thecandlenightszone

[thecandlenightszone]

No 2023 event :(

Hello! I wanted to give a heads up that I won’t be running the event this year. Unfortunately, I don’t feel up to doing so. Even last year I was a bit run down with it, and I feel like it showed.

HOWEVER if anyone else decides to run a TAZ related holiday event, please message me so I can reblog your posts and advertise it here! I’ve loved the little community that’s participated here over the years and it would be great to be able to direct them elsewhere. And if anyone wants advice on how I ran this behind the scenes, I’m totally happy to chat.

Thanks for supporting this event for four whole years! It’s been so much fun to run and I’ve loved seeing everyone’s works. Happy Candlenights to come!

Mod Kez

#TAZ #The Adventure Zone #TheZoneCast #queueing this up a few months ahead of Dec so anyone else can have time to organise. #I don't want to hand this account over to anyone cause there's a lot of behind the scenes info stored in the email and such #that I don't wanna just give away lol #but happy to share my forms templates and such

[thecandlenightszone]

My @thecandlenightszone gift for @solongandgoodknight ! I hope the drawing’s okay, I love any chance to see Lup and Lucretia interacting so this was super fun to draw!

#Balance #art

[thecandlenightszone]

here's my @thecandlenightszone exchange fic for @the-functional-lesbian! i hope you enjoy, and happy candlenights!!

fic: one more drifter in the snow (kravitz/taako, au)

summary: “Hey Krav,” Taako said, leaning against the counter. He was ripping up a cup, and elaborately. “Where you headed with that thing?”

“Um,” Kravitz said. He shifted the weight of his bag in his hands. “Felicity Motel, probably.”

Taako’s eyebrows raised, only slightly. “Oh,” he said. “That sounds depressing. Well, Lup and I are staying in town, too. Orphans, y’know.”

miscellanea:

tonally things turned out quite different, but the fic title is from this lovely song off aimee mann's holiday album

which i've been listening to for weeks now, because i'm very mentally ill. lol

anyway, i had fun with this fic! it was definitely outside my comfort zone, but i think it came out pretty cute :0)

#Balance #fic

[thecandlenightszone]

One more of those secret santas ( @thecandlenightszone specifically) for @m0nomercy !! Using mage hand to make a stupid snowman is a Very important magic lesson.

#Balance #art

[thecandlenightszone]

At long last, my candlenights work is complete.

joyous candlenights to you all and especially to wonderful recipient, Twitter user nureyevcomehome without whom this Taakitz-Junoverse AU would never have been written.

big thanks to @thecandlenightszone and mod Kez who will hopefully make sure that Twitter user nureyevcomehome is notified of this posting

#Balance #fic

[thecandlenightszone]

Happy Candlenights! 💜

My Candlenights gift to @ceilingfan5 for @thecandlenightszone event! They requested some sweet Taakitz and I was happy to oblige with some nice baking time 💜💜

#Balance #art

[thecandlenightszone]

I'm mind of sliding in at the finish line here! But here's your candlenights gift @room-on-broom ! I hope you like it, this is my take on how some of the characters celebrate the festive season, thanks as always to @thecandlenightszone for organising this!

(fic below cut)

The first time Kravitz had been distracted from his duties as a guard, it could be called an honest mistake. A first time error which while unfortunate, did not reflect too severely on his capabilities. 

The second time, they should definitely have fired him.

He is determined not to let it happen a third time.

What they don't tell you about being an honourable guard of the fantasy julbocken, is that it's mostly very boring. And cold. That you will spend most of your time standing around, finding inventive ways to keep your fingers from freezing over. 

Most of your time. Kravitz's mind, unbidden, casts itself back to a more interesting way he once kept his hands warm. His fingers tangled in thick, blonde hair- his face- kravitz shakes himself, trying to knock the thought loose. It was the sort of thing that could never happen again. Besides, he thinks, with a fleeting glance at the banned book, it wasn't exactly an option this year, even without his knowledge of how it would end. 

So instead of letting his mind wander, he jams his hands into his pockets, letting the thick fur lining attempt at its job, though the cold tugged at its edges.

The crowds were thick today, families and teenagers gathered at the base of the goat, some pointing, children here and there yelling, but nothing dangerous. He knew there would be things to deal with later, so he allowed himself to relish the temporary quiet. Someone- decidedly not a child- yelled something in loud excitement. Quiet was relative. Kravitz spared a glance, but over the past three years he had gained a good sense for what types of yells needed immediate attention, and what ones could be left alone.   

Kravitz flexes his fingers in his pocket, experimentally, seeing how much motion he still had in them. They're stuff, aching slightly when he tries to move them. He still has another half hour left in his watch though, and he leans against the post beside him: a tall, strong thing which supports the fence running all around the goat. He watches the crowd go by, thinking mostly of the hot chocolate he can get from a nearby stand- they give you one for free if you guard the goat, no matter how poor you may or may not be at your job. 

"Wow, fancy seeing you here again handsome," says someone, inexplicably behind him. Kravitz, with the feeling of a fish biting a worm, sure to feel the hook's tug any moment, spins around. 

"Taako," he says, refraining from the accent-he got teased enough last year when taako discovered the lie. The elf across from him is grinning widely, eyes alight with mischief and... something else. "You're on the ban list," kravitz says, stupidly. "You shouldn't be here." He reaches for his book, ready to prove a point, although his gaze wanders up to the guard point further up, further away from the goat- the guard point that should have stopped taako from getting anywhere close to the goat. Close to kravitz. Taako's grin only widens. 

"My sister is on the ban list," he counters. He flops his shoulders shruggingly, "we're identical- its an easy mistake to make." Kravitz's eyes narrow. 

"Right. The secret twin who is actually the one on the ban list. Haven't heard that one before." Kravitz actually hasn't heard it before, but he works more as crowd control, rarely at the station further up which is supposed to filter visitors so he doesn't exactly have a good reference for the type of excuses people give. Still, kravitz doesn't intend to be fooled so easily this year. 

"I can't help it if TV shows keep ripping off my life story," taako sighs, playing with his braid. Then he looks up from the braid, at kravitz. He places a hand on kravitz's shoulder, and traces it down to his pocket, to kravitz's hand. Kravitz swallows. He should call security, the voice in the back of his mind says. He is security, his mind replies. Taako is gorgeous, the rest of his brain says. 

"Gods," says taako, snapping kravitz out of his reverie. "Your hands are always so cold." 

"It's winter," kravitz's says, somewhat defensively. 

"Not a complaint," mutters taako, squeezing kravitz's hand. "Bet I can warm those right up." Kravitz's can't feel the cold anymore. His whole body is lighting up with heat, and he can't tell if taako is leaning in or if he is, but they're startlingly close together. He's supposed to be working. He should kick taako out. He should do a lot of things. Instead, he kisses taako.

It feels like an eternity. It feels like seconds. Behind him, the goat catches fire. 

**

Elsewhere: 

"I get it," taako nods solemnly. "I have to seduce the security guard."

Magnus pauses, looking at taako. Barry and lup exchange a look. Julia sighs. 

"We, aren't going to be approaching on that side taako." He sounds genuinely confused by taako's solemnity. "We already decided I'd be the distraction." 

Taako just sighs, loud and sacrificial. 

"I understand, noone can resist taako's charm- it's what needs to be done. But guys-"

"-taako" Magnus tries, but Julia nudges him with a shake of her head

"-if I keep doing this, Im gonna have to invite the guy over! Have a proper date-" 

"-you should invite him for new year's," lup agrees. 

"So long as he's not going to arrest us for arson," lucrecia agrees. 

"I would never-" lup begins, clearly horrified at the implication, "-get caught!"

**

Taako is pulling cookies out of the oven when the doorbell rings. He almost drops the tray, and from across the room, Merle wiggles his eyebrows, almost audibly. Taako curses him and pulls a face. Thankfully, Barry gets the door. Taako tries to appear aloof, as though he isn't really paying attention to whoever just arrived, mentally, he's doing the same maths he's been doing every time the door has rung for the past two hours. They're only waiting on Angus now- who's travelling back into the city after visiting his grandfather. Taako isn't waiting for Angus. He holds his breath, trying to hear what's happening at the door, trying not to make too much noise as he puts down the cookies and puts the next tray in. He doesn't do anything so obvious as crane to see the door. 

"Thank you sir! I've been really looking forwards to reading this series! It's referenced a few times in-" Taako lets out the breath. He bangs the still hot tray on the side of the counter, loud with disappointment, before dropping the oven gloves and walking out of the kitchen. 

Kravitz isn't coming. It was stupid to think he might- the two of them have only actually spoken a few times, and all three times were promptly followed by his sister setting fire to kravitz's workplace. He stops himself from sighing, and is about to loudly greet Angus to try to deflect from these feelings, when the doorbell goes off again. 

Taako is at the door embarrassingly fast. One moment he's in the living room, and the next he's swinging open the front door, slightly out of breath. When the door is open and he sees the face on the other side he almost forgoes breath entirely before he belatedly remembers he kind of needs air to breathe. 

"Fancy seeing you here handsome," taako blurts in a momentary burst of panic. 

"I brought cake," says Kravitz, instead of a greeting. Taako barely notices. 

"Hell yeah homie," taako says. "Chaboy loves cake! I suppose the rest of these guys can have some too." Then Taako remembers he is supposed to let him into the house, and steps aside. As he does, he accidentally meets the gaze of Angus McDonald 

"You answered the door very fast sir," Angus says, like a snitch. Kravitz, thankfully, is distracted by something else. 

"Aren't you the one who raised skeletons inside the julbocken a few years ago?" Kravitz asks, this question very obviously pointed at Barry. Barry sputters. Taako laughs. The year, he decides, is looking promising. 

#Balance #fic

[thecandlenightszone]

Gift exchange! woop woop!

I got @/vengolor on twitter! I really love how the pose turned out! its definitely something different for me! Hope y'all enjoy! a big thanks to @thecandlenightszone for letting me be a part of the exchange!

#Balance #art

[thecandlenightszone]

i like to think part of the day barry gave lup included them dancing in the kitchen

my @thecandlenightszone piece for @barry-j-blupjeans ! i hope you like it as i had a lot of fun drawing it!!

#Balance #art

[thecandlenightszone]

My Candlenights gift for @the-pink-rabbit for the Candlenight’s gift exchange! They mentioned the seven birds, so I drafted up and stitched this pattern which was a lot of fun! If you DM me your address I’d love to send this to you!

@thecandlenightszone

#Balance #art

[thecandlenightszone]

My @thecandlenightszone for @roadstostray

Been a while since I've drawn Indrid, so I thought this'd be a fun time to flesh out the design I have for the moth man himself

#Amnesty #art

[thecandlenightszone]

happy candlenights everyone! this piece is for @/kitcatninja on twitter. i always try to channel borzoi energy into my taako, so i decided to commit fully with a little candlenights adoption scene.

thank you to @thecandlenightszone for hosting a great exchange!

p.s. please click for better quality as always <33

#Balance #art

[thecandlenightszone]

@thecandlenightszone gift for @somelittleplacebetweenthestars! He requested something with the newer arcs and mentioned that Clint's characters were his favorite, so I decided to try my hand at Zoox Anthellae and his swarm! Non-humanoids are not my strong suit but I hope he turned out okay! I loved working on the different corals 😊

#Ethersea #art

[thecandlenightszone]

BONUS: 

Happy Candlenights @itsfrenchfornothankyou​ ! I really enjoyed drawing this!

You asked for some Taako and Angus, which was the original plan, but I couldn’t leave Lup and Barry and Kravitz out, hence the bonus panels. Kravitz is trying to act chill but he’s a mess inside as usual

Thank you to @thecandlenightszone​ for organizing this event, it’s been another great candlenights. See you all next year!

#Balance #art

[thecandlenightszone]

Candlenights 2022

for @/drawingoffantasy. They said that their favourite characters were Aubrey, Magnus, Lup, Fitzroy and I could pick who I was more excited to draw so I just went with a little of all of them.

So here is Aubrey making friends with all the others, over fire, dogs and being generally enthusiastic :).

Lup: Fire’s great isn’t it

Aubrey: mmhmm

Aubrey: this is so cool!!

Fitzroy: Thank you, you have said that for every push up.

Aubrey: PUPPIES!!

Magnus: Hell yeh Puppies

@thecandlenightszone

#Balance #Amnesty #Graduation #art

[thecandlenightszone]

"Hear that babe? We're legends"

Happy Candlenights @itsmeimtheratking!

I've wanted to draw this scene forever so thanks for giving me a good excuse, I hope you like it!

This piece was drawn for the taz candlenights gift exchange, @thecandlenightszone

#Balance #art

[thecandlenightszone]

It’s gift giving time!! ❄❄

Starting from today you can post your gift and we’ll share it here! Make sure to tag your giftee (if they’re on tumblr) and also this blog so I can reblog it here.

I’ll be queueing posts so they’ll be spaced out over the day, but if it’s been a little while and I still haven’t reblogged yours, don’t be afraid to flick me a message. (Same if you have any other concerns!)

If you’re sharing on twitter too, you can tag us there @candlenightzone for a retweet.

If you’re posting on AO3, I have a collection for this year’s works here. I’ll be adding fics myself but you can add them directly too.

Happy new year and enjoy all the great fanworks everyone’s made!

Mod Kez

#reminder!