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fosermi · 1 year

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[ROTG] Help Me To Dream

Happy holidays to the RISE OF THE GUARDIANS fandom!

This is my ROTG Stocking Stuffer fill for prompt#38... Sandy's Christmas eve rounds

@rotgsecretsanta

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Rowan Castillo loved her job.

As one of the volunteer coordinators for the “NORAD Tracks Santa” operations center, once a year she got to gently wrangle people, changing a ragtag group of strangers into a lean, [not] mean, answering-phones-and-email machine.

She had been managing a twelve-hour shift of six two-hour volunteer slots for the past ten years. Starting at 4AM Mountain Time, the Santa trackers answering phone calls and emails would cover “Santa landings” in the Pacific Rim and Japan; the midday to mid-afternoon shifts would track “Santa stops” in Asia and Africa; and the night shifts would cover “Santa sightings” in Europe and the Americas.

This year Rowan planned to stagger her own slots so that she would be on four hours, off four hours, and so on. That meant she could have her metaphorical finger on every continent on her watch, including the various research stations in Antarctica, not to mention the International Space Station. She intended to take full advantage of the breakroom, in order to catch catnaps and eat snacks to keep herself going. It meant a long, long workday at NORAD, spanning the full eighteen hours that the Santa Tracking Team operated, but she loved it and looked forward to it every year.

All volunteers had been coached with answers to frequently asked questions, including those about the International Date Line and whether Santa Claus could time-travel. Under Rowan’s supervision, each 2-hour shift involved between twenty and twenty-five people each, equally divided between phone banks and laptop stations.

Some of the returning volunteers on Rowan’s crews wore special red ribbons embroidered with the words “I BELIEVE” in gold thread. These volunteers were extra-well-prepared for the burning question that had sprung up in 2012 during Rowan’s very first Christmas at NORAD.

A question repeated every year since, by many, many children around the world.

“Is the Sandman following Santa?”

The answer to that, of course, was “No, Santa is following HIM.”

_________________________

Sanderson Mansnoozie woke up with a belligerent starfish plastered to his face. It wriggled impatiently to get his attention.

All right, all right. I know what day it is. And what time it is, too.

One last yawn, one last stretch, and then he was ready for this night’s work.

He shaped his dreamsand into his oft-favored biplane, weaving himself a pair of goggles and a jaunty aviator’s scarf in the process.

Sandy’s route every Christmas Eve both paralleled that of Nicholas St. North and surpassed it. The Sandman had the job of granting dreams to every soul on Earth who *could* dream; he paid no real attention to mankind’s imaginary borders, and he bestowed dreams on adults as well as children. But on this night he enjoyed sharing his own gift with his fellow Guardian. He made sure that those who believed in an immortal gift-giver who traversed the world in one night would be asleep and dreaming sweet dreams while North spread his wonder and good cheer.

It tickled North’s fancy that among his first stops each year were two places that some humans had dubbed Christmas Island, and thus it tickled Sandy’s fancy to give the sleepers of Flying Fish Cove and Tabwakea visions of swooping bats and playful goats, all crafted in golden dreamsand.

The dreamweaver’s biplane left golden swirls and curlicues in his wake at each stop in the Pacific Rim… Auckland, Cairns, Port Moresby, Denpasar, Manila, Singapore, Bandar Seri Begawan, Bengaluru, and so, so many more places, both populous and not.

As both Sandy and North started making their respective magic over Tokyo, they started to attract notice from the mortal world.

_______________________

“There are going to be kids who will tell you ‘I believe, I believe, I believe’, like some kind of mantra,” Rowan had told her newest trainees last week. “All our callers are special, but these ones need particular focus from you in their answers. If they tell you that they can see someone called ‘Sandy’ or ‘the Sandman’, don’t be surprised if you start seeing a special glow on your NORAD chart. It’s not an optical illusion. What it *is*… well, you’ll have to make your mind up about that for yourself.”

The twinkle in Rowan’s eyes became more pronounced as she concluded, “Also, don’t be surprised even you see a glow over spots where traditionally Santa Claus is NOT believed in, like Afghanistan, Algeria, Bhutan, North Korea, Libya, Mauritania, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. There’s a good reason for that. See you all on the 24th!” ___________________________

There were many, many would-be sleepers requiring Sandy’s special skill on this particular Christmas Eve. With equal care he wrapped populous cities like Urumqi, Helsinki and Chicago in shining dreams, as well as scattering his glittering gifts in remote places like Khatanga, Pape’ete, and Babeldaob.

He left dream images of many, many hopeful and soul-cheering things in the minds of those dreamers touched by his tendrils of dreamsand.

Bottles made of rainbow glass, a comfortable quilt, an unexpected bouquet of flowers, bales and bales of hay that would save one’s cattle from starving.

A spatula held in a loved one’s hand in a cherished and remembered kitchen, long ago.

A plush rabbit and a toy top perched on the shelves of a newborn child’s nursery.

A never-ending bag of popcorn, and all the bananas one could eat.

A familiar umbrella on a crowded city street, held up by an arm bedecked with bangle bracelets.

A chocolate bar and a comic book, both savored while perched on the wide branch of a gnarled yet sturdy tree.

A worn-out stuffed animal that could have been a hamster, a lion, or a shark at one point in the past, but had been sculpted into a shape that was now unique, with a purpose that made it indispensable, at least in the mind of the child that loved it and couldn’t go to sleep without it.

All these dreams, and many, many millions more.

The Sandman flew on through the night, sometimes beside North’s sleigh as they conversed, but more often ahead of the Guardian of Wonder.

And below their conjoined and separate flight paths, the world slept more peacefully.

Back at NORAD, Rowan Castillo answered her last “Santa tracker” phone call at ten minutes before midnight. She told a breathlessly giggling child in Denmark, where it was already Christmas morning, that Santa was currently flying over Adak Island on his way back to the North Pole.

She removed her headset, stretched her back, and rubbed her tired eyes. She grinned to see the faintest traces of gold on her fingertips.

I believe, I believe, I believe.

#oh my god #i love this!!#the little organisations following north around to reassure kids??#i absolutely adore that!!#its such a sweet sentiment

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fosermi · 1 year

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Here is my first submission for the @rotgsecretsanta 2022! This is prompt 38 Sandy’s Christmas eve rounds! You can either look at it through AO3 or read under the cut!

I hope everyone enjoys! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Keep reading

#rise of the guardians #rotgsecretdanta2022 #iM SOBBING???#Its so sweet *cries*#i love this so much!!

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fosermi · 1 year

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Second rotg secret santa prompt completed!

I hope whoever gets this will enjoy reading it just as much as I enjoyed writing it! Merry Christmas!!

@rotgsecretsanta

Jack and Katherine in ugly matching sweaters. The More chaotic the better.

Jack enjoyed the bustle and activity of the workshop, especially during the winter months when production increased significantly for the final preparation for Christmas. Dodging and weaving through the crowd of yeti, jumping and flying about to avoid rogue elves, and of course, the best part of it all; gathering the Guardians together to help North out with any extra last minute party plans!

Happily whistling 'Deck the halls' as he strolled through the workshop, prepared for whatever random objects, toys, and elves he had to duck under and avoid on his way to the lounge.

Although in a lighthearted mood, Jack didn't just come here because he wanted to, but because North had sent him a message through one of Tooth's fairies requesting his assistance specifically, seeing as it was the busiest time of the year for winter spirits.

“North?” Jack called out, walking into the common lounge, to see North bent over a work table, right next to him was Tooth fluttering about in excitement, both murmuring about something. Jack couldn't help his curiosity though and tried to peek at what north was doing while by the door.

“Hey, what-” he started, trying to grab the attention of the other two guardians to see what they were doing when all of a sudden a blur of yellow barreled straight into him, pulling him away from the room in a rush just as North and Tooth turned around to acknowledge Jack.

The young winter spirit didn’t have time to process what was happening when he was pulled away from the lounge room with an indignant yelp. Blinking in confusion, Jack looked at who was dragging him along, only to find the familiar yellow coat of Katherine, a panicked expression on her face.

“Hey- hey, wait, Katherine, what’s wrong?” Jack asked after a while, managing to stop the girl from dragging him further into the bustling workshop, concerned for his dearest friend.

Katherine, for her part, looked frantic- peering every which way and breathing heavily as if something was out to get her.

“Katherine?” Jack tried again, this time gently holding onto Katherine’s arm, concern filling his eyes. “Talk to me..” Katherine peered up into Jack’s icy blue eyes for a moment, panic never once leaving her own stormy eyes.

“Jack?” North’s booming voice echoed throughout the workshop, causing Jack to instinctively look towards the older guardian, a reply ready in his mind; however Katherine’s hand was faster as she managed to clamp her hand over his mouth in an instant.

“Don’t!” she hissed quietly, once again looking around in a panic. “Don’t bring attention to us!”

All of a sudden she pulled Jack away into an isolated room, peeking her head out of the door and scanning her surroundings. This only further confused Jack as he had not seen his friend be so panicked and alert before.

“Okay, seriously! What is going on?” Jack asked again once Katherine closed the door, earning a glare and a good shushing from the storyteller.

“Do you want us to be found?!” she hissed at him, whisper-yelling as she made her way over to the very confused winter spirit who only backed away as the girl came ever closer, holding his staff closer to his chest as she came only inches from his face, pointing at his chin. “Do you want to experience a nightmare worse than what Pitch can ever give?!”

Jack didn’t know how to respond, only staring at his best friend with wide confused eyes, blinking a few times as he eyes the finger jabbed in his direction. Whatever had gotten his best friend so riled up must be something big, and he wanted to help her as much as he could.

“Did something happen…?” Jack asked, hesitance in his voice as he swallowed the lump in his throat. “If it's something bad, we should tell north and the other Guardians-” he offered, only to get interrupted by Katherine’s outburst. “Are you insane, Jackson?! Do you want us found?!”

That didn’t clear up anything at all, only proceeding to confuse the winter teen even more than it already has. Shaking his head to clear it for a moment and lowering his staff to a more relaxed state, Jack proceeded to grab hold of Katherine’s arm once again. “Katherine, speak to me,” he started, his voice hushed and soothing. “What’s happening?”

Katherine took that moment to blink up at Jack, giving him a weird look. “You have got to be kidding me, Jack.”

“No, I’m not.” Jack said, letting go of the girl and crossing his arms with a concerned frown on his face. “Tell me Katherine.”

At that, Katherine took a deep breath, steeling her nerves before meeting Jack’s icy gaze with her own hardened eyes. “It is the worst possible thing that could ever happen.” she started seriously, causing Jack to stiffen up in anticipation and his attention focused in on her words. “It is the one thing that haunts me, and many others, every year around this time.”

“What is it…?”

“It is…”

“What? What is-” but yet, before Jack could even finish his inquiry, the chorus of jingling bells rang throughout the halls and ending just before the door to the room, causing Katherine’s attention to snap towards the doors of the room as she took up a defensive stance, ready to either fight or run off. Jack on the other hand stood there confused, looking between his best friend and the doors in confusion.

“Oh, no you don’t! Not this year!” Katherine yelled out in a battle cry just as the door burst inwards, a flood of elves rushing in a wave of greens and reds and ringing bells. It didn't take long for Katherine to start jumping around and attempting to weave through the horde of elves with Jack floating after her, though the elves still tried to reach for the winter teen.

All hell had broken loose when the yeti came in, grumbling and murmuring in yetish as they attempted to catch Katherine. One came in and swiped at Katherine in an attempt to subdue her, yet Jack jumped in just in time to deflect the hairy creature from touching her, surprising the yeti.

Jack honestly didn't know what was happening, but he would step in to protect his best friend, even if it meant he’d have to freeze a couple of elves and yeti knowing they were more than capable of handling his short freeze spells. “Katherine, run!” Jack had called out after clearing a path, looking behind him to the girl trying to shoo away some elves that had managed to grab hold of her hair somehow.

“Thanks Jack! I owe you one!” Katherine called back, hopping on top of a couple of elves as she rushed out of there.

Now it was Jack who was cornered, however with his quick thinking he managed to create a path for himself with ice, sliding down the hallways and easily catching up with Katherine and dragging her along for an impromptu ice sled ride throughout the workshop, sliding left and right until they had reached the landing bay where Kailash rested.

Without even being told, the Giant goose rose from her sitting position and offered her wing for her rider to hop on before a quick takeoff, once again followed by the winter spirit right behind her.

Looking back down to the landing bay, Katherine could see the yeti and the elves all arrive, frustrated that their prey had gotten away. But Katherine could not contain her laugh of pure elated joy, causing Jack to catch onto the momentum and laugh alongside her as he perched down on the flying Kailash just behind her rider, whooping with joy.

“We did it!” Katherine exclaimed, giving Kailash a few loving scratches on the neck.

“Now that was fun!” Jack said, smiling.

Katherine smiled too, taking a deep breath and looking forward to help steer Kailash on the right path back to Ganderly. “Thanks, Jack, for helping.”

“I don’t really know what I helped with thou-” for the second time that hour, Jack had been interrupted again. But this time, he was interrupted by a flock of Tooth’s mini fairies, all swarming him at once.

By the time Katherine had looked back to Jack, he had already fallen off of the giant goose, being carried off by the fairies that had suddenly swarmed him.

“Kathy!” an all too familiar Russian voice boomed close to mother goose, causing her face to pale further as she now knew that no matter what they did, they could not escape their fates.

It didn't take them long at all to return back to the pole- a confused Jack practically dragged by the mini fairies to the meeting room while Katherine solemnly dragged her feet with North’s hand on her shoulder. And it didn’t take the guardians of wonder and memory to have their way with the two youngest members of their family.

Bunny burst through the doors of the meeting room, his eyes filled with mirth and excitement, having already known just what they were all called in for, as it had happened every year without fail. “So, where are they?” he asked North, standing up to full height and shaking off excess snow from his fur.

“Look for yourself!” North exclaimed loudly, gesturing to the two youngest members of their group, both of which were in overly large christmas sweaters, both decorated with an ungodly amount of festive spirit and an odd appeal of teeth attributed to one Tooth fairy.

Katherine had sat down in defeat, attempting and failing to not scratch at every bit of herself. Jack on the other hand was absolutely confused as to what was happening.

Seeing their faces as they were had sent the Pooka into hysteria, having to hold himself up on North as Tooth gushed at how cute they both were. By that point, Sandy too had arrived, an amused smile crossing his features as he hovered closer to explain to the still very confused Jack about what was happening.

As it turned out, North and Tooth had a tradition in which they would dress up Katherine every christmas season with a new sweater they had hand crafted together, but this year, Jack too had the pleasure of experiencing the same thing as Katherine.

“Well, as long as everyone's having fun right?” Jack asked, smiling a bit at the situation. Sandy only shrugged and gestured towards the moping Katherine, finally sending the winter teen into a fit of laughter, only to get the stink eye from the storyteller. But it didn’t stay long as Jack eventually managed to get Katherine to somewhat accept their fate in ugly sweaters.

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fosermi · 1 year

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I still don't understand what the question is about though... I know it's about Bunny but what about him?

hey forsi..., ask What do you think of bunny ooo easter for friends ?

Hello there! Unfortunately I don't understand what you're asking... I'd gladly answer if you could clarify?

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fosermi · 1 year

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Merry Christmas yall!

I hope you're having a wonderful day! Do enjoy this short story I wrote for the secret santa!

@rotgsecretsanta

Sandy Just Chilling on a Dreamsand Cloud and Looking Up at the Night sky.

Winter nights are long and cold. The harshest time of the year for many folks. While many continents and countries experience different weathers of winter at this time of year, nothing changes the fact that winter is the time of rest for the world.

Whether you be a human, an animal, or even a spirit, there is no denying that winter nights are the quietest time of the year. Although it is also the busiest time for certain individuals of the invisible plane.

During these nights, certain spirits such as the winter spirits, sprites, or pixies come alive to spread their frosted blessings onto the world. Tooth fairies fluttered about in towns and cities, visiting children whose teeth have fallen, leaving gifts under their pillows. Santa’s workshop becomes a whole new world of fervent activity, even more so than during the other seasons. Even the Easter Bunny starts preparing for the upcoming spring, overseeing the planting of special seeds in his warren by hand with care.

However, the busiest of all is the Sandman.

The Sandman, or Sandy to the spirit realm, is an ever vigilant figure. Never seizing his work in providing dreams to every person his golden sand comes across, even if he does sometimes doze off- it is part of his job! This of course means that he not only oversees the dreams of children, but teens and adults too- though of course, not every one of them gets a dream filled night like the children do.

Of course, the Sandman’s duty is one that is never ending, so why would it be any different during winter? Well, the nights are longer, for one, and seasonal depression is something that is unavoidable for some individuals of human society. This makes more people, especially children more susceptible to Nightmare attacks.

Winter has always been a busy time for the Guardians, that is true and will always be true. However, thanks to their newest member, Jack Frost, the spirit of winter himself and Guardian of Fun, the strain and burden of winter night patrols have lightened for all of them significantly, allowing each Guardian to focus more on their own individual tasks of bringing joy to children.

And thanks to the efforts of their youngest member, even the Sandman has found time in his busy schedule of rounds for himself to truly rest, even if only for a couple of minutes a day. Usually, he would find himself dozing off on his cloud high above a town or conversing with the winter Guardian when they cross paths. However, this night is different.

Instead of putting his head down to sleep himself, Sandy found himself watching the barren streets below where a certain white haired teen whizzed by, laughing joyously as he spread frost and snow all around. Seeing the boy so happy doing his job made the Sandman crack a smile, and if he could, he would have been laughing alongside him.

With a wide smile on his bright and round face, Sandy sent out a small stream of Dreamsand from atop his cloud, watching as it circled around the boy of winter as a greeting. This prompted Jack to excitedly touch the tendril, causing it to burst into a series of moving figures- predominantly dolphins- that twirled around the frosted teen, causing another bout of joyous laughter to escape him before he looked up to the cloud on which Sandy observed him from.

A small wave of greeting was exchanged between the two Guardians, right before Jack shot up towards the sand cloud on which Sandy sat on. “Hey, Sandy!” Jack called out, earning a nod of acknowledgement from the stout golden man.

“Done with your rounds?” This earned another nod from the Sandman before Sandy gestured towards the teen as a snowflake appeared above his head, wondering if Jack had finished as well.

“Ah, about that…” Jack sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, earning a concerned look from Sandy who motioned for Jack to take a seat next to him on the cloud to which Jack instantly shook his head. “It's not really that serious but another area is due for some heavy snowfall tonight so I can't really stay and chat for long. Just wanted to let you know in case you wanted to hang out.”

This news didn't exactly surprise the Sandman, though he did want to invite Jack to talk for a while if he was able to. With an understanding nod and a smile, the two parted ways as Jack hurried off to deliver winter elsewhere, leaving Sandy all alone on his cloud.

But truly? He didn’t mind at all. In fact, he quite enjoyed the time he had for himself in the quiet stillness of the winter night. Especially during the cloudless nights such as these.

With a silent sigh, Sandy got himself comfortable on his Dreamsand cloud and turned his gaze up to the night sky, dotted with a multitude of stars. Though not all of them were visible anymore due to light pollution, the sight of it still brought back the memories of his time in space, even though he quite liked his life as it was now, spreading joy through the Dreamsand he commanded.

Though he knows he no longer can go back to the life he once had among the sea of syars, Sandy still enjoys listening to the wind and watching the starry sky that reminds him of so long ago, bringing his mind at ease as he drifts calmly in the crisp winter night sky while many slept under his ever vigilant watch. It’s peaceful when there isn't much that occupies one's mind but the individual’s imagination.

He lets out another silent sigh, finding himself missing some fresh eggnog to make this moment truly blissful though.

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fosermi · 1 year

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hey forsi..., ask What do you think of bunny ooo easter for friends ?

Hello there! Unfortunately I don't understand what you're asking... I'd gladly answer if you could clarify?

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fosermi · 1 year

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Did anyone order some cookies with a side of Frostbite and emotional damage with a generous sprinkle of "THESE KIDS ARE ADORABLE"?

#foserdraws #foserdoodles #cookie run #cookie run kingdom #sherbet cookie #cotton cookie

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fosermi · 1 year

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Commissions are open now!

Please read through to the end for more info.

Fully rendered

consists of completed piece: moderately shaded, with effects. Comes with a simple background specified by the commissioner.

$50 per image, +$10 per additional character in one image

Colored sketch

semi-clean sketches colored in flat colors for one character.

full body- $45, half body- $40, head shot- $35

+$10 for simple background (shapes and borders)

+$10 for additional characters.

Single color sketch

Sketches colored in with one color

full body- $30, half body- $25, head shot- $20

+$10 for simple background (shapes and borders)

+$10 for additional characters.

Chibi

lightly shaded full color chibis/minis, Background doesn't apply/flat colors only.

Chibis/Minis can be substituted to headshot PFP with simple backgrounds.

$15 per character.

What I will do

OCs

Character designs/customs

Fandoms

Furries/Anthros

simple armor

SFW interactions

Very mild suggestive content *

What I will NOT do

Complex Mecha

Complex Background

Extreme gore

Controversial stuff

NSFW

Must be compliant and willing to be patient, as I too am a human being with a life, commissions will take at most 2-3 weeks. Deadline with rushing = additional fees

Payment happens after rough sketch is complete so the commissioner can determine whether or not to continue/adjust commission before they pay for their product.

For non-customs/character design commissions, please send at least 1 clear reference for me to use.

I have the right to turn down any commission I deem troublesome/inappropriate. that doesn't mean we can't work out a commission that satisfies both parties!

Payment will be done through PayPal or Ko-Fi

For further discussion about commissions, please contact me on my Instagram, Patreon, Twitter, or here! (use the card link that can be found in my bio)

Once commission is complete, drawing will be sent to commissioner through an agreed upon method for a high resolution image.

#foserdraws #commissions #art commisions #commissions open #art commission open #commission info #foser comms

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