#but i really do appreciate comments (i check them whenever i'm available

[beegomess]

Dark Paradise || Theodore Nott

Don't forget to watch the previous chapters

Reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated🫶🏼

08. Merry Christmas, Teddy This chapter has content for adults!

The water still flowed smoothly through Nott's body as he checked the conditions of his neck in the mirror. He followed Y/N's advice and the marks were really gone, luckily the makeup she wore had disguised it very well and her father didn't notice.

At Malfoy Mansion, everything seemed perfect, the table set and a beautifully decorated reception hall waiting for the moment when the guests would arrive. The large devoured tree had numerous gifts below it, the lights of the mansion were all lit, which made it less Gothic.

Y/N finished fixing her hair when her mother invades her room silently, smiling at the Y/N reflection on the dressing table.

- Should we go down already? - Y/N finished the makeup with a gloss that gave a slight shine to your lips.

- Oh, yes, in a little while. Do you know who confirmed his presence this year? - Narcisa approaches and puts her hands on the shoulders of Y/N, who is just waiting for the answer - The Berkshires. - The mother said slightly excited.

- But don't they usually spend these dates on a trip? What has changed this time?

- I have a guess. - Y/N turned to the woman behind him and noticed her suggestive and silly expression.

- Mom, please, you're assuming things that don't exist. - Y/N disdained and got up, on the way to the door. - I think we should go already, right?

- Well, let's see. - Narcisa just smiled and followed her daughter to the stairs.

As you go down, Y/N sees Pansy, Daphne, Blaise and Mattheo already gathered downstairs, near the stairs, greet each other and Y/N finds herself sweeping the place with their eyes looking for someone specific while friends simply talk.

- Come on, Y/N. They want to greet us. - Lúcios said, taking the girl out of her daydreams, but leaving her confused. Y/N just nodded and followed his father, joining his mother and Draco.

There were some guests who just nodded and made their way into the mansion, however, the Berkshire family seemed to make a point of stopping and talking to them.

Lorenzo, who came in the company of his parents and his younger sister, seemed enchanted by the image of the girl in front of him.

- Y/N, she is beautiful as always. - The boy had a smile and Y/N could not deny that he was slightly embarrassed by such a clear compliment in front of his family. That would only put more warms on her mother's head, that's what she thought.

- Thank you.

- Draco, how long have we not seen each other? - They both shook hands.

- You disappeared from the map for a long time. - Draco had a smile on his face, he seemed excited to see him again.

- Well, what matters is that I'm back.

Draco frowned in a slight confusion when he saw that Lorenzo stared at his sister throughout the conversation, looking away a few times. Y/N, in order not to be rude, just smile slightly whenever you directed your eyes to the boy.

The Nott family arrived, like the other guests, only in a slight nod, leaving to talk when the hosts were available. Theodore observed from afar the interaction of Y/N and a boy he assumed was Berkshire.

- Who is it? - Theo approached his friends and, without greeting, questioned.

- Good night to you too, Nott. Are you already jealous? - Mattheo could make Theodore angry very easily, especially when it was Y/N.

- That's Lorenzo Berkshire. He used to walk with you when you were kids, didn't he? - Daphne replied before Theodore gave the air of his bad mood.

- I don't remember him very well. - the boy responds dry and Pansy can't hold a light smile in reaction to his friend's slight jealousy.

- Don't worry, I think he intends to get closer. - Blaise provokes, drinking a sip of his cup and receives Parkinson's approval through a muffled giggle. Daphne, however, pokes her friend in retaliation.

When the two families finally dispersed, Draco gave his arm to his sister and took her further.

- What was that? - the blonde asks quietly, so that only she could hear it.

- Don't ask me, I know even less than you. - She turns to her brother with a more worried expression. - I have the feeling that our mother has a special participation in this. - Draco rolled his eyes in agreement, he knew that the parents could be very insightful when it came to planning this kind of thing.

Y/N to her eyes when she notices a well-known face of Hogwarts, one in which she didn't expect to see there. The person she stared at, perceives her and goes to her. Y/N pokes Draco who, promptly, turns around and looks at the girl.

- You couldn't settle just for Nott, could you? - Laila was beautiful, but that egg yellow dress definitely didn't favor her. She had a cynical smile on her lips while Y/N and Draco looked at her with a clear confusion for the girl's courage. - Of course not, you need everyone's attention.

- What are you doing here and who are you? - Draco questions and Y/N just keeps thinking about the situation.

- My family and I have always come! - She responds harshly to Draco, who just raises his eyebrows in surprise, a slight laugh at the way he left the girl red with anger.

- I had never noticed you here. - Y/N complete with a light laugh, completely ignoring what the previous provocation. - Well, I should get more involved in next year's guest list.

- Really. - The blonde disdains and walks away in the company of his sister. Laila murmured inaudible curses as the two walked away.

When they got closer to their friends, the provocations ceased. Y/N and Theodore look at each other and smile for a few brief moments. Merlin, he was beautiful that night, Y/N loved watching her expressions during the conversation, for a few seconds, she behaved like Lorenzo minutes ago. Theo's green eyes combined with her beautiful smile were perfect, it reminded her of last night, which made her look away from him immediately in guilt and shame.

The dream he had with him and what she turned soon after made his heart skyrocket quickly, the shameful feeling he knew was almost desperate.

- Was everything okay yesterday? - Y/N starts a parallel conversation with the group, Theodore, who was next to her, looked at her confused and then she concludes with a light smile. - With your father I say.

- Yes, thanks to you, actually. - He lingers on her face, recording every detail he captured. For a few seconds, they looked at each other like another day in the astronomy tower, they seemed to be completely oblivious to the rest of the world. - Thank you.

- I... I have a gift for you. - Y/N curls up slightly when leaving the trance you were in.

- For me? - Theodore looked at her with a weak smile, but she was, in fact, very confused. Why would she buy you gifts? They've never been close like that.

- Well, yes, don't you want to?

- Of course I want to, I was just a little surprised. - Y/N felt a hint of shame about it now, but it's already gone that far, I would have to hold on.

- Great, I'll give it to you before you go, I promise. - Y/N seemed satisfied and excited now, which made Theodore smile in response.

[...]

During dinner, Theodore watched more closely as Lorenzo looked at Y/N, which his mother made a point of putting next to her. From time to time, the boy approached her ear to say something inaudible to the rest. Y/N laughed sometimes, other times she just agreed. The fact is that Berkshire also perceived the sparks of when Y/N and Theodore met the looks. Implicitly and unconsciously, Theodore and Lorenzo made clear the threat one felt from the other at that dinner.

Later, when some guests were already saying goodbye, the group of Sonserinos gathered in the library of the mansion accompanied by Lorenzo. The boy was well received by everyone, Theodore may have been a little unsympathetic, but Enzo was already expecting it. Nott was bothered by the way the boy stared, shamelessly - his words - Y/N's legs when she sat down. The dress she wore was really a little in the middle of her thighs, but it was nothing revealing.

- Well, we should definitely spend the new year at one of these muggle parties. - Mattheo was excited for that, it was his new favorite topic.

- Although I don't like it very much, I'm in. - Draco gives more string, but Y/N brings him to reality.

- We still have to see a way to go, Draco. It's not that simple, you know. - The girl said, slightly serious, but concluded with a smile. - I think if our father knows that we are mixed with muggles like the Weasley's he dies of disgust. - Everyone laughs, and Y/N turns to Nott who was in an armchair near the tip of the sofa she was on, and asks low while everyone is distracted. - You're going, aren't you? - Theodore's eyes shine with the girl's interest and her hopeful little smile.

- I would never lose you running away from home. - He jokes and Y/N's face lights up with his confirmation.

- And you, Enzo, are you coming with us? - Draco asks and the boy directs his eyes directly to Y/N.

- Of course. - Y/N did not see this movement happen, because he planned other things with Daphne and Pansy on his left side, but it can be said that the silly little smile that Theodore had for Y/N caring about his presence quickly disappeared.

At a certain point in the conversation, Theodore fled discreetly to a balcony shared with other environments of the house and which he had access through the library. Y/N did not participate in the conversation and knew that Nott would probably smoke, and decided that it would be a great time to give him the gift. Lorenzo notices the movement and feels tempted to follow, but he knew it was not yet the time for this kind of reaction.

Y/N feels the coldest air of the end of winter hitting his uncovered skin and Theodore turns when he hears the noise of the heels approaching. The dim light of the place illuminated her and, if he were called, he would certainly think he was seeing an angel.

- I knew you would come to smoke. - She gets closer and stands by his side, she squeezes her arms in search of more warmth. - Was the conversation too boring for you?

- Do you want me to be honest? - Y/N laughs already understanding what he meant and is slightly distracted by his light laugh.

- All right, maybe I'll agree with you on that.

- You agree. - Nott says a little lower, but still smiling lightly before taking the cigarette to her lips again, which makes her legs sloll slightly, and maybe the champagne she drank during the night helped for that effect.

- Ah, your gift. Come on. - Y/N grabbed Theodore's hand, which shuddered him for a moment and pulled him to the end of the balcony, where he had a last glass door that led to his room. - I'll pick him up, just a second.

Theodore saw, outside, the white and transparent curtains swinging with the light breeze, the dressing table had perfumes and things thrown on top, and what caught her attention was the bed, with shatted sheets and a quilt, as if she had just got up and no longer touched the furniture. While Y/N was looking for Nott's gift, he went into a brief daydream of how he was jealous of objects such as sheets and duvets for having the girl's warm skin in direct contact. Y/N, on the other hand, felt slightly embarrassed that her bed was still messy, not because he would think it was bad, but because she knew what she had done there that morning.

- I found it. - She goes back outside and touches the door slightly. She delivers a small black package with a small red bow around it. - Don't open it now. You know you have to open only on Christmas morning. - She said smiling and Theodore laughed still with the cigarette between his lips, which served as gasoline for the girl's lascivious mind.

- Thank you, Y/N. - he says, keeping it in the inside pocket of the black suit he wore. - I really liked it.

- You don't even know what it is.

- But I know you have good taste. - Y/N smiled and agrees with a convinced "Truth" bass as they head to the parapet.

- Y/N. - Lorenzo calls, a few meters away, Y/N and Nott laughed, but Theodore closed his face immediately when he heard Berkshire's voice. - Sorry, I just wanted to say goodbye.

- See you later, Enzo. - He expected the girl to hug him or something, but she just waved from where she was with a smile on her face. Theodore is clearly happy about that. Lorenzo was patient, he was determined to approach her, he just smiles and withdraws.

[...]

Theodore had barely entered his room when he decided to tear the gift paper around a small rectangular box. When opening the box, he comes apart from a silver cigarette case with his initials discreetly engraved in the lower right corner. A piece of paper fell to the floor, he gathered it, opened it and threw himself on the huge bed while reading.

"I think this will be very useful for you, since the last time I smoked one of your cigarettes it was all crumpled.

As soon as I hit my eyes on it, I remembered you. I hope you like it!

Ps: I had your initials recorded so you don't miss it on any night.

Merry Christmas, Teddy. With affection,

Y/N."

Theodore smiled from ear to ear when he finished reading the little letter and realized the nickname.

Y/N also had fun writing her with the nickname she created in a somewhat intimate moment.

_________________________________

xoxo, bee✨🫶🏼

[striderl]

I have a general art-related question, if that's okay. I admire how _quickly_ you seem to be able to produce art -- whenever someone sends you a character-based ask, you seem to always answer it with a nice little picture (not just a scribble or something) with lineart and often colouring too! Do you have any advice for acquiring art stamina like that? I used to enjoy drawing, but got burnt out on it because every piece felt like so much WORK and it drained the enjoyment for me. I absolutely could not match the output you do!

Thanks for the compliment, lensman! Your drawings are equally cool too! I'm engrossed in the textures especially. And yes, sometimes I’m even amazed by the many asks I’m able to answer in a single week. Usually, I answer them within 3 days, in rare occasions, it may take me 2 weeks or so to answer them.

As for insights, there you go.

#1: Practice is the key. To not get art block, you need to be constantly practicing, like doing scribbles on your sketchbook when you have time. It can be anything, from basic shapes to “whatever you can spy with your little eye”. Also, improve your speed while doing it, and limit your time to finish an acceptable rough draft, so you won’t lose the motivation to finish the entire drawing.

#2: Mastery. READ THE MANUAL AND INSTRUCTION of whatever platform you are using to make art, and master the tools, so you won’t drag on too long on a single project. Personally, I use a mixture of Procreate and ibisPaint X to make art and comics. And the skills don’t come for free, you need to constantly learn new features in order to keep up the pace and limit the time you spend on each project. Honestly, I think I spend more time on Youtube, Pinterest, and Instagram scavenging art tips and resources than doing other things with them. The result is rather rewarding, the knowledge I gained about the color wheel, anatomy, and platform features like multiply and overlay are really helpful.

#3: Reference. I always have available anatomy or art references on my side, usually from Pinterest, so I don’t need to waste time speculating what the result would look like. I also collect references I’m interested in whenever I have time, so I’m well prepared whenever I want to start a new project.

If you want to check it out, this is the cover I made for Foley’s playlist, which I finished within 3 hours.

#4: Motivation. You need to truly enjoy the process of producing art in order to not get an art block. I think I never get a single art block period so far. Why? It’s the only way I get to relieve my anxiety. College can be really harsh sometimes, I have a really small social circle, and on top of that I need to deal with stress which most of my peers don’t even need to worry about, like managing an apartment, doing accounting on my own, taking care of electric bills, and more. What’s worse is that people can be massive suckers sometimes, and I just turned 18 a few months ago. I know I can’t just throw a tantrum or jump off a building whenever I feel stressed, so I just move on and focus my attention on doing better in art. If people want to insult me, I just insult them back with my talent.

Also, I mentioned this in my reblog to your Skibidi Toilet anniversary post. My parents don’t approve of me doing art like this, because it’s “unrealistic” and basically “useless”, I just want some space where I can express my creativity. Ironically, defiance can be a motivation sometimes.

Plus, I just purely enjoy the feeling of sitting in my room, listening to my favorite playlist, and sipping on a cup of hazelnut matcha, while doing art. And I always, ALWAYS appreciate people putting comments in their reblogs, it’s like an accomplishment, and it shows that people really check out my content and READ IT, instead of “wow, cool art”.

If I don't feel like doing art, I'll just go for a 5 miles run instead. Physical health is still important : }

[neshabeingchildish]

03. Robin’s Telling

I’m using some of my head canons I shared when @writing-excuses​ was wondering about ones we have for Chasper in this fic. So, y’all’ll see some things that aren’t necessarily canon, but I’m trying to a certain degree to be canonical with who the characters are at their core, and trying to build the story on that. Try to be patient with me, as this ain’t really that popular of a ship and don’t really have a super amount of ‘canon fodder.’ Lol. I have about 5 chapters outlined, so after the next couple, it may slow down a little. 

Robin’s Telling or Tales from the Friendship Zone

So, whenever they were in 6th grade, Jasper and Charlotte were assigned to this team building experiment disguised as a creative writing project. They had to write a round robin story, which means that they took turns adding material to the story and had to try to feed off of the last of the information by their partner to write the installment of the story. Jasper started it off and Charlotte found it a challenge to sometimes make sense of whatever nonsense he had written, but she was a girl who could appreciate a good challenge. What she hadn’t appreciated was the ruse by their teacher to make her and Jasper get along better! But. she had to admit, it helped. 

The friends used the story and the notebook it was written in to continue this process and in turn, sort of built upon their friendship as the saga continued.  When they came to the end of the spiral, Jasper panicked. “It can’t be over! We never made an ending for it!!!” He was seriously freaking out. Charlotte happened to have another spiral notebook available at the time, and she said, “Look... We can keep it up. Maybe... this could be the second season of it. I’ll even start it out.” She opened it and started this new installment of the story, then passed it to him. “Chill out. One of these days, it has to end.”

“According to who?” He wondered, snatching the spiral from her. She rolled her eyes and walked off.

And now, they were in season 6 of Robin’s Telling, as she liked to call it (He called it Tales from the Friendship Zone), and they rarely ever really used it, but every now and then, one of them would either continue from where they left off or ask the other if they had continued yet. It was in Jasper’s care at the moment and after he left her house (which was done after he watched her sleep for a little bit, then realized that was probably weird and creepy, but waking her up was probably dangerous). He got home and his mom wasn’t even there. Typical. But, he was able to pull out the current spiral and get some writing done. He’d pass it off to her at Man Band practice.

.

Charlotte and Henry were laughing and playing video games whenever Jasper came into work. “Hey, Jasp!” Henry cheered. Charlotte didn’t say anything. Jasper wondered if everything was okay between them. 

“Hey,” he said and put his gym bag away. “What are you two playing?”

“I’m playing. He’s just losing,” Charlotte said, laughing. 

“I’m playing, she’s just being mean,” Henry corrected. 

“Neither of those statements answered my question, but enjoy.” He went back to the store and Henry gave Charlotte a weird look. She ignored it and continued playing, so he moved on, too.

Later, whenever it was time for them to go home, Henry and Charlotte were discussing plans for at Henry’s house. Apparently, they were hanging out after work, too. Eventually, Henry made some comment that seemed to elude that Jasper was invited too, but he didn’t know if he wanted to hangout with the two of them. Maybe he was just overly sensitive because he shared a lot of very intimate. personal information with Charlotte and she seemed to be acting like it never happened. Maybe she was avoiding speaking with him because he made her uncomfortable. At any rate, he said, “I don’t know how my mom’s gonna act if I spend two nights away from home.”

“No, you’ll be home later tonight,” Henry said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Maybe, you could call ahead and check in with her, to see if she’s more understanding, if you do it that way?” Charlotte suggested.

Jasper nodded, “Yeah, I’ll do that.” Whenever he spoke on the phone with his mom, he told her that he would be hanging out with Henry until later on... “Yeah, she’s hanging out too...” Then he sighed and was listening to something for a while. Charlotte and Henry looked at each other. “There’s nothing like that going on. We’re all just friends. She’s a good girl. Top of the class...” 

Charlotte raised an eyebrow and leaned into the mouthpiece to say, “HEY JASPER’S MOM!!!” Henry pulled her to the other side of himself and Jasper rolled his eyes, but they didn’t know whether at Charlotte instigating with his mom, or with his mom, obviously on the other line, trash talking Charlotte. 

“I’m sure that she’ll be home by a time that’s decent for a young lady. She’s a good egg. I don’t feel like doing this. Do you need anything? Okay. Yeah, love you too.” He hung up and asked Charlotte, “Why would you provoke her?”

“She’s trash,” Charlotte said, simply. Henry gasped and Jasper furrowed his eyebrows. “Sorry. I meant to say she was talking trash about me. My bad. Words got choppy in my head.” She really meant what she’d said, but that was a bit much to say to someone’s face about their mom. 

“Good save,” Henry said, sarcastically and wrapped an arm around Jasper’s shoulder, “But, what kind of trash was she talking about Charlotte?”

“I’m interested, as well.”

“She asked, if my little friend was gonna be there, said what’s her name, then pretended to say the wrong names. Then, she said that if a girl hangs out with a couple of boys this much something fresh must be going on.” 

He didn’t want to go into detail, but his mother had advised him to use protection, in case she had something and also forbid him to do anything with her if both boys were in the room..

“You know what? I’m gonna shut my mouth and move on with my life,” Charlotte said. Jasper’s mom had SOME nerve, after the child-rearing job she’d done. Which reminded her, “Oh! Hey, I found something that might be useful for you. Actually, I heard an ad when I was listening to one of my podcasts. I’ll send you the info. She texted him a link to a therapy connection that charged $30 a week and you could text a licensed therapist! He smiled to himself and put his phone away. 

Henry was curious about what she’d sent to him, but tried not to butt in. There was some kind of other friendship happening with those two that he knew he wasn’t included in. SO, he made a conversation topic that the three could participate in. 

.

At Henry's, Jasper seemed in his own world. Charlotte was concerned about it, because he usually was the most talkative and cheerful one. At some point, while Henry was in the bathroom, she asked, "You okay, Jasper?"

He sighed, "I thought maybe you didn't care one way or another. I'm… worried that I weirded you out with all my baggage. You're not supposed to unpack in front of people unless you're going to be there for a while. I feel like I just dumped it all over the place and then suddenly, you were distant."

"It wasn't like that to me. I thought that speaking about your trauma probably stirred up some things and maybe you could use a break from focusing on it. Sorry if I seemed taken aback. I wasn't. In fact, I feel closer to you than ever. I'm honestly glad you felt like you could come to me. Are you gonna use that service I sent you?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna check it out. Do you mind if I hug you?" 

She smiled and went over for the hug, fell on his lap and they laughed about it, but she didn't move. Jasper had a pretty cozy hug. They didn't usually hug much, but his arms were bigger than she'd noticed and he was soft and slightly cushioned. It was like hugging a life-size, warm, plushie, or as comforting, anyway. Plus… did Jasper always smell this good? That was definitely new. 

He strummed her back and she rested on his shoulder until they heard, "Whoa!" Henry was back and he was shocked and confused by the contact. 

Charlotte got up and said, "I fell. Shut up."

"Fell and landed right in Jasper's lap, into a hug, on his shoulder, huh?"

"That's what I said," she told him. 

Henry looked at Jasper. "What? Sometimes people fall." He smiled at Charlotte and her face went warm. Sometimes people fall. Such a simple and true statement. Sometimes people fall in more ways than one. Not as simple, but she couldn't tell yet if she minded it at all.

.

Charlotte was surprised to see that Jasper had handed her the copy of Robin’s Telling. It had been a long while since they’d passed it around, but the anticipation of whatever she was feeling lately about him was heightened by her memories of how this process had brought them closer as friends. Jasper was kinda cute, if she was honest. If you took away some of his weird quirks and gross habits and just looked at him - like... if she had seen him in passing without knowing that he picked at his scabs, or asked you to help pop pimples on his back... She’d have to say that she thought he was an attractive guy. And either he was going through some life changes or she just had started paying attention - but a lot of his gross habits she couldn’t recall seeing lately.

It was almost like he had been either getting better or at least pretending to be more dignified. She hoped that meant that he was talking to someone about his problems and improving himself as he felt healthier. It still blew her mind that he carried around pain in that jolly body of his. That behind that boyish smile were tears that he didn’t shed or didn’t show to even his closest friends. She hoped that he knew that he could, if he needed to. She hoped that he was gonna sleep well tonight. 

As she finished writing her segment in the notebook, she knew that her emotions would show up in it. They usually did. Whenever she had something on her mind, stress, sadness, or anything... it was generally reflected in the story. Jasper used to be able to tell. He’d always draw a cute and/or corny doodle on the page whenever he noticed that she was down via her entries.

And a few days later, whenever she got it back, he had drawn her a three legged pickle, “a tri-pickle, if you will.”