#this one has been in my drafts since december i forgot it existed. have a very late oneshot ALDKAOFOKFKWJFEJ | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

brideofcthulhu10 · 5 years ago

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Behold another Lost Boys holiday special! It was between this and Valentine’s day, but honestly I love writing Christmas specials, its such a cozy time despite the high suicide rates, but lets not get into that. A BIG SHOUT OUT TO @imlostinsantacarla FOR HELPING ME EDIT MY FINAL DRAFT!

Fun Fact! My husband, David (yes, that is actually his name) actually does have the bah humbug hat I mention in the head canons. He’s a heavy metal goth so when I found it at the store I had to get it for him. And you just know if our David found that, he wouldn’t be able to resist it!

Christmas with the Boys

Alright, so the whole touchy, feely and mushy feelings that surround even the topic of Christmas time is not something any of the boys will ever openly admit to enjoying. After all, they see themselves as these bad ass brutal killers who thrive off of death instead of holding hands and caroling with the goodie goodies of this coastal town.

Yet, it's challenging for them not to get sucked into the glitz and glam of the holiday season. Everything is a big deal in Santa Carla. Dia De Los Muertos, Halloween, Thanksgiving- everything! But especially Christmas.

Christmas in Santa Carla dwarfs the frenzy craze of Halloween. The entirety of the boardwalk is decked out with red and green lights that are tightly wound around palm trees, red bulbous bows are wrapped tightly around street lamps, the reds and whites of velvety fabric swirl down the posts, creating the effect of candy canes. All the store windows are painted to appear frosted, or covered with painted snowmen whilst several rooftops are covered with white felt in which mimics the texture and sight of snow. Even the boats in the harbour are all extravagantly decorated in a sea of lights that parade around brightly at night in every color imaginable.

Between the dates of the 30th of November all the way to the 24th of December the city of Santa Carla hosts a plethora of wondrous events in it's annual Holiday Festival. Large green, white and red kiosks are erected, selling a wide range of baubles and treats, from delectable chocolate coated rice krispy Santa Clauses, elf candy apples caked in a plethora of dark chocolate and peppermint, to a variety of Holiday hats, masks and even hand made costumes by the many local artists. Even hand carved candles in wondrous scents of pine, mint, or spice.

Currently, David possesses a black fur Santa hat which he acquired on a night out that boasts the words "Bah Humbug" proudly sewn over the front. It's the only holiday attire he'll even humor. Last time Marko attempted to place reindeer antlers on his head, David had set them on fire roasting atop a pan of chestnuts. Now it's not to say that he's a grinch persay. Rather, the complex and intense emotions that come hand in hand with Christmas can leave him perpetually indifferent at best, disdainful at worst. The whole occasion leaves him displeased. After all, he was an orphan who had been almost eagerly abandoned by his hooker mother left to fend for himself from the beginning, and of course never met his father. Even she could not identify which of her many clients may have been responsible. Most of his mortal life he had lived as a street rat, barely making ends meet by picking the pockets of tourists and Santa Carla citizens oblivious to the true dangers of the lower side of town. The rich and uppity classes who often snubbed their entitled noses his way would never suspect as he lurks between alleyways, leaving them cornered at knife point. It was scarce that he ever did see a kind face in the sea of those who had little interest for anyone that was not themselves. Back then it was rather uncommon for anyone to step outside their own little lives, which led to most interactions, outside of the other boys, having been met with great hostility, thus he had learned to be just as equally hostile in turn. Even the mere thought of anyone suddenly dawning a false kindness due to a certain time of year simply agitated David. It rattled him to the very core in a way very few other things did. Why bother with the lies? Couldn't people just face the very basic fact that they weren't nearly as charitable as they often deemed themselves to be? I mean, the young man had seen firsthand a family having previously snubbed a dirty homeless man with appalled disdain at the sight of his muddied clothes and dirt stained skin, only to then begin volunteering at a soup kitchen to purge whatever guilt they carried on their conscience once the holiday season began. The whole ordeal was pitiful! Nevertheless, - more so for Paul and Marko's sakes than his own -, he did humor these traditions amongst the holiday's festivities. Ruining a good time just wasn't his style. Unless they started fucking singing.

Most traditions David could tolerate, some he even enjoyed slightly; although he would never be caught dead admitting something as embarrassing as that! However, he just couldn't stand Christmas carols! They were the bain to his immortal existence. The repetitive nature of these overly cheery jingles left him covering his ears lest they nest in his brain leaving him humming the same damn melody for weeks. This was the case because the dynamic duo of dumbasses were well aware of his hatred for Rudolph the Red Nosed fuckin' roadkill! Stupid red nosed abomination.

“OOOOOOH-,” Paul begins with cheerful mischief.

“Don’t. You. Fucking. Dare.” David seethes through tightly clenched teeth, eyes screwed shut in indignance.

Paul hesitates. He looks at Marko. Marko looks at Paul. Wicked grins of agreement spread wide like wildfire across their faces as their master plan comes into play. Full throttle. What’s more fun than annoying the shit out of David? One on the left, the other on the opposite side of the cave on the right. This was nothing but Divine perfection if you asked the two troublesome vampires.

“OOOOOH DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW!” Paul belted out at full volume.

“IN A ONE HORSE OPEN SLEIGH!” Marko followed in suit, the widest eerie grin plastered on his face.

“OVER THE HILLS WE GOOOO” Paul howled enthusiastically.

“I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU BOTH!” David's voice hit a whole new octave it had never in all his life so far. All the while Dwayne had opted to vacate the room lest he be caught in the middle of the escalating madness with Laddie in tow. He loved these guys, but not enough to dive head first into their fuckery.

Paul thrives during the Christmas holidays! How could he not? The food, the punk rock covers of Christmas songs, the absolute babes prancing around the town in Santa hats under mistletoe?! He loved it all! You can find him sneaking under mistletoe with many sweet honeys on a constant basis, regardless of whether or not he's acquainted with them. Most do roll their eyes or laugh it off, but every once in a blue moon the guy will get a little lovin' from a beach babe in the Yuletide mood. What else could he ask for? You can bet he’ll run into the woods December first, and quite literally RIP a pine tree out of the ground to bring home like a wee carrot being plucked from the ground. The bigger the better! He may even drag Dwayne or Marko along with him if it's too big for him to carry himself. And all the boozy drinks he can concoct up? This boy is in his element! Mulled wine, spiked eggnog, candy cane vodka, butterscotch bourbon hot chocolate?! Yes! David straight up refuses to try anything that Paul creates himself (remember the concoction he made in Max's kitchen? Those poor goldfish....) which is also another reason why he has Dwayne help him. Or rather, the other boys insist the most responsible of them monitors the blonde lest he poison them with some sickly brew. That, and the fact that Dwayne's the least likely out of all of them to blow up the damn kitchen!

Dwayne is indeed the designated cook during the holiday rush, albeit a field even he tends to struggle. Avoiding the kitchen catching aflame, perfecting his craft lest he blow up the stove, leaving only a pile of ash in its wake. As previously mentioned, ever since the dreadful chain of events that lead to the unfortunate destruction of Max's kitchen, this raven haired vampire has attempted his hand at learning to use a stove properly: Although he often finds himself forgetting ingredients either in the midst of cooking or after the final product is done and he's taken a big bite.

“Shit! I forgot the milk and eggs!” Dwayne grumbled with a mouthful of dry crumbs, a true disgrace of a cookie.

Paul always gives him crap for it of course.

“Oooh I just thought you were going for a sandy, dusty dry cookie kinda thing.”

"Yeah man, these taste like ass!" Marko would cough out in midst of choking.

"And what, like you dumbasses could do any better," Dwayne retorts with a huff. Only Star manages to have any manners when testing his failed baking endeavors.

"Well I mean, the taste isn't that bad. Just a little dry is all."

"At least Marko wouldn't be choking to death." David would mutter from the darkest corner of the room, a little late in the conversation.

In all honesty, Dwayne's biggest motivation when it came to improving his skills was obviously Laddie. The kid never got much of a Christmas whilst living with his mom, so now that he was with the boys, he wanted to ensure that Christmas's were something that Laddie would remember for all eternity. Though granted, it is quite the mess when he was helping in the kitchen. But when the mini vamp grins from ear to ear whilst coated in flour and rapidly stirring an overflowing bowl of chunky cookie dough--the sight is too freaking cute!

Since Laddie joined the boys, they participate in Secret Santa every single year, which definitely includes Paul bursting through the entrance of the hotel as Santa on Christmas day. We won't talk about the fact that each year he almost falls flat on his face and swears, ruining the surprise for the kid.

"Santa where are your reindeer," he'd question, to which Santa Paul scoffs

"Pff, reindeer, I don't need any fucki- Ow," cut off by a firm and covert kick to the shin from Star, Paul quickly changes his response. "Oh! Ho ho, well, you see little boy, Santa can fly too! On his, uh, uhm… magic motorcycle! Yeah, that!"

But it's okay because Laddie already KNEW (he figured it out a year or two ago after Paul's beard fell off not once, but three times), he just doesn't have the heart to tell any of them because, well Paul really gets into it. And he knows the others are playing along for his sake. But to be fair, Laddie would have to be pretty dumb to believe it was Santa. I mean, the beard Paul's wearing is hanging half off his face by this point! But anyway, just like Paul's style, the entirety of the goody two shoes schpiel is thrown out the window, replaced with sleeves that have been ripped off, muddy boots, spiked bracelets and his Metallica shirt in full view beneath his flared red coat. He calls this BIKER CLAUS!

Laddie is not a squasher of traditions! But there was the one time that David had to intervene when Paul and Dwayne thought it would be great to use Laddie as the star at the top of the tree. David practically had a heart attack. Well, that's impossible but it still felt like he was having one!

“Ho ho ho! Now, don’t be a bitch, little David or Santa will have to give you coal.” Paul stated mockingly to David, brows furrowed.

“Well, Santa,” David scolds, a wry smile developing on his face when setting down the eight year old now off to shake his presents beneath their behemoth of a tree. “You best be careful. You never know what's in those milk and cookies, hm?”

Each year Marko buys bird toys for the pigeons in the hotel. Well, buy is probably the wrong word. More like he liberates the stores of their stock. And then for the next six months, David has to hear the agonizing jingle of bells. David almost roasted one pigeon in particular that kept flying over him to drop the ball with a bell in it on his head. That was Paul's entertainment for the next five hours, hell, he'd try to find it if the bird lost it and give it back. Marko defends the pigeon. Between running through stores buying up surprises for his friends, he's helping Paul throw out decorations for the cave. The dollar store has some surprisingly unexpected treasures, allowing him to deck the fucking halls to the max. Tinsel here, ornaments there, tiny light up trees to hide around the caves, a butt ton of cinnamon pine cones which he ends up throwing back and forth with Paul.

And Paul often steals his gifts or goes dumpster diving for any hidden gems. He forgets to take the tags off of them the majority of the time, which is always an indicator whether or not its new. Any time Star asks where he got them from he refuses to answer. Just gets up and walks away. But for David's gift? Well this lucky bastard has found coal in the dumpster and chucks it to David when he's not looking and he sighs deeply in disappointment because this is the third year Paul has done this.

"Huh? What? Who did that? Wasn't me. Somebody's throwing stuff."

Other than that he'll find a fat bag of charcoal and just tape the name David on it. David is certainly not amused. Dwayne will actually try to figure out what the others want, and has the sense to save the money taken from their previous meals. After all, they're dead, they wouldn't have much use for it anyway. He's not about to waste his hypnosis on some poor cashier. That would be a waste of time in his eyes.

When Christmas did arrive the tree was piled with mysterious boxes crudely mashed and taped together with bows and ribbons underneath it. It's obvious which ones are from Star since those gifts are wrapped in neatly pressed paper, wound tight beneath curled ribbons that remind the boys of her hair. Marko often goes on a food run rather than allow them all to be subjected to a potentially charred turkey, no offense to Dwayne of course. So, with a table covered from end to end with copious bowls of gravy, potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, a beast of a turkey in the center packed to the brim with cornbread stuffing, the boys cram into their chairs knocking back beers and spiked cider. Keeping to their own traditions, after fattening up, they gather around the tree and play card games, just as they had over eighty years ago on that frigid night. David still slays them in poker, and Marko is an utter dark horse when it comes to blackjack. Paul insists they try Go Fish. No one ever wants to play Go Fish. Closer towards the end of the night Dwayne will slip away to Jasper's shrine and bring him a fresh glass of rum as well as unwrapping what he got him that year. While Dwayne is there, the other boys will join him - omitting Star and Laddie left unaware of the Lost Boy they'd never met - in celebrating the last hour or so of the Holiday season with their fallen comrade.

Although Christmas time is often about uncomfortable mushy moments and emotions that create deep, unfamiliar times for David. The entire ordeal becomes that for everyone of the boys and Star. But God forbid anyone who even mentions it! I mean, it's kinda obvious though considering he's spending it with the people he always called family, knee deep in traditions that are sentimental to himself and the boys. There's a fluster of emotions running rampant during this particular Holiday Season, and although the blonde brooding vampire decides to squint at it with skepticism he savors these moments, knowing like Jasper, it could all be swept away with a single ray of light or the foolish hand of a hunter. So as they sit, drunk, full, and laughing beside Jasper's grave he can't help but smile at the sentimentality of it all. Christmas is a pain in the ass, but… it's a pain he'll gladly sit through for his brothers.

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lazywriter7 · 5 years ago

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Five Bells

Written for @lightsonparkave prompt one and two. Cheers to the delightful @firebrands for all her words of encouragement.

Summary:

After returning the Stones, Steve takes a detour through time.

First few lines of dialogue taken from Avengers: Endgame. All other lines in italics, as well as the title, are taken from Kenneth Slessor’s Five Bells.

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“How long is this gonna take?”

“For him? As long as he needs. For us? Five seconds.”

Time that is moved by little fidget wheels Is not my time

the flood that does not flow.

I have lived many lives, and this one life

“You know which bagel,” Steve says – mostly distracted. Cross-legged, notepad on thigh, he is drafting new training plans for the team; Pietro is proving to be a unique challenge.

“I do?” Tony queries, standing above his shoulder. The couch is low and he towers over Steve. “I don’t remember that being covered by the history books… unless I’d fallen asleep, of course.”

Steve freezes. No, no, he stills. The setting sun angles over Tony’s cheekbone, a deep, burnt red.

Steve lowers his gaze, his skin shivering with the afternoon chill. “Sesame seed, please.”

Why do I think of you, dead man

You have gone from earth,

Gone even from the meaning of a name;

It is in the little things. Natasha’s surprised blink when Steve brings her a peanut butter sandwich, the hollow silence when he curses on the comms and no one chimes the L-word back at him.

It is nothing. It should pale before the face of the big things, the earth-shattering, the miraculous – the reality of getting to hear their voices, see their faces, unblemished, every day.

Even Christmas. Clint snags a thumbnail under the wrapping paper and peels it open from the middle; lifts the box set of Jurassic Park colouring books in the air and shakes it. “Right, ‘cause I’m the toddler of the team, I geddit. Thanks, Cap.”

It’s for Cooper, Steve thinks; it’s dumb, I couldn’t help myself, you haven’t told us and I’m so sorry–

“Did you not have presents in your time?” Tony asks, part snark and mostly befuddled, the multicoloured gleam of fairy lights dappled in his hair.

I didn’t have you in my time – and. And. It is in the little things.

Yet something's there, yet something forms its lips

And hits and cries against the ports of space,

Beating their sides to make its fury heard.

“They’re shiny. Silver.” Tony says, bruised eyes, dim with a kind of terror Steve has lived through first-hand. “These big, heaving whales in the air… and everything else is dark. All of you are dead.”

It’s been twenty-three days since Steve told him about December 16, 1991. New traumas evoking older nightmares.

“And I’m alone.”

It wasn’t real, Steve should say. That is the correct response to a nightmare.

It was real, in another, deliberately forgotten lifetime. Five years, and they weren’t even the worst of it.

“We can prepare,” Steve fists his hands by his sides, so as to not reach for Tony’s trembling ones on the kitchen countertop. Everything around them is night and still, but for the flickering of the bulb overhead. “We’ll be ready for them when they’re here.”

It’s like a face shifting from the shade into the light; the gratitude moving over Tony’s features.

The kettle whistles, Tony pads over to the stove – and for an instant, it’s as if a cloud passes and Steve is convinced this is a BARF memory. There by the corner, the real Tony stands with shoulders curled in – gaunt, emaciated, mouthing words.

Liar. Thief. Liar, liar.

Are you shouting at me, dead man, squeezing your face

In agonies of speech on speechless panes?

Cry louder, beat the windows, bawl your name!

Tony, Steve breathes – and Tony catches it on his lips.

This has never happened before. Steve has no memories to compare it with, and catalogues every detail to add to a rolodex of sensations, for safekeeping; Tony’s eyelashes fluttering against Steve’s skin, the way the callus on his thumb digs into Steve’s chin when he’s holding it steady, the soft skin in the crevices between his fingers as their hands wound tighter together, the happiness of an impossible moment.

Tony pulls back, smiles softly.

Steve closes his own eyes, brushes his mouth over the corner of Tony’s, where the wrinkles begin – the place missing just a few extra lines.

But I hear nothing, nothing...only bells,

Five bells, the bumpkin calculus of Time

Your echoes die, your voice is dowsed by Life

“I have… Arlington.” Steve awkwardly presses himself against the wall of the overfull coffeeshop, paper cup oozing warmth through to his palms. Sometimes, if he lets himself forget, the crowds piling through the street and bustling indoors can still stun him. “There’s a memorial there, I mean. But if I could pick, after I eventually… Brooklyn, probably. In the Barnes family plot, if they allow it.”

“What,” Steve asks – turned morbid by the laughter and press of people around him. Fifty percent. It never happened here. “What about you?”

Natasha looks at him, brow crooking high enough to reach her hairline. Steve used to think that blistering colour came from hair dye, but he knows better now.

“Where I’d want to be buried?” She summarises bluntly. It’s like a wound getting cauterised – relief and pain making everything insensate.

The answer is a farm that isn’t supposed to exist, in the middle of nowhere. “Minsk,” Natasha says instead, and it doesn’t sound like a lie he’s heard before.

Nothing except the memory of some bones

Long shoved away, and sucked away, in mud;

And unimportant things you might have done,

Or once I thought you did; but you forgot,

And all have now forgotten

“Happy Sputnik Day!” Tony choruses, Thor’s deep base rumbling alongside his. Bruce is in the attached kitchenette, peering at jar labels in the shelf; Clint and Natasha playing Borderlands on the couch.

Steve comes further in from the doorway, gaze flitting incorrigibly from person to person. “What?”

“You know, Sputnik. The day all of humanity became a little cooler, and the Russians successfully launched the first satellite into orbit, driving the Americans insane.” Tony springs to his feet, wide grin approaching for a morning kiss. “October fourth.”

He barely catches Steve, fingers clamped about the arms, just as Steve pitches into the floor.

One year, one year one yearoneyearone –

Past, present, future swirls together in his serum-perfect brain, gibbering over two words, a fact so carefully forgotten; his breaths grow shallower and shallower, pain shooting through his chest with every hitch, black-spots-inverse-stars shimmering in his vision–

“You’re dead.” Steve rasps out, Tony’s face shuttering in confusion. And there’s nothing anyone can do about it. “You’re dead.”

Where have you gone? The tide is over you,

The turn of midnight water's over you,

As Time is over you, and mystery,

And memory, the flood that does not flow.

He’s curled on the couch, apostrophe-like; dry-mouthed but breathing slower against Tony’s denim-covered thigh. Tony drags blunt nails over his scalp, quietly humming under his own breath.

I’ve watched you, Steve thinks hazily – watched you raise a child, watched you be blissfully married, watched you speak to Howard, father to father, and dole out more understanding than he deserved, and let me walk you away from your pristine life and give me more trust than I had ever earned. I watched the silver grow from the temples of your head to the longer hair-strands, to the scrub of your goatee, up to the fleck of your brows. And the longer I keep watching you now, the more I know I’m watching someone else.

“Was so sure,” He can hear his voice reverberate off the floor, more of a croak than anything– “tha’ I wasn’ gonna leave you this time.”

Tony regards him, hum falling silent. There’s a dam there, in those eyes, holding back a wave of slowly stirring anger and injury that Steve fully intends to weather – but is leashed now, for some reason.

This Tony doesn’t have grey in his beard yet, but even as his lips move and Steve braces himself, he says–

“I’ll forgive you.”

The night you died, I felt your eardrums crack,

And the short agony, the longer dream,

The Nothing that was neither long nor short;

But I was bound, and could not go that way,

But I was blind, and could not feel your hand

After he’s said his goodbyes, Natasha follows him back to his room.

“Is he still in the plane somewhere?”

Back at the beginning, when he’d been dropping off the Tesseract at Camp Lehigh – he’d briefly considered it. Dropping off an envelope on Peggy’s desk with the coordinates of the Valkyrie, so that the other him could find… something. Maybe a happy ending, maybe just a chance. But all of time and its knowledge had been laid out before Steve, and he hadn’t resisted one extra indulgence.

It was only time before he met Scott, after all. One extra Particle than he had, one trip to the forties and back – and his self could be spared the pain of thirty years in the ice.

In twenty-twelve, Steve changed the course of history merely by showing up; all deep sea vessels, search parties in the Arctic called home. Captain America was alive and well.

“Seventy five, point two three zero six north, ninety nine point one one three zero west.” With every blink, Steve can see her memorising the numbers. “Find him, kick his ass into gear. Don’t let him run.”

She nods, and remains waiting in the doorway. Steve is motionless on the bed, the looming weight of the future wrapped around his wrist.

He looks at her. Natasha’s lips curve straight up, soft and reassuring.

“See you in a minute,” Steve whispers, and disappears.

If I could find an answer, could only find

Your meaning, or could say why you were here

Who now are gone, what purpose gave you breath

Or seized it back, might I not hear your voice?

Back on the platform, Bucky runs to him first. His brows are furrowed with faint surprise.

In that other past, and now that was The Other – Peggy had set him free in the seventies, aided by information that Steve left behind. When Steve re-emerged in twenty-twelve, he had no idea where Bucky was and how the years had passed for him – fettering his impulses in steel, and letting it remain that way. His interference would accomplish little, and Bucky had always managed on without him.

Or maybe that had just been easier for him to believe.

“Not the end of the line just yet,” Steve says.

The surprise smooths out of Bucky’s features, so does the staidness; he squeezes Steve’s elbow once and for a second, that grin seems alive.

“I hate running alone,” Steve tells Sam, who’s standing but two paces behind. He strides forward to catch up, reaches out and wraps Sam’s solid fingers over the strap of the shield in one motion. “Hold this for me, will you? Be back soon.”

He turns and walks. It’s a short one – the lakehouse property isn’t really big. There’s grass everywhere, and dandelions, and no headstones.

Just a tall, stately oak towards the side – foliage in full summer splendour. There’s already a circle of dropped acorns around the base, ready to sprout into a hundred, newer lives.

“Hey.” Steve strokes his fingers over the burnished bark. “I’m back.”

I have lived many lives, and this one life

Time that is moved by little fidget wheels

Is not my time, the flood that does not flow.

Outside the lakehouse, Laura is bundling the kids into a van. Clint steps down from the porch, murmurs something to her, then jogs over to where Steve is watching, arms folded.

“She did have family,” Clint says, almost as an aside. “Sisters, a few others.”

Steve breathes the news in. The scent of summer is strong in the air, lilacs and crabapples and the soil itself.

“I have a few of her effects. They must’ve heard, already, but someone should tell them in-person.”

“I’ll find them.” Steve affirms. Clint nods, and walks back to the van, where Cooper sticks his head out of the open windowpane and gets his hair ruffled teasingly for his efforts.

Steve watches, the warmth of the sun beating down his arms and back. He has a feeling Minsk is pretty nice this time of year too.

#lightsonparkave #stony #steve/tony #steve pov #time travel #grieving #endgame fix it #canon compliant #yup it's both #bittersweet #poetry #nat and tony live #in another timeline #steve rogers #tony stark #natasha romanov

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venus-says · 4 years ago

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Healin’ Good Precure Episodes 31-35

The anti-vax go crazy at the sight of the new Healin' Good power-up weapon.

I honestly don't know how to start this post, I think I never actually knew how to do these ever since I began this thing, but anyway back for more Precure! It only took me five weeks to get back this time, hooray!

You know, I wish I was more happy and excited to be back, but being frank, I'm not really? Part of it is because I feel like I lost the touch for writing, but the biggest reason is that I will be kinda negative about the things I have to say and I've been trying to stay away from negativity, especially now that my cat is sick, and I didn't want to be a source for negativity. But it's already December, I've neglected this blog a lot already and I feel bad for it so I decided to do something about it.

But to be honest, those weren't the only reasons why it took me a month to be back... I've actually been avoiding watching Precure. Well, I've been avoiding watching most of the things I write about because I've overdone it at the beginning of the year, and burn out hit me seriously, but from everything Healin' Good is what I've been avoiding the most. I know it doesn't seem like it, considering the last 3 posts I've made in the past 4 months (wow) were of Precure, but I've been watching the other shows here and there, I've just been sitting on a huge pile of drafts in my Evernote because I can't put my thoughts on those shows in a cohesive way for some reason, but when it comes to Precure, while it's easier for me to write about, I didn't feel compelled to get back and watch this show.

Every time I would sit down to watch a Precure episode at the same time I would open YouTube and Twitch in the hopes of something else I was more interested in would be there in my subscription box so I could avoid watching Healin' Good. And it's not like I think the show is utterly bad or isn't even like I don't have a good time when I actually sit down to watch the show, I just... lost interest. I think ever since Earth's debut my interest in the show has been decreasing more and more, and I don't know how to pinpoint if it's actually a problem with the show or if it's just me and the headspace I've been in ever since the pandemic hit Brazil. Yes, the story had plot points that I didn't like and the flaws of the show have been more apparent in my eyes with each time I watch it, but at the same time sitting down to watch one episode isn't an excruciating experience (especially when i'm not live-tweeting, istg i don't know why I ever thought that would be a good idea), I just don't feel attached to these characters as much as I did before and I'm not engaged in seeing what their story will become in the future.

With that being said, I think you all are already prepared for a post that won't be very positive so I guess it's time to put my personal rambling aside and talk about what y'all came here for, episodes 31 to 35 of Healin' Good Precure.

When I left in the last post I know I've said the cliffhanger of Episode 30 was a good one, and well... Episode 31 used its boots to step on my fingers and made me fell from that cliff. I forgot that since we were ending in that action the next episode would begin with the Cures being defeated, the major portion of the episode would be for dealing with the tension, and the new power-up would come at the climax. And that was exactly what happened, except that there was no tension at all and the power-up didn't feel like a cathartic experience just a Deus Ex Machina. The episode was very anticlimactic and just very uninteresting as a whole and once again, I know I'm going to be very repetitive here, it all comes down to the villains.

Everything that is depending on the villains' side to make me feel something 9 times out of 10 won't make me feel anything because of how boring they are. They made such a big deal about the villains evolving after using the Mega Parts, but it feels like anything changed. Shindoine is still just "the girl", Guwaiaru is still just the dumb strong guy, and the so-called power we're supposed to see from these new forms don't really make much of a difference since these two never get into actual fights with the cures, only the MOTW do. Daruizen is the only one they make stuff with, but it's more because they're really desperate to make him and Nodoka to be deeply connected and so they'll mold his character and personality to forcefully match him with whatever Nodoka's problem will be in that episode, if they need him to be the bored one he'll be, if they need him to be the curious type running experiments he'll be that, if they want him to be a selfish lone wolf they'll make him be. And that's just boring, at this point this villainous team and a cardboard cut-out are basically the same thing.

While also speaking about this "evolution" from the villains, you would think the new human-powered Giga Byogen would bring something new to the table, but no. It's just the exact same thing as before just with a bigger range for creating infections and a slightly higher defense stat. They aren't used in creative ways neither proposes a different treat that the other Mega Byogens did, proof of that is that in Episode 35 instead of a Giga they bring back a Mega just to show how irrelevant they are. They're also different from other monsters who draw their power from humans like a Nottrigger, or a Desertrian, or a Zetsuborg, where in most of the cases the summoning of the monster would be relevant for "solving the problem" afflicting either the victim of the week or the people around them. The teacher being affected didn't make his son appreciate the father more than he did before because that wasn't his conflict, Nodoka's doctor didn't have a revelation about his talents for medicine and Nodoka also didn't get anything new that she hadn't already learned before in the episode, neither did Chiyuu and her rival, you could completely delete the fight and that episode would've reached the same conclusion. Heck, the victim of episode 32 had only TWO appearances before he was turned into a monster, I doubt he was on screen for more than a minute, and they didn't need Touji to be there protecting the dog in the middle of the fight BECAUSE CHIYUU WAS ALREADY AWARE THAT HE'S A BRAVE HARD-WORKING KID BEFORE. These monsters are completely irrelevant and they don't add anything else to the show, and that's just really sad.

Back to Episode 31, let's talk about this power-up, shall we? Being straight to the point, I don't like it, both in the visual and narrative aspects. I visually like them even less now that we already know how the movie power-up looks and how much those forms are way more interesting than just a bigger hair and bigger skirts with a set of wings in the back that you could find in a Halloween costume sale. But who cares about how they look when this power, that is the manifestation of the the four cures combined powers together with their respective healing animals, comes out of nowhere without anything specific happening for them to trigger the appearance of the Healin' Good Arrow and the Special Healin' Good Bottle. Guess is needless to say that the Special Healin' Good Style doesn't feel special at all, it's like it only exists just to sell toys. Well, it's not like everything in this franchise is just to sell toys, but they usually know how to merge this with the story of the show and this didn't happen here. Also, for Christ's sake, this is the second year in a row where the name for the group powered-up attack is just the name of the series being used in the more boring way possible, where has their creativity gone to? The only good thing I have to say about this is that it gave us the healing animals doing some sort of rhythmic gymnastics and Pegitan twirling in that is prime content.

Overall complaints done, let's move one. (these will be quicker)

Episode 32, at first I thought I wouldn't like this one because they brought back this weird rivalry Pegitan has with Chiyuu's brother that doesn't have much of a reason for existing, but it was actually pretty sweet and heartwarming seeing Pegitan leave behind that and showing that he actually cares a lot about Touji, this silly rivalry is just his silly way of showing it (Showing it to who? I don't know, since no one but Pegitan and the audience seems to be aware of this, but shhh). This episode also made me like Touji, before he was just a background character to me and I didn't care much for him, but now I see him as more of a character of his own and not just Chiyuu's brother.

Episode 33 was my least favorite of the bunch because it connects to what to me is the worst plot point of the show: Nodoka's illness being a magic thing. If this had never been a thing, I'd be completely here for this episode. Nodoka's Doctor leaving his job because he felt powerless regarding Nodoka's disease and that being what drives him to go overseas to start doing medical research?? That seems great, and Nodoka feeling guilty for him leaving, while in actuality she's his inspiration is actually pretty emotional. But to me, it all just loses a lot of its importance because Nodoka was never sick after all, and unless this dude discovers on his own about the Byogens he pretty much went through all of this emotional trauma because and for nothing, it all becomes sad when you remember this aspect of it.

Episode 34 was going very well to me up until it's last moments where instead of sticking with a somewhat unique perspective on how to do a story like this they just throw it all through the window and instead of making Chiyuu and Tsubasa friendly rivalry exist outside the world of competitive sports they make Chiyuu change her mind and decide to pursue the World Tournament because you obviously can't have other interests and want to pursue different things when you're out of school, you gotta do that all your life, no other option allowed. This got me so disappointed, y'all have no idea.

Last but not least, Episode 35 which was my favorite, probably because it felt completely disconnected from the rest of the show and I could freely enjoy it in a separate pocket dimension without thinking about the rest. But regardless this was just a very fun and over-the-top episode that wasn't concerned about anything else other than just being fun, and that was exactly what I've been needing. Also, volleyball and beach volley is just cool as heck and seeing that incorporated in the fight of the episode was just fun as hell and a good change of pace. Akane sure is proud.

And that does it for now. Much like at the beginning, I also don't know how to close this one, especially after writing all those bad things and the fact that I'm not that excited for what's to come next. Well, let me know how you feel about all this, I don't know when I'll be back with another post but I promise I'll at least reply to any comment I receive. Without much else to say I'll leave you all with my usual sign-off. Stay healthy, stay safe, never stop resisting, thank you so much for reading, and until the next time. Healin' Goodbye~

#Healin' Good Precure #precure

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coffeeandcalligraphy · 5 years ago

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Paper Mouth, Opera Game, Beautiful Place | Writing Update

Hey People of Earth!

This is December 5th Rachel here to tell you this has been sitting in my drafts since the prehistoric era and we boutta update on three chapters of Moth Work *cracks knuckles*.

First, let’s start with chapter seven of the book, AKA Paper Mouth.

I wrote Paper Mouth back in August, and while I drafted it (over a few writing sprints), I was happy with it, but eventually realized I actually... didn’t like her, lol. Though objectively this chapter ain’t my fave, it does establish a very! important! thing! And that’s my shiny new gal, Eliza.

So, if anyone remembers from previous updates, I conceptualized most of MOTH WORK back in January when I was *stressed* at the end of a semester and needed a *break*. During this period of brainstorming where the whole photograph plot formed, I characterized a woman (the woman in the picture) who I knew would be central to the book. I knew I wanted to name her Eliza, I knew what she looked like, and had a loose backstory outlined for her, buuuuut… I started drifting from the photograph plot (it was only meant to be a booster) and without the photograph plot, I didn't have a reason to include her. So I thought I’d actually cut her involvement in the book way down from about 30-50% to 2%.

This changed however, when I added Lonan’s POV to the book (what I’m writing at the moment). Because I was in his head, I quickly realized how important finding this woman (someone who had a previous affair with his father [TEA]) would be to him.

This is how we end up at Paper Mouth!

The chapter is almost a direct continuation of the last, and starts out as follows:

Scene A:

Lonan makes a phone call to Eliza from a phone booth. They’ve never met, she like new phone who dis, but after an off-screen explanation, we jump into scene two.

Scene B:

This scene covers the two meeting for the first time outside of a diner. Lonan got dat brooding hoodie energy, and Eliza has tattoo-artist but also your mom friend energy, and we love the dynamic already! From here, she offers to buy Lonan a milkshake as an incentive to speak with him. Me too sis, me too.

Scene C:

They chat, until Lonan moves the conversation to his father. Things go downhill lol, Lonan gets overwhelmed and heads outside to leave, despite having no way home, but is followed by Eliza. They have a convo that gets heated about his father, tho this sort of veers off abruptly my bad.

I honestly don’t love anything enough to share from this chapter, so let’s move on to the next!

EDIT: y’all this is the second edit I’ve made in this post because guess who forgot chapter 8 existed.

Opera Game took me so long to write, I forgot it existed! I either started it at the end of August, or the beginning of September--it took so long I’m pretty sure I only finished it in November, lol.

Scene A:

We get more Lonan + Eliza time as Eliza pulls a Fostered book three and stitches up Lonan’s busted face

This goes wrong very quickly when Lonan keeps bringing up the fact that he thinks she’s spooked because he has his dead father’s (AKA her ex’s) eyes.

Scene B:

We have din din with Eliza + Lonan and she gifts him back his mother’s ring (at last, the OG plot) that she may or may not have had wrapped for months to give back to his dad (yikers). << this causes some minor problems lol

Scene C:

Lonan and Eliza share a cigarette on her apartment’s balcony. They’re supposed to be just friends but let’s just say apparently I cannot write those (see Darren and Reeve lmfaooo).

The end of this chapter was so fun to write. Take with that what you will! I put Nothing But Thieves’ cover of Love You Should’ve Come Over on repeat to write scene C. Take with that! What! You! Will! ;)

And now for excerpts! Sharing this because of the word guileless:

Eliza looks like a girl. She’s a girl with too many tattoos bartered for free in college, convenience store lipstick she bought from the clearance section, a haircut she found in her mother’s mail-order catalogue, rings hand-bent from an age 12+ kit. She cries like a girl, and sits like a girl and wipes her face like a girl, and he sees the same thing in her that he sees in himself—something guileless, something see-through.

I don’t usually share dialogue, but here is some dialogue from scene B:

“Should I have gotten something different?”

“This is fine.”

“They had chili chicken too. General Tso’s. I should’ve followed my gut.”

“This is fine.”

“There’s even an Italian place just a block over. I forgot about the Italian place.”

“This is fine, Eliza.”

And now, a very on brand excerpt ft. dead bodies:

He can’t remember why his mother died, or when, or why she’s more of a mother than his own mother. He only wants to visit her. Slip the ring back on her finger. She would smell like peaches, hibiscus, almost chlorinated, embalmed, absently pretty, not because she wasn’t beautiful, but because her body would be empty.

EDIT (again): hi y’all it’s been a month since I drafted this, and so here we go with yet another chapter update because I refuse to do schoolwork!

Beautiful Place is chapter nine of Moth Work, and is chock full of all the tea you’ve ever wanted! Watch Rachel take a pure friendship and make it *not* because that’s her #1 talent! Pure friendship? lol you THOUGHT.

I wrote this chapter over the course of my reading break. @sarahkelsiwrites and I went out to a coffee shop and did a few writing sprints, where a majority of this chapter was birthed.

After Opera Game, I was a bit stuck with this book. I needed a chapter that shoved Eliza and Lonan closer together, but couldn’t figure out exactly how to go about this. I’d semi established a semi friendship between Lonan and Eliza, but wasn’t fully understanding how they’d go from “lol ur my dad’s ex” to “buds? hi!” to “lol ur my ex” and I toyed around with a lot of ideas in my head before I accidentally stumbled into the scene that defines the entire chapter.

Scene A:

All you need to know is Lonan is chillin’ on Eliza’s couch, she’s making some good ol’ french toast, and then tells him she wants to take him to a “good place” and he’s like ok)

Scene B:

Eliza’s place is a cove she found a while back with someone I cannot name because of spoilers (just know that this definitely changes Lonan’s opinion of being there)

When he asks her about the person who she found the place with, she gets *shady*, he gets *extra*, there is *tea*

Here is an excerpt ft. my most overused verb: starbursting (why)!

“You like the beach?” Eliza turns off the car engine, checks her lipstick in the rear-view.

“Just the water.”

“But not the beach?”

“I like the water.”

They get out of the car together, and Eliza’s sundress catches in the rain. The cotton is patterned with palm leaves, birds the size of his pinkie, and it whirls around her in the wind. He doesn’t ask why the good place is the beachfront, or what’s so good about it. He doesn’t shake her hand off when she takes it and leads him toward the sand. Eliza moves around amber driftwood and rubbery kelp like this isn’t an obstacle course but a regular commute. Her hair blows out of her face, starbursting like a halo. She says something about coming here when the Vegas lights blocked the stars. That it’s magical at night, it’s intoxicating, it’s spellbinding, and all of these words remind him more of his sister than sand, than waves.

Here’s a description of the beautiful place ooooh:

The first thing he notices is the light. It’s only the sun reflecting off the stone, but he sees constellations, jittering like they’re both submerged in water. Bits of gold catch in Eliza’s hair and the peaks of the waves, and it’s the cove he notices next. They stand in the centre of it, the stone arched over a spread of water, lapping inches from their feet. It’s like being enclosed in a snowglobe, a private hemisphere of light, water, stone, sand. A resurrection.

And here lies tea:

Eliza is spreading out a picnic blanket while Lonan kneels toward the water. He punctures the current, and lets it stream between his fingers. Even in his hands, the water is gold.

“A friend and I found it,” she says, as water drips into his palm, down his wrist. “I said it was magical.”

“Was it my father?” he picks up a clump of sand, lets it disintegrate back down.

When Eliza says nothing, he turns back to look at her. She’s rummaging through the picnic basket, humming something under her breath, fixing the corner of the blanket.

“Eliza?”

She looks at him, and then back down, glasses clinking. She pulls out two jars—one orange, one pink. “Which do you prefer—marmalade or strawberry?” She digs through the basket, pulls out another jar, olive coloured, speckled with reds, yellows. “Or tapenade?”

“Eliza,” he says, wringing out his hand as he rises. “Was it my father?”

“I brought red wine, too. Do you drink?”

Lonan approaches, and crouches at the edge of the picnic basket. He plays with the hem, smooths his fingers over the metallic underbelly, the fleecy plaid pattern on the good side.

When she pulls out the wine bottle, he reaches over and places his hand on the neck. Their fingers brush when he secures his palm around it. When she doesn’t look at him, he moves his hand over until it covers hers.

“The friend you found this place with,” he says. “Was that my father?”

Eliza tightens her grip around the wine bottle and pulls it back, placing it into the picnic basket. Her sigh trembles, vibrato like a flute, an opera singer. She smooths her hair back, once, twice. “It’s shiraz. My mother sent it from Italy.”

And at last, I call this: Kind of A Wild Thing to Do But Pop Off I Guess:

On her pulse sits a tattoo of a single crow’s eye, and Lonan traces it with the tip of his fingernail. He touches down, to the dagger following the vein on her forearm, and when he reaches the golden cherub an inch from her elbow, leans down and kisses its head.

Aaaand, what a fun way to end this update!

I’m not sure if I’ll get another update up before the new year, but let’s cross our fingers! If not, here’s to 2020! Let’s finish these books y’all.

--Rachel

#writing #amwriting #writeblr #writerblr #mothwork #writingupdates #fostered

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acidwaste · 7 years ago

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hey so it seems i’ve forgot to do a l o t of tag memes, and i’m lucky i drafted a big bunch of them! lots of questions overlapped so i did my best to answer in different ways, sorry for the lateness! also @ the people that tagged me here, i wouldn't hesitate to kill for you

@natcaptor / @gayspaced

name: leon or lionel!

nicknames: literally the only nickname I’ve been referred to is “big gay” and like. word!

gender: im pretty sure im a guy, i have been kinda 🤔🤔🤔 abt my gender identity since around november-ish though

star sign: sagittarius!

height: 6’1! i’m told that I’m tall but my uncle is 6’7 so...

time: 3:36pm rn! ive been watching video essays and binging music all afternoon

birthday: december 9th!

favourite bands: animal collective, beach house, camp cope, car seat headrest, death grips, fleet foxes, florence + the machine, gang of youths, glass animals, gorillaz, hop along, iceage, idles, kero kero bonito, mgmt, miike snow, modest mouse, run the jewels, superorganism, the avalanches, the cat empire, the go! team, the mountain goats, the wombats, xiu xiu

favourite solo artists: alex lahey, anderson .paak, ariana grande, billie eilish, bjork, cashmere cat, charli xcx, courtney barnett, cupcakke, d.r.a.m, eric taxxon, frank ocean, gfoty, hatchie, janelle monae, jeff rosenstock, joanna newsom, jorja smith, jpegmafia, kacey musgraves, kali uchis, kendrick lamar, khalid, kimbra, lorde, mac demarco, madeon, mick jenkins, mitski, oneohtrix point never, perfume genius, ravyn lenae, rina sawayama, serpentwithfeet, sophie, st. vincent, sza, vince staples

song stuck in my head: caramelo duro | miguel // kali uchis! its a bop, miguel is one of the few singers that can convincingly make sex jams

last movie i watched: deadpool 2! it was even better than the first, which is a feat in itself ngl

when did i create my blog: december 2016??? i only started using it properly in february last year tho

last thing i googled: “im in my mums car broom broom.” dont @ me

do i have any other blogs: yeah, plenty actually!! i have blogs for aesthetic (@moltenstar), general inspo (@wverns), flight rising (@szarising, kinda inactive?), and overwatch (@blackhardts) tbh the vast majority of my ‘sideblogs’ are just saved urls H

do i get asks: when i say stupid shit like “rung has the ass of a dilf but the dick of a cockroach”

why i chose my url: that one panel where kobd have a vacation at the acid wastes because fuck its finally canon babey!

following: 1,767, which is kinda horrifying!!

followers: 890?? somehow??? thats almost One Whole Thousand and i don't even make content

average hours of sleep: around 6 or 7!! n e v e r more though

lucky number: 43 and 64!!

instruments: i'm too poor to afford music lessons or instruments jsbddsjknfs

what am i wearing: a grey shirt and nothing on my bottom half so my [redacted] is hanging tf out, i should put on some damn clothes

dream job: oooo uhhh, i’m studying to get an education degree rn because i’d love to teach children (around grade 3-4s preferably because i'm too jittery to handle anyone younger and older kids probs won't listen to me as much as i lack plenty of assertiveness), but!! i’d honestly love to be a musician, one of those underground ones that get lots of critical acclaim

dream trip: one day i wanna gather up some friends and just go on a road trip! idm where we go to, as long as we just have fun and just! adventure!

favourite foods: rare steak, mashed potatoes, eggs, and energy shakes made with like. fruit / cheese / yoghurt / oats / chia seeds ! protein is a large part of my diet

nationality: new zealand, but living in australia

favourite song right now: best part | daniel caesar // h.e.r - gosh i need to re-listen to daniel’s album again, i don’t remember this beautiful song being there and that’s a crime

@damndesi / @novarebel / @luciform-philogynist

APPEARANCE - I am 5'7 or taller - I wear glasses - I have at least one tattoo (but I am getting a tā moko in December, I believe) - I have at least one piercing (planning to get a nose ring, like a bull!) - I have blonde hair - I have brown eyes - I have short hair - My abs are at least somewhat defined (b a r e l y) - I have or had braces

PERSONALITY - I love meeting new people - People tell me I am funny - Helping others with their problems is a big priority of mine - I enjoy physical challenges - I enjoy mental challenges - I am playfully rude to people I know - I started saying something ironically and now I can’t stop saying it - There is something I would change about my personality

ABILITY - I can sing well - I can play an instrument - I can do over 30 pushups without stopping (barely) - I am a fast runner - I can draw well - I have a good memory - I am good at doing math in my head - I can hold my breath underwater for over a minute - I have beaten at least 2 people arm wrestling - I can make at least 3 recipes from scratch - I know how to throw a proper punch

HOBBIES - I enjoy sports - I’m on a sports team at my school or somewhere else - I’m in an orchestra or choir at my school or somewhere else - I have learned a new song in the past week - I exercise at least once a week - I have gone for runs at least once a week in warmer months - I have drawn something in the past month - I enjoy writing - Fandoms are my #1 priority - I do some form of Martial arts

EXPERIENCES - I have had my first kiss - I have had alcohol (tastes like shit) - I have scored a winning point in a sport - I have watched an entire TV series in one sitting - I have been at an overnight event - I have been in a taxi - I have been in the hospital or ER in the past year - I have beaten a video game in one day - I have visited another country - I have been to one of my favorite bands concerts

MY LIFE - I have one person that I consider to be my Best Friend - I live relatively close to my school/work - My parents are still together - I have at least one sibling - I live in the United States - There is snow where I live right now - I have hung out with a friend in the past month - I have a smart phone - I own at least 15 CDs - I share my room with someone

RELATIONSHIPS - I am in a Relationship - I have a crush on a celebrity - I have a crush on someone I know - I’ve been in at least 3 relationships - I have never been in a Relationship - I have admitted my feelings to a crush - I get crushes easily - I have had a crush for over a year - I have been in a relationship for over a year - I have had feelings for a friend

RANDOM - I have break-danced - I know a person named Jamie - I have had a teacher that has a name that is hard to pronounce - I have dyed my hair - I’m listening to a song on repeat right now - I have punched someone in the past week - I know someone who has gone to jail - I have broken a bone (do fractures count?) - I have eaten a waffle today - I know what I want to do in life - I speak at least two languages (not fluently) - I have made a new friend in the past year

@smstransformers

age: 16

birthplace: auckland, nz

current time: 4:19 pm rn!!!

drink you last had: i just skulled half a liter of water whoops

favourite song: jesus etc. | wilco if we're talking abt an all-time favourite

grossest memory: accidentally swallowing a bee when i was seven years old (somehow nothing bad happened?)

horror, yes or no: not unless it’s an incredibly tame horror t b h, my threshold for scariness is very low

in love: i believe so!

jealous of people: lots of times, over really dumb things

love by first sight or should I walk by again: i believe that infatuation can exist at first sight but true love not so much. wish that could happen tho :C

middle name: shane!

siblings: my sister is eight years old, and my brother is seven!

one wish: EZ, make my anxiety disappear, i’d have a much more productive life

song i last sang: jupiter | haiku hands

time i woke up: 7:13, woke up immediately because i usually like to wake at 6:30

underwear colour: blue + purble

vacation destination: auckland / kingston / sydney!

worst habit: not remembering to make my goddamn bed, it looks like garbage

favourite food: mashed potatoes….

zodiac sign: sagittarius !!!

@alyonian

relationship status:

at the moment i’m single! and while being in a relationship sounds brilliant, the last two relationships i was involved in? didn’t work out to say the least, lucky i’m still young

favourite colour:

it’s been emerald green for the longest time but orange seems to be dethroning it at a steady pace

lipstick or chapstick:

i haven’t used chapstick since i was six but i probably should use it again, water is my substitute rn fdghdgh - and i haven’t ever used lipstick in any capacity? so i’d have to go with the former

last song i listened to:

the space traveller’s lullaby | kamasi washington - i’m trying to get through his second album rn (i left off on the second disk yesterday) and while everything he makes is undeniably amazing, it’s? a three hour album? i don’t have the attention span for his spiritual jazz, as great as it is

last movie:

monsters inc is playing on the television right now, i’ll go with that! the animation aged kinda badly but it’s still such a fun movie! sidenote: james p. sullivan? a childhood crush, so this gives me memories

top 3 tv shows/podcasts/comics:

i rarely, if ever, venture into these forms of media but! if i had to answer, i’d say;

unbreakable kimmy schmidt / parks & recreation / luke cage

taz / mbmbam (i havent like. watched a full episode of either but they seem cool,)

tf idw / …………. yeah that’s it, i’ve never read anything else. probably should!

additional favs:

my friends, writing (in theory), listening to video essays, learning music theory + instruments and understanding audio production software

top 3 bands / artists:

HHH okay if i had to limit my choices to just three artists, uh. lorde, the mountain goats, and sophie. i couldnt even fit janelle in i hate th is

----------------------------------

@alyonian

color(s): light colors are always nice and pleasant, though anything peachy and sandy are the best! orange (specially pastel orange) is like. the best thing

last band t-shirt i bought: usually merchandising is very expensive and i dont have the money to accommodate that, but like. i do recall having a wiggles shirt when i was five. i wore it all the time, shjdjgsksd im sure that counts

last band i saw live: i almost went to splendor in the grass last year with family, which wasn't only cool since i’ve never been out of the state since i immigrated - the festival was in queensland, which is around a two hour flight from victoria - but the lineup was pretty fuckin lit too! the xx, haim, peking duk, tash sultana, future islands, vallis alps, a.b original,, i was p excited! unfortunately my uncle fell ill and so they had to give the tickets to extended family :( otherwise, i haven't been to a single concert in my life

last song i listened to: street fighter mas | kamasi washington - up to this song on the album and i really fuckin dig this! also the video is hypnotizing

last movie i watched: monsters inc is about to finish and up next is monsters university! which like…. honestly, this is an extremely unpopular opinion but, i like it just as much as the original? my opinion might be skewed because i’m a monster [hugger], but i like everything abt the movie! except for the finale of the scare games and the last five minutes of the movie, both were just. dreadful.

last three tv shows i watched: if aggretsuko counts that’s the last series i watched of my own volition, which is a miracle in itself considering that’s legit only the second anime i’ve watched to completion (the first being shirokuma cafe, which i probably need to re-watch). otherwise, the last two shows i had beared witness to were thirteen reasons why and queer eye bc my cousin put them on! that first show i could completely do without but queer eye is iconique

last 3 characters i identified with: grimlock (legit. all of them), urdnot grunt (mass effect) and vector the crocodile (sth), i’m not sure what this says about me other than Big

book(s) i’m currently reading: i’m reading ‘maus’ by art spiegelman at the moment, for the third time i believe? i believe my classmates are supposed to be writing an essay on this next term and shit, this novel is heartbreaking, i haven't been this emotional when reading a book than… ever, really. it’s a recommendation of the highest caliber

@victorion

name: leon / lionel, i picked up the second name because i was in a server with an admin that was also a Leon™

nickname: besides ‘Big Gay’ i also have the nickname ‘lemon lion’ which is! nice!!

zodiac sign: archer man

height: Tall™

language(s) spoken: english / some maori + italian

fav fruit: watermelons (only when in season)

fav scent: the smell of a freezer tbh? it just smells Nice i don’t know how to properly explain it

fav season: spring! the breezes are welcoming without being overbearingly freezing

fav color: ornge,,,,

fav animal: SHARKS + CROCS + FERRETS

coffee, tea or hot chocolate: tea! with some milk tho

average hrs of sleep: too little

fav fictional character: One character?????? uhhhhhhh……. like. biggest cc right now is either idw skids or oz from monster prom

no. of blankets you sleep with: depending on my mood but i’d say the average is like, 3??

fav songs: i quickly whipped up some songs i listen to

fav artists: i came to the realization that i like acts that are considered ‘bad’ like maroon 5/drake/lil yachty etc in specific doses… i wouldn't call them good yet, but! i have no beef and thats good

fav books: remember ‘where the wild things are’??? that shit was like. literal childhood, man.. :happytears: i really need to look for a copy again

@thonany-klieme

name: leon / lionel, interchangeable really

gender: male, im probs an nb guy

star sign: sagittarius!

height: 6’1

sexuality: gay??? im not sure, im mostly attracted to other guys but i have had very brief crushes on girls + nb people? sexuality’s confusing so im gonna just latch to the gaybel (gay label) for now

lock screen image: its the album cover of 1992 deluxe by princess nokia, tho it was “T Hanos” a few days ago since i change it often - my home screen is venom but his torso says ‘fuck machine’

ever had a crush on a teacher: no??

where do you see yourself in ten years: ideally i’m teaching kids math n english, realistically i’m probably going down with the political climate

if you could go anywhere, where would you go: new zealand!! or the netherlands

what was your favorite halloween costume: halloween is not big at all where i live, the only time i tried trick or treating was when i was like 7?? i threw a bedsheet on myself and pretended to be a ghost, though since there were no eyeholes + the sheet was blue, it looked more like i was just a moving lump

last kiss: never had one

have you ever been to las vegas: nah and i dont plan to?? how do you handle regular days of 40C wtf

favorite pair of shoes: i have this pair of jandals that ive worn for a fair bit longer than my other pair of shoes, tho i only wear them in summer + very warm nights

favorite book: ngl its. ‘the very hungry caterpillar’ by eric carle. i just, love it alot and i cant explain w h y

#acid.txt #this took a while but :wahoo:

8 notes · View notes

thelarryficrecplace · 7 years ago

Text

Larry Fics Masterpost - Christmas Edition

Hello again, sorry for some reason I could not find this post so I had to repost it (props to me for making 3 drafts ey)! Anyway it’s freezing outside, so I hope these Christmassy fics keep you warm:

all the lights are full of colour by infinitelymint:

Summary: So, fast-forwarding eight years from the day Harry met Louis, he is now a twenty-seven year old owner of one of the most up-and-coming eating establishments on the London restaurant scene, father of two wonderful boys and… separated from his husband. Now, that last part definitely was never a part of the original plan.

Or, Harry and Louis are separated, but for the sake of their two sons, they choose to spend Christmas together. It may just lead to a Christmas miracle.

Word count: 26,727

love is a word (you gave it a name) by hattalove:

Summary: “It’s worth it anyway,” says Harry, looking into Louis’s eyes. He’s untucked his hair from behind his ear, and it falls down in silky strands to obscure his face. He looks so painfully young, even after everything. Louis’s strong, strong boy. “Just for the two of us. We get to be selfish for a little while.”

it's christmas. in between snowman building, tree shopping, and ill-advised skating on a frozen lake, louis and harry get ready to take the most important step of their lives.

Word count: 21,413

We Will Find Our Way by supernope:

Summary: Harry smiles at Louis, quick and easy, and says, “Well, since we’re in the same boat, we’ll just make our own Christmas. What do you say?”

Louis tamps down on a bloom of warmth in his belly. He barely knows Harry past seeing him walk down the hall in just his skivvies - not that he’s complaining - but he’s being so lovely, smiling at him so hopefully, and, well. Louis doesn’t much fancy the idea of spending Christmas completely alone. Nodding, he reaches out and pokes Harry’s dimple, watches it flirt to life underneath his fingertip. “I say yes.”AKA, Harry and Louis are uni students studying abroad in New York, stuck in the dorms together over Christmas.

Word count: 9,580

every time i run, i keep on falling on you by hazmesentir:

Summary: AU. After being best friends for 8 years, Harry moves to LA. It takes the keen observations of all of Louis' friends to realise the one thing he really wants for Christmas is Harry.

Word count: 12,111

Tis the Season for...Love? by AFangirlFantasy:

Summary: Prompt: Harry seems to have it all: A successful career as a pastry chef, a Victorian home in London, and a dedicated boyfriend who he's been with for years.

One day he stops by his boyfriend's apartment to surprise him and finds out that he's not so dedicated to Harry after all. Shocked and too depressed to celebrate, he decides to skip Christmas and on a whim leaves on a plane to New York. In New York he meets Louis…

Or...Louis might just be what Harry's needed all along.

Word count: 27,958

Candles On Air by isthatyoularry:

Summary: Harry’s smile is filled with unconditional love — just not the right kind. Louis has told himself for years that it’s okay. Harry loving him the way he can is enough. Each year it gets a little harder to repeat the same mantra."

It gets better. It will pass. His friendship is enough."

Harry has taken the liberty of putting on classic Christmas tunes on the speaker in the kitchen, and as their shared flat isn’t the largest Louis can hear Mariah Carey’s crooning from where he’s perched on the small sofa in the living room. Harry is on the floor, humming along. And yes. All Louis wants for Christmas is Harry.

A Christmas AU ft. Pining, Heartbreak, and maybe A Happy Ending.

Word count: 29,666

Snowed Under by ModestlyHomo:

Summary: Louis picks up a hitchhiker on Christmas Eve.

Word count: 10,192

Under that Damn Mistletoe by hickeystyles:

Summary: Louis' heart froze when he looked over and saw Liam whispering in Harry’s ear and nodding towards the mistletoe. Louis’ eyes widened comically before he dove out of sight so Harry couldn’t see him standing under the mistletoe like an idiot, or worse, like he was part of Liam’s plan to have Harry kiss him.

Or a Christmas Party AU where Louis is in love with his best friend Harry and everyone else is trying to force the two of them under the mistletoe together.

Word count: 9,923

All I Want For Christmas Is You (And Your Children) by hazzboolarry:

Summary: Harry finds himself at Tesco on December 24th for a quick grocery shopping with his daughter Leah.

He thought he’d come back home with a few things for dinner (and probably a few that Leah slipped through the cart without him noticing).

He absolutely did not think about the possibility of meeting a gorgeous single father of two children.

And inviting him to his Christmas Eve dinner at home.

[Christmas Fic with single parents Harry and Louis, they meet at Tesco, Louis is struggling with money but no fear because Harry is there and it’s just really cute]

Word count: 11,307

at candle glow and mistletoe by tomorrows:

Summary: “I swear to God,” he mumbles under his breath as he squeezes them on, “if this is all a ploy to kidnap me, I’m going to feel no guilt for keeping your jacket.”

“Just trust me, alright?” Louis holds his hand out for Harry once the other man straightens up, his soft face flushed in a way that only the holiday rush can do. “I couldn’t hurt you if I tried, Harry Styles.”

Harry places a tender hand over Louis'. “Okay,” he answers, a little breathless. “I trust you.”

an au where louis is santa, harry is a single dad, and niall is the worst reindeer to ever exist

Word count: 5,890

all i want for christmas is by crybaby:

Summary: With Harry up against his side, his little four year old snuggled in his lap like it’s her favourite place, Louis could really believe they’re a real little family, off to their chalet to spend Christmas in the snow. A real little family where Louis would have the luxury of kissing Harry under mistletoe and rolling around in the fresh snow with him, taking him upstairs to his bedroom and fucking him to keep him warm.

Word count: 17,884

Chestnuts Roasting... And All That by elsi_bee:

Summary: Louis is apparently the only person at his new job who is single as can be. It’s not a big deal to just tell his new colleagues that he has a boyfriend, right? Until he has to make this imaginary boyfriend magically appear at the office holiday party. Cue fake relationship antics with a certain someone who is more than willing to play along.

Word count: 46,760

Make My Wish Come True (Baby All I Want For Christmas Is You) by larrymylove:

Summary: Louis has just agreed to spend the holidays with his family, and to bring Harry along with him. There's just one problem...he and Harry have broken up, and are wanting to avoid telling everyone until after the holidays. The fake/pretend relationship AU with a twist.

Word count: 29,549

as long as there's christmas by soleilouis:

Summary: louis and harry decide to spend part of their christmas holiday at disneyland. their kids could not be more pleased.

Word count: 4,648

Rated R by cherrystreet:

Summary: Louis gifts Harry with a surprise sex tape, and it accidentally makes its way into Harry's family Christmas party. Ridiculousness ensues.

Word count: 7,635

wrap me up like a present and put me away by clicheanna:

Summary: It’s Christmas time and as Louis’ best friend, Harry needs to make sure he doesn’t feel lonely during the merriest part of the year. Maybe putting anonymous notes in his locker isn’t the best way, but, technicalities.

He’s not going to do it. It’s ridiculous. Zayn is wrong. There is absolutely no reason for him to result to this.

But Zayn’s stupid prick voice and idea has been stuck in his head. And it was like, three in the morning, and he couldn’t remember why it was a bad thing to just try.

And now he has 135 words written on the paper (he counted) and everything he forgot about in the middle of the night comes flooding back. Louis will find out. It’s inevitable. He will, and he’ll never want to speak to Harry again. He’ll think he’s a freak who puts notes in people’s lockers about their undying love for them. It’s not worth it to find out whether he thinks petty crushes are cute or not.

Harry clenches the paper around his fingers.

He’s not going to do it.

Except he is.

Word count: 8,882

All I Want For Christmas (Is You) by dea_liberty

Summary: Louis is a Christmas elf that thinks Christmas has lost its magic, which is not surprising, really, when he works at Toys "R" Us. Working in retail at Christmas time can kill anyone's Christmas spirit. Harry is a customer that comes in looking for a present for his goddaughter and finds something else worth writing to Santa for. It’s the last Saturday before Christmas and, at this precise moment, he’s never, ever hated Christmas more. “No,” he hisses into the phone for what he feels like the thousandth time in the space of about a minute. “I can’t get another three hundred Playstations just because some stupid popstar tweeted about it.” He stomps down the next aisle. As luck would have it, it’s the fucking Barbie and Ken doll aisle and right there in front of him is a doll of the bloody popstar in question. Louis wants to step on it.

Word count: 7,696

Let It Snow by foxandbee:

Summary: It’s Sunday the 1st when Louis realises that, oh crap, it’s December. And he really only realises this because he walks out of Sainsbury’s and straight into a tiny, tiny human. Frosty the Snowman cuts off abruptly when the rest of the choir notices that Louis has just flattened their soprano.

Or the one where Harry's a Christmas caroller and Louis' a bit silly and it takes them almost a month to get their shit together.

Word count: 4,856

Didn't think it would work out by swirlingchaos:

Summary: There was no way he could let it happen, the prospect of working with Harry for the next two months or so seemed like a nightmare specially designed for him. From hell. By the devil himself, probably. Perfect torture, fit amazingly well with the self-destructive path he’d been on for a year now, Louis clearly had to say no.

“‘Course, yeah, I’ll clear it with Simon then, brilliant, cheers mate,” Fuck.

Or, Louis is a primary school teacher, Harry has a 7-year-old son in his class, Louis has a 1-year-old crush on Harry, and they have to put on the school's Christmas play. Brilliant.

Word count: 16,396

A Rhythm In Rush by fondleeds:

Summary: They walk slow, unhurried, and they talk about everything, the earth and the glaciers and themselves, little bits and pieces. Harry finds himself falling open, caving in like the crevices that run like cold veins from the icy lakes. It feels strange to talk this way. He feels like he should be having this conversation hidden under his covers, whispering in the dark. It feels like the kind of talk that means too much, that means trust and revealing the small things that make up the bigger ones, except they’re both barely blinking an eye.

Harry is a WWF journalist with big dreams and Louis is a glaciologist that flies helicopters for fun. Greenland is an odd place to spend Christmas, but just maybe, the perfect place to fall headfirst into love.

Word count: 40,010

Harry, Did You Know (that your baby boy, is married to his best friend?) by tempolarriefics :

Summary: 10 years ago, Louis and Zayn made a pact that if they weren't married by 30, they'd marry each other. So they do, as best mates do.

Enter Harry Styles, who's new to town. He and Louis are immediately drawn to one another. Louis doesn't tell Harry about Zayn, because they're just friends (who are married.)

Harry finds out on Christmas Day, Louis/Zayn's "anniversary".

Word count: 35,549

Love Actually, is all around. by satellitemoments:

Summary: Louis is Prime Minister and Harry his fortunate catering manager.

Word count: 16,561

Night Changes by louhearted:

Summary: Harry is buying last minute Christmas gifts for a party on Christmas Eve and gets snowed in the store with cashier!louis. Featuring side ziall and Liam, Niall and Zayn as Louis' best mates.

Word count: 29,743

All I want for christmas is you by Tita:

Summary: The one where Louis is a pining punk, Harry is the school’s sweetheart, and a miss sent text at a Christmas party turns out to be the best possible present.

Word count: 2,950

beautiful star by tommoandbambi:

Summary: “You know, when I pegged you for a druglord, I wasn't exactly challenging you to make me believe that you actually are one. What is this place?” Louis says after he swallows over the mild panic that's building up in his throat over the fact that he's literally sitting in front of the cause of his teenage sexuality crisis.

Word count: 17,220

Potions and Presents and a Partridge in a Pear Tree by b0yfriendsinl0ve:

Summary: Harry has a bit of a crush, it's Christmas and there's chocolate.

Word count: 7,052

December 23rd by dinosaursmate:

Summary: He scanned the shop floor, disappointment starting to bubble in his gut before he spotted the familiar face emerging from the back room, efficiently stacking boxes onto a previously empty shelf.

“Well! If it isn’t my favourite curly-haired little elf.”

Harry spun around with comic speed and a grin split his face immediately.

“Louis!” He said, looking like he was about to fling himself into Louis’ arms, stopping himself at the last second. “How’s it going?!”

“Not bad, you?”

Harry just nodded, straightening that same green hat upon his head. “Need some help?” Louis enlists the help of a blushing, curly haired shop assistant to find all his Christmas presents and ends up receiving one of his own.

Word count: 7,757

O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree! (thy candles shine so brightly) by throughthedark:

Summary: “So Harry,” Louis said solemnly. “My sisters and I are determined to find the very best tree this place has to offer. Do you feel up for the challenge?”

AU where Louis needs a Christmas tree and Harry just so happens to work at a Christmas tree farm.

Word count: 9,831

can't blame gravity by karamelised:

Summary: They have a tradition on their birthdays.

Word count: 11,931

underneath the christmas tree by suspendrs:

Summary: Good morning, and happy birthday to ME! You’ll be happy to know that I went ahead and planned out your present to me, so you can return that awful watch (sorry I peeked, I couldn’t help it) at your liesure leisure (?) and do this instead! I’ve planned a scavenger hunt for you, and I’ll see you at the finish line. Your first clue is hidden inside my favorite box of cereal. Love you! -L

Louis sends Harry on a scavenger hunt on Christmas Eve.

Word count: 17,792

If Only in My Dreams by jupiter_lou:

Summary: Harry considered the situation silently for a moment. "Listen, I’m only going home through New Year’s Day. If you wanted to, you could come home with me for the week?" The sentence morphed into a question as he watched Louis's face drop open with surprise.

"I couldn't do that, Harry," Louis dismissed, eyes widen with incredulity. "We barely know one another, and I could never intrude on your family time like that!"

"What better way to get to know me than to spend time with the people who shaped me into who I am today?"

OR the one where Harry's new flatmate, Louis, needs a place to spend Christmas, so he invites him to spend it with his family. When they arrive, everyone thinks they're dating.

Word count: 13,914

Let Me Give You My Life by midnightskies:

Summary: Gemma has one rule for Louis while he stays with her family at Christmas; not to hook up with her little brother, so of coursethat's the one thing Louis does.

Word count: 14,258

let this one gift last forever by larryshares:

Summary: harry plays santa at the mall every year, and one day he meets a quirky little girl who instantly captures his heart. it doesn't take long for her father to do the same.

Word count: 10,607

give me my chance and give me my wings by sopattable:

Summary: Harry never really wanted to put a name to the face…or the ass… but now he has it, and now he has to buy it a present.

A University AU where Harry’s a music student, Louis takes theatre, and Niall’s the captain of Secret Santa and relationships. Also included is singing, pranks, and way too many fruits and vegetables.

Word count: 18,803

my world is filled with cheer (and you) by rbbsbb:

Summary: AU. They're all in Secondary school together, and Harry isn't new to pining. The annual Secret Santa gift exchange is on, though, and when he pulls Louis' name, Harry decides that he needs to get his boy the best present that he could ever ask for.

(Or, Harry is in love with Louis, his best mate, and is his Secret Santa this year.)

Word count: 11,643

Pining for You by peanutbutterapple:

Summary: Harry sells Christmas trees. Louis doesn't mean to buy so many of them.

Word count: 9,764

There Is a Light by perfectdagger (sincerelyste):

Summary: Louis and his daughter have had a pretty bad year and things start to change when Harry tries to buy the same doll Louis intended to buy for his little girl for Christmas.

Two girls.

Two fathers.

Two families, meeting and becoming exactly what the other needed during the holidays.

Christmas/New Years AU in which Harry and Louis are single parents and they meet at an odd encounter at the toy shop and somehow, they end up together, bonded by their little ones.

Word count: 17,880

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by hilourry:

Summary: “Have you been a good boy this year, Louis?” Harry mumbles into Louis’ neck, leaving a big fat bruise there for everyone to see. The girls are going to make snarky comments about this tomorrow, Louis thinks.

“I tried to be, I really did, but I just love being naughty. I couldn’t help myself, I hope I don’t get coal in my stocking,” Louis pouts, starting to nip on Harry’s jaw.

“Mm, well, Santa sent me here to punish you,” Harry smirks, gripping Louis’ thighs.

or Louis and Harry are married with two kids and another on the way. They celebrate Christmas as a family.

Word count: 5,003

let your heart be light by scagnetism:

Summary: When they crawled into bed that night, Louis cuddled into him with hazy eyes, whispering into his neck, “I’m so happy, Hazza,” and Harry will never get tired of that.

He’ll never get tired of being a part of this family and sharing Christmas with them.

Or, Christmas with the Tomlinson family.

Word count: 3,430

where the lovelight gleams by midnights:

Summary: louis has spent exactly sixteen christmases with harry. he's been in love with him for exactly ten.

ft. stupid, silly boys who don't know they're in love, an ot5 sleepover, and christmas eve with the tomlinson-deakins

Word count: 8,027

Wise Men Say Only Fools Rush In. by hemakeshimstrongx:

Summary: "Louis has only had his breath taken away a few times, none of them caused just by looking at another human being. But he's looking at Harry and he can barely breathe but he wouldn't have it any other way."

[or: Louis takes Harry home for Christmas, and realizes that he doesn't ever want to have another Christmas with anyone but Harry.]

Word count: 9,565

If Only in My Dreams by shipsdrifting:

Summary: When a snowstorm delays their flights and strands them both at their university during the start of winter break, Harry and Louis find each other. And with a little help from their friends, they might even get to keep each other.

Word count: 20,604

Yours In Fractions by FullOnLarrie:

Summary: Louis and Harry are strangers who, because of a mix up, share their mutual friend's apartment and bed over the holidays.

Word count: 23,585

Time and Ten by aclosetlarryshipper:

Summary: "Don’t you think it’s weird that when you get older, Christmas doesn’t really feel the same?”

Harry wishes he could say something helpful, but he knows Louis is right. Once you begin to have to give gifts instead of simply receive, the lost feelings of wonder and excitement are irreversible.

“I guess that means you just have to bring the magic yourself,” Harry says.

(Harry and Louis are babysitters who meet in line for Santa.)

Word count: 21,762

It's Grand Just Holding Your Hand by embro:

Summary: As a part of a charity drive, the students could buy their classmates Christmas-themed gingerbread biscuits.

Harry's got to be the only person in school that's not got anything, but the pretty boy who wears reindeer jumpers and festive suspenders might just be making it all worth it.

Word count: 3,245

Nothing Left to Lose by loviedovielou:

Summary: Louis fucking hates Secret Santa.

Word count: 6,090

as soft as midnight whispers by thispieceofmind:

Summary: au. louis only likes christmas on christmas, and harry wants his birthday to be perfect.

Word count: 6,069

every december (your star lights the sky) by larrystomlinsons:

Summary: Louis needs a date for the Christmas dance and Harry is the wingman that has feelings for him.

Word count: 17,793

All Hearts Come Home For Christmas by itsprobablylarry:

Summary: “Gemma, who the fuck is that?” Louis hisses as he watches her wave back with a big smile.

Her brows furrow for a second as she looks at Louis. “What? That’s my brother, you dork. Told you he’d pick us up, didn’t I?”

Well fuck. Apparently, Mr. Handsome over there is Gemma’s brother. And Louis is spending a week with him. Pretending to be his sister’s boyfriend. Shit.

(Basically: Gemma brings ‘her boyfriend’, Louis, home for Christmas and her brother is really hot.)

Word count: 8,106

Home for Christmas by haloeverlasting:

Summary: Or, the one where Harry didn't think he wanted a family, but with a little Christmas magic (and maybe one Louis Tomlinson) he realizes that he is very, very wrong.

Word count: 22,004

Holiday Secrets by mafkaast:

Summary: Harry Styles, a charming, kind and family-oriented lad, is in his second year of University, studying abroad in the United States.

When Harry can’t afford to go home for Christmas, his roommate William Tomlinson takes him along to his family. William rarely talks about or visits his own family and seems very private about his twin brother Louis.

Immediately upon meeting William’s large, loud family, Harry is intrigued with Louis. He is alluring yet awfully shy and secretive.

And even when they grow closer to each other, Louis continues to remain somewhat frightened and distant. What is Louis hiding, what is his secret?

Word count: 83,922

Wrapped in Red by QuickedWeen:

Summary: Louis backs himself into a corner and has two days to find a date to bring to the Horan Family's big annual Christmas party to both appease his mother, and show up an ex-boyfriend. In the midst of Christmas shopping and trying to work out his dilemma, he meets Harry Styles, the cute volunteer behind the charity gift wrapping booth.

Word count: 15,189

make my wish come true by deblond:

Summary: “Did you know that there’s a hole in your tights?”

“Yes,” Louis answers with as much dignity as he can muster. “Any particular reason you’re staring at my ass, Harold?”

“It’s a good ass,” Harry says smirking. “And it’s Harry.”

Or, Louis works as Santa’s elf at the mall. He meets Harry.

Word count: 4,708

Just Hold On by sincewewereeighteen:

Summary: "Everyone’s in the living room. Dan’s family has come and gone, they’ve done the dishes, and Harry’s parents went their way too. He stayed, because everybody asked him to. Well, everybody but Louis. Still. He stayed."

Word count: 8,774

Kiss Me on This Cold December Night by hopeneverdies:

Summary: Louis Tomlinson is a year three football (soccer) player attending a university that fosters international students in Ontario, Canada. Harry Styles is a year one student living in the same building and is obsessed with the Green Bay Packers. Louis thinks Harry's a wanker while Harry can't figure out why Louis doesn't like him. A blizzard keeps them and their mutual mates from flying home for Christmas. Will Louis ever see Harry for who he really is? Will they both be able to overcome past heartbreak and open up to someone again?

Word count: 34,489

Maybe We're Perfect Strangers (Maybe We'll Stick Together) by FallingLikeThis:

Summary: Or Louis works for a gossip site and, when it comes to light that ex-musical partners (and lovers) Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran are spending the holidays together, he's sent to see if the reunion the world's been waiting for is in the works. But at the cost of his own holiday with his family. Louis really hates this job.

Word count: 24,589

you make my whole world feel so right when it's wrong by xxPayne:

Summary: (or, Harry is pregnant and stops at the mall to buy cheap baby clothes. Louis has extra money from working a long shift, and he can't think of a better way to spend it than on him.)

Word count: 6,281

I Can't Even Separate Love From Lust by RedPhoneBooth:

Summary: Louis and Harry have a one night stand, but it all turns a bit more serious when they have to pretend to be a couple over the holidays. Things were fun and casual at first, but feelings change and Harry should really be aware of who's around when talking out loud.

Word count: 19,072

we’ll wake up in the snow and bury all our trouble by immortalized:

Summary: Or, on the way to his mum's house for Christmas, Louis finds himself in a bit of a dilemma, but he also finds himself a cute boy.

Word count: 10,767

Everything I Need I Get From You by moodlighting:

Summary: Historical AU. It's two days before Christmas, and Harry has only two pounds and thirty pence to his name to purchase a gift for Louis.

Word count: 8,224

Pizza My Heart by Happilysunlight (sunlight), yslstagram (lindseyloveslouis):

Summary: Plans fell through, and Louis ends up alone for his birthday and Christmas. He gets a little tipsy and decides to order pizza put on a show for the delivery boy.

Harry’s just elated he gets to deliver a pizza to the boy he’s had a crush on for years.

Word count: 13,035

Snow by protagonist_m:

Summary: AU in which Louis and Zayn are meant to be, except for how they aren't, and Louis is trapped in some weird cross between Requiem For a Dream and Love, Actually. All just in time for Christmas.

Word count: 28,171

All I Want For Christmas Is Lou by ologist:

Summary: Harry doesn't expect to find an elf living in his Christmas tree, but Louis is quite lovely enough to make up for the shock.

Word count: 5,606

your eyes are like starlight now by babyboylouis:

Summary: or the one where louis hates his job as an elf at the shopping mall, but hates it a lot less when he meets olivia and her hot daddy

Word count: 2,132

On The First Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me.... by larrymylove:

Summary: Harry never wanted to attend a Christmas party with his mortal enemy Louis Tomlinson. He especially never wanted for anyone else to see the gag gift he brought along for the host. But now Louis' tearing into the gift, and life never tends to always work out quite the way you expect.

Word count: 5,925

For Reasons Wretched and Divine by panicmoonwalk:

Summary: Or, the one where Louis and Harry’s Christmas holiday at Hogwarts is rudely interrupted when they’re dragged off on a tropical wizard’s vacation, featuring some angry centaurs, a spell gone wrong, and the ‘weirdest birthday anyone’s ever had. Ever’.

Word count: 19,055

precious little thing by Anonymous:

Summary: a university AU featuring phone sex operator Louis, copious amounts of sweet, soft kink discovery, and Louis being Harry's Daddy.

Word count: 21,034

Frozen Hands to Hold by hickeystyles:

Summary: Christmas AU where Harry is spending the holiday alone until he meets Louis who invites him to spend Christmas with his family and friends. Harry may or may not be in love with him at first sight.

Word count: 41,586

Pass the Cranberry by iwillpaintasongforlou:

Summary: (Or, the one in which Harry and Louis fuck very, very quietly in his childhood bed on Christmas night so as not to wake the countless sleeping Tomlinsons just beyond those four thin walls.)

Word count: 3,552

doorbell rings, we're not listening by bottomlinsons (grimgrace):

Summary: At approximately quarter past three in the morning, Harry is woken by a thump. Louis is gone, he notices first. Santa’s kidnapped him, he thinks next. (Or: A Christmas AU wherein Louis has bad habits and Harry loves him anyway.)

Word count: 2,186

i'll be home for christmas by suspendrs:

Summary: Or, Louis and Harry can’t decide where to go on Christmas.

Word count: 12,609

671 notes · View notes

tashahopp · 5 years ago

Text

Draft 4

Eri placed the cactus by the window and thought about the potted plants that had mysteriously disappeared. It did not bother her, things go missing all the time. Things like bobby pins and paper clips. If small things like these could go missing forever then there is nothing unusual about several pots of plants going missing too.

Eri lives alone. Her family lives in Nagoya but she moved away when she was seventeen. She was not close to her family members, they have been strangers living under the same roof. They had sent her letters every now and then but Eri never replied.

The air was cold and she indulged in a hot bath as she meticulously cleaned herself like a cat. Washing herself made her think of the last time she had let anyone touch her. Eri did not have many friends, she kept to herself in school. Her hair was jet black and it has never been anything but black. Her skin looks like it has never seen the sun. Her mouth is small and is of a lovely shade of pink. If you look close enough you might think she is beautiful. The only person who had bothered looking was Shuici.

He introduced himself as Shuichi but half the time he did not even respond to it. They met last year in a nearby 7-eleven store while she was eating ramen.

‘Hello.’ He took the seat next to her.

Eri continued eating her noodles.

‘We’re from the same class. In fact, we have been in the same class for three years.’

This time she turned to see him. Shuici was just a head taller and he had worn a mustard sweater with a pair of jeans and expensive leather boots. He did not mind that she was scrutinising him from head to toe, he wanted her attention. By this time, she had finished her meal and was ready to go home.

‘Wait. My name is Shuici. You are Eri right?’ She gave several nods three seconds later.

‘You know, you don’t talk much. Let’s go for a walk, it’s Sunday and the weather’s lovely.’

Shuici was right, it was June and the air was windy but not cold. She agreed to walk with him and they walked mindlessly through the streets of Tokyo. They passed by a few bars and a few more 7-eleven stores. Everyone around them seemed to be in love, exchanging quick kisses and clasping each other’s hands tightly. Eri wondered at this point what love would feel like. Shuici seemed to know what she was thinking and he pulled Eri closer by her shoulders. This sent a sudden jolt and her ears turned red.

The sky was orange with a splash of purple. Shuici did most of the talking and Eri would either nod in response or gaze at his direction to let him know she was listening. Eri felt like they had a conversation although it was very one-sided. Shuici talked about his childhood and how he had spent his holidays in his grandmother’s house eating juicy watermelon. He lives in a dorm now and his parents sends him money every month.

Shuici confessed that he had made use of his freedom when he first arrived in Tokyo. He would sit by the bar with his friends and talk to the girls sitting across them. At the end of the night his friends would bring a girl home but Shuici thought it would be pointless.

‘After some time it became a routine for them you know? But what is the point of sleeping with someone if you are not going to see them anymore.’

Eri felt small and she was embarrassed at the thought of imagining Shuici sleep with a girl. She had never even kissed before. The thought of having a strong sense of desire towards the opposite sex is so unfamiliar to her, until now.

They had circled the streets and Eri recognised the 7-eleven near her house where they met just now. She was sad that they had to part. She enjoyed listening to his stories and by now she knew so much about him that she was ready to call him a friend.

‘Goodbye Shuici.’ Shuici was surprised that Eri had opened her mouth.

He smiled with his eyes and gave her a loud kiss on her forehead. He left her standing there for some time, she kept rubbing the spot where his lips were moments ago. She watched him disappear into a corner and she retreated back into her apartment.

For about half a year they ate ramen together and took evening walks together. At times Eri would let him in the apartment and they would sit next to each other on her bed and talk.

‘Everything about you is of perfect symmetry.’ Shuici had said one day.

Eri blushed in response and she let him kiss the side of her mouth. She could still remember what they were wearing that day. Shuici was fond of button ups and he would always find ways to incorporate it in his attire. It was cold that December and he had worn a maroon sweater with a white collared shirt on the inside. Nobody had noticed this before but Eri was very particular about what she wore too. Her wardrobe was filled with white and cream. She was wearing an off-white sweater with champagne midi skirt that day, she had let her hair down and it curled lightly on her shoulders. Eri bit her lips and Shuici asked her to quit that.

‘You’re going to bleed if you don’t stop.’ He placed his index finger in her mouth and she laughed and bit him.

He likes it when Eri’s hair is up in a bun but she would only do that when she was going to bathe. Shuici was the first person who had seen her naked since her body matured. Eri never liked going to public baths. Her grandmother took her once when she was six but she hated the idea of exposing herself to strangers. She felt vulnerable and unprotected. However being naked around Shuici felt right and appropriate.

Shuici would massage her back and kiss the back of her neck. They would take turns to clean each other’s body before they made love to each other. It was a slow process and Shuici took his time to explore her body. At the end of it she would lie on her tummy and fall asleep as he move his fingers up and down her spine, drawing a very straight line on her back.

On some days that was how they would spend their afternoon. They spent most of their time in her apartment and when it was warm outside they would circle the city and visit places. Eri often brought Shuici to second hand book stores.

‘Sometimes you find very sweet memos in the book like this one.’ She picked a thick purple novel,The Moon Stone by Wilkie Collins. When she flipped to the first page, there were scribbles that said:

To Fumiko,

This was one of your favourites when we met. Words like these can be so pleasing to see on the first page.

Hope I am still one of your favourites.

Shuici took the book away from her and gave her a hard peck on the lips.

‘This is my note.’ he said and he led her out of the book store, still stunned from the unexpected gesture. They walked silently down the streets before they came across a museum. The art museum was going to close in two hours but they thought it would be a good idea to visit some place new. Besides, the last time they had visited a museum was in their adolescence.

There were many interesting art pieces. They came across huge black boxes that said ‘touch me.’ and they had to dip their hand inside the opening. A few of the items were soft and some were prickly. The next room was dark and there were people dancing in different paces. There were no music playing and the only thing to be heard was their heavy breathing. Their breathing was very controlled and every move was purposeful. Eri stayed to watch for some time before Shuici told her it was getting late. On their way back they saw a painting titled Transcendence. There was a white bed with beige wooden frame. A girl was lifted and her soul seemed to be escaping her body. The light was pouring in through the door-sized windows and there were green plants beside the bed.

‘Do you think there is another world out there beyond ours?’ Eri asked.

‘I think there could be.’ he said as he stroked her head. Eri lifted her eyes off the painting and gave him a squeeze.

That night Shuici had decided to spend the night at her house because he had missed the last train. Eri never used her kitchen and her fridge was always empty. Her cabinet was filled with cereals and ready-to-cook noodles.

‘I’m taking you to the supermarket tomorrow.’ Shuici said as they ate their ramen noodles in her room.

Eri’s flat was small but cosy. Her parents were wealthy so the whole house was renovated but she refused to buy a bigger flat. Her room was white and it had wooden tiles. There were no pictures of her family or friends. Eri never owned any pet either. Her room was so neat that it was almost empty, like nobody had lived in it at all. The only sign of life was the occasional crease on her bed sheets.

In the middle of the night Eri was roused from her sleep by his kisses.

‘Sweet dreams.’ Shuici said as he moved his lips closer to her mouth. Eri mumbled something incomprehensible and inched closer to him. She wanted to build a home in his arms. She slept peacefully that night and she woke up some time in the afternoon. She was used to waking up in the morning so she felt strangely out of place when she realised half the day had passed. Shuici was nowhere in her room when she opened her eyes. The bed was cool and there were no traces of him.

Eri’s head was still fuzzy from the long sleep and she figured he had taken the first train back to his dorm. She dragged herself out of bed as her stomach was calling and she realised her fridge was stocked with food. There was also a red cactus in a white ceramic pot in the middle of the dining table. She moved the pot to the window by the kitchen and took a bath.

She expected a call or two from Shuici but there was none. When she tried to dial his number, the line had been cut off. Two days later he was not in school too. She asked the professor if he knew what happened to Shuici but his response was astonishing.

‘Who?’

Eri looked for his friends but they gave her the same reply. No one remembered Shuici. It was like he never existed. Unknowingly as the days grew, she too forgot about him. She found it weird that she was oddly calm about his disappearance. It was almost like he was meant to disappear.

Days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months, it was close to a year since Shuici disappeared. Eri no longer had any recollection of him. He is nothing more than a distant memory. She had passed by the same streets and stores with nothing but emptiness in her mind. She noticed the cactus disappearing and she would replace them with new ones every time. It has to be red and bright, just like the first one she had received. Although she do not remember why she kept a bright red cactus in the first place. The cactus was the only thing that gave her house colour.

One cold December morning, Eri felt a strong urge to visit the old book store. It was a shabby place and hardly anyone made purchases. She wondered how the old man managed to keep his business going. She was struck by a book that had a purple spine, it stood out among the rest. Dust flew out as she flipped the cover page.

To Eri,

Hope I am still one of your favourites.

Suddenly she was crying. She did not understand why her face was hot with tears and she frantically wiped them away but they kept coming. Something was calling out to her. A name, a voice. She felt sick like she had been punched in the guts and her head did not belong to her. She ran out of the store and dragged herself home.

The road felt unfamiliar to her, her head was spinning and she took several wrong turns. The sun had set when she arrived at her door step. The sky was too orange like someone had increased the light intensity by a million times. Eri felt her consciousness slipping away, her limbs were giving up on her. A voice was telling her to get in the house so she dug for her keys and slammed the door open.

She could not believe her eyes, she was greeted by a trail of potted red cactus leading up to the bathroom. It was the same few cacti that had gone missing over the months. She heard the sound of water and she immediately undressed as if it was the most natural thing to do. Approaching the bathroom slowly, she turned the knob to find an empty tub filled with warm water. She reached for the hair tie over the sink and put her hair up into a neat bun. She thought about nothing in particular, the pain in her head had receded. However there was darkness growing inside her, she was suffocating and the only thing that could make her feel better was a warm bath. She closed the door behind her and sat by the tub. She dipped her feet slowly but she knew the water was lukewarm. She closed her eyes as she sinked lower into the tub.

Eri was dying. It was not physical death. Her heart would still be beating and she would still be breathing. Her life was not going to end here. Her body was after all just a vessel, it is her soul that is leaving her. The air was bubbling wildly from her nose and mouth. Her ears felt like they had burst and she could hear nothing but silence. There was no pain. Her world turned white in an instant.

There was a male figure standing in front of her and he seemed to notice her staring at him. He turned his head slowly in her direction.

‘Shuici.’

#shortstory

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jk-snoddy · 8 years ago

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“DAMN IT, ICARUS!” Stories of Flying Too Close to the Sun.

Theme: RISK (...but mostly failure)

When I think about the creative risks I’ve taken in the past few years the first thing that comes to mind are the failures. In my eyes, the word “RISK” paints pictures of potential danger, humiliation, and disappointment. It’s like streaking naked across a college campus, in the day, at lunchtime. But it also paints the slim opportunity of being an outlier in that wide margin of likely failure. I faced this predicament when I decided to make my first narrative film in college. It was garbage, it pissed me off every step of the way.

Me and my friends, Denny and Joe, had banded together in the spring of 2012 and decided to start a film production team at our college. We made two mediocre music videos, did video documentation for hire, and thanks to Denny's big mouth telling any and every one that "WE HAVE A COMPANY!" we became known as "those video guys". I don't know where we got the gall to think that we were official in any way, but for some reason, we had our heads puffed up by our third gig. We felt like hot shit.

Fast forward to December 2012, it was near the end of the semester and Denny just kept talking about how he wanted to make this movie he’s had in mind for the past seven months. The idea had to do with a young male coming out of the closet to his father. He was super gung-ho about shooting it and creating a story about LBGTQ characters. Although I didn’t connect with the story, the last time I made a narrative film was in high school. I felt this urgency to get behind the camera again and direct something that wasn’t a music video or someone's band in a basement. So I figured with a little common writing sense and empathy I could tell this story. So I told him “Fuck it, I’d be down. Let’s make a movie.” On the last day before Christmas break, I was called in for a production meeting in the school atrium. Before I could even blink, Denny had arranged a small quasi-core production team consisting of a screenwriter, David (who eventually became one of our main actors), our sound guy, Mitchell, and Georgina, our production assistant, Denny who acted as producer, and me as the director. Joe went MIA before the production began. Before the end of that day, I was sent a potential draft of the “screenplay” David had written. The ball was starting to roll a little bit faster than I was used to; this wasn’t all talk anymore. But I had to keep up. Don’t even get me started on the title the producer had in mind.

January was dedicated to editing the script that was written in less than a week. For some stupid reason, I decided to take part in some of the writing duties. For the entire month, I had my stale revisions shat upon by the team who would constantly go back and forth on what it should be and what it shouldn’t. February came and we were casting for each role, finding a cinematographer, setting up our Kickstarter page (we didn’t reach our goal), and trying to deal with our own classes/lives which were crumbling right at our feet due to mounting stress. March arrived. The semester was halfway done; my personal work and my grades were suffering. The cast was finalized, and we were set to shoot during the week of spring break. I felt nothing but tension as the first shooting day drew closer. I didn’t have a decent night’s sleep since January. We reserved every Canon MK II and light kit that the film/animation department had to offer, along with sound equipment, batteries, and CF and SD cards. We had to keep track of all of this stuff. Every employee at my school’s equipment stockroom loathed us.

The first day of spring break arrived, principal photography was a complete nightmare. We had the police called on us for shooting near a restaurant, that wasn’t even on screen. It turns out that you can’t trust a fine art photographer to do the job of an actual cinematographer just because the camera has a video button. It was the first time I ever had to fire someone. The first week passed and we were missing so many scenes, the production dragged on for the remainder of March into April. After the first week, we lost our half of our core team. Our sound guy, Mitchell, was a Berklee student at the time and had to focus on finals (along with arranging our score and doing ADR). Our PA had to continue her own classes and studio work. We were down to a skeleton crew and we had to recruit our other friends who were willing to help out. Because we were using school equipment at the time, we had to keep checking out (and extending, and returning) cameras, lighting, and sound gear constantly. Everyone at the stockroom wanted to kill me.

Because we didn’t have a budget, we poured our non-existent cash into coffee and donuts for every set. Turns out you can’t expect an entire cast and crew to run off of Boston cremes. Nor can a 20-year-old subsist on junk food for a month straight and be a good communicator and college student. My diet for the majority of the semester consisted of Dunkin Donuts, black coffee, vending machine pastries, and Adderall.

(There are only plain donuts left.)

This film was no longer a labor of love and enthusiasm, but a chore. We started off cock-sure of our abilities to make this movie, but the moment we got started we were hit with reality. Each day brought a new plateau of pressure and it was far too late to back out.

Being on set wasn’t an exclusively negative experience. Each day of shooting was a healthy learning experience that helped us understand what it takes to be a make a film. I was learning how to effectively express my needs to the performers and how to really direct a story through enforcing subtle undertones to their roles. Directing for me was becoming an intuitive process that became easier to tap into. Because we let our cinematographer go I took on the role of DP myself. It was rewarding because I was able to achieve the shots I was trying to capture in terms of the look and feel. It was hard, but it felt better shooting it than trying to relay shot ideas to someone who was always in their own head. But figuring out how to properly light a scene was more experimental, which meant using more time on set figuring out the composition. We powered through the month of April to get the final pick up shots that we needed and we completely wrapped by the end of the month.

As soon as the school year ended we were trying to set a hard deadline for the final cut before the screening date. FUN FACT: just because your producer is enthusiastic about being an editor, doesn’t give them the chops to actually cut together a movie. We screened the “final” cut to all of our friends, classmates, crew members, actors, and co-workers at the Fenway Health Clinic screening room. It was the biggest disappointment I ever had to sit and watch. There was audio out of sync, a lot of areas where my experimental cinematography style justed looked tacky and wrong, the stale writing was really prominent. It was a shit-show. Most of my classmates, friends, and other creative contemporaries had to sit through that film and I knew that they felt embarrassed for me. From the time that I saw the first rough cut, I knew that it wasn’t going to be the best thing ever. I was honestly hoping Denny could’ve made my stale shooting into something palatable, I was wrong.

The director is supposed to be the calm face of the production. Every day I brought my anxieties, neuroses, and vulnerabilities with me on set. My fragile ego at the time couldn’t handle outside ideas and criticisms from my producer (or anyone on set) because I felt I was CONSTANTLY RIGHT. The fear of not knowing what I was doing balanced the sting of being told I was wrong. I was like an open nerve of my own exposing. To this day I still think about this project and how I handled myself with the crew and actors. I was struggling to manage as a leader alongside everyone else’s opinion and hurrying the fuck up. A bad day on set is pretty discouraging. But three bad days in a row, including class the very next day, then more filming immediately after, was like shooting my motivation in the face in broad daylight.

It’s been a while since I made something of that scope. Mostly fearing to make the same mistakes I made the last time. But the fear of failure will never justify your losses when you never continued moving onward. That’s a big failing on my part as an artist and storyteller. Virgil Abloh (Founder of Off-White, Creative Director at DONDA, friends with Kanye West) said “Find the domino effect. Create the project that’s latent with intention and see what comes after it”. This slightly justifies the artistic risk in making bad work, learning from it, and continuing forward. Looking back, all I did was think about this project and see it as a critical failure on my end as a storyteller. When what I really should've done is embraced it as a part of the process. All this time I hated myself for how it came out, that I forgot that we, a group of early 20 something's, actually had the audacity to finish an entire movie.

I could go on and on about how the resources were bogus, or the lack of money and manpower held us down. But it’s inaccurate. There was no amount of cash or gear that could’ve saved us from ourselves. We took on way more than we should’ve, didn’t plan each step well, and we failed as a result. I think about the unnecessary urgency we had put on ourselves to get this film made instead of slowing down and using the standard process. The heartbreaking part was the toll it took on my personal relationships with everyone in the project. I wouldn’t have guessed how much the tension would fracture my friendships. If I ever get the chance to make a movie soon (god willing) I’ll walk onto the project with my battle scars from the last time. I’ll use paranoid due diligence to make sure I'm not creating a product that I'll look back onto 8 years and cringe about its inception.

#AINAP #film production #risk #icarus #filmmaker #filmmaking #screenwriting #when it all goes wrong

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selfcareparker · 4 years ago

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hi aria <3 (i just noticed “love letters only” LMAO well good thing this is one of those 😌) it’s lovely anon, sorry for being a shit friend lol but here’s everything i’ve had drafted to send you (well not everything! that would be a lot HAHA)

this is more recent but: can’t wait for the blurb!! (you said it was a blurb right? i can’t find it on your blog now but it was something hdgshs) and the squeaky sneakers 😭😭 stoppppp i can’t

about your theme and your pants lmao:

aw come on i bet ur theme will look great :) aND IM HAPPY ABOUT YOUR TROUSERS LOL but i’ve really been up to nothing? WAIT THATS A LIE- so school ended (yay!!) and ya know i’m still dancing bUT i didn’t go to rehearsal last night (the 27th) bc i hurt my back :/ long story short i was at my brothers football game and they won (like for the first time lol) and i got really excited, i jumped and when i landed (which was on two feet!) my back immediately hurt. i’m okay though!! i went to the doctor and they said it’s just a backache, take it easy, don’t go to dance until next week so yeah :)

update!!! i went to dance last night (the 3rd), almost had an anxiety attack because the it’s the sECOND TO LAST REHEARSAL UNTIL THE SHOW AND I FEEL LIKE IM STILL LOOKING LIKE SHIT 🙃 but my teachers are really nice and they told me i look goooodddd and it’s fineeee so it calmed me down a bit :)

i’m still singing too, i’m in this group which i hate lol but my mom unfortunately said i should finish it out, 1) bc my younger brother is in it and he’s really excited about it which ya know yea i get it, and i don’t mind, 2) bc she paid for it 😭😭 but yeah i can’t wait until that’s over!!

clearly i am very nervous about everything haha anyway, i’m gonna be active more though . i miss talking to you, like a lot lol & i feel like it doesn’t come through BC IM NEVER ACTIVE 😭 but i think you’re the coolest person and whenever i see you post or reblog i’m like ARIA!!! so. love u girl, expect me to blow up your ask box and make u sick of me 🙃 (kidding lol, also i’ve been using that emoji a lot recently..)

ALSO ONE OTHER THING THAT IVE ALWAYS WANTED TO TELL YOU: there was a thing you reblogged AGES AGO and it was about kids who want their parents to get divorced lmao and how they’re awesome. anyway THANKS HAAH, this is probably so random, but anyway i’ve given you like bits and pieces of my home life but i can’t wait for my mom and dad to split up lol like honESTLY WAITING FOR IT

god this makes me sound bored, lonely, and depressed. #lonely anon is really coming through huh. but how’ve you been? just tell me all about it, clearly i’m doing nothing so <3

Snsjsh i forgot to post the blurb (idk if i should call it a blurb or not tbh?) lmao i got nervous and saved it to my drafts even though i had it scheduled for 45 mins ago </3 but i’ll post it after i respond to this ask (idk why but i was so excited reading your ask dksjmm <333)

Omg no need to apologise!!! Also you can literally send me everything and anything you want i’ll always be excited every time lmaoo even if it’s a lot, that’s even better!!!!

I was about to say get well soon but you said you had your rehearsal so that means your back is better i assume (and hope) which is amazing ❤️ (also congrats to your brother <3 i died when you said it was the first time they won aufisjssjk)

GOOD LUCK (even though you don‘t need it 😌 i‘m with your teachers on this one!) FOR YOUR SHOW I KNOW YOURE GONNA BE AMAZING AAAHH💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖 Oh also i realised i dont even know what type of dance you do?

Not the singing group thingjfjhh😩 But yeah like your mom said it‘ll probably be amazing for your brother! And idk which one you‘re talking about so idk how old he is but i‘m sure in the future he‘ll be grateful and think it‘s cool that you got to do it together 🥺!!!! but also it‘ll probably be over soo quick and you‘ll be like oh that was quick so. (What was that Sentence dkdjdjjd)

I get that you‘re nervous tho :( but i hope it‘s not a constant state of anxiety and maybe you can change it into being excited about it (isn‘t that what Tom always says? I don‘t find it very helpful 💀 but maybe you do <3)

Dkdkdkdk the parent thing 😭 my parents used to argue alllllllll the time and i‘d like cry in my room every night lmao (is this too personal? lnaodjdkd i mean i feel comfortable with you so idc) and my mom/mum (lol) still says why did i marry your father? at least once a week and I know she MEANS it too but💀 i mean idk what exactly your situation is but i know everything‘ll turn out the best way possible (yk on a long term basis) and maybe you‘ll get two Christmases so that‘s good difkldndns

Okay what‘s new with me.... nothing lmao. I think i‘ll get my driver‘s license soon like i was supposed to have my test in june but that‘s probably not happening so i hope my test will be during the beginning of july because mid/late july i have exams and that‘s already enough stress :( (also i feel like i‘ve been talking about my driving for like six months and still don‘t have my license eldjdkdj (or is it licence???? I think license is the verb but idk) BUT! that‘s just because i didn‘t have any lessons between december and march? because of covid and i‘ve been just waiting to get a test date since april 😭 but because of covid everything is taking so long and yeah </3

Talking about driver‘s license (🥴) i have finally listened to more olivia rodrigo songs and i reallly dont like the sad ones bc they give me anxiety tbh (but most sad songs do so), but i like brutal and jealousy, jealousy (or is it called jealous, jealous? Idk). I have no idea if you even like her but i remember how you said deja vu was good so maybe you like her?

Also I‘m getting my first covid vaccine next week (i know the US is way ahead of us lol but I’m getting mine very early like most of my friends couldn‘t get theirs yet so) BUT i‘m scared that i have covid 😭😭 i went to a friend‘s house the other day and she was gonna walk me home but then we met people from some of her uni courses and i didn‘t mind them (don’t know how i managed that without an anxiety attack tbh) but we were very close and i accidentally hugged one of them dkdkdjdj (accidentally because i forgot covid exists) andddd i‘ve had a cough for a few days but i‘m probably (most likely) just paranoid. also idk if i should cancel my driving lesson which is friday (one day after my jab)(is the word jab a british thing? my (british) grandparents keep saying jab)

Uni has been a bit boring to be honest shdldhsldh but i guess boring is better than hard? not much to talk about theresjdkdkd

Snsnsjsh well i hope you‘re doing well otherwise and i know you‘ll slay your performance and the singing thing will be over soo quick so yeah. you can always come to my inbox (even with non love letters (tbh i thought i‘d changed that to just say letter box dudlfhdkdk)) 💘💘💘💘 love youuuuuu

#lovely anon #<3

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gosatsuvns · 6 years ago

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Weekly Update #228 - 2018 Wrap-Up

Welp, this is awkward. First of all, I need to apologize for the lack of a weekly update last Saturday. The funny (well, actually rather sad) thing is, I had prepared the update in advance and the draft was ready to be published. All I needed to do was to hit that "Publish" button last Saturday, but I kinda totally forgot about that... "orz

To be fair, I was basically away from home all day and only got back somewhere around midnight. I guess at that point, I was too tired and my mind too occupied with other things to think about it...

This really bugs me now. After all, in all this time I've been doing these updates, that's actually the first time I forgot to post one! Aaaaahhhhhhhh, my beautiful track record... stained!! Q__Q

Well, there's no use crying over spilt milk. If you're curious about the contents of last week's update, I've just published it as well, so you can check it out here. It was a short post anyway. The really important thing brought up in it is the release of the next part of our extended GENBA no Kizuna demo, which patrons can now play test here!

But yeah, with that out of the way, let us move on to today's actual topics!

2018 is about to end and a new year itching to start. This one certainly was an eventful and rather unexpected one for me personally. It went into directions I would have never even dreamed of one year ago. As a result, what I had planned to accomplish throughout 2018 didn't quite work out, at least in regards to visual novel development.

For instance, I had to realize that working on two projects at the same time didn't quite work out as I had hoped it would. The initial idea was to alternate between them whenever I would get stuck. So if I'd hit a wall on GENBA and would need to think about how to proceed, I could work on SHINRAI in the meantime and make some progress on that. Sometimes, it can be nice to get a breather and focus on something else for a while. It can clear your mind and you can return to the other project with a fresh outlook.

In the end, however, I guess I'm just the kind of person who works more efficiently when I purely focus on a single thing. That's how we got SHINRAI done after all. Despite the constant urges to work on so many other things, I managed to stay on track and not get distracted. So maybe that's the key to success. At least in my specific case.

Either way, around the midway point of 2018, we decided to purely focus on GENBA. SHINRAI's sequel hasn't been ditched entirely, of course, but for now, GENBA takes priority. It's the shorter of the two projects, it chronologically takes place before SHINRAI, and it provides (optional) introductions for characters that will play a big role in Withering Without Hope.

You will still be able to play WWH without ever playing GENBA, but checking out the latter beforehand will provide you with some more context and background information in regards to the police investigators that will be involved in the case.

We have also already accomplished a lot more on GENBA in terms of writing and asset work, so that's why we ultimately decided to focus on that project first. Nevertheless, I also made some neat writing progress on WWH earlier this year.

(And on that note, if you're curious about the setting of WWH and want to get an actual first glimpse at what the location looks like, I've published a new special blog post on Patreon, featuring a WIP-preview of the very first background art!)

Earlier this year, I was thinking about releasing a demo for WWH in December, containing the entire prologue, but... that obviously didn't work out. We did, however, release a demo for GENBA's prologue in April and have since begun to work on an extended version of it, featuring even more content! As mentioned in the beginning of this post, the first half of it can already be checked out on Patreon. Work on the second half still continues, so the public release will happen some time early 2019. But we'll get into more detail about that in next week's blog post!

In any case, 2018 didn't work out as I had envisioned it. But that doesn't mean I see it as a failure. On the contrary, privately at least, it actually turned out to be one of the greatest year's of my life! And ultimately, I still managed to accomplish a lot of things I'm proud of in regards to VNs too, even if they're not necessarily what I had originally planned.

I would have liked to release the extended GENBA demo this year as well, but I'm still proud of the progress we have made on it thus far. We did, at the very least, release an early demo of the project earlier this year. And speaking of demo releases, there is also the one for Pitch Black Serenade, which I have to mention here, since I've gotten personally involved with the project as well.

It was a lot of fun to work with Kuna and I enjoyed proofreading the script a lot. It's an unconventional romance/mystery VN showing a lot of promise, so if you haven't gotten around to it yet, I highly suggest checking it out! It's more than worth your time!

Besides, eventually, Kuna will be working with us on our future projects as an artist, so you might as well use the opportunity to get familiar with her art! I really can't wait to see her breathe life into our characters and worlds!

Now, I guess I could also mention the release of The Day Akatarou's Blood Ran Out, a dumb little 4 minute VN I made over the course of a weekend earlier this year. This was really just me fooling around with Visual Novel Maker to see what it's capable of, but it was an enormous amount of fun as well as a fun change of pace. With this one, however (even if it's just 4 minutes), I'm really not sure I could tell you it's worth your time, haha.

I'd really like to do something like this again, but with a bit more effort put into it and no use of pre-existing assets.

Anyway! Overall, I couldn't be more happy with how 2018 has turned out. One of the biggest problems we're facing at the moment is that we're still at the start of our new project. A lot of assets are still missing, but once we have completed the extended demo, a huge chunk of the character sprites will be done, for example, so development should continue at a much quicker pace afterwards.

I will be talking about our plans for next year, specifically January, in next week's update. But for today, I guess it's time to not only wrap up 2018, but also this post! Once again, a huge thank you to everyone sticking around and following our progresses! The support we're getting means a lot and is a driving factor behind our motivation to continue! And rest assured, we're fired up to provide you with a lot more content next year!

Now, before I leave, I'd like to share two more things with you, which have also been added to our gallery. This morning, I received this super adorable Raiko from Khana:

But that's not all! For Christmas this year, Natsu drew a little pic featuring Shiku, one of the four suspect characters you will get to meet in GENBA! It also features Fujisa, one of the characters appearing in Pitch Black Serenade:

Now with this, I wish you a great end to a hopefully satisfying year! Please enjoy the last few days of 2018 and have a safe transition into 2019! Until next time, take care! :3

(Oh, and speaking of the new year... patrons can now also check out a WIP-look at our New Year's illustration!)

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doseofmiranda-blog · 7 years ago

Text

Perfect Makes Practice

Last week and this week so happened to be my midterm week. As much as I wanted to get all my research done about the Master Plan, contacting Seola Lee, and interviewing as many people as I can, it became very difficult, time management wise, with what I had alined this semester. But now I am free as a bird and can focus back on Lexington Market. As Dr. King said, “Life, of course, happens.”

Interviewing

I was very nervous to go up to random people and ask them questions because of social anxiety. I wanted to ask students at UMBC. I knew the Commons was not the greatest place since Adam recommended a small, quiet area so you can hear the recording. I went where there is only one place where I thought the interview would work best which was the library (where everyone else was stu(dying) for their midterms). Since I knew that most of the people I would be interviewing at UMBC would not know about Lexington Market (LM), I focused my interview on the food on Campus, specifically in the Commons area. I tried to make as similar to how it would feel if this was LM. I was so nervous for all 3 of my interviews that I forgot to record myself stating what I am interviewing people for (I informed them before I pressed the recording button). To my surprise, I thought how I lead and the outcome of the interview did very well. Here are some of my strengths, weakness, and what I recommend for my next interviews:

Strengths:

Following up on questions

Not following from a set list of questions making the conversations/ interview feel more natural

Students were very highly opinionated on the food on campus making it easier to continue the interview without feeling I had to ask them to elaborate on their answers and having yes/ no responses

I had a private room in the library and it helped a lot with the sound quality. The interviews were loud and clear when I was listening to the interviews on my computer

Weaknesses:

There were times where I felt the awkward “pause.” I know the pause is not supposed to be a bad thing, but again, social anxiety

I only had around 3-5 minutes to interview because the people I was interviewing were studying for their exams

Although I did not have a set list of questions, I should have drafted some as a guide

I didn’t do my research as much as should when I was asking the students about the food on campus. Zhane and Jess both live on campus and spoke about previous food stands on campus. Some I have not even heard that still exist on campus (#CommuterProblems)

Recommendations:

Carrying a notebook and pen during interviews. Although I kept in mind to follow up on come questions, I wish I would have written down some key points they said so I could go back and ask more questions especially for Jessica since she is a vegetarian

The private room in the library was a great place to interview because of the sound quality

Record myself stating what I am interviewing people for

Zine

The zine group assigned me their last page for their Zine. I was assigned to let the public know what is the Master Plan. I was so excited because I had so many things to say about the plan and then Liz C informed me that it has to short enough for the public to take a look briefly over so that the Interview Crew can interview them about their opinions.

Me after hearing that:

So this is what I have drawn up:

December 1, 2016

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake Press Release on Master Plan for Lexington Market

The Mayor and Lexington Market Inc., will construct a completely new market structure on the parking lot south of the current facility. Some of the issues the Mayor and Lexington Market will address are:

Address the steep slope on the main floor and bring the market into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Adding windows, leveling floods, cleaner and newer interiors

Installing ATMs, encouraging vendors to accept credit cards, adding evening and Sunday hours

The new market will consist of:

north of the new market, it will be reopened to pedestrians and a new park space will be created for an outdoor farmers market and other events

human-scale tenant stalls, new storage facilities, customer seating spread throughout the market, and clear sightlines

mix of products such as specialty food (bread baked in the market, cheeses, coffees) and ethnic food.

A hands-on teaching kitchen will be added to address diet related health problems and serve more residents

The total cost of this renovation will be between $35-40 million and will take about 26 months to complete once the money has been completely funded. Funding will come from other sources such as government grants, loans, and philanthropic contribution. This master plan promises to create 270 new jobs in the region and $351 million of economic impact over a ten-year period. This new plan also predicts that local vendor sales will increase over 40% with the creation of the new Lexington Market

I tried to make as objective and informative as possible, but if you want to know my opinions just read my previous blog posts.

Seola Lee

Seola emailed Dr. King and I back a couple hours before class started last week and she gave us so much helpful information. One of the limitations that I was also aware of in Lee’s email to us was “if you approach them and ask for an interview in English, I am not exactly sure whether they would immediately understand or how they will respond/be able to hold a lengthy conversation.” I remember when my parents had to go to parent/ teacher conferences, I would be brought along to translate (and so would many other kids in my school). I noticed that when you ask questions, they usually have to be straightforward and short, but that usually ends up as yes/ no responses. Lee gave us a list of vendors that would speak to us and be able to hold lengthy (1 hour) conversations/ interviews with us which I am very thankful for. She also has some transcripts that I would like to review before Adam, Liz R, and I hit LM for interviews. There is a possibility that we might have to bring a translator, but Adam mentioned that its best if we contact Steve Hyon because the vendors trust him and I agree.

I am so relieved that this midterm week is over for me and now I can focus on this project. I just hope my social anxiety doesn’t get in the way.

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