easier than he thought it would be to do so. “Yeah. It is good. Really good.”

God knows you’d been there for him. The knee surgery. Nursing him back to health. Helping him adjust to life out of the military. You’d made it all so… easy, despite all of his well-cultivated, super gnarly defences.

Santi had never expected to fall for you quite so hard and so fast when he’d found you. But in the end, it just makes sense. It works, you and him. It fits.

Your training schedule is militaristic and disciplined with lots of early mornings - things he’s used to. The travelling too, when you’re away for games, means that Santi doesn’t feel too pinned down. Means it isn’t as much of a problem if he has to jump on a plane to do some consulting. The whole team mentality is very familiar to him as well. You’d both come as a package deal - with a ready made squad - and it had all pieced together so readily.

(That, and there’s freaking hot you look in your soccer kit. You make his goddamn creaky knees go weak. Make them shake.)

But, it’s so much more than the ease with which you fit into Santiago’s life. It’s the ease with which you fit into his heart. That had been the most astounding thing of all.

It was as though he’d been keeping a vacant part of his heart warm for you his whole life - just waiting for you to show up. You had bipassed every one of his defences. You had made a home in his chest. And the craziest thing is, he didn’t even mind.

He wanted it. He wanted you.

Carrying a happiness in his chest, Santi wishes fond farewells to the Morales-Baker household -Budweiser included- and he jumps in his truck. Then, after a short drive and with military punctuality, he arrives at the stadium. At this time, only the keenest of fans have begun filtering into the stands. Well, he guesses he’s the keenest. He doesn’t want to miss a thing when it comes to you.

He filters to his assigned seat -as close as he can get without being literally on the sidelines - he doesn’t want to intrude too much - and whips out his phone, idly thinking about you getting your kit on in the locker rooms. Pulling those socks up your calves. He enjoys the thought.

Santi always texts you. Reliably, always 30 minutes before game time. And you are always waiting for it.

“Good luck, mi amor. Remember, if you win I’ll give you the best oral of your life later.”

You type back immediately. Santi knows his window of opportunity is short; and he never misses it. “Oh damn 🤤. And if I lose?”

“Same deal.” He can’t say no to you.

“I think you got confused, hun. Then where’s the incentive? 🤨”

“Okay. If you win, I’ll do it again and again until you can’t think straight.”

“Hnnng. Oh god stop. You know how thin these shorts are. Don’t you dare get me too worked up now!” You fire through another message in quick succession. “Babe, coach wants everyone out on the pitch in 5. Not got long. You be okay in the stands? Ayo hooked you up with those seats, yeh?”

“Don’t you worry about me. Focus on the game. You’re going to be amazing. You’ve worked so hard and it’s going to pay off.”

“Hilarious. If you want me to F O C U S, honey, you really shouldn’t have mentioned that hot little mouth of yours. 😈

“Oops.”

“Well, just know if I score that I was extra motivated by the promise of that tongue. (Don’t tell the coach 🤪.)”

“Cause then everyone will want a turn?”

“Nuh UH. You’re mine. All mine. Santiago.”

There it is again. That sense of pride blooming in the pit of him because you called him yours. It makes him feel so good. “Damn right I am.”

“And baby? Thank you for being here. I love you xxx”

Santi thinks back. To how nervous you had been this morning. How he had tried to calm you with sweet kisses and a slow release, high-energy breakfast. With words of encouragement. You’d tried to play it off, but he could tell the nerves were eating you up. He types back. “I love you. Where else would I be?” It’s funny really. Hilarious. Because with anyone else, he’d always had somewhere else to be. Somewhere else to run to.

With you, he simply wanted to stay.

Another message from you pings up on the screen. “Oh wait, there’s one more thing.”

It’s a picture message and Santiago pops it out, curling his hand around the screen to obscure the positively obscene image - a down the shorts shot of you showing him just how aroused he’d got you.

Christ you look good. Sudden, throbbing warmth rushes to his crotch and the sight of you like that makes him fucking blush. No-one has ever been able to do that to him besides you, his tan cheeks turning a deep shade of crimson.

“Holy fucking Christ, cariño. What’s that for?”

“That’s your motivation 😉”

He laughs to himself in surprise. Like he needed any scrap of motivation to want you. It’s effortless. Damn - not that he’s complaining about this visual feast. Not in the slightest.

He takes a deep breath though. Gets himself under control so he’s not like acting like a fucking pervert by the time your boots hit the turf and the stands have filled up.

He distracts himself. Takes a while to pore through some dry division stats on his phone, committing them to memory. He knows just about everything there is to know by this point. All the player stats. All the transfers and deals and subs.

In truth, Santi never really was a soccer guy - he always preferred baseball - but he is most certainly a You guy. And so, it was inevitable. What matters to you, now matters to him too.

Your successes feel like his successes. Your failures are his failures.

He helps you schedule your training. Goes for a kick around with you on a Sunday morning, even though he sucks ass. He accommodates all your early starts. Doesn’t moan when you miss little things when the season is in full swing.

He admires how driven you are. How dedicated. It’s super attractive to him. And plus… on top of all that. Have you seen you in your kit on game day? Running around getting all sweaty like that. Your shirt being torn at. The way it rides up and shows your appealing stomach. The way you douse yourself in water from the sports bottle and let it cascade down your face, mouth open for it. Watching you do your stretches? Damn, your cute butt in those shorts is everything. And those fucking socks. Those godforsaken socks, which drive Santi to distraction. Especially when you wear nothing but them. Especially when you leave nothing but your socks on while he-

-Anyway. He was meant to be focussing, wasn’t he?

He realises just about in time too.

He watches you and the other players all file out, go through the ceremonial bits and pieces, and take your positions as the opposing side’s players frame the centre spot for kick-off.

He doesn’t miss a thing. He cheers you on. Commiserates when the other team gains ground. He joins in with the chanting, when it’s going well. When it isn’t he just stands there all intense, arms folded and laser focussed on everything you’ve talked him through. Form, tactics, all of it.

His heart is in his mouth as you find an opening and pace it the length of half the pitch with the ball, unchallenged. This could be it. He hides behind his hands as you lob your shot in past the defender and the goalie, and he jumps up out of his seat, throwing his arms into the air and yelling jubilantly when your shot sinks into the back of the net.

It’s a fucking friendly match. It’s not even a qualifier or anything, but Santi doesn’t care about any of that. He only cares about you.

“Did you just win $100 or something,” the woman next to Santi in the stand asks as his overblown celebration dials down.

“No,” he grins. “No - that’s my boyfriend,” he says breathlessly, bursting with pride and relief.

“The goal scorer?” she asks.

“That’s him.”

She looks over at you as you do your traditional celebratory display. She pumps her eyebrows. “Congratulations.”

Santiago can’t stop smiling.

He’s into it. He’s invested.

He feels every collision in his body. Every near miss, every chance, every tackle, every triumph. The thud of the ball could be his heartbeat, as loud as it is thudding in his chest.

He’s there for every minute of it. He’s there for you.

The 90 minutes runs their course, eventually, and your team valiantly holds the 1-0 victory right through until the final whistle. It’s a success!

You sub out for the last 10 minutes and your team holds the defensive position, just keeping the clock ticking over. He’s pleased you came off. He’d made you promise not to push your newly healed injury too hard today. To leave a little in the tank.

By the time the victory is official, Santiago is beaming with happiness. He knows you’ll be thrilled by the outcome. Knows it will be a huge relief and a huge confidence boost for you too, after everything you’ve been through these past few months.

So, by the time the game is wrapped up and Santi filters down through the tunnels and into the interior of the stadium, his heart is racing.

It’s racing from the adrenalin of the game, but also in anticipation of seeing you.

You meet him at your usual spot, in the disused locker room come equipment store. He’s somehow wangled a special pass to wait here, and it’s always deserted. He relishes these stolen post-game moments alone with you. Today especially, he’s looking forward to it.

Santi takes his hat off and ruffles his curls for good measure to tidy them up. He hoists the waist on his snug jeans up and discards his gum in the trash. Then, he waits, butterflies gently dancing in his stomach at the thought of seeing you.

As soon as he hears the door creak, the rusted up hinges signalling your arrival before he sees you, his face splits into a smile.

You smile back upon entering and it makes his heart race even faster. It’s the first time he’s seeing you since you kissed him goodbye early this morning, and it already feels far too long.

He takes you in. You’re all sweaty in your kit, damp with it everywhere, and covered in mud from slipping and sliding all over the turf. Your thighs are looking insanely hot in those shorts and socks, as per usual, all sheened from the exertion, and a pulse of arousal zips through Santi, right to his middle.

Still, what he wants most is to hold you, and the man bounds over to draws you into an enclosing hug, not even caring if his clothes get all soiled. He’s hardly precious about that - they’ll wash. “You were fucking amazing. I told you you would be!”

“I was pretty good, right? Ugh. That damn cross that hit the post though?” You’re always so hard on yourself, always pushing yourself to do more. He understands it, but Santiago just wants you to pause sometimes. To see how far you’ve come. How incredible you are.

“Cariño.” Santi intones softly, slipping his palm up to your face. Dips forward to kiss your soft lips. You hum into his kiss and it sends a shiver right down to his toes. “You were perfect.” You kiss him back, immediately attempting to deepen the kiss, but Santiago has other things on his mind. “That dipshit who dirty-tackled you in the 39th minute though? Fuckin”….” he grits his teeth and shakes his head. “I almost came down on the pitch to give him a piece of my mind.”

You laugh - a tired but bright sound. “Down boy,” you warn, kissing him again for good measure.

“How’s the quad holding up? We can get some heat packs on you if you need it?”

Santi inspects you carefully with soft, earnest eyes for any sign of harm. For any need for comfort, and his hands are ready and willing to provide it. The very same hands which he’d once thought were only good for killing, and which now he only wants to use to care for you.

He sees a red angry scrape on your knee then, and he has the overwhelming urge to bathe and dress it for you - a tender urge so intense that his fingers twitch by his sides like he’s desperate to pull the trigger on helping you.

“Mmmm. Sweetheart,” you purr, walking Santiago back until he is pressed up against the cool metal lockers, ensuring he adequately reads your intention now. “Stop worrying about me, would you, and come here. I just want to kiss you, darling.”

Santi stands there almost limp with lust and love as you move against him, dumbfounded by you. By the way your hands snake tenderly around the nape of his neck and his waist. By the way you dip forward to his mouth with a slight gasp of air as you part your lips. At the way your tender, hungry mouth moves against him, the taste and scent of exertion on you all too familiar from your long, carnal nights, endlessly exploring each other’s bodies. And, as your tongue probes his mouth in attempt to deepen the kiss, dragging deliciously along his lower lip, Santiago is gone.

An unfiltered moan spills from his lips -you drink it down- and a stone of molten desire sinks right through his middle, sending ripples thrumming out to every extremity.

He pants warm, ragged breath against your cheek. “Unnngggg. If you want me down, querido, you’re not doing a very good job of that.”

Your beautiful mouth curls into a smile, briefly, before your tongue licks into him again with quiet, steady vigour. “You’re such a horn dog.”

“For you, always.”

“Sounds like I should get you home, rightaway, huh?”

Santiago wraps his arms around your middle, his hands snaking beneath your synthetic shirt to find skin. He strokes back and forth there with his warm, broad hands, relieving a little of your tightness into the bargain. “Sure. But you certain you don’t want to go out celebrating with the guys?”

“I like the sound of your celebration a lot more.”

Santi could be selfish right now, but truly, he knows he’s a goner for you. He only wishes to make you as happy as possible tonight. Every night, actually. Hell, all of the time. “Hey. Why don’t we do both?”

“You’d do that? You don’t mind heading out for a few?”

“Of course I don’t mind,” he responds, his long-lashes eyes flitting ardently all over your face. “We’re a team, remember? Whatever you want.”

Santiago had thought he’d known what that meant for a long time. To be a part of a team. It turns out he still had a lot to learn, but he’d learned it all when he’d met you.

It feels good. Really good to be on your team.

You eye his mouth hungrily and Santiago deliberately pouts his lips, just a little, enjoying your attentions and the heat it trails down his spine - like a spoon dripping honey.

“Alright then, gorgeous. Let me go get turned around, okay? But first, just one more thing.” You kiss him again, pinning him just a little more harshly up against the lockers, delivering a deep, pleasantly wet kiss before nipping the pillow of his lower lip in between your teeth and dragging.

“Oof.”

That move gets him every time and boy do you know it.

You know everything there is to know about him, he thinks.

You know everything and remarkably, you’re still not running.

You’re still on his team.

And, after that kiss, Santiago so desperately wants to muster something dirty; but, looking at you like this, pride and love glowing in your eyes because he’s yours and you are his, he’s only got one thing. “I love you,” he pushes out, the words rising from a place deep in his gut. Full of feeling gathered on the way out.

With a soft, lilting smile you wrap his shapely jaw in one hand, grabbing him by his sandpaper chin and dragging his lips to yours all over again, this time for a far more tender kiss. “I fucking love you too, Santiago Garcia.”

Santiago feels ten feet tall.

He feels happy. Happier than he’s ever felt.

You turn from him, with a promise to be back - you’re somehow still not running - and Santiago can’t help but smile as his eyes follow you.

He can’t help but smile as he leans his head back against the lockers, the butterflies continuining to dance in the pit of his stomach. His heartbeat still quickened in his chest.

And, for the first time maybe ever… because of you, Santiago Garcia doesn’t feel like running.

With you, Santiago doesn’t feel trapped by love. Doesn’t feel scared by it. Dismissive of it. Undeserving of it.

He feels free. He feels brave. He feels worthy.

He feels sure. Now, more than ever. Indeed, he pats the ring box hidden in his jacket pocket for reassurance, and, to his satisfaction, it’s still there, ready for him to stash away in the dresser later. Until his plans for asking you to be his forever can materialise.

He’d never believed it. Never thought he could have what Frankie and Charlotte have. Never thought it would be possible for him. A family. A home. But with you? It all feels so easy.

You’d skipped past every single one of his defences, but now that he thinks about it, it just makes sense. After all, you do work offence. That is what you’re good at. Getting through.

“Unless…?” Santi calls as he watches you go, never quite able to resist your cute butt in those flimsy shorts. Never quite able to resist you.

You turn to find his lips curled into a delicious smirk, and he keeps your gaze on that hot mouth of his, his pink tongue dragging along his lower lip. “Unless what?”

“Unless you want me on my knees right here?”

He ticks up a thick eyebrow in suggestion.

You’re going to say “yes”, he’s sure of it.

To this, and to a life with him.

It just makes sense.

The two of you fit.

You lick your lips and he waits for it, but he isn’t afraid.

For once, he isn’t afraid.