The living room of the small house feels warm, cozy, and welcoming, decked out from ceiling to floor in colorful Christmas knickknacks and decor. From the holly vines that stretch and twine around the banister of the staircase, to the pine wreath hung upon the door decorated in bright red berries and ribbons, to the ever-familiar sight of the towering Christmas tree set off to the corner from where it could be disturbed, glistening with the colorful ornaments that swayed ever so slightly from its branches. Gift boxes covered in shiny wrapping paper lay around the base of it, waiting to be opened up by their intended recipients when it came time to see who had gotten what in honor of the holidays. The air thrummed with the sound of soft music playing in the background, the volume turned down just enough for it to be ambient noise and to not overpower the sounds of the ongoing conversations among the partygoers present. The faint aroma of pine mingled with the warm, delicious scent of freshly baked cookies that hung all around the space, most of which had already been eagerly snatched up and eaten throughout the night by those guests with more of a sweet tooth alongside the spiked holiday punch that everyone drank by the cupful.
The dark-furred lynx spread her legs out as she'd settled herself down into a very comfortable spot on the floor by the couch, brushing shoulder to shoulder with the very lovely-looking snow leopard lady, Aurora, who seemed content to share the space together between the two of them. Kira was more than happy to let the other rest up against her for the time being, perhaps she was enjoying the gentle, relaxing heat that the half-demon seemed to be constantly radiating and could be felt even through the fabric of her long-sleeved dress. All the while, the lynx was engaged in casual conversation with Yolanda, the hostess of the party sat on the sofa nearby alongside her husband Bagish, taking the occasional sip from her own cup of punch in between as they chatted away like a pair of old, long-lost friends who finally found each other again after many years apart. Yet she was also very mindful of Aurora's presence leaning into her shoulder beside her, taking extra care not to accidentally jostle and disturb the snow leopard from her spot with any sudden movements.
Meanwhile, sat on the other side of the coffee table in between them, Santiago seemed content enough to simply watch and listen to all of the discussions from afar, idly munching on some of the chocolate chip cookies that were still left, occasionally chipping in on the conversation whenever anyone spoke or asked a question directed his way. Admittedly, he couldn't help but feel just a little out of place at this party, though it wasn't like he was the only one here who was a bit more on the 'unusual' side judging by the long-fanged lynx and the wolf with the robotic arm who were also in attendance. Or maybe it was the fact that he wasn't really used to attending social gatherings like these, he'd more or less come in the first place because he'd been invited as a plus one of sorts, and the idea of going had definitely beat just staying at home alone... He hadn't really done many of these kinds of house parties before, and ever since settling down here in the area many years ago it was hard for him to really find many new friends or just people to spend the holidays with in general. But despite being a bit awkward with socializing and mingling, Santiago had to admit it was actually quite nice, being able to share in such warm, casual company with these friendly folks who'd happily welcomed him into the house to join their celebrations the moment he'd arrived. That it was a small and very relaxed kind of get-together he very much enjoyed too, he was never a big fan of places with vast crowds packed together tightly within each other like sardines in a tin, and so much loud noise blaring on top of it all that anything was barely even audible.
The chupacabra's ears twitch occasionally at the faint yet noticeable noise of jingling coming from under the table, the telltale sound of his beloved cat Pepita having a bit of her own fun with a loose ornament that had fallen off of the Christmas tree and was immediately snatched up by her swift little paws. Admittedly he'd been a bit hesitant to bring her to the party, it would be a good chance for her to be able to socialize with other people but the three-legged kitten tended to be very critical when it came to anyone else outside of Santiago. And of course he hadn't wanted to leave her home alone at his apartment for god knows how long he would've been away, though the hosts hadn't minded her presence at all when he'd first brought her in. Thankfully, Pepita had been relatively at ease with the crowd here so far, being happy to just do her own thing for the most part while the others conversed around her. Naturally she tended to stick closer to Santiago most of the time, though every so often she'd approach one of the other guests of her own accord, brushing up against their legs and letting them pet her for a bit until she decided it was enough for now and moved on elsewhere. She seemed to at the very least tolerate the other people here quite well, and as far as Santiago was concerned that was plenty of a good step in the right direction.
Humming a quiet approval under his breath, the chupacabra tuned back into the conversation at hand, listening intently to the topic of interest that was being currently discussed among the other partygoers huddled around the couch. At the same time, he reached a hand over towards the ladle floating at the edge of the nearby punch bowl, intending to refill his drink after he'd absently grabbed it to take a sip only to find it full of nothing but the leftover ice sitting on the bottom. He wasn't sure how late it had gotten by now, not having had the mind to check for the time at all since he'd gotten settled in and engrossed in the festivities. Not that he was in any particular hurry to head home for the night... It was so much nicer to be here, enjoying the calm, relaxing vibes, listening to the white noise of the soft Christmas-themed music as well as the idle back and forth banter filling the space of the room around them, and just being very happy to be able to spend the holidays with others this year.
Maybe he should try to get out to these sorts of things more often, perhaps attempt to socialize a little more here and there and hopefully make some more new friends along the way as well... It would certainly be quite nice to not have to celebrate Christmas alone again, that much was for certain.
And here we go, managed to post this up just in time for Christmas! This was such an awesome and very beautiful multi-character holiday YCH scene from a very dear friend of mine that I was very glad to have been a part of, featuring a cast of super awesome characters including Snowrora's Aurora, WholeFire's aptly named Whole Fire, and of course a collective of OCs belonging to the fantastic Gatewayeee with her cat Stela, her bat Moondella, and her beloved couple of Yolanda the sloth plus Bagish the anteater! Also including my half-demon lynx lady Kira as well as my lovely chupacabra boy Santiago joining in on the festivities at this cozy little house party, with a small guest appearance by Santiago's cat Pepita who seems to be getting into the spirit of Christmas in her own way, haha~ Gosh, I'm absolutely honored to have had the opportunity to have them featured alongside all of these other wonderful folks, it was such an exciting experience! And of course a huge thank you shout out to Gatewayeee for hosting this multi-slot YCH piece, and that it could be finished and made a reality thanks to her and all of the cool people who joined in! Y'all are simply amazing~ ^^
That aside, god... Aside from all of the lovely characters that were included, the piece itself is absolutely gorgeous and has so much love and detail put into it! The atmosphere of the house and the room itself just feels so warm and comforting, just so much like being over at a friend's place that you've been to so often that it feels almost like a second home because of how familiar everything seems. In a way, it feels like it would be so nice to actually be at a holiday party like this, just having a great time with friends and people you know well enough to feel comfortable around. All of the decorations around the room and perhaps all throughout the house gives it that touch of holiday festiveness, the holly vines draped around the stairs and the chalkboard in the back, the wreath hung upon the door, the Christmas tree decorated with colorful ornaments and wrapped up giftboxes clustered around its base, and of course all of the little treats here and there about throughout the room! Those cookies definitely look like they've been properly broken into, judging by the leftover remains of a half eaten gingerbread man and the scattered crumbs all over the tablecloth there! And the clear glass punch bowl full of some kind of fruity, alcoholic drink with ice cubes and slices of orange looks absolutely delightful! Even the choice of colors for the room itself feels so welcoming and familiar, the mostly neutral beige/white and brown broken up with little pops of bright color by the pillows on the couch is such a beautifully done balance (and also actually a very deliberate and clever design choice by the artist, who mentioned that Bagish canonically has a certain form of color blindness)! And all of the details within the designs of the characters themselves are captured so nicely too, the looks of all of their different outfits like Bagish's sweater and Aurora's dress (which looks super pretty, by the way!), Moondella's many piercings on her face and wings, Whole Fire's metallic arm, and most especially Aurora's very long and fluffy tail as well as the way it seems to snake itself around and underneath the table! This whole scene really turned out so incredibly, and the artist did such an excellent job with it, that much is for certain! <3333
Once again, many, many, MANY thanks to my good friend, the super sweet, ultra kind, and simply magnificent artist Gatewayeee for both the fantastic art piece and for the opportunity to be a part of such a large project like this in honor of the holidays! As always, it's just such an absolute pleasure and an honor to be able to work and talk with you all throughout the drawing process, and this one was such a wonderful treat to watch come together through the different stages from the initial sketch to the final render! I'm always super excited to be able to ask for you to draw all of my characters and to create such beautiful scenes and stories with them, and honestly that it's been about a year already since I've last asked you to draw Kira up until just recently with this piece especially is so crazy to think about! You did an excellent job with both her and Santiago, not that there's was ever any doubt otherwise! God, I really can't thank you enough for just everything that you've done for me and for others as well, the sheer amount of love, passion, and soul that you put forth into every drawing you make never fails to inspire me to keep on being creative, even when times have been tough and I struggle to be able to summon the energy to try to type up something, anything at all. It was thanks to you that I even began writing up all of these little stories and such to accompany a lot of these art pieces that I commission from you and from other amazing artists as well in the first place, and that I've continued to keep going with it even though I felt and still feel unsure at times of if people would even read them, much less even like them... When you had written to me after I posted up the very first ever piece I had commissioned from you alongside the story I'd typed up for it saying how much you'd loved it, how you continue to support me and my stories for these past couple years and knowing that you look forward to whenever I have new ones to share, I honestly couldn't express in words alone just how much that really meant to me. Just knowing that these little stories and descriptions I write up bring some little bit of joy and inspiration to others who read them warms my heart so much, and I want to be able to give my best for each and every one so that others can enjoy them as well. I'm so glad and so goddamn appreciative of having been able to get to know you over these past couple years since we first met each other, and I hope that we can continue to collaborate together on new projects and grow closer together throughout this upcoming new year and many more yet to come. I hope your creativity and your artistic skill can continue to grow and develop more and more, and that you'll find happiness and success aplenty within this lifetime. You're truly someone who's one of a kind, with a brilliant personality and an incredible talent... I wish you nothing but the absolute best with everything and anything that you hope to achieve, because you deserve only the best... Happy holidays to you, dear, and a very merry Christmas to all of you out there! I hope the rest of this year is kind to each and every one of you, and that the next year will be kinder to us all as well~ <3333
And hey, if you're not doing so already, then please do hop on over to Gateway's page, give her a watch, drop some faves on the original post of this piece and any of her other works in her gallery that catch your fancy, and consider commissioning something from her as well if you enjoy her art and what she does! She'll be more than happy to draw for you if you're interested in ordering some of her artworks, and any support that you can give to help her achieve her goals to be able to find a place of her own to live and eventually move to America someday would be immensely appreciated! She has a good selection of options to choose from among her regular commissions depending on what you want and what your budget it, from simpler colored sketch pieces that can be done quicker and with less finer details to fully rendered illustrated scenes with complex details and backgrounds, to chibis and anything else in between! She also occasionally has YCHs that she posts up for sale, and if those are more of what you're looking for then definitely keep an eye out for 'em whenever she can post them up! And having worked and collaborated with her for these past couple of years, I can say that she's also a very lovely and super sweet person to work with as well, and that she does her best to work with her customers to ensure that they're happy and satisfied with their order! So if you'd like to be able to get some amazing and great quality art for a not super steep price, I highly encourage and recommend y'all to check her out and consider ordering something from her! And even if you're not able to afford any artworks or just aren't in the market for commissions, please at least give this awesome and incredible artist the support and love she deserves by giving her a follow on her FA, Twitter, Telegram, or anywhere else you can find her, and help to share her stuff around with others by leaving some faves on her art as well!
The link for Gateway's personal site with her commission info and prices will be provided below! Please consider checking it out and possibly ordering something from her if you're interested! Even just faving her artworks and helping to share them around with your friends, followers, and anyone else who might like to check out her stuff is always greatly appreciated!
Gateway's Commission Info and Prices: https://gatewayeecmminfo.carrd.co/
Kira 'Phoenix' Alistair and Santiago Ortega Montez (plus Pepita) are © to me
Aurora the Snow Leopard is © to Snowrora
Whole Fire the Wolf is © to WholeFire
Stela the Cat, Moondella the Bat, Bagish the Anteater, and Yolanda the Sloth are © to Gatewayeee
Category Artwork (Digital) / Miscellaneous
Species Unspecified / Any
Gender Multiple characters
Size 2307 x 1597px
Oh my goodness what a beautiful and perfect story to fit such a lovely piece! You captured the atmosphere of the art in such a creative way!
I am still so very honored to have been in the piece with you! Thank you for letting my Aurora sit beside you in it!
I hope you are having a great holiday season and merry Christmas if you are celebrating!
I am still so very honored to have been in the piece with you! Thank you for letting my Aurora sit beside you in it!
I hope you are having a great holiday season and merry Christmas if you are celebrating!
Ahhhhh thank you so much, Aurora!! I'm very pleased to hear that you enjoyed both this big and lovely holiday YCH and the little story that I wrote to accompany it as well! I tried my best to capture that warm, casual atmosphere of a party between good friends and close acquaintances, and I hope that it came through well enough as intended! I'm very glad and grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in this with you and your gorgeous snow leopard, and thank you so much for taking part in my dear friend Gateway's YCH as well! I really appreciate it a lot, and I'm sure she does too! And I hope that there'll come another opportunity to do something like this again sometime in the future, it would be my pleasure~ 😊
Thank you so much for the fave and for your very wonderful and kind comment as well! My holidays were quite pleasant and nice overall if quite busy, so I apologize for responding back to this rather late! I hope that yours were full of warmth, joy, and good times aplenty as well, and a very happy New Year to you too! I hope that 2024 has kicked off on a positive note for you, and that you had lovely celebrations as well for New Year's Eve if you did so! And as always, thank you so very much for all of your support and kindness that you've shown to me and to others throughout this past year, I really greatly appreciate it and I hope that they do too! Here's to another year, and I wish you nothing but the best with your resolutions for 2024 (if you do those, at least!) and with all of your future endeavors as well~ 💜💜💜
Thank you so much for the fave and for your very wonderful and kind comment as well! My holidays were quite pleasant and nice overall if quite busy, so I apologize for responding back to this rather late! I hope that yours were full of warmth, joy, and good times aplenty as well, and a very happy New Year to you too! I hope that 2024 has kicked off on a positive note for you, and that you had lovely celebrations as well for New Year's Eve if you did so! And as always, thank you so very much for all of your support and kindness that you've shown to me and to others throughout this past year, I really greatly appreciate it and I hope that they do too! Here's to another year, and I wish you nothing but the best with your resolutions for 2024 (if you do those, at least!) and with all of your future endeavors as well~ 💜💜💜
Happy Holidays to you, and all you loved ones!
To your diverse and diligently developed creations, too!
Happy Holidays to Kira, Rosamund, Senna, Morgana, Santiago (and Pepita!),
and also to Gault who probably works through the holidays, because Evil Never Sleeps!
Thank you for making this community a much more beautiful and interesting place with your writing
and collaborative art projects!
The artists you have worked with could have hoped for a more grateful and generous patron and promoter of their work.
Your perceptive observations of their work have always been an inspiration, and a template for quality comments.
You are a remarkably kind, creative and energetic person, and one of the people I admire the most on this site.
May everything go your way, and may you find the time to pay respects to your old interests while developing new ones!
It is a terrible thing that has happened to Gatewayeee's family recently,
and thank you for giving the artist your heartfelt condolences and support!
To your diverse and diligently developed creations, too!
Happy Holidays to Kira, Rosamund, Senna, Morgana, Santiago (and Pepita!),
and also to Gault who probably works through the holidays, because Evil Never Sleeps!
Thank you for making this community a much more beautiful and interesting place with your writing
and collaborative art projects!
The artists you have worked with could have hoped for a more grateful and generous patron and promoter of their work.
Your perceptive observations of their work have always been an inspiration, and a template for quality comments.
You are a remarkably kind, creative and energetic person, and one of the people I admire the most on this site.
May everything go your way, and may you find the time to pay respects to your old interests while developing new ones!
It is a terrible thing that has happened to Gatewayeee's family recently,
and thank you for giving the artist your heartfelt condolences and support!
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