#anyway always stoked to find an artist

[dingoat]

Anyway I had the opportunity to treat myself to a lil portrait of my best girl by @the-upper-shelf so I took it and isn't she pretty I love it so much! She did an amazing job with her, absolutely recommend.

#ahuska #bothan #best girl best girl #other people's art #art for me #anyway always stoked to find an artist #just as comfortable with fuzzy alien creature people #as regular human people #which means I'll no doubt be saving my pennies and keeping my eye out for future opportunities >.>

[crystcrm]

i share ur struggle.. i ACHE for gepard or welt content so hopefully i could request for something like that? im js gonna throw a bunch of ideas and you can choose whichever

relationship hcs (what he’d be like, how does he show his love etc)

sleeping together (take this whichever way you want)

cooking together in the kitchen (im a whore for this stuff idk why😭)

bedroom hcs (kinks, fav positions, literally anything i need it so bad)

KISSING IN THE SNOW W GEPARD😞

anon i hope you know this ask gave me like 5000 braincells. like suddenly i am THINKING. it's so insane how one little ask full of random blurbs gave me so much life to write even just the smallest things.

literally welt and gepard are my two faves rn, i'm fr just waiting for jing yuan to come out. jing yuan my beloved <3<3

but anyway, as for this little ask, i think we'll ease into the hsr content with some fluff ( i am all due for it anyway, i have Not been writing and i also need the fluff because my god does life hit hard ) so sit tight >:)

love and cherishing you ♡ ;; various x gn!reader headcanons

content;- sfw , fluff , headcanons list , how some hsr boys show their love for you ♡♡ , overall just really fluffy because i need toothrotting stomach ache inducing head swirling sweet fluff sometimes... , nothing about getting together but just general hcs on what they'd be like in a relationship , reader is nooooot...? the trailblazer but could possibly be interpreted as such if you squint

characters inc:- welt yang , gepard landau ( includes post-belobog arc content, not extremely spoilery but take note that i chose after the jarillo-vi conclusion to open up more opportunities >:3 )

together with welt yang . . .

welt has lived life longer than perhaps anyone on the express, being from another world and used to living as the first ( second generation ) herrscher of reason, a herrscher that sided with humanity. he didn't expect to get sucked into another adventure, one where he'll meet many companions, see unbelievable sights or even... fall in love.

he's an old soul, yet his heart still has a grand passion for what he does. the fire within him burns, and perhaps, you stoke the flames. a motivation unlike any other to show you the wonders of the galaxy— of every world.

his love is not the most openly shown, an old man can be embarrassed sometimes. especially in the face of his family of the astral express. his affections for you are for you two only. his touches, his words, the little things that make sparks fly are all special and meant for your ears and eyes only. be it in the privacy of his room, or late nights when everyone else is fast asleep, he'll always find a way to make his love for you known when nobody else is looking.

time together with you is always time well spent. he enjoys it perhaps just a little more than going on adventures with everyone. you could be doing anything, and he wouldn't mind simply sitting in silence together with you. it's comforting, relaxing. it's moments like these where he gets to unwind with you. it's essentially a recharge— he doesn't even have to hold you ( but if you'd like that, he'd be more than happy to ).

he used to be an artist— an animation storyboard artist. his skills on paper would definitely outmatch the rest of the crew. he already likes to have his experiences captured in little drawings in his notebook. well, you happen to be one big, long lasting experience. one that he can't wait to see what more comes while experiencing it. you swear that you can catch him gazing at you every other day, and you always see his pencil moving across the papers in his book. inside are sketches of you in all your beauty, how he adores you, even complete with little notes about the things you like.

he wishes to show you the world, all there is to be seen across the entire galaxy. he will be there, to guide you, to accompany you. it's not that he doesn't trust the rest of the crew, but really, this is the closest thing to a date you've ever gotten. taking in the sights of new worlds, creating new memories together, and maybe getting tossed in a bit of trouble along the way. sure, it may be tiring or troublesome, but he wouldn't want to face it with anyone else.

those that come across him know him as welt yang, but this is the name he has inherited. he doesn't tell it often, perhaps, but at least you know him. the real him. he's not just welt to you, but also joachim. it is something he entrusted to you, who he is, who he once was, who he shall become— everything about him.

he adores you, and all your entirety. you are like a burning star in the galaxy above, one that burns with him.

together with gepard landau . . .

gepard, captain of the silvermane guards is a busy, busy man. between his duties as captain and his daily life, he does his best to find time for you. his lack of charm is exactly what makes him charming, some may say. he's no nonsense, stubborn, "famously uncompromising" ( as his sister claims ) with an unmatched loyalty. it sounds horrendous, but perhaps that's exactly why you love him.

you tell him he should prioritise his duty first and foremost, he is an important figure in belobog, after all. and he does, he stubbornly commits to it. even if he can see in your eyes that you're hesitantly letting him go again. it's in these rare moments that he gives you a small, warming smile and a gentle embrace— he tells you that he'll do his best, for the preservation of belobog, for its people— and most importantly, you.

bothering him on patrol isn't one of your favourite activites, there are definitely more enriching things out there, but you still do it from time to time. usually, it's when the nights are a little colder and you can't seem to sleep. it's the same old thing, each and every time. he tells you you should get home, but not after a quick walk together with him. you'd chat about the little things, and he'd even shyly try to hold your hand in such a moment. after that, he personally escorts you back to your residence, and never forgetting to leave without a kiss goodnight. it may be a simple kiss on the back of your hand, or you might get up for a quick kiss on the cheek. you don't know what you do to him.

gepard doesn't strike me as a type that knows a lot in this area. he was born and raised as a noble child, and then went straight into becoming a protector of the city he grew up in. he'd feel a little flustered at a few things, the ideas and thoughts that come to him while together with you. he's even more embarrassed as he goes to his sister for advice on how to deal with such emotions. he reads books, fiction of romance that he does best to turn into your reality. it's not perfect— he's still clueless on what's a really good date— but he's always trying harder just for you.

it's not often that he gets free time, but once he does, he's quick to seek you out... after his sister of course. for many good reasons, actually. other than the usual check in with his sister he loves so dearly, she is more helpful than most others despite her teasing. serval is a big source of support in his relationship with you, not to say you two can't handle it yourselves. he's just rather clueless about love as a whole sometimes, and she's there to give him a little nudge in the right direction. thanks to her, gepard brought you flowers once, and he does it every so often.

never underestimate the lengths he'd go for you. he may be constantly out there in the front lines trying to combat the antimatter legion and the fragmentum, and he may be busy with training the guards or some other silvermane business, but he would always keep you in mind. you're part of his motivation, and you've grown to be the biggest part of it. you could tell him it's nothing important, if you ask for something, like a favour or likewise, but because it's you, he'll put it right at the top of his priorities. you are his priority.

dates are difficult, especially when you're captain of the guards. walking around with him attracts more attention than any other thing, but it doesn't stop him from inviting you out. the luxuries of belobog would be easy for him to indulge in, as a landau and as captain, but truly, simply spending time with him is enough. your favourite dates are ones where you freely walk aimlessly in the day, perhaps after a bite to eat. fresh snowfall is light upon the city streets, unlike the eternal freeze. you find it hard to resist temptation, letting yourself be swept off your feet for a sweet kiss in the everlasting winter snow.

gepard landau has an immense lack of charm. he's stubborn, he's uncompromising, and maybe even a little dense or a little blunt. but the brighter side of these qualities always show around you. he'll find a way to see you, and he won't rest until he has. his lack of knowledge in this department has him cutely flustered from time to time, but also has him doing unknowingly romantic things. he loves you, and he wants you to know that.

#crysts.corner #trailblazer.cryst #welt yang #hsr welt #welt x reader #hsr welt x reader #welt yang x reader #gepard #gepard landau #hsr gepard #gepard x reader #hsr gepard x reader #hsr x reader #honkai star rail x reader #honkai: star rail #honkai star rail

[yooms-posts]

God gave us two hands, two legs, two eyes, and two ears, but just one heart so that we could find the second and today I found my pair in you.

Characters: miles morales (both earth 1610 and 42), gwen stacy, hobie brown, pavitr prabhakar

Pairings: all of them x gn reader (separate)

Reader: gn reader

notes: reader is around the age of the charcaters don't be weird, mentions of fights and blood, reader could be seen as a person who speaks Spanish for miles, contains some spoilers for atsv

genre: fluff with a hint of angst 🤏

_________________________________

Before that look at this edit‼️ ITS SO DKDKOSJSIWB GO SHOW LOVE AND SUPPORT TO THE CREATOR

Miles morales (1610)

he is such a sweetheart fr 🤞

definitely gets nervous and shy when entering a relationship with you

his love language is definitely acts of service, physical touch and giving gifts

is shown in the movies that miles is a very good artist, I'm sure he'll give you a very precious gift made by himself

need help with anything? he's there trying too help, homework is getting difficult for you? he's ready to teach you easier methods

holding your hand to keep you close? you got it babe

i feel like he likes to kiss your forehead as a sign of affection

in moments of vulnerability, he would place his forehead against yours

meeting his parents of course, family means a lot too him

his mom and dad may be wary of you (sorry), but they start too loosen up when you interact with them more

they could tell that you were the right one for miles, and they couldn't be any happier

that was wayyyy before you knew he was spiderman

why? because he thought it may make you view him differently

after all he couldn't keep it from you, you were one of the important people in his life (and he was running out of excuses why sometimes he has to leave earlier on dates)

it was definitely some sort of a shock! being spidermans s/o? crazyyy

have i mention dates when the both of you sit at very high buildings? dont worry he's watching out for you

miles just swinging while you hold him tightly for dear life

helping to patch him up after a fight while scolding him for being reckless sometimes

sometimes he has to comfort you when you realise you could lose him due to his duties

best date views, best atmosphere

the both of you just leaning on each other, wrapped in a blanket watching the sunset? yea thats the life...

both of you making nicknames for each other

he would call you: mi luz (my light), bebé

*if you aren't familiar with spanish, you would definitely pester him and ask him for the meaning

you would call him: lindo (cutie), mi hombre (my man) if your feeling slightly playful, babe

trading clothings is common

his jacket? suddenly your in possession of it, your shoes or clothes that fit him? it's his turn to wear it

lots of photos taken, whether its good or questionable (you accidentally spilled water on him) it will be kept in his phone

Gwen stacy

i remember seeing her and questioning myself fr 🏳️‍🌈

anyways, your very precious to her i dont make the rules

like miles, nervous and shy when entering a relationship but leaning towards nervous

her love language is definitely acts of service and quality time

being spiderwomen definitely brings a challenge to the relationship

thats why quality time is very precious to her, any time your together is makes her happy

it doesn't have to be anyone talking or doing anything, she just want to be with you

acts of service? if you ever mention that you need something, she'll pick it up own her way back

kissing is very rare but when it does happen it always on the knuckles of your hand or on your cheek

inviting you over to her house for dinner, which lead to you meeting her dad, peter and aunt may

of course her dad approves you, he notice how she lits up even more around you

but after the incident where gwen loses peter, she unintentionally shuts everyone out

it causes a riff in your relationship because all you want to do is help but she's pushing you away

it got into an argument between the two of you and she accidentally slipped out that she's the heroine

that was the reason she was pushing you away, scared and afraid you might be next

comfort her, hold her, tell her that you aren't going anywhere, she needs that comfort

the relationship became better and stronger slowly

same thing as miles, you patching her up and muttering she shouldn't be too reckless

dates with her are always exciting, she would be showing you places where only her could acces due to her spider abilities

nicknames are the regular ones between the both of you

you would call her: my girl, babe and wifey (as a joke to tease her)

she would call you: dear, bae

its shown that she leaves her sweater/jackets in other people's room soooo...

yea, leaving her stuff at your room and taking it back a few days later

technically making it yours too, i dont make the rules 🤷‍♀️

Hobie brown

i wish british people are real 😔

i wanna say it would be a 'you fallen first but he fall harder' type of scenario

like it's impossible to not fall in love with him a little

love language? it's got to be words of affirmation and giving gifts

he would be those types who would be able to tell that somethings bothering you

he would reassure you if you ever feel bad about yourself or have bad days, he would be there to boost your confidence

remember how he made his own version of the watch to travel different dimensions?

then get ready for him to present to you self made gifts for you

whether it's like a pin or a accessory, he puts a lot of love and thought into it

he gives me the type to lazily pepper kisses on your face teasingly

but if he needs the comfort or other way round, one of you would cradle the others face and kiss the other

going to shows and pubs for entertainment

definitely invites you to watch his show, if you are there you bet his eyes stays on you

him casually entering your house (with your permission!!) at the most weirdest time

around 2am he's knocking on your window so you could help with with bandaging

the first time that happens is when you didn't know of his secret identity which worried you

fights don't really occur between the two of you since he knows what to say and not to say if things get heated

since gwen sometimes crashes at his dimension, she would have probably meet you

it's like a sibling bond between you and her, you sometime lend her your clothes and she tries to help around in the house

im not sure what his actual age is tho...if you know please tell me, its confusing some said he's around gwens and miles age some said he's 19-20

if he is 19-20, you and him would probably be like the older brother and older sibling to gwen

which later on include miles too (miles heard how kind-hearted you are when talking to gwen)

to be honest, eveytime your with him it feels like a date

he's unpredictable at times, making it exciting to figure out what he plans on the date

nicknames is common between the two of you

his nicknames for you: love, darling and hun (he rarely calls you that, it happens when he is sarcastically teasing you)

your nicknames for him: sweetheart, B (since his name is hoBie yk?) and babe

if your open to different types of clothing style, he would lend you his jacket

the both of you would trade small accessories with different styles to match each other

Pavitr prabhakar

my cutie patotie fr ( not trying to baby him in anyway!! he's just precious in my eyes)

he is so sweet and polite to everyone, so i wouldn't blame you if you fall for him

you know those confession letters? he would probably leave one at your locker

very understanding if you dont feel ready for any PDA at the start of your relationship

physical touch is his main love language followed by words of affirmation

if you are okay with being held, get ready to be held by him

his arms wrapped around your side and arms, he likes to hover near you to hold you

holds your hand almost everywhere and most of the time

he has a way with words definitely, he knows exactly how to make you laugh, how to make you smile or how to jokingly tease you

you mean the world to him, of course he would notice little things about you

definitely giggles when kissing you, whether it's on the cheeks or the tip of your nose

introducing you to his aunt, which she takes a liking to you :)

bringing some food made by his aunt to share with you

you already had suspicion that he was spiderman, you didn't say anything cause he looks so proud when keeping it a secret

eventually it ends up with him spilling it since he gets cuts the next day without proper excuses

which led you to remind him to care himself when doing patrols

proudly showing you off to people, your just amazing to him really

dates with him is very calming and stress-free

like doing each other's face mask or shopping for things together etc

nicknames has got to be cute for you two (or purposely cringy to get the other to not pay for the meal)

his nicknames for you: baby, babe, bae or my s/o

your nicknames for him: pav, my s/o or darling

i feel like he won't mind lending you his clothes, just give him a heads up first

like it could be his tie that you found cute or his pants that fits you nicely

Miles morales (42)

his whole design was just so sick and just so hdisbosjso?!

him and you? yea you wish...that actually came true congratulations ‼️‼️

it takes a long time to be his friend but as a partner? even longer but it's worth it

he just have issues like lots of them, he's got to know if he could depend on you for help

take your time and slowly tear his walls down, show him your trustable and reliable

his language would range from acts of service, words of affirmation and physical touch

physical touch is a 50/50 with him though, you have to reassure him it's fine if he doesn't want to show PDA

acts of service is definitely his strongest love language

for example, if he notice your too tired to do something he would wordlessly do it for you

do the same for him! he would deeply appreciate it

if you ever have bad days, dont worry he would be there telling you interesting stuff to distract you from it

once your relationship is secure and good, he introduce you to his mom and uncle

his mom already had a feeling that he was seeing someone by the way she notice he slightly smile at a text on his phone

when you meet them, his mom would welcome you with open arms

asking you if you have eaten the typical mother things you know?

his uncle though? he intimates you at first, once he notice you were good for miles he let's loose slowly

likes to kiss your hand generally, like the knuckles and palms

if he feels a little more bold, he likes to tease you by kissing the corners of your lips and ghosting above your lips before pretending nothing happened

that prowler business? you were bound to find out sooner or later

he trust you a lot, he asks you too sit down with him to properly explain why sometime he doesn't show up to dates early

that would be a massive relief for you, you were getting worried that he's starting to loose interest

which you have to mess up big time for his trust and loyalty for you to dissappear (don't)

dates would take place at the rooftops, blankets laid down with snacks to watch the sunset

you cant tell me he would have a soft smile glancing at you from time to time while watching the sunset

seeing that his spanish is more noticeable than miles 1610, his nicknames for you are all in spanish

his nicknames for you: mi cielo (my sky/heaven) , mi corazón (my heart)

*if you aren't familiar with spanish, you would probably try and search up the meaning before asking him

your nicknames for him: guapo (handsome), cariño or mi amor (my love)

i feel like he likes small accessories from you when trading clothing

it's like a reminder to him that his yours and your his

probably brings it with him everywhere he goes

________________________________

Wooo im finally done!! If theres any spelling mistakes tell me. I hope you enjoyes yourself. Im thinking of writing more itsv/atsv if i have time. Let me know what you think. :)

#into the spider verse #across the spiderverse #across the spiderverse x reader #across the spiderverse x gn reader #x gender neutral reader #miles morales #gwen stacy #hobie brown #pavitr prabhakar #Spotify #miles morales x reader #gwen stacy x reader #hobie brown x reader #pavitr prabhakar x reader #prowler miles #prowler miles x reader

[gingerjolover]

can we prioritize jb controversially young gf pleaseeeee i vote yes

to ease y'all into it, get ya warmed up, here's a little appetizer (courtesy of my friends @boywithpinkcarnation and @ever-siince-new-york aka the loves of my life)

julien w a controversially!young gf

okay i have an (unpopular) opinion that i don't think julien would date someone controversially young not because there's something wrong with it but because she will get so existential and I feel like she would feel bad if your brain wasn't fully developed lol

however!!!! this aside, lets continue

I don't think it would be a best friends little siblings scenario or like the kid of someone on her team or the bg team

young!gf is probably a writer or an artist of some kind and julien is either a fan or is at a charity event or something similar and she meets boygenius and they all instantly love her sm

and jules and young!gf really hit it off and so julien leaves with her number but doesn't find out shes young until like 3 days later

has an absolute crisis about it, especially because she doesn't want to hurt you or change you

thinking young!gf is 20 about to be 21, like just old enough that some people will be like um??? but also you're a whole-ass adult so you can do what ya want

but julien and young!gf have a very serious convo bc they are both feeling the vibe and julien just wants a healthy, mutually beneficial, safe, and loving relationship

but anyways

lets get right to it, phoebe and lucy and MUNA love you

like the love u sm but they also love teasing julien

julien could be getting up from a chair or like be laying on the floor and phoebe is yelling "life alert" to you, a glare pushing its way onto jules's face

phoebe is the biggest instigator, always snapping photos of you both candidly and adding them to her photo dumps

I had that phoebe buys young!gf a t-shirt that says I love milfs but @boywithpinkcarnation said a shirt with I <3 cougars and its iconic honestly

phoebe will 1000% caption a photo of you sitting on jb's lap and be like "sugar daddy vibes🤑" or one of jb sitting on your lap with the caption "jb is taking babysitting wayyy too seriously" (@boywithpinkcarnation)

they all call you baby and they mean it

katie is the second biggest instigator and right after that is lucy, then nomi, then jo

katie always teases about "respect your elders"

lucy will post a very wholesome photo of the two of you but caption it "spend time and cherish your elders, they aren't around forever❤️" (straight from social queen @boywithpinkcarnation)

eventually young!gf gets into it and starts making jokes like kelli tiktok vibes (@ever-siince-new-york)

she gets asked in a day in the life vid or a live a question about jules and shes like "I'm not sure really...i just with her for the money," and julien is in the back like that interview when lucy says they're breaking up like "baby! don't say that! it's not funny!" and she's groaning coming into frame, her hand on young!gf's head, "they're gonna start to believe you, ya know?" like all sassy how jb gets🤓☝🏼

PRIVATE BUT NOT SECRET VIBEZZZZ @ever-siince-new-york, carlena said and i quote, "like they're not lovesurging on tiktok but if the paps get jb giving hickies on film... oh well😁"

they are also STOKED for you to turn 21, since most of them are sober the idea of getting you drunk is so appealing

and jb is SO protective, like already jb has her hands on young!gf all. the. time. like in the dip of her back or on her hips or hand on the back of her neck, jb is always making some type of physical contact

BUT especially in the club or at a bar

they do get freaky on her 21st bday hehe

maybe the day after bc young!gf just lets joi keep giving her shots and julien is just standing there jaw dropped because who knew their sweet baby girl was a mf tank

but lit katie, molly, kelli, jo, nomi, lucy, and phoebe LOVE you sm, like yes you're young and everyone is pushing or already 30 but young!gf is so profound and mature but not in a way that's not acting her age, she just has a very old soul and enjoys rest and knows what she likes and what she wants

and julien loooooves this, like jules doesn't want to groom you and mold you into something you're not, she wants you to act your age and like she doesn't isolate you or make you act 28 because everyone is around that age. like she fully supports if you wanna go out and party or like do something kinda childish or if you wanted to stress about school or be homesick, julien lets you just vibe and doesn't pressure you to grow up faster, she truly just wants you to grow up without the age gap looming over you

back to the daddy!jb antics, without infantalizing you, jb handles ALL of the "adult stuff" like y'all def split bills if you live together but she manages all of the subscriptions and pays all of the utilities and makes sure your car has gas and is always maintained like takes it to get inspected and stuff

if young!gf is in school than that's your biggest priority in jb's eyes, like yes focus on school or your work and then when you graduate we'll start to divvy up the household stuff

jb just loves to care for you, like she always has an extra hair tie on her wrist and its your scrunchie like the one you love

before you live together, jb is stocking her house w your stuff to make you comfy

your fave snacks are in the kitchen, your fave drinks in the fridge

jb buys a full size of your fave perfume and body wash, she has you pick out pajamas for her dresser and puts a jewelry holder on her dresser just for you (@ever-siince-new-york 🥹)

if you're in school, jb def has a desk set up in her office or music room and its one she built and it has cute pens and stationary and a pretty keyboard and a comfy chair where you can cross your legs and then under it is built in storage for some of your books and crocheting/knitting/crafting stuff

when you move in, jb designs (w the help of lucy and Katie) your own office where you can write and paint and it has the best sunlight in the whole house

julien also gets really anxious leaving you at home, not because you're not capable but she grows so attached and is like "you'll be a different person when i come back:("

always sending flowers and dinner and gifts while on the road (@ever-siince-new-york)

not smut but smut adjacent

julien is sooooo nervous to have sex w young!gf

maybe she hasn't done it before or julien just feels a lot of pressure to take care of her

and she has to be like "do you not like me?" kinda insecurely because julien is treating her like shes glass

and jb is like "oh my god sweet girl, no no no, i- of course i- i love you!"

and she's like "you WHAT??"

#anon cutie #take a sip of da juice #small sip #julien baker x reader #julien baker x young!gf #fic coming soon! #ALSO MY KIDNEYS AND BLADDER ARE CLEAR #fuck u matty healy

[nockfellblues]

Integra with a partner who is an artist (painter/ singer/ all around performer) :D

Yes! I’ve always envisioned Integra as a lover of the arts- especially traditional art? She seems like she’d enjoy a peaceful trip to an art gallery or museum. Sorry for the delay on this one, between work, the Summer games showcases and being sick I didnt do much besides veg out whenever i was free this week lmao Anyways! Have some Integra being soft because, dammit, she deserves it 😤

Warnings: None

Integra definitely reworks her entire study so there’s room for her SO to work in the same space as her

Artist!SO will get a whole art corner with a beautiful custom easel and comfy desk space right next to the windows for optimal lighting and an inspiring view- whatever they need to spark and stoke their creative process

Would immediately say no if her SO asked her to model but secretly is super flattered. If they draw or paint her anyways, she’ll pretend to be annoyed but will cherish the hell out of it- They’ll find the work later tucked away in a safe place, framed safely so it wont smudge or crack.

Keeps a portfolio hidden in her desk of sketches her SO deemed not good enough and meant to toss. Alucard and Seras have caught onto this and actively keep an eye out for other loose drawings- they sneak them into her study between paperwork and folders like a fun little surprise. Seras finds her reactions soo sweet- its so hard to not say anything when she sees Integras eyes soften at the half-hearted sketch! So cute!

Integra finds the sounds of sketching comforting- that little scratchy noise as her SO absently hums to themself is like catharsis, especially when she’s dealing with a lot of stress

If her SO is sighing or muttering, having a tough time with conceptualizing something or is going through art block of some kind? She does get a little annoyed with it, but she understands.

Sets her work aside and comes up behind her SO to wrap her arms around their shoulders from behind. “If you sigh at it anymore im going to toss that canvas out the window. What’s the matter, love?” She means this entirely lovingly, but will absolutely do it.

Musician!SO would absolutely have a space in her study too- She’d move offices to a whole different room if the acoustics are good enough, she doesn’t care.

Maybe not the biggest fan of hearing her SO practicing a new peice of complex work- the repetition of practicing the same sections over and over to perfect them would get on her nerves after so long.

“Love, I adore you, but if you play that part one more time i’m going to lose it. Please, play literally anything else.” She means this with the utmost love and care, but hearing the same section over and over is killing her.

Adores when they play free form compositions. Just starting with a generally familiar melody and letting the music develop a life of its own? She could listen to them for hours. She will listen to them for hours.

Definitely will lose track of time listening to them play- Sometimes gets a little too distracted and zones out to the melody when she’s working on a particularly boring bit of paperwork. Before she knows it, its nearly dusk and she’s gotten little to nothing done. Honestly? worth it.

She cherishes her SOs hands so, so much. She knows how much of their passion is dependent on them and how devastating their loss or degradation could be.

In quiet moments Integra will softly trace the callouses on their hands, massaging their palms and wrists, setting a gentle kiss to the back of their knuckles- absolute reverence for the beautiful hands that can create so much that she loves.

Integra being soft with an SO makes my brain go fuzzy- I just want her to be happy dammit 😭

#Hellsing x reader #integra x reader #sir integra x reader #hellsing fanfiction #my writing

[the-darkdragonfly]

NEW TALE: Fine Line - A Captain Duckling Tale

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to @elizabeethan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

🥰🥰🥰 as well, a special thank you to @donteattheappleshook for fixing this fic in time for posting ♥️

♥️♥️♥️

The lantern on the mantle had burned down several inches since it had been lit, her gaze wandering to the window, at the sea spreading out before her, the sails she waited for, yearned desperately for, still missing from the horizon. He wasn’t coming.

The chambermaid had asked her what was the matter, twittering and twitching and rubbing against Emma’s last unfrayed nerve- nothing is the matter, thank you, that will be all- the need to be alone and heartbroken thick in her veins. He was going to miss her birthday. 

It wasn’t as if he would have been able to celebrate properly with her anyway, but for the last three years, his ship has sat in the harbour as he waited for her in the room above the quiet tavern which was as much theirs as her room at the castle was hers. She’d always gone to him. 

But the Jolly was still absent, the errand he had needed to undertake- I’ll be back before you can miss me, love- was taking far longer than she had expected- not possible, Captain, I miss you already- and her heart ached with the grief of knowing what they could never be. 

Her parents worried for her, she could feel it in their gaze, the set of her mothers shoulders and the way her fathers voice would become a forced light thing- you’ll find someone, Emma, they’re out there somewhere- whenever they spoke to her of the future and love and everything she had already found in a man she couldn’t keep. 

That’s very pretty- her mother had touched the necklace at her throat, a delicate chain with a small swan encrusted with diamonds which sat at the base of the neck. A Hogmanay gift from Killian months before, she’d worn it everyday, safely tucked beneath the layers of her winter dresses. But spring had broken into the world, and the small swan glistened in the light of the sun, hidden no longer. 

She’d smiled, a sad secret sort of smile- it was from a friend- and the question which had been poised on the tip of her mother’s tongue, the one of happiness and True Love, died as she watched the slip of sadness overtake her daughter’s eyes. 

He’d slipped the chain over her head, a kiss pressed against the column of her spine before securing the gift around her throat- it reminded me of you, love- her fingers rising to encircle the small pendant, head turning slightly to catch his gaze in the warm light of the fire he had stoked before joining her in bed- a swan?- her question a whisper in the dark. He’d nodded, eyes serious. They mate for life- she traced her fingers down the side of his face, the scratch of his beard rough under her nails. He’d nodded again, the twitch of his jaw telling of anxiety and fear. 

“It’s perfect,” she’d kissed him, pulling him down into the safety of the nest they had built together. 

The necklace sat at her neck over the years, the weight of it a constant presence in her life when he could not be. 

♥️♥️♥️

Read the rest here.

Read my other stuff here.

Tagging:

@elizabeethan @donteattheappleshook @sailtoafarawayland @teamhook @wefoundloveunderthelight @caught-in-the-filter @batana54 @ultraluckycatnd @veryverynotgood @snowbellewells @hollyethecurious @jrob64 @kmomof4 @artistic-writer @gingerpolyglot @xarandomdreamx @justanother-unluckysoul @zaharadessert @xsjax @karlyfr13s @tiganasummertree @wyntereyez @klynn-stormz @onceratheart18 @rkrbirdgirl @ouatdaily @blowmiakisscolin @courtorderedcake @winterbaby89 @pirateprincessofpizza @superchocovian @deckerstarblanche @jlsadphoenix @alexa-fangirl-forever @stahlop @undercaffinatednightmare @lostintheskyfaraway @anmylica @motherkatereloyshipper @last-tsarina @lfh1226-linda @hookedmom @yikes-00 @midnightsuki @paradiselady19

#Fine Line #A Captain Duckling Tale #the darkdragonfly #happy birthday to my bestie!! #it started out with PWP #but it caught feelings #captain swan fanfiction #captain swan #captain duckling #emma and hook #princess emma needs a pirate #and srsly the pirate needs a princess

[curatoroffiction]

The Curse of Alice: Chapter 1

This is the first chapter of a new series for the Ikemen: Villains series. In it, the reader is gender-neutral and accidentally wanders back in time due to having a curse of their own. (Really, it's more an excuse for me to play around with time-difference shenanigans.) ----- Also Tumblr deleted half my Content Warnings in the tags, so please let me know if I'm missing any -----

Content for this series is likely to include;

Canon-typical violence (For any of my readers who are more familiar with my Twisted Wonderland and Obey Me writings, please note that "Ikemen: Villains" is SIGNIFICANTLY MORE VIOLENT AND DARK than those two combined.)

Canon-typical trauma triggers (Again, this series is so much darker than the other ones I write for, please, please, PLEASE pay attention to the content warnings for this series as I write it. I'll be doing my best to thoroughly tag)

Spicy romance scenes (These will also be thoroughly tagged so my romance-averse/touch-averse readers can avoid them.) I might later have some specific single stories that address AFAB player content in this same AU, but those will be separated from this series (You will not find AFAB-specific content in any chapters from "The Curse of Alice", but if you're seeking that content out, you might check out other stuff I've posted for this fandom)

----- Content warnings for this chapter;

Suicide mention

Suicide/Forced Suicide (It's a background character, but it's still DARK and vivid.)

MURDER

Blood touches the reader

Abduction

----- You aren't fond of tours.

You never feel like they really show you what you want to see on a tour. At least, nothing you couldn't learn from a written tour guide. Those usually have more information in them, anyways. Tours are always focused on showing you exactly what you're meant to see, and your heart calls to see what people don't want you to see. You yearn to see things that people keep secret.

If it weren't for the fact that you'd heard that this mansion had a particularly intriguing piano from the 19th century, cursed by the soul of a man who committed suicide in front of it, you'd have never even come here. A story like that is stoked with tragedy. You heard that the man had a long list of sins that came out after his death, which made you curious about the story, because it made it dark. Did he kill himself because he felt guilty? Did he kill himself because his sins were going to come to light? Did those sins only come to light because of his suicide?

If anything, it would make for a fascinating story study.

You're an aspiring writer who likes to test your mettle against darker plotlines, so you're attracted to learning stories that touch the macabre.

Unfortunately, the mansion only allows guests to go along with a guide. So you're trapped in a night tour. The mansion's corridors are lit up only where the tour guide leads everyone. There's many more corridors darkened by the night's ambiance, giving an eerie sense to the experience.

You bought a tour book, but out of respect to the guide, you aren't reading it. It's stashed away inside your backpack.

Most of the information the guide is giving is about how people used to work in this building, showcasing some of the old art of the time from around when the suicide took place. What intrigues you is that they don't really mention the artists of the architecture that much. They make some over-all claims about the designers and architects, but they can't tell you exactly who designed or crafted the banisters of the stairwells, or the tiles of the floor. You take several pictures of these fixtures, especially some of the more run-down areas.

When the tour reaches the room with the famed piano, you take a video of the instrument as the tour guide talks about the stories of the night that the man killed himself. Some passerbys that night had faintly heard the sound of piano music on the night of the incident. Particularly, a postwoman had a haunting account of the song being played. She couldn't place it, but she remembered it sounding mesmerizing, like it would have drawn her in, had the front door not been locked.

You take diligent notes, writing small comments to yourself about things to research as you do.

The hallways of the mansion are a veritable labyrinth. So when your tour continues, you find your eyes drawn to the hallways you're not allowed to go down. You look down a particularly dark hallway and see a small, white bunny rabbit on the ground, you pause and blink. "...." You look back to your tour guide group, but something calls to you about the rabbit. The tour group is already moving on, but surely.. They won't notice you missing from the group, right?

The white rabbit sees you and darts down a hallway, and you turn to follow it, separating from your group. The hallway it turns into is outside the grasp of the light from the hallway you came from.

It's almost as though there's a threshold here. In your heart, you feel like if you walk past this point, you'll be walking into the night itself. An impenetrable darkness.

Impenetrable by all except that little white rabbit, which you can see at the end of the hall, staring at you.

You feel.. Compelled to follow it.

You were so bored, and this is so interesting and exciting and it feels like you're actually chasing a story. Getting to see something the tour guides won't show you. There was no mention of rabbits. Does someone keep a collection of them here?

It feels like everything you were seeking would be found if you follow this rabbit, which is such a strange and foreign experience that you just.. Follow it.

It's hard not to, when it feels so right.

Corridor after corridor, you find yourself following the rabbit through the halls, until the rabbit disappears entirely. No matter how much you look, you can't find it. You must have scared it. What was a rabbit doing in this place anyways? You have so many questions, none of which are getting answered.

Looking around, you have no idea where you are. There's a room number on a nearby room plaque though, so you decide to try to figure out how to get back to your tour group by checking out the map. By the light of your cellphone, you figure out where you are and begin to head towards the main entrance. You'll get in trouble, but that's fine. You're used to getting in trouble for straying from groups, ever-curious.

As you're walking through a hall that you swore was lit earlier, you begin to wonder if the tour closed down early. You couldn't have been gone from the group for THAT long, could you? What if it's closed down already? You're walking into the darkened main foyer when you hear a hauntingly delicate tone drifting through the halls of the mansion.

The sound of the piano.

Ah, the tour must have ended, and someone was now playing the piano to make sure it was operational. You'll just have to explain yourself to whoever is in there that you got yourself separated from your tour group and apologize.

Phone blasting light, you open the door to the room that the music is coming from, only to get hit with a splash of something warm.

Something dark.

Something red.

You see the body of the man in front of you on the floor first. The last breath escapes the man who has obviously killed himself by stabbing himself in the neck with a knife, in the light of your phone's flashlight. A shiver goes down your spine as you're going to be sick. You're covered in a dead man's blood. Your phone has no signal.

The piano playing stops and you look up, your phone light illuminating 8 figures in the dark.

Is this.. Some kind of sick after-tour live action retelling of the suicide? "... I uh.." Your eyes keep traveling down to the man at your feet. It's so convincing. You're visibly disgusted. "... Sorry, I got separated from my tour group. ..." Your eyes watch the man on the ground. He doesn't look like he's acting. He doesn't look like he's breathing anymore. His body went limp, even with your interruption. Too convincing to be just an act. The wound looks too realistic, too. Blood pooling out from under him in a growing pool that makes you step back. Maybe it's a convincing mannequin? Your mind wants to make sense of this in a way that doesn't focus on reality. .... Whatever it is, your stomach is churning. Those special effects have to be really good, if they're special effects.

"Well, well..! I wasn't expecting a guest." You hear a voice from deeper in the room, which is dark. Too dark for an after-tour play. In the dim lighting illuminating the room, you can see seven figures all standing around in the dark. The man speaking to you, however, is stepping away from the piano, making eight people total. When he sees you in the light, he cocks his head to the side with a soft, excited grin. "Hmmn.. I'm not familiar with you."

"Hrm.. That's a bit troublesome. What should we do with them?" A man with rose-pink hair and a soft, milky-smooth voice asks, looking in your direction. "And what is that light?" He asks, his curiosity piqued at your phone.

"Sorry to spook you, but this is just a rehearsal for a play." A very easy-going man with a cocky grin looks up to you in the dim light.

"..." You look down to the body in front of you. "... It uh.. It looks pretty real. ... What kinds of special effects are you using?"

"It's a secret."

"...." Your face tells them everything, that you're not convinced.

"... Y'know, it really would've been better if you had at least pretended to believe it." His smirk is palpable. Like you just walked into a trap. It drops as he looks to the guy who'd been playing the piano; "What should we do, Will?"

"We should take them with is, of course - To the Palace's Reaper."

There's a click of a tongue and one of the men to the side is visibly scowling as he mutters; "That's why I toldja to lock the damn door!" a particularly gruff man says, audibly scowling.

Another man chuckles. "Well, I didn't think we'd have a tresspasser! You're a naughty little thing, aren't you?" He smiles to you, and you think you can make out a rifle on his back.

They're all so non-chalant as they stand around. The body on the ground has stopped sputtering, and has released its last vestiges of air. You know this isn't fake. They've killed this man and made it look like a suicide. Why? And why here, in this room?

"Why don't you come over here? There's no escape at this point anyway." The gentle tone of a dark-haired man beckons you deeper into the room.

Every part of your spine is tingling with danger. You have to leave. You need to leave. You've followed the rabbit into something horrific and now you're ready to go home.

As though he could sense your growing panic, the man from the piano looks to you with crimson eyes and a smile that's much too warm and inviting; "Come here, pitiful one." The words feel so much heavier than anything else said tonight.

Your legs begin moving on their own. You're visibly startled. What is this?? Why are you moving? You're moving against your will, and you want to run, but you can't. They only stop when you're standing in front of the man.

"Pardon me." He says, tugging you in closer so he can see your face better in the illumination of your phone's light. Your light also shows you his eyes in a way that showcases their vibrancy and deep crimson - Like the blood you can see splattered on your own clothes, it looks too real to be fake. You've seen red contacts before. These don't look like contacts. He reaches up and wipes the blood from your face with his thumb, and he grins. ".. There." releasing you from his touch and his control. "Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. My name is William. William Rex. I'd like to invite you to have dinner with us tonight. What is your name?"

Your knees buckle as you're released from his verbal commands, and you drop tot he ground, barely able to stand. You're visibly dazed. The pink-haired man comes alongside you, looking at the device in your hand, peering over your shoulder. "And what IS that thing?" he motions to your phone.

"...." You slowly look to him, and give him a questioning look. His question is so outrageous it's ripping you out of your mental shock. "... It's a phone..?"

"Doesn't look like anything I've ever seen.." The even-toned, deep-voiced man with the rifle expresses, curiously.

"You'll have to tell us more over dinner." William kneels beside you, holding a hand out to you. He doesn't command you. He's practically asking you to come along, like you didn't just witness something horrific and somehow magically had your body controlled against your will.

When you stare at him in quiet shock, visibly perturbed by the idea of taking his outstretched hand, eyes darting between his eyes and his bloodstained glove, your heart sinks.

You're surrounded, and there's no getting out of this.

William can sense your hesitation, and he he begins to ask questions about you, redirecting your attention to talking about yourself. You're wary and not wanting to comply, but he doesn't force you like he did to make you come into the room. They stand around, patiently waiting for you to get your story out as William calms you down. It's like they have all the time in the world.

At your own pace, you explain your circumstance to the men, and how you got here. As they hear your story, William's eyes can't help but to light up as he watches you. But all of the men appear to be surprised, and intrigued.

"I promise, if you just help me find my way out of here, I didn't see anything-"

"Ooh, it's much too late for that now." William smiles, almost apologetically. "There's someone who will want to meet you."

Despite your protests, you're brought along and taken to their base of operations.

---

You didn't expect the horse-drawn carriage. Or for the block to look so... Different than it did when you came out of the mansion. It's the first clue that you're not where you're meant to be. The city in the distance looks completely different too. This isn't the city you've been exploring all day, this is something older. The buildings look different, both newer and older. There used to be a building with lots of windows out front, but now it's just.. Small shops?

Except that doesn't make sense. One moment, you were taking a tour, then you were following a white rabbit, and now the world is different around you. None of this makes any sense. You wrack your head as you stare out the window of the carriage. Did you bump your head? Have you gone crazy? Are you in a dream?

It's too vivid to be a dream.

Maybe you're crazy. It'd be easier to swallow if you'd gone mad. Maybe they'll let you go if they think you're crazy too.

What's weird is that they didn't take your phone from you. Kidnappers would take your phone, right? You look to it repeatedly, and you've gotten zero bars this entire ordeal. And now you're going further into what looks like the countryside. You're even being allowed to see the entire route to get out here. Why wouldn't captors take your phone? Wouldn't they cover your head to keep you from knowing where they work and how to get back?

One of the men in the carriage is eyeing you as you peruse your phone. It's a touch-screen. "... What a curious device."

You glance up to see a man with dark hair and a weary smile on his face. Like he's tired. Too tired. He smiles warmly to you. There's a blonde man sitting at his side who looks almost picturesque. Like someone hand-crafted his face. You look back to your phone. "...."

The dark-haired man taps the windowsill of the carriage, causing you to look up again, and he motions to the castle coming up in the view. "We've arrived. This could be the place where your life ends, the root of all evil - Or rather, our base." He's still smiling as he says this.

You look up to see the castle and it's astounding how beautiful and dark it looks in this lighting.

You knew you made a mistake following them into the carriage. You were just so thrown off by how the whole street looked different from when you arrived, that your brain went into auto-pilot, and you let these strangers cart you away.

Now you might die here. The word 'Might' is pulling a lot of weight in giving you a sliver of hope in this whole ordeal.

".. Is this real?"

"Unfortunately, yes. It's neither a dream, nor an illusion. It's what you may call the harsh, inescapable reality." His words ring out in your mind. This is not a dream, this is reality. Something tickles at your mind and you harshly find yourself rejecting it.

"This can't be real." Your answer causes him to chuckle, but you can see sadness in his eyes as he does.

"If you want to believe in a sweet dream, who am I to deny it?"

---

As you walk up to the castle, the curious pink-haired man comes up alongside you, asking a million questions about your phone. You show him the device, explaining it to him, confused. It really is like he's never seen one in his life before. When he sees that moving pictures can show up on the screen, and that you can interact with it by touch, he wants to learn everything he can about it.

You're hesitant to hand him your phone, as it's the only contact with the outside world that you might have, wherever you're going - But you do choose to open up a game on your phone to show him what it looks like. He's practically glued to your side as he watches you play, learning about this game. He's overflowing with excitement to get to see something so novel to him.

But you don't understand why he's so enthralled. Everyone here should know that phones exist, shouldn't they?

One look around at the prying eyes stealing glances at your phone tells you that they likely don't. While the pink-haired man is the most curious, the gruff man with black and white hair also keeps stealing looks towards your device.

---

A bright, excited, celebratory man's voice calls out as you and the men enter into what looks like a dining room, and there's the distinct popping sound of a party popper. You blink, confused. Is this how assassins typically celebrate their kills? His eyes rest on you. "Oh..? Who is this?"

"This is ___. They just happened to be at the target's mansion." William explains. "They appear to have technology that's strange and different, and the story they told us was quite interesting."

"Wow! What a.. Fateful coincidence!" The dining room man with dark, long hair looks to you curiously.

"You don't even know the half of it." William chuckles, then looking to you. "___, this is Victor. He serves as Her Majesty's personal aide."

..... What?

You stare in complete shock, not sure what to do. Surely, these guys are just fucking with you at this point, right? Your mind refuses to believe any of this could be real. It has to be some kind of twisted dream mashing up everything you'd interacted with that day. You must have bonked your head without realizing it, and will be waking up any moment in a hospital or something.

This can't be real.

Victor walks you through your experiences with the group, and asks questions about how you came to find them.

When you explain that you were on a tour group for the building and then you followed a rabbit down a hallway and found yourself lost, his expression shifts to earnest surprise as he only has one question; "What color was the rabbit?"

".. White?"

"...." Victor glances to the group, who all appear to have the same thought as there's nods all around. He looks back to you. "Do you have anything from the tour?"

You nod and rifle through your backpack, producing the tour guide - And your notes from the tour. "This was the tour I was on, and those were my notes."

He begins reading through the tour guide, intrigued. The dates and comments in it are intriguing him the most. Accompanied by the quality of the paper and the print on it. He's never seen anything like this, or any machines that can produce this quality of work. When he gets to your notes, however, he's even more impressed. "... And what year would you say this is?"

"----...?" you say the year you came from, visibly confused.

"......." Victor looks to the cocky guy from before who has been staring at your eyes as you speak. He gives Victor a nod. "... Fascinating. Well, ___, I think this might have actually been an incident of fate."

"...?" You look to him questioningly.

Victor reaches into his jacket pocket and produces another party popper, which he'd stashed just in case the first one failed, and he pulls the popper, letting out a loud sound and spraying confetti at you with a bright smile; "You're cursed!"

You stare at him in exhausted silence.

He coughs and straightens up to explain; "You see, we all here are cursed. You're familiar with fairytales, yes?"

"... Yeah?"

"Fairytales, stories, they all hold some tokens of truth to them, I would say. We each are cursed with a fairytale curse, which binds our destinies to a dark and turbulent path. I think you've got the curse of 'Alice'!"

"....." You look even more exhausted than before. Are they going to kill you, or induct you? Is this a cult? Have you been abducted by a death-cult?

"... I see you must have many questions. Please, feel free to ask away."

".. What is this 'Curse of Alice'..?"

"It's a term I just came up with right now!" Victor beams proudly. "I've never heard of someone with a curse like yours. Jumping through time to completely different realms.. Hahh.. That must be such a fascinating experience!"

".. Jumping through time?"

"The year at this time is 1886."

"......" You shake your head. "Nah. I don't believe that. Nope. That's just not true. Look, I know you guys murdered someone tonight, if you could skip the mind games and just kill me, that'd be appreciated."

Victor laughs, shaking his head. "Oh no, no. We can't kill you, we'll need to study you."

"Oh, absolutely not."

You hear a voice behind you, the gentle voice; "Should we kill them then?" You peer back and lock eyes with the gentle expression of Ellis. The dark-haired guy who told you that you couldn't escape and coaxed you deeper into the room where the murder happened. He stares at you in almost.. a vacant kind of way. "I don't think it would make them happy, but if you ask me to, I will." He seems to be addressing Victor as he says this.

"..." You turn your attention back to Victor. "So uh, what kinds of experiments are we talking about here?" wanting to avoid the outcome that points at death.

"We'll need to thoroughly understand your curse, which means we'll have to keep you under surveillance. And you'll have to work with our resident medical professional, Roger."

You follow Victor's motion to meet Roger. Your voice is completely disturbed as you flatly say; "... Nice to meet you, Doc."

"Oh, I'm not a doctor. My license was revoked." He gives you a big smirk.

You immediately look back to Victor; "... Please kill me instead."

"Is that what you truly want?" William asks, eyeing you with interest. Something deep inside him is intrigued by how his curse reacts to yours. He wants to guide you. He wants to know you. He wants to watch you come apart.

"...." You grimace as you realize they're taking your jokes literally. "... No. I'm just frustrated. And I don't want to be experimented on."

"Might be more careful about voicing such false desires." William motions behind you and you turn to see Ellis has gotten right up behind you without you noticing. You visibly startle at how close he is, and the soft-spoken man just smiles warmly to you with his dark purple eyes.

You feel a shudder run down your spine as you feel like your body just narrowly escaped death in this moment. You turn back to William. "... I'll keep that in mind."

Victor takes charge again; "You must have a lot of questions about us. Go ahead and ask away."

"... The thing is, you've read that guidebook now, so even if I asked if this was the murder of 1886, you'd know that you could say 'yes' to cover it up. I don't know if you're on a power trip and you're just messing with my head because you can, or if you're actually telling the truth. It's impossible for me to know." You explain everything. "And honestly, I'm not entirely sure that I'm not just crazy. That'd explain this whole thing so much more. I'm going to wake up in a hospital bed and discover I slipped and fell on those old tiles or something. I just know it."

The cocky man from before smiles as you speak. He likes how little you trust them. It's a good sign that you'll make a good partner in their line of work.

"Patient exhibits delusions of fantasy." Roger is already making notes. You shoot him an annoyed look. He grins to you.

You look back to Victor. "None of this seems real. Can you somehow prove that it's real?"

"You experienced a curse firsthand tonight." Roger motions to William.

The gruff man with the annoyed expression scowls at Roger, admonishing him for spilling 'state secrets'.

William just smiles to you and nods. "Yes, cursed people have special abilities, and you experienced mine earlier tonight. I can command people to do anything I want them to, just with my voice."

You're reminded of when your body moved on its own at his command. That feels real, but you're still not sure. "... Do it to me again."

William raises an eyebrow at you, curious. His lips wear a smile, but he's interested to help you believe that this is reality. So he holds his hands upwards, as though beckoning you into his arms. "Dance with me."

Your body moves on its own once more. You're pulled into his arms, taking up the position as the lead in a dance you've never learned before. You're visibly shocked and surprised. William dances with you around the room, amidst the circle of onlookers, before he releases you from his control.

You can feel that heaviness from before overtake you once again, except this time it's much less intense. You were a willing participant in this command. The more he has to overwrite your will, the more energy it must take to control you. You're still lightheaded though, as you spin out of the dance, visibly dazed. ".... Okay. I'll believe that. If that's the case though, then what's MY power?"

"Well, isn't that the question of the hour." Victor grins to you again. "It seems you can travel through time, though not at your own choice, which is a fascinating problem. Might be quite the handful keeping an eye on you. Just don't go following any white rabbits while you're here, alright?"

"Where IS here?"

"This is the headquarters of Crown, the root of all evil in England. Where we fight evil with evil. The cursed carve a path for goodness to survive in this world, and we learn more about the curses as we do." Victor begins to explain to you about Crown's operational code.

".. Evil?" Your tone is audibly skeptical.

Liam, the pink-haired man, speaks up now; "Yes, cursed people are doomed to commit evil and meet a tragic end." He smiles warmly to you. Much too warmly for the subject matter. "For example, when someone has the Cat's Curse, they can't suppress their curiosity. Ever heard of 'Curiosity killed the cat'?"

"But satisfaction brought him back - Yeah, I'm familiar."

Liam is pleased that you're familiar, but his eyes get a little sad as he looks to the side; "Well.. Satisfaction doesn't always bring the cat back. I have the Cat's Curse at this time. According to the records, the person who received the Cat's Curse before me dabbled in all sorts of horrific things. Arson, robbery, self-mutilation, adultery.. All to satisfy his own curiosity. He was tortured and had his limbs torn off, but still, he laughed through the tears and screams escaping him to laugh "This is a great new first for me!" before throwing himself into a bath of sulfuric acid."

You shudder at his story. It would make a great scary story to tell around a campfire.

Roger speaks up now, looking to you in the eyes. "If you truly do have a curse, which I think you do, then the safest place for you will be right here, with experts who know how to deal with such things, who can understand if you begin to do evil things."

"... I haven't had any evil impulses."

"Really?" Alfons, the man with the tired eyes, smirks to you. "Trespassing.. Leaving your tour group behind to follow a little rabbit into places you knew were off-limits.. The need to tell people when you think they're wrong even if it makes things worse.. Following a group of strangers into a vehicle to an undisclosed location.. Do you think these are the actions of someone who wants to be a law-abiding citizen?"

"......." The curse definitely would explain a lot of your behavior today. Though you've always followed things that catch your eye. "... If that's true though, then why now? Why did this happen now, instead of when I was a kid?"

"It's possible that it did happen to you when you were young, and you just didn't know." Victor explains, looking to you empathetically. It's not every day that someone finds out they're cursed and doomed to tragedy.

"..." Your nose scrunches up as you think through your memories. You did wander a lot as a kid. You still wander a lot. It would definitely explain some things. "... Don't like that."

"Not many people do. I'm sorry we had to be the ones to tell you."

"So what's this about fighting evil with evil?"

"You saw that in action tonight as well. We killed that man."

You think back on how the man died. It looked like a suicide. Your eyes meet William's, and he just gives you a warm, knowing smile and a soft nod. You shudder. ".... Why?"

They explain how the man was a key figure in some horrific underground organizations. The list of his 'sins' as dictated in your notes wasn't even half of the things he actually was 'sentenced' for, and the list was already pretty bad.

They go on to explain that cursed people are often regarded as dangerous and evil, but England is, at this time, the only place which has organized and nationally recognized them and their potential. That 'Crown' is an organization of cursed individuals, and everyone in this room is cursed. They go into the hearts of the most evil places in this country where police and military cannot touch, to wreak havoc and disrupt evil.

Victor explains that, because the nature of cursed people is to commit evil acts, this organization is meant to allow them to do that without fear of punishment, so long as their evils benefit the country.

And now, as a cursed individual who has seen this organization and knows what it's capable of, they have to make a decision about how to deal with you.

"We'll need to study you, that's certain.. But hmm.." Victor wonders out loud. His mind returns to your notes. They were very well taken. "... Do you like writing, perchance?"

".... Yeah."

"Then I think I have a solution~! While you're stuck in this time period, you shall be our fairytale keeper!" He's very pleased with himself. "You had wonderful prose and writing in your notes from what I saw, so I have every belief that you can write something worthy of using as our reports to Her Majesty. You'll write all the evil deeds committed by the people here, including yourself, and write them as fairytales. How does that sound?"

"That sounds like a fake job."

"I just designed it right now, isn't that exciting?" Victor's eyes dance with excitement.

- "It feels like you're just trying to avoid doing more paperwork.." The cocky man gives Victor a sideways glance.

His insinuation isn't stopping Victor's excitement train. "Well, what do you say, ___?"

".. If I say no, are you gonna keep me against my will anyway?"

"Naturally. You know too much and will still need constant supervision."

"And will saying 'yes' and doing this job for you at least give me some kind of freedom in this arrangement, and a chance to earn your trust that I won't go spilling your secrets?"

"Of course."

"Then I guess I'm on-board."

Victor claps his hands excitedly. "This calls for a celebration! Our cursed little family just got a little bigger tonight~! Now, let's get you acquainted with your new home. This calls for a tour!"

...

You really hate tours. -----

End

-----

Next Chapter ----- If you like this chapter, you can stay easily updated when more chapters come out via AO3;Link All of my other random off-shoots for this fandom will also be posted there under "The Curse of Alice - A Collection" series. Thank you for reading!

#Ikevil #Ikemen Villains #Alternate Universe #AU #Reader has the 'Curse of Alice' #Reader Insert #Gender Neutral Reader #GN Reader #Writing #Fanfic #Fic #Fanfiction #TW Murder #CW Murder #TW Suicide #CW Suicide #TW Blood #CW Blood #TW Forced Suicide #CW Forced Suicide

[forabeatofadrum]

Hello and yes, yes, we know the drill El WooWoo but ALSO happy Spotify Wrapped. Glee is my top artist. 8 songs of my top 10 are from the Heartstopper soundtrack. This makes sense. Anyway, thank you @martsonmars and @facewithoutheart​ for the tags. And a happy Spotify Wrapped to you.

I am having a blast with my COC fic There’s nothing ironic about show choir, especially since I just established that yes, there is a rivalry between choirs, but no, no one takes it as seriously as Simon and Baz and I am just obsessed with them not realising it since they’re too caught up in being obsessed with each other.

“What are you doing?”

I look up from my notebook.

Simon’s standing in the doorway.

“I live here, remember?” I deadpan.

“Yes, but you’re usually not… here.”

It’s true. We’ve been living here for over seven years, but we both avoid this place like the plague. It’s very hard to miss that we share the room, though. My wall is filled with violet banners, flags, crests and pennants with the Vitis logo. Simon’s wall is filled with the scarlet Rutaceae variants.

(Agatha hates it and wonders why we also have to take the rivalry outside of choir.) (Does she not see that there is no ‘outside of choir’?)

Ha, ha, ha, scarlet and violet where did I get that from?

It’s also Advent time TOMORROW 🤯🤯🤯. Time caught up with me cause I have nothing prepared yet apart from the two snippets that I’ve shared before. But I will be fine. I am prioritising my Klaine Secret Santa fic over the Advent one anyway, but I do want to start tomorrow. (I still need a goddamn title!)

I also have some... sentimental musings. I shall put them under the cut with the tags. It’s not a snippet, just some thots.

Basically I was going through my archive on this blog to find the other WIP Wednesday Hospital posts since I wanted to link them in last week’s post (please clap) and I saw that I first started doing these SSS/WW tags in October 2021, when Marta first tagged me. I remember being so nervous about it, and now it has become a nice habit that I look out for on a two-weekly basis.

And I just... I was just overwhelmed by it in a way? I did so much in 2021/2022 that I am proud of. There were also fics I didn’t like as much, but where the two-weekly support was so great. And that’s just what I like about fandom, be it Glee or CO. Joining spaces like the Lima Bean or the CO Discord or the Second Breakfast club was great. Having platforms like those above and the Advent and COC and what not come up with great challenges is wonderful. I’m glad that both my current main fandoms at the moment (get rekt Check, Please!) (actually no, I do want to write more Zimbits) are so active, especially Glee since that show ended 7 slutty, slutty years ago.

This is also why I am so eager to jump in on every challenge, because I want to show my appreciation for the people who take the time to organise Klaine fic challenges, even though it has led to what we now call my girlboss situation and I did tell myself yesterday that I am probably not going to do the Second Wave of the Klaine 3-2-1 Reverse Bang because it is getting too much otherwise.

And maybe I will not be able to keep up. It’s a miracle I haven’t skipped a single post ever since that first Sunday tag (I count the “nothing to show ¯\_(ツ)_/¯” ones as a post) and maybe I will fall into a dip but even then people come and go with these challenges and it is nice to know there is always a potentional audience. I know from my experience that I have also been super stoked when someone posts a new SSS/WW after a break.

But yeah those are just some of my thoughts. TL;DR: I love fandom. And now, the weather, and by the weather I mean tags: @quizasvivamos @crissmastrees-and-candyklaines @coffeegleek @esperantoauthor @otherworldsivelivedin @caramelcoffeeaddict @sillyunicorn @bazzybelle @dragoneggos @raenestee @tectonicduck @nightimedreamersworld @urban-sith @thnxforknowingme @captain-aralias @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @takitalks @justgleekout @cerriddwenluna @wellbelesbian @tea-brigade @cutestkilla @ivelovedhimthroughworse @moodandmist @artsyunderstudy @whogaveyoupermission @bookish-bogwitch @confused-bi-queer @aroace-genderfluid-sheep @ionlydrinkhotwater @1908jmd @special-bc-ur-part-of-it @larkral

#i have also just been informed by my dash that it is also wet beast wednesday so happy wet beast wednesday on top of el woowoo wednesday #wip wednesday #tagged in #just imagine the uva and naranja academy logo's for vitis and ruta that's what i do too

[cherryjuicegf]

yennskier one-shots

one last time, love | 1.9k, T, fluff, read on tumblr

Five times Jaskier told Yennefer he would take his clothes off if she asked and one time she did.

a little bit of light | 862 words, T, emotional hurt/comfort, read on tumblr

“Do you remember the stars, Yennefer?”

“You think it’s a good time for poetry, bard?”

“No,” Jaskier shakes his head and feels his heart aching. “Just for some light.”

Yennefer can’t sleep in the dark. The darkness of the cell isn’t helping.

my dearest love, i’m not done yet | 5.2k, M, angst, mcd (temporary), read on tumblr

It’s a funny thing, really. A last memory. As if every memory before that counts for nothing, as if that last one will define a love of a life. As if she would love him less if she saw him in agony. As if her heart wasn’t already given away and thrown aside with the most violent way. As if the sound of the bottle shattering on the floor wouldn’t wail in her ears forever.

or

A death for a life, a potion and four days. Yennefer wishes it was that simple.

of lutes and broken hands | 1.3k, T, emotional hurt/comfort, read on tumblr

The lute feels heavy in her hands, the weight of past melodies, and Jaskier is staring at her in confusion. Or hope. Or despair. She’s tired of guessing wrong. Only this feels right anymore.

“Here,” she says and gives him the lute, and it feels like giving away her heart. And he takes it.

His hands are trembling.

bring you home | 888 words, T, emotional hurt/comfort, read on tumblr

He’s gentle now too, he really is. Loving. One’s core is not that easily broken and yet, they were so close, so terrifyingly close, that sometimes she catches a fleeting glance of a ghost darkening his stare, something distant as if he’s momentarily losing himself in an endless abyss of despair with no memory of where it started. He scares her. A faint smile curves her lips, bitter. At least they’re even in that.

Sometimes his fingers tremble when he strokes her hair, and she can hear the whimper trapped in his throat.

she’s a tear that hangs inside my soul forever | 955 words, T, emotional hurt/comfort, read on tumblr

“Do you think he knows?”

“Knows what?” A silent corner of his heart knows the answer and he clears his throat, vainly.

Yennefer sighs, shoulders slumped ever so slightly, as if she refuses to show weakness about this. It can’t be for any other reason. He has already seen her weak. “That I’m alive,” she says and it’s like a knife again, only that this time the blade is turned at herself.

the fools | 1.2k, T, emotional hurt/comfort, fluff, read on tumblr

Something in the way his eyelids drop resigned, and his smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes makes her control slip between her fingers, laughing mockingly.

And just for a little bit, she finds she doesn’t mind.

Jaskier stares at her, reading her, and she never remembered being so easy to read. Then, as though he sees something, perhaps in her look or how she stands like she doesn’t intend to leave, he lets his shoulders slump. Sighs. “What do you want, Yennefer?”

Did he always sound so tired?

you’ll make me brave | 922 words, T, emotional hurt/comfort, read on tumblr

“You’re a coward.”

He chuckles. So warm, the abyss, like the hands creeping up his arms, like the fingers stoking his skin, like the seething tears that won’t escape her eyes only much later. A coward. “I am,” he admits, he’s been a coward all his life, if an artist is ever one. Then, he rests their foreheads together. “Just not with you.”

exploding love | 743 words, T, fluff

In which Jaskier loves Yennefer and blows up a kitchen.

today i somehow understand | 1.1k, T, emotional hurt/comfort, read on tumblr

“Is everything alright?”

Why, why, why does he care so much? She raises an eyebrow. “It should be.” Eventually, prehaps. She’s not one to hold out hope anyway.

Sometimes the answer lies in the caring.

i’ll stay because | 3.6k, E, fluff & hurt/comfort, read on tumblr

Five times Jaskier stayed and one time Yennefer understood the reason.

the water is fine | 1.2k, T, fluff, read on tumblr

Loving her is like loving the sea.

“It’s cold. You’ll drown.”

“Perhaps. We’ll both do.” Her eyes look like they’re whispering an apology. She huffs, bittersweet. “Still better than drowning alone.”

what we've found | 977 words, T, emotional hurt/comfort, read on tumblr

It doesn't matter, she decides. His body is warm and smells of comfort but it doesn't matter. She cannot go down this path, not again, not with a light heart. The only thing she can do is leave first. Choose the ending. The heartbreak. Something.

It has to work.

It's so hard to look away from him.

tender weapons | 489 words, G, fluff, read on tumblr

She meets his eyes, glinting as though with a look they can share the same thoughts. "The crow's feet are new," she whispers with the ever triumphant smirk yet her voice is tender, amused, as if she just made a discovery of an old habit, one that she's willing to visit over and over again.

And he, he laughs.

a long way down to reach the sea | 13k, E, hurt/comfort, domestic yennskier, read on tumblr

Drained, devoid of purpose and having escaped mages and soldiers alike, Yennefer and Jaskier hide in a cottage by the sea. It may or may not be as pleasant as it sounds.

lover, terror and beloved | 7.2k, M, angst with a happy ending, time loop, read on tumblr

A terrible time loop escape, a curse, and happily dying by your lover's hand to break it. This is a love story.

(my masterlist)

#the witcher #yennskier #yennefer x jaskier #chrysa writes #masterlist tag #fic recs #jaskier #yennefer of vengerberg

[distopea]

In a typical Lucien fashion of 'getting-what-he-wanted' a neatly sealed letter with a golden wax seal and a bouquet of blood-red roses arrived into Mattia's hands on Thursday morning.

Upon closer inspection, Mattia might notice that none of the roses was stripped of its thorns, prickling anyone who handled them incorrectly, and the stems were tied together by a silky ribbon of matching red, cold to the touch.

The letter itself read:

Dear Mattia,

You have done splendidly during our last court session. I'm profoundly proud of you.

To show my gratitude, I planned an evening for us—A celebration.

In this envelope, you will find two tickets to a privately held concert, including a VIP party afterwards. I've taken note of some bands you selected the last time you were listening to music in my car, and I have faith that you will relish my choice just as I will do your company.

Fondly, Lucien

P.S.: Mikael Stanne said he is, and I quote, stoked to meet you.

@conquestar

When he opened his door to discover a delivery man with flowers and a letter, Zodiac thought that it was nothing but a joke. He had pestered the poor man to spit who had found it pretty funny to mock him this way, until he had decided that he wasn’t worthy of a tip anyway, when he had received no answer but only supplication from him. He had snatched the bouquet and letter out of his hands, and had locked himself inside his apartment, just in case someone was watching. Who the fuck was offering flowers to a man after all? 

“Porca merda!” Zodiac cursed while he sensed painful thorns gripping and scratching his fingers. He had never been greeted with flowers before, but he had never seen girls complaining because of that, so it surely meant that it was on purpose. Nevertheless, it only increased Zodiac’s anger while he threw the bouquet of roses onto the kitchen island and aggressively gripped the letter to inspect it. He frowned, the familiar initials shaped in wax giving him answers regarding who the sender was. 

“In which century does that figlio di puttana live?” He growled to himself, but couldn’t resist opening the letter, too curious to refrain himself anymore. English wasn’t his forte, but Zodiac didn’t have any trouble reading the contents of the letter. Once, twice… He read it over and over again, as he couldn’t believe what was written there. He eventually let go a sort of scream of half happiness and bestial eagerness while he observed the written artists on the two tickets, along with the last post-scriptum line. 

“I can't believe it...!” Zodiac laughed brightly, excited just at the idea of meeting his favorite bands, even more when the singer of Dark Tranquility seemed already quite into meeting him. But then, Zodiac’s eyes went back to the bouquet of flowers, and he felt something within his stomach that he didn’t like at all. “Lucien… Que merda!” He cursed because he didn’t want to experience those emotions at all. Eagerness and excitement were clouded with apprehension, and the fact that someone was so nicely courting him. 

Was it a fucking trap? What was he expecting after that show? Sleeping together? Being his thing? No, no, no, he had always fought that with all his heart. It wouldn't happen today!  

Once more, he couldn’t control his vivid emotions, too afraid to lower his guard in front of someone who was playing all the cards just right. He gripped the bouquet, and despite the sting of the thorns, he threw it right into the trash can. He grabbed his phone and rang Lucien’s office, somehow relieved not to directly have the man picking it up; probably with a client. “Hey you little coglione, you thought that I was so easily bribed? What’s wrong with you? You offer flowers to a dude, ugh?” He cursed before he eyed the two tickets and the roses… He sighed. “But fine!” He paused and inhaled. “I’ll be fucking there, Lucien Lawless, but you better not expect anything from me… I don’t like being played!” 

Right before he clicked on the red button of his smartphone, he eventually put the phone back against his ear. “Thanks… By the way, it’s Mattia.” And he immediately hung up, too afraid to sound too nice and happy. 

#; conquiistador #⌇bloody hair menace ( 𝙕𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙘 | ic ) #⌇golden letters written on my bloody canvas ( 𝙕𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙘 / 𝙇𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣 ) #; lmao it's basically dealing with those cats which are both purring and hissing at the same time #; it works but OH GOD he's making it so difficult #; he's so flustered guysdgf #; lost in insults and saying thank you... very beautiful move Lucien LMAO

[count-mecha]

Memphis Comic Expo 2022 is in the books. Had a great time this year, the first year back after a break.

Expo pictures are from the final hours on Sunday. There were way more people present on Saturday but even on Sunday there was a decently large crowd.

Signed books/collectibles: Everyone I got something signed by were super cool people. Especially James O'barr. Venom Lethal Protector and Spider-Man 2099 had always been a really early part of my comic collection, so it was great to meet the artists after obsessing over those books as a kid. Dan Brereton personalized my Nocturnals book. Denys Cowan signed my The Question #1 (a sentimental book that I was introduced to by friends) and Mark Waid signed my Daredevil #1, a book that's pretty special to me and was one of the few series I stuck with when I started picking up comics on a semi-weekly basis. There were some things I forgot to bring (like my Sozo Maika books) but I'm overall satisfied with everything anyways.

Comic pickups: I already blew through most my budget getting collectibles and things signed so I didn't do a whole lot of digging for comics this year. Of course I managed to grab a lot of manga-centric stuff. Especially stoked on the Adam Warren Dirty Pair run find.

#Memphis Comic Expo #comic con #comic convention #comic expo #James O'barr #Memphis #The Crow #Dan Brereton #Nocturnals #Spiderman #Spider-Man #Spider-Man 2099 #Venom Lethal Protector #Sam De La Rosa #Rick Leonardi #Daredevil #Mark Waid #comics #graphic novels #Manga #Dirty Pair #Adam Warren #The Question #Denys Cowan #DC Comics #Marvel Comics #Creator Owned Comics

[fangirlovestuff]

Butterfly Effect - Steve Rogers x reader

a/n - Hey lovely people! this is for @holylulusworld​​‘s 10,000 followers celebration, congrats!! (even though you have a lot more now lol). the divider is by the amazing @firefly-graphics​. italics are for thoughts / flashbacks, and the first parts are all in chronological order. Enjoy!<3

Summary: The words on Steve’s arm point to the circumstances in which he will meet his soulmate, and they’re very specific, or so he thinks.

Prompt: 11 - soulmate AU

Word Count: ~2,070

Warnings: reader gets a tatoo but basically this is just a huge fluff fest:)

"That's a cute owl you're drawing there."  

These are the words that were imprinted on Steve's arm since the moment he was born. When Steve could finally read, he asked his mother why are the words there.

"These words are very important," Sarah explained. "They are the first words your soulmate will ever say to you."

"What's a soulmate?" asked a confused Steve.

"A soulmate," his mother answered, "is someone you're gonna love very much. They're the person you'd probably choose to spend the rest of your life with. Their soul is connected to yours in inexplicable ways, almost as if they were one and the same. This," she pointed at the words, "is the sign for you to realize when you'll meet them. Somewhere out there, there's someone with the first words you're gonna say to them."

"So I'll be drawing an owl when I meet my soulfriend?" Steve asked.

"It's soulmate, dear. And I guess you probably will."

"And this… soulmate, will they buy me ice cream?" Steve asked hopefully, not quite getting the point.

Sarah giggled at her son. "Yes, I think they will if you'd want that. But also, they would love you so much, and you'll have the most fun in the world with them."

"Was da your soulmate?" Steve asked.

"He is," his mother answered, the smile on her face tinged with a little sadness that Steve hadn't picked up on.

Okay, so two round eyes, and then the body, and I should add some feathers and –

"Mr. Rogers!" the math teacher said sternly. "I haven’t assigned any equations yet, so I would appreciate it if you'd keep your attention on me instead of your notebook, for now."

"Yes, Ms. Williams," Steve replied sheepishly.

"You know you've already met everyone in this class right? No one here is your soulmate," Bucky whispered once their teacher turned back to the board.

"But I still want to get better at it," Steve shrugged defensively. "She's gonna say it's cute, Buck. For that to happen it needs to actually be cute."

"I don't get your whole fuss around soulmates Steve, but whatever. Suit yourself," Bucky rolled his eyes.

"You don't believe in soulmates?" Steve asked.

"Well, I wouldn't strictly say that, it's just… my words are 'watch it, weirdo.' Call me crazy, but I'm not that stoked to find that person," Bucky chuckled.

"Mr. Barnes! Something to share with the rest of us?" Ms. Williams said.

"No Ms. Williams, I'm sorry," Bucky said timidly and Steve snickered.

Steve could draw owls in his sleep if he needed to. Right now, his pencil was sketching over the page, lightly shading the wings of the owl and the –

"Rogers! You're on in five!" the stage manager called out to him.

Steve sighed and snapped his sketchbook shut. He kept hoping that maybe it was one of the girls on tour with him, but so far it wasn't going so well. The government-mandated entertainment had quite enough free time so Steve could draw as many owls as he wanted to in between shows.

He put the notebook aside and slipped on the cowl they had him wear. The Captain was needed on stage.

"So people take art classes… for fun?" Steve asked, puzzled.

"Yeah," Natasha answered. "Lately you're always drawing away in your little notebook, so if you want to, I could help you sign up for a class. Maybe they can teach an old dog some new tricks," she smirked.

"Ha ha," Steve answered dryly. Yet he couldn't help considering the idea.

The thing was, Steve wasn't sure if his soulmate was still out there to be found. You'd think he would feel a difference, some indication if his soulmate was dead, but when he went out of the ice, Steve felt nothing different. There was still a part of him that was hoping that maybe, just maybe, fate planned this. That his soulmate was still out there.

"That's a great color scheme, Steve," the instructor said, and Steve nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Thanks," he smiled, albeit a tad shakily.

This was the fifth class Steve took this month, and yet, no luck. He wasn't even drawing an owl, and yet the start of that sentence made him jump as if he didn't have super… well, everything.

But that doesn't mean he was giving up. His tattoo was still in place, even after all of these years, it hadn't faded. So he had to believe he could still find his soulmate.

These times were a lot more different than his. People here weren't always inclined to live by that philosophy of "soulmates". Some people chose to simply disregard that and find someone they loved regardless. Steve admired that, but he couldn't say he understood. If you're offered your perfect partner, why walk out of that?

"It's called instant gratification," Nat chuckled when he raised that question to her. "People like to have what they want as soon as possible. Besides, some people don't believe it's real, or don't believe it'll work for them. So, they take matters into their own hands."

Steve was more patient than the average person. He waited decades in ice, what's a few more years to find his soulmate?

Bucky had found his soulmate. Steve couldn't believe it.

Sure, he was happy for Bucky. When he came back today from the store with nothing but a small slip of paper, Steve had half a mind to smack him upright the head for not getting anything. Probably forgot his wallet.

But when Bucky showed him the paper he read the words scribbled onto it – "call me, weirdo, xx" and a phone number, Steve pulled Bucky into a tight hug, patting him on the back.

"Congrats, pal," he smiled.

Bucky beamed. Yes, Bucky Barnes, the terrifying Winter Soldier was beaming and his eyes were shining like a high-schooler in love. And Steve wished that could've been him.

He really was happy for Bucky. That's the thing – this was a good thing. Besides from his best friend finding the love of his life, it also meant that Steve's soulmate is almost definitely out there. But he couldn't help feeling a spark of resentment deep inside of him. It made him feel guilty, but he couldn't help the bitter thought that Bucky was never too keen on finding his soulmate while Steve did everything in his power to find them. And yet, Bucky found his while Steve's still in the dark.

So, to get out of his own head a little, Steve decided to go paint in the park.

To be honest, it was a wonder that Steve hadn't gotten awfully tired of drawing by now. But he still loved it, loved the quiet it cultivated in his mind.

Steve set up a canvas and looked around. People weren't noticing him, busy in their own endeavors. He almost started drawing an owl out of instinct, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Steve wanted to forget about the whole soulmate business for a while and just draw.

He saw a butterfly fly over and land on a nearby bush. Steve focused on the butterfly, trying to remember as much as he can. The rest he can improvise. The butterfly fluttered its wings for a few seconds before flying away.

Steve started drawing the butterfly. Once he had the pencil sketch, he started filling it in with the paints he had brought. He started with the little circles on its wings, filling them in so the shade will be just right, and he was about to move on to the rest on the wings when –

"That's a cute owl you're drawing there."

"It's a butterfly," Steve turned around, puzzled, before realizing what you had just said to him.

Your mouth opened in a gentle gasp. Your hair and clothes were a little messy from your long day at work. And at that moment, when you were caught completely off guard, Steve first met you. You were the most beautiful thing he has ever laid eyes on, and he was an artist. He stared at you in utter shock while you returned him a similar look.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" your friend asked, sitting next to you with a worried look.

"I'm tired of looking for my soulmate. Do you know how hard it is to make conversation about butterflies?" you looked back at her. "I want to do this," you told her.

The tattoo artist came closer. "Okay ma'am, you wanted a simple butterfly, right?"

"Yes," you answered decisively. "On my left wrist." Your right hand had your words on it. "It's a butterfly." Maybe if you had a tattoo your soulmate would see it, would find you.

You closed your eyes and braced for what came next.

You weren't sure about this blind date thing, but why not. You trusted your friend that she set you up with a nice guy, at least.

You set up to meet in a park, and from there walk to a nearby restaurant. Right when the guy showed up, there was a butterfly next to you.

"What’s that?" you asked quickly, pointing towards it.

Your date turned his head to look, but by the time he did the butterfly was already flying away. "I don't know, it was probably a bug or something."

You stifled your groan of disappointment. At least you'd get a dinner out of this.

You and Steve were staring at each other in amazement. Finally, you were the one to speak up. "You're Steve Rogers," you said, frowning in disbelief.

"And you're my… soulmate," he returned the same disbelieving look.

You introduced yourself quickly, smiling at him timidly when you finished.

"So, you wanna get ice cream or something?" Steve asked, unsure of what exactly to do. But apparently he said exactly the right thing, because your face lit up.

"Right now though? You're in the middle of your painting and I wouldn't wanna –"

"It doesn't matter," Steve said quickly and stashed the canvas and paints underneath a bench nearby. "No one passes here anyways," he shrugged. "Until today," he smiled and you giggled.

You made your way to an ice cream shop across the street from the park, walking side by side.

"So, what is the great Captain America doing drawing owl-looking butterflies in a local park?" you asked, smiling.

"I was just looking to clear my head a little," Steve said dismissively. "To be honest, the fact that you didn't find me drawing an actual owl is very ironic, looking back," Steve chuckled. "I spent pretty much my entire life drawing owls, attending painting classes, anything I could to find you," his gaze met yours and he smiled softly. "And I find you in a random park while drawing a butterfly."

"Don't underestimate nature's camouflage," you chuckled. "And hey, you think that's ironic? Butterflies are so scarce I got this," you rolled up your left sleeve a little, revealing your butterfly tattoo.

Steve's eyes widened. "It's beautiful," he automatically reached out to trace the lines on your arm, then withdraws his arm when he understands what he's doing. "It's not as beautiful as you," he says with a smile on his face.

You avert your eyes to the ground in front of you. "Thank you," you bashfully say.

You and Steve got your ice cream, and you exchanged plenty of stories of your adventures in search of each other, most of which were devastating when they happened but when you look back at them now, they were actually pretty funny.

"I hope I can see you again," Steve said when it was getting a little late.

He looked so hopeful, but the question in itself made you want to laugh at the obviousness of the answer. Instead, you rose onto your tiptoes, and planted your lips on his soft ones in a sweet kiss.

Once you parted you took a napkin and wrote down your number. "I sure hope to see you soon," you smiled.

"I'll call you, butterfly," Steve grinned and you beamed at the nickname.

And that night you both went home with huge smiles smeared across your faces. Finally, your quest to find your soulmate was at an end, and you could start a new journey, together.

Taglist:  @horny-nd-bored​ @shannon124 @perfectlyharolds​ @wintersoldierslut​ @iceebabies​  @sleepingpapermouse @steverogerswasalwaysworthy @holtzkinnon @angelicl-y @stydia-4-ever @thatoneperson5000 @fangirlfree​ @kaitcordx25 @bequeening​ @steve-barry-damon-logan​ @itscrazycherryblossomcollection​ @hollandxmarvel​ @stargazingfangirl18 @readsreblogsfics @onetwo3000 @beritmetal @harrystylesholland @jazbot2000​

if you wanna join / be removed from this taglist, comment/message me! much love <3

#lulu's 10k follower challenge #chris evans x reader #chris evans #chris evans x female reader #chris evans x y/n #chris evans x you #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers #steve rogers x female reader #steve rogers x y/n #steve rogers x you #steve rogers fluff #soulmate au

[the-darkdragonfly]

WIP Wednesday: Fine Line - A Captain Duckling Tale

Here is a small sneak peek of the Tale that will be going live in celebration of my darling bestie's birthday. Happy 12 days and counting @elizabeethan !!!! I tried to write PWP, but it caught feelings, then it... developed angst... #sorrynotsorry

♥️♥️♥️

The lantern on the mantle had burned down several inches since it had been lit, her gaze wandering to the window, at the sea spreading out before her, the sails she waited for, yearned desperately for, still missing from the horizon. He wasn’t coming.

The chambermaid had asked her what was the matter, twittering and twitching and rubbing against Emma’s last unfrayed nerve- nothing is the matter, thank you, that will be all- the need to be alone and heartbroken thick in her veins. He was going to miss her birthday. 

It wasn’t as if he would have been able to celebrate properly with her anyway, but for the last three years, his ship has sat in the harbour as he waited for her in the room above the quiet tavern which was as much theirs as her room at the castle was hers. She’d always gone to him. 

But the Jolly was still absent, the errand he had needed to undertake- I’ll be back before you can miss me, love- was taking far longer than she had expected- not possible, Captain, I miss you already- and her heart ached with the grief of knowing what they could never be. 

Her parents worried for her, she could feel it in their gaze, the set of her mothers shoulders and the way her fathers voice would become a forced light thing- you’ll find someone, Emma, they’re out there somewhere- whenever they spoke to her of the future and love and everything she had already found in a man she couldn’t keep. 

That’s very pretty- her mother had touched the necklace at her throat, a delicate chain with a small swan encrusted with diamonds which sat at the base of the neck. A Hogmanay gift from Killian months before, she’d worn it everyday, safely tucked beneath the layers of her winter dresses. But spring had broken into the world, and the small swan glistened in the light of the sun, hidden no longer. 

She’d smiled, a sad secret sort of smile- it was from a friend- and the question which had been poised on the tip of her mother’s tongue, the one of happiness and True Love, died as she watched the slip of sadness overtake her daughter’s eyes. 

He’d slipped the chain over her head, a kiss pressed against the column of her spine before securing the gift around her throat- it reminded me of you, love- her fingers rising to encircle the small pendant, head turning slightly to catch his gaze in the warm light of the fire he had stoked before joining her in bed- a swan?- her question a whisper in the dark. He’d nodded, eyes serious. They mate for life- she traced her fingers down the side of his face, the scratch of his beard rough under her nails. He’d nodded again, the twitch of his jaw telling of anxiety and fear. 

“It’s perfect,” she’d kissed him, pulling him down into the safety of the nest they had built together. 

The necklace sat at her neck over the years, the weight of it a constant presence in her life when he could not be. 

♥️♥️♥️

Coming January 16th, 2023

Read my other stuff.

Tagging:

@elizabeethan @donteattheappleshook @sailtoafarawayland @teamhook @wefoundloveunderthelight @caught-in-the-filter @batana54 @ultraluckycatnd @veryverynotgood @snowbellewells @hollyethecurious @jrob64 @kmomof4 @artistic-writer @gingerpolyglot @xarandomdreamx @justanother-unluckysoul @zaharadessert @xsjax @karlyfr13s @tiganasummertree @wyntereyez @klynn-stormz @onceratheart18 @rkrbirdgirl @ouatdaily @blowmiakisscolin @courtorderedcake @winterbaby89 @pirateprincessofpizza @superchocovian @deckerstarblanche @jlsadphoenix @alexa-fangirl-forever @stahlop @undercaffinatednightmare @lostintheskyfaraway @anmylica @motherkatereloyshipper @last-tsarina @lfh1226-linda @hookedmom @yikes-00 @midnightsuki @paradiselady19

#fine line #a captain duckling tale #the darkdragonfly #wip wednesday #coming soon #captain swan fanfiction #killian jones #emma swan #plot with feelings #happy birthday to my bestie!!

[angeloncewas]

as a person who usually uses twt just because there’s a lot more artists on the platform along with the livetweeting, one thing that bugs me about mcyttwt is the whole censoring thing,, i mean sure it’s good to do sometimes but also i think that the twt algorithm just sometimes suppresses certain trends,, and that no matter what you do, myct will trend and gosh idk it just seems like a bit of a toxic mentality, like you should definitely raise awareness to issues but i don’t think it’s an issue if you also talk about your interests you know?

What is the appeal of livetweeting ? (/gen) because I've always just liveblogged and you're the second person I know who's said that they use Twitter for livetweeting specifically.

Anyway, yeah. The censoring thing is really weird. In a sense I get it because the algorithm is pretty shit, but I made a passive-aggressive tweet about this myself earlier; they actively encouraged people to stop tweeting about the pride MCC that was FOR CHARITY, but they were stoked about getting #TECHNOTWT_OUT on trending today. Do y'all think there's just no problems in the world today? What happened to "more important issues"? Fuck off.

(This got very rant-y very quick, sorry.)

Outside of that hypocrisy the two main problems I have with their censoring of names and obsession with the trending tab is its inherent uselessness and the unrealistic expectations it creates.

1 - Things are gonna trend. They're always gonna trend. Trending is for the hot topics of the hour. Usually music, sports, and some innate discussion that's started from a viral tweet (apple juice v orange juice, that Bonnie and Clyde thing, etc). There’s actually even split categories so that people can browse according to their interests - "for you," entertainment, whatever.

So you censor names and MCYT doesn't trend. Fantastic. Super productive. Guess what does? Ariana Grande's birthday. The new episode of Riverdale. The name of some long-dead celebrity next to another one who's just irrelevant. The slots that mcyttwt doesn't use aren't gonna be handed off to a good cause because that's just literally not how it works. They're gonna be given to the next most popular thing. And if that's a social issue that needs coverage, that's wonderful - I guess. What's the point of that, though?

Twitter isn't the place for unbiased news. Sure, it can be, and there are a lot of valid opinions and unique perspectives you can find on such a site, but it's also just that. A site. Social media. It's full of misinfo and random bullshit and if you're relying on the trending tab - something plenty of people probably don't even touch - to reflect what's actually important in the world you're literally just not going about this whole "awareness" thing correctly.

2 - Fandom is meant to be fun. This doesn't mean that you can turn on your device of choice and suddenly the world will have stopped - and it doesn't mean that you should ignore the misogyny, racism, ableism, etc that oftentimes permeates a variety of kinds of media - but it does mean that activism and entertainment are not inherently linked.

We talked a lot about this a bit ago and it actually made it to Twitter, but instead of understanding our points and re-evaluating the culture they've created, they now insist that "retweeting carrds isn't activism, it's literally like the bare minimum" every time. And while yes, carrds are not in fact activism - thank you for showing us that you have some self-awareness - that's not at all the point. The point is that mcyttwt is drilling it into their own heads that they're not allowed to talk about anything but social issues should they arise. Which is ridiculous, because the social issues they deem important enough to do this for are usually America-centric and random at best, but also because that's not what fandom is.

You are allowed to be happy and have fun because the tragic fact of the matter is that if you set aside your personal interests to focus on the injustices and horror in the world, you'd literally never go back to them. They don't even allow themselves the small grace that is using Twitter to talk about media; not only are they a bad person if they're not talking about [thing], they're also a bad person if they talk about anything other than [thing]. I can't imagine how taxing that must be and it just isn't healthy.

#sorry i got so invested whenenmd #angel answers #anon #critical #mcyttwt critical #long post #negative

[inthegardensofourminds]

I’m just going to say it. I’m disappointed in Brian May.

I don’t really care if he feels unsure or flat out doesn’t like that the BRIT awards have eliminated gendered artist categories. I don’t really pay much attention to music awards, but I think I’m in favour of this move (heck, there are music prizes and competitions that have never had gendered categories, like the Polaris prize, and nobody seems to think that’s unfair) but I also understand the concern about gender bias towards men. Though there’s still the problem of the “separate but equal” idea in gendered categories. He’s so used to a binary gendered world, I don’t expect someone like him to completely change his view.

But his comments about how he thinks Queen wouldn’t be considered diverse enough today are just plain stupid. First of all, the band was already fronted by a queer man of colour. Second of all, nobody would “force” the band to be more diverse. There are still so many bands composed solely of white guys, and nobody tells them they have to change. Nobody would tell Queen to change. They wouldn’t have had to reconsider who to play with. If they were good, they would have been liked. I’m pretty sure people still form bands the way they always have - mutual interest in creating a certain type of music and a rapport between members. That’s it. Not a calculation of “diversity points.” We have increased visibility and awareness, to some extent, of queer and racially diverse music acts, which is great and frankly overdue. But white bands still do well and exist, and they always will as long as we have the concept of whiteness.

It’s fine with me if he’s concerned about “cancel culture.” I think sometimes it does affect people negatively, but I also think people hide behind that concept in order to avoid subjects that make them uncomfortable.

I also find his response to this whole story a little bit pathetic. He clarified on Instagram (and maybe his other social media, I don’t know since I’ve only seen the Instagram post) that he supports trans people. But reading the lengthy quotes from the interview he was referring to in the post, I don’t think that was really the issue his comments bring up. In his post he also said the journalist who took those quotes twisted his words and was predatory. I’m sure there are journalists who might be less ethical than others, but I feel as though he’s using this accusation to deflect from what people are criticizing. I found what seems the original article with his comments, and they are lengthy. I don’t see how things could have been taken out of context, and the message in his comments seems pretty clear. 

I think it’s telling that he hasn’t clarified which parts of his words were twisted. Thinking little of who published them, he probably doesn’t think they are worth talking about, but the fact still remains that he hasn’t said anything about what words were inaccurate, except to say that he supports trans people (which, like I said, isn’t my biggest question about what he said). I think that his comments about the journalists will only stoke the flames of distrust of media, which I think is toxic and unfair. And the way he was so quick to say what he said about the member of the press seems a lot more like a defense than a legitimate critique of journalism.

Anyway, defend Brian if you want. I don’t care. I still appreciate things he’s done that are good, times that he’s amused me with his music and his Instagram videos. I don’t think I’ll stop liking Queen’s music. But I feel like I think a little less of Brian now.

#thoughts #Brian May #Queen

[amlovelies]

17. a teasing / sensual kiss for Serena! (or any pairing you might prefer!) :3

random kiss prompts

okay I know you sent this to me months ago, and I’m sorry it took me so long. Writing has been rough in 2021, but hopefully I’ll get it together soon!

This is the first thing I’ve been able to write in weeks, and it’s a bit jumbled and I’m not even sure if it makes sense, but I’m posting it anyway because progress!

This would take place after chapter 5 of Just another liability

Tempered

pairing: Mason/f!oc (Serena Willis)

warnings: lightly nsft and vague mention of past abuse and cursing

words: 1.5k

              I always liked sitting by water. Even when I was young, I’d often wander out to the nearest creek or stream and just let the melody of the water sooth me.  It had been one of the hardest adjustments when I’d moved away. I couldn’t find the solitude I was used to. There were always barking dogs and screaming children. I couldn’t hear the music of the water.

               I’d missed it. A fucking lot. There were recordings and shit I could listen to, but it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t same when I couldn’t dip my fingers in the water and feel the pull of the current. It wasn’t the same when I couldn’t throw in a leaf or a twig and watch it disappear, and pretend I could go with it.

               Wayhaven is more like home. It’s not hard to find a spot around its banks where I can pretend, I’m the only person for miles. I might actually be.

               It’s a good place to watch the sunset; the colors reflecting off the waters and painting the whole horizon in watercolors. It’s a good place to just be. To let the lap of the lake on its banks and the chorus of birds quiet all the swirling thoughts in my mind.

               It’s his cigarette that gives him away. The acrid smell of smoke interrupting my otherwise idyllic afternoon. I turn to the source and see Mason stepping out from the dim underbrush. He tosses his cigarette to the ground and grinds it under his boot.

               “You better pick that up.” I tell him before turning back to the vista.

               “Or what?” he asks with a smirk in his voice.

               I tap my finger against my bottom lip as I try and think of a fitting punishment. From his tone I can tell what type of answer he wants. At this point it doesn’t take much for Mason to get what he wants from me. Mostly because it’s what I want to. I would have thought the sexual tension would fizzle and die once we actually started to mess around, but if anything, it feels stronger than before.

               I’m sure our conversation will descend into innuendo soon enough, but I’ll try to keep it PG at least at little longer. It may feel like no one is around for miles, but we are still in a public place; a fact I’m sure I will conveniently forget the second Mason touches me. It is also fun just to mess with him, “I can think of a few new artists Farah might like. Really intense stuff, lots of bass.”

               He only grumbles in response, but from the corner of my eye I see him bend down to pick the butt our of the dirt.

               The log rocks a little as he sits next to me. I glance over as he settles into place, his long legs stretched out in front of him and his shoulder brushing against mine. Golden light bathes his features and I can’t look away. I should be used to it by now, but I’m not. A light breeze rustles his hair. I have to suppress the urge to reach out and tuck the strands back into place. Sure, I’d seen him naked and undone, but this feels too intimate, a tenderness that hasn’t been present in our exchanges before. I don’t know what would be the worse outcome, if he would stop me and pull away or if he would let me.

               “I thought you came out here to watch the sunset, sweetheart. If you wanted to stare at me, we could go back to the warehouse and I’ll give you the full view.”

               Warmth blooms in my cheeks at being caught staring. “I’m not actually here for the sunset,” I say as if that is some sort of defense.

               “Its about the water and the quiet more than it’s about the sunset.” I begin to explain. “It’s something I used to do when I was younger. Everything felt a little easier after I’d sat by the water for a while.”

               He nods, “I get it.”

               I thought he might. I figure he goes out to sit on the roof for much the same reason I got to sit by the water.

               “Though maybe I should stop. It’s actually how I got stuck here. I was hiking out to sit by the river, and then there was a light, and everything went diagonal.”

               “So, are you out here hoping to find a way home?” he asks his voice soft. Softer than I’m used to and it causes a twinge in my chest, the same one that’s been happening more and more. The same one I’ve been trying to ignore.

               “Oh, I couldn’t do that. Adam would miss me too much.” I make a joke because of course I do. It’s better to make a joke about it that to let myself wonder if he would miss me.

               He doesn’t laugh. Not that I really expected him to. Only a tiny sliver of sun still hangs over the horizon. I should probably head back to the Warehouse if I don’t want to be stumbling in the dark. I shift my weight as a I get ready to stand.

               “Do you miss it?” Mason asks and I know he means home.

               “Less than I thought I would.” I saw with a shrug as I rise from the log. The things I miss I lost long before I passed through the portal, or they never really existed at all.

               I can feel his eyes on me, studying me, and I wonder if he is putting his interrogation skills to use. It’s not a lie, but it’s not the full truth either. It’s hard to miss a place where I always felt alone and unwanted. Being here, being in Wayhaven is the happiest I can remember being in a long time. And that terrifies me.

               Whatever he sees he seems to be satisfied, or at least he doesn’t push the issue. If it was a few months ago I would say it was just indifference, that he doesn’t care about anything but his smokes and chasing tail, but I’m not so sure anymore. It would be easier to put him in that box. Yet, his silence never feels dismissive, but rather accepting. I guess that must be easier when you effectively a walking lie detector.

               “I should head back to the warehouse before it gets too dark,” I say as I rise from the log.

               “Don’t worry I won’t let any monsters get you,” Mason says with a toothy smirk.

               I just roll my eyes. I half want to make a joke about the irony of a vampire saying that, but the vamp jokes got old a month ago.   Little pieces of bark have dislodged from the log and now cover my backside, and I begin to brush it away.

               “You missed a spot,” Mason has his hand outstretched but waiting.

               I’m sure it’s just an excuse to grab my ass, so I slap his hand away. “I’m not going to fall for that.”

               “You’ve fallen for less,” he says with a shrug.

               “Don’t remind me.”

               Then he is standing, so close that only a breath separates us and I can feel the heat rolling of his body. Between that and the scent of smoke I feel like I’m standing too close to a bonfire, and if I don’t move back soon it’ll consume me. I don’t care.

               “Oh?” he asks, his voice gruff and sending a shiver down my spine. “Are you sure you don’t want me to remind you?”

               There is a part of me that wants to be petulant, to tease and coax, but then his hand is on my lower back, and our bodies are pressed together. It’s still not close enough.

               “Well, a refresher wouldn’t hurt.”

               The words are hardly out of my mouth before his lips are on mine. Kissing Mason is always an all-consuming experience. I am used to how quickly my body responds to his attentions, like a spark to tinder.

               But today he holds back, never quiet breaking the kiss he pulls back. His lips move over mine slower and more deliberately than I can remember. This is no flash bang, no explosion of leaping flames, but rather a slow stoking. A building heat until I feel like I have been placed in a furnace, and I am melting.

               When he pulls back, I can still feel the ghost of the kiss dancing over my nerves.

               “Should I continue? Or was that enough of a reminder?”

               “We both already know the answer.”

               “Still like to hear you say it, sweetheart.”

               And I do.

tagging (let me know if you would like to be added or removed 💜): @lord-king-saint, @lilyoffandoms, @tracing-freckled-constellations, @vienocalledmebuddy, @whippedforethanfreakingramsey, @utterlyinevitable

#thank you! #ask #prompts #random kiss prompts #the wayhaven chronicles #twc mason #elmshore #lovelieswrites #just another liability #oc: serena willis